Would you like to hear a story? This is a story that came to me one day whilst standing in the rain enjoying the drops falling on my face. I went into a sort of trance and started whispering words that turned into a story that was told through me from start to finish. It's a sad story, it's a very sad story, it's also a long story, are you sure you want to hear it? It's about Gods from along time ago and how they became Dragons. The good part is, even though it's a sad story there is still a chance for it to change, if you want it to. Here's my story:
A long long time ago the Gods and men lived on this world together, you see the Gods are full of light which makes them shiny and for us Humans they are difficult to look at. The Gods knew this so they went out of their way to take a form that would be comfortable for us to look at. Gods and Humans had lots to talk about to each other back then, they shared a world together and liked each other very much.
There were two Gods, that were really really bright. They had tried for years to communicate with the Humans but couldn't quite get the right form. These two Gods were Husband and Wife and were called Crom and Corra. Crom and Corra had tried lots of different bodies, but none of them fitted. The first they tried was the most obvious human form, but they were way to big in their brightness and the human bodies didn't fit, then they tried appearing to the humans in different animal forms, Crom and Corra then took on the form of wolves. They enjoyed their time as wolves, running with the pack, howling to the moon, but they found that not every human enjoys the company of wolves and only a few people were brave enough to talk to them, most people showed fear when they appeared. They tried the Horse next, a regal and beautiful creature but still they didn't quite fit.
In a conversation one day with one of the older Gods, they discussed their predicament. The old God asked the pair if they had tried the Dragon yet. Thousands of years ago the Dragon was very popular with the humans but it went out of fashion and now the Humans today do not know of it.
So Crom and Corra decided to try out the Dragon form.
Well, they liked it very much. They had great fun flying high in the sky and they found they could travel quite easily through the seas and deep under land. The only thing left was to see if they could talk with the Humans in this new and wonderful shape.
They flew over the West coast of Ireland, and as they flew lower, they saw a Rath with a lot of people moving around, tending to animals and looking after their homes and each other. Crom and Corra flew a little closer. In the centre of the enclosure, the elder of the clan was preparing the evening's gathering fire. He was just about to strike the steel on the flint when he sensed the shift in light above him. He looked up and gasped. He didn't know what he was looking at, He called out so that one by one all the people of the clan stopped what they were doing and looked up. Complete silence, but no fear. The humans had never seen such great beasts before, they did not feel in danger and looked in wonder at the spiraling forms above them.
Crom and Corra decided to go for it, they flew lower and lower and landed gracefully in the centre of the Rath, in front of the clan elder. They took a moment to take in their surroundings. People from all over the Rath started to gather at the central fire pit. When the whole clan had gathered, the elder stepped forward towards these two great creatures. He looked to them, and they to him, then Crom and Corra bowed their heads to the Elder in a sign of respect. The elderly man recognised this gesture and he bowed in response. ''You are welcome to our Rath.'' Thank you'' replied Corra, ''I am Corra and this is my husband Crom.'' The old man nodded, ''I was just about to light the evening fire, would you care to join us?''.''We would be honoured, may I help you with the fire?''
As was the custom in Ireland at that time, if visiting another clan or household you would bring a gift, Corra offered a gift to the fire. Very gently and very gracefully Corra lowered and extended her head towards the fire pit, and with a gentle breath she exhaled a breath of fire and ignited the sticks and logs in one go.
Well the gathered crowd thought this was amazing and a big cheer erupted from them. The old man called to his wives and children, let us have a feast to honor our guests. And so that night there was a great party, Crom and Corra took part in all the festivities, singing and sharing stories with the Humans. And like all good Irish parties, it went on late into the night, some people drifted off to sleep in their own houses but most fell asleep around the fire, happy to still be part of the party even if they couldn't stay awake any longer. When morning came, the old man woke in his place by the fire, he moved to the embers, still glowing but no flames. He moved aside some of the ash, pushed together some of the embers and took his blow pipe out, but, before he helped the fire back to life, he looked to the sleeping Dragons, then whispered softly to the fire, ''I relight you in honour of Crom and Corra.''
Corra, heard this, she opened one eye and looked to the Human relighting the fire, in burst easily into flames.
Corra and Crom stood up. They told the elder that they must go and look for a place to live, a place to call home. The old man pointed to the Great mountain to the north of the Rath. He said ''there is a great cave up there. From there you can see this Rath. I will tell the other Tribes, that you are living there, I will tell them of your love and kindness, I will tell them your names.''
The Dragons, nodded, and invited the Humans to visit them in their new home. ''We offer you love, respect and protection. The elder of the tribe nodded and he replied, ''the men, women and children of this land offer you love, respect and protection in return. Your names will be remembered and we will visit you often.''
And so the Dragons set off for the mountain, and the human set off for the next Rath to share his experience and to let the others know that they could visit Crom and Corra for themselves and see their beauty and kindness.
And a tradition began........
Hear more by the fireside on the eve of the Summer Solstice at Temple Crom
There were two Gods, that were really really bright. They had tried for years to communicate with the Humans but couldn't quite get the right form. These two Gods were Husband and Wife and were called Crom and Corra. Crom and Corra had tried lots of different bodies, but none of them fitted. The first they tried was the most obvious human form, but they were way to big in their brightness and the human bodies didn't fit, then they tried appearing to the humans in different animal forms, Crom and Corra then took on the form of wolves. They enjoyed their time as wolves, running with the pack, howling to the moon, but they found that not every human enjoys the company of wolves and only a few people were brave enough to talk to them, most people showed fear when they appeared. They tried the Horse next, a regal and beautiful creature but still they didn't quite fit.
In a conversation one day with one of the older Gods, they discussed their predicament. The old God asked the pair if they had tried the Dragon yet. Thousands of years ago the Dragon was very popular with the humans but it went out of fashion and now the Humans today do not know of it.
So Crom and Corra decided to try out the Dragon form.
Well, they liked it very much. They had great fun flying high in the sky and they found they could travel quite easily through the seas and deep under land. The only thing left was to see if they could talk with the Humans in this new and wonderful shape.
They flew over the West coast of Ireland, and as they flew lower, they saw a Rath with a lot of people moving around, tending to animals and looking after their homes and each other. Crom and Corra flew a little closer. In the centre of the enclosure, the elder of the clan was preparing the evening's gathering fire. He was just about to strike the steel on the flint when he sensed the shift in light above him. He looked up and gasped. He didn't know what he was looking at, He called out so that one by one all the people of the clan stopped what they were doing and looked up. Complete silence, but no fear. The humans had never seen such great beasts before, they did not feel in danger and looked in wonder at the spiraling forms above them.
Crom and Corra decided to go for it, they flew lower and lower and landed gracefully in the centre of the Rath, in front of the clan elder. They took a moment to take in their surroundings. People from all over the Rath started to gather at the central fire pit. When the whole clan had gathered, the elder stepped forward towards these two great creatures. He looked to them, and they to him, then Crom and Corra bowed their heads to the Elder in a sign of respect. The elderly man recognised this gesture and he bowed in response. ''You are welcome to our Rath.'' Thank you'' replied Corra, ''I am Corra and this is my husband Crom.'' The old man nodded, ''I was just about to light the evening fire, would you care to join us?''.''We would be honoured, may I help you with the fire?''
As was the custom in Ireland at that time, if visiting another clan or household you would bring a gift, Corra offered a gift to the fire. Very gently and very gracefully Corra lowered and extended her head towards the fire pit, and with a gentle breath she exhaled a breath of fire and ignited the sticks and logs in one go.
Well the gathered crowd thought this was amazing and a big cheer erupted from them. The old man called to his wives and children, let us have a feast to honor our guests. And so that night there was a great party, Crom and Corra took part in all the festivities, singing and sharing stories with the Humans. And like all good Irish parties, it went on late into the night, some people drifted off to sleep in their own houses but most fell asleep around the fire, happy to still be part of the party even if they couldn't stay awake any longer. When morning came, the old man woke in his place by the fire, he moved to the embers, still glowing but no flames. He moved aside some of the ash, pushed together some of the embers and took his blow pipe out, but, before he helped the fire back to life, he looked to the sleeping Dragons, then whispered softly to the fire, ''I relight you in honour of Crom and Corra.''
Corra, heard this, she opened one eye and looked to the Human relighting the fire, in burst easily into flames.
Corra and Crom stood up. They told the elder that they must go and look for a place to live, a place to call home. The old man pointed to the Great mountain to the north of the Rath. He said ''there is a great cave up there. From there you can see this Rath. I will tell the other Tribes, that you are living there, I will tell them of your love and kindness, I will tell them your names.''
The Dragons, nodded, and invited the Humans to visit them in their new home. ''We offer you love, respect and protection. The elder of the tribe nodded and he replied, ''the men, women and children of this land offer you love, respect and protection in return. Your names will be remembered and we will visit you often.''
And so the Dragons set off for the mountain, and the human set off for the next Rath to share his experience and to let the others know that they could visit Crom and Corra for themselves and see their beauty and kindness.
And a tradition began........
Hear more by the fireside on the eve of the Summer Solstice at Temple Crom
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