hymn of
It haunts the Abbot in his darkest moments, the song of short lives and secrets.
you must go where I cannot
He doesn't know where the words come from, but they hit him like hammer blows late at night when the mist creeps through the window. It reminds him of Brendan, as all things do.
He kneels and prays over empty graves, hoping to hear some kind of answer, or at least for that damned song to end.
The song turns and twists into old words that Aidan used to speak and into his own thoughts-
And they clatter and howl and scream into a cacophony that slam and echo against the walls, which he beats until his fists are raw and red with blood.
The beats become the pulse of the song and of the people leaving the tower leaving Kells leaving him. And.
Brendan, Brendan, Brendan.
there is nothing in this life but mist
we're only here for a short while
Brendan is where Cellach cannot go. His life was short. So short.
He was only a boy.
He looks at the chalk designs and sees letters, and they spell out goodbye, Uncle.
x
The old Abbot's mad, they say to the stranger in a white cloak. Stay out here, with us. Bless his soul, he'll be gone soon enough.