“Of course, of course, we should get down to business,” Og agreed.
Rain lashed the windows of the pub and brought with it a renewed sense of urgency to Brendan. “Orcadia is on her way. She’s trying to kill me. We’ve got to get out of here.”
The man rested a hand on Brendan’s shoulder, and immediately Brendan was relaxed and at peace. “Fear not. This is the Ward’s Island. The Ward here is strong, woven by the goodwill and combined Art of all who come here.” He waved a hand to take in the walls of the place. “According to our Law, no Fair Folk may strike at each other within the precinct of the Ward. Orcadia may not risk hurting you because of the dire consequences. She is powerful, certainly, but even she would not try her luck against the assembled will of all those here. Now come. You must be hungry and tired. You will eat and drink while I tell you what you need to know about your history and your situation. Then you must rest for there is much to do.” He extended an elegant hand toward the corner of the room where a booth was hastily being cleared for them.
As he threaded his way through the tables toward the booth, the Faeries he passed reached out to gently pat him on the back or shake his hand. Some simply stared at him like he was a weird, rare animal-a unicorn or a Sasquatch. He found the attention disconcerting. Brendan didn’t respond well to public scrutiny. He prayed that he wouldn’t trip over his own feet and fall on his face. He managed to cross the room without bumping more than a couple of tables and sloshing a few beverages.
With relief, he slid into the wooden bench, and the man sat down opposite him. Og pushed in beside Brendan. A woman appeared beside the table as if by magic. Brendan had not seen her arrive… she was just suddenly… there. She was wiry and lean with the yellow eyes of a wolf. Fixing Brendan with an intense, appraising stare, she grinned, showing gleaming white teeth. “Food and drink, if you will, Saskia,” the man said gently. Saskia nodded once and disappeared. Watching carefully this time, Brendan thought he saw a blur of movement, almost too fast for him to see. Saskia reappeared behind the bar on the far side of the room a second later. Sensing his stare, she cocked her head and winked a yellow eye at him. Brendan gulped and turned away.
“First, I should introduce myself. I am called Ariel. Of all the Fair Folk here, I suppose you would call me the most senior.” 72
“So you’re the boss?” Brendan asked. Og giggled at that, which Brendan found a little annoying.
“No. We really have no hierarchy, per se. We operate in a more or less democratic fashion. I am a spokesperson by consent of the group.” He waved a hand to indicate the entire room. Brendan was suddenly aware of how quiet the pub had become. The TV screens still swirled with images but no one paid them any attention. All eyes were on him. The whole room seemed to hold its breath.
“Don’t let them make you nervous, Breandan. They rarely get to see history in the making. You’re a bit of a legend, you see.”
“A legend? Are you kidding me?”
Ariel laughed softly. “I promise, I will never kid you. I’m too old for that.” A smile flitted across Ariel’s face as he leaned back in his seat. “I think the best thing to do is let you ask whatever questions you want to ask. I will try to give you answers as best I can. We can move on from there.”
Brendan found himself at a loss. Where to start? There was so much he didn’t understand. Although he was curious about his own situation, he decided to start at the beginning. “Where do Faeries come from?”
“Same place Humans come from.” Og laughed raucously and punched Brendan’s shoulder.
“Og,” Ariel said sharply. “He means, what are the origins of the Fair Folk.”
“I know. I know.” Og subsided with a sheepish grin. “Just havin’ a laugh.”
Ariel steepled his long fingers and stared up into the rafters. “My! You have to begin with the most difficult question of all. I will do my best.” He paused for a moment, his eyes closed as he decided how to begin. The audience seemed to gather in around them, and the musicians, responding to the deepening mood, began to play softly.
At last, Ariel began to speak.
72 Ariel is an ancient Faerie who has made many appearances throughout history. According to legend, he was the inspiration for the character of the same name in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
TWO TRIBES
“There is a legend among our people about our origins. Whether it is true or not, no one knows. The story goes that at the beginning of the world, the Mother created the world in all its beauty. The stars were so thick in the heavens that the Mother could run her fingers through them, stirring them in the sky like leaves on the surface of the black lake of the cosmos. She gathered great handfuls of stars and formed Sun and Moon, her first children. Sun and Moon were brother and sister, each beautiful in their own way and well loved by their Mother. They were the joy of her heart. They shared the sky and knew peace.
“Next, she gathered more stars and pressed them into a vast ball and this was the Earth. On its surface she sprinkled soil and seed, rain and snow, and then she breathed upon it and so filled it with the potential for life. The Sun and Moon shared the sky and cast down their light upon the Earth and their Mother as she walked. Where her feet fell upon the ground, seeds sprouted and grew. Forests and fields of flowers sprang to life, reaching for the light with eager leaves. She looked upon what she had made and it pleased her heart.
“She roamed the Earth for an age, taking pleasure in what she had wrought, but at last, she became dissatisfied. She longed for someone to share this world with. So she took two fistfuls of sand from the shore of the ocean and she dipped them in the salt sea. Taking great care, she formed the wet sand into two figures, one with her left hand and one with her right.
“With her right hand she formed the first Human, proud and tall. With her left hand, in a mirror image of the Human, she formed the first of the Fair Folk. They were alike, yet different as siblings are wont to be. Yet they both pleased her greatly.
“The Sun and the Moon looked down on what she had done, and they were jealous of the attention she gave her new children. They didn’t like to see their Mother doting over them.
“They were also jealous of each other. They argued over who was most important, who was most powerful, and who held the larger place in their Mother’s heart.
“They became bitter toward each other and that bitterness led them to try to win the hearts of their Mother’s new creations. Brother Sun whispered in the ear of the Human, filling him with pride and arrogance. He encouraged the Human to mistrust the Fair Folk. He taught him how to dig in the Earth and find metals to make tools to cut the Earth and subdue her. This is why we call Humans the People of Metal.
“Sister Moon likewise led the child of the Mother’s left hand away and taught him that he was most favoured. She showed him hidden mysteries: the rhythm and flow of the Earth, the movements of the stars, the secrets of growing things, and the hidden heartbeat of the universe. So the children of the left hand were more in tune with the natural world, and their empathy gave them long spans of years.
“The other wedge driven between the two peoples was the fact that though the Fair Folk were long of life, they rarely produced offspring. The Humans were very fertile and soon they spread across the green face of the Earth, digging, cutting, and shaping the world to fit their wishes.
“The children of the left hand and the right hand began to dislike each other. Brother Sun and Sister Moon poured malice and bile into the ears of the Humans and the Fair Folk. Soon the two peoples took up weapons, and a war was fought with dire losses on each side.
“When the Mother returned from a journey through the stars, she was dismayed at the rift between them, their quarrelling and hostility. Everywhere was devastation and suffering. She was furious with her children, Sun and Moon, for bringing disharmony to her creation. So she separated the night from the day and banished the Sun and the Moon to the far reaches of cold space, imprisoning them in an endless cycle that held them always apart except for rare times when the Sun and the Moon share the sky. Even then, they try to blot each other out whenever the opportunity arises, for they cannot put aside their jealousies, each blaming the other for their imprisonment.”