This story feels old as time and is so beautifully told. I wish I could express how it felt to read this, but I just can’t quite put it into words. Wordless as I am, I couldn’t NOT comment. What a gift you have.
You painted a landscape with words as raw as any Turner painting. It was easy to fall into the narrative and be swept along. I really liked the tone—it was bleak and harsh and grey but always hopeful. His belief held the story together even though he didn't understand what was driving him. That feels like the life of an artist to me. Beautiful.
Thank you! I'm really enjoying seeing how many people resonate with Oissene. I think it speaks to how, despite the massive social and technological changes, the human experience of truth seeking remains constant.
I wonder if it is because of the social and technological changes that the desire for “truth” is growing. We have become more distant from each other and the world around us, our sense of what is real and what is not is amorphous - faith, love, hope and truth have become aspirational rather than foundational. Oissene seems to understand the need to work hard at these things, they are not given, they are learned and earned. You can’t swipe right and find truth.
That is such a good point, and so profound. "You can't swipe right and find truth". Seeking is not a priority in our instant-gratification society, but there are definitely those of us who are willing to take the long, hard road to learning something more.
I’m trying to be a journey person… no destination needed. It’s hard, but by the end of each day, I hope to learn something new, one step further away from ignorance.
Beautifully written, the language you chose and Oissene's journey out of and through himself is such a human one and he got the added mer experience. A strange baptism, in a way. Returning reborn, fully himself.
Thank you, Lyndsey. That's exactly it. I think a lot of us make a journey like this in our lives (although with fewer mythical beings, perhaps!) and we find the answers are inside ourselves. The 'quest' is just a vehicle for discovering the true self.
Very resonant with me as The Skelligs are just right next to my father's home town and I've been on Skellig Michael several times.
Your excellent story makes me think of the ending of Werner Herzog's Heart of Glass - a mythical jump that suddenly moves the story from a Bavarian mountain village to a kind of epilogue on Skellig Michael where the shaman figure is rowing into the ocean.
Wow that's amazing that you have a personal connection to the place. I have a very special memory from there with my own dad. Yes, I didn't want to go into what Oissene learned, but I did want to give some kind of closure to his story - a hero's return, if you like. Glad you enjoyed it.
What an amazing allegory for the human spiritual condition!
I am sending your story to my friends in recovery. Everyone has a tendency to look toward external sources to solve an internal problem. Their physical reality continues to beat the crap out of them as if crying for help. "Look inside. Find me. Can't you hear my screams?" Sadly, our feminine and masculine attributes, designed as protectors, have become self-serving monsters. Like children they require attention and the utmost care.
this is very evocative of the north Northumberland coast, what with lindisfarne and so on… you really take me to those harsh stormy islands and the times of the early monks and hermits. and then the strange ending with the mermaids and the primal god/spirit… a sudden leap into a mystical realm that wasnt expected. tantalising.
i do like your sparse prose. I am prone to either over doing the descriptive or trying to do what you have done here and make things very taut. it definitely helps conjure up a more real experience and livid sensation of PLACE , in my opinion, compared to wild exaggerated prose which to me conjures up personalites and people more vividly.
Here it is the place that is everything, isnt it… so you've done a beautiful job and left so many questions!
Beautiful! I clicked on this one after discovering your Substack because I love the song “Skellig” by Loreena Mckennitt, and this story gave me a similar feeling, a sort of spiritual melancholy.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and you have no idea what a huge compliment that is. I LOVE Loreena McKennitt, and it was that song - along with a memory I have of seeing the Skelligs - that inspired me to write this. If I managed to recreate even a little of the haunting, spiritual atmosphere of that song in my writing, I am thrilled!
This is absolutely beautiful, Katharine. For me it was always a tale of contrast and conflict right until that last section. The clash of the spiritual divine with the natural sublime. The internal conflict of finding a place, needing a purpose but being unable to find the words to describe it. This particularly resonated with me, and the experience of living underwater, in the darkness of the soul to find a passage back into the light was truly moving. All the time the natural world was used to enhance the character and build the tension in the constant conflict. I really loved this.
This story feels old as time and is so beautifully told. I wish I could express how it felt to read this, but I just can’t quite put it into words. Wordless as I am, I couldn’t NOT comment. What a gift you have.
Thank you! What a wonderful comment! I'm so glad you did decided to write it.
You painted a landscape with words as raw as any Turner painting. It was easy to fall into the narrative and be swept along. I really liked the tone—it was bleak and harsh and grey but always hopeful. His belief held the story together even though he didn't understand what was driving him. That feels like the life of an artist to me. Beautiful.
Thank you! I'm really enjoying seeing how many people resonate with Oissene. I think it speaks to how, despite the massive social and technological changes, the human experience of truth seeking remains constant.
I wonder if it is because of the social and technological changes that the desire for “truth” is growing. We have become more distant from each other and the world around us, our sense of what is real and what is not is amorphous - faith, love, hope and truth have become aspirational rather than foundational. Oissene seems to understand the need to work hard at these things, they are not given, they are learned and earned. You can’t swipe right and find truth.
That is such a good point, and so profound. "You can't swipe right and find truth". Seeking is not a priority in our instant-gratification society, but there are definitely those of us who are willing to take the long, hard road to learning something more.
I’m trying to be a journey person… no destination needed. It’s hard, but by the end of each day, I hope to learn something new, one step further away from ignorance.
Beautifully written, the language you chose and Oissene's journey out of and through himself is such a human one and he got the added mer experience. A strange baptism, in a way. Returning reborn, fully himself.
Thank you, Lyndsey. That's exactly it. I think a lot of us make a journey like this in our lives (although with fewer mythical beings, perhaps!) and we find the answers are inside ourselves. The 'quest' is just a vehicle for discovering the true self.
Very resonant with me as The Skelligs are just right next to my father's home town and I've been on Skellig Michael several times.
Your excellent story makes me think of the ending of Werner Herzog's Heart of Glass - a mythical jump that suddenly moves the story from a Bavarian mountain village to a kind of epilogue on Skellig Michael where the shaman figure is rowing into the ocean.
Wow that's amazing that you have a personal connection to the place. I have a very special memory from there with my own dad. Yes, I didn't want to go into what Oissene learned, but I did want to give some kind of closure to his story - a hero's return, if you like. Glad you enjoyed it.
What an amazing allegory for the human spiritual condition!
I am sending your story to my friends in recovery. Everyone has a tendency to look toward external sources to solve an internal problem. Their physical reality continues to beat the crap out of them as if crying for help. "Look inside. Find me. Can't you hear my screams?" Sadly, our feminine and masculine attributes, designed as protectors, have become self-serving monsters. Like children they require attention and the utmost care.
Wow. Thank you, Rachel 🙏🏼 This is something that is very close to my heart/soul.
Just very very good. A terrific journey. Congratulations, Katherine!
Thanks, James!
Portrays the harsh reality of the depth of commitment necessary to take a hero’s journey and awaken into oneself. Fabulous in every way. I loved it!
Thank you so much, Rachel!
This was a beautiful story. 🌊
Thank you, Michael!
Thank you, Nick! What a lovely comment to read on a Saturday morning!
this is very evocative of the north Northumberland coast, what with lindisfarne and so on… you really take me to those harsh stormy islands and the times of the early monks and hermits. and then the strange ending with the mermaids and the primal god/spirit… a sudden leap into a mystical realm that wasnt expected. tantalising.
i do like your sparse prose. I am prone to either over doing the descriptive or trying to do what you have done here and make things very taut. it definitely helps conjure up a more real experience and livid sensation of PLACE , in my opinion, compared to wild exaggerated prose which to me conjures up personalites and people more vividly.
Here it is the place that is everything, isnt it… so you've done a beautiful job and left so many questions!
😎
This is so tantalising. I love the philosophical undertones. Beautifully written. Congratulations on your win! Very well deserved
Thank you, Ika!
Excellent! Speaks to my half-Irish soul. Congratulations on your deserved Lunar Awards win!
Thank you! Yes, that coastline … so beautiful and desolate. I think many stories have been blown into people’s faces from the North Atlantic!
this is gorgeous. you have created a myth every bit as complex and wondrous as the ancient ones.
Thank you so much!
I am so delighted for you that this won the fantasy lunar award. It's so atmospheric and beautifully written. ❤️
Thank you, Hanna! That means a lot!
Beautiful! I clicked on this one after discovering your Substack because I love the song “Skellig” by Loreena Mckennitt, and this story gave me a similar feeling, a sort of spiritual melancholy.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and you have no idea what a huge compliment that is. I LOVE Loreena McKennitt, and it was that song - along with a memory I have of seeing the Skelligs - that inspired me to write this. If I managed to recreate even a little of the haunting, spiritual atmosphere of that song in my writing, I am thrilled!
This is absolutely beautiful, Katharine. For me it was always a tale of contrast and conflict right until that last section. The clash of the spiritual divine with the natural sublime. The internal conflict of finding a place, needing a purpose but being unable to find the words to describe it. This particularly resonated with me, and the experience of living underwater, in the darkness of the soul to find a passage back into the light was truly moving. All the time the natural world was used to enhance the character and build the tension in the constant conflict. I really loved this.
Alan, thank you so much for your thoughtful words!