Silver Hill (33 page)

Cauldron of Life
– One of the
Four Treasures of Annwn
, this is a cauldron made from thirteen bronze plates that can be laced together. Each plate has a different tree symbol on it. The cauldron was too precious to be kept in one piece so all the separate parts were kept in the sacred groves or wells and guarded by
Druids
or
Water Nymphs
. When the cauldron was needed for the ritual opening of the
Western Gate
, the plates would be collected and
Nora
would lace them together. Once the cauldron was re-made the portal into
Annwn
could be opened. The thirteen trees on the cauldron plates are beech, pine, holly, hazel, apple, elm, rowan, ash, birch, yew, hawthorn, oak and willow.
(It was my fault the hawthorn, oak and willow plates went missing.)

Cauldron Plates
– Three of the plates (those bearing the hawthorn, oak and willow tree emblems) were lost in the past, which is why
Nora
was trapped on earth. Without these three plates Nora was unable to remake the cauldron which was needed to open the
Western Portal
. An ancient
Prophecy
foretold the coming of one who would find the missing
cauldron plates
and save everyone.

Crochan Tree
– The leaves from this tree are extraordinary. An elixir can be made by brewing the leaves, when this is drunk by the Druids it makes them immortal.

Crystal Key
– This is a huge diamond shaped crystal and is the key which opens the
Caves of Eternal Rest
. The caves are sealed with an ice sheet. When the key is in position the gatekeeper can turn it three times to melt the ice sheet and unseal the entrance.
Mortarn
is the keeper of the crystal key and gatekeeper to the caves.

Crystal Magic
– The most powerful kind of magic. It can’t be controlled by anyone and has a life of its own.

Donar
– The coinage introduced into
Annwn
by
Velindur
.

Doors
– There are many kinds of doorways. Some lead into hillsides, some into
Fairy Mounds
and some into the
Otherworld
.
Bogie
doors are never well looked after and usually have a sign on them telling the caller to GO AWAY. Fairy doors are always well kept and usually have shiny doorknobs that can speak to the caller. A
dwindling door
is a special kind of magical
Druid
’s door.
Portals
are the doors between Earth and
Annwn
.

Dragons
– Long ago there were many dragons but now only a few survive. The bigger the dragon, the longer its name. There were three types of dragon:
dragonairs
,
dragonors
and
dragonettes
.

Dragonairs
– Very large with red scales and usually bad tempered. Dragonairs can fly and both males and females can breathe fire. Famous dragonairs include Brynog Long Tail the Invincible, Zacyry Jagged Tooth the Mighty, Ember Silver Horn the Magnificent, Wygrym Sharp Claw the Fearless and Petryn Long Beard the Brave.

Dragonors
– These dragons usually had blue scales and were medium sized. They didn’t breathe fire but had the sharpest teeth. They were always getting into fights, especially with knights and they are now extinct. The names of the dragonors have been lost and only the slayers’ names are remembered, for example, Sir Berwick the Dragon Slayer.

Dragonettes
– Very small dragons with shiny green scales and tiny purple wings. Only the males breathe fire. They were highly prized by
Spriggans
who would capture them when they could.
Charkle
was captured by Spriggans and imprisoned in a cage. The Spriggans would pull his tail if their candles went out so he’d breathe fire and light the wicks again.

Dragon Screecher
– The profession of a
Draygull
who could screech a song that would hypnotise any dragon into a deep sleep.

Dragon Skin
– A dragon sheds its skin every hundred years. The skins are highly prized because they are very strong and fireproof. The
Book of Dragon Lore
was bound with the skin shed by Wygrym Sharp Claw the Fearless.

Druids
– Were trained to recite stories, poems and sing songs; they learnt the whole history of the Earth and Annwn this way. They needed to know about herbs and remedies and how to heal people. Anyone chosen to be a Druid would train from an early age, for up to thirty years and while training was known as an
acolyte
. Once a Druid’s training was complete they could choose how to use their skills, some would become bards, others healers and some teachers. (
I used to be Gwillam’s acolyte but I wasn’t able to finish my training.)
Druids each have a ceremonial hooded robe, a staff, which would once have been a branch from a sacred tree, and a golden acorn. The staff and acorn give them the ability to perform magic. They can live forever if they drink an elixir, a kind of tea, brewed from the leaves of the
crochan tree
which can only be found in Annwn in the Druid’s Village.

Dryads
– A special type of
Nymph
. Dryads inhabit trees. They can move around from tree to tree and tend all the trees in a forest or wood. If their tree should die they can find another to live in. A special kind of Dryad is called a
Hamadryad
.

Dwindling Door
– Any door that is used by a
Druid
can be turned, with a little bit of magic, into a dwindling door. If any if the
Fair Folk
or
Not So Fair Folk
go through the door uninvited it gets smaller. The Druid can then tell if anyone has been where they shouldn’t. However, if a human goes through a dwindling door it will disappear altogether and trap the human inside the room, where they must await their fate.

Fair Folk
– These are the little people of this world, including fairy folk,
Nymphs
, Brownies,
Dorysks,
and the larger people of
Annwn
. Some can fly, some have magic, some can shape shift and all are immortal. They can sometimes be mischievous but they don’t mean any harm. Unless you have special sight you’d find it hard to see any of the small fair folk that inhabit the earth.

Fairy Mound
– Any mound found on ground between an oak, ash and thorn tree will be a fairy mound. Sometimes fairies live there all the time; other mounds are just used for feasts and celebrations. All fairy doors have a shiny doorknob. When anyone knocks on the door the doorknob transforms into a face and can speak with the visitor.

Four Portals of Annwn
– These are the four ancient and secret
Gateways of Annwn
. They are the boundaries between Annwn and Earth.

Four Treasures of Annwn
– These are the
Cauldron of Life
, the
Spear of Justice
, the
Sword of Power
and the
Stone of Destiny
. Each one opens one of the
Four Portals
.

Gargoyles
– A creature of stone with a grotesque face. It has a wide gaping mouth and a forked tongue. Never look a female gargoyle in the eye or she will terrify and transfix you. This is how gargoyles catch their prey.
(They didn’t get us!)

Gateways of Annwn
- These are the four ancient and secret doorways or portals into
Annwn
. They are the boundaries between Annwn and Earth.

Golden Acorn
– All the
Druid
’s golden acorns were made in
Annwn
by the master craftsman,
Lloyd the Goldsmith
. A Druid needs their golden acorn and wand to be able to perform rituals and magic.
(Jack’s got his own golden acorn.)

Gnarles
– Are dying trees, no longer under the protection of a
Hamadryad
. They still have some life in them but the
Dryads
, who once tended and looked after them have left the forest and the Gnarles are left to slowly turn into dead wood.
(They don’t seem to appreciate my singing.)

Hags
– Small disgusting smelly creatures about the same size as a raven. They live in caves and aren’t very hygienic. They have large hooked beaky noses, and long claw-like fingers. Their blackish purple hair reaches the floor. Hags meet up at various times of the year and like to sing.
(Not that you’d recognise it as singing.)

Hamadryads
– Are the
Dryads
of any oak tree. Unlike other dryads, if the oak tree dies, the Hamadryad also dies. They are part of the tree and are unable, like other Dryads, to move from tree to tree. All Hamadryads began life as an acorn from the
Mother Oak
in
Annwn
. They grow and develop rapidly and once fully grown, they give their protection to all the trees and
Dryads
living in their forest.

Herborium
– This is a special room at
Ewell House
where
Nora
keeps all the ingredients for her potions. It’s also where she keeps her herbarium, a collection of dried herbs and pressed flowers that have been studied, labelled and written about in one of her many books. Nora also has books about plants, spells and potions in the herborium.
(I’m not always allowed in the herborium but Jack is.)

Hudlath
– A magic wand transformed from a
lath
. Once the wand has been empowered it will appear smooth. You have to be very careful how you use a magic wand. Sparks can erupt from the end.
(Jack singed my tail feathers the first time he used his wand but I got my own back when I used mine for the first time.)

King of Annwn
– The rightful king of
Annwn
is buried deep with
The Mound
; he chose mortality instead of eternal life.
Velindur
is the self-appointed King in Annwn.

King of the Forest
– Jack Brenin is to be crowned King of the Forest when the new
Hamadryad
s are grown as foretold in the last two lines of the
Prophecy
:

When all is equal, all is done,

And joy is brought to everyone,

The Brenin will be crowned again,

Over the Forests he will reign.

Lath
– A wand. A lath is a twig with magical properties that can be transformed into a
hudlath
. To empower the lath it has to be taken to one of the sacred wells where the keeper of the well, a special kind of
Water Nymph
called an
Undine
chooses your magical symbol. Once you have touched the symbol with your right hand it glows and becomes very hot, the symbol then appears on your fingertip. When you take your wand in your left hand it appears as a twig. But after you’ve been given your symbol, if you put it in your right hand the wand will transform into a
hudlath
(a magic wand).

Mother Oak
– This is the oak tree on which
Hamadryad
acorns grow. The Mother Oak will shake her branches and grant the
Druid
some of her acorns. She is called: Sylvana, Mother of all
Hamadryads
, Guardian of the Oaks and Bearer of the Sacred Mistletoe. The
Druid
s in
Annwn
, and two
Dryad
s, called
Fernella
and
Fernilla
, care for the Mother Oak
.

Night Guard
– A band of eight rats, led by Motley, who keep watch over Glasruhen and report to Nora. The rats in the guard are:
Motley
, Podge, Midge, Lester, Morris,
Raggs
,
Fergus
and
Berry
.

Not So Fair Folk
– These are usually the little people of this world and some of the larger people of
Annwn
. They are unable to fly, they don’t have magical powers and they can’t shape shift. They may be vindictive and don’t mind causing harm. Unless you have special sight you’d find it hard to see any of the not so fair folk.

Nymphs
– There are lots of different kinds of Nymphs. Some inhabit the trees and are called
Dryads
or
Hamadryads
. Others inhabit the hills and meadows.
Undines
are a type of
Water Nymph
and the Nymphs of the air are called Sylphs. They have the ability to fly and shape-shift.

Oak Well
– This was the well tended by
Gwillam
in the centre of the
Sacred Grove
. The oak
cauldron plate
used to hang on the branches of the oak tree next to the well.
(This was my home before the Romans came.)

Oracular Frogs
– Only found in
Annwn
. The males predict the weather but female oracular frogs have other prophetic abilities.
(
Gavin
bought one as a present for me.)

Otherworld
– Another name for
Annwn
.

Prophecy
– this is the prophecy, which Jack Brenin is destined to fulfil:

A Brenin boy you’ll need to find

Born at Samhain of humankind.

The One you seek is brave and strong

And his true heart will do no wrong.

The Golden Acorn he will see

And listen to the Dryad’s plea.

Underneath Pengridion Hill