To the Last Generation
The Saga of the Stolen One is a fantasy/horror trilogy with a slightly re-imagined real-world setting. Book one, To the Last Generation begins in fifteenth century Ireland where, dotted about the realm still exist tiny settlements devoted to the old gods. And although the influence of Christianity is felt, the settlements are just about tolerated by the Catholic Church and the English governors of the Pale. In one such place a child is born clearly unhealthy and on the verge of death. After an ap-peal is made to the goddess Bridget an exchange is performed. A fae-child is placed into the crib of the dead human child. The fae-child, the son of the High-King of the fae-folk, is intended to one day serve as a bridge between the two races in an increasingly hostile world. He was to grow up, learn all he could of humans, their ways, and their triune god, and this knowledge was to be used as a means of bringing all the Irish together against their enemies and foreign invaders alike. The child grows, learns, and before his differences with the others can be realized he is sent off on an educa-tional tour/adventure.
Two key incidents change everything for the worst and introduce the horror elements. First, mid-century, Tadgh (the protagonist) – a keen-witted but more fun-loving than serious sidhe prince – meets, bonds with, and is tragically changed by a Wallachian strigoii woman (i.e., from a sub-species of the more traditional vampire mythos). This act taints him and steals him from his fae heritage, his people, his human family, and his carefree attitude. It also sends him into depression and a desperate search for a cure, leaving him with conflicting and mutual hostile dual natures. Second, in the last years of the fifteenth century, a small detachment of English soldiers on behalf of Henry VII invades and massacre a small Irish settlement near Cork in Ireland. The seemingly random settlement to be sacked is the village where Tadgh was raised and for which he still has some degree of sentiment.
The combination of these two events begins the denigration of Ireland as a nation. The fae have been devastated by the loss of believers as well as the loss of their prince. The fortunes of the realm are mystically tied into the health and well-being of the so-called ‘Hidden king’. Without Tadgh firmly on the throne of the fae, both the supernatural and natural realms cannot defend themselves against malevolent foreign influences. It transpires that the king has duties and obligations to per-form on behalf of his people, fae and human alike – one king, one land. The innocent dead of the village also cry out for vengeance against their murderers. Tadgh must be found and brought home so he can lead the efforts for both salvation and retribution for all his people and himself.
A problem exists, however, in that his impure dual nature provides another horrific element – par-tially psychological and partially physiological. Tadgh is a focus of an internal struggle between good and evil as well as expressed benevolence and maleficence. Moreover, the fae court of Ire-land has always been ruled by a ‘summery’ king (Tadgh’s father, now dead) whereas Tadgh, as it stands, can only be held as ‘wintery’ – and the court reflects the coldness and inhospitableness of its king. An appeal is made to the old gods at An Seisear (the standing stones near Cork) for a solution to both problems.
The task placed upon Tadgh (as the king) is an arduous and frankly horrific one – he is to track down and scourge the earth of the blood of all the soldiers who attacked the village – from leader to lowliest grunt. What this means is that each man, and anyone of a direct bloodline originating with him (in the form of children, grandchildren, etc.), is to be ‘harvested’ until the last drop of blood is collected and returned to the holy spot in payment and in the service of justice. Tadgh is aided in this geas by his two peoples – particularly Talia (an excitable but loyal pixie), Karl (an Enlightened human), and two related human organizations established just for the task (and as cover against dis-covery) – the Daughters of Feidlimid and the Sons of Lóegaire.
Some chapters are dedicated to the horrific (the harvesting of the blood), some are dedicated to new obstacles (e.g., the advance of science), while others still are dedicated to the main characters emotional rediscovery of his heritage.