The singing stones

he who hears the stones

My poor brother will not last much longer, the gods have favoured him so they want him back but he has clung on for three years of his life even though his wasn't born right he cannot walk or eat by himself or shed his water on his owen but he is precise his name is calf he is pulled on a sled behind me wrapped in the skin of a whight calf the top of his head glitters a little as the cooper cap on the top of his head stops his soul escapeing, he sings to himself and calls out directions he says the gods have chosen a place where we can be closer to them in the heart of winter and the soul of summer.

me and my priest and priestess have walked along ways from our home suddenly we see it a in the distance and even from here I can here its voice I call over yarrow "look to calf" and I drop the ropes of the sled and run, the stone's voice gets louder it is the loudest voice I have ever heard, deep as a mountain stream as wise as the raven but as sad as nightingale, the stone is mighty and stands alone apart from everything but by its foot lays a dead deer and a dead cow, the flesh long since gone as food for the gods I reach for it the singing gets louder then as I touch its rough lichen covered sides I am transported to the world of the dead they huddle nearby at the feet of the doorkeeper, he had the head of an owl and the body of a man.

He sang "we need a route through we are trapped here, your brother is the key" the world tilted and the keeper soared wings sprouting from his back he held sparrowhawks hand and they flew to a nearby hill there was two circles of ornate totems and in the center a small sarsen stone they dropped under it and there lay his brother his tiny child body curled in a ball a serene smile on his lipless mouth from his chest erupted a gate from it rushed a mighty raven and a it trailed a brillent yellow light the dead flocked to him as brillent birds singing. He flew with them awhile then felt a tightening of his chest and he was plunged back into his body.

the others had caught up and he told them about all he had seen they set up camp a little way from the stone and they prepared the salted beef by adding it to boiling water and wolf one of the three hunters that had joined them went hunting and caught a brace massive pheasant like birds.

they ate and told stories and songs then they curled up on thick furs and slept as dawn broke calf began to whimper and shake he was sick and blood dribbled from his unformed mouth he said need to leave sparrowhawk gently lifted the small stick like figure to his chest and rocked him as his weak heart fluttered like a trapped bird his breathing became ragged and bruises bloomed on his skin then with a massive seizure and primal scream of pain calf deid, blood and faecal matter cover his wrappings.

sparrowhawk let out a keen of sadness and tucked his still form tighter to his chest, the rest made a circle with their backs to him with linked arms and yarrow led the song of the dead as a hunter named ox beat a small drum they swayed around the brothers and slowly danced to the river the circle broke part makeing a small gap the stone singer walked into the chilly waters up to his chest he gentlly unwrapped the small child and washed him clean,then placed his tiny body on the shore, he washed his clothes and his brothers wrappings clean, then he carried him back to the camp he lay him on his sled and he sent a young acylote fern and wolf the hunter to travel back to his father and tell them all that had happened. Then he and the rest of the priests and priestess set up a sweat lodge and built a fire useing hemlock belladonna and mulberry soon they fell into a trance following the Sprite guides of raven and wolf soon they where had got to the stone that he had seen in his vision while the priest and priestess sang and danced a flew through the stars ox and bear went and cut reeds and willows they blessed each I the water the carried them and started to.weave them around the sled upon witch calves wrapped body lay.

then picked sweet smelling herbs and bright flowers which they weaved into garlands and and wrapped them around the small body then they took wet clay and covered the body in it to.preserve it for transport then bear made a spear a dagger and a bow with iron heads the bow was willow and ornately carved he tucked them around the body theh they stood guard as night fell.bear went fishing and ox stoked the fire seeped nettles mountains dandelion root in the earthen pot.

Meanwhile fern and wolf ran free of burdens for fourteen days until they came to the foot of Preseli mountains
Just as Dawn was breaking they came upon large village they called home, as they approached the frist ditch six large black man with brilliant blue eyes dressed in heavy boiled leather tunics and trews painted ornately and ilk bs of air dried oak and long curved blade javelin blocked there path, but as soon as they called out in welsh and got closer the men dropped there menacing stance and embraced them the tallest who was 5'11 tall as we was broad saying "welcome home did you find what you where looking for" fern smiled "yes bron yes! But we have good news and ill" summon the village to the meeting stone" bro took out a long arnochs horn and below it the deep note reverberated across the ditch and surged up the second as the men hurried into the village useing the woven bridges the note vibrates across the whole settlement as they ran through the village to the large 20 foot high blue stone that the village was built around the hamered on doors as they passed and bron sounded his horn, soon they reached the stone and where met by Mason blue stone and his young wife willow with the twins mica and lime in papousses on her hips her chest was bare and she wore a pair of pearl collars studded with chips of obsidian and tigers eye, her skin a deep mahogany her hair as black as a blackbirds wing, on her bottom half was a heml skirt that fell to floor it was died indigo and her bare feet where covered in henna tattoos

mason blue stone was slight but muscular short the his wife with wiry greying hair and bread he wore a beaded tunic of soft ochre coloured kid leather and trousers of rabbit fur his feet where bare he stood on smooth boulder his mammoth ivory spear in one hand and big bronze hammer in the other,the hunter and the acloyt but there Frist over there heart as was the custom when greeting the cheiften he said in a raspy voice like gravel in a stream come brothers "what news" he sat on the boulder he passed the hammer to his wife who took it and sat beside him unwrapped the twins and they curled up.on her lap playing with her necklaces and cooing to themselves,fern and wolf sat on the ground below the boulder and fern said "Mason blue stone your second son is dead, but the stone singer saw a gateway for the dead for they are trapped not in this world or through the other the keeper protects them but he grows weary so the gods have taken calf as there gateway,he has been told where to place him and where to create a door of the dyeing of the year and its rebirth,the gods of hearth and home have spoken to me ad we traveled bearing these tidings and we need to bring our village to the Sight they will show me, as I believe it will be bountiful but I know not wolf knows better of the ways of the beasts fern fell silent and wolf spoke "what is said is true I dreamt of massive herds of bison, horse, around that place they
travel and live in the grassland there and in the winter mammoth and rhinoceros will pass that way heading for the icy tundra to the south it is a good place also many people travel that way good trading and new blood it is good" mason called you have heard do any know any more?" A grizzled old man known as uncle said "we lived there when we where young it is a good place" there where murmers of ascent from the older generation until Mason raised his hand "it is settled we shall go to this new place, mole, meadow, wolf and wasp and leech bring your bevies to my lodge when the sun is high, we must discuss further the rest of you harvest, hunt, live we leave in two moon cycles from today" the gathering broke up with excited chatter.