Sean Cullen - The Prince of Two Tribes

Merddyn had hardly spoken as Brendan recalled the events. He asked the odd question now and then, prodding him for details. Mostly, he listened. Looking into those soft blue eyes, Brendan felt he could be entirely honest, entirely at ease. It felt good to talk to someone who seemed to understand him so completely. When Brendan finally finished, Merddyn leaned back in his chair and silently contemplated the boy across the table. Brendan found it quite disconcerting.

“Well,” Brendan asked impatiently. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Wrong?” Merddyn blinked and then laughed as if he’d never heard anything so ridiculous. “Wrong! Nothing is wrong, my dear boy, nothing at all. In fact, I suspect that a number of things are exactly right. Difficult but right.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Forgive me, Brendan. I’m just trying to figure out how to explain this to you. You see, I haven’t met anyone in centuries, perhaps longer, who has been even remotely capable of understanding.”

“Are you talking about me? I don’t understand anything!” Brendan threw up his hands in frustration. He looked into Merddyn’s blue eyes and saw sympathy there, and a little sadness, too.

Merddyn said, “Brendan, please. I know this is overwhelming. I’ll tell you what I know and what you can understand.”

Brendan hesitated. He looked to Charlie, who smiled encouragingly. Reassured, he sat back.

“Greenleaf wasn’t exactly right when he said that you exhibited a new kind of Talent. It’s really quite an old Talent. And I should know, Brendan. I am one of the oldest of the Ancients. There are few of us left who remember the time before the Pact. Even fewer remember what it was like when the People of the Moon and Metal lived in harmony at the dawn of the world.”

Charlie rose from the table. “I have heard this tale many times. I’ll leave you two to talk. It’s snowing!” She went to the door and opened it, breathing deeply. “I love the snow.” She dashed out into the night.

Merddyn chuckled softly. “She has a lovely spirit. She had a hard start in this life, much like your own.”

Brendan nodded. “She told me.”

“Indeed. I see you two have become close.”

Brendan reddened. “It’s not like that.”

“Of course not,” Merddyn chuckled. “It never is like that until the moment when it suddenly is like that, and then it’s too late.” Merddyn sighed, suddenly melancholy. “I feel sorrow for the girl.”

“She’s like me. She never knew her parents. It’s worse for her, though. She never even knew who they were.”

“Yes, it weighs upon her heavily. I have promised to find out who her real parents are. Not as easy as one might expect. It’s a real mystery, in fact.”

Brendan sighed. “I met my father, if only for a few moments… ”

For once, Merddyn looked astonished. “You met your father? How is that possible?”

“I’m not exactly sure. He came to me for only a moment, and he said it was very hard for him to do. He came when I was fighting Orcadia.”

“Aha! So that’s how you were initiated!” Merddyn clapped his hands. “Old Briach Morn managed to zip over from the Other Side, did he? The old fox.”

Brendan silently cursed himself. “I haven’t even told Kim that. Why did I just blurt it out to you?”

Merddyn laughed, winking slyly. “You have to get up pretty early in the morning to get anything past old Merddyn.” He laughed again and it was an infectious sound. Brendan found he couldn’t help but join in.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a doughnut?” Merddyn said at last, tipping the box toward Brendan.

“No thanks,” Brendan declined. “You were talking about the People of the Moon and Metal.”

“Yes.” Merddyn plucked out a doughnut with pale brown icing. He took a dainty bite and closed his eyes with pleasure. “Mmmm. Maple. I do love it so. Who could imagine a tree might produce such a delightful flavour?”

“Sir?”

“Oh, yes. Two tribes.”

Merddyn began his tale.

^ 45 Renaissance painters were very fond of women with big noses. Leonardo da Vinci was quoted as saying, “A woman is really just the ideal life support system for a large and wonderful nose.” Granted, he was a weirdo.

“The People of Metal and the Fair Folk lived together then. The jealousies and fears that caused the later fracture were yet to rear their ugly heads. The two tribes of Sun and Moon complemented each other, shared each other’s strengths. The balance was kept for many eons.”

“What happened?” Brendan asked. He was having trouble grasping the expanses of time Merddyn was speaking about. Could there really have been a time when Humans and Faeries shared the world?

“What always happens when the world seems too simple and peaceful: there were those in both tribes who grew to mistrust the others. Some of the Fair Folk tired of the People of Metal’s appetite for change and disrespect for the Earth: the digging, mining, burning, and cutting of the forests to build their homes and towns. Among the Humans, some assumed that the Fair Folk harboured secrets and riches that they refused to share with their Human brethren.”

“What was the truth?” Brendan asked.

Merddyn sighed. “The truth is never simple. The Humans tended to take what they needed when they needed it. They lacked the insight of the Fair Folk. They couldn’t feel the harm they did to the Earth. They were like children, unwittingly devouring the world around them as they multiplied and spread to fill its open spaces.

“For our part, we Fair Folk tended to remain aloof from the Humans. Many of us began to look upon them as a nuisance and a burden to be avoided. We started to seek our own company in the wild places, out of reach of the Humans. That was a mistake, but an honest one. It only served to make our actions more mysterious and arouse further suspicion in the Humans. They began to fear us.

“The conflict started with small incidents. Here and there, individuals clashed. Hatred grew. Soon there was open warfare between our tribes. The destruction was terrible and the loss of life unspeakable. Something had to be done to return the peace before one side or the other was destroyed.

“I gathered a council of Fair Folk and Humans and we formed an alliance. We’d fight together to restore order. We knew accommodation with the Humans was necessary. The People of Metal multiplied much faster than we ever could, and one day they would vastly outnumber us. If we didn’t strike some form of pact with them, we would be doomed.

“Others among the Fair Folk believed the opposite. They were determined to subjugate the Humans or annihilate them. These fell-minded Faeries we called the Dark Ones. They marshalled their forces and brought ruin upon the Humans, enslaving or destroying all in their path.

“There was a great battle. The very Earth was reshaped beneath the titanic blows that were struck and the powers that were unleashed on that dark day. In the end, we defeated the Dark Ones. We imprisoned their leaders, the ones who refused to accept defeat, with our strongest Wards. Those who repented of their ways were allowed to go free provided they worked to repair the damage they had wrought. The Pact was struck and we Fair Folk faded from memory, remembered only as demons and ogres in children’s stories. We clung on in the cracks of Human society, and that is where we find ourselves today.”

Merddyn stopped speaking, staring out into the dark night where snowflakes had once again begun to fall. He shook himself. “Forgive me. Wool gathering! I am definitely getting old. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what all this history has to do with you. Well, bear with me. Everything is connected, you see.”