mug. “In time for what?”
Kim and Greenleaf exchanged a glance. Kim shrugged. “I guess you’ll find out soon enough. We wanted you to concentrate on your training and not worry about anything else, but you might as well know: a Gathering of the Clans has been called.”
“A gathering?” Brendan frowned. “What does that mean?”
“The People of the Moon are divided into Clans, descended from the first great tribes of the Fair Folk. Every few decades, a Gathering is called. Faeries come from all over the world to tell stories, share news, and compete in Contests of the Arts.”
“Like the Highland Games?” Brendan asked. “You throw logs and dance over swords and stuff?” Brendan had gone to the Highland Games in Fergus, Ontario, when he was a child. He remembered a lot of men in skirts, some of them throwing logs.
“A bit like that,” Kim agreed, then shook her head. “And nothing like that. Some of the most brilliant Artificers come. The Artisans’ Fair is pretty incredible. But there’s one major thing you need to worry about … ”
“I knew this couldn’t be all good,” Brendan said glumly.
“There’s been a lot of debate about you in the Faerie world,” Kim explained. “You’ve been quite a hot topic.”
“Oh.” Brendan brightened. “That doesn’t sound so bad. It’s nice to be popular.”
“I didn’t say popular. I said that Faeries were talking about you a lot. There’s some debate among our people about whether your initiation was valid.”
“But Ariel accepted it!” Brendan cried. “Isn’t he the big cheese around here?”
“Around here, yes,” Greenleaf replied. “But there are many more cheeses of the same size or larger around the world, and some of them insist that he was negligent. He didn’t witness the initiation. You came back to us fully fledged, and we had to accept your story.”
Brendan didn’t respond. He’d never told anyone what had happened, how his Faerie father, Briach Morn, had come from the Other Side and performed the initiation. He’d kept that to himself. Now he was going to suffer for that choice.
“So what does this mean for me?” he asked.
“The Council has decided you must be tested,” Greenleaf said. “You will go through a Proving, a series of Challenges to determine if you are truly one of us.”
“And what if I fail these Challenges?”
“I wouldn’t advise you to fail. You’d end up as an Exile, doomed to live on the fringes of our society. Like Finbar.”
Finbar was now living at the Swan of Liir on the Ward’s Island, doing odd jobs until Ariel decided whether he should be reinstated as a Faerie. Finbar had lost his Faerie status when he’d revealed his true nature to a Human, a woman he’d later married. He’d lived in Exile for almost two centuries, until the opportunity came through Brendan to appeal for a return to the Faerie world. Now he waited in an agonizing limbo. 26
“That sounds bad,” Brendan groaned. “That sounds really awful.”
Greenleaf finished his café au lait and placed the bowl lightly on the tabletop. “Come, come! You have no need to worry, Brendan. I’m sure you will pass the tests with flying colours, once we get past the mental block you seem to be building for yourself. I must admit, I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and I’ve had my fair share of pupils.”
Brendan slumped forward, his elbows on the table and his chin on his fists. “I can’t help it. Whenever I try to use my gifts, it’s like I can’t concentrate hard enough. Somehow, they don’t seem real to me. If I hadn’t done that thing with the tree today, I’d think I didn’t have any abilities at all.”
“I’m sure we can overcome this obstacle.” Greenleaf smiled. “You are a most extraordinary and sensitive person. That is both your strength and your weakness. You think too much about what you are doing and how it will affect others. At this point in your training, you should worry only
Kim and Greenleaf exchanged a glance. Kim shrugged. “I guess you’ll find out soon enough. We wanted you to concentrate on your training and not worry about anything else, but you might as well know: a Gathering of the Clans has been called.”
“A gathering?” Brendan frowned. “What does that mean?”
“The People of the Moon are divided into Clans, descended from the first great tribes of the Fair Folk. Every few decades, a Gathering is called. Faeries come from all over the world to tell stories, share news, and compete in Contests of the Arts.”
“Like the Highland Games?” Brendan asked. “You throw logs and dance over swords and stuff?” Brendan had gone to the Highland Games in Fergus, Ontario, when he was a child. He remembered a lot of men in skirts, some of them throwing logs.
“A bit like that,” Kim agreed, then shook her head. “And nothing like that. Some of the most brilliant Artificers come. The Artisans’ Fair is pretty incredible. But there’s one major thing you need to worry about … ”
“I knew this couldn’t be all good,” Brendan said glumly.
“There’s been a lot of debate about you in the Faerie world,” Kim explained. “You’ve been quite a hot topic.”
“Oh.” Brendan brightened. “That doesn’t sound so bad. It’s nice to be popular.”
“I didn’t say popular. I said that Faeries were talking about you a lot. There’s some debate among our people about whether your initiation was valid.”
“But Ariel accepted it!” Brendan cried. “Isn’t he the big cheese around here?”
“Around here, yes,” Greenleaf replied. “But there are many more cheeses of the same size or larger around the world, and some of them insist that he was negligent. He didn’t witness the initiation. You came back to us fully fledged, and we had to accept your story.”
Brendan didn’t respond. He’d never told anyone what had happened, how his Faerie father, Briach Morn, had come from the Other Side and performed the initiation. He’d kept that to himself. Now he was going to suffer for that choice.
“So what does this mean for me?” he asked.
“The Council has decided you must be tested,” Greenleaf said. “You will go through a Proving, a series of Challenges to determine if you are truly one of us.”
“And what if I fail these Challenges?”
“I wouldn’t advise you to fail. You’d end up as an Exile, doomed to live on the fringes of our society. Like Finbar.”
Finbar was now living at the Swan of Liir on the Ward’s Island, doing odd jobs until Ariel decided whether he should be reinstated as a Faerie. Finbar had lost his Faerie status when he’d revealed his true nature to a Human, a woman he’d later married. He’d lived in Exile for almost two centuries, until the opportunity came through Brendan to appeal for a return to the Faerie world. Now he waited in an agonizing limbo. 26
“That sounds bad,” Brendan groaned. “That sounds really awful.”
Greenleaf finished his café au lait and placed the bowl lightly on the tabletop. “Come, come! You have no need to worry, Brendan. I’m sure you will pass the tests with flying colours, once we get past the mental block you seem to be building for yourself. I must admit, I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and I’ve had my fair share of pupils.”
Brendan slumped forward, his elbows on the table and his chin on his fists. “I can’t help it. Whenever I try to use my gifts, it’s like I can’t concentrate hard enough. Somehow, they don’t seem real to me. If I hadn’t done that thing with the tree today, I’d think I didn’t have any abilities at all.”
“I’m sure we can overcome this obstacle.” Greenleaf smiled. “You are a most extraordinary and sensitive person. That is both your strength and your weakness. You think too much about what you are doing and how it will affect others. At this point in your training, you should worry only
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