Druids Sword (64 page)

ACK-ACK
: anti-aircraft fire from London’s defences.

A
ENEAS
: a hero of the Trojan war against the Greeks and beloved of the gods, Aeneas was the son of a goddess, Aphrodite, aand a mortal man, Anchises. He is the great-grandfather of Brutus (now Jack).

ALBA
: ancient, and now vanished, city on the banks of the River Tiber in Italy.

AMBERSBURY BANKS
: an ancient hill fort situated in the northern region of Epping Forest.

ANCIENT CAROL
: that which is sung by the CAROLLER within the
FAERIE
to welcome in both dawn and dusk.

ARIADNE
: ancient
MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH
in Knossos in Crete at the
GREAT FOUNDING LABYRINTH
. She was the half-sister of
ASTERION
, the Minotaur, and also his lover. She betrayed him to Theseus.

ASTERION
: the ancient Minotaur who inhabited the
GREAT FOUNDING LABYRINTH
in Knossos on Crete. Murdered by Theseus, and recalled from death by
ARIADNE
, in this current life he is known as
WEYLAND ORR
.

BANKS, NOAH
: once
CORNELIA
, spoiled princess of
MESOPOTAMA
, Noah is now
EAVING
, goddess of the waters, Darkwitch, and Mistress of the Labyrinth. She lives with
WEYLAND ORR
(Asterion) and their daughter,
GRACE
, at the SAVOY in London.

BOUDICCA
: queen of the Iceni, a British tribe, in the first century
AD
, wife of
PRASUTAGUS
.

CAMULODUNUM COLONIA
: the Roman name for Colchester.

CAROLLER, THE
: the songstress who carols in the dawn and the dusk in the
REALM OF THE FAERIE
. See
WENTWORTH, STELLA
.

CATASTROPHE, THE
: after Theseus left ARIADNE, she responded by destroying much of the ancient Aegean world in revenge. This is known as the Catastrophe.

CATHEDRAL WATCH
, the: volunteers from among the staff and clergy of St Paul’s formed a Watch during the war in order to act as firefighters in case bombs hit the cathedral.

CHAMBERLAIN, NEVILLE
: Prime Minister of Great Britain from the late 1930s until May 1940.

CHURCHILL, WINSTON
: Prime Minister of Great Britain from May 1940.

CLEMENTS, VERA
: a nurse’s aide at Guy’s Hospital.
COEL
: a man of the Bronze Age and a friend and lover of
CORNELIA
. He now lives as
HAROLD COLE
.

COPT HALL
: an ancient and now ruined house on the north-west outskirts of Epping Forest. Sometimes spelt as Copped Hall.

CORNELIA
: wife to
BRUTUS
when the
TROY GAME
was first constructed. Now she lives as
NOAH BANKS
.

CATLING:
the
TROY GAME
incarnate. The Troy Game took flesh as Catling in
Darkwitch Rising.

COLE, HAROLD
, Brigadier (retired): the
LORD OF THE FAERIE
, who once lived as COEL, as Harold of Wessex, and as Charles II.

DANCE OF THE FLOWERS
: one of two dances involved in creating the
TROY GAME
, the Dance of the Flowers needs to be performed to close the Game and bring it to its full strength.

DANCE OF THE TORCHES
: the magical dance that was used by Brutus and Genvissa to establish the
TROY GAME
.

DANCING FLOOR, THE
: literally the labyrinth as it is carved into rock or stone. The
MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH
and the
KINGMAN
use the dancing floor
to raise the Game from the labyrinth. Dancing floors—labyrinths—could be found in many medieval European cathedrals.

DARKWITCH
: a woman who uses the dark power (the Darkcraft) found in the heart of the labyrinth.

DE COLECHURCH, PETER:
Chaplain of St Mary Colechurch in Cheapside; Bridge Master of London Bridge.

ELEANOR CROSSES:
when Eleanor, the first queen of Edward I, died in Nottinghamshire, her husband was so distraught he built magnificent crosses at each place that her corpse rested on its journey back to London. Two crosses were erected in London: at Cheapside (this has now gone) and at Charing Cross (which still remains).

EAVING:
the goddess of the waters who takes the mortal form of
NOAH BANKS
. In the Anglo-Saxon language, Eaving meant “shelter”, or “the unexpected haven from the storm”.

EAVING’S SISTERS
: in
God’s Concubine
and
Darkwitch Rising
EAVING
was reborn in Caela (now
NOAH BANKS
). She drew fiercely loyal women about her who became known as Eaving’s Sisters and who live in this life as
MATILDA
, ECUB and ERITH, taking back the names of their first lives.

EPPING FOREST:
the surviving remnant of the great forests which once spread over south-east England. It is situated just to the north of London.

FAERIE HILL MANOR:
the home of Sir
HAROLD COLE
situated in
EPPING FOREST
.

FAERIE, LORD OF THE
: an ancient being who watches over the
FAERIE
. He is often confused with the Green Man, an ancient mythical figure in English village culture closely associated with the forests, and with the May-tide celebrations. Figures of the Green Man, or the Lord of the Faerie, can be found carved into the decorations of myriad English (as European) cathedrals and churches.

FAERIE, REALM OF THE
: the Faerie world which exists side by side with the mortal world. Governed by the
LORD OF THE FAERIE
who is
HAROLD COLE
(Harry) in this life.

GEORGE VI
: King of England. George lived as John Thornton in his previous life, when he was
NOAH BANKS’
lover.

GOG
: one of the legendary giant protectors of London, closely associated with the Guildhall (you can still see him there); his brother is
MAGOG
. Once a
SIDLESAGHE
.

GREAT FIRE OF LONDON
: in 1666 central London was destroyed by a massive conflagration that was started by
NOAH BANKS
in an effort to halt the progress of the
TROY GAME
.

GREAT FOUNDING LABYRINTH, THE
: the original labyrinth in Knossos on Crete, where was imprisoned the Minotaur
ASTERION
, and where
ARIADNE
betrayed him to Theseus.

GREAT ORDEAL, THE
: whenever a woman is trained as a
MISTRESS OF THE
labyrinth, she must undergo a final test to determine whether or not she is capable of controlling the powerful sorceries of the labyrinth. It is the Great Ordeal, and not all novice Mistresses of the Labyrinth survive it.

GREAT MARRIAGE, THE
: the formal union between the
STAG GOD
and the goddess of the waters (see
EAVING
), signifying that forest, water and land exist in harmony.

HAMPSTEAD HEATH
: lying in the north-west of modern-day London, the Heath comprises eight hundred acres of parkland and woods; Parliament Hill rises in its south-east quadrant.

HERNE, WALTER
: Loth-reborn and a clergyman within the Anglican Church.

IDYLL, THE
: during the seventeenth century, when
WEYLAND ORR
lived in a house by ST
DUNSTAN’S-IN-THE-EAST
, he constructed in the attic a magical
Faerie world that he called the Idyll. Only he,
NOAH BANKS
and later their daughter
GRACE
had access.

IMPS, THE
: see
PHILPOT
.

INDENTURES
: house and property deeds of sale and transfer in Britain were traditionally called indentures, and, until the early twentieth century, were usually written on vellum.

KINGMAN, THE
: the
TROY GAME
is constructed and controlled by two people, the
MISTRESS OF THE
LABYRINTH
and the KINGMAN. The Kingman was traditionally the king or ruler of the city which needed to be protected by the Game. In
TROY
, the original Kingman was Aeneas, and his descendant Brutus later took on the role.

KINGSHIP BANDS OF TROY
, the: when Brutus originally constructed the
TROY GAME
with Genvissa, he used the power of the ancient and magical six kingship bands of Troy he wore about his limbs. But when
CORNELIA
killed Genvissa, and
ASTERION
threatened to invade, Brutus took the kingship bands and hid them about London as part of a protective enchantment. Ever since then both Brutus-reborn and
ASTERION
have competed in the effort to locate them. In book II,
God’s Concubine,
Caela (Cornelia-reborn and
NOAH BANKS
in this book) took them and hid them in different locations about London. Possession of the bands enables the wearer to control the
TROY GAME
.

LLANGARLIA:
the ancient name of England during the Bronze Age (about 1500
BC
).

LONDINIUM
: Roman name for London.

LONG TOM
: a SIDLESAGHE, and a close friend of NOAH
BANKS
. In medieval and early modern England, individual standing stones were often called Long Tom.

MAG
: goddess of the waters in ancient LLANGARLIA, now reborn in
NOAH BANKS
as
EAVING
.

MAGOG
: one of the legendary giant protectors of London, closely associated with the Guildhall (you
can still see him there); his brother is
GOG
. Once a
SIDLESAGHE
.

MAKRIS, SILVIUS
: Brutus’—now
JACK SKELTON
—father. Once murdered by his son, and trapped in the dark heart of the labyrinth for thousands of years. Now reunited with his son.

MALCOLM
: servant at
COPT HALL
.

MESOPOTAMA:
In the Bronze Age Mesopotama was a Dorian city on the River Acheron on the west coast of Greece. It was ruled by Pandrasus, who was
CORNELIA’S
father.

MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH
: the
TROY GAME
is constructed and controlled by two people, the
MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH
and the
KINGMAN
. The Mistress is an ancient office which derives from the great founding labyrinth in Knossos in Crete. In previous lives Genvissa, reborn as Swanne (now
STELLA WENTWORTH
), has been the Mistress of the Labyrinth.

NAKED, THE
: the greatest of the holy sites within the
REALM OF THE FAERIE
, and the site of the
LORD OF THE FAERIE’S
throne.

OG:
see
STAG GOD
.

ORR, GRACE
: daughter of
NOAH BANKS
and
WEYLAND ORR
. In
Darkwitch Rising
Grace was hexed by
CATLING
, who tied their fates together.

ORR, WEYLAND: ASTERION
-reborn, husband of NOAH
BANKS
and father of
GRACE.

PEN HILL
: one of the ancient sacred
VEILED HILLS
of Llangarlia. Pen Hill has now vanished underneath the nineteenth-century urban sprawl (and waterworks) of London.

PHILPOT
,
BILL
and
JIM
:
WEYLAND ORR’S
imps, who he first created in the eleventh century to torment
NOAH BANKS
and
STELLA WENTWORTH
(once Caela and Swanne). Jim and Bill are now far more independent, running their own private investigation agency in Southwark.