~:. Hands of Awen .:~
All great stories are known by that opening catchphrase... "Once upon a time," it marks the heroes and deeds that take their own string of fate from the loom of life, and follow it to its end. That is a mark of heroes and heroines alike. To follow their thread in the loom to overcome great obstacles and make their deeds known through the admiration of those around them. While this story may not contain such a loverly opening, it makes the person within ... no less a heroine.
Many Yuri's ago, when the forests that stand today were mere shadows of themselves, there lived a young woman. She was not particularly beautiful, nor was she particularly gifted with words. Wearing robes that had been patched and repatched, with a hat that looked dented, dinged and tarnished ... it seemed that there wasn't much to catch the eyes at all.
There would be a moment, when the gaze was affixed, they would notice a most marvelous thing about her however. No matter where she walked, or how she moved, the wind seemed to follow her very presence. It was a marvelous thing to see indeed, though how this was accomplished when I first saw it, I could've told you not. I sat for many an hour, watching this dance, listening to her whisper to the breezes themselves. Stunned and amazed, those are poor words for what I felt, for indeed she had gifts far beyond my own. It came then, a whisper from others who traversed the same wood path as I, that the lady who basked in nature's delights was a Druid.
A druid! though I, as I wondered that same path day after day, wondering what in creation was that? I'd heard of their kind, but never thought to see such a thing in my early days of wandering the kingdoms. Though truth be told, I'd never sought their company as I had her's, for when she laughed it was as though the earth laughed with her, and when she cried, the streams swelled with her tears. It was something beyond my understanding then, what a druid might be.
Intrigued beyond belief, I found an old librarian near the palace, who had a scroll with much information on these druids. I delved into the tomes of the earth, and began to understand what it meant to be a druid. I spent many a day pouring over those old scrolls, reading with amazement the ways and beliefs of those who walked the kingdoms. Then it came one day, I heard a familiar breeze, and followed it to Dae shore and there I found a gathering of druids! Their words called forth the elements to their aide, and they unlocked each key from the trigram, til an opening shone forth in the middle, and volunteers were called forth to cross to the other side. People came forward, first the brave, then the glory seekers, and finally those who were invited by wraiths from the beyond. They disappeared, one by one, til only I stood, watching the druids before they disappeared. A most strange sight as I never thought to behold!
When the next day I awoke, I found a scroll being held by a raven waiting for my eyes to open. As I took the scroll and followed it's directions, I found myself once again in that open clearing with the lady who danced with the elements. She smiled and said softly, "My name is Kirya Naru, and we've been waiting for you, druid." I was most confused for surely I was no druid, but as I thought about it, she indeed smiled and nodded again as a brighter life began to open to me, and with her quiet strength and wisdom, guided me home that day to the druid circle.
She may not have known then, but I still reside in the circle today. She has long since left these lands to travel further then I will ever know. I still hear her quiet laughter in the breeze and her strength in the earth. I've followed my thread now, to life's end, because she helped me find my way.
**In memory of KiryaNaru... amazing friend and guide.**
Written by Lashalla Ashling Kane
KiryaNaru was a Druid of great beauty. She was kind, loving and delicate; most of all, she was my Guide. The Yuries passed had brought us into the late 40s, and I was a young Poet looking for a family. When I spoke to a Druid about my ambition to be one, I was told I would soon hear from another, her name was KiryaNaru.
I didn't know her; I didn't know her warmth, her poise or her smile, but I knew that she was willing to help me become who I really was. When we met in the Sacred Grove, I told her about my studies of nature, observing the hurried population trample over innocent bunnies in the Buya pass to Vale. She smiled and assured me that those people
should not be condemned, but pitied, for they do not know the Awen of which they were destroying.
It was a beautiful evening; the Sun was setting ahead in the vast red sky and Kirya invited me to meet her in the Wilderness. Here, she asked me to pick any flower I liked, and to find a suitable place for it to be planted with her. Take the Poppy from her hand, I found an area of lush soil around flowers of its own and set the flower in the Earth. She smiled, nodded and took my hand.
Walking through the wilderness I knew not where she was taking me, but the soft touch of her hand assured me I had nothing to fear. Finally, we came to a stop, aside some bushed. With her soft voice she spoke to me, telling me she wanted to show me where she wanted to plant her special flower. Asking me to follow her into the bush, to her
chosen place, I was taken into the circle, my title, now a Druid. With open arms she accepted me into her family, and KiryaNaru became the Mystic that showed me where my home was.
Written by HaLuciN