Elen laughed; she couldn’t help herself.
Ms. Hafwen huffed, “I do not know what it is about humans and their fascination with inbreeding. That was not the modern adage I wanted. Where is it . . . ? Ah, here it is: Work your arse off.” She gave a satisfied smile. “I like that one.”
Why did Elen suddenly feel as if her quiet world had just started to spin like a merry-go-round and she needed to hang on or be thrown off?
“Elen,” the pixie announced with glee, “you and I are going to work our arses off.”
The way Ms. Hafwen pronounced arse rather than ass ruined the impact—but Elen dared not contradict this formidable creature.
= Character = Term
AERON
Walker; once a messenger to Ceridwen in the Otherworld; earthly body remains in Avon while spirit is trapped in the Vale.
ANNWFN; OTHERWORLD; LAND OF FAERY
Homeland of the Welsh Celtic deities, similar to sídh of Irish mythology, where the Tuatha Dé Danann reside, the land of faery and magical beings.
BEDDESTYR; WALKER
Once messengers to Ceridwen in the Otherworld. Four known Walkers still exist; all have lost their power to walk between worlds.
BELTANE; MAY DAY
A Celtic holiday to celebrate the beginning of summer. Ancient Celts believed that the barrier between our world and the Otherworld was opened this day and that the Gods visited to bestow fertility blessings.
BLEIDD; WOLF
A Guardian descendant born or trapped in wolf form who cannot change to human; human intelligence exists within the wolf.
BRAN
Original Guardian; member of the Council of Ceridwen.
BRIALLEN
Guardian who resides in Wales with her husband; wife of Maelor; mate of Teyrnon.
CADAN
Son of Neira; cousin of Rosa; Math’s former lover.
CASTELL AVON; RIVER CASTLE
A castle on the island of Avon; commissioned by the Council of Ceridwen as a wedding gift for Rosa and Math.
CERIDWEN; CELTIC GODDESS
Welsh Celtic goddess, worshiped by ancient Celts as the great sow goddess; though less recognized, Ceridwen was also revered as the goddess of wolves; known to brew potions of transformation and knowledge; Earth Mother of Darkness and Light; master of animal transformation; birth mother of Taliesin.
CERNUNNOS; CELTIC GOD
Welsh Celtic Lord of Animals; worshiped by ancient Celts as the Great Hunter; commonly depicted in Celtic artifacts with horned animals, such as the horned snake of Celtic tradition, and the stag; honored by ancient Celts as the leader of the Wild Hunt where spirits of the dead were carried to the Otherworld.
CORMACK
Brother of Siân and Taran; close friend of Elen; born in wolf form without the ability to transform to human; human intelligence exists within the wolf; given the power to shift by Elen in the first battle of the Dissenters’ War against the Guardians.
COUNCIL OF CERIDWEN; GOVERNING ASSEMBLY OF ORIGINAL GUARDIANS
A self-proclaimed governing body compiled by the nine surviving Original Guardians.
Council members in alphabetical order: Bran, Edwyn, Gweir, Maelor, Merin, Neira, Pendaran, Rhys, William.
CYMRU; WALES
Homeland of the Original Guardians.
DARON
Leader of the Ontario territory; views the Original Guardians with disdain.
DEWISEDIG; CHOSEN HUMAN
A human mate of a Guardian or Guardian descendant whose offspring can transform into a wolf.
DRWGDDYDDWG; EVIL BRINGER
A derogatory description of Guardian descendants born in human form without the ability to transform into a wolf. The name was created by Original Guardians, fearful of their loss of power.
DRYSTAN
Leader of the Blue Ridge Highland territory of Virginia; views the Original Guardians with disdain.
DYLAN (AD 329–)
The alpha wolf and leader of the Katahdin territory; husband and mate of Sophie; father of Joshua; eldest brother of Luc and Elen; son of Merin.
EDWYN
Original Guardian; member of the Council of Ceridwen.
ELEN (AD 331–)
The healer of the Katahdin territory; sister of Dylan and Luc; daughter of Merin; cannot shift into a wolf but can manipulate nature.
FINNBARR (AD 1682–)
Also known as Porter; head of home security of Rhuddin Hall of the Katahdin territory; has a tattoo of a Celtic cross in honor of his Irish mother; cannot transform into a wolf.
FRANCINE (AD 1955–AD 2013)
Mother of Sophie; human; killed in the first battle of the Dissenters’ War against the Guardians.
GARETH
Porter of Castell Avon; tortured by Math for taking a mortal lover; wears patch due to damaged eye; not allowed to shift and heal.
GAWAIN
Walker; once a messenger to Ceridwen in the Otherworld; earthly body remains in Avon while spirit is trapped in a dreamland between worlds.
GWARCHODWYR; GUARDIAN
Descendants of Original Guardians who follow the command of the Council of Ceridwen.
GWARCHODWYR UNFED; GUARDIAN, FIRST IN ORDER; THE ORIGINALS
An Original Celtic warrior appointed by Ceridwen to protect her son Taliesin; taught how to draw energy from the earth to transform into wolves; served Taliesin as a child; age at a very slow rate. The oldest surviving Original Guardian was born 95 BC. There were forty-eight Original Guardians; only nine remain to form the Council of Ceridwen.
GWEIR
Original Guardian; member of the Council of Ceridwen.
HAFWEN
A pixie sent to earth to teach Elen how to use her gift.
HEN WAS; OLD SERVANT
Slaves to the Original Guardians and the Council; Guardian descendants born without the ability to transform into a wolf; age at the same slow rate of an Original Guardian.
ISABEAU
Leader of the forest region of Minnesota; family was tortured and killed in the house of Rhun while serving the Original Guardians.
JOSHUA (AD 1995–)
Son of Dylan and Sophie.
Leader of Alaskan territory; views the Original Guardians with disdain.
KOKO (AD 1868–AD 1946)
Luc’s deceased wife.
LLARA
One of four leaders who occupy the territories of Russia; views the Original Guardians with disdain.
LUC BLACK (AD 342–)
Youngest brother of Dylan and Elen; son of Merin; husband of the late Koko; banished at birth by his mother for being born in wolf form; raised by Dylan; known as the Beast of Merin.
THE MABINOGION
Also referred to as the The Mabinogi; a collection of Celtic folklore from medieval Welsh manuscripts, including The White Book of Rhydderch and The Red Book of Hergest. The first translation of The Mabinogion into English was by Lady Charlotte Guest in the mid-nineteenth century.
MADOC
Leader of the mountain regions of Montana; captained the ship that brought Luc, Elen and Dylan to the New World; views the Original Guardians with disdain.
MAELOR
Original Guardian; member of the Council of Ceridwen; husband of Briallen.
MAELORWEN
Also known as Mae; witch who lived in the hills when Dylan and Elen were children; taught Elen the medicinal uses of plants; the first Guardian descendant born without the ability to shift; torture
d by the Guardians; currently resides with Rosa in the White Mountains territory of New Hampshire.
MATH (62 BC–AD 2013)
An Original Guardian; former leader of the White Mountains territory of New Hampshire; former husband of Rosa; loyal to the Council of Ceridwen; executed by Dylan.
MERIN
An Original Guardian; mother of Dylan, Elen and Luc; resides in Wales as a member of the Council of Ceridwen.
MORWYN
Walker; once a messenger to Ceridwen in the Otherworld; earthly body remains in Avon while spirit is trapped in a dreamland between worlds.
NEIRA
Original Guardian; member of the Council of Ceridwen; mother of Cadan; aunt of Rosa.
NESIEN
Walker; once a messenger to Ceridwen in the Otherworld; earthly body remains in Avon while spirit is trapped in a dreamland between worlds.
NIA
Leader of the northern New York territory; views the Original Guardians with disdain.
PENDARAN
Original Guardian; head of the Council of Ceridwen.
PENTEULU; HEAD OF FAMILY
Leader of a territory; alpha wolf.
PORTER; RESPECTED SERVANT
Head of home security.
RHUDDIN; HEART OF TIMBER
RHUN (58 BC–AD 2013)
An Original Guardian; killed by Sophie in the first battle of the Dissenters’ War against the Guardians.
RHYS
Original Guardian; member of the Council of Ceridwen.
ROSA ALBAN (AD 1702–)
Widow of Math; wife of Luc; leader of the White Mountains territory of New Hampshire; parents were killed while protecting Rosa from the Council of Ceridwen; the last pure-blooded unmated female shifter.
SERPENT OF CERNUNNOS
A flexible sword in the shape of Cernunnos’s horned snake, forged in the Otherworld as a gift for Taliesin. The wearer of the Serpent is given a heightened perception of their surroundings and a connection to beings of the Otherworld.
SIN
Dylan’s ex-lover; eldest sister of Taran and Cormack; threatened a pregnant Sophie in the woods the night Sophie left Dylan; the woman who gave Sophie her scars.
SIN
See Taliesin.
SOPHIE (AD 1975–)
Wife and mate of Dylan; mother of Joshua; daughter of Francine; the first human to give birth to a shifter in more than three hundred years; her aging process has slowed since carrying Dylan’s child.
TALIESIN; “SIN” (42 BC–)
Son of Ceridwen; possesses powers of transformation and prophecy; Sophie’s former employer. Taliesin spent much of the medieval ages intoxicated; therefore, it was during this time that many stories of his antics were documented by humans. Though the Original Guardians were assigned by his birth mother as protectors, Taliesin views most of them with disdain.
TARAN
Deceased sister of Siân and Cormack; mother of Melissa; killed by Rhun in the first battle of the Dissenters’ War against the Guardians.
TEYRNON
First in command of Luc’s guard; mate of Briallen; Guardian descendant with the ability to shift; father was human of Norse descent; homestead destroyed by the Guardians in the late 1600s for daring to live outside their rules.
TREE OF HOPE
A gateway between earth and the Otherworld.
VALE
See also Ystrad Gloyw; an ethereal dreamlike world between earth and the Otherworld.
WILLIAM; GWILYM
Original Guardian; member of the Council of Ceridwen.
WULFLING
Wulflings begin as infant shifters, often deserted by the death of their parents while in hiding; left to fend for themselves; without the company of humans they are unable to learn by example; instincts of their wolves often become more dominant than their humanity.
YSTRAD GLOYW; GLOWING VALE
An ethereal dreamlike world between earth and the Otherworld.