The Wise Men

During the days in which Hy-brasyl flourished, the Wise came into Temuair. These wise men were not the same as average smart folk. These wise men were named the ceillidh. The ceillidh were blessed with wisdom and knowledge from different gods. The birthmark of the ceillidh was a blue-greenish crescent on the left shoulder. Their hearts and thoughts were as pure as the rainwater untouched and brought down from the heavens. These wise men eventually met and got acquainted with each other. They found out that one of the ceillidh had a red crescent instead of a blue-greenish. What it meant they did not have a clue and it puzzled them so. The ceillidh talked amongst each others about philosophy and ways of nature. One afternoon, while they were gathered in the beautiful town center debating about some irrelevant subject, the ceillidh with the red crescent tuned everyone out and a hazy vision came to him.

He saw Hy-brasyl's golden streets and beautiful buildings being swept up in a terrible storm of the elements. Unusual was it to see the elements causing destruction and devastation to Hy-brasyl with mighty strength. Air made hurricanes and tornadoes, sweeping people away into other lands. The Earth was cracking right beneath their very feet and foundations crumbled down. Fire was everywhere consuming all that was consumable. Water rushing down the streets in horrendous torrents drowning Hy-brasyl. It all seemed so real that he began to cry out in fear. The vision stopped and his peers were calling his name.

"Ganol!!," they cried out "are you all right?"

"Unh...what? Oh.. nothing, I'm fine now, I think," said the recovering Ganol.

"What happened to you? You look like as if something terrible had happened to you. Your face was as white as the moon! Are you ill?" they asked with concern.

"I...I...think I just had...oh never mind. I probably just didn't get enough sleep last night," replied Ganol.

The others could tell he was hiding something but they dismissed the subject as it was. They never thought about it again that day. However, something was bothering Ganol. What was it that triggered the vision? Was it the future? Or was it just a hallucination? It disturbed him throughout the day and he could neither sleep nor had an appetite for eating.

Later in the week, Ganol had the same vision again. What was happening? He couldn't keep this to himself anymore. The burden of this knowledge was too much for him to bear all alone by himself. So he summoned all of the ceillidh to his house. As each member of the ceillidh came, they wondered what lay ahead of them for the formal summons seemed greatly unusual. They all noticed that Ganol was being bothered by something. He was awfully quiet in the past few days and did not come out of his house as often as he used to. Everyone arrived on time and curious. As soon as everyone settled down, Ganol spoke:

"Recently, I have been given visions by the gods. What the vision revealed was very discomforting and gnawed at me like a dog gnaws at a bone. It showed the golden streets of Hy-brasyl being drowned in Chaos. Elements were chained and they were destroying our glorious city that mirrors the heavens. Indeed, I believe these times will come. Whether we can change it or not, I do not know but one thing is sure. We must try, my brothers, to either prevent this horrible event or postpone it if the downfall of Hy-brasyl cannot be averted. As you can see, we were blessed by the gods. We must take our wisdom and knowledge to help save Hy-brasyl from such destruction for we are the ceillidh."

The others contemplated what they had just heard. They, too, were disturbed then. Discussions followed and debates arose. What could they possibly do? Certainly, they were not gods themselves and could not just save Hy-brasyl with the wink of an eye. Ceillidh they were and in this helpless situation, they at least had to try. What would be the cause of this doom? The ceillidh thought that human error was the most likely cause to start a chain of events that would destroy Hy-brasyl. For there was no rulers as of yet, they decided to take charge. An oligarchy would be the first government of Temuair. It was most fitting that the wise take the responsibility of governing Hy-brasyl before any foolish persons tried claiming it. This was their solution to the problem and they hoped that it would work for it was their one and only definite plan.

The citizens of Hy-brasyl accepted it for they were convinced by the ceillidh's motives and trustworthiness. Ganol was called Fiosaiche by the other ceillidh members because of his ability to tell the future. His visions and dreams helped them to govern the city well and prosper like it never had before. They started a more advanced form of educating people so that they would be aware of things around them. Buildings were erected for recreational or educational purposes. The ceillidh were judges of small cases, advisors to those that needed it, and taught those that were eager.

As the first generation of the ceillidh grew old, their sons replaced them. The one with the red crescent on his shoulder was usually the leader of the ceillidh and was called Fiosaiche for Ganol's generation had the gift of telling the future and having visions. With the many generations of the ceillidh, Hy-brasyl had their glorious years in peace and harmony.

A peaceful millenium passed by under the ceillidh's government. A man was found dead on the streets of Hy-brasyl. Yes, death does happen but this one person had a horrific look on his face. What it meant, even the ceillidh, who usually knew the answers to all their questions, couldnt figure it out. However they knew straight off that times were changing and not for the better. The next generation of ceillidh lived to witness the sad changes of Hy-brasyl.

The people of Hy-brasyl found that power could be obtained from the elements and tried to horde it. Some used it to learn the arts of magic. Some used it to learn the arts of magic. Some used it to advance the art of war. Times were changing and the ceillidh felt it. Foolish people began to reject the ceillidh's leadership and declared themselves as rulers. Hy-brasyl split apart and the ceillidh had to hide from the madness for noone heeded their wise words. Instead they listened to their want for power and to people who had it. The ceillidh were a secret council now. If things continued as they had, Hy-brasyl was doomed.

The ceillidh feared this all throughout their leadership. The Fiosaiche recalled the first vision of Ganol, the first Fiosaiche. It seemed most likely that what they had been trying to prevent would come like a charging bull. They had tried to get people to listen to them but to no avail. They stood back and witnessed the power craze take over the people. Then one night, a shooting star shone through the sky. It was a sign of ill omen. If they stayed any longer they would be in the middle of the lements wrath and destruction. If people didnt listen to them, they could not do anything. Years passed and the ceillidh tried to think up of something. Nothing came. The power the people seeked was overpowering. Soon, Hy-brasyl would erupt into a battlefield full of magic and wrath. The ceillidh and their families packed their bags and fled Hy-brasyl never to be seen again in Hy-brasyl for many, many years.

After their escape, years passed by and tension rose. War erupted and the elements were the weapons. It was just as Ganol had first seen it. Air, Fire, Earth, and Water crashed with each other tearing the city apart for days all because of the war for power. Dark shadows covered the city in a blanket of night symbolizing that all hope was gone. People feared for the worst. Water ended it all as it cleansed the once glorious city of everything it ever had with its waves of purity. Hy-brasyl was coming to its end.

The people who were lucky and swift fled Hy-brasyl just in time. They either stayed to seek hope of rebuilding Hy-brasyl or wandered about in search of another place where they could call home. In the meanwhile, the ceillidh had built a house many leagues away from Hy-brasyl in the east. Some people found their way to them and begged them to help the people. The ceillidh refused to go back to the corrupted Hy-brasyl but they would welcome the now homeless people into their own humble house.

After Hy-brasyl was in ruins, three civilizations came forth ruled by kings. These kingdoms fought their neighbors bringing destruction and disease to their enemies. The kings always wanted more power. The elements were put to use again in battle. Everybody thought that things couldn't get any worse than this warfare between the kings and their magic. Then centuries later, another war greater than the kings could ever create arose. It was one between Chadul, god of darkness and Danaan, goddess of light.

The ceillidh revealed themselves once again to the outside world with more wisdom and knowledge than before. They had learned themselves in the magic of light to assist Danaan in the war. It was like power but in a pure sense. Spells were created by them to ward off the first armies of darkness. Working with smiths, they created weapons and armor that would make the darkness fear them. Giving hope to other beings, they added to the strength of Danaan. The war against Chadul was won but not without a dear price. Darkness may had lost but they wanted to take down as much of Danaan's precious followers down with them. Natural disasters were occuring in many places and madness crept over some. Still, the war was won and that was what mattered most.

Danaan rewarded the ceillidh for their excellent work by allowing them and their families to live in a paradise. The ceillidh felt they could do nothing more for they were not leaders anymore and still the people would only listen to people with power. Danaan brought them to the paradise in which they lived in peace and harmony like in the glorious years of Hy-brasyl. Other heroes and legends were there, also. People both living and dead were here in a beautiful paradise of golden architecture, fountains, green trees, and a rainbow of flowers. There the ceillidh would remain always learning and discovering new things about the world of Temuair.