The Rise of Drogeda

Nora’s grandmother, Riley, had just passed away. Riley had traveled over to America to Salem, Massachusetts during the 1920s with her late husband, Aiden, to make a new life for themselves. The rest of their family stayed in Ireland.

Aiden and Riley were successful in their jewelry business. Most of the pieces of jewelry they created were Irish and their pieces became extremely popular in Salem. Aiden and Riley had two children, Patrick and Alannah. The children were raised to appreciate Irish customs and visited with their Irish family a few times during their childhood.

As Patrick and Alannah grew up, got married, and started families of their own they passed on these Irish traditions to their children. Alannah and her husband, Darby, had one child named Nora who was the perfect likeness to her grandmother, Riley.

Riley’s funeral was beautiful and sentimental, but difficult. Her attorney met with the family and read her will. Patrick and Alannah inherited the jewelry business and her home. Nora inherited this special family heirloom which was a ruby necklace that held a significant power and history. She also received a letter written to her from her late grandmother explaining the importance of this necklace and her destiny in Ireland. Apparently, Nora came from the O’Leary clan that went back at least 3,000 years when the goddess, Aine, ruled Ireland and resided in a city called Drogeda. Four sisters that bore a birthmark shaped as a star on their right shoulder had the powers of fire, water, air, and earth and served as guardians to the goddess. Nora who was a descendant of the four sisters had inherited this special birthmark. She would have to go to Ireland and unite with her Irish cousins that also shared this same birthmark. When they all reunited, they would inherit the power of fire, earth, water, and air. Then their powers would raise the ancient city of Drogeda and bring the goddess, Aine, back to rule it.

Nora put the necklace around her neck and as soon as she did, she felt its power and significance. She loved her grandmother and wanted to honor her wishes, but it would be difficult to start a new life in a country she had only visited briefly on a couple of trips as a child.

Nora booked her one-way flight to Ireland and her hotel room. Then she packed her suitcases, got her passport, and gathered up her courage to fly to Ireland to fulfill this scary destiny. She also called one of the cousins she was most familiar with, Bridget, and talked to her about moving to Ireland. The timing of her visit could not be better because in one week they would observe one of the most powerful times for their reunion, the summer solstice. According to their ancestral destiny, these cousins would become the most powerful during this time and their reunion would bring back the ancient city of Drogeda and the goddess, Aine, to rule over it. When Nora’s plane landed in Ireland and she got settled, it would be time to meet her other cousins and discuss their destiny. Bridget did not want to overwhelm her cousin since she was going through so many transitions. She had just lost her grandmother, learned about this powerful, magical destiny, and was moving to a new country.

When Nora’s plane landed in Dublin, Ireland, Bridget was there at the airport to meet her. She hugged Nora and reassured her that everything would work out the way it was meant to because it was their destiny. Bridget helped her with her luggage and her belongings and loaded them into her car. Then she tried to make her feel more at ease as they drove from Dublin to the countryside. Nora could not believe how beautiful Ireland was and the images she had in her head from her childhood did not compare to the beauty she saw today. The land had this magical, mystical element to it that Massachusetts never had. She had traveled to many places in the United States and even to tropical places on vacation, but no other place held this kind of magic.

Bridget arrived in the small town of Skryne and drove Nora to her hotel. She told Nora to get settled and she would pick her up in the morning for breakfast and to meet the other cousins. Nora closed the door and waved to Bridget and then checked in at the front desk. Her hotel was not a grand hotel like the Hilton that she was accustomed to, but she felt comfortable in this place and was ready to go to her room and get some sleep. Nora opened the door to her room and to her surprise, it was like a bed and breakfast she had stayed in years before in New England. She called her parents to let them know she had arrived in Skryne safely and told them of her plans to meet with her cousins tomorrow morning. Then she unpacked her clothes and got ready for bed. Tomorrow would be a big day for her. It was her destiny after all.

She woke up when her cell phone rang. It was Bridget calling and telling her that she would be there to pick her up in an hour. Nora got out of bed and started getting herself ready to meet the other two cousins. She wondered what they would be like, and hoped they would be as friendly as Bridget.

Bridget arrived exactly at 9:30 AM to pick up Nora. Nora had on leggings and boots with a loose shirt and a nice colorful scarf. The weather in Ireland was a little chilly and she wanted not to dress too formal or too casually to meet her other cousins.

Bridget pulled on to a small street right in front of a cute cottage. She could not have imagined a more perfect home for this particular cousin. Bridget opened the door, and the other two cousins were waiting inside to meet their cousin, Nora, from America. Sloane and Cara introduced themselves and hugged Nora as she walked in the door. They all sat down, and Bridget made them some tea. She pulled a book from the bookshelf and read from it. It was an ancient book with their ancestral family name on it. At 8:00 PM on the summer solstice, the cousins would stand in the four cardinal directions repeating an Irish chant and as the sun shone through the Hill of Tara and on the Newgrange monument, the ancient city of Drogeda would rise. As the city rose, the goddess Aine would ascend down and take her place on the throne to rule over the city.

Finally, it was the day of the summer solstice. Bridget picked up Nora, Sloane, and Cara and then drove them to her cottage to pick up all the necessary supplies to raise this ancient city and to bring the goddess, Aine, back to rule over it. They drove to the Hill of Tara and set everything in its place and then waited until 7:50 to begin chanting. At 8:00 when the sunlight was the strongest the cousins could feel the power in the words and through their bodies. Nora felt her body become fire, Sloane felt her body become water, Cara felt her body become air, and Bridget felt her body become earth. The sun’s light hit the monument, the earth trembled and then this city below the ground began to rise. Their bodies continued to tremble and glow. The cousins felt more power and magic than they had ever felt in their life. Lightning lit up the sky and traveled all around them along with wind, water, and fire. It was beautiful and shone with a gold glow. Then down from the heavens this angelic woman covered in a white cloud landed in the middle of this city.

Then finally, the earth returned to normal as the ancient city stood where it was located thousands of years ago. The goddess, Aine, would now rule this city again and the cousins would serve as the guardians to the goddess and help her rule Drogeda. These cousins had fulfilled their destiny of bringing to life an ancient city and its ruler. Aine spoke to them and expressed her gratitude for their sacrifice and knowledge of the ancient customs. She also shared her vision of how she wanted to rule her kingdom. As she spoke her words were like lyrics in a song, and the townspeople from Skryne began walking toward Drogeda. They would live here in this magical, mystical place and help fulfill this destiny that had been prophesized thousands of years ago.

Now their concern would be the phantom, Gorta. When he learned of their success, he would come to destroy them and the city. This battle would be epic.