History*
Dismal Downs, as desolate a piece of land as you'll find this side of the moon, lies in the cold, dark heart of the Rannoch Moor in central Scotland.
Looming over its soggy peat bogs and bottomless mires is a solitary castle, a forlorn remnant of the glory days of the feudal clans, abandoned since the 18th century.
Visitors to Dismal Downs are rare. No other clan was tough enough to tame this brutal land since the disappearance of its original lairds: the mighty clan MacDuich!
The history of Clan MacDuich is the history of Scotland. It was a MacDuich who led the siege on Hadrian's wall and drove out the Romans in 400 AD. It was only proper, considering that when Emperor Hadrian built the wall in 122 AD, it was a MacDuich who sold him the stone.
A MacDuich was almost the first King of Scotland in 843, but when he stood to proclaim Scotland's birth, forthwith to include the girth of all earth north of the Firth of Forth, the clan Mormaers decided it was best not to have a king with a lisp, as crowned Kenneth MacAlpin instead.
Tartan
It is my fond hope that some day I will be able to wear a kilt of the Clan tartan. Sadly, while it appears that the proper authorities recognize the tartan, nobody seems to manufacture it.
NOTE: Those paragraphs under History, above, and all pen drawings courtesy the current Clan Historian, Mr. Don Rosa. Their use is not meant to infringe on the copyright or trademark of any other party. Really, it's all in fun.
| 
