Start Here: Hiraeth
All the chapters
The first episode was published over at Stardust Press before it went on hiatus and I’ve republished it here. Each stand alone episode is posted directly here to The Môrdreigiau Chronicles. In addition to each instalment, I include a song that acted as inspiration for the episode plus some Author Notes.
Hiraeth
Hiraeth (heer-eye-th) charts the story of a Chosen Court who are called to uncover a new homeland for the sea dragons, the dreigiau môr. Meet this Chosen Court after disaster has already struck.
The way forward is (currently) lost, and the way back ditto ditto. If you’ve read A Grail for Eidothea or The Prophet and the Cupbearer, you know that a Chosen Court is formed around a prophet who has visions of the future, and these visions guide the path the Court must take. Our story opens with this Chosen Court’s prophet in a comatose state. They have lost their guiding star.
They are lost in a strange, strange sea, populated above and below with strange and magical creatures. (Please note that dreigiau môr are also strange, magical creatures, so it’s a bit like calling the kettle black but we humans are so good at Othering.)
Will they discover a new homeland? Will they find their way back home? Will these new challenges fracture or strengthen this Chosen Court? Are you ready to read it?
A Note on Notations
Throughout, I have used the colon (:) to mark conversations occurring via thoughts, instead of being spoken aloud, an ability unique to the dreigiau môr. This is the convention used by Eidothea in her diary, presumably because italics wasn’t an option for her, so in writing this story, I continued to annotate it in this way.
Need a Glossary?
Episodes
Episodes posted here once a month. This serial is currently on hiatus with plans to resume by May 2025.
Cast
The Chosen Court are all dreigiau môr, sea dragons who can transform into human shape when they are within the bounds of their home city, Caer Morgana, or when not submerged in the sea.
Each Chosen Court is bound together, their hearts are connected so they know when they are in danger and in quieter times, what each are feeling. Since Braith lost consciousness, their bond has weakened and faded.
Myfanwy: Queen of the Chosen Court, best friends with Llewelyn and Braith since childhood. Her dark auburn hair has turned white after her altercation with the Ferryman. In dragon form, her scales are purple with gold tips.
Braith: the Chosen Court prophet, guides the court through her visions. Unfortunately, she is now comatose and they have lost their guiding star. In human form, she has very long black hair Her scales are blue.
Llewelyn: Sword of the Chosen Court, handfasted to Braith. His scales are red. In human form, his black hair is tied back in braids.
Gwalchmei: bard, attached to the Chosen Court to record their story. In human form, he has the bard’s characteristic white hair. His scales are ice blue with iridescent tips.
Medwyn: Chosen Court Healer, but his healing skills have faded since Braith, yet are still fairly powerful. He has green scales.
Ceri: Her Chosen Court symbol is the Starfish, but nobody knows what role she is meant to play. Her silver tipped scales are teal.
Return to the Master Index of all the books and stories in The Môrdreigiau Chronicles universe:
Start Here: The Môrdreigiau Chronicles
Here’s the Glossary (helpful with the Welsh words!) I found this old trunk in my attic. I started this publication to share all I have found within it. The first find is a diary from 1814. It’s magical. It’s full of hidden journaling and talks about sea dragons, or dreigiau môr.
Awesome!