The
Lianhan Shee
The Lianhan Shee is a fairy
mistress of dreadful power, for she
seeks the love and dominion of mortal
men--if they refuse her, she is their
slave and if they consent they are hers.
Most men find that they cannot refuse
her. Only one Lianhan
Shee exists and
she is more a force than a woman. Each
fairy woman who loves ('Lianhan Shee'
means the love fairy) becomes one with
her; and for the mortal man who longs
for her she is the one and only. She
does not play with emotions; all who
love her, live for her and their desire
for her frequently destroys them. The
more suffering she inflicts the dearer
she becomes to them. The more they
desire her the more she eludes them. Her
absence is like a chain pulling them
towards her.
An impatient mistress, the Lianhan
Shee creates
such desire in her lovers that they will
overcome all obstacles to embrace her.
She never yields to them in mortal
lands, but insists on their meeting in
Tir-na-n-Og, so that men must pass
through death to enjoy her. All the
great poets and musicians loved her;
almost all died young. The more they
sang the more their bodies withered;
until they sang for her forever.
No one has ever described the Lianhan
Shee. Perhaps
each stricken man jealously guards his
love and fears the worlds knowledge of
her. But more likely no mortal can
describe her; for she is desire itself
and she wishes to elude all attempts to
limit her glory. She may select her
lovers from our realm, but she never
allows her story to remain long on their
mortal lips.
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