The Tale of the Grandson of Mor'du
"Merida, how many times have I told you? You need to wake up early as the princess." Her mother scolded her this morning, like every morning, as she neatly hung the curtains. The golden rays illuminated the room while Merida rubbed her eyes.
For some odd reason, she had a dream from her childhood. It was the day when she met a very tall and lean lad, clad in a navy blue and black tartan robe, a leather armor protecting his chest, and a black linen woven into a belt to hold his long swords. She remembered him for a very long time because he looked very different than the men from her mighty clan. Unlike most Scottish men, his skin was much tanned as if he spent most of his days in the wilderness and his wavy black hair was tied loosely. However, the feature that she remembered the most were his eyes. They were pitch black, but they lit brightly with ferocity, pride, and strength. Those eyes peered into hers as if he could see everything.
She remembered those haunting eyes for many weeks. Of course that wasn't a long period of time, but for a young child, weeks seemed like eternity. She hadn't thought of him for several years, but this morning, she did remember his handsome face. But what was his name again? She couldn't recall.
She asked her mother, "Mum, do you remember the day I met the Will-O' the Wisps for the first time?"
Queen Elinor replied, "Of course, I do. It was your birthday!"
Merida cautiously asked her mother as she slowly got out of bed. "Was there a lad there?"
Her mother's lips thinned which was never a good sign from her experience. Nevertheless, her mother answered, "There was a lad and he is the one who saved your father that day from that hideous beast!"
As the princess was making her bed, she stopped and frowned. She knew of her father's legendary battle with Mor'du. For her and her mother's sake, her father stayed behind to fight the bear. He fought bravely, though he did lose one of his legs to the beast. It was the story everybody knew of, including herself. There was no mention of a boy who saved the king's life.
For some reason, she felt a pang of anger as she flared, "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
The Queen calmly said, "Merida, a princess does not raise her voice. And you never asked about this lad."
Merida asked, "Do you remember his name?"
Elinor replied, "Your father and I wanted to know who he was, but the young lad chased off Mor'du into the woods. Then he never returned. So we never knew of his name. That was all there was to it. It doesn't need any further questioning. Now. You need to go study. A princess must be wise and knowledgeable about her own nation. Meanwhile, I must go send some important letters."
Merida heaved a long sigh. Clearly her mother had no interest in continuing their discussion and whatever her mother had to do was not of her interest.
Meanwhile, in a small village, another mother came running out of her small wooden house. She ran out to greet her son who only came to visit their village once every new moon. It didn't please her as she missed her son dearly. However, she couldn't complain as her son was the leader of their clan and he had his own duty to vanquish the evil bear. It worried her greatly and each time he mounted his stallion. She would smile bitterly and try not to shed a tear as he kissed her on the cheek before softly kicking the horse to move forward. However, today wouldn't be such a lonesome day since he would soon arrive.
She waited at the gates, which was made of large boulders, along with the others. There was no doubt that they also wished to meet their young lord. He had been gone for a very long time. They waited for half an hour until they saw a young man charging across the slopes with his black mount. The people cheered to see him safe and his mother ran a couple of steps forward until Kailen and his horse, Trahern. He quickly jumped off Trahern as the horse slowed his speed and ran up to his beloved mother.
The young man smiled gently and embraced her. He said, "I have returned, Mother."
She looked up at her only son who had become to resemble his deceased father. He was a very handsome young man. Kailen was now seventeen years of age. He was now much taller than her and he had grown a short beard and muscular.
She softly answered, "Welcome home, love."
It was always a relief to have him return home. Despite his age, he had become a wonderful leader for the clan. She did not know how Kailen felt whenever he returned to their village, but she knew that he did it for her sake and for his people. Kailen would come to check the state of his clan and to reassure his mother. It was something his father never did due to the obsession of slaying Mor'du. It was something that wounded not only Kailen, but her as well.
She remembered the events which followed after her husband's death. It all began during the winter of seven years ago. Kailen's father went to hunt after his own father during the fall. Then he never returned even after the season had changed and fresh snow started to cover the mountains. It was very ominous and strange so their men went to find Lord Abernathy. They found him long dead in the woods by the frozen lake. The news made her fall to her knees and weep on the floor. Then she feared over her son as the rest of the clan began to look at Kailen as the next prophet to kill his own grandfather.
It was a horrid thought, but everyone pointed at the boy, crying it was his destined fate. Kailen was their new leader of the Abernathy Clan. She was helpless to prevent or change the fate. It was her duty to educate her son of their shameful past while the men took their turns to train him to be fit to fight the monster. The lad was already talented, but he was quickly forced to become the best by the time he turned the age of twelve.
Thus, he inherited the title as Lord Abernathy at the age of twelve and began his journey to battle the bear. During the search, he also decided to build a small village for their clan to stay. Of course, they have adopted the nomadic lifestyle over the years, but he argued that they still needed a temporal home. They were free to hunt, travel, and trade, wherever they pleased. However, if they needed shelter or help, they were always welcome to stay at the village.
To start this project, Kailen had traveled across the country to deliver the news to his people. It wasn't a popular idea at the beginning as they already had a homeland- a homeland which was lost, but still theirs. Nevertheless, Kailen and some families united to built a small village at the foot of the mountain where there was a vast plain on the horizon, mighty mountains behind to shield them, and a thick forest around them to keep invaders out. Their environment allowed them to hunt in the woods and the mountains while fishing by the riversides in the plains. Over the years, nearly all of members came and took refuge with the others. Indeed, it was a huge accomplishment that nobody had dreamed of.
This earned Kailen everyone's respect and admiration. He proved himself to be a fit leader of their clan and the people adored him wholeheartedly. It was evident as everyone eagerly welcomed him at the foot of the gate. Men and women all hugged him while Kailen picked up the children one by one. It made Lady Abernathy's heart swell with pride. Yes, he had become a wonderful man.
It was only after the sun had set, their village truly turned festive. All the men went to hunt hares and deers while the women cooked a variety of dishes. By dinner time, the long table was overflowing with shortbreads, haggis, stovies, dried and fresh fruits, along with freshly picked nuts. It was a grand feast for everybody to enjoy. The burning hearth also made the atmosphere more lovely.
Kailen was seated as the head of the table while the rest of the men sat along the side of the table. They would discuss the affair of their village. Then they would laugh as the young lasses, the daughters of the men, dance and sing for their entertainment. Meanwhile the young lads would play fight with their wooden swords and wrestle with each other near the fire until their mothers would come and scold them.
It was during the meal when one of the man asked, "Lord Abernathy, how has your conquest been this month?"
Kailen gulped down the content of his goblet and looked up at the curious men and women. Of course, they would be delighted to hear that he had finally managed to kill Mor'du, but it was no easy task. Unable to give the desired response, he answered, "It was sixteen days ago when I faced the monster. I managed to wound the beast, but it was not fatal... and Mor'du also managed to wound me this time."
He stood and revealed his left shoulder which was carefully wrapped with bandages. Kailen slowly removed them to show a horrid gash which ran down up to his chest. It was healing, but there was still some rawness remaining. It was a sight which made most of the men cringe and the women to hustle the children out of the large house. Nobody uttered a word and neither did Kailen because they all sensed the disappointment lingering in the air. It was another month of failure and another wound for Kailen.
Then another man spoke up, "Lord Abernathy, this may sound like a poor advice, but why not seek help from Lord Fergus?"
At his words, most men immediately hissed in disapproval. One shouted, "Do you have no faith in Lord Abernathy? He can slay Mor'du on his own! It's his destiny!"
Another cried, "The reason why we remain secluded is because other clans blame ours for splitting the country! If they knew Lord Abernathy is the grandson of Mor'du, they would undoubtedly harm him!"
The third shouted, "In fact, Lord Abernathy should be the current King of Scotland! He has the lineage which shows that he is the true heir to the throne!"
More men rumbled indistinguishable angry shouts. Kailen sat and watch the men shout at each other while he remained mute in thought. He have heard lots of legends circulating around the man. He have also met the man several years ago. It was the first year he started to track after Mor'du. He had followed the Will-O the Wisp and met a young lass with fiery hair. The princess of Scotland, he scoffed.
How surprised he was to watch Mor'du stalk after the lass and then attack an innocent family. Admittedly, he was terrified when he laid eyes on his grandfather for the first time in his life. He had heard that he was massive and vicious. However, Mor'du was three times bigger than an average man and twice as tall. His claws and teeth were sharp and large as spearheads and when the monster roared, it even made the ground tremble with fear.
He stalled while the red-headed warrior roared back and charged towards the monster fearlessly. It was only after his grandfather sank his teeth into the man's leg, Kailen found enough rage to charge out of the forest with his swords ready to swing down upon the bear. When Lord Fergus cried in great agony, Kailen could only see an image of his father dying alone. Even though Lord Fergus lost to his grandfather that time, it was the only time Kailen met a man brave enough to fight the monster.
Throughout the chaotic dispute, he heard his mother say something. So he shouted, "Silence!"
At once, the room became silent and all the men stared at him. Then his mother said, "The Queen has sent out invitations to the nobles several days ago, including ours."
Kailen frowned and said, "What do you mean, mother?"
His mother replied, "It is presumable that she sent ours by chance."
He asked, "What did the letter say?"
She answered, "It's time for her daughter to get married so she sent out a letter to every noble families throughout the country. Our name is considered to be a mere legend. Still the woman sent one to us. You are a possible candidate to be her daughter's future husband."
One of the men said, "It could be a way to get close to Lord Fergus."
Second said, "A way for our clan to become royalty again."
Third said, "This may be a golden opportunity."
Everyone gawked at Kailen and he then asked, "So everyone believes this is a good choice? For me to attend this senseless competition."
Slowly, nearly everybody nodded their heads. Then Kailen said, "If I am to go, nearly all of the warriors will come with me. A few will remain to protect the village. We will go as a clan, show our pride and integrity as a noble clan. Is this something everyone will agree to?"
All the male members said, "Aye. Anything for our clan and you, our Lord."
Kailen crossed his arms and stared at them. Then he replied, "Prepare the mounts."
He would go and meet the current Royal Family as Lord Abernathy.