Stories of the Never-Never

The Wyld Hunt

As the fleets of the Summer, Dark, and Iron Courts took up residence in the Winter Court's fjord passage, the Wyld Hunt watched from afar. They were expected to attend the meeting of the Courts, but no-one was actually expecting them to come, given that Gabriel had long since renounced his title as King of Winter. He now led the Hounds of the Wyld Hunt, the fey who were wilder than the rest and who had succumbed to their more animalistic nature. The Wyld Hunt became the army of the Never-Never, though should a battle between the Courts occur, they would always side with the Unseelie.

From their vantage point upon the peak looking down over the narrow chasm which was the only passage through to Tir Na N'Og, Gabriel and the Wyld Hunt watched the embassies of the Courts leaving their ships and heading into rival territory inside the Winter Palace. Gabriel knew of the troubles which would ensue over the coming days, what with Puck, the jester of the Seelie Court and Ash, the youngest and feistiest of Mab's sons, being in the one place at the one time. Those two could cause more trouble than a rampaging dragon, Gabriel mussed as he watched, then turned to face his pack.

Between the trees which covered the mountain top, and the snow which carpeted the ground in a constant sheet of white, the Wyld Hunt's assortment of greens and greys blended into the mountain top amongst the dappled trees. Anyone looking from below would see only what Gabriel wanted them to see, and that was exactly as planned. If anyone happened to glance up at the exact right moment, they may see the tail end of a Hound, but most would simply dismiss it as a hoax of a Winter piskie.

Brial, Gabriel's second in command, stood next to him as he assessed the Hunt. New arrivals were few and far between, but the presence of a female Dark Court Sidhe was granted to them, as she was the newest in the pack. Gabriel had only been training her for a few days, but she far surpassed the abilities that he expected of the elusive Dark Court Sidhe, though only few that he had ever encountered. She had not told them a name, in fact refusing to speak at all, and so she was called Cat, a name attributed to her grace and ability to land on all fours when jumping from a great height, such as the expedition a day ago, on the Seelie Court's watchtower. She managed to land, with no injuries, after jumping from the highest point of the tower, while others who attempted the same jump had died.

Death did not faze to the Wyld Hunt. As the beasts of the Wyldwood did, so did they. Hunting was necessary for survival, and they knew that death was inevitable, even though in the Never-Never they could not truly die. Gabriel remembered a time when the Never-Never had just began, and the Courts were one, with the two Queens ruling them all. Sorcha and Bananach, Order and Discord, the true rulers of the Fey. It was after their death that the Courts came to divide, and Seelie, Unseelie, and Dark became the separate rulers of the Never-Never. It was with that same division that the rule that no-one could ever truly die in the Never-Never came into place. For it was a being just like the Fey, and it did not want any more of its children to die.

A gust of cold Winter air blew across the mountain peak, and several of the Wyld Hunt shivered. Though they were in a way primarily Winter creatures, some knew nothing of the true cold of the Unseelie, and so the change from the neutral Court's land to the Winter Court's land was a big one. Gabriel and Brial, a King and commander of Winter, revelled in the cold, and took deep breaths of the misty frozen air. The scent of home came to them, and Gabriel knew it was time he returned to the Unseelie, at least for a while, and pay respect to his Queen, his daughter. It would be a good time to visit his grandsons as well, he decided as he commanded the Hunt to fall into place behind him as they began the long and treacherous path down to Tir Na N'Og.

The sound of peeling Summer laughter and the haunting notes of Dark came to the ears of the Wyld Hunt long before they came in sight of the sounds. Summer was the Court that could go anywhere and find happiness, even if in their enemy's home. Dark was the Court that tried not to choose sides, and remained a neutral party between Summer and Winter, though a fight against them directly was disastrous. Winter was the cold Court, seen as emotionless to some, but know to all as the Court who lived for the pain of others. And the new Court, Iron, Gabriel did not know what to think of them. Iron had always been a bane towards the fey, but here was a Court created out of it. Suddenly, something shifted in the air.

And then the sound of screams began...

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