Of Agrona and the Great Sorrow–Notes

The Lay of Agrona and the Great Sorrowis an epic selected from the Illustrated History of Avalon about the period of time after the defeat of the armies of Avalon by the forces of mortal men and the hosts of Hadessa. This epoch represents the nadir of Avalon’s power within the world of *Kalendale, but the beginning of the rise of Avalon’s influence in the world of men.

After Epona created a treaty with the kings of men, mortals turned their eyes to the west to look for hope and wisdom. Legends of men tell of Ynys Afallach (the Welsh name for Avalon), an island to the west of the know lands, and many mortals have set sail to find Avalon. To their dismay, they never found it. Avalon actually lies on a completely different world, but due to the flow of ley lines, access between the worlds is relatively easy with the right magic.

*Kalendale is the name of the world where within Avalon is a kingdom. There are many other kingdoms and principalities on Kalendale, but among them Avalon is the greatest. The High Kings and Queens of Avalon have maintained the power and might of Avalon for almost four millennia.

A sketch of Queen Agrona

Of Agrona and the Great Sorrow, Part V

Thus at dusk Mochán set to find Epona
Which thing did not take long
For she was on the self-same road as Mochán
And they met ere the rising of the moon
 
Mochán told of his dealings with the kings
And of their fear of the might of Afallach
Now Epona, being subtle and wise
Did listen to all Mochán spoke of the kings
 
And told him to return to the kings
And to say thus: The Lady Epona comes
And she is the daughter of the Great Queen
Who grieves for her slain husband Taranis
The High King of Ynys Afallach
Black is the heart of the people of Avalon
And they are desconsolate
Who knows but they rise to avenge their
Fair sons slain so cruelly on the fields
Of Boughfel, Aisgillfel, and Mallerstang
The moors of Northwaite and Rowtheich,
And in the vales near Ravenstone. 
 
After Epona had spoken to Mochán
He took his leave and returned to the Kings
And recounted all that he had heard
When the kings had given ear to the news
They were sore afraid of what may come
So they gathered to them all their knights
 
Mochán beheld their fear 
and was pleased within himself
For he sought to bring them to humility
And penintence for the great slaughter
That they had brought upon the hosts
Of the fair people of the Blessed Isle
 
The first rays of the sun were upon the trees
When the horn sounded that She had come
The Lady of Afallach whom men feared
Riding not upon a horse but a great deer
A hart, a stag, with great antlers adorned
With moss and flowers and a coat of sable
 
Many men fell on their knees upon her approach
Overcome and unable to look upon her glory
For in their hearts they felt strong reproach
And heartily sorry for the butchery
Of the hosts of Ynys Afallach
 
Hardened men wept openly 
For her beauty moved their hearts
With compassion and love
Mighty kings wished away their lands
And great wealth to stop the tears of the Fair
For once they had seen her, they loved her
And desired peace with her and her kinfolk
Yet she had spoken not a word or whisper
 
She halted her steed and slipped to the ground
Walking slowly toward the great kings of men
Her arms opened toward them in invitation
They fell from their thrones upon their knees

Few souls durst to meet her gaze
And those that did transfixed they were
And remained so for many days
Seeing her anew ever they closed their eyes
Thralls to her beauty and majesty
 
She approached the assembled kings
Arrayed in cloth of white and many greens
It seemed to them that she shone with glory
Like the sun at the break of day
Or as the moon on a clear winter night
 
Those who could yet behold her fell down
When she spoke, for her voice was as music
Fairer than any that man could make 
Be it with viols, harps, flutes, or horns
 
She spake thus: O, kings and great men
Many moons have waxed and waned
Since Taranis, High King and defender of Afallach
Fell in battle at Ravenstone with his kin
 
A darkness has fallen on the Blessed Realm
Bereft of hope and inconsolable, all weep
Their fair sons, brothers, and fathers slain afar
Never to see their mother soil again
 
Their bones lie in the fields of Aisgillfel, 
And the moors and vales of Mallerstang
Picked clean by carrion birds and flesh worms
Coated with hoarfrost carried by the North wind
Laid bare to the snows of bitter winters
And the scorching sun of the summer fields
Crack’d and crumbling into dust
To be driven of the wind and find rest no more
 
Laments issued from the mouths of men
Cursing their swords and spears and arrows
Ruing in greatly the day they allied themselves 
With Brenin Cythraul and the hosts of Hadessa
O that we had not sallied forth that day
And slain the children of the Fair Isle, they cried
 
Wo, wo, unto us and our seed 
For we have done great evil and feel shame
What shall we do to atone for this malfeisance?
What can be done to assuage the grief
Of the Great Queen and the Blessed Realm? 
Bitterness like ash and bark fills our mouths
Our souls are wracked painfully by our sins
What shall we do to have this dolorous spirit 
Cast out of our breast to haunt us no more?
 
Epona saw their deep sorrow and contrition
And was moved to mercy and had pity
On the souls of men gathered there that day
She shed tears of sorrowful joy
For this is what she had sought
To have men repent of their alliance
With the infernal pit and Brenin Cythraul
 
In that day the kings of men embraced the light
And turned their back on the darkness
Breaking all bonds with the lower world 
And looking to the Blessed Realm as allies
 
Epona forged a peace with the gathered kings
That all would be benefactors one to another
And seek for prosperity and good will 
For both mortal men and the faerie folk
That righteouness reign throughout the land
And that the peace of none should be breached
 
She returned to Afallach with tidings and treaties
Which softened the heart of Agrona
She wept for all the hurts of the Blessed Realm
And for the kindness of her daughters
And the contrition and repentance of men
And for the fair sons who would never return
Then her mourning came to an end
 
Nevermore shall I weep, said Agrona
For I have sorrowed overlong 
My kingdom neglected for cause of my hurt
My people foundered in a dolorous night
But now the sun rises again on the Fair Land
Hope is kindled once more 
For men have turned from their evil ways

Of Agrona and the Great Sorrow, Part IV

Agrona was as a statue of stone
Unmoving, unfeeling, and cold hearted
Her daughters having surrendered their hope
That the queen could ever be healed
Set forth into the world of men
Mayhap to find a tonic for the pall
That sat upon the shoulders of the great queen
 
Feidlimid, eldest of all the sisters
Travelled North, dressed as an old widow
And sought comfort in each dwelling she came to
But found naught to avail her mother
Líadan, the fairest of the daughters
Journeyed southward, arrayed as a merchant
Seeking totems and tokens that could lessen
The torment of her mother, but found it not
 
Granya, generous of spirit and heart
Went to the west, bearing gifts to the wise
Yet their wisdom failed them
And brought no comfort to Granya or the queen
 
Epona, wise beyond her years, and cunning
She travelled Eastward, to the kingdoms of men
Those who had sworn oaths to Brenin Cythraul
Arrayed not as a warrior, or sage, or any guise
But as her true self, princess of Afallach
Those she passed durst not touch her
Nor even lay eyes on her for fear
That perhaps she was a spirit of vengeance
Come to visit them with death and pestilence
To bring ruin to their lands
Damn them for their blood-lust
And curse them forevermore
 
Murmurings of her voyage reached the ears
Of the kings of the Eastern Seas
These counseled together to ideate a way
To stop the Great and Dreadful Lady
(For thus she came to be called by all men who laid eyes on her)
Among them came Mochán, father of Máedóc, 
Father of Drest, who was the father of Eamon
And stood before the kings assembled
Saying: why do you fear this lady of Afallach?
Ye counsel toghether yet come not to an accord
Wist ye not that she come to this house?
And they answered him:

Nay, for she carries with her a wyrd of death and sorrow
Which would curse our lands and people
Making them barren and without seed
 
Then Mochán answered: Ye fear that ye have 
Done great wrong in slaying the Fair children
Of Ynys Afallach. And they saith: Yea
Then Mochán spake again saying:
I shall seek out the Dreadful Lady
To see wherewith she may be placated
And mayhap spare your kingdoms, and people
And kine, and sheep, and fields, and harvests
I shall treat with her and return on the morrow

Of Agrona and the Great Sorrow, Part III

When Taranis fell at Ravestone
And the great host of Avalon at his side
Naught was known upon Ynys Afallach
‘Til Chelwyr, falcon of the great king
returned with tidings.
His wings, though wounded, carried him
To his mistress on the Isle of the Fair
He bore with him a single token:
Clochmôr, the sea-jewel. 
That had sat on the brow of Taranis
A blessing from his fair queen, Agrona
 
When she beheld the stone stained
With the life-blood of the High King
She wept bitterly but for a moment
Stone she seemed to all from that time
No tears, no oaths, no anger
Neither was there laughter, mirth, joy,
No pity, no vengeance sought against men
 
Agrona was as iron, cold and hard
Deaf she seemed to the lamentation
That took the land of Avalon that day
Her subjects wept, their cries rent the air
Daughters for fathers
Wives for the husband they would ne’er see
For their fair sons mouldering on the moors
Of Northwaite and Boarfell
The grasses of Rowtheich weaving the bones
Into a tapestry of sorrow and dolorous cries
Carried on a lonely wind
Cold with the voices of the dead
A frost that would still the living heart
And cause even the strong to quail 
Yet Agrona did not assuage the grief
Of any in the blessed realm
 
O, how all the peoples of Avalon suffered
Days of yearning to keen over the bodies
Of their fair sons, fathers, and kin
Yet their dead returned not
Never to be covered in the soil 
of the Blessed Realm
The moaning of the widows was silenced
Only when they had spent their strength
Wetting their pillows as the dews from heaven
Arising with a new dawn bereft of all hope
 
Madness overcame many 
Mothers cast themselves into the sea
For life had lost its savour
And they could neither see nor feel hope
Leaving the orphans to mourn in their stead
To suffer long days of Lamentation

Of Agrona and the Great Sorrow, Part II

Taranis and his riders came to the field
Of Boughfel and planted their standards
For all the armies of men to see
That the hosts of Afallach had come
To do war with them and bring them down
To the dust.
 
(The tale of the Battle of Boughfel is told in other places, so I will not tell more of it here)
 
Weep, oh Ynys Afallach
So many of thy fair children lay slain
Their blood wetting the meadows
Of the land of strangers
To see the Isle of the Apples never more
Its beautiful shores, its strong mountain walls
The plentiful orchards at harvest time
Branches bending low ere the coming of fall
 
Halls filled with mirth, where hope did shine
Never more will they hear laughter
Carried on a gentle summer breeze
Or the sounding of the bells
When winter snows come and freeze
The lake in the Lady’s garden
Hard as stone in winter’s depths
 
O fair sons of Ynys Afallach
Cochlaín, thou wast bold and strong of heart
But now thy bones litter the fields of men
Séaghdha, one so noble and proud
Yet thou art now food for worms
Caoindealbhán, fair as the spring heather
Alas! thou art no more than ash
Nynniaw, deadly with bow and spear
Lowly beasts now tread upon you without fear
Farewell, fair sons of Ynys Afallach
Farewell until the ending of days