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100-486: Meredith NicEssus is a faerie princess turned private investigator in a world where faeries are not only known to the general public, but are also fashionable. She takes on the pseudonym "Merry Gentry" to hide from her family and her past while hiding out in Los Angeles, California as a private investigator at Grey's Detective Agency. Merry, the only Sidhe (pronounced "shEE") royal to be born on American soil, fearing

200-572: A Victorian tenet of evolution, mythic cannibalism among ogres was attributed to memories of more savage races, practising alongside "superior" races of more refined sensibilities. The most important modern proponent of the 'hidden people' theory was the Scottish folklorist and antiquarian David MacRitchie . A theory that fairies, et al., were intelligent species, distinct from humans and angels. An alchemist, Paracelsus , classed gnomes and sylphs as elementals , meaning magical entities who personify

300-524: A charm tree to protect one's home. Various folklorists have proposed classification systems for fairies. Using terms popularized by W. B. Yeats, trooping fairies are those who appear in groups and might form settlements, as opposed to solitary fairies, who do not live or associate with others of their kind. In this context, the term fairy is usually held in a wider sense, including various similar beings, such as dwarves and elves of Germanic folklore . In Scottish folklore , fairies are divided into

400-580: A class of "demoted" angels . One story described a group of angels revolting, and God ordering the gates of heaven shut; those still in heaven remained angels, those in hell became demons, and those caught in between became fairies. Others wrote that some angels, not being godly enough, yet not evil enough for hell, were thrown out of heaven. This concept may explain the tradition of paying a "teind" or tithe to hell; as fallen angels, although not quite devils, they could be viewed as subjects of Satan. King James I , in his dissertation Daemonologie , stated

500-450: A complaint, or a compliment. People who saw the fairies were advised not to look closely, because they resented infringements on their privacy. The need to not offend them could lead to problems: one farmer found that fairies threshed his corn, but the threshing continued after all his corn was gone, and he concluded that they were stealing from his neighbors, leaving him the choice between offending them, dangerous in itself, and profiting by

600-502: A fairy birth — sometimes attending a mortal, kidnapped woman's childbed. Invariably, the woman is given something for the child's eyes, usually an ointment; through mischance, or sometimes curiosity, she uses it on one or both of her own eyes. At that point, she sees where she is; one midwife realizes that she was not attending a great lady in a fine house but her own runaway maid-servant in a wretched cave. She escapes without making her ability known but sooner or later betrays that she can see

700-410: A fairy-haunted place, it was customary to put a piece of dry bread in one's pocket." In County Wexford , Ireland , in 1882, it was reported that: "if an infant is carried out after dark a piece of bread is wrapped in its bib or dress, and this protects it from any witchcraft or evil." Bells also have an ambiguous role; while they protect against fairies, the fairies riding on horseback — such as

800-568: A farmer who pastured his herd on fairy ground, a fairy queen took on the appearance of a great horse, with the wings of an eagle, and a tail like a dragon, hissing loud and spitting fire. Then she would change into a little man lame of a leg, with a bull's head, and a lambent flame playing round it. In the 19th-century Child ballad " Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight ", the elf-knight is a Bluebeard figure, and Isabel must trick and kill him to preserve her life. The child ballad " Tam Lin " reveals that

900-501: A fist inside him and when she opens that fist he exploded. However, for all the dark deeds done with her magic there is a lighter side. It seems that many times when she has sex with another person of power, something natural and beautiful grows. This is witnessed frequently throughout the books. The most amazing example of the lighter side to her magic is during one of the battle scenes in Swallowing Darkness , when Merry uses

1000-461: A form of spirit , often with metaphysical, supernatural , or preternatural qualities. Myths and stories about fairies do not have a single origin, but are rather a collection of folk beliefs from disparate sources. Various folk theories about the origins of fairies include casting them as either demoted angels or demons in a Christian tradition, as deities in Pagan belief systems, as spirits of

1100-463: A guise of Woden but later Christianised as a king in a tale by Walter Map , was said, by Map, to have visited a dwarf 's underground mansion and returned three centuries later; although only some of his men crumbled to dust on dismounting, Herla and his men who did not dismount were trapped on horseback, this being one account of the origin of the Wild Hunt of European folklore . A common feature of

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1200-464: A particular force of nature, and exert powers over these forces. Folklore accounts have described fairies as "spirits of the air". Much folklore of fairies involves methods of protecting oneself from their malice, by means such as cold iron, charms (see amulet , talisman ) of rowan trees or various herbs , or simply shunning locations "known" to be theirs, ergo avoiding offending any fairies. Less harmful pranks ascribed to fairies include: tangling

1300-843: A reaction to greater industrialization and loss of older folk ways. Fairies are generally described as human in appearance and having magical powers. Diminutive fairies of various kinds have been reported through centuries, ranging from quite tiny to the size of a human. These small sizes could be magically assumed, rather than constant. Some smaller fairies could expand their figures to imitate humans. On Orkney , fairies were described as short in stature, dressed in dark grey, and sometimes seen in armour . In some folklore, fairies have green eyes. Some depictions of fairies show them with footwear, others as barefoot . Wings, while common in Victorian and later artworks, are rare in folklore; fairies flew by means of magic, sometimes perched on ragwort stems or

1400-601: A shared Proto-Indo-European mythology. In the Middle Ages , fairie was used adjectivally, meaning "enchanted" (as in fairie knight , fairie queene ), but also became a generic term for various "enchanted" creatures during the Late Middle English period. Literature of the Elizabethan era conflated elves with the fairies of Romance culture, rendering these terms somewhat interchangeable. The modern concept of "fairy" in

1500-472: A sidhe and forces them to crave sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse is one of a few fae rituals which can raise power and activate personal magics. When Merry had intercourse with her boyfriend, who was a roane, she simultaneously returned his ability to change shape (which he had lost after a fisherman burned his seal-skin) and raised magic in her two hands indicating she possesses two hands of power. Her first hand of power (Hand of Flesh) develops when she

1600-528: A similar concept in Persian mythology, see Peri . At one time it was thought that fairies were originally worshiped as deities, such as nymphs and tree spirits, and with the burgeoning predominance of the Christian Church , reverence for these deities carried on, but in a dwindling state of perceived power. Many deprecated deities of older folklore and myth were repurposed as fairies in Victorian fiction (See

1700-510: A slice of fresh homemade bread. Bread is associated with the home and the hearth, as well as with industry and the taming of nature, and as such, seems to be disliked by some types of fairies. On the other hand, in much of the Celtic folklore , baked goods are a traditional offering to the folk, as are cream and butter. "The prototype of food, and therefore a symbol of life, bread was one of the commonest protections against fairies. Before going out into

1800-629: A supernatural race in Irish , comparable to the fairies or elves. They are variously said to be ancestors, the spirits of nature, or goddesses and gods. A common theme found among the Celtic nations describes a race of people who had been driven out by invading humans. In old Celtic fairy lore the Aos Sí ('people of the fairy mounds') are immortals living in the ancient barrows and cairns. The Irish banshee ( Irish Gaelic bean sí , previously bean sídhe , 'woman of

1900-542: A supernatural tattoo on his back) because of this, Queen Niceven sends to Meredith the Demi-Fey that were born without wings in hopes that she will also give them their wings. To name the most prominent of her lovers (with titles in parentheses): In A Lick of Frost , it was revealed that Merry was pregnant with twins, each with three fathers; the six fathers were Doyle, Frost, Sholto, Galen, Mistral and Rhys. These six, therefore, will become her kings if and when she ever takes

2000-598: A trip to the hospital (as Doyle and Abe got badly hurt from Taranis' attack), they call Aunt Andais to tell her of all that has happened- specifically the offer to rule the Seelie Court. Andais believes Merry already agreed to rule and abuses one of her guards (Crystall) in a sadistic rage. Eventually, Merry and her men convince Andais otherwise, but she still continues to abuse the guard in reaction to many of them leaving to join Merry. The series of mirror-calls end, and Merry finalises

2100-549: Is a royal of the Unseelie Court. While her aunt tried to kill her as a child, she has since offered her the title as crown princess as the Court needs more heirs. A Lick of Frost begins one month after the events of Mistral's Kiss. The opening chapters show Merry and her guards Rhys, Galen, Doyle, Frost, and Abeloec in a conference room, being questioned about the charges of rape against Rhys, Galen, and Abeloec. King Taranis has brought

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2200-470: Is also a dimmer phantom image of a 3rd child (that has the potential to be born after the twins). Frost turns out to be the sacrificial king for the creation of the new sithen. Merry prays for him not to die, and he turns into a white stag and runs off. Merry runs to one of the gardens of her sithen to be alone and grieve the loss of Frost. While out there, Taranis (using illusion to appear as one of her guards) knocks her out and takes her to his bedroom back at

2300-424: Is also used as a name for the place these beings come from, the land of Fairy. A recurring motif of legends about fairies is the need to ward off fairies using protective charms. Common examples of such charms include church bells, wearing clothing inside out, four-leaf clover , and food. Fairies were also sometimes thought to haunt specific locations, and to lead travelers astray using will-o'-the-wisps . Before

2400-545: Is an outdated theory that fairy folklore evolved from folk memories of a prehistoric race: newcomers superseded a body of earlier human or humanoid peoples, and the memories of this defeated race developed into modern conceptions of fairies. Proponents find support in the tradition of cold iron as a charm against fairies, viewed as a cultural memory of invaders with iron weapons displacing peoples who had just stone, bone, wood, etc., at their disposal, and were easily defeated. 19th-century archaeologists uncovered underground rooms in

2500-544: Is attacked by Nerys the Grey, a night hag. In the process of defending herself, Merry accidentally turns Nerys into a screaming, agonized ball of inside-out flesh. (As Nerys was a creature of Faerie, she was able to survive the process, much to Merry's horror and revulsion.) This power is known as the Hand of Flesh, which Merry's father, Essus, also possessed. After this, Doyle gives her Queen Andais's sword, Mortal Dread, which she uses to put

2600-473: Is distinct from English fey (from Old English fǣġe ), which means 'fated to die'. However, this unrelated Germanic word fey may have been influenced by Old French fae (fay or fairy) as the meaning had shifted slightly to 'fated' from the earlier 'doomed' or 'accursed'. Various folklore traditions refer to fairies euphemistically as wee folk , good folk , people of peace , fair folk ( Welsh : Tylwyth Teg ), etc. The term fairy

2700-524: Is eventually convinced to kill Nerys with Doyle's killing blade by Doyle and Sholto, because Nerys is immortal and cannot die even if she is turned into an inside-out ball of flesh (the results of Merry's hand of power). The second alliance is formed between Merry and Kurag, King of the Goblins. This occurs when Merry is bled by the roses that line the entrance to the throne room of the Unseelie Court. She passes out from blood loss and opens her eyes to see one of

2800-463: Is given men from the queen's own guard, her Ravens, to guard her body and fill her bed as heir to the throne, provided she can conceive a child before her cousin, Cel. Later Merry adds to her collection of men first by taking the men offered to her by Queen Andais, as well as forming alliances with the demi-fey, goblins, and Red Caps. Meredith formed her first alliance with Sholto King of the Sluagh when he

2900-423: Is infertile, just like Andais, but refuses to recognize his infertility. He is convinced that he can father a child with Merry. Onilwyn - One of the guards who chose to leave Queen Andais's court to go into exile with Merry. He is a friend of Prince Cel and Merry doesn't like him. He hopes to have sex with Merry and get her pregnant so he can be king. She refuses to let him into her bed, and when Maeve Reed's house

3000-475: Is no longer a mortal. However, later books have not yet followed up on this development, and Merry herself still believes she is mortal. In Swallowing Darkness , we see a darker side to Merry and her magic. For the second time she uses her magic as a tool for death. When facing Onilwyn she puts her left hand out and thinks "die" not "bleed". It is also detailed that during her fight with her cousin Cel she visualizes

3100-538: Is no longer fit to rule, but has refused. Merry repeatedly states, both in her own thoughts and to her guards, that she does not believe she would be accepted on either the Seelie or Unseelie thrones because of her mortality and mixed (human, brownie, and sidhe) blood, and that she would invite certain death for either herself or some of her men by attempting to rule either court. In the most recent book, A Shiver of Light , King Sholto's death threatens Merry's place and queen of

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3200-671: Is not provided, although hints are given about how the faerie history intersects with human history ( Adolf Hitler , the Great Famine of Ireland , and Thomas Jefferson are examples). In the books, Jefferson gave the Unseelie and Seelie courts asylum after the European courts exiled them—however with the caveat that they could not set themselves up as gods or make war on one another, by doing so they would risk being evicted from US soil. Flash forward to present times. The fey are quite fashionable in

3300-532: Is one half sidhe, one fourth hell-hound (Gabriel Ratchet, et al.), and one fourth part phouka. Frost - Also known as "Jack Frost", nicknamed "The Killing Frost", Lieutenant and second in command of The Ravens. Was the Queen's consort prior to Eamon (approx. 800 years ago). One of Merry's favorite lovers. He is prejudiced against the Seelie Court due to his poor treatment at that court, the other nobles being jealous of Frost's remaining power due to his continued presence in

3400-567: Is remade into a sithen he is one of the guards who is injured but none of the fairy dogs will heal him. Sir Hugh - One of Taranis's guards. Offers Merry an opportunity to become Queen of the Seelie court. Holly and Ash - Half-Seelie sidhe, half-goblin twins. Both have agreed to lay with Merry in order to gain sidhe powers. In return, Merry gains two more months of alliance with the goblins. Abeloec - Also known as "Abe", guard in The Ravens, one of Merry's lovers that has been accused of rape. He

3500-594: Is sent to Los Angeles by an unknown man (later theorized to be Cel, her cousin). Once there, Sholto uses his guards to track her down. However the hags (Sholto's guards and lovers) attempt to kill Merry. Once Sholto convinces Merry to accompany him to his hotel room. They agree to form an alliance which was to be consecrated by Merry having sex with Sholto. They are interrupted by Nerys The Gray who attempts to kill Merry. However, Merry comes into her first hand of power (the Hand of Flesh) due to her "shining" moment with Sholto and uses her newly found hand of power on Nerys. She

3600-608: Is sometimes used to describe any magical creature, including goblins and gnomes , while at other times, the term describes only a specific type of ethereal creature or sprite . Explanations for the origins of fairies range from Persian mythology to the folklore of the Brythonic ( Bretons , Welsh , Cornish ), Gaelic ( Irish , Scots , Manx ), and Germanic peoples , and from the pages of Middle French medieval romances . According to some historians, such as Barthélemy d'Herbelot , fairies were adopted from and influenced by

3700-417: Is the sort of name given to a child and laid aside once the child has come into his or her powers. That Merry used the name into her thirties is a sign that she is a late bloomer at best, a lesser sidhe at worst. After a child comes into their power, the last name is dropped. Later in the series it is revealed that Meredith is a descendant of fertility deities of both courts. As of the end of the second book in

3800-650: The peris of Persian mythology. Peris were angelic beings that were mentioned in antiquity in pre-Islamic Persia as early as the Achaemenid Empire . Peris were later described in various Persian works in great detail such as the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi . A peri was illustrated to be fair, beautiful, and extravagant nature spirits that were supported by wings. This may have influenced migratory Germanic and Eurasian settlers into Europe, or been transmitted during early exchanges. The similarities could also be attributed to

3900-883: The Seelie Court (more beneficently inclined, but still dangerous), and the Unseelie Court (more malicious). While fairies of the Seelie Court enjoyed playing generally harmless pranks on humans, those of the Unseelie Court often brought harm to humans for entertainment. Both could be dangerous to humans if offended. Some scholars have cautioned against the overuse of dividing fairies into types. British folklore historian Simon Young noted that classification varies widely from researcher to researcher, and pointed out that it does not necessarily reflect old beliefs, since "those people living hundreds of years ago did not structure their experience as we do." A considerable amount of lore about fairies revolves around changelings , fairies left in

4000-611: The Orkney islands that resembled the Elfland described in Childe Rowland , which lent additional support. In folklore, flint arrowheads from the Stone Age were attributed to the fairies as " elfshot ", while their green clothing and underground homes spoke to a need for camouflage and covert shelter from hostile humans, their magic a necessary skill for combating those with superior weaponry. In

4100-529: The Early Modern English faerie , meaning ' realm of the fays '. Faerie , in turn, derives from the Old French form faierie , a derivation from faie (from Vulgar Latin fata , ' the fates '), with the abstract noun suffix -erie . In Old French romance, a faie or fee was a woman skilled in magic, and who knew the power and virtue of words, of stones, and of herbs. Fairy

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4200-423: The Hand of Blood. Following Merry's destruction of The Nameless, fae magic (called "wild magic") inside The Nameless is released, resulting in the return of old powers to fae as well as the development of new powers. Merry develops the ability to both return godhood to fae and elevate fae to godhood who had never been gods. Merry also begins attracting ancient relics of power that had disappeared over time including

4300-504: The Red Caps back to their full original power because she is the only Sidhe who possesses the full Hand of Blood. By doing so, the Red Caps owe her their own alliance outside of the one formed between Merry and Kurag. The final alliance is struck between Merry and Niceven (Queen of the Demi-Fey). This is struck when Merry bargains for the cure to a curse that the Demi-Fey placed on Galen, under

4400-405: The Seelie Court. It is assumed that he rapes her, and then believes he fathers her children. Hugh, some others at the Seelie Court, and Doyle (in dog form) sneak her out of the bedroom and into a press conference where she tells the press that Taranis made the Seelie woman (Lady Catarin) believe that it was Rhys, Galen, and Abe who raped her. However, it was all just an illusion of Taranis' making and

4500-564: The Sluagh. She is surprised that the Sluagh remain loyal to her and refuse to elect another king till Sholto is avenged. At the end of the book she still remains Queen of the Sluagh, as well as claiming the title of the Queen of Faerie in the westerlands with approval of the Goddess and Consort. Early in A Kiss of Shadows , Merry is assaulted by a human using Branwyn's Tears, a magical aphrodisiac/date-rape drug, apparently unlocking her sidhe powers. Branwyn's Tears temporarily turns any creature into

4600-506: The Sun (Solar Angels ). The more Earthbound Devas included nature spirits , elementals , and fairies , which were described as appearing in the form of colored flames, roughly the size of a human. Arthur Conan Doyle , in his 1922 book The Coming of the Fairies ; The Theosophic View of Fairies , reported that eminent theosophist E. L. Gardner had likened fairies to butterflies, whose function

4700-581: The advent of modern medicine , fairies were often blamed for sickness, particularly tuberculosis and birth deformities. In addition to their folkloric origins, fairies were a common feature of Renaissance literature and Romantic art , and were especially popular in the United Kingdom during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The Celtic Revival also saw fairies established as a canonical part of Celtic cultural heritage. The English fairy derives from

4800-605: The ancestors of the current Irish people , they were said to have withdrawn to the sídhe (fairy mounds), where they lived on in popular imagination as "fairies". They are associated with several Otherworld realms including Mag Mell ('the Pleasant Plain'), Emain Ablach ('the place of apples'), and Tir na nÓg ('the Land of Youth'). The aos sí is the Irish term for

4900-558: The ancient cauldron (which took the form of a chalice). Further, Merry re-energizes existing ancient relics of power including Queen Andais's ring and the Healing Spring. Near the end of Seduced by Moonlight , after Merry duels with a Sidhe, her opponent does not die, though she is mortally wounded and has (as part of the pre-battle ritual) shared blood with Merry. As sharing Merry's mortal blood has previously caused other opponents to become mortal in battle, this may indicate that Merry

5000-533: The backs of birds. Modern illustrations often include dragonfly or butterfly wings. Early modern fairies does not derive from a single origin; the term is a conflation of disparate elements from folk belief sources, influenced by literature and speculation. In folklore of Ireland, the mythic aes sídhe , or 'people of the fairy hills ', have come to a modern meaning somewhat inclusive of fairies. The Scandinavian elves also served as an influence. Folklorists and mythologists have variously depicted fairies as:

5100-441: The best interests of the Court somewhat at heart, and has sworn to abdicate her throne in favor of whoever (Cel or Merry) can demonstrate themselves capable of producing new sidhe children first. Her royal consort is Eamon. Doyle - Nicknamed "Darkness", former God of Healing, Captain and first in command of The Ravens. Once the Queen's "Darkness" and personal assassin, now part of Merry's guard. One of Merry's favorite lovers. Doyle

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5200-415: The charges on behalf of the woman allegedly raped by the aforementioned fey. The meeting ends badly, with Taranis losing what little control he had on his sanity, and one of the officers of Taranis' guard, Sir Hugh, telling Merry that he is going to force a vote among the nobles of the Seelie court to choose a new king, and he wants Merry to take Taranis' place. When Merry and her guards get home after taking

5300-541: The coming together of her, Ash, and Holly for later that night. Night comes and Holly and Ash arrive, along with all of the Red Caps in tow. Jonty, a Red Cap that helped Merry fight in Mistral's Kiss, sheds a tear as Merry tells him she would bring the Red Caps into their power. She catches the tear on her finger and consumes it. This brings on the remaking of Maeve Reed's house into a sithen. Those of faerie who stand in that room with no faerie dog to keep them grounded, crumple to

5400-433: The continuous assassination attempts on her life thinly disguised as duels, flees the Unseelie Court in a final act of self-preservation. Her glamour (the art of magical disguise through illusion) is nearly unrivaled at court, and she is able to pass herself off as a human with fey blood. The general tone of the writing is less of an outright fantasy and more of an alternate history. The point of divergence from normal history

5500-434: The corner blocked the fairy path, and cottages have been built with the front and back doors in line, so that the owners could, in need, leave them both open and let the fairies troop through all night. Locations such as fairy forts were left undisturbed; even cutting brush on fairy forts was reputed to be the death of those who performed the act. Fairy trees, such as thorn trees , were dangerous to chop down; one such tree

5600-412: The dead and fairies depicted as living underground. Diane Purkiss observed an equating of fairies with the untimely dead who left "unfinished lives". One tale recounted a man caught by the fairies, who found that whenever he looked steadily at a fairy, it appeared as a dead neighbor of his. This theory was among the more common traditions related, although many informants also expressed doubts. There

5700-428: The dead, as prehistoric precursors to humans , or as spirits of nature. The label of fairy has at times applied only to specific magical creatures with human appearance, magical powers, and a penchant for trickery. At other times it has been used to describe any magical creature, such as goblins and gnomes . Fairy has at times been used as an adjective, with a meaning equivalent to "enchanted" or "magical". It

5800-433: The demi-feys named Sage and Royal. She has also had metaphysical sex with Barinthus (formerly Manannan Mac Lir ). In A Shiver of Light , it is in fact revealed to Merry's surprise that she is in fact having triplets, one of her babes was hiding behind her siblings in the womb In Swallowing Darkness , Merry was crowned Queen of the Sluagh by Faerie, and soon was formally recognized by the Sluagh as Sholto's queen. Near

5900-458: The direction of Cel. She bargains with Niceven for a year alliance during which the demi-fey will spy for Merry in exchange for weekly blood donations by Merry. This alliance is brought into question later on when Queen Niceven's surrogate, who can become nearly human sized, has sex with Meredith and becomes stuck in his form (at the same time, Meredith brings Nicca, one of her lovers, the wings that he should have been born with but instead had become

6000-513: The end of the same book, Merry was crowned Queen of the Unseelie Court (the Crown of Moonlight and Shadows) and Doyle was crowned her king (with the Crown of Thorn and Silver); however, when offered a chance by the Goddess, they gave up the Unseelie throne in exchange for Frost's life. She has also been offered the Seelie throne by certain members of the Seelie court, as their infertile king has gone mad and

6100-504: The faeries, states that neither he nor his court fear the church bells, which the author and Christian apologist C. S. Lewis cast as a politic disassociation from faeries although Lewis makes it clear that he himself does not consider fairies to be demons in his chapter on the topic ("The Longaevi" or "long-livers") from The Discarded Image . In an era of intellectual and religious upheaval, some Victorian reappraisals of mythology cast deities in general as metaphors for natural events, which

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6200-426: The fairies is the use of magic to disguise their appearance. Fairy gold is notoriously unreliable, appearing as gold when paid but soon thereafter revealing itself to be leaves, gorse blossoms, gingerbread cakes, or a variety of other comparatively worthless things. These illusions are also implicit in the tales of fairy ointment . Many tales from Northern Europe tell of a mortal woman summoned to attend

6300-443: The fairies. She is invariably blinded in that eye or in both if she used the ointment on both. There have been claims by people in the past, like William Blake , to have seen fairy funerals. Allan Cunningham in his Lives of Eminent British Painters records that William Blake claimed to have seen a fairy funeral: 'Did you ever see a fairy's funeral, madam?' said Blake to a lady who happened to sit next to him. 'Never, sir!' said

6400-500: The fairy mound') is sometimes described as a ghost. A Lick of Frost A Lick of Frost is the sixth book in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton . A faerie princess turned private investigator in a world where faeries are not only known to the general public, but are also fashionable, the title heroine is Princess Meredith NicEssus, also known as Merry Gentry. As niece to Andais, The Queen of Air and Darkness, she

6500-479: The fairy queen — often have bells on their harness. This may be a distinguishing trait between the Seelie Court from the Unseelie Court, such that fairies use them to protect themselves from more wicked members of their race. Another ambiguous piece of folklore revolves about poultry: a cock's crow drove away fairies, but other tales recount fairies keeping poultry. While many fairies will confuse travelers on

6600-475: The fairy women gave him a gowpen (double handful of meal) and told him to put it in his empty girnal (store), saying that the store would remain full for a long time, no matter how much he took out. It is also believed that to know the name of a particular fairy, a person could summon it and force it to do their bidding. The name could be used as an insult towards the fairy in question, but it could also rather contradictorily be used to grant powers and gifts to

6700-459: The fey came to America they gave up their most deadly magicks; the Nameless was made up of those magicks). During the battle, she charges the mass of energy and puts her left hand out; she feels her blood begin to boil, and large gashes appear on the enormous mass of magic. All Merry has to do is think "Bleed" (occasionally "Bleed for me!"), and the person (or things) bleeds. This is the development of

6800-429: The floor. Some of the crumpled men are revived by one of the dogs, but Frost stays down. The creation of the sithen (faerie land) allows the ring of fertility on her finger to flare to life and Merry realises that she is pregnant with twins. Each twin has three fathers like in the story of Ceridwen. A phantom image of Merry's children appear by their respective fathers, Rhys, Frost, Galen, Doyle, Mistral, and Sholto. There

6900-414: The following major characters: Andais - Queen of Air and Darkness, Merry's aunt, sister of Essus, and mother of Cel. Andais is a war goddess, and the sadistic Queen of the Unseelie Court. Founder of the royal male guard, The Ravens, who she has placed under a vow of celibacy that can only be broken by her or Merry. She is a sexual sadist and is widely believed to be insane. However, Andais appears to have

7000-409: The goblins drinking from her open wound (to goblins bodily fluids are sacred). She has the goblin detained and bargains with Kurag for a 6-month alliance in return for Merry taking a goblin (Kitto) into her bed. She deems this acceptable payment for the theft of her blood. Later Merry bargains for an extended alliance of 1 month for each sidhe-sided goblin that she brings into power. Also, Merry brings

7100-421: The goblins due to having his face disfigured by them. Besides Galen, Rhys is the most comfortable and knowledgeable about the modern human world outside of faerie. Taranis - King of Light and Illusion, High King of the Seelie Court. Taranis is Merry's uncle on her mother's side. He is just as insane as Andais, actually more so because he no longer considers the wellbeing of the Seelie Court above his own. Taranis

7200-510: The hair of sleepers into fairy-locks (aka elf-locks), stealing small items, and leading a traveler astray. More dangerous behaviors were also attributed to fairies; any form of sudden death might have stemmed from a fairy kidnapping, the evident corpse a magical replica of wood. Consumption ( tuberculosis ) was sometimes blamed on fairies who forced young men and women to dance at revels every night, causing them to waste away from lack of rest. Rowan trees were considered sacred to fairies, and

7300-460: The hands of Flesh and Blood to heal wounded and dying soldiers who have fallen protecting her, showing that for every dark power there is a light use for it. Fairy A fairy (also fay , fae , fey , fair folk , or faerie ) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature , generally described as anthropomorphic , found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic , Slavic , Germanic , and French folklore),

7400-407: The inside-out night hag out of her misery. In the process, she becomes covered with blood, and Doyle tells her that in order to cement her powers, she had to cover herself in the blood of an enemy (which was his purpose in giving her the blade). In A Caress of Twilight , Merry develops her second hand of power. Merry must protect Maeve Reed, an exile from the Seelie court, from the Nameless (when

7500-453: The lady. 'I have,' said Blake, 'but not before last night.' And he went on to tell how, in his garden, he had seen 'a procession of creatures of the size and colour of green and grey grasshoppers, bearing a body laid out on a rose-leaf, which they buried with songs, and then disappeared.' They are believed to be an omen of death. The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of supernaturally-gifted people in Irish mythology. They are thought to represent

7600-505: The main deities of pre-Christian Ireland. Many of the Irish modern tales of the Tuatha Dé Danann refer to these beings as fairies, though in more ancient times they were regarded as goddesses and gods . The Tuatha Dé Danann were spoken of as having come from islands in the north of the world or, in other sources, from the sky. After being victorious in a series of battles with other otherworldly beings, and then being defeated by

7700-425: The mill or kiln at night, as it was known that the fairies brought their corn to be milled after dark. So long as the locals believed this, the miller could sleep secure in the knowledge that his stores were not being robbed. John Fraser, the miller of Whitehill, claimed to have hidden and watched the fairies trying unsuccessfully to work the mill. He said he decided to come out of hiding and help them, upon which one of

7800-453: The minds of the humans. He was brought into Godhood for the first time by Merry, increasing his powers. Frost was originally the hoarfrost made "real". He was not sidhe-born but "re-made" by the Goddess and her Consort into a sidhe. He's moody and has a tendency to pout. Galen - Youngest guard in The Ravens, Merry's best friend since childhood, and one of her favorite lovers. His lineage is half-pixie and half-Unseelie sidhe. His powers include

7900-530: The modern United States, and there are many faeriephiles. "Sightings" of the Elven American Princesses have covered the tabloids for years now, and Queen Andais' magic is constantly following these false leads—which are becoming more popular than Elvis sightings. At the beginning of the first book in the series, Merry's full name and title is Princess Meredith NicEssus, Child of Peace, Besaba's Bane . "NicEssus" means, literally, "daughter of Essus"; it

8000-423: The narrower sense is unique to English folklore , later made diminutive in accordance with prevailing tastes of the Victorian era , as in " fairy tales " for children. The Victorian era and Edwardian era saw a heightened increase of interest in fairies. The Celtic Revival cast fairies as part of Ireland's cultural heritage. Carole Silver and others suggested this fascination of English antiquarians arose from

8100-403: The path, the will-o'-the-wisp can be avoided by not following it. Certain locations, known to be haunts of fairies, are to be avoided; C. S. Lewis reported hearing of a cottage more feared for its reported fairies than its reported ghost. In particular, digging in fairy hills was unwise. Paths that the fairies travel are also wise to avoid. Home-owners have knocked corners from houses because

8200-450: The place of stolen humans. In particular, folklore describes how to prevent the fairies from stealing babies and substituting changelings, and abducting older people as well. The theme of the swapped child is common in medieval literature and reflects concern over infants thought to be afflicted with unexplained diseases, disorders, or developmental disabilities. In pre-industrial Europe, a peasant family's subsistence frequently depended upon

8300-437: The productive labor of each member, and a person who was a permanent drain on the family's scarce resources could pose a threat to the survival of the entire family. In terms of protective charms, wearing clothing inside out, church bells, St. John's wort , and four-leaf clovers are regarded as effective. In Newfoundland folklore, the most popular type of fairy protection is bread, varying from stale bread to hard tack or

8400-451: The series, Merry's titles are Princess of Flesh and Blood ; at the end of the fourth book, The Red And White Goddess is added to her title by demi-fey who gave her the title when her magic gave wings to wingless demi-fey. The series chronicles the return of Meredith to the Unseelie Court by way of an invitation sent by her Aunt Andais, the Queen of Air and Darkness in the form of her right hand, Doyle, also known as The Queen's Darkness. She

8500-414: The subtle ability to have everyone like him. He has also gained power through Merry. Galen is extremely unpolitical, naive, and idealistic, but he is also the voice of simple reasoning for Merry. Fortunately, letting go of those naive and idealistic ideals is allowing Merry to survive. Kitto - Half-goblin and half-Seelie sidhe, his sidhe mother was raped during the goblin wars by a snake-type goblin. Kitto

8600-526: The tale of a woman overcome by her fairy lover, who in later versions of the story is unmasked as a mortal. " Thomas the Rhymer " shows Thomas escaping with less difficulty, but he spends seven years in Elfland. Oisín is harmed not by his stay in Faerie but by his return; when he dismounts, the three centuries that have passed catch up with him, reducing him to an aged man. King Herla (O.E. "Herla cyning" ), originally

8700-541: The term "faries" referred to illusory spirits (demonic entities) that prophesied to, consorted with, and transported the individuals they served; in medieval times, a witch or sorcerer who had a pact with a familiar spirit might receive these services. In England's Theosophist circles of the 19th century, a belief in the "angelic" nature of fairies was reported. Entities referred to as Devas were said to guide many processes of nature , such as evolution of organisms, growth of plants , etc., many of which resided inside

8800-449: The theft. Millers were thought by the Scots to be "no canny", owing to their ability to control the forces of nature, such as fire in the kiln, water in the burn, and for being able to set machinery a-whirring. Superstitious communities sometimes believed that the miller must be in league with the fairies. In Scotland, fairies were often mischievous and to be feared. No one dared to set foot in

8900-464: The throne. She has (as of Swallowing Darkness ) been specifically crowned by Faerie as Sholto's queen as well as Doyle's queen; however, she has made it quite clear that this does not mean she is bound to have either of them as her only king. In addition, she has also bedded the roane [seal shapeshifter] Roane, the Sidhe Adair, Amatheon, Abeloec, Ivi, and Brii, the half-goblin twins Ash and Holly, and

9000-458: The title character, though living among the fairies and having fairy powers, was, in fact, an "earthly knight" and though his life was pleasant now , he feared that the fairies would pay him as their teind (tithe) to hell. " Sir Orfeo " tells how Sir Orfeo's wife was kidnapped by the King of Faerie and only by trickery and an excellent harping ability was he able to win her back. "Sir Degare" narrates

9100-525: The unworthy dead, the children of Eve , a kind of demon , a species independent of humans, an older race of humans, and fallen angels . The folkloristic or mythological elements combine Celtic , Germanic and Greco-Roman elements. Folklorists have suggested that 'fairies' arose from various earlier beliefs, which lost currency with the advent of Christianity. These disparate explanations are not necessarily incompatible, as 'fairies' may be traced to multiple sources. A Christian tenet held that fairies were

9200-450: The user. Before the advent of modern medicine, many physiological conditions were untreatable and when children were born with abnormalities, it was common to blame the fairies. Sometimes fairies are described as assuming the guise of an animal. In Scotland, it was peculiar to the fairy women to assume the shape of deer; while witches became mice, hares, cats, gulls, or black sheep. In "The Legend of Knockshigowna ", in order to frighten

9300-399: The woman was in fact raped by other Seelie nobles working with him. Merry also tells them that she is pregnant, and that Taranis kidnapped and raped her. The book ends with Merry in an ambulance with Doyle, continuing to mourn Frost and her current situation. She is on her way to the hospital to treat the concussion she received from Taranis and to take a rape test. A Lick of Frost features

9400-548: The works of W. B. Yeats for examples). A recorded Christian belief of the 17th century cast all fairies as demons. This perspective grew more popular with the rise of Puritanism among the Reformed Church of England (See: Anglicanism ). The hobgoblin , once a friendly household spirit, became classed as a wicked goblin. Dealing with fairies was considered a form of witchcraft, and punished as such. In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream , Oberon , king of

9500-494: Was brought back into power during Mistral's kiss. Mistral - Newly appointed Captain of The Ravens, former Storm God, major character in Mistral's Kiss. Merry laid with Mistral in Mistral's Kiss, however, he is not one of her regular lovers and is still attached exclusively to Queen Andais. Sholto - Nicknamed "Shadowspawn", King of the Slaugh (Dark Host), Lord of That Which Passes Between, Lord of Shadows, guard in The Ravens. Sholto

9600-639: Was given to Merry to cement her alliance with the goblins. He was brought into his sidhe-side powers (The Hand of Reaching) by Merry. Meredith NicEssus - Also known as "Merry Gentry", title heroine, Princess of Flesh and Blood, daughter of Essus, niece to Andais and Taranis. Merry is one fourth Seelie sidhe, one half Unseelie sidhe, one eighth brownie, and one eighth human. She is also mortal. Rhys - Also known as "Cromm Cruach", former God of Death, guard in The Ravens, and film noir buff. One of Merry's favorite lovers. He's regained some of his former power over life and death through Merry. Extremely prejudiced against

9700-594: Was later refuted by other authors (See: The Triumph of the Moon , by Ronald Hutton ). This contentious environment of thought contributed to the modern meaning of 'fairies'. One belief held that fairies were spirits of the dead. This derived from many factors common in various folklore and myths: same or similar tales of both ghosts and fairies; the Irish sídhe , origin of their term for fairies, were ancient burial mounds; deemed dangerous to eat food in Fairyland and Hades ;

9800-533: Was left alone in Scotland, though it prevented a road from being widened for seventy years. Other actions were believed to offend fairies. Brownies were known to be driven off by being given clothing, though some folktales recounted that they were offended by the inferior quality of the garments given, and others merely stated it, some even recounting that the brownie was delighted with the gift and left with it. Other brownies left households or farms because they heard

9900-423: Was to provide an essential link between the energy of the sun and the plants of Earth, describing them as having no clean-cut shape ... small, hazy, and somewhat luminous clouds of colour with a brighter sparkish nucleus. "That growth of a plant which we regard as the customary and inevitable result of associating the three factors of sun, seed, and soil would never take place if the fairy builders were absent." For

10000-515: Was used to represent: an illusion or enchantment; the land of the Faes; collectively the inhabitants thereof; an individual such as a fairy knight. Faie became Modern English fay , while faierie became fairy , but this spelling almost exclusively refers to one individual (the same meaning as fay ). In the sense of 'land where fairies dwell', archaic spellings faery and faerie are still in use. Latinate fae , from which fairy derives,

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