The Truth About Old Geisgal Gaisgeach - Part 1

There once was a troll named Geisgal Gaisgeach. He was known far and wide as the bravest of his kin. From the top of Ben Nevis to the bottom of the Rockall Trough, songs rang of Geisgal's adventures.

Neach-Iarraidh Firinn was a young troll, only a couple hundred years old, where our tale picks up. She had heard all the stories about Geisgal and could recount many of them from the heart. She was fascinated by the man, who had become something of a living legend over time. Her mother, Teagmhach, tried to curb her enthusiasm for all things Geisgal. Nea, as she was known for short, refused to give up and hoped to meet Geisgal one day.

She had heard whisperings of cattle going missing in the north near the foot of Ben MacDui. The same area featured in Scottish human folklore about Am Fear Liath Mòr, or Big Grey Man.

Humans are not the best at recording the comings and goings of troll folk, though. So, while Nea consulted their books for a description, the information was somewhat sparse. One report spoke of a creature (Nea spits in disgust as she reads that term) that was incredibly thin, tall, very tall. More than ten feet tall, the records show, with darkened skin and hair and very broad shoulders with long, protruding arms. Silly humans (her words, not mine, dear reader) never really saw much but heard the crunching of gravel behind them and just a feeling of unease.

One thing Nea always marvelled about human folk was their undying sense of curiosity. Trollfolk, considering their otherworldly appearance and nature, are actually more grounded. This explains why Nea's mother was so against the idea of even the existence of this mythical creature, even among troll folk.

Although Nea would never disclose her location for fear of other human folk finding out, she lived close to Aviemore, which was handy because there was an easy route to follow. She had been over that way before, but never on her own.

Nea knew her mother would disapprove, so she had to wait until she was asleep, and then she would sneak out.

You are probably wondering how a troll sneaks around anywhere, but I will ask you the same thing she asked me "Given trolls are everywhere, when was the last time you actually saw one?".

On the morning she set out, the fog was on Nea's side; it was as if something was willing her to search out Geisgal. Nea began her journey. I would say it was perilous, but the reality is that she only had to be worried about humans. The route to the summit should be clear, as it was not the best climbing conditions for humans and their frail bodies.

She had to be careful around Aviemore ski centre because they would still use the facilities even if very few humans were out and about. By troll standards, Nea was very slight and was just over eight feet tall. Her long raven-black hair had speckles of silver that twinkled when the sun's rays hit them. Fortunately, there was no sun today. She was dressed in white robes to help her blend in with the scenery. Compared to some fabled trolls, her attire was rather smart and attractive.

Still, she was a troll, and the last thing she wanted was to deal with another like me.

She covered a lot of the more desolate land quickly. When she arrived at the ski area for the ski centre, she carefully made her way towards the car park, obviously taking care not to be seen by some children that had passed by, then followed a series of stone steps up a hill, though trekking up the grass, to avoid breaking the stones and then walked along a path at the top of the hill. She came to a fork in the road and then took the right-hand path that directed her gently southwest and across Coire a t-Sneachda, which is one of the most accessible glacial cirques in the country.

Due to the journey and fog, she barely noticed that the day was dying out. This meant, at the very least, that she did not need to be so careful of scaring humans. She still had to have her wits about her because if Geisgal was real, he would be challenging to find.

Continuing along the path on the right, as it steadily took her up the western side of Coire a Lochain, she stopped in her tracks because she heard the strangest of things. There was whistling and singing. That must be Geisgal, she thought. But, wait...she was stunned as the voice she heard was definitely female.

As she approached the top of the plateau that led to the loch, she saw, in the darkness, a tall and slender figure. She gasped, and suddenly, the whistling and singing stopped. Nea tried to remain calm but gasped again as the white figure turned to reveal that it was a very slender, very tall female troll.

*

Thanks for reading.

Another story for the Tales from The Great Book of Troll Tales book I have started work on.

I hope you enjoy it.

Author's Note: Am Fear Liath Mòr is really a part of Scottish folklore. Geisgal Gaisgeach may be something I made up, though. Maybe...

Explanation of names:

Geisgal Gaisgeach - Brave Warrior

Neach-Iarraidh Firinn - Truth Seeker

Teagmhach - Doubtful

The other Troll tale can be found here:

For something not troll-related, you might like this:

or

You can also take a look at the rest of my work here.