CONTENT WARNING: slight nudity (it's blurred and you can only see legs) mentions of giving birth, mentions of death and violence
UPDATE: 05/11/24: For those of you who want a quick start to get into the story, you can read the Quick Prologue here, which summaries all 3 Prologue chapters into 1.
[Excerpt from Brádach's diary]
This morning, our nerves were settled. Nine months of fear and impatience, and we are finally rewarded with the most beautiful gift anyone could ever receive. I must thank the Sun and Moon for their blessings upon us.
My darling Saoirse was in childbed for almost two long days. I do not have it in me to go through such a feat, so I did what I could, soothing and encouraging her. The birth of a child is the perfect reflection of the nature of life itself - raw, messy, somewhat terrifying, and yet still entirely beautiful. I feared for her life, but I must put my fear to one side momentarily. There is no emotion more powerful than the love for our newborn child. Once my darling Saoirse is awake, I owe her my utmost gratitude for bringing our daughter into the world safely, and for being as precious to me today as she was the day we met.
We decided months ago that, should our child be a girl, we would call her Áine - the goddess of the Sun and of fertility. That is what our daughter will be. She will be a ray of sunshine - and that she is already, with her bright eyes and a smile warm enough to thaw a harsh winter.
Though, in the privacy of this diary, I must write my wishes for my beautiful daughter. If Saoirse were to see this, she would be irate.
Áine Ó Sé, our Daughter, our Sun- I ask both the Sun and the Moon to bless you with normality, and not with the curse that is the blood of a witch. I hope that you grow to be like any other, without a trickle of magic within your veins.
Every passing day, I live in fear - of myself, of my partner, my people. I fear that the witch-hunts will claim us. It was foolish of me to believe I could put fear aside. It is too great, perhaps even greater than love, I dread to say - and I wish that were not so.
Áine, my dear, you were born much too early. You were born into a world that would hunt you down and slaughter you the way a pack of hunting hounds would rip a fox to pieces - and all for something you did not choose.
Should you be born with magic, my Sun, use it wisely. Should they try to burn you, burn them first. Be like your mother; be like the great Wolf. Loyal, yet fierce, ready to defend yourself and your pack should the moment arise.
I will do everything in my power to protect you.
UPDATE 09/01/25 - The wording is 90% the same, but I removed the pre-standardised English typing style of this chapter. It was so jarring to early readers that I never did it again, so I edited the grammar and standardised it for cohesion.
As a side note, please be sure you've read the Content Warnings linked on the Chapter Index, and though I have done a fair bit of research for this story it is still not entirely accurate to one era or time period, and I am also limited by availability of custom content.