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.It had evolved, over time, andbecome the countenance of a man of wisdom and kindness, the corners of his eyes crinkled with goodhumor.Always he had been there, smiling down from a great height: solid, dependable.The third face had altered, too.It had made its appearance on the edges of the lacuna left by the first,Page 291beginning as no more than a blur, an irritation to be dismissed, but evolving to be the sweet visage of alittle child: precious, cherished, a friend and companion, a marigold.Apple-blossoms reached over thechild's head.Petals drifted like snow.Small green fruits swelled and ripened on the boughs, like redlamps, and were gathered.Woman, man, child.A dream?A churning of thoughts, released by sleep, or, at last, some memory?   «»      «»      «»  For as long as she could remember, the rain had been drumming its impatient fingers.Seemingly it haddone so since time itself had begun but no, it had been raining only during the night, and now the nightwas over.Imrhien was lying on a straw pallet among blankets of white wool.There were bunches of herbs hangingfrom the rafters, a mortar and pestle on a low table, and a boy kneeling, building up the fire.He finishedhis task, glanced at her, and moved away.She raised herself on one elbow and saw, through narrowslits, Maeve One-Eye sitting in a chair, watching her.The beldame's shaggy bush of hair stuck out in alldirections like spikes of frost.Imrhien's face felt odd very peculiar indeed.It still itched, but not unbearably, and it tingled.Hercheeks were numb to the touch, and stiff; her eyes would not open properly."You will not feel a thing under all that mud," observed the carlin."I put it on you while you slept.Thatway, I knew you would, at least, not wriggle about.It is caked on thickly, and it has dried do not try tosmile you will find it impossible.All the way from Mount Baelfire it is, the blue mud that's the onlyplace in Erith you can get the really good stuff.You look a terrible sight, I can tell you.Once it hassoaked right into the poisoned areas, the mud will flake off of its own accord and take some of the badflesh with it.How longthatwill take, I cannot say it varies with each case.It might be one day or three,or ten, but you will not be able to eat while it is on, so I hope you are not hungry.Look in the glass, overthere by the window."Lightheaded, Imrhien stood up.Immediately the itching returned with redoubled force.The carlin's longmirror stood by the window.It was made of glass and silver, the frame wrought in the shapes of twininglilies and watermaidens with flowing hair.The surface gleamed like watersheen an eldritch-seeminglooking-glass.Imrhien viewed in it her reflection, tall and slender, dressed in the country garb of Rosedale.Her longhair cascaded free of the wimple, in ringlets and straight tresses, like skeins of tangled silk, framing amask with two slits for eyeholes.But the irritation of salt tears under the hardened mud was too much tobear, and she raised her hands to her face.Somehow she must find relief.Her fingers worried at themud-mask, and it came off in her hands.It lifted off in one entire piece.Beneath it, the face.   «»      «»      «»  Ah, the face.The lips formed such a perfect, rosy bow, as though painted upon the smooth, creamyPage 292peach of the skin.Clean-molded lines, high cheekbones, a softly rounded chin and small, neat nose, thesoft curve of the cheek, arched eyebrows, the great jewels of eyes, fringed with their sweepinglashes this was the face looking back at Imrhien from the glass.Scarcely knowing what was happening, not daring to believe, she touched that face with her fingertips,explored it all over, gently, and it did not disappear; only, color like roses flooded it, and the light ofmorning sprang into the eyes.The lump that had been sticking in her throat ever since she awokeexpanded painfully now.Was it beauty or homeliness that gazed out of the mirror's frame? She could not tell, for aestheticperception is subjective, and she habitually assumed the source of her own reflection was repugnant.Only, she knew that it was symmetrical and thus more acceptable than before.More acceptable thatwas all she had hoped for.By her side, Maeve One-Eye gently took the hollow mask of mud from the girl's frozen hand.The carlinhad been gazing in silence.She squinted, as if she perceived a bright light that hurt her eye or a sight shewould rather not have seen.Now she spoke."Well.This has worked a wonder.See you, lass? See you?"The lump broke apart.A force welled up and gushed forth."Yes.I see," softly Imrhien said.Some Ertish Words and Phrasesalainn capall dubh:beautiful black horseAmbarcaim!:Look there!chehrna:dear damselclahmor:terrible, tragic.cova donni:blind shotmandaruhshie:self-destructive fooldoch:damnedhreorig:ruinousinna shai tithen elion:we have lived the dayslorraly:in the natural ordermanscatha:wicked ravagerPage 293 mo:mymogaidair:my friendmo reigh:my prettymor scathacb:an unseelie rider that sticks to the shoulders of its prey, becoming as heavy as stone, andrides the life out of itobban tesh:an expletiveoghi ban Callanan:Callanan's eyespishogue:glamour; a spell of illusionsamrin:milksopSciobtha!:Hasten!scothy:mad, crazysgorrama:stupid (noun or adjective)shera sethge:poor, unfortunateskeerda:bad/devious personTo ocras orm! Tufaighim moran bia!:I am hungry! I need a lot of food!tambalai:belovedtien eun:little oneuhta:the hour before sunriseuraguhne:despicable scumA Short Pronunciation GuideBaobansith:baavan sheeBuggane:bug airnCuachag:cooachackEach Uisge:ech-ooshkyaFuath: foo-aPage 294 Gwragedd Annwn:gwrageth anoonAcknowledgmentsMuch research has gone into portraying wights as "accurately" as possible that is, true to theirtraditional folk origins.It has been a joy to rescue the early written records of these traditions from thecobwebby darkness of out-of-printness.By weaving them into my tale, I hope to bring them into the lightof the twenty-first century, as they deserve.The Each Uisge and the Water-Bull:Inspired byPopular Tales of the West Highlands,by J.F.Campbell.Alexander, Gardner, Paisley and London, 1890-93.The Duergar:Inspired byFolk-Tales of the North Country, by F.Grice.Nelson, London and Edinburgh,1944.The Beulach Beast:Inspired by "The Biasd Bheulach" inWitchcraft and the Second Sight in the Highlandsand Islands of Scotland,by J.G.Campbell.MacLehose, Glasgow, 1902.The Buggane:Inspired byA Manx Scrapbook, by Walter Gill.Arrowsmith, London, 1929.The Trathley Kow:Inspired by "The Hedley Kow" inFolk-Lore of the Northern Counties, by WilliamHenderson.Folk-Lore Society, London, 1879.Cobie Will and the Sleepers:Inspired byThe Denham Tracts, edited by James Hardy.Folk-LoreSociety, London, 1892.The Lake Cow:Come thou, Einion's Yellow One,Stray-horns, The Parti-coloured Lake Cow,And the hornless Dodin,Arise, come home.Sourced fromThe Four Ancient Books of Wales, by W F.Skene.Edmonston & Douglas, Edinburgh,1868.The Pipes Leantainn:Inspired by "The Friar and the Boy," by W [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]