My friends, I am very proud to present:
The Younglings of Dunnottar!
Merri Speaks
I am Merri of the
Younglings of Dunnottar
My path lies before me
And the choosing is my own
to make
Will I be warrior?
Will I be scholar?
Will I be artisan?
Weaver?
Horse-master?
Farmer?
Tender of herds and
flocks?
Trader?
Medic?
Law-keeper?
The paths are many and all
are open to me
I must choose
Soon
The other younglings will
perhaps guide me
I hope so
We, each and all of us,
have choices to make
And so we help one another
to make them
We are the Younglings of
Dunnottar
And we will choose and set
our own path
Together
Always
Diann Speaks
I am Diann of the
Younglings of Dunnottar
Although born to the
Alamanni, kin to those here,
And my grey eyes and
straight blonde hair show that,
It is here on Dunnottar my
family has found safety and training for me
I am a kin-fosterling of
Dunnottar
But among the Younglings
of Dunnottar I am at home
We are a family here
My path is that of Healing
Sass and Saille spend
much time teaching me needful things
I learn also with the rest
of the younglings many other needful things
Our life is filled with
learning
And fun
Laughter rings about us
Love surrounds us always
It is good
It is good to be here and
I am happy
I am very happy to be one
of the Younglings of Dunnottar
It is forever
Nothing will part us
Ever
Corrbed Speaks
I am Corrbed of the
Younglings of Dunnottar
To me is given the path of
scholarship
To Dunnottar have I come
as a kin-fosterling
For safety and training
From the high mountains of
Andorra
Between Gaul and Iberia
My dark eyes and dark
curly hair speak of my homeland
Yet here on Dunnottar am I
also at home
Among the younglings have
I found brothers and sisters
We will one day be parted
When I return to teach the
younglings of Andorra
But we the Younglings of
Dunnottar will forever be as one
Know this
We will be always true to
one another
We will never let each
other go
Always
Never
Such eternal words
And so we are eternal, the
Younglings of Dunnottar
Dothann Speaks
I am Dothann of the
Younglings of Dunnottar
The blood of the Old Ones
runs strong in my veins
Through my mother who is
Alianora of Dunnottar
Like her I am small with
their dark hair and big brown eyes
Some say it is from them
that I have the curiosity and courage of me
That I don’t know nor do I
much care
Life is today
Not yesterday
Nor tomorrow
Today
And there is much to
explore in this day
Much to seek and to find
We the Younglings of
Dunnottar seek and find
It’s what we do
And we do it together
Always
Brann Speaks
I am Brann of the
Younglings of Dunnottar
These my brothers and
sisters make me laugh often
They sometimes also bring
tears
My father died before my
birth so I never met him
But I have Kalann and the
others to parent me
To me have been given the
blond hair and green eyes of Danann
Through my mother Aine his
daughter
After he was gone I one
time put my foot into a boot he left behind
It went clear to the top
of my leg
I will never fill his
boots
Never ever ever
Dothann says I mustn’t try
But just be my own self
And someday perhaps my
feet will fit those boots
Of that I’m not at all
sure
So I guess I’ll wear my
own boots
Which seem very small
But they are my own
They fit me and no other
We the Younglings of
Dunnottar do what we must
Often we do what we choose
too
For good or for ill
And we learn
Together we learn
It will be so for always
We are the Younglings of
Dunnottar for now and always
Rua Speaks
I am Rua of the Younglings
of Dunnottar
From Gaul I have been sent
to these my kin of Albann
For safety and for
training
I am a kin-fosterling
My flame-head of hair sets
me apart and I am very small
Being small has its
advantages I have to admit
I can get into and out of
places the other younglings cannot
Which is very useful for
all of us
And you know . . .
although I am the littlest of us
They never leave me behind
And I try very hard to
keep up to the pace they set
It makes them laugh sometimes
But they NEVER leave me
behind
We are all brothers and
sisters
We are the Younglings of
Dunnottar
And so we will remain
always
Even when we grow into
Elders
And thus do the Younglings of Dunnottar introduce themselves.
We get to know them better in the pages of this book, in preparation for those to come - their OWN books - which will take us along with these younglings on the adventures their imaginations lead them into.
Ideas are swarming like bees in the heads of these Characters - they're about to carry us with them to places and times that were mythical and legendary even back in THEIR day!
The thing about younglings, through all the ages, is that their imaginations can come and go freely, and take them along for the ride. It is my good fortune to be invited by these younglings to go with them as they journey; they're taking me along for the ride, too!
For all of their lives they have heard stories of the old days. They have listened to myths, legends, Bible stories, and the histories of their family and their people. As with younglings of all times and all places, their imaginations allow them to go to any place, any time, and BECOME those of whom they have heard.
Their free time is limited, but every once in a while ... Talorc and Caileen will give them a break from lessons while the infants Colum and Saorsa, and the littles Saba and Dedan, are taking their afternoon naps. There are also times they might sneak away (as younglings WILL do!) to follow their sense of adventure to wherever it may take them.
Once free of the confines of adult eyes, I can just hear them:
Diann: Where shall we go today?
Dothann: Where? How about WHEN?
Brann: Okay, when and where?
Merri: I want to go back to when Rome took the kingdom of Boudicca right out from under her.
Rua: But Merri! That's an awful story! They ravaged her daughters before her eyes and whipped her bloody in front of her people!
Merri: Yeah but she paid them back, didn't she?
Rua: Well but it's horrible and bloody. I don't like it.
Merri: (sternly) History is filled with horror and blood; we can't just pretend it all away, you know.
Rua: Still, we don't have to go there on PURPOSE.
Corrbed: How about we save that for another day, Merri? We can go to that ancient warrior training center if you want battle - you can be Scathach.
Dothann: And I can be Finn and you can teach me a thing or two!
Corrbed: There! See?
Rua: HA! And I can be Boudicca, come for training as a youngling!
Merri: Yeah. Okay. That will work. Go get your weapons, then. Corrbed, you can be that Druid - what's his name? - ah, Amergin, that's right. And Diann, you'll have to be Aife so be ready to fight!
Brann: Hey! What about me?
Dothann: Well you're Brann, aren't you? Bring along one of Kalann's big kettles - better ask first this time, though.
And the younglings scramble.
If the characters aren't all quite in their exact correct time, or place, that's okay by the younglings - they're all in the PAST, aren't they? They can be together in pretend.
Because that's what pretend is all about.
Mythological persons can perfectly easily meet up with historical ones; and Boudicca can go tell Alexander a thing or two if she wants. I bet she'd have a thing or two to say to Augustine of Hippo, for that matter. So what if Niall and Amergin and Andraste (who was a Goddess and not even 'real') would never have met? They can be in the same story if the younglings say so. If stories turn out to have different endings than what 'really happened' - well, that's okay too.
Anyone who's picky about historic details might want to tuck that OCD away for a bit and just sit back and enjoy the ramblings of the younglings through their make-believe world(s)!
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