Suggested music: Trobar de Morte - The Song of the Stones: https://youtu.be/PVS2vl4jMTs
Welcome To The House of Copper Hounds
You blink a few times as your vision adjusts to the change in light. Your eyes are drawn skyward to what you at first think is a golden sunset. Shards of amber sunlight seem to be drifting down through the air from above as the sky shines in iridescent hues of gold and copper. You realize now that you aren't looking at the sky, but rather a massive canopy of Autumn leaves. As the gold and brown leaves dance in the wind, you feel that they are almost waving; beckoning you to step deeper into their tangled embrace. Sure enough, you feel like there are innumerable eyes focused on you from the forest. You look around and confirm that you are indeed somehow in tangled woods now. The trees here are thick at the trunk with bulging bases and roots that you can see shaping the earth around you. The sky above has been seized by the trees as well. As far as you look in any direction there are branches that split and wind, seemingly twisting and knotting in embrace like their roots below. In certain spots you're sure you see the complicated patterns of celtic knots. Triquetra and Triskelion catch your eye until your ears draw your attention elsewhere.
"Ahhh, we have a new visitor," a voice announces from somewhere nearby.
"Welcome to my domain: The House of Copper Hounds," they beckon as you try to focus on it's source. The voice is deep and warm, but a tad on the raspy side. You envision a man in his old age, gnarled and bent like the trees which surround you.
"To find this place without being invited... you must have a tale to tell, hmm? Or perhaps you simply need some time away from the rest of the world? Either way, come; come closer. I can hardly see you. I promise I won't bite! Unless you want me to..."
At this, you finally catch sight of an imposing figure beckoning you closer with a hefty arm. The man is tall and broad in equal measure, clearly nearing 2 meters in height with his boots on. He isn't at all the bent and tired old man you envisioned, but rather a youthful one that looks to be in his mid 30s. He's dressed like he just wandered out of a Renaissance fair or some convention which takes you aback for a moment. His boots are made of rough brown leather with thick auburn fur spilling out of the top. His trousers seem more modern and form fitting than the rest of the outfit and have a dark leather pouch wrapped around the right thigh. Just above is more of the auburn fur and a large belt that ties at his waist and hangs down, slightly curled off-center at his hips. The dark green tunic he wears is either Norse or Gaelic, with golden Celtic braiding designs around the hem and chest. It opens wide and low exposing the man's bulging chest and gives you just a glimpse of his own auburn body hair. His face is the biggest surprise to you: two large round eyes the colour of antique gold that almost seem to suit a child; wide with anticipation and excitement. They've fixed on you like golden spotlights and you feel your mind freeze like a deer in their gaze. Conversely his mouth, while without wear or age, bears the reserved expression of a wise elder; the gentle smile having a calming effect at first glance. Framing his face is a short, well-trimmed beard. Like the branches above, his hair is long and lightly curled. It blows in the gentle breeze, catching the light and shining all over like spun copper, but you can't help but notice the flashes of grey strands, a large number of which have been proudly put on display in a Celtic braid that hangs down to the middle of his broad chest. Along with the hair, you notice a small copper token hanging from his belt that catches the light as well as some form of golden necklace shaped like Roman laurels. As the wind picks up you see that what you thought had been part of the tree he leans against is in fact a large dark cloak, again lined with that auburn fur that matches his hair. It's pinned to the tunic at his collarbones and clasped with 2 golden rings bearing the Triquetra¹ motif.
"That's better. Now I can properly see you." Unbeknownst to you, you've been approaching this stranger as you looked him over. He notices your surprise and grins in a mischievous way while sizing you up. You're considering your next move when he catches you off guard with that soothing voice again.
"What's your name, young one?" He asks, while casually reaching into the pouch at his hip. He draws out what appears to be a tarot card with some sort of tribal dog design on the back and considers it carefully as you absent-mindedly respond to his question.
"Ahhh, you do have a tale to tell. No wonder you've found your way sideways to the sun." You know that you shouldn't be so calm with someone you just met, especially one as unusual as this, but something about the atmosphere of this place has set you at ease. Even as he turns the card around in his hand and reveals a stylized portrait of you, it somehow just feels natural. You're not sure where exactly this forest is, but you feel at home. "Sideways to the sun" he said. The direction the Tuatha Dé Danann² and other Sídhe³ went to leave the mortal realm. Had you even heard of the Tuatha before? Somehow the knowledge is just there now, calming your natural fear of the unknown.
The Copper Man's mischievous grin has been replaced once again by the gentle smile. It's the type of look an adult might give a tired child while coddling them.
"You're suffering a bad case of Echtra... that's the brain fog you're feeling. Poor thing, you don't even have the sight, let alone any kind of tolerance for aether. Come, join me in the house and we'll get you a drink. A little fairy food will set you right." The branches far above you seem to shake, their rustle mimicking a chorus of laughter as the wind picks up as a gust. A storm of leaves swirls up around you and as it clears you see a tall shack made entirely of wood appear less than 60 feet away in the woods just to the side of a particularly large tree. It only looked to be a small building but it was easily 3 stories tall. How had you missed that before?
"Centuries old..." the Copper Man shakes his head in disappointment and looks up at the canopy as he begins marching to "the house."
"Still you play these tricks on mortals without the sight. Where is the fun in that?" All at once the sounds of the branches fade to silence as though the elements themselves had just been admonished.
"The House" you're approaching is just as nonsensical as the rest of this forest. There are wide wooden steps that lead up to the building which curve slightly around the roots of a huge tree. With each step you take, you see more of the building reveal itself where there had only been more forest before, yet the entrance and right corner stay just as far away even as you approach. As you find yourself making the final step of the anti-clockwise turn, you learn that you had only seen the door and one side of the house previously; the whole building now stretching out to the size of a mansion. It was impossible to tell how many rooms it contained as different sections appeared like additions growing our of the original hut structure. To the left was a rounded annex that looked like the tower of a castle, while on the right was the elongated rectangle of a viking longhouse. Everywhere windows were visible, yet all that could be seen were faint glows of warm orange light between leaves of ivy that seemed to be covering the panes of glass from the inside.
Moving straight forward now, you are actually approaching the house, but the ground around the wooden steps comes to an abrupt end with the tree you just rounded. The earth had risen up in a large mound as you climbed the steps and only now as you've reached a certain height do you see that the house is surrounded on all sides by a moat; the water within an almost luminous shade of green. At the base of the house is a massive pile of pale white rocks of assorted shapes and sizes that have been partially covered by dark green ivy. The sight gives the foundation of the house the look of a cairn built in memory of a giant. Like the tree branches above, the water below is constantly shifting, it's ebb and flow forming patterns and images that feel familiar. The sounds of the crashing waves and churning water seem to be greeting you as well.
"Don't stare too closely at the crannóg⁴ waters. You may not see them, but the Sídhe there are extra mischievous and some of the Selkie⁵, Kelpie⁶ and other Daoine maithe don't quite understand that mortals need things like air." The Copper Man says this with a laugh and you hear the water below froth and churn in response as if giggling along.
Finally, after what feels like close to a hundred wooden steps you reach the entrance and the man ahead of you pushes open the heavy wooden door exposing you to an assault on all of your senses. The smell of roasting meat, wood-fire smoke and several spices and herbs instantly has your mouth watering. The sounds of a full band of instruments fills you with the desire to dance until you fall over despite there being no clear source from which it originates.
"They'll be fine," you hear the Copper Man's voice ring out.
"Just a little Echtra. Nothing we haven't dealt with a thousand times." The whole room is awash with a warm orange glow and as you step inside you feel like your whole body is just a few feet from a roaring fire, or like you just slipped into a hot tub without getting wet. You glance around and find the room to be pretty simple and laid out like a large bar or tavern you might see in a fantasy setting. Most of the structure inside is similarly made of dark brown wood, and ivy has been cultivated with care to grow into shapes and patterns over the walls and even bar. Despite the whole room being lit with ginger light, you find no sources of illumination or heat. To Your left is a series of stairs that go up to a balcony that circles around the entire atrium, with countless doors being visible through the banister from below. On the ground floor there is a bar which somehow the copper man has already slipped behind as he begins preparing cutlery, a bowl and plate. He's laughing and looking off to the side as you approach.
"You got your free meal and drink like all the rest. We both know you have the coin," he chides playfully while reaching a hand out to the thin air above a seat before turning back to you.
"What would you like to drink, young one?" He asks while continuing to set the table in front of you. He reaches down beneath the bar and returns with a ladle that fills the bowl he set out with a pale liquid that smells of meat, rosemary and ginger. On the plate he places several large steaming potato farls and a round loaf of wheaten bread. He tops off the setting with a small bowl of roasted hazelnuts; their rich aroma mixing with the rest to make your mouth water. You look around at the bottles, barrels and even jars behind him and find that while they all have labels, none have any writing or logo other than the whiskey bottle he just poured a glass of for himself. It has a tribal print of a dog's face and the words "Dog Food," which you assume to be a joke about the hair of the dog.
"It's actually in reference to a Chinese neologism... but hair of the dog is good too." He laughs at this point at some joke you aren't a part of and runs his hand through his hair while making a pouty face up at the first floor balcony before returning your gaze.
"I'll make it easier for you. Just tell me whatever your favourite drink is and I'll whip one up. It can be anything."
You begin thinking about the drink that always cheers you up after a long hard day. With such a warming environment around you, you no longer need to seek heat or cooling from a cup or glass, but you still know the taste will help as well. The man smiles a little more happily than he had before, his fangs catching your attention for the first time. Fangs might not be the right word, but you've never noticed anyone else's canines quite as predominantly as his in this moment. He takes another look at the card with your picture on it, his eyes practically glowing as they search the image. With a flourish he puts the card back away and brushes his cloak over his shoulders. He reaches beneath the bar and puts down a glass, quickly getting to work on blending your chosen drink in a copper cocktail shaker. He grabs bottles from the shelves behind him and reaches below the bar a number of times to grab other ingredients and blend them one by one. In moments your drink is done and he fills the glass, even garnishing it in a beautiful way that you're sure you've seen in a picture once.
You can't help yourself. Without an invitation you reach out and take the glass into your own hands and take a cautious sip. It's exactly the drink you wanted... but somehow more. As the taste hits your tongue memories of the past begin flooding you: The first time you had one of these; The person who convinced you to try it; The happy memories you shared toasts; and the bitter reasons that lead you to seek the comfort of this very taste. Tears begin to well up in your eyes as you finally regain your senses. You remember who you are and how you had just been trying to seek some escape from your problems when you found yourself in those knotted woods.
With your sense of self returned you look back up at the man behind the bar. No, not a man clearly but something else. As you stare at him, he watches you closely, his eyes searching your own, his face now even more child-like with excited anticipation. His hair in this moment seems to twitch and lift slightly despite the lack of a breeze. Not hair! You're not sure how it fooled you so well before considering the hairs on them are so short compared to the rest, but there are two large floppy dog ears in plain sight within the auburn curls. You're about to turn to leave and begin running when you notice that the music has gone deathly silent as the entire room has fallen into the same hushed anticipation as the Copper Man. Now that you've had a taste of fairy food you can just barely see the translucent forms of a spectral band in one corner of the room. The rest of the bar has similar shifting forms, just barely visible as outlines in all different hues and each with a burning, bobbing flame in the center of their mass. Each figure has their eyes on you, and only a few of them have features that you would say fully pass for human.
"They're will-o'-the-wisp⁷," the Copper Man points out to answer your obvious question.
"Atleast right now they are. You're seeing their aether form because you don't have the sight and have only had a taste of fairy food. You can leave right now if you want. You'll just think this was a strange dream which you'll forget shortly." You spin around to look back at the bartender. He's calmly taking a drink of the "dog food" he poured himself when you first arrived.
"Or, you can stay a while. Drink and eat your fill and tell us your story. If you want to stay longer, you can hear some of ours too. Your mind will find some way to contextualize it once you leave: This was all just a vivid dream or hallucination; you fell asleep on a train and found yourself in a different town; took a strange pill at a club; or even just browsed a weird livestream online." You look down at the "fairy food" prepared infront of you, the drink still lingering nostalgically on your tastebuds, the scent of the food as palpable as the steam wafting off of each dish. As you make up your mind you look back up at the Copper Man one final time. He smiles again in that welcoming way and lifts one arm, waving it over the room and bar.
"It was a pleasure to meet you. My name is Cúsleácrann, and welcome to The House of Copper Hounds."
¹ Triquetra also known as the trinity knot is a triangular figure composed of three interlaced arcs, or (equivalently) three overlapping vesicae piscis lens shapes. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triquetra#:~:text=The%20triquetra%20(%2Ftra%C9%AA,overlapping%20vesicae%20piscis%20lens%20shapes.
² The Tuatha Dé Danann meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are thought to represent the main deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatha_D%C3%A9_Danann
³ Sídhe: aes sídhe, daoine sídhe and Daoine maithe are the Irish terms for a supernatural race in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology (where it is usually spelled Sìth, but pronounced the same), comparable to the fairies or elves. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aos_S%C3%AD
⁴ crannóg: is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crannog#:~:text=A%20crannog%20(%2F%CB%88kr,Scotland%2C%20Wales%2C%20and%20Ireland.
⁵ Selkie: are mythological beings capable of therianthropy, changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkie
⁶ Kelpie: is a shape-shifting spirit inhabiting lakes in Scottish folklore. It is a Celtic legend; however, analogues exist in other cultures. It is usually described as a black horse-like creature, able to adopt human form. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelpie
⁷ will-o'-the-wisp: is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. The phenomenon is known in English folk belief, English folklore and much of European folklore by a variety of names, including jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, hinkypunk and hobby lantern and is said to mislead travelers by resembling a flickering lamp or lantern. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will-o%27-the-wisp
And so the tale of House of the Copper Hounds begins~
ReplyDeleteBut allow me to make a true 'Copper Hound' style joke:
The quote: "trunk with bulging bases"
The point: ... Hehe (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)
Lmao, truly a Copper Hound!
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