V - Crossing the First Threshold

The Legend of the Sibling Swords is proven further when the group realizes that the third Sword has always been with them.  Much to Sir Felix' surprise, his own sword - the Silver Dancer - is the mythical third sword that will mediate between the two blades.


Though David clearly has recovered from his imprisonment, it becomes apparent as well that his role as High King has ended.  Caliburn refuses to allow him to draw it.   When an attack from armored spellcasters reaches inside the walls of Tara Nar, the Oathcircle is forced to find a way to reach Lenore and Morwen without leading the enemies there.  Steel and Glamour clash in a magical storm of anger and rage.  Sir Felix learns the armored soldiers that are adorned with a Golden Falcon on their temples are actually members of what was once known as the Crystal Circle.  And their loyalties lie now towards Danwyn, whose powerful Geas forces them to serve him.    With the Geas tied to their True Names, Seamus has Sir Felix unleash a long kept gift from the founder of the Crystal Circle - a Time-delayed Naming effect - to release one of his alternate secondary identities which he had prepared in the past in any event that a Geas must be overcome.


Flynn Wordweaver soon learns that Caliburn has made a choice:  Lenore is its chosen new High Queen.  And the group escapes via another secret trod to hide in the last place where the enemies would look for them: a chamber deep inside the castle itself of Queen Mab.


There, the group realizes Lenore must prepare to face against Danwyn - sword against sibling sword - for the fate of the realm.  And David, Morwen, and Merlin (Seamus' alternate identity) head back out to distract their foes, find Faerylith, and buy the others time.


*


Lady Songbird however struggles to find a way back to the group.  Fate seems to have other plans for her as she encounters a group of commoners who had been hiding in a Trod hoping to evade the worse parts of the war.  When her anger gets the better of her, the commoners lose one of their own in exchange for having her promise to spare the rest.   And when Lady Songbird finally finds her way to the Kingdom of Apples, she revisits the Patrician and sees how much has changed in her absence.  Even the once loyal servants who stood by her side no longer speak to her in the same way.   And when she finally meets Danwyn, he does the unexpected.


He transforms one of the greatest threats of Concordia - Joseph van Noceti III - into a pitiful servant that is obsessively hoping to be of service to her with but a single usage of Naming.  And then he does the next big thing:  He hands her the Triumph Casque of Sorrows and tells her he would rather the greatest weapon through-out Concordia was in the hands of a person he trusted.  Does he truly have no idea of her eventual plan to take him down?


*

And all over Concordia, Sidhe holdings are finding themselves attacked by doppelgangers wrapped in leathery straps and bonds.  Reeking of Glamour and anger, the now referred to as Tithed Ones continue to assault Sidhe all over the world, speaking through the mouths of their targets, and seeking revenge for the abduction of their bodies.


The Tithed Ones are the souls of the human bodies the Sidhe steal.
Somehow, they are back.  Powered by a Glamour seemingly from deep within.

IV - The Meeting With The Mentor - Part Three

Sir Felix finds  himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun.  With Flynn Wordweaver crippled by the earlier blast, and Lady Songbird runover by the van, the young Pooka Knight is forced to deal with the battle by his lonesome. 


As Sir Felix uses all the tactics he could muster to bring the banal retainers down, Flynn Wordweaver finds himself addressed and is magically healed by Caliburn itself.


Lady Songbird summons the power of the Glamour itself and calls upon the Wyrd, to use her powers to have the women present to charge at the van and disable it. 


When the battle ends, they discover the cold iron cage inside the van that contains a disheveled man whose Glamour was so faint, he reeked of Banality.  As the three draw him out and attempt to awaken him, Flynn discovers to his horror that Caliburn does NOT recognize David Ardry as the High King.  Only as David.


* 


As the group try to find a way to bring David safely back to Tara Nar, they are forced to separate when paramedics arrive to help the crippled Lady Songbird.  Evading the public eye, Flynn slips through the wall of the mall with David and attempts to Soothsay a way out.


Unfortunately, other forces learn of David's rescue and begin to converge at the same mall.  Among them, the ever infamous Duke Dray.


*


Elsewhere, Lady Songbird finds herself visited by a shadowy figure.  The thing that has been labelled the Clipper stands before her, and reveals to her a long forgotten truth:  She is of House Lheanan and she had used her own Treasure, the Locket, to make herself forget that fact.   Clipper, as it turns out, was one of her most loyal subjects in the past.


*


In hopes of bringing peace sooner, Lenore and Morwen declare a united front.  They hope that the ongoing war can be brought to a sooner end if they at least unite in the name of peace.


*


Flynn Wordweaver realizes that the reason David Ardry is not being recognized may be due to the  emergence of the Gray Sword.  The old legend of the Sibling Swords come to mind.  A third sword may yet emerge and when the three are united, the True High King will be determined.


And in the Kingdom of Apples, Danwyn ap Gwydion raises his hands to the sound of support and adulation given by the growing crowd of both Dreamers and Kithain.  On his belt, the Gray Sword hangs.  And in the shadows, Joseph van Noceti III waits for new commands.

IV - The Meeting With The Mentor - Part Two

Various stories on the disappearance of the High King have spread out in Concordia.  Everything from masked marauders assaulting the party, to King Meilge pacifying the panicking people by not speaking of the disappearance immediately.  Caliburn's disappearance and reemergence in the hands of the Eshu, however, remains the unifying truth.


Lady Songbird finds herself recalled to the Kingdom of Apples where she is formally stripped of her Fiona title and, to her surprise, holdings.  She instead gains the position of Goblin Town's Advocate and discovers that Cadmium Redd has met an unexpected fatal accidental death.

The Parliament of Dreams struggles through the months to work together in the absence of the High King, but soon infighting and politicking lead to the Parliament of Dreams breaks down and pretty much dissolves.  Prior to its destruction, however, a panel is made to investigate the disappearance of David, and culminates with King Meilge himself being called to the stand for questioning, and all Gwydion present find no lies from him, even after he temporarily revokes his status as Eiluned during the proceedings with the High Lord's permission.  Given the horror that his face suffers from, however, he was permitted to wear his mask during the proceedings.


Morwen meets with Lenore in time and the two find a common ground in their concern for Kithain society.  After much discussion, Morwen declares she is willing to support Lenore's rule so long as she is permitted to be her direct Regent and have input on her decision-making.  Lenore considers.


Sir Felix learns of the Red Branch knights fragmenting from opposing sides as well, and inadvertently uncovers the existence of another secret faction growing, who identify their fellow members by grabbing the wrist with one hand.   He tries to learn more about the factions without risking too much danger.


Lady Songbird soon finds herself kidnapped by a group of commoner rebels and gets introduced to the wily and charismatic Fenarius, a Pooka who seems to be intent in destroying the Sidhe rule.  She eventually learns Fenarius is more than meets the eye, for rather than a Pooka, he actually happens to be one of the Thallain known as a Beastie.


Flynn Wordweaver and Sir Felix encounter as well ghosts wandering lost in the Dreaming.  They begin to worry what greater events are unfolding that the lack of a unified Concordia will have to contend with.  While Felix and Lenore learn from Duke Dray his convictions that he lives, due to the fact his oath to kill David remains unbroken ("Therefore, he must be still alive.")  Flynn visits the Patrician and first hand witnesses the frighteningly powerful presence of Danwyn.  Danwyn nearly forces Flynn to reveal the whereabouts of Caliburn, but is saved by a sudden twist of fate:  the dark twin Duke and Duchess Kali and Siva attempt to kill the self-proclaimed new King.


Escaping the assault, Flynn finds himself pulled by Caliburn away to a new location.  There, confused, he finds his two friends, Sir Felix and Lady Songbird drawn to the location as well.  Uncertain to what happened, Sir Felix suddenly noticed a billboard that seemingly intones, "The Return of the King" and before the three could decide what to do, the street light nearby shifts to green.  


The High King may just be in one of the nearby cars!  Acting quickly to try to locate him, Lady Songbird gets run-over by the van which she suspects contains him.  Flynn Wordweaver shoves the doors of the van open only to get shot at point blank range by a shotgun.  And Sir Felix closes in on the van, worried that he would have to face the vehicle that radiates an immense field of Banality all on his own.

IV - The Meeting With The Mentor - Part One

9 months have passed since the disappearance of the High King David.


The Oathcircle had exhausted all attempts to find more information in the Kingdom of Willows and have decided to consider searching in other locations.  With Lady Songbird being elevated to the leader of the Oath Circle known as the Seekers of the High King, she finds herself having to make a decision on two destinations.  Flynn Wordweaver wants to go to Disney World in Florida and many seem to agree his urge to go may be a magical intuition granted by the sword, Caliburn.  On the other hand, much suspicion also lies towards the Duke Kali and the Duchess Siva.  In the end, they choose to investigate in Florida.


As fate would have it, the group would find themselves encountering the Duchess Siva, who mistakes one of the Oathcircle as her contact.  The group acquires a vial of darkness which Flynn's Soothsay determines to be Banality itself made chimerical.  The poison consumes itself in time, leaving no trace of its existence.  Sir Felix Southpaw attempts to find more information and simply uncovers that the real contact, the restaurant clerk, knew only to hand deliver the vial to another contact in return for the safety of her children.


When Lady Songbird's attempt to gain more information posing at the contact fails, the enemy (believed by the group to be the villainous Shadow Court) unleashes a veritable army of nineteen goons after them, all dressed up in sentai outfits to disguise the threat from the public present.


To elude them, the Oathcircle breaks into a run through the nearest Trod they can find, and the Silver Path leads them to a Keep that sadly holds frightening horrific memories for the Lady Songbird.


*


In the past, Lady Songbird and her husband Danwyn first met when the young Sidhe came to the Fiona's rescue against a multi-limbed horror called Iblis.  


*


The Keep seemed empty.  Huge and empty.  And when the ancient being called Iblis was seen, she was practically human.  Her powers, however, remained deadly.  When confronted, the thing breathes out fire and tries to defeat them with the use of strange Arts to create chimerical duplicates of herself.   Sir Felix was forced to call upon powerful Primal forces to take her down.  And Lady Songbird banishes her to what is called the Autumn Realms.  


When the group decided to head back through the Trod instead of risk traversing it, they find themselves bathed in spotlights and targeted by laser point systems.  Sir Felix quickly dons his invisibility cloak and discovers it was all a ruse by the Queen of the White Sands,  Queen Morgana of House Gwydion.  When Lady Songbird's outbursts are nearly taken as "a declaration of war" the Oathcircle becomes exceedingly aware of how strained the relationships between the Houses and the Commoners have become.


The Commoners, under the guise of a revolutionary step, attack the Castle and numerous explosives erupt here as well as all over Concordia!   Tired, weak and injured, the Oathcircle is forced to find ways to survive as well as struggle to save the former Princess Lenore's life.  None would foresee the sudden coming of two possible saviors:  Rowena the Just emerges to assist in the battle, and through her a strange and uncanny fighting style is reflected by Sir Felix.  One practiced back in the Deep parts of the Dreaming by a Sir James.  The second unlikely savior, the bumbling fool Duke Dray, whosed martial skills prove to be quite formidable.


*


Princess Lenore is checked into a hospital.  It is only here Lady Songbird catches the news of how widespread the attacks are.  She calls home to check on her beloved ones only to learn of the man called Danwyn who has emerged from the body of Miles and has possibly taken over the loyalties of all her followers.  

III - The Refusal of the Call - Season Ender

The wedding is moved to an earlier date.
And the rest of Concordia finds itself rushing to make changes.


Lady Songbird, Flynn Wordweaver, Sir Felix Southpaw, and the rest of the Oathcircle find themselves once more crossing paths in the Kingdom of Willows as High King David Ardry and Faerilyth ap Eiluned celebrate before numerous witnesses their marriage.


While there, the group as individuals are introduced to a host of new characters:  From the lovespat between the unacknowledged duchess Igrania, and the contesting duke, Firedrake, to the disturbing siblings Duke Siva and Duchess Kali, the sultry Sabrina Lennin-Corvald, and the tinkering Duke Murdoch.  They learn of how the Kingdom of Willows still hold much to slavery and racism, and eventually meet the charismatic King Meilge.

As the wedding progresses, Lady Songbird and Flynn Wordweaver work their magic once more to help keep the night productive, even with Princess Lenore acting emotionally distraught over her father's choice of actions.  But when the wedding takes a turn for the worse, the oathcircle finds itself at the center of a Kingdom without a High King, of warring sides declaring loyalties to varying leaders, to a Princess disavowing her right to rule, and of an Oathcircle embracing a new name.  Caliburn, the High King's most potent Treasure and the symbol of the Dreaming's favor in his rule had suddenly departed from the missing High King and had transported itself into the hands of the eshu storyteller, Flynn.  The sword, through words Flynn alone can hear, tells him that it will remain with him until the rightful bearer is found.


The Seekers of the High King is united by oath and by promise.

*

However, in the Kingdom of Apples, the young ward of Lady Songbird awakes from his feverish dreams and a new face comes to the fore.  His chimerical mein becomes fully apparent as he declares out loud, "I am Danwyn ap Gwydion, the rightful King of this realm.  Where is my Queen?"

II - The Call to Adventure - Part Three

An Oathcircle is formed.

With the goal being to rescue Sir Thortal, Princess Lenore forges an Oathcircle with Sir Felix, Lady Songbird, and Flynn Wordweaver.  The four then make their preparations for the quest.
Lady Songbird decides to offer the Trod in the Patrician as the point of entry to the Dreaming.  She realizes the other oath of secrecy that she had promised and asks for the Oathcircle to be mindful of it as well.  She notices her knights having a rivalry of sorts, and eventually agrees to rename Sir Finn into Sir Awll.

Flynn Wordweaver visits Duke Dray in hopes of having weapons and learns the Duke insists on joining him in the quest.  The Duke wears a hideous armor that blocks out his senses (in order to maintain the secrecy of the oath) which allows Flynn to leave the Duke behind.  He takes with him a set of magical throwing knives, blades which could be retargeted at the last second to strike a different target with but one's mind.

Sir Felix Southpaw gathers up the Glamour he can, including Dross which he successfully takes from Lady Songbird's knights through verbal wordplay.

The three gather at the Patrician, witness a brief outburst from the young man, Miles, and attempt to open the Trod.  It is only later that Lady Songbird and Sir Real realize that the Trod can only be opened while feeling the grip of lust.

In the Dreaming, the heroes encounter a myriad of things:  an information broker in the form of a bird who sells them information which leads them off the Silver Path, a set of statues that seem to speak of a woman and her children running away from someone, a silver river that eventually reveals itself to be a dragon now freed from its geas, and even a pirate in a sea of stars where desires are granted without a second-thought.

In each encounter, the heroes find a way to work together, or to confuse their opponents, using every skill or knowledge they have to their disposal.   Their greatest threats however, were to come from two other places:  their past.  And their future.

Upon finding the Silver Path, Lady Songbird sees the wreckage of a carriage that once belonged to her and her husband, a man named Danwyn.  Against the other's words, she tries to recover the contents of the carriage.  But when they find the tree ahead of them, she decides to bury the cask for now and to return to it some other time. The tree happens to be another one of the Ghulle Dhu, and the old one questions them for not choosing to return to the Dreaming instead.  It warns them that great threats are coming.  And leaves.

The group then finds a Ruined Arch to take home, but learn it is watched by a massive Spider chimera.  Lenore is snared into its web, and Sir Felix and Flynn struggle to find a way to best it, even as it attacks from the shadows.   Lady Songbird, on the other hand, discovers the Huntsman on the path, stalking them, and thankfully succeeds in an Ordeal against his dogs.  The Huntsman allows them to leave for now.

The Oathcircle find themselves emerging in the Kingdom of Pacifica, all the way in the other side of America.  There, amidst Justin Beiber songs and stilleto heels, the group discover they had been gone for barely a minute.

II - The Call to Adventure - Part Two

Months have passed.

Lady Songbird discovers her dear Miles continues to suffer lapses in his memory.  From his strange state of being somewhat Enchanted and his moments where he seems to have some other personality.  She is uncertain if he is approaching a Chrysalis.  Or worse, if something else is happening to the young man.   Adding even more complication into her colorful life, the Duke Kelodin then calls for the baroness for a meeting.  There, she finds herself meeting more than just the Duke.   The Queen of the Kingdom of Apples joins them and informs her she is aware of her bid for a seat in the Parliament of Dreams.  To her surprise both he and the Queen Mab give their approval for her to become the Advocate of Goblin Town.  The Queen however stresses that Cadmium Redd must live.  Doctor Coma is not happy to hear that Lady Songbird's rise to power will not result in the Nocker's death and now raises questions to his support in the endeavor.   And just when Lady Songbird thought things could not get worse...




Flynn Wordweaver begins to have clearer dreams in the passing weeks.  More and more he begins to unearth the events that transpired that infamous Beltaine night.  He notices that Faerylith has not been present during the many interviews.    A quick trip to the Trod Away From Home exposes him to the many rumors of the High King and his upcoming wedding.  He decides to visit Queen Mab and is surprised to be welcomed inside.   To his surprise, Queen Mab knows nothing of his dreams.  Duke Dray joins the meeting and the two uncover that Flynn's visions are likely real.  To protect him, the Queen declares him a Treasure of the Apples and any acts done directly to him are actions the Kingdom of Apples will retaliate against when necessary.    With Duke Dray assigned to protect him, the Duke steals Flynn away to induct him into a secret order:  The Beltaine Blade.   And after surviving the frightening induction, Flynn learns fate has something in addition in store.


Sir Felix Southpaw is lost in the Dreaming.  His journeys bring him to strange horizons and transforming landscapes.   Strangely, the things in the Dreaming seem to recognize him in some manner one way or another.    Eventually, Felix realizes some of the landscapes he travels through are dreams, and in a savannah dream he grabs hold of the waking Dreamer and pulls himself into the world. He discovers he is all the way in Australia and there befriends a young troll child, Amelie, and her Ghillie Dhu friend Simon.    Simon admits to Felix that he recognizes him, and shares with him his failed romantic life with a woman named Helena.  Felix agrees to escort Simon to the borders of the Deep Dreaming in exchange for a trod back to the Kingdom of Apples.  Secrets and answers he learns, sadly fade away as he reemerges in New York city.  Back there, he finds Master Seamus who shares the troubles of his quest for the Lost Ones, and later Thortal who opts to accompany him in searching for Lenore.  Who would have anticipated the strange portents and search would lead them to the events Dan had mapped out for the group.


All three find their paths converging at the street corner where a particular movie theater stands.  A freak accident leads to Thortal being pinned by a car against a brick wall.  In the panic, Felix attempts to heal him with the goblin fruit he had found in his pocket.  The fruit causes Thortal to fade away, pulled into the Dreaming itself.   Flynn and Lady Songbird clumsily attempt to distract the numerous unenchanted witnesses from the events and instead make things even far more complicated.  Lenore uses a quick illusion to weave herself into a splitting image of Thortal's mortal seeming to proclaim the event as a reality tv stunt.  Flynn and Songbird realize among the crowd is Joseph van Noceti III, who at first relishes at the Escheat being possibly broken.  But when the Princess' Cantrip succeeds, the Dauntain realizes the four Changelings may be strong enough to overpower him, and departs.


Lenore demands the others assist her and the group regathers at Coffee, Biscuit, Tea to swear as a group an Oath to rescue Thortal from the Dreaming.  The beginnings of an OathCircle are born.

II - The Call to Adventure - Part One

Lady Songbird learns from Sir Real that the trod in The Patrician does not seem to work. They know it leads to the Huntsman's Game in the Dreaming, to an exit point close to Tara Nar, and to somewhere in the Kingdom of Willows, but they are uncertain if there are other locations nor why it cannot be controlled.  They consider locking it closed in cold iron.   She also receives an open-invitation from the Kingdom of Willows to visit, good for a year.   The Lady then meets with Doctor Coma and Thortal, both of whom seem unwilling to be in the presence of each other.  While Thortal searches for Miles and investigates on Marcus, Coma introduces Lady Songbird to the existence of the Unseelie Houses and to the infamous Vlad Rogvodov, Unseelie member of the Parliament of Dreams.  They discuss making Songbird part of the Parliament as well, as the Advocate of Goblin Town.  That, however, means finding a way to dispose of Cadmium Redd, whose grip on the Freehold and her own sanity seems tight yet slipping.  Perhaps it has to do with her dabbling with banality and her creation of an iron cage.  Just when things were to be quieter, the missing Miles resurfaces, arriving at the Freehold with little memory of what has happened and the ability to see Kithain seemings!


Flynn Wordweaver has been with Sir Lleu Ardwyad and Faerylith, struggling to make sense of his strange memories of having survived... or rather, been reincarnated from the infamous Night of the Iron Knives.  Helping them is a Sir Ashley of House Eiluned, a psychologist among the fae.  The memories refuse to surface clearly after weeks of trying.  Taking a breather, Flynn heads to the Trod Away From Home and there re-encounters Duke Dray.  However, far from the bumbling fool he was in their first meeting, the Duke reveals to him how he had rescued the orphans, especially the two Dreamers, from the Autumn people that managed the Orphanage.    The Duke reminds him of his duties to the Escheat.  Flustered, Flynn visits the children and finds them under the care of a Dr. van Noceti.  However, when the real doctor emerges, the strange one seemingly vanishes.  Arriving home, Flynn finds no respite as Lleu returns with Thortal and the two use their combined Arts and skills to pull from Flynn a "passive Dictum" that was lying in wait.  The command was given by one of the Shadow Court, and to Thortal's horror, that person who cast it was Faerylith herself.    Finding sleep, Flynn dreams and sees the Night of the Iron Knives unfold.  He sees his friends murdered in the mist-filled room that Beltine night and realizes in this dream, he had seen the faces of Duke Dray and Queen Mab herself.  He also witnesses himself die, stabbed once in the stomach and another time through the throat.  How could he have returned from a death dealt by cold iron?

Sir Felix Southpaw sadly was also to be denied a quiet night.  His dreams speak of a massive wall that stretches from horizon to horizon.  Here, where green fires illuminate the night and vast armies camp beyond the wall, waiting for the call to war, Felix sees a goat-legged queen of ice asking him to reconsider.  However Felix bids her farewell and tells her their love is over.  He awakens in The Seven, the freehold once owned by the Crystal Circle, now under his care from Master Seamus, and has a short chat with Lenore (Sparrow).  Morwen, the High King's sister, comes to visit, offering him resources, trod access and a treasure in exchange for swearing an Oath to be Lenore's guardian.  He considers.  He meets Rowena the Just, Leader of the Riders of the Midnight Trods, and learns they function as a messenger system through the many Kingdoms.  After a near encounter with a strange man that seemed to be obsessed with scissors, Felix and Lenore make their way back to The Seven after her heartfelt admission of her jealousy towards her father's attentions towards Faerylith.  In the Freehold, Felix once more dreams of his former life in the Deep Dreaming, of a time when Joseph van Noceti III was his friend, the Gray sword was his weapon, and Thortal was but a squire.  He learns he is of a Noble House:  Scathach and wakes up confusing an open trod as the door leading out of the freehold.  He steps through and the Trod closes behind him, leaving him somewhere in the Dreaming.  Alone.

I - The Ordinary World - Part Three

Lady Songbird meets Sir Thortal who comes to bring her an invitation.  She is invited to a closed event to be held in Homefires, the Winter Court freehold of the High King himself. The invite turns out to be as a proxy since Countess Vena is unable to attend.  She realizes he lacks a proper gown to wear and opts to visit Goblin Town, despite Sir Real's concerns, to find Nockers and Boggans who can craft a magnificent chimerical voile for her to wear.  There she meets Doctor Coma and Lady Alexandria, who passes to her, through a kiss, a small note that contains two letters:  S and C.   At the event, her destiny is then tied to that of a young storyteller as her actions to fulfill directions from the Unseelie Court inadvertently cause a faux pass towards Queen Mab; the Queen had plans on congratulating the couple before anyone else did.  Songbird does notice that the Countess was still present in the event, however disguised in the Boggan form she has an ability of wearing.


Flynn Wordweaver was excited at the prospect of performing before the High King and his retinue.  His excitement however quickly turned to fear when he found himself being scrutinized by the Red Branch knight, Sir Lleu Ardwyad, and the silent but intimidating Sir Thortal.  He recognized Sir Thortal as being one of the rare Sidhe of House Scathach.  He was then warned that his "truth" may bring about much bloodshed in Concordia, and that events that transpired in the Beltaine Night of Iron Knives may best be left forgotten.  He is reminded all that died that night perished of Cold Iron.  His claim to have resurrected from that event is impossible, and yet Ardwyad does not proclaim his words to be false.  Later he meets Duke Dray, who he finds to be a tremendously funny fellow, much to the Duke's dismay.   Soon, he meets Faerylith and is touched by her friendly personality.  When the High King arrives and proclaims his feelings for the Eiluned woman, it is Flynn who follows Lady Songbird in supporting the union of the two.  Flynn is asked to come to the Kingdom of Willows to perform for the High King when he meets with the King of Willows, Faerylith's adoptive father.  Destiny has him take from Sief Raushan a place he felt was already his.


Sir Felix Southpaw was expecting a quiet night, with two freeholds now under his protection.  Having declined the offer to be knighted and to take part in Master Seamus' quest, he watched over the Coffee Biscuit Tea freehold and was wondering about the supposed second freehold near Tara Nar when he realized that Stacey had not come to work.  A call leads him to learning she had been taken to the hospital and a visit brings him to once again cross lines with the strange unfolding plans of a Joseph van Noceti III.  From a hospital confrontation that leads to the disappearance of the old woman he had rescued before, to a chase accompanied by Sir Thortal and seemingly guided by chance unfolding events, the two eventually rescue Sparrow from the Dauntain's attempts to feed, and uncover Sparrow's true identity: She is Princess Lenore, heir to Concordia and daughter of the High King, long run away but actually under the guardianship and guidance of Master Seamus of the Crystal Circle.  They share worries of the Dauntain's weapon, an ancient treasure known as The Gray Sword, and Felix silently ponders on his vague remembrances of having once owned the sword to fight against a living mountain of ice.  After escorting her back to Tara Nar, Felix visits the Freehold and learns it has 7 curtained gateways, the same number as that of the members of the Crystal Circle which Seamus was part of.

I - The Ordinary World - Part Two

An old grump finds himself haunted by a strange apparition and discovers a friend whose body is as mercurial as silver.  He finds himself reborn as a long-missing hero with a princess under his watch and a fragmented set of memories as his guide.  But his second chimerical companion of gold has yet to be rescued.  And his life and world, as he knows them, are about to change forever.

A young storyteller discovers his wards are on the verge of either an epiphany or a down spiral, depending on how he handles the banal director.  He finds himself on the first steps towards gaining some ground politically when his stories gain the attention of a dark beauty and those affiliated to the High King himself.  Would his claims regarding the Night of Iron Knives be taken well, considering there were no survivors of that fated horrible moment in history?

The young knight, Sir Felix, learns of a man whose very touch bears the bitter cold of winter, more of the Crystal Circle and how his boggan friend has long been affiliated to it.  He carefully eludes being entangled in a duty, but now finds himself the protector of two freeholds.  The quest begins with him finding himself unwilling to accept the herald of a House.

The ambitious baroness, Lady Songbird, finds herself entangled in the knowing tactics of a possible kinain who seeks to protect his one and only love, while juggling the political expectations placed upon her by the countess and her ties to the Unseelie court.  The trod leads to many places, it seems, and the messenger that comes is one from the Kingdom of Willows.

I - The Ordinary World - Part One

I - The Ordinary World

A young knight finds his way to the Kingdom of Apples and discovers Manhattan is not quite as fantastic as he first thought.   He forms friendships with a generous Seelie boggan and his eccentrically heroic sidhe boarder, stays in their spacious freehold, and slowly begins to learn that stranger things are afoot in the city that never sleeps.

Around the same time, an ambitious baroness begins a glamourous agenda involving an Unseelie boggan knight, an unexpected trod through the Dreaming, and the strange rumors of a serial killer with a penchant for scissors and Carpenter songs.

Two separate lives, so different and yet so similar in their themes.

The Dreaming truly has its own way of telling a tale.