Writings of Liz

Before I go any further

Fri, 13 Aug 2004 23:17:31 GMT

Before I go any further with posting chapters, since I've had several comments, I wanted to post a little list of historical facts related to the book. I don't mean to offend anyone with this novel, but in truth, Christianity (and as was stated in the book, a small corrupt sect of Christians) did destroy many of the belief systems native to the places I am writing about. Also, please keep in mind, that this is a FANTASY novel. I do not believe that there were, or ever will be cat and dog people, I only believe in their existance in mythology and the existance of animal worshipers in history. Furthermore, if people find it capable of liking elves and dragons in fantasy, why not cat and dog people? The point of this book is from a spiritual belief (used in countless religions) that if you worship something...like cats, for instance, once you die, you will become the animal, or in this case, something like it. The majority of these references will be printed in the novel anyway.

Ok, links:

King Arthur and the Cat and dog people

"After the above passage the poem develops into a list of Arthur's men and their exploits recounted by Arthur, including deeds by Arthur himself:

Though Arthur laughed [or ?played]
he caused the/her blood to flow
in Afarnach's hall,
fighting with a witch.
He pierced Cudgel(?) Head
in the dwellings of Disethach.
On the mountain of Edinburgh
he fought with dogheads.
By the hundred they fell;
they fell by the hundred
before Bedwyr the Perfect [or Perfect-Sinew].
(Lines 37-47: Sims-Williams, 1991, pp.41-2)
The final conflict mentioned by the poem (lines 81-90) is a battle against lleuon, ‘lions, wild-cats’ and the monstrous sea-cat Cath Paluc ('Clawing Cat', later 'Palug's Cat') attributed to Cai. In other sources this features Arthur rather than Cai and it seems probable that all the sources are recounting a generally Arthurian battle, with Cai simply made prominent in Pa gur?'s telling and Arthur elsewhere (see further 'Arthur's Death & Destiny' in 'Concepts of Arthur'). This might well apply to all the battles referred to in the poem and it is most interesting that the Arthurian battle against were-wolves at Traeth Tryfrwyd, mentioned in Pa gur? (lines 19-22, 48-51) as involving both Bedwyr and the sea-god Manawydan son of Llyr, is included in Historia Brittonum chapter 56 as Arthur's tenth battle.- All from the Welsh Mabinogion a Welsh Arthurian text"

http://www.maryjones.us/jce/cathpalug.html Cath Palu, Celtic cat goddess

http://www.caithness.org/ Caithness, Scotland, home of the main cat worshiping tribe and shrine to goddess Cath Palu

http://www.geocities.com/~tinkerbella/cat_people_page.html Caitti Tribe of cat worshipers

http://per-bast.org/bast/ Goddess Bast of Egypt

http://www.crystalinks.com/cat.html General site about cat worshipping

http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/com/pathology/sherman/vet_mdt/cats.htm Info on the Temple of Bast

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Andes/1029/cat.html Lions

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/2003/hello_kitty.htm A Christian perspective on Cat Cults/ cat worshipping

All just fyi, I hope you all find these interesting. There are tons more where those came from.

Caladhor, chapter three

Thu, 12 Aug 2004 23:12:29 GMT

This one is very short, but it seemed like an appropriate place to break it. The formal novel version will most likely be different.

The giggling children squirmed on the cool floor of the temple, waiting for their lessons to begin. It was an unusually hot day for early spring, and the classmates longed to be playing outdoors instead of listening to a boring lesson. The excitement of the coming festival made them almost uncontrollable.

Nashira was distracted too, as she watched the restless children with vague annoyance. "Quiet and calm in the temple, please! This is a holy place!" she snapped, a piercing fire darting from her eyes. The children were instantly still, and she laughed to herself. They honestly believed I would turn them into something if they misbehaved, she thought,. "Let us begin today’s lessons. First, we will learn of the stories and history of Cathsieg, and how our people came into being, and after that I will teach you about the great festival of Sollaine which is approaching. Then I will select the students who will become initiates into the Sacred Order of Amont Valay, The Keepers of the Temple and Myth Keepers."

The children gave her a look of polite admiration, and she smiled and began to speak." In the very beginning, we were humans, and we lived on the earth. Humans have no fur, or tails, and their ears are not pointed. Our human ancestors worshipped the cats and the beasts of the wild, and painted and dressed themselves to look like them. They lead a peaceful, religious life in a deep green forest, and held many festivals and rituals just as we do. The The men who followed the cross thought that they worshipped demons, and feared them. They thought that they were evil sorcerers who would harm them, and they drove them out of their land and fought great battles against them .Our ancestors escaped into this world,that had made been for us long before humans walked on Earth. Nashira told them the story of creation:

"In the very beginning, A new, green land called Caladhor rose from the Eok Bay. From this land, grew Amidis, the sun, and Sohalia, the moon. Amidis was a dog, powerful and cunning with glowing, red wavy locks. Sohalia was a black cat, with fur as dark as night. Her yellow eyes became the stars. Sohalia and Amidis were lovers, bound by a celestial pull, so strong that planets sprung into the sky when they looked into each other's eyes. But at first touch, a line of fire spread down the earth where they stood, and the bond between sun and moon, cat and dog, male and female, was broken. From the line of fire, grew the great Irspides River, so vast that sun and moon were parted, and could never be brought together."

Many of the children held her gaze in captivated awe. Una, the shy one, had big eyes and a sweet look of wonder on her face. Finn, the mischief maker in the class, looked up at her and said "No tails!" he wrinkled his nose, made an odd face, and stroked his tail protectively. The rest of the children giggled, and looked at their tails, trying to comprehend how strange humans must look. Nashira sighed and gave them a stern look.

"Now I will teach you of the festival." Nashira continued. "The festival celebrates the joining of the sun, the moon and the earth. It is held every sprng, during the time when the portal between the worlds is open, and when the world has become reborn. It is held on three days. On the first day, there is a huge barge parade in the river, and it is the celebration of the awakening of light. On the second day, there are games, and storytelling, and the weaving of the great tapestry that tells the story of our lives of us and the deeds of our ancestors. It is the day of remembrance, and of happiness and hope for things to come. The third day is the holiest day of the year. All of the priestesses meditate and pray to see visions of what is to come during the year. The people continue their games and feasting until nightfall, when everyone parades to the sacred May Apple Grove, and marriage bonds are sealed, people are initiated into the religion, babies are dedicated, and life, and our sacred moon, are celebrated with a huge fire and merrymaking. After the chosen children are initiated, the young ones will go home."

"But what happens late at night during the last night of the festival? All the adults leave us children, I remember, and then come back by dawn" chirped Bram.

"That part of the night is very sacred, and a little frightening. When you are older, you will know what goes on. If you go out after midnight on the third night, children, the Irusan of Knowth may take you away to his lair I have heard."

She almost giggled, but maintained her stern demeanor. "My last task for today is to pick the two children who will become initiates this year. Everyone did well, but I feel these children are ready for higher things now. "This year, I have picked Fiona and Namir. You will be accepted into the holy order, and you will someday provide a great service to the Caith". The stunned children stood, and smiled bashfully. Nashira secretly liked these two the best. They were quiet, calm, intelligent, and serious. When asked, they always knew the answers to questions, and she had great faith in them.

The two chosen ones had just come forward when Niamh unexpectantly appeared. The children beamed with delight at her presence. They loved the high priestess and she showered them with kindness. Nashira was shocked that Niamh had arrived before her appointed time. She spoke quietly to Nashira, "You must come to the Temple at once.I need your help". Nashira dismissed the class and struggled with a flurry of emotions as she watched the children happily burst from the room into the freedom of a sunny day.

Friends Only

Wed, 11 Aug 2004 20:07:44 GMT

1. Comment
2. I'll evaluate and possibly add you

No hard feelings, folks, this is my private writing and is very special to me. Feel free to comment, though!