Spirit of the Mist

THE ARRIVAL

An early summer storm raged off the coast of western Ireland, and Muriel watched. From inside the protective walls of Dun Farraige, she could see nothing; yet her, water mirror showed all. The moonlight reflected in that bronze dish revealed the face of a man -- one struggling to overcome the sea.

He was an exile, of course. Who else would be cast into the ocean with so little hope of survival? By clan law, exiles were to be made slaves. Yet something ennobled this man. The stranger's face made Muriel yearn for both his safety and his freedom. She who was raised as the daughter of a nobleman, had a terrible, secret. And she couldn't help but believe that this handsome visitor -- swaddled in mist and delivered to the rain-swept shores beneath her Dun -- would be her salvation.

Hero: Brendan