Editing TBV Aobh (section)

==Background:==

“Is it the custom of your people to stare at strangers? Or have you never seen a ''tapduvh'' before? It is in the shape of a spiral because that is the most powerful of all magical patterns, as everybody knows, and it winds around my left eye because that is the eye that sees spirits. 

“What a strange question. Small needles dipped in potent dye and poked into my face? Of course it hurt! But what worthwhile does not hurt?

“My necklace is a spiral, too, and it will grow longer as I find and add spirit tòcan. Spirits are attracted to different...what is your word…’matters’, maybe? And spirits are needed for magic. This lignum knot is for owl spirits, this amber is for tree spirits, and so on. Stag antler, silver coin, horn of ram...and this is the shell from a creature of the sea, which I have never seen. I have many tócan, but I seek many more. 

“Which one? Oh, that is a knuckle bone, from an enemy of my ''teagsaig''. That is not a word in your language...maybe ‘master’ or ‘teacher’ is close.

“My ''teagsaig'' is the chief droidh of my people. He came and took me from my family when I was little and made me his ''foghlainte''...which was a great honor for my family...and now I am ''doideag'', too. 

“The difference? ''Droidh'' and ''doideag'' are the same thing, mostly. One is a man and one is a woman. Don’t you know anything?

“It was he who sent me north along the great river. He lay in a dream hut for three days and nights and the spirits...well, it is enough for you to know that he sent me to come here. And a good thing he did, for these Northmen know little enough about spirits. But maybe there are things for me to learn, too. Such as these plants I found on my journey here; will you look and tell me what you know of them…?”