Hello all and welcome to stories of Scotland.

This is Annie doing a wee interlude episode as we're preparing the current season

and we have some incredible history and folklore episodes to share with you soon,

from clan wars to giants.

So thank you so much for bearing with us.

Jenny and myself have been in America,

and Jenny met her wee nephew for the first time. She was very excited about that. And now we're both currently writing an awesome new season.

However, in the meantime, to Tid is over. I've got a new story from myself and a wonderful old story from Jenny,

which was originally from our Patreon. And both of these tales are about dragon-like creatures.

So let's begin with something fresh yet very ancient.

It's folklore forged in Dragonfire.

We're going back to Scotland in the medieval period, the 11th century to be precise.

It's a turbulent time marked by alliances and clashes between powerful kingdoms and rulers who are fighting for control.

Borders between territories are in constant shift as powers are formed and fractured.

Now let's focus on one of these groups, the Norse Gales.

They are claiming their place in the history books, seizing land and seas for their own.

They are a community of mixed Gallic and Norse ancestry, stemming from Norse settlers who intermarried with native gales.

Now, this might seem like an unexpected mix.

Certainly for me, one of the most prominent histories of Norse-gale relations that I think of

is the Norse Viking Vaders who sacked religious abbeys and massacred monks.

However, by the 11th century, the Norse Gales have their cultures emulsified,

just like an unexpectedly distinctive and powerful mayonnaise,

...