길란나인: 할라의 어머니

전해지기를 길란나인은 본디 알라산 시대 이전 사람 중의 한 명이었다고 하며, 또한 사냥의 여신 안드루일에게 선택받은 자였다고 전해진다. 그녀는 눈처럼 새하얀 머리를 하고 가젤처럼 우아했으며 용모가 매우 아름다웠다. 그녀는 언제나 안드루일의 곁을 지켰고, 안드루일 또한 다른 누구보다도 그녀를 총애했다.

어느 날, 길란나인은 숲에서 사냥하던 도중 처음 보는 사냥꾼과 마주쳤다. 사냥꾼의 발밑에는 심장에 화살이 박힌 매가 놓여 있었다. 토끼와 더불어, 안드루일이 제일 사랑하는 동물인 매가 죽어 있는 모습을 본 길란나인은 분노를 금치 못했다. 그녀는 사냥꾼에게 생명의 목숨을 앗은 대가로 안드루일에게 제물을 바칠 것을 요구했지만, 사냥꾼은 길란나인의 요구를 거절하였다. 그래서 그녀는 여신에게 그가 두 번 다시 생명을 사냥하거나 죽일 수 없도록 저주를 걸어달라고 청하였다.

길란나인의 청은 이루어졌고, 저주에 걸린 사냥꾼은 자신이 다시는 사냥할 수 없게 되었다는 것을 깨달았다. 사냥감들은 눈앞에서 사라지고 화살은 빗나갔다. 그의 친구들과 가족들은 사냥꾼이 사냥을 못 하면 무슨 쓸모가 있냐며 그를 비웃었다. 사냥꾼은 수치스러움에 길란나인을 찾아내 자신에게 한 짓을 갚아 주기로 했다.

길란나인이 자매들과 사냥을 하고 돌아오던 길, 사냥꾼은 온갖 감언이설로 그녀를 꾀어냈다. 그 일로 교훈을 얻었으니, 안드루일에게 바칠 제대로 된 공물을 준비하는 법을 가르쳐 달라고 애원했다. 그 말에 감동한 길란나인은 그를 따라갔고, 자매들과 멀어지자 사냥꾼은 기다렸다는 듯 그녀에게 달려들었다. 그는 먼저 그녀의 눈을 멀게 한 다음, 사냥감을 처리할 때처럼 결박했다. 저주 때문에 그녀를 죽일 수는 없었으니, 대신 숲속에서 죽어가게 내버려 두었다.

혼자가 된 길란나인은 신들에게 도움을 청했다. 엘가난에게는 복수를, 어머니 미살에게는 보호를, 그리고 다른 누구보다도 안드루일에게 간절하게 빌었다. 안드루일이 보낸 산토끼들이 그녀를 결박한 밧줄을 갉아치웠지만, 눈이 멀고 상처 입은 길란나인은 집으로 가는 길을 찾을 수 없었다. 그리하여 안드루일은 그녀를 아름다운 흰 사슴, 최초의 할라로 변하게 했다. 길란나인은 자매들에게 돌아갔고, 자매로 하여금 사냥꾼을 찾아내도록 하여 정의의 심판을 내렸다.

그때부터, 할라는 사람들의 길잡이가 되었다. 길란나인의 목소리에 귀를 기울이는 자들은 결코 잘못된 길로 빠지지 않았다.

—데일스 엘프 랠러피린 부족의 수호자, 기샤렐의 구전 길란나인 설화에서 발췌

 

They say Ghilan'nain was one of the People, in the days before Arlathan, and the chosen of Andruil the Huntress. She was very beautiful—with hair of snowy white—and as graceful as a gazelle. She kept always to Andruil's Ways, and Andruil favored her above all others.

 

One day, while hunting in the forest, Ghilan'nain came across a hunter she did not know. At his feet lay a hawk, shot through the heart by an arrow. Ghilan'nain was filled with rage, for the hawk—along with the hare—is an animal much beloved of Andruil. Ghilan'nain demanded that the hunter make an offering to Andruil, in exchange for taking the life of one of her creatures. The hunter refused, and Ghilan'nain called upon the goddess to curse him, so that he could never again hunt and kill a living creature.

 

Ghilan'nain's curse took hold, and the hunter found that he was unable to hunt. His prey would dart out of sight and his arrows would fly astray. His friends and family began to mock him for his impotence, for what use is a hunter who cannot hunt? Ashamed, the hunter swore he would find Ghilan'nain and repay her for what she had done to him.

 

He found Ghilan'nain while she was out on a hunt with her sisters, and lured her away from them with lies and false words. He told Ghilan'nain that he had learned his lesson and begged her to come with him, so she could teach him to make a proper offering to Andruil. Moved by his plea, Ghilan'nain followed the hunter, and when they were away from all of her sisters, the hunter turned on Ghilan'nain. He blinded her first, and then bound her as one would bind a kill fresh from the hunt. But because he was cursed, the hunter could not kill her. Instead he left her for dead in the forest.

 

And Ghilan'nain prayed to the gods for help. She prayed to Elgar'nan for vengeance, to Mother Mythal to protect her, but above all she prayed to Andruil. Andruil sent her hares to Ghilan'nain and they chewed through the ropes that bound her, but Ghilan'nain was still wounded and blind, and could not find her way home. So Andruil turned her into a beautiful white deer—the first halla. And Ghilan'nain found her way back to her sisters, and led them to the hunter, who was brought to justice.

 

And since that day, the halla have guided the People, and have never led us astray, for they listen to the voice of Ghilan'nain.

 

—From The Tale of Ghilan'nain, as told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves