"House of the Thistle People" I participated in this challenge shortly after returning from a lovely trip to Scotland earlier in the year. Since the last issue of Quilting Arts Magazine featured select entries from the challenge (mine -- not among them), I'm posting a photo of it because the piece pleases me. To accompany it, I submitted a story because the imagery seemed a bit disconnected without an explanation. Included here is that story. (Please kindly observe the copyright.) The Rise of the House of the Thistle People This story begins long ago, before great cities and large numbers of people, but shortly after man’s appearance…in the scheme of life. The elf kingdom, before moving behind Avalon’s mists, decided it couldn’t leave the world without magic and the ability to foresee the future. So, the elves crowned a new family of beings to carry on their work. The thing was…these new magical beings were not beautiful as the elves had been. Rather, these beings w...