The Heir of Aiwan--Book 1

history of the settlements

No one is truly sure how she managed it but the leading theory by most fae historians is the when Morgana created Aiwan, she tapped into all the magic on earth and pulled those with her who had that same magic within them. What humans refer to as "England" now was not the best place to live in. Not only did they not have air conditioning on earth, gasp, but no plumbing either. Which doesn't sound like any place I want to be in, that's for sure. I grew up on earth, spoiled in the ways of the modern human, much to my father's dismay. None of that really matters though, that's not why you picked this book up, is it? You yourself are a bit of a novice historian, I would dare to guess. Maybe some of the things I am about to write are not new to you but I hope to give you a concise look at what Aiwan most likely looked like in what the humans would call the 7th century, or at the beginning of Aiwan.

As you know, we fae don't really measure time in the same year pattern that humans do, always concerned with their mortality. Probably due to the fact that our relationship with the magic of earth allows us to live a much longer life, assuming you're not sidhe or immersed in the last Great Battle of our time. Sidhe have a much shorter life expectancy, as you would expect of a queen's foder. When Aiwan began, it was a much more peaceful time. Although human history books paint Morgana in a much darker light, she was truly a queen of peace. The fae gravitated to her not only because of her vast power but also because of her arlynd energy. She was sweet, and smart. She dreamed of a utopia, as many historical figures do but she truly created one, for a time at least.

During the reign of Queen Morgana, the people divided themselves rather evenly over the land, some fae missed the urban life of earth but others wanted to be one with nature again, enriching their powers with mother nature. Although Queen in title, she did not concern herself with matters of politics. Her time with Arthur and Merlin had taught her that politics was a dark game she had no interest in being a pawn in, or even royalty. She prefered a much simpler life. A life with her small family. Two daughters and a son. Strong daughters, kind daughters. Queen Vaeda, her eldest daughter was given the moniker of "kind" as you know from the first chapter of this immersive novel, unless you skimmed it, which I would also understand. Fae abilities can get so repetitive, am I right?

I digress, the point is the Queen Morgana was much more inclined to an egalitarian existence but also understood the need for leadership. Fae are not so high and mighty that they believe we don't squabble and bicker just like five years when given the opportunity. This is the reason she took the title Queen. Not as a nod to her human counterparts but rather as a show of her power, which was the greatest of all the fae. She could tap into every ability known to fae. Known mostly by her ai prophecies, which is understandable seeing as her prophecy protected all fae on earth and allowed her to follow the path which led to Aiwan. She was gifted in all magics, unlike most fae, who with years of mingling with humans had dulled and weakened their power. Most fae exhibit only one ability, some can master two to some extent, usually funnelling the strength of the other into it. Not Morgana. 

It's also important to note that even with her trouble with humans, she didn't hate humans. On the contrary, her lover and consort was a human himself. Some fae secretly, or not so secretly, had wished she would have chosen a powerful fae to strengthen her own blood but she chose love instead. Whit was her loyal companion but he was not a fae. He helped bore her three children but only survived about one hundred years of her legendary seven hundred year reign. All the books I have read in old Aiwanian state that Morgana never married again but that is a discussion for another time. For now, we discuss the arrangement of Aiwan on the landscape. It is important to know about the hierarchical structure of Aiwan's leadership though. Those egalitarian roots allowed for freedom of movement on the land, the borders have been pushed out some by very powerful of the past but not in many centuries. The world is kept small. Not only because fae don't generally have more than two offspring, and not only because fae live hundreds of years but also because fae, even eade who like grass almost as much as their own kind if not more, love the pull of community. Because of this, certain power alignments have been created with the magic of the land. Like-minded, and like-powered fae tend to stick to their own. Which has created not many crossbreeding of different powers over the last hundred and thirty two decades. 

If you pull up a recent map of Aiwan, you can basically trace a line around each of the abilities. Which is where we were leading up the the Great Battle.

- an excerpt from Alwyn Stein's "A Concise History of Aiwan's Great Battle"