The Iron Legends: Winter's Passage\Summer's Crossing\Iron's Prophecy (20 page)

Oh, all right. Some editor type insists on including detailed
information about me. Honestly, I live in fear for the future of your kind. If
you must know…]

Grimalkin is a mysterious faery cat with long, wispy gray fur
and golden eyes. [Well, human, I suppose this could be worse.
Mysterious
is not a half-bad start.] Like most cats,
Grimalkin is self-assured to the point of arrogance [you are walking a thin
line, human] and despairs of others for their lack of intelligence. He has a
talent for direction, though it is not clear if he is very good at remembering
the places he’s been or if he is able to sniff out the things he’s seeking [your
lack of perception is showing; do put the pieces together and realize it could
possibly
be a bit of both, hmm?] and he prides
himself on always being right. [There is no pride involved. A fact is a
fact.]

Grim has the ability to disappear from sight, which he often
does the moment he senses trouble—when Grim vanishes, it is almost a sure sign
there is danger nearby. He usually reappears once danger has been averted,
waiting impatiently for his companions to “hurry up.” [I will never understand
the propensity for humans and love-struck fey to dawdle about when clearly there
is danger at hand.] When asked how he is able to do the things he does, Grim
often answers simply, “I am a cat.” [And really, that is all you needed to say
in the first place. Why the long-winded biography, human? Whom are you trying to
impress?]

Grimalkin is also responsible for the creation of an amulet
that allows Winter and Summer fey to enter the Iron Realm without consequence
for a limited time. Creating these amulets requires the essence of an Iron fey,
however. Grimalkin’s is quite powerful and contains the essence of Ironhorse,
who sacrificed himself to help Meghan Chase. [Let us move on, human. Let the
dead rest.]

Being a cat, Grimalkin has a somewhat understandable rivalry
with the Wolf, whom he calls “Dog,” and the two often threaten and insult each
other. [Yawn. How much more of this must we dredge through? Old news, human. Old
news.] Some, like Ash, suspect that they just enjoy playing at being rivals,
since their banter never leads anywhere.

Grim deals in favors and often uses his ability to find things
in order to procure promises from anyone he comes across. He has guided Meghan
Chase into the Iron Realm at least twice, as well as through the Briars, the
human world and the wyldwood. He also accompanied Ash and Puck on their quest to
the End of the World. [As if those two could have found it on their own.
Please.]

When confronted with a doppelganger of his true nature,
Grimalkin was not surprised to find that his inner self was not that much
different from his outer self, suggesting that Grimalkin doesn’t suppress his
true nature. [Are we finished? I see a butterfly.…]

Good to know:
When Grimalkin
speaks, listen and do as he says. Do not question him unless you wish to either
wind up dead at the hands of some dangerous creature or feel like the stupidest
being ever to enter Faery. If Grim vanishes, run away from wherever you are
immediately and quietly.

The Faery Rulers

LEANANSIDHE

(Lea, the Dark Muse, Queen of the Exiles, Ruler of the
Between)

At one time, Leanansidhe was one of the most powerful
beings in the Nevernever. She inspired many great artists, including James Dean,
Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, helping them to produce their most brilliant
works. Of course, there was always a price to be paid for her gifts. She would
occasionally kidnap mortals who were especially gifted and keep them until she
got bored.

Allegedly, Leanansidhe was banished from the Nevernever by
Oberon for growing too powerful and having too many mortal worshippers. However,
her banishment was actually due to the jealousy of Titania. Setting up residence
in a mansion in the Between, Leanansidhe gathered new followers and crowned
herself Queen of the Exiles, taking in stray faeries who had nowhere else to
go.

Leanansidhe likes expensive things and has clients with unusual
tastes, and she uses half-breed “employees” to procure these items. She also has
the habit of abducting male human musicians and turning them into musical
instruments. She calls all of these men Charles, as she finds it hard to
remember their real names. She is the one responsible for abducting Meghan’s
human father, though she did it at Puck’s request and did not know at the time
who he was connected to.

Leanansidhe is incomparably beautiful, with wavy, waist-length
hair that shimmers like strands of copper. She is tall and pale and carries
herself like the queen she knows she is.

Good to know:
Leanansidhe’s
mesmerizing beauty and charm can turn on you in an instant. If you enter into a
bargain with her, do so with the greatest of caution, lest you end up as a
violin or grand piano.

MAB

(the Winter Queen, Queen of Air and Darkness, Sovereign of the
Autumn Territories)

The Queen of the Unseelie Court draws the eye of
everyone in the room. Her hair is so black it appears blue, and spills down her
back like a waterfall of ink. Her eyes are pitch-black.

Mab is a cruel queen, forcing her three sons to compete for her
favor and using their emotions and weaknesses against them whenever possible.
However, despite this, it is obvious that Mab loves her sons and her grief is
mighty when she loses Sage to betrayal, Rowan to his own folly by Ash’s hand and
Ash to love.

Mab wields the power of an arctic winter, calling forth snow,
ice and subzero winds to slay those who displease her. She has a tendency to
encase individuals in blocks of ice, either because they have annoyed her or as
a way of preserving them forever so she won’t have to see them get old. Being
trapped in Mab’s ice, victims live forever, all the while gasping for breath
that never comes.

Good to know:
Mab is one of
the four most powerful fey in the Nevernever. She is highly protective of Winter
and may look well upon one who has information to help her realm. But she does
love her ice sculpture garden and is as likely to add you to it as she is to
reward your services.

OBERON

(the Erlking, King of the Summer Court, Ruler of Arcadia, Lord
Oberon)

Lord Oberon, the Seelie King, is a tall and slender man
with silver hair that falls to his waist and eyes like green ice. He wears an
antlered crown and sits atop a throne seemingly grown out of the forest floor.
His power radiates from him like the energy coming off a thunderstorm.

As the Seelie King, Oberon has all the powers of summer at his
disposal. He can call vines and plants to his aid, wield fire and lightning and
turn into a formidable treelike giant. He also has the ability to trap Robin
Goodfellow in a form of his choosing, and often keeps him in a cage in raven
form when he is displeased with him.

Oberon fell in love with Meghan’s mother while watching her
paint and draw in a local park, describing her as beautiful and artistic.

Good to know:
Oberon is the
most powerful faery in Arcadia and one of the four most powerful fey in the
Nevernever. Do not cross him, unless your name is Puck and you can talk the rain
out of falling during a storm.

TITANIA

(the Summer Queen, Lady Titania)

Titania is a fey of otherworldy beauty, willowy-thin
with long hair that shifts between silver and gold, glittering blue eyes and an
aura of arrogance and power.

Titania is an extremely jealous faery, and has been known to be
vindictive when her jealousy is provoked. She had Leanansidhe banned from the
Nevernever for daring to rival her queenliness. She also tried to go after
Meghan’s human father as a way to get revenge for Oberon’s fidelity without
harming the human woman he loved and stoking his ire. Upon meeting Meghan, she
attempted to turn her husband’s daughter into a hart. When commanded to stop by
her husband and denied the pleasure of hunting hart-Meghan down with dogs,
Titania sent her to toil away in the kitchen not unlike another famous
fairy-tale princess.

Good to know:
Titania is
both jealous and vain. Flatter her and you may go far. Cross her and you will go
nowhere ever again once her hounds hunt down your new rabbit-self and tear you
to pieces.

The Extended Cast of Characters

ARIELLA TULARYN

(The only daughter of the Ice Baron of Glassbarrow, The
Seer)

Ariella was Ash’s first love, an innocent and naive soul
who he met when she came to court for the first time as a representative of her
father. Vowing to protect her from the cruel politics of the court, Ash quickly
fell in love with her and found she was the only person he could be himself
around. While hunting in the wildwood, Ariella discovered Puck and Ash’s
friendship, a relationship forbidden by their rival courts, but didn’t seem
fazed. She and Puck also became great friends, and the three spent much of their
time together hunting in the wyldwood. She was tragically killed by a wyvern’s
sting when Puck’s playful nature led the group into its nest, leading to the
deadly rivalry between Puck and the Winter Prince.