A RETELLING, in instalments, of the ancient Irish myth of the heroic Mael Duin, and his voyage around many strange and fantastic islands, populated by equally strange and fantastic creatures. This project is a collaboration between the mythic past of humanity, and artificial intelligence. The text has been prepared by real humans, and the illustrations are by the A.I. image creator MidJourney. The series – which will take at least 40 episodes – will be released here in sequence, and then published as a book. See the collection so far here.
- 17. The Little Cat
AFTER ROWING FOR A LONG TIME, their store of apples failed them, and again they had nothing to eat or drink. They baked under a hot and merciless sun, and the sea gave forth an evil stench, which filled their mouths and noses, so that it was hard to breathe. They were mightily relieved when at last a small island with a large palace on it came into view. As they got closer, they could see that around the palace was a wall, white all over, without any marks or flaws, as if it had been perfectly carved out of a single vast rock of pure chalk. Where it faced the sea, the wall was so high that it seemed to reach the clouds. […] - 16. The Fiery Swine
THEY SAILED for a long time, suffering much from hunger and thirst, and praying fervently to be relieved from their distress. At last, when they were beginning to sink into a state of despondency, being quite worn out with toil and hardship of every kind, they sighted land. It was a large and beautiful island, covered with countless fruit trees bearing an abundance of gold-coloured apples. Under the trees they saw herds of short, stout animals, of a bright red colour, shaped somewhat like pigs — but coming nearer, and looking more closely, they saw with astonishment that the animals were all fiery, and that their bright colour was caused by the red flames which penetrated and lit up their bodies from the inside. The voyagers now observed several of the creatures approach one of the trees as a group, and striking the trunk all together with their hind legs, they shook some of the apples loose, and then proceeded to eat them. […]
