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A time ago, when the world began, a people emerged that were so intuned with the elements that they could control the forces of nature. Or so they believed.

They believed that certain things came about if the people wished them. In their minds, the sun god, Belenus, brought the sun out every morning just for them; to give them light and warmth.

They were the Tuatha, the people of Eire. Their lives were hard, but most found that given to them were many opportunities for the simple pleasures. The people of Eire were very interrested in all forms of art, invented, it was said, by the goddess Ceridwen herself, and taught to the Tuatha through dreams and visions.

To the tuatha, dreams were very important. They signified who you were or who you were to become. They believed that if you dreamt about something, sooner or later it would happen.

In honor of the many gods in which the Tuatha believed, they preformed rituals and held festivals at appointed times of the year. But there was a problem: most of the people insisted on working on festival days, and always bad things followed. A few of the people believed that the gods were angered. They could not have been more right.

The others, however, stuck to their old ways with the notion that the gods would let them live for the sake of their families. Little they knew of the thin wire which held them, dangling, over the pit of destruction.

Among the true believers was a young girl named Chundrea. She and a few others desperately tried to persuade the people to listen to the will of the gods. But their pleas were ignored. The people didn't realize that the gods could strike them down at any moment. But what Chundrea feared most was that her mother and father were among the foolish. These were the people she pleaded with the most.

"Mama, please, the housework can wait. The weaving can wait. It's a festival day, the gods don't like us working on their day. They'll send the rains again!"

"Nonesense, child, it is just a day like any other. I'm sure the gods would want to find my house clean when they looked down upon it. And if I don't get this weaving done, You'll not have warm clothes when the bad weather does come. Thread can't weave itself, you know." This was just the kind of response she got anywhere she went.

The temple, supposedly a holy place, was used for meetings, sentencings, and many other things that had no place there. Sometimes a trade market was held there. This further infuriated the gods, who sent torrents of rain down upon them, which flooded the fields and ruined the crops. But the people ignored this and went on about their foolish ways.

Chundrea never went to that temple. She had a special spot, high up on a hill where she felt she was closest to the gods. A large stone was on top of the hill, and Chundrea often dreamed of making her own temple. Every day she climbed the hill in order to be safely away where she could meditate and pray without any interruptions. She often stayed there from sunrise to sunset. Andraste, her future husband, would see her up there and hope that someday a message would be given to her. A message that would make everyone see just how angry the gods really were. Hopefully, in time to save them all.

One night, after Chundrea left her post on the hill, Andraste walked up and carefully surveyed the stone. As he ran his hand along its smooth surface, Chundrea's words shot through him, though he had never heard her speak them:

"If only I could have a temple up here."

Andraste thought. He was sure that he could carve a building out of this block, but he couldn't be sure if that's what Chundrea had meant. After a time Andraste went back down to the village for his tools.

All that week Andraste worked, praying all the time. He hoped the gods would help him on his task. He slept where he worked and ate whatever he could find in the sky. He believed that the gods sent the birds to him and that he was doing exactly what they wanted him to.

On the day before the blessed morn, which was what they called their holy day, the basic building was complete. Andraste then went deep into the forest and felled a huge tree. From that tree he built shelves, an altar, a stool and several bowls and bottles for storage. The temple was now complete. And a beautiful one it was. The whole thing was marble, with a circle of gold that Andraste had inlaid in the middle of the floor; to add that extra special touch. The altar was just outside the circle and the shelves on the back walls. Andraste was sure that Chundrea would love it. He hoped the gods were pleased.

That night, Andraste was so tired, he decided to spendone more night in the temple. He took his sleeping mat and laid it out in the center of the circle. Immediately, he fell asleep and began to dream a wonderful dream. In his dream, a goddess came to him and thanked him for building the temple. She also told him to marry Chundrea in that very temple as soon as possible, and that Chundrea would be a very powerful woman someday.

The young man awoke that next morning filled with hope and love for Chundrea. Before the sun was completely up, he stole down the hill and walked toward the village. As he entered his door, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Chundrea climbing the hill. With a smile, he closed the door behind him.