by Julie Kagawa
With the help of Puck, Grimalkin and some unexpected new companions, Ash set out for the End of the World, where it was said he might earn a soul and become human, thus allowing him to live in the Iron Realm free from harm. Along the way, he discovered a secret that changed much of what he believed about himself and his former friendship with Puck. Working as a team, Ash and his companions made their way to the Testing Ground at the End of the World. There Ash faced tests that no faery had passed before, earning a soul and becoming something between human and fey, so that he could return to the Iron Realm, to Meghan Chase, and marry her.
Good to know: Since gaining a soul, Ash has become more sympathetic to the human condition. He is still not the easiest person to ask for help, unless you are one of his respected acquaintances or friends, but his moral code in the end compels him to do the right thing. Unless you threaten his wife in any way. Then you’re frozen toast.
PUCK
(Robin Goodfellow, Robbie Goodfell, the Great Prankster)
Puck is a Summer fey, a servant of the Summer King, Oberon, and a maker of mischief. He has red hair and green eyes and a trickster personality; he is best known for cracking jokes, playing pranks and angering older, stronger fey just to see if he can get one up on them.
When Meghan Chase was born, Puck was charged with watching over her and keeping her blind to the faery world. Disguised as human Robbie Goodfell, Puck kept his secret hidden until the Iron King kidnapped Meghan’s brother and replaced him with a changeling. Defying direct orders from his king in order to help his best friend, Puck revealed his true nature and guided Meghan into the Nevernever.
Along with the standard Summer glamour, Puck can shape-shift into various animals, including a horse and a raven. He is also able to create clones of himself made of leaves and twigs, and often throws balls of fur at his opponents in battle, which transform into animals such as bears or badgers.
Puck is a formidable fighter, small, fast and cunning, and rather than a sword, he wields two daggers. His long-standing rivalry with his former best friend, Ash, often leads to duels, which he doesn’t take seriously, often sending clones to fight for him while he makes sarcastic comments from a safe distance.
Puck defied orders to help Meghan, his best friend, at least three times, and eventually professed his love for her. When he was forced to accept that Meghan would choose to be with Ash, Puck withdrew from them both. Yet when trouble followed Meghan and Ash into exile, Puck came to help despite their rocky relationship. While preparing Meghan to fight the false king, their friendship was almost destroyed when Meghan discovered a secret Puck kept about her family. In the end, Puck and Meghan reconciled and Puck stood by her and Ash as Meghan fought her way into the false king’s fortress to save all of Faery.
After Meghan became the Iron Queen and Ash set off on his quest to find a way to be with her, Puck tagged along with Ash, with the explanation that he wanted Meghan to be happy, even if it wasn’t with him. He accompanied Ash to the End of the World to help him earn a soul and become human, and the two friends reconciled their long-standing rivalry.
Good to know: Puck is loyal to his court and even more loyal to anyone who earns his respect. He will go to the ends of the earth for his friends and make them laugh the whole way. He can also drive even the most even-tempered person utterly mad with his pranks. He makes the best friend and the worst possible enemy. Do not get on his bad side lest you be turned into a hedgehog.
GRIMALKIN
(Grim, Cait Sith, Devil’s Cat, Furball)
[Human, if you don’t know who I am by now, there is no hope.
Oh, all right. Some editor type insists on including detailed information about me. Honestly, I live in fear for the future of your kind. If you must know…]
Grimalkin is a mysterious faery cat with long, wispy gray fur and golden eyes. [Well, human, I suppose this could be worse. Mysterious is not a half-bad start.] Like most cats, Grimalkin is self-assured to the point of arrogance [you are walking a thin line, human] and despairs of others for their lack of intelligence. He has a talent for direction, though it is not clear if he is very good at remembering the places he’s been or if he is able to sniff out the things he’s seeking [your lack of perception is showing; do put the pieces together and realize it could possibly be a bit of both, hmm?] and he prides himself on always being right. [There is no pride involved. A fact is a fact.]
Grim has the ability to disappear from sight, which he often does the moment he senses trouble—when Grim vanishes, it is almost a sure sign there is danger nearby. He usually reappears once danger has been averted, waiting impatiently for his companions to “hurry up.” [I will never understand the propensity for humans and love-struck fey to dawdle about when clearly there is danger at hand.] When asked how he is able to do the things he does, Grim often answers simply, “I am a cat.” [And really, that is all you needed to say in the first place. Why the long-winded biography, human? Whom are you trying to impress?]
Grimalkin is also responsible for the creation of an amulet that allows Winter and Summer fey to enter the Iron Realm without consequence for a limited time. Creating these amulets requires the essence of an Iron fey, however. Grimalkin’s is quite powerful and contains the essence of Ironhorse, who sacrificed himself to help Meghan Chase. [Let us move on, human. Let the dead rest.]
Being a cat, Grimalkin has a somewhat understandable rivalry with the Wolf, whom he calls “Dog,” and the two often threaten and insult each other. [Yawn. How much more of this must we dredge through? Old news, human. Old news.] Some, like Ash, suspect that they just enjoy playing at being rivals, since their banter never leads anywhere.
Grim deals in favors and often uses his ability to find things in order to procure promises from anyone he comes across. He has guided Meghan Chase into the Iron Realm at least twice, as well as through the Briars, the human world and the wyldwood. He also accompanied Ash and Puck on their quest to the End of the World. [As if those two could have found it on their own. Please.]
When confronted with a doppelganger of his true nature, Grimalkin was not surprised to find that his inner self was not that much different from his outer self, suggesting that Grimalkin doesn’t suppress his true nature. [Are we finished? I see a butterfly.…]
Good to know: When Grimalkin speaks, listen and do as he says. Do not question him unless you wish to either wind up dead at the hands of some dangerous creature or feel like the stupidest being ever to enter Faery. If Grim vanishes, run away from wherever you are immediately and quietly.
The Faery Rulers
LEANANSIDHE
(Lea, the Dark Muse, Queen of the Exiles, Ruler of the Between)
At one time, Leanansidhe was one of the most powerful beings in the Nevernever. She inspired many great artists, including James Dean, Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, helping them to produce their most brilliant works. Of course, there was always a price to be paid for her gifts. She would occasionally kidnap mortals who were especially gifted and keep them until she got bored.
Allegedly, Leanansidhe was banished from the Nevernever by Oberon for growing too powerful and having too many mortal worshippers. However, her banishment was actually due to the jealousy of Titania. Setting up residence in a mansion in the Between, Leanansidhe gathered new followers and crowned herself Queen of the Exiles, taking in stray faeries who had nowhere else to go.
Leanansidhe likes expensive things and has clients with unusual tastes, and she uses half-b
reed “employees” to procure these items. She also has the habit of abducting male human musicians and turning them into musical instruments. She calls all of these men Charles, as she finds it hard to remember their real names. She is the one responsible for abducting Meghan’s human father, though she did it at Puck’s request and did not know at the time who he was connected to.
Leanansidhe is incomparably beautiful, with wavy, waist-length hair that shimmers like strands of copper. She is tall and pale and carries herself like the queen she knows she is.
Good to know: Leanansidhe’s mesmerizing beauty and charm can turn on you in an instant. If you enter into a bargain with her, do so with the greatest of caution, lest you end up as a violin or grand piano.
MAB
(the Winter Queen, Queen of Air and Darkness, Sovereign of the Autumn Territories)
The Queen of the Unseelie Court draws the eye of everyone in the room. Her hair is so black it appears blue, and spills down her back like a waterfall of ink. Her eyes are pitch-black.
Mab is a cruel queen, forcing her three sons to compete for her favor and using their emotions and weaknesses against them whenever possible. However, despite this, it is obvious that Mab loves her sons and her grief is mighty when she loses Sage to betrayal, Rowan to his own folly by Ash’s hand and Ash to love.
Mab wields the power of an arctic winter, calling forth snow, ice and subzero winds to slay those who displease her. She has a tendency to encase individuals in blocks of ice, either because they have annoyed her or as a way of preserving them forever so she won’t have to see them get old. Being trapped in Mab’s ice, victims live forever, all the while gasping for breath that never comes.
Good to know: Mab is one of the four most powerful fey in the Nevernever. She is highly protective of Winter and may look well upon one who has information to help her realm. But she does love her ice sculpture garden and is as likely to add you to it as she is to reward your services.
OBERON
(the Erlking, King of the Summer Court, Ruler of Arcadia, Lord Oberon)
Lord Oberon, the Seelie King, is a tall and slender man with silver hair that falls to his waist and eyes like green ice. He wears an antlered crown and sits atop a throne seemingly grown out of the forest floor. His power radiates from him like the energy coming off a thunderstorm.
As the Seelie King, Oberon has all the powers of summer at his disposal. He can call vines and plants to his aid, wield fire and lightning and turn into a formidable treelike giant. He also has the ability to trap Robin Goodfellow in a form of his choosing, and often keeps him in a cage in raven form when he is displeased with him.
Oberon fell in love with Meghan’s mother while watching her paint and draw in a local park, describing her as beautiful and artistic.
Good to know: Oberon is the most powerful faery in Arcadia and one of the four most powerful fey in the Nevernever. Do not cross him, unless your name is Puck and you can talk the rain out of falling during a storm.
TITANIA
(the Summer Queen, Lady Titania)
Titania is a fey of otherworldy beauty, willowy-thin with long hair that shifts between silver and gold, glittering blue eyes and an aura of arrogance and power.
Titania is an extremely jealous faery, and has been known to be vindictive when her jealousy is provoked. She had Leanansidhe banned from the Nevernever for daring to rival her queenliness. She also tried to go after Meghan’s human father as a way to get revenge for Oberon’s fidelity without harming the human woman he loved and stoking his ire. Upon meeting Meghan, she attempted to turn her husband’s daughter into a hart. When commanded to stop by her husband and denied the pleasure of hunting hart-Meghan down with dogs, Titania sent her to toil away in the kitchen not unlike another famous fairy-tale princess.
Good to know: Titania is both jealous and vain. Flatter her and you may go far. Cross her and you will go nowhere ever again once her hounds hunt down your new rabbit-self and tear you to pieces.
The Extended Cast of Characters
ARIELLA TULARYN
(The only daughter of the Ice Baron of Glassbarrow, The Seer)
Ariella was Ash’s first love, an innocent and naive soul who he met when she came to court for the first time as a representative of her father. Vowing to protect her from the cruel politics of the court, Ash quickly fell in love with her and found she was the only person he could be himself around. While hunting in the wildwood, Ariella discovered Puck and Ash’s friendship, a relationship forbidden by their rival courts, but didn’t seem fazed. She and Puck also became great friends, and the three spent much of their time together hunting in the wyldwood. She was tragically killed by a wyvern’s sting when Puck’s playful nature led the group into its nest, leading to the deadly rivalry between Puck and the Winter Prince.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Ariella was resurrected by the Nevernever, her prophetic abilities heightened so she could aid Ash and Meghan in their destiny to save the courts from the encroaching Iron Realm. Using her magical foresight, she manipulated such events as the exile of Leanansidhe, Puck’s guardianship of Meghan and the first meeting of Meghan and Grimalkin in the wyldwood.
Reunited with Ash and Puck on their quest for the End of the World, she guides them to the Testing Ground. When Ash has passed all three of his trials, Ariella sacrifices herself to create a soul for him so that he can be with his true love, Meghan, and so that she can be with him, in a sense, forever.
ETHAN CHASE
Meghan’s half brother, the son of her mother and stepfather, Ethan is a sweet four-year-old with curly brown hair and big blue eyes. He has the Sight, which means he can see the fey that most humans naturally overlook. He is kidnapped by the Iron King and replaced with a changeling, but later saved by Meghan. He worships his big sister and doesn’t understand why she leaves and cannot come home. He ultimately blames Ash for her abandonment.
FERRUM
(the Old King, the false king, the Iron King)
Ferrum was the Iron King before Machina. Power-hungry and terrified of losing his throne, his fear was corrupting the land and he refused to accept that he was obsolete and that it was time for a new Iron King to rise. When Ferrum tried to stab him in the back, Machina, his First Lieutenant, defeated him and stepped up to rule in his place, absorbing all of his powers per the rules of the Iron Realm. However, Ferrum did not fade away, but rather hid out in the tunnels under the Iron Realm, worshipped only by packrats.
When Meghan first encounters him, Ferrum is an old, old man sitting on a throne of junk. His skin is metallic-gray, his eyes are green and his white hair flows past his feet. When she meets him again, he wears voluminous black robes and there is an iron crown upon his head. He glows with a dark purple aura of power. Ferrum has sharp, clawlike fingers, which he uses as weapons, and he is superfast. Meghan must defeat him to save all of Faery and become the Iron Queen.
GLITCH
(the Rebel Leader, the First Lieutenant)
Glitch was King Machina’s First Lieutenant. He has a sharp, angular face and pointed ears, and wild black hair, spiked up like a punk rocker, with neon threads of lightning flickering between the strands. He wears ripped jeans and a studded leather jacket. He has the ability to cause electrical glitches with a single touch. When Machina fell and the false king took his place, Glitch led the revolution against him. He originally wanted to hide Meghan away, but later follows her and joins with the armies of Summer and Winter against Ferrum’s forces. When Meghan
becomes the Iron Queen, he becomes her First Lieutenant.
IRONHORSE
(Rusty)
Ironhorse is one of King Machina’s lieutenants. He is a massive black horse with eyes that glow like hot coals and flared nostrils that blow steam and fire. His body is made of iron, with pistons and gears jutting out from its ribs. His mane and tail are steel cables, and a great fire burns in his belly, visible through the chinks in his hide.
Ironhorse is loyal to the true ruler of the Iron Realm. He was initially an enemy of Meghan’s, working for Machina to bring her to his fortress. When Meghan killed Machina and inherited his powers, and therefore his throne, Ironhorse sought her out under the guise of helping her take back the Scepter of the Seasons, when in fact he was serving and protecting her as the rightful ruler of the Iron Realm.
Ironhorse is a very large and outdated machine, and when he speaks it is in a booming voice. Despite his ferocious appearance, he is also very loyal and he did eventually sacrifice himself to help Meghan overcome her enemy Virus. At the time of his death, he agreed to give his essence to Grimalkin to create an amulet that would allow the faery cat to travel through the Iron Realm and continue to aid Meghan without being poisoned.