Brighid of Byrness

"Ooofph!" Brighid grunted as James landed on top of her. She was tangled up in her cloak and James' limbs, and her traveling bag had shifted to the side in the fall, hiding her view of whatever it was that had fallen down through the trap door. James rolled off to his side and Brighid struggled to sit upright. In the shadows a strange creature was trying to collect its wits and orient itself within the new surroundings, all the time softly emitting a string of what sounded like expletives, "Ballsballaballsballsballs....." "Get up and run, James! Who knows what that thing is!" Brighid straightened her cloak, hoisted her bag back into its proper position, and hesitated just a second to decide if she should run left or right; she started off down the closest passageway. The earthen floor was hard-packed and easy to traverse without fear of tripping on a jutting stone, and she made her way rapidly through the warren of twisting turns before finally surrendering to breathlessness at yet another T-junction. She doubled over, hands on knees, trying to catch her breath and slow her pounding heart. "What was that thing, James?" she gasped, dragging huge gulps of air into her aching lungs. No answer. "James?" she called out down the way she had just come. There was nothing in the passageway but the dim light crawling back into the darkness and the faint echo of her query. What is with that guy? She thought angrily to herself. He's always vanishing off into the unknown leaving me in the dark! Drip, drip, drip; at some point the labyrinth walls had become stone again and water was seeping through a crack in the ceiling. No wonder I was so out of breath; I've been running at a slight incline the whole time. Brighid sat down to rest, back against the wall. Rummaging through her bag, she came across a small pouch containing a handful of dried berries she had gathered before her arrival at The Pen. Had it really only been a day...or perhaps two...since she had followed Zool into this strange but exciting place? What I wouldn't give for more Hydra fois gras she thought as the berries entered her empty belly. Into the heavy silence a slight scraping sound made its way. It sounded like someone was pulling an object and heading her way. As quietly as she could, Brighid stood and pressed herself against the wall at the junction's opening; with any luck, whoever it was wouldn't notice her before she had a chance to bonk them on the head. To Brighid's surprise, it was Grimmael who appeared in the opening, dragging his lame leg against the rough floor as he limped ponderously down the passageway. Brighid stepped into the pathway, startling Zool's cantankerous servant. "Lady, Brighid! You're okay! I was beginning to wonder whether or not any of you were still alive down here." Grimmael didn't sound overly excited. "I don't know where the others are. I was with James awhile ago, but we've been split up. There were frogs, and a crotchety ol' Egyptian...and an insidious fog that cruelly contained images of my innermost fears. I was running from a creature that fell through the trapdoor before I ended up here." "I haven't come across the frogs or Ozymandias, but I was also in the grips of the fog's phantasms. Follow me, Lady Brighid. I know the place we're all being led to, and it's a dangerous spot. You do not want to wander into it alone." Brighid was not too sure that Grimmael would be of any help if there was danger up ahead, but the scarred man seemed to know what he was talking about, and he had lived in The Mighty Pen for a very long time, so she stepped out into the corridor and slowly followed him down the passageway.

For the most part the fog had retreated; only a few wisps swirled around Brighid's ankles like a cat rubbing against her legs in anticipation of a treat. James stood before her staring down at the broken mask in his hands. "James, I don't know what you think you've done in the past that is so terrible, but you need to forget about it and concentrate on finding the others and the wishing stone. Besides, what happened in the past is over with. Scheherazade adores you, and she counts on you to keep her safe. You need to face whatever fear it is you have and be strong for her." "You're right, Brighid. I'm the only family she has and she's mine, but I'm also the reason why she lost her real family. She doesn't know that. When she finds out, she won't forgive me." "You must be strong to forgive another, but first, that person must have enough courage to confess their mistake. I also share the same fear. How can Alex ever forgive me for what I did to him? But worse than that, how can he ever forgive me for wishing that he had just stayed dead?" A sudden gust of air blew down from above as the trapdoor opened once again. Startled, Brighid and James looked up just in time to see a figure fall through the hole screaming, "Baaaaaallllllls!" James grabbed Brighid and pushed her out of the way just as the newcomer hurtled into the cave and landed with a thud and a, "Aauugh...balls!"

Getting ready to put on a Prokofiev album; good dinner cooking music, no?

Wow...300 copies! I didn't realize it was that popular! Look...I just finally found a video of the song I like off that album. You can only find it if you type in the three title words in the wrong order! http://vimeo.com/14441770 edited to add: This makes me very excited!

"You're not really James," Scheherazade addressed the masked figure. "You're trying to trick me. You only look like James, but you're not brave like he is. He's on his way to save me again. He always saves me!" "You little fool!" the voice behind the mask hissed. "I am James; I'm the real James...the one that started the fire that burned your home and killed your whole family. I'm the coward that was too afraid of being caught -- too fond of my own skin to try and save your family -- the craven who lay hidden in the bushes in your backyard until I saw you emerge crawling through the doorway gasping for breath, blind from the smoke and cinders." "You're lying," Scheherazade sobbed. "James would never do something like that. He saved me! He saw the fire when he rode into town. He ran into the back of my house and pulled me out before the whole thing collapsed!" "Believe what you want. James was a vagrant. He was on the run from the law and hiding out in the shed attached to your home. His carelessness started the blaze that turned into an inferno. You're such an innocent idiot! In your mind you lost your family, but you gained a champion. You want desperately to believe the story of his heroic deeds he told you. I'm sorry, my enchanting child, but that's all an illusion, just like the 'mask' James wears is an illusion of confidence and bravery." "But you're not real, he is!" "I may not be real in a physical sense, sweet Scheherazade, but I do exist. I exist in James' soul; I am James! The person you believe him to be is just an act...just a facade...a mask he put on when he saved you and carried you off here to hide out with him in The Mighty Pen." Scheherazade curled back into a ball and wept. I’m not going to believe anything he says about James, she told herself firmly. They’re all lies. James is a hero, and he will always keep me safe. When Scheherazade looked up the illusion had vanished, and so had most of the fog.

(It's a game you play by yourself online where you have to match Chinese tiles. It can become addicting!) Primary colors Noodles: al dente or wimpy (guess you can tell my preference by my choice of adjective!)

Of course! How about Close to the Edge? (Probably my second favorite Yes album) But one of my favorite albums of all time is by bassist Chris Squire. Do you have Fish Out of Water? (Love, love, love Silently Falling...)

I've been feeling a bit Grinch-like...but I think my "heart grew three sizes" tonight when I noticed more of my neighbors have put up lights. I'm starting to feel the quickening of Christmas -- bright lights bedazzle

One of my absolute favorites of all time...yay! You have no idea how integral the Yes album Fragile was to my teenage years

Was just listening to some music http://patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?/topic/17236-what-music-are-you-currently-listening-to/?p=133797 and the idea to write a sonnet popped into my end-of-the-workday-fried brain. So, what the heck...here are my thoughts in the format of a Shakespearean sonnet : I have stepped outside of expectation I have stopped yearning for what is the past It isn’t some brand new rEVOLution But I am sure it is one that will last. There’s no longer a need for forgiveness There is no longer a need to compare They’re replaced with a loving awareness There’s a web-work of oneness we all share. So please take away your anger and fear Please stop assuming the future is doomed Embrace the joyful now and hold it dear And before long you will find Love has bloomed. Then you will see you are Creation’s eyes And set yourself free from temporal ties.

I was just listening to one of my Yes albums

Can you "Bump" posts here? I'm missing this game (Unless it's run its course....then somebody think up a new game!)

Welcome to The Pen, Alethia! I'm relatively new myself This is just a drive-by pop in; I'll be back to read your poem again more carefully. You've created a few points that I can connect to emotionally.

“James! James! Are you here?” Scheherazade screamed frantically. Once the trapdoor opened, she had rocketed down the slide at a break-neck pace and landed on the floor in a heap. She scraped her elbow on the way down, her head hurt from the impact of the sudden stop, and she was scared of the foggy darkness. Her eyes darted this way and that, but there was nothing substantial to focus on. She felt as disoriented and panicked as when she had been trapped in the fire as a small child. This time, however, only an eerie silence surrounded her instead of the horrific screams of each family member as they were captured by the insistent flames. “Brighid?” the frightened girl called out hesitantly. “Don’t leave me! I’m scared!” She started crawling on her hands and knees, often getting caught up in the length of her dress and having to stop to hike it up so that she didn’t fall forward onto her face. The hard, damp earth dug into her bare knees. Tears streamed down her face. “Where…are…you?” she managed to choke out between sobs and hyperventilated gasps of air. A strangled scream pierced the fog. Scheherazade froze and cowered on the ground in a small ball. “Mommy?” she whispered. No. No. No. It’s not mommy. It can’t be mommy. Mommy’s dead…and daddy and Dina. There’s only James. James is the only one who can save you. “James!” she shrieked. Silence and then another phantom scream broke through the fog; it was a young girl’s scream. Scheherazade wasn’t sure if it was she herself who had screamed or if it was the ghost of her sister. Crawl, crawl, crawl…you’ll find the exit. You’ll find James. He’ll find you. He always finds you….

Ooooh...had to favorite that and add to my watch later list! I already put on a pretty spacey album by Tame Impala or else I would have listened to the whole thing. These guys are better in the studio than live : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ0P9ls_ZcE

Haha...I thought I had never heard of Imagine Dragons, went on youtube and clicked on Demons and realized that I had heard them all over the place awhile back! I just didn't know the band's name. I'll check out more of them for sure. (And Of Monsters...new one, too)

Gosh...listening to several Galaxie 500 tunes on youtube reminded me that I haven't listened to my Shins CD Oh, Inverted World in years (no hyperbole). Digging it out and listening on the way to work this morning... This was one of my favorite songs for awhile -- first heard it on one of my son's skating videos -- the lyrics just kind of stuck with me....

Zool -- here's a cover of a Joy Division song Ceremony by Galaxie 500 (if you like them, check out Wareham's next band, Luna)...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CnAnmnEPcU (maybe your son has heard of them...)

Now listening to this album....Dodovoodoo by Elephant9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nipYPpuaN6E

^^ I've listened to them some. On my turntable:

With a sudden lurch, the ground opened beneath Brighid; she plummeted down a winding chute and plunked unceremoniously upon the cold, hard-packed floor of yet another cavern. She couldn’t see far – the cave was filled with a chilly, damp fog that quickly permeated her hair and clothing which clung to her like a second skin. She stood, straightened her cloak, readjusted her traveling bag, and tried to get her bearings. “Alex! James! Scheherazade! Where are you?” she yelled into the mist. A few seconds passed. All Brighid could hear was the thrumming of her own beating heart. Fear started to press in around her, and she stumbled as she felt her way cautiously across the empty space. This was not another man-made passageway beneath the keep; this was an older room, one created long before the Mighty Pen was ever constructed. The smell of deep, rich earth was so thick that, combined with the moist air, Brighid found it difficult to breath. She immediately dismissed the idea of a freshly dug grave when it invaded her thoughts, and she replaced it with an image of a pale blue morning sky. Slowing her breathing to stem the flow of panic, Brighid finally came up against the wall. As she surmised, the wall was earthen and a bit crumbled away beneath her outstretched hand. “Alex, where are you?” she called out cautiously. “I’m here, Brighid. I’m with you.” She could hear his voice but couldn’t make out his shadowy form within the fog. “Listen,” he said to her, “I know you’re scared, but we’ll be fine. Don’t panic. We just need to wait a bit longer until this fog clears away, then we’ll know what to do.” “I am scared, Alex. I don’t like this place; it reminds me of a grave. It’s suffocating. Ever since we left the Boaz Room it’s been one thing after another, and we’re no closer to finding the wishing stone than we were up there. I’m not even sure James’ plan is going to work. And, well…even if it does work there’s sure to be…consequences.” A tear slipped silently down Brighid’s cheek as she thought of the decision she was going to have to make. “I know this upcoming decision sits heavily upon your heart. I also know something that you’re afraid to admit, even to yourself: part of you doesn’t want me to come fully back to life. It would be so much easier if I stayed dead wouldn’t it, Brighid?” “Don’t say that!” she gasped quietly. “But it’s true,” Alex continued. “I can feel your conflict, Brighid. I felt it that night when we made love. You took a vow to forever be alone and put the needs of your people first and foremost. You’re afraid to trust in our Fate because on one hand, Fate brought us together, but on the other hand, something – some seemingly higher power – guided you within a dream state to take my life. You saved me; you destroyed me. You must know that you hold my fate in your own hands; you always have. But what you don’t know is that I gladly place myself there. I will accept whatever decision you make because the night you allowed me into your bed, I surrendered myself. I had lived my whole life up until that time searching for the empty spot inside of myself and with you, I found it. I am whole now…here in this half-life I’m currently experiencing; in death, when it eventually comes; and in life, if I’m granted another shot.” Brighid sobbed gently, realizing that what Alex said was true: she was afraid of turning her back on all that she had been taught, on all of the obligations she had taken upon herself from an early age. She hadn’t realized how empty a part of herself had been until Alex had come into her life. She felt selfish…that was the crux of the guilt. What made her think that she was special enough to deny the vows she took and turn her back on the people who relied on her? The good of many must come before any selfish wants. She hated herself for killing Alex – yet, she had actually felt relieved and absolved at the thought of his death – but the guilt and pain…and longing…had been what she was running from ever since she first woke on the bank of Lake Penrith the morning after. She wanted to be with him more than she wanted to serve her people, and that thought alone made her feel dirty and unworthy under the unwavering gaze of the gods and goddesses she served. She hung her head in shame and defeat even though Alex couldn’t see her through the fog. “There will be a steep price to pay whichever way I decide,” she said to the silent mist.

Hadn't heard of her before...thanks

I haven't read any Scalzi books...will have to give him a try. This weekend I read a book by another author I hadn't heard of. I picked up the book awhile back on a friend's suggestion, but I never got around to reading it. It's a crime novel -- not a genre I usually read -- titled Beautiful, Naked & Dead by Josh Stallings. It was a fast read which kept my attention because of the protagonist, Moses McGuire. Stallings did a thorough job creating a believable, likable ex-marine/ex-con/bad-ass; I just wish he had employed a better proofreader! (He self-published.) http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10766272-beautiful-naked-dead

Listening to Les Voyages de L'Ame by theFrench band Alcest. You would like this album, Zool...it's blue! (Or maybe I'm the only one who gets excited over colored vinyl?!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upl5ExYsPx0

Brighid listened until the last sounds of the melee receded down the tunnel before stepping out from behind the rock. What am I doing here? She asked herself yet again, looking down the empty passageway where Alex had led the frogs. It would be so much easier if I could just go back, way back before Alex even showed up on the shoreline. But here I am...stuck. But you're not the kind of person who can stay stuck, Brighid.There is never 'going back,' just forward through the now; you know that. She sighed and grabbed her traveling bag from behind the hiding spot, slinging it over her shoulder. I must find that wishing stone. I need to fix what I ruined. I need Alex to be released from his torment. Brighid raised her hands to her face in despair when she thought of Alex and his selflessness. How can he even begin to forgive me? Her private agony was cut short by the sound of running footsteps approaching from the direction of the village. Scheherazade burst out of the dimness and threw herself forcefully into Brighid's arms. James chuckled as Scheherazade began to weave a story of James' 'abuses.' "The time for fun and games is over, James," Brighid said sternly to the handsome man as he leaned nonchalantly against a massive stalagmite. Her eyes flashed angrily, and it was plain to see that she was dead serious. James stepped away from the speleothem and replaced his smirk with a more solemn expression. "You're right, Lady Brighid," the charming rogue replied, glancing down at his strange watch. "We have arrived at exactly the correct time and place where all focus must be on ferreting out the magical stone that will restore some of us to our mostly normal former state of being, including the Pen. And it will be up to you, dear lady, to decide who will be helped...and who won't." No one had heard the silent approach of Alexander. "He's right, Brighid; you'll have to be the one to make that decision, and I know you'll choose wisely." Alex smiled reassuringly at his love, and Brighid couldn't help but feel her heart fill with dread, despite her relief at his safe return. "In the meantime, the coast is clear for our search. The rubber chicken broke ahead of the frog pack and is in hot pursuit of the dragonflies, and the amphibians -- once they disentangle themselves from the 'clog' the chicken created -- will be on his tail for quite some time." "So, we have some time, but we still don't know where to start the search," Brighid replied. "I think we do," Alex added. "Before the dragonflies descended upon us, I saw Ozymandias glance at a certain spot of the cavern floor when the wishing stone was mentioned. I believe he knew exactly where it's buried, and I think it's someplace close by."