Brendan reached the top of the mountain, and there he lay fasting, for forty days and forty nights, although it may have been less, he lost count on the second day and found himself sleeping a lot, and you know how disorienting that can be. On the fortieth day, or possibly the fourth, the clouds parted and beams of heavenly light, or possibly ordinary light passing through high-humidity pockets of air, alighted upon him, and he blinked against the brightness, for he had forgotten his shades. And lo, a figure descended from the clouds, the goddess Zhila, floating slightly unsteadily - possibly due to being an hallucination brought on by Brendan's thirst - singing in an ancient tongue a song that Brendan somehow knew, without understanding the words, was an incantation designed to conjure him a day of joy and celebration on this the anniversary of his birth.
The goddess stopped, and floated just out of reach, and she peered at him, and spoke without speaking, her voice appearing inside his head, much like Galadriel does in The Lord of the Rings, the film I mean, not the book, and not quite as smug.
"Brendan of the Forest, on this the anniversary of thy mother's struggle to bring you into the world, I bring thee tidings of great import and omens of impending doom, knowest thou that thou hast been chosen, Brendan... wait a minute," she said, and peered closer.
"Your name is Brendan, right?"
"Mm-hmm," he managed to respond.
"And today's your birthday?"
"I think so," he mumbled.
"Brendan of the Forest?"
"It's more of a wood, really."
And the goddess Zhila stared at him and then quietly, hoping he wouldn't notice, she produced a tiny tablet of stone and consulted it, as an actor who has forgotten their lines may peer at them, scribbled on their shoes.
She looked back up at Brendan.
"These art for thou," she said, handing him a small package wrapped in vines, "now scarper", she said and hurriedly rose back into the heavens.
Brendan looked at the package in his hands, in awe at what had just transpired, and also hoping that the package contained food, perhaps a cake of some sort.
He unwrapped the vines and found... two closed tubes, woven or knit from the hair of the sacred mountain goat, probably, and he sat down, took off his sandals, and pulled the garments over his feet. His toes now much warmer than they had been a moment ago, Brendan marvelled at the divine grace bestowed upon him, then replaced his sandals over his... "Socks," he thought, I shall call them "socks", and I shall be famous throughout the wood, and perhaps also the forest, for now my people shall have warmer feet than before!
With his sandals now comfortably secured to his feet over his "socks", Brendan went back down the mountain, looking forward to his bountiful new life and also perhaps a sandwich or a bowl of soup.
The goddess stopped, and floated just out of reach, and she peered at him, and spoke without speaking, her voice appearing inside his head, much like Galadriel does in The Lord of the Rings, the film I mean, not the book, and not quite as smug.
"Brendan of the Forest, on this the anniversary of thy mother's struggle to bring you into the world, I bring thee tidings of great import and omens of impending doom, knowest thou that thou hast been chosen, Brendan... wait a minute," she said, and peered closer.
"Your name is Brendan, right?"
"Mm-hmm," he managed to respond.
"And today's your birthday?"
"I think so," he mumbled.
"Brendan of the Forest?"
"It's more of a wood, really."
And the goddess Zhila stared at him and then quietly, hoping he wouldn't notice, she produced a tiny tablet of stone and consulted it, as an actor who has forgotten their lines may peer at them, scribbled on their shoes.
She looked back up at Brendan.
"These art for thou," she said, handing him a small package wrapped in vines, "now scarper", she said and hurriedly rose back into the heavens.
Brendan looked at the package in his hands, in awe at what had just transpired, and also hoping that the package contained food, perhaps a cake of some sort.
He unwrapped the vines and found... two closed tubes, woven or knit from the hair of the sacred mountain goat, probably, and he sat down, took off his sandals, and pulled the garments over his feet. His toes now much warmer than they had been a moment ago, Brendan marvelled at the divine grace bestowed upon him, then replaced his sandals over his... "Socks," he thought, I shall call them "socks", and I shall be famous throughout the wood, and perhaps also the forest, for now my people shall have warmer feet than before!
With his sandals now comfortably secured to his feet over his "socks", Brendan went back down the mountain, looking forward to his bountiful new life and also perhaps a sandwich or a bowl of soup.
