The Author’s Kingdom is a series of articles, where the Author explains his perception of Heirs to the Kingdom. It is written to cover the festive season of Christmas 2016.

The Fair and the Fearsome Fae.

Today I am going to share some of my notes that were written somewhere around the late 1990’s, and they feature the way I first set up the two lines of Fae. I have hinted at some of the detail here, but as of yet I have not shared much of the story behind the writing of the Fae in the books.

We all know the story of the Fae, and how Tydeguide left the body made for her by Eve, and returned to an energy spirit and went off in search of Earathome. Eve took the garment left behind and used to refashion two more new garments that were given life and named Rhiannon and Bridge, who late changed her own name to Bridget. These were the first of the Fae, and as females they were set as Queens to live a longer life than the human, and this was the creation of the two lines, one being White Circle the Fae of Earth, and the other being Ofmoon the Fae of the Moon.

Within HTTK there are many hints and side stories that paint a very vague picture of the Fae, and one of my main reasons for this is that they are known as a people of secrets, I am sure Opal would be thrilled to share her view of the Fae with you. Rhiannon and Bridget worked very closely at first, and in the start of their days together, they shared many of the secrets that they learned of their powers. No one is quite sure who, but at some point one of them chose to withhold a new aspect of their power from the other, and so began the deeper secrets and the protection of each of the lines powers.

Rhiannon is probably the main suspect of the split, but it has not been proven, although if rumours are true, there was a great deal about Rhiannon that Bridget did not agree with and she started to distrust her. The result of the split caused two things; firstly everyone was banned from the Realm of the Moon, and so today only Fae Ofmoon can go there, even Hearne and Gwendolyn have never been allowed to enter the sacred halls.

it is said that The White Lord Alabanlin, who is the most powerful member of the Ruling Council, demanded entrance, and when Rhiannon refused, he blew off the doors and walked inside. Rhiannon was fearful for her life, and eventually conceded to the White Lord, that she would work again with Bridget to reunite the Fae, and as a result, and after some convincing from Albanlin, Hearne and Eve agreed to allow Rhiannon a realm on the Earth, so as to allow for commerce between the Fae of the Moon and the Fae of Earth, and some Human traders. And so Avalon was opened and Rhiannon sent her workers to build in the realm and prepare for her arrival.

The second thing that happened was Bridget sent out her scouts into all the realms, and asked for the land of Florae to be given to the Fae of Earth, as it was connected to the Violet Isle, the place on the Earth where Bridget had set up her centre in the early days. It was a reasonable request submitted with great reverence and eloquence, and Hearne was so overwhelmed by it, he travelled with Eve to the realm and prepared it personally, by adding some things which up until that time no one had seen. Bridget ruled that all would be welcome in the new realm, and she took her seat and married Malcolm of Fae to rule beside her. Bridget was a close friend of Eve, and they spent many hours talking each day as the realm was built, for Eve loved Florae as it had been created as a realm of life. From the first day of her rule, Bridget proclaimed that the Fae of Earth would bring peace and life to the world, and she deemed the land of the Fae of Earth sacred. The main rule to her people was that they would make her realm, which was a cluster of seven islands flourish with life, and from that day forth none would mine or burrow into the deep earth of the land, but would till the soil and use it for the creation of more life. The Fae of the Earth practiced their skills and after many longs years they now excel in the growing of food, trees and plant life to preserve the creations of Hearne and Eve, they also excel in the sculpting of timber.

Rhiannon had a different approach, her workers dug deep into the land and tunnelled under everything. They discovered huge caves and hidden lakes, and a wealth of crystal and amethyst and other assorted precious gems. Avalon which was the name given the realm by Rhiannon became famous for its trades, and everyone benefited from the jewel trade, but none more so than Rhiannon. Avalon was a vast realm of wild lands and mountains, and her workers scoured every corner to seek the wealth of this new country, and the Fae of the Moon grew prosperous and very wealthy. All appeared happy, but scratch below the surface and it was clear to see, that the queen had her favourites, and at times within the far corners of her realm there was some dissent. Rhiannon responded by building an army of fierce fighters known as the Marshals of the land, and in the early days before her arrival, many small rebellions were quashed. The root of the unrest grew out of her love of golden hair, and those who had darker colours were set to work below the surface out of sight. Albanlin advised her of her position and requested she reconsidered her favour, but Rhiannon stood fast on the arrival in her new realm, and whilst those of fair hair lived in luxury surrounded by wealth, those of the darker hair moved further away from the centre at Avalonia, to pursue other aspects of life, out of sight of their queen.

Whilst the Fae of the Moon practiced fighting, and the creation of things of great beauty, Bridget in her own realm ruled with a fair hand, where all were equal. She promoted harmony and sent many of her Fae out into the other realms to learn of the people and the lands that they lived in. Her counsellors and ambassadors were greeted with respect, and many races prospered due to the peace accords set up by the Fae of Earth. Malcolm laboured for a long time on the realm, as his son Ninian grew into manhood, he too became one of the architects of Florae, and together many of the royal buildings and bridges were built and carved by Ninian and his father.

Shortly after Ninian was married to Erin of Kell, an important ambassador to the House of Scribes went missing. Ariel who had been the head of documenting everything the Fae of Earth had done to bring peace to world went missing, and Malcolm was deeply concerned, she was a close friend to Bridget, and both of them knew she was not the type to simply wander off without word. Scouts were sent out, yet all returned without every finding a trace of her. In a last ditched attempt to find her and the important documents she carried, he took a small group of well-trained hunters and went in search of her. His search lasted for seven years, and he returned with no hope in his heart, and sick, having not found one of the most important members of the House of Scribes. Shortly after his return he developed a fever and died within days, the shock was great and the people mourned for the loss of one of their greatest members to the line of Fae. Bridget never really recovered from his death, and slowly as the years advanced she grew paler and weaker, until she lapsed into a strange kind of sleeping sickness. For ten years it was as if she fought some terrible internal struggle, that filled her nights with terrors and her dreams with fear. None of the healers could find the reason for her decline, and after suffering in her chambers locked away from her people, she finally died in the arms of her granddaughter Gwendolyn.

To this day, there is still no explanation for the death of Bridget Violet of Florae. She was buried in splendour beside her husband, in a tomb made of the blackest stone, set high on the mountain of Kivi overlooking the land she so beautifully shaped to fit the hand of her people. Gwendolyn reluctantly took the mantle of queen, and with her father Ninian, and her brother Gwynfor, they set about finishing off the plans that had been made by her mother for Florae.

Rhiannon ruled over Avalon guided by the Seer of the Fae, until tragedy struck at the heart of the realm. Late in the night, at the heart of Midsummer, Eleanor her daughter, who was loving and gentle was slain in the night. The attack on Eleanor was brutal and vicious, and the ripples of shock crossed all of the land. Such was the manner of her death that the whole realm was rocked, as no one could imagine who would wish to do something so vile and brutal to the elegant and sweet Eleanor. Rhiannon was devastated, and for the first time in a long time she lost all sense of direction and even her will to continue. Within weeks the old wizard Merlin disappeared, and at first many accused him of the killing, but Gwendolyn who was now his wife approached the queen and argued in his defence. As the weeks progress and turmoil ruled in Avalon, where even the Seer and her son argued for reason from the queen, it collapsed when suddenly out of nowhere during the day, the screams of a women resounded all over Avalon. No one was sure as to what had caused such a loud and terrible scream, the truth was revealed with the roar of the Green Lord as he discovered the mutilated garment of Eve. Her human form had been slashed and mutilated, and her fading spirit was ripped right out of her form and hung from a tree. It was so sickening that many fled right there and then, dropping their things and heading down the Queens Road to the gate.

Gwendolyn had her suspicions, and soon others started to disappear, along with members of Gwendolyn’s own family who had been residing in Avalon as ambassadors. When The Green Lord disappeared followed shortly by his daughter, the realm panicked, and whilst Gwendolyn begged for calm to resolve the issue, Rhiannon announced she would leave the realm and seal it forever from everyone. Two months after it had been announced to pack and prepare, Una arrived with her wounded mother. Una was the eldest daughter of Gwendolyn, and Rhiannon in a bid to save her friends life, took them deep into the Forest of Time, and gave them a place that was safe to hide until Gwendolyn was well enough to return. Word was sent to Gwynfor to seal Florae from all but the Fae, as Gwendolyn had accused Morgan of Cornwall of the deaths of all the members of the council that had died, and informed them it had been Morgan who had masterminded the fall of Arthur, the one true king of the men of Britannia.

Fagan, Maker of Avalon, and son to the Seer of Fae, took up the call and rallied the Marshalls to hunt her down. Avalon was sealed and every corner was searched. One night whilst alone close to the Mount, the sacred burial site of Arthur and Uther, Rhiannon discovered Morgan and a bitter fight took place. It is unclear as to the full facts, except to state that Rhiannon was injured with a powerful and dark curse. As the Marshals rang out the alarms and ran to the protection of their queen, Morgan escaped, but she was for the first time outsmarted, and she was met at her small cottage by Fagan and a group of very angry Marshals, of which one was Rayne Ofmoon. The fight that followed was bloody, and many of the marshals were defeated by a pack of beings never known in the realm before. Rayne and Fagan endured, and in the midst of the fight, something very strange happened. As Morgan flung out curses and her beasts attacked, suddenly she froze in the doorway to her home. No one is very sure as to what actually happened, except to say that out of nowhere, Morgan suddenly looked terrified, just for a second she was frozen with fear, and Rayne with Fagan seized their moment, there was an almighty explosion and the house was almost completely destroyed. When the dust and debris cleared there was nothing to be seen of Morgan, just the old chimney and part of her doorway were left standing, everything else was blown to pieces and blackened.

Morgan was never seen in Avalon again, the realm was sealed, and nothing was found to prove she survived. No one understood why the young girl, who had been an apprentice to the old wizard, had committed such horrendous acts, and as Rhiannon recovered and prepared to leave, she was haunted by the lack of details to explain her daughter’s death. As the final days approached and Sequana the Seer of the Fae set off in search of her dreams, her son Fagan begged the queen to allow him to stay and maintain the realm in her absence. At first she refused, but after his persistence, she granted him leave and named him Keeper, and Fagan headed into the large Forest that bordered the realm to build a house, and start his new duty ensuring all within Avalon was carefully preserved. Rhiannon finally took all of the Fae back to the realm of the moon, and Avalon became a memory in the lives of the men that had visited and traded there, where eventually over time it slipped into legend.

Several months after Rhiannon left, members of the Fae of Earth began to disappear, and there were rumours of sightings of Morgan, who now used the identity of the Countess le Fey. Fear ran wild within the Fae communities and as a result they began to scatter and hide within the lines of men, Florae which still sealed remained hidden from view and those of the realm continued to work to protect their land. Ninian was aging but decreed that it was time to take their hunting skills and use them to protect the Fae, and a new legion of fighters were trained for a day when the Fae were put in danger. The House of Scribes predicted the coming of a new queen of violet, and they all prayed it would be Bridget returned to them, and so behind the scenes, they began the long preparations for the coming of their new queen hidden out of sight of all the realms, for it was also predicted that a darkness had arrived in the world, and it would seek to destroy all that had been built and kill the new queen at birth. Secrets became far more guarded and the magic was researched and improved, Fae were sent out to find out about, where and how the new queen would come. and guard her from the shadows, for the day would dawn when a raven would herald the start of the days of darkness, and as those days began, it would dance with the dragon of blood.

As I stated this was the piece I wrote to lay out the ground work for all the Fae as they interacted within HTTK. Gwynfor wandered out into the world to watch and coordinate the efforts to seek out the new queen. When Gwendolyn briefly appeared he contacted her and was advised to seek out and protect the Hooded Man and those who would support him, he already was watching one; a young woman in Scotland named Rose. As more news appeared of a new Hooded Man behind the scenes the Fae began to secretly watch and protect those surrounding Loxley which was fast becoming a centre for those who opposed a man referred to as the Snake. This Snake had a crest of a bloody dragon, and he was aligned to a new power rising in the north who’s troops wore the crest of a raven, it made sense that at some point the Hooded man would come to Scotland, and all Gwynfor had to do was sit and wait, and he knew that a line long lost to the Fae would return.