Oh, Light of that Divine Source
which does in all things reside and ever moves
them to its ultimate purpose, whose beauty
is blinding, whose radiance is splendor, whose
5
power is unmatched, sing now through me the tale
of our ancestors, of those few men of great worth
who became High Teloch of the land and ruled
with the Signet Ring of the Hart upon their finger,
of battles, of hunts, of wolf-hours
10
and blood-days, of trials terrible, and how
in victory they were granted right to rule
the Iolish peoples with wisdom and grace.
Mathred, son of Math,
was strongest of the Iolish, taller than any
15
other, powerful as three oxen, gold fell his
locks, keen his sight, for his mother was a Baíth
witch whose blood gave him magic and he faced
beasts of the earth without terror, never fled nor
lost a battle, he flattened the wild mountains
20
of Ail Bolam when they would not submit,
he separated the Sun and Moon and gave them each
a time to reign, often that great warrior defeated
the circling Sea before she could swallow Ioland
and the children of Iol, for she had desired Iol,
25
giving him many gifts, but he loved her not,
and when she would shake the island Mathred would
place it upon his back, battling the beasts
of the darkest seas though doubled over until
the pillars of the earth ceased shaking and his
30
people were once more at peace.
Mathred was advised by his friend,
the young but knowledgeable wise man of Ail Meloch,
to forge a weapon which would grant him
power over this foe, that the Iolish might never
35
again be troubled by her malice; this his final
labor, for with weapon in hand he could defeat
the Sea and bring her to submit or else slay
the demons of dark earth and dragons of wild sky,
forever defending his people.
40
With the wise man of Ail Meloch
at his side, he began to search all the Earth for
those boons which might be forged together to make
that mighty weapon, in caves and valleys, through
the windswept realms of the Tella where green
45
grass fields and untamed meadows stretch
to the skies, in sweet-water streams and cool
lakes, in the bitter waves of the spiteful Sea,
on the white-caped peaks of the mountains where
eagles make their roost; always they searched for
50
those fantastic materials to forge together into
his weapon.
Yet this task was not one of ease,
for though the Earth did love Mathred, his blood
belonging to the Baíth, it would not part easily
55
from its wonders and in all hours of the day they
were tested by beasts as Mathred safeguarded
the wise man of Ail Meloch as he by his earned
knowledge sought to discover these materials
by which he would forge his great boon.
60
Long was their search
and for five years Mathred slept not but battled
the creatures of the night as the wise man slept,
for many terrible beasts did oppose them and hid
these boons from the waking world: wolves as great
65
as bears, maned cats large as horses, whose claws
like knifes hacked and slashed more fiercely than
axes, spiders which devour men as others do flies
and feast on darkness, filth, and decay, demons
and dragons which eat the flesh of man, yet
70
faithfully Mathred kept his vigil, slaying each
beast which moved in the night and by his strength
and devotion conquered and delivered these boons.
By guile they stole
the ends of the rainbow from the skies, by skill
75
Mathred built a ladder to reach the heavens where
they stole the shadow of the Sun, with honeyed
words they took the wind’s voice that ever after
it could only howl or whisper, by strength
he stole the redness from the waters and left
80
it forever blue, with a sack so deep it might hold
ten kingdoms they plucked like apples the stars
which shone in daylight, from cats they stole
the sound of their footfall.
These wonders gathered,
85
the wise man of Ail Meloch did declare their
search over and by his skill began to discover
means of joining them in his home beneath those
great Iolish mountains while Mathred returned
to his people, the Ui Lide Aesal, to await the day
90
when he might subdue the Sea and secure Ioland
for all ages.
He wrestled the five wild brothers
of Tach Fel and won their sister as a bride, for
only the woman of Tach Fel could know him and love
95
there was between them, creating the boy Malach,
and in joy they lived two years before her death,
for she drowned in the salt waves of the Sea
as she returned from her brothers and for three
months Mathred spoke no word, neither to God
100
nor Man and his son Malach knew not his voice,
until breaking his silence he vowed vengeance
and declared war on the Sea, he gave battle though
he was without the great weapon which would secure
his victory.
105
The Sea called a gale
as foul demons of the deep rose in the waves
and for three days his ship sailed alone
in the storm, spearing those beasts which hold
no form true, unafraid he was under the wind
110
and rain; on the fourth his boat sank, the Sea
held him in her grasp and set all her children
upon him, but they could not subdue him, for
he was the son of Math who had taken a Baíth woman
for a wife, her strong magic ran through him,
115
and in his rage he brought the Sea to boil
and the creatures of the salt did die, and,
weeping for her children, she submitted to him,
swearing to never again harm men nor call
the storms while Mathred lived.
120
In triumph he returned
to shore, but when he walked among his own people again,
he fell ill with longing for his wife and died
Such was the life of Mathred,
125
and thus Fate had placed her pieces on the board,
and thus the trials of Mathred’s blood began.
