Once, a very long time ago there was a place known as the Otherworld. The Otherworld was a place of extremes; happiness, sadness, love, joy, anger, fear, lust, hatred, ect… It was also a place of magic. The most powerful of the races were theTuatha Dé Danann. Known as gods and goddesses they ruled the Otherworld with a firm yet fair hand. Their magic was unrivaled, at least for a while.

You see there was another race of powerful beings who wanted control of the Otherworld, the Firbolg. They were horrible monsters only interested in power, domination, and destruction.

After thousands of earth years of peace the Firbolg mounted an unprecedented attack on the Danann. The battles were fierce and costly. Soon only five of the Tuatha Dé Danann remained , Brigid, daughter of the legendary Dagda, High King of the people, and her four youngest daughters, Ériu,Banba, Fódla, and the youngest and arguably the most powerful, The Morrígan. Even less of the Firbolg remained, but that didn't negate the fact that they were powerful and determined to take control.

Now you must know that in the years before the attack Brigid had constructed another realm, separate from the Otherworld. It was just as vast as the Otherworld but not nearly interconnected as it. She filled this realm with creatures of all different shapes, colors, sizes, intellects, and other attributes, despite these many differences these creatures all had one thing in common, they had souls. They could die in a way no Otherworlder could. She called this place the mortal world and these creatures (though they would soon develop their own identities) mortals.

If the Firbolg were to gain control of the Otherworld then the mortal world would soon fall to these beasts. With that in mind Brigid conceived one final desperate plan.

"Do not cry for me little ones," she'd told her daughters before she'd gone off to what would hopefully be the final battle. "We all must sacrifices for what we hold."

The girls, as young as they were, nodded and tried to dry their tears. Brigid went out to battle, ready to face her enemy. With her she brought the Four Treasures of her people. The Spear Luin, the Stone of Fal, the Sword of Nuada, and her father's own possession, the Dagda's Cauldron.

The battle was long and vicious. Finally Brigid managed to subdue the last remaining Firbolg. Using all of her powers she bound the creature to the inside of the four treasures. She then sent the Hallows to the mortal world and sent each Hallow to a corner of the earth.

Seeing her victory her daughters had run out to meet their mother. But the battle had been too much, before her daughters could reach her Brigid faded away, into the shadows that consumed her kind once they expired.

Her vast powers went to the three eldest girls, as did the duty of protecting the mortal world. Little Morrígan received the rest of her ancestors' great power, amplifying her already vast magical ability. The three eldest, or Triad as they would come to be known as, created a magical veil in order to shield the mortal world from the horrors of the Otherworld. The veil was completely effective everywhere but the youngest world, earth. There were small holes and tears where magical creatures could venture forth for better or worse. It was here the Triad decided to call home, they settled on a small green island that reminded them of their Otherworldly home. The Morrígan became a wanderer, traveling all over the Otherworld and the mortal world.

As the years wore on the daughters grew into beauty and into power, but none more so than The Morrígan. She soon came to represent a harsher nature than her sisters. In the mortal world she soon became associated with Death, War, and paradoxically, of Sovereignty, Wealth, and Fertility. Her sisters had a considerably more favorable reputation; they were viewed as the great mothers of the world, givers of all things good and great.

It was an age of relative peace and prosperity. The four sisters had made sure that the Four Hallows were well guarded and that a select few people knew of the horrors they held. Soon however the peace was broken. A new militant religion called Christianity soon began taking hold of the former Roman Empire. While the Romans had never conquered Ireland, the Triad's home, they had conquered the neighboring island of Britannia.

Soon it was obvious this new religion wouldn't, couldn't tolerate any other god except its own. As the followers grew in numbers and in might the Triad had a dilemma on their hands; Destroy the Christians before they demolished them or stand down?

Finally a decision was made. The sisters would transfer their powers into a single vessel, a daughter born to a mortal woman. The Morrígan would effectively become Queen of the Otherworld while the child would grow up among mortals and keep their magic safe.

So the Triad sacrificed themselves and transferred all their power to the womb of Igrain the Fair, mother of Morgan Le Fey and Arthur Pendragon. After the child was born Nimue, the Triad's priestess, wiped Igrain's memory and took the child, called The Ash Child for her extraordinary origins, to live in Ireland.

The Ash Child grew up like a princess, trained in every art except magic. She could speak all of the world's tongues, could ride, fence, and brawl better than any man; she had a special gift with musical instruments and could dance exceptionally well.

Soon, grown and a great beauty she took her place in her half-brother's court and soon was beloved by the King and his Knights. Not everyone however was so enthralled with the new princess. Queen Guinevere, Sir Lancelot, Morgan Le Fey, and Nimue all feared and resented the Ash Child's influence over Arthur. In order to protect Arthur and her power the Ash Child sought out the Morrígan, unaware that the last of the Danann had been watching over the young woman since her birth.

The two formed a sincere, if tenuous, bond and began working for the utopia like peace that had prevailed in the Triad's time. Despite their best efforts however Arthur eventually fell, at the hands of his own bastard son no less. All was not lost however. Arthur's soul was allowed safe residence in Avalon, the World between Worlds and the Ash Child came into fuller understanding of her powers.

Soon their bond strengthened and they became the best of friends. As the years passed they molded to whatever the time period needed them to be. Together they kept their magic, the legacy of the Morrígan's people, and the Four Treasures safe.

But how long can such a prison hold? After all…nothing is forever…

Except from A Secret Mythos: What The Emerald Isles Hide by Sheena Mac Muiris