The light, first golden white, and now changing to gentle lavender, dimming,
heralds the dusk. The sound of wind and mighty wings flapping as
the Great Crow glides over a carpet of treetops, lush and green, extending
to the ends of the earth, spinning past at a dizzying speed. It is
Rainbow Forest. The rainbow is always present, burning brightly in
the night or glowing gently in the sun. On the horizon is a clearing,
a great round, mossy space at the very center of the forest. Slower
now, the wings beat slowly and the crow drifts, settles and comes gently
to rest on the branches of a tree at the edge of the clearing... and
watches...
The sky darkens, from lavender to purple and now cobalt. A tiny flicker,
as though a small candle has been lit at the very center of the clearing.
The flame grows and becomes white, phosphorescent, too brilliant to gaze
upon, but then dims and becomes a form. The Merlin stands at the center.
He wears a shiny plaid robe.
Thunder... The earth rumbles and quakes. The very ground erupts
as huge, massive stones burst from the earth in a perfect circle at the edge
of the forest. They stand like giant spikes, walls of a fortress.
They are the Stones of Brodgar's Ring. In the distance the crow can
see the lochs that have followed the stones, shimmering dark sapphires with
seas of white mist roiling above them.
And now a different sound, like deep resounding cymbals. The ground
erupts yet again and a giant oak emerges and grows, higher and higher, as
if to touch the stars. Papa Oak spreads his massive limbs over the
clearing like the vaulted ceiling of a great cathedral, the stars beyond like
jeweled decorations. The sky is so darkly blue as to be black, but
no moon is yet visible.
Flickering lights appear in the clearing, at the East, the South, the West
and the North. Each light divides into two and from each flame a
figure emerges: East (Miss Pepper) with Air (Ariel); South
(Queen Brianna) with Fire (Siofra); West (Zephyr) with Water (Pagan);
North (Queen Whisper) with Earth (Duchess Henna).
There is an ever so slight change in the light on the horizon, a faint glow.
The Full Moon, the Paschal Moon, will soon begin its ascent.
