Brigid was born in the twenty-five-hundred-seventy-eighth year of the calendar,
some seven days after the autumnal equinox--or, to put it in more common terminology,
September twenty-ninth of the year 1226. She was born in the home of her family
six miles from Belfasttown to her father, Liam of the Bright Hand, Lord of
Ulster and his wife, Arian.
As with all Danaan of her station, Brigid was raised to grow up swiftly, her
tutoring beginning sharply at the age of twenty and continuing for a good
century. Archery, swordsmanship, diplomacy, history, command. These were the
things taught her; as thirdborn, she would not inherit, but she would be invaluable
as one of her elder brother's warleaders and envoys.
Among her earliest memories was the last Crusade against Eire, in the third
quarter of the thirteenth century, and this shaped much of her perception
even as it did the perceptions of her father. She strived to excel, to be
the best at everything, a spirit of competition appreciated among the Danaan
people. The arrival of Christianity on the shores of Eire shortly after the
Crusade's conclusion was expected, and the Danaan informed the missionaries
with reasoned--and cautious--tones that Christianity would be permitted it's
place upon the emerald isle, provided the Christians lived peaceably with
the Danaan and respected Danaan beliefs.
When Brigid was old enough, her Father took her riding one day.
"Brigid, my Daughter, it will soon be time for you to go," he told
her. "You are four-and-one-twenty summers. Yes, it is time."
"Father, what is it like in the outside world?" Brigid asked.
"It is wondrous. Beyond Eire lies Alba, to the east, a land of Christians.
Beyond Alba, many lands of great majesty and terrible power, many folk of
heart, good and ill. I shall say no more, save this: watch and be wary always
of the dark ones, the children of the Fomor and the dark brethren. These are
dangerous, all of them, whether they have an ill look or not."
"Are they followers of the Unnamed God?" The Unnamed God, the Horned
One, Great Lord of the Hunt, has always been a force of evil and darkness
in the world.
"Some, yes. Many are not, and many others are, but are not aware of such.
Talk if they offer peace, seek always a path free of blood, but fight when
it is time to do so. You know how."
"Yes, Father." Brigid bowed her head. "I will honor you."
"My Daughter, go with your heart, not mine," Liam said with a wistful
smile. "You have already done great honor to me."
Brigid smiled, as her Father had done.
"Make for Scotland, or for Wales; these lands are still somewhat friendly
to followers of the Old Ways." These are also the northmost and westmost
lands of Alba.
Thus it was that Brigid set out south from Ulster for.
Upon reaching the southern coast of Eire, Brigid hired a ferryman to take
her across to Alba, to the port town Daffyd, where she obtained lodging at
the Dancing Man (I do highly recommend this inn/tavern, for the food is of
excellent quality and the company most agreeable!) and encountered the Scotswoman
Phiona MacPherson and the halfling sorcerer Milo ap Twyssel. Together, they
set out east, eventually arriving at Devonshiretown, and have since undertaken
many an adventure, from clearing out Unseelie from ancient Roman crypts, to
competing in tournaments of arms, to tracking down renegade knights as agents
of the English Crown.
Now, for Brigid, the time approaches when all her training and all her experiences
will come to the fore, the time when she must return to Eire to undertake
her Test and Rite of Maturation.
Brigid's Considerations of her Friends:
Father Milo ap Twyssel: Milo is the driving force, enthusiastic to do the work of God and full of fire and life. Though he and Brigid have disagreed on dogma, they both recognize the quality and necessity of Works Good and True, and the shared following of this Path of Right is what Brigid considers the true bond between them.
Gwendolyn ap Gwydion: This most recent of companions seemed at first at a loss, but she has shown herself to be canny, cunning, and of good intent. Gwen seems to waver occasionally, but is sure enough to let it only be for a moment.
Phiona MacPherson: A great and passionate woman, strong of body and soul.
When Phiona undertakes a task, she never undertakes it by halves; she either
throws herself wholly into its fruition, or she does not engage in it. Her
will is as strong as her body, and she is quite as sure as Milo about the
correctness of action.