Phelan

**Phelan** is the son of King Pellanor and heir to the Cantii tribe. He is married to Amena, who is using him as a means to ascend to the Cantii throne. Due to the Druid's edicts, Amena is also married to Lindon, the son of a Gallic Chief which strains their relationship. Phelan is diplomatic, strategic, and rational – the opposite of his more wrathful father. Unfortunately, these traits mean his people and his wife view him as weak.

## Biography

### New beginnings

Phelan moves on from his past life, burning the runes off his forehead, assuming a new identity, and living with a new wife and upcoming child. However, upon attending a local market, he finds Kerra's head is being sold, which calls him back into action and to play his part of the prophecy. He buys Kerra's head and confesses to his new wife that everything he has told her up until then was a lie, and tells her the truth about his past life. Upset and angered by this, his wife - who had very recently given birth to Phelan's second son, Ralf - attacks Phelan and tells her brothers to assault him further and convince him that he's not Phelan but actually Ralf. Phelan abandons his wife and his new son, taking Kerra's head with him as he leaves, limping from his injuries.

When he is kidnapped by Hella, working for Harka, Phelan is involved in Harka's plans for revenge on Veran, to fulfil his need for importance. Phelan succeeds in the task Harka gave him to do, but is distraught to see the destruction and death he causes.

He comes across Ania who reveals how Harka tricked him, which leads to him leaving Harka's service, and wants to atone for his error of judgement by killing Mallin, putting a stop to Harka's plans.

Phelan later meets Quane who tells him he has still been serving Harka, just unknowingly. Feeling confused and panicked, Quane tells him not to worry - he is just at the beginning of his journey.

The runes on his head read "The Flame Carrier, forged in fire."

Three years after the Roman invasion of Britannia, Phelan was indoctrinated into the Druids by Quane, and had new runes carved into his forehead. Quane renamed him Cwunt, much to Phelan's disappointment. He was to be taught the ways of the Druids by Divis, in the same way he was mentor to Cait. His first lesson was picking plants in the woods, where he began to question what happens to Gods when their followers die or when new Gods push them aside. While foraging for plants in the woods, he found Cait and brought her back to the Druids, where she then slashed Veran's throat. Cwunt tells Divis that he was wrong for killing Mallin.

A few days after, Cwunt is helped building a totem of bones by Rayne, which Divis soon destroys. He then listens on as Rayne explains how he is Guardian to the New Veran, to Divis' confusion. Cwunt is later seen walking in the funeral procession of Veran.

Divis gives Cwunt another lesson, to be a squirrel in a tree. It doesn't take long for Cwunt to fall from the tree. When Ania arrives back and just before Cait and former Regni Queen Antedia enter the Druid's camp, Cwunt is still acting like a squirrel in a tree, with Divis and Cwunt's son Phelan watching. Rayne wants to help with Cwunt's lesson, but Divis forbids it. As Cait is meeting with Veran in his hut, Antedia ambushes Cwunt as she recognised him as being Cantii. He quickly tells her that he is no longer Phelan, but is now Cwunt. Before Antedia can do anything else, she is summoned away by Cait to Veran's hut. After Veran assembles the Druids, Cwunt is selected to go with Cait as part of her band, and when he questions this, she says it's because he knows what it is like to be lost. Cwunt then sets off with the band.

A short time after leaving the Druids, they find the bounty hunter Hella again. They compare their previous experiences with Hella, how she kidnapped Phelan, buried Cait alive, and nearly killed Divis. Hella informs the band that the Romans take their deserters to the Blue Hills in the west, five days' travel from where they were, and that is where Lucius should be. She tells the band that the west is too dangerous for her, so her sister Drella will take them instead.

Guided on their path by Drella, Cwunt continues to ask Rayne about the Spear of the Silver Dawn. Rayne tells Cwunt about the spear and its role in the prophecy - that it will come from the east and the chosen one will use it to reunite the tribes against Lokka and free them from his spell. Cwunt then asks if when Lucius brought the spear to Britannia, if he knew what it was or if he thought it was just an ordinary spear to him, and if Lucius knows his own purpose. Rayne says that Lucius didn't know his purpose, but knew he had one. The band is stopped when they come across a fork in the road, and a tree decorated with red ribbon by the Sun Folk. Antedia says how it's a tree of the Sun Folk despite these not being the Sun Folk's lands, but they at least respect Veran, or at least they used to. Ania offers to travel along one path to the Sun Folk, and if she doesn't return, the band should go the other way.

After returning from her trip to the Sun Folk, Ania lies and says the highroads are too dangerous so they should take the lowland way. Divis disagrees as his gut says it is the wrong path. Being the leader, Cait decides that they shall do as Ania says and take the lowlands. On the journey, Cwunt continues to ask Rayne about where the spear came from, what it is made from, and what type of spear it is. Rayne replies that the prophecy does not mention these things, only that it was used to slay a powerful Druid, who was a threat to the kings of the land. At this moment, Divis interrupts, stating that the prophecy of Veran is on a need-to-know basis, and Cwunt does not need to know. Cait senses something is wrong and tells the band to stop, and Antedia can hear the trees talking. Members of the Belgae Tribe emerge and surround the band. Cait tells them they were sent by Veran, but they reply that Veran abandoned them so now they'll repay Veran with the band's blood. They threaten Antedia but recognise her as queen of the Regni, and they all bow before her.

The Belgae Tribe toast to Antedia, who they will always view as their queen. Years before the Romans invaded, Antedia and the Regni once helped out the Belgae in a war with another tribe, but the Belgae had since been slaughtered by the Romans. They know of Veran's prophecy and who Cait is, and they believe in Cait. Antedia deliberately antagonises Cwunt by mocking the Cantii, who by proxy were the enemy of the Belgae as they were allied with Antedia and the Regni. Cwunt begins to confess to being Cantii, but stutters and instead sings a song deprecating the Cantii and his former family.

The next morning, the band set off from the Belgae. It isn't long before they come across some Romans attacking a village. Rayne tries to convince Cait to leave, saying they are already lost, but she hears a woman call for help so rides back after her, followed by Rayne and Ania.

After the journey continues, Cwunt sees Divis holding the Golden Bow and offers to give him an archery lesson as he was taught archery every day as Cantii prince Phelan since he was 3. On Divis' first shot, the string snaps and the arrow fires at Ania and ricochets onto Rayne, wounding them both. Rayne gets angry and confronts Divis, but he calms him down through Big Pebble. Later that night, Divis begins his task of finding out which ally will betray Cait. He first questions Drella, asking if she can't speak or if she just simply won't. He tries to use Big Pebble on her, but she proves resistant and throws it into a fire. She tells him that it's Ania he should be suspecting, and insults Divis. Cwunt mishears and assumes she's asking for him, but she then walks off.

The next day, Ania scouts the Roman deserter holding camp, but when she returns to the band she says she couldn't see Lucius as she was too far away. She tells them that if they do have Lucius, they do not know who he is, and she also says how the place is barely even guarded and it shouldn't be difficult to sneak in there. Just then, they see General Aulus Plautius arriving at the holding camp, complicating things. They watch Aulus leave with Lucius before making their move.

On the road again, the band come across a large Roman viaduct bridge, and are perplexed as to what it is. Divis calls it a monster, and Antedia says how she has seen one before in Gaul. She calls it a road, and the rest of the band are in disbelief as to how a road can be in the sky. Rayne then points out that to cross it, the Romans will have to break formation, making it the prime location to try and rescue Lucius.

Later that night, Cwunt asks Ania what happens to their son if they both died. Ania is surprised to learn Phelan cares for his son.

After the band realise that Cait has climbed the viaduct without them, they start climbing themselves. Divis starts having a fit as Lokka tries to break through. Cwunt tries to calm him down, and Drella joins Rayne ahead. As Cwunt falls off the viaduct, he grabs a rope to keep himself suspended, and Antedia then joins Rayne and Drella.

The morning after, Rayne and Antedia start arguing and are overheard by Divis, following their tracks. Rayne accuses Antedia of wasting time pointing his bow at Aulus when she should have been saving Cait, and Antedia argues that she did save Cait, and she storms off. Cwunt is sitting beside them feeling useless, and is told by Rayne that Antedia has no faith. Divis asks where Cait is, and Rayne tells him she's with Ania because he found the breastplate Ania used to cook berries on, but Divis mentions he can't see the signs. Cwunt interjects that he saw Ania's eyes the night before, and thought there was something else behind them, controlling her. Divis gets upset at Cwunt for not mentioning this before and says Ania is the traitor. Cwunt then tells Divis that Drella is dead, falling from the viaduct. Divis, Cwunt, and Rayne leave, but are watched by Antedia. Rayne doesn't believe that Ania was the traitor, but Divis argues that she was because she tried to hex him a few nights before. Cwunt irritates Divis by pointing out that Ania was stronger than both Big Pebble and Divis.

Divis, Rayne, and Cwunt come to the end of a road, where a statue blocks their path. The see Kenrik the Zealot a few paces away, and he asks who they are. Divis tells Kenrik they are Druids, but Kenrik argues that no true Druid would walk the path of the demon. Kenrik states that he has been chosen to be sacrificed to the Horned God, and has such been tied to his chair. He tells them that his sacrifice is supposed to rip up the Roman paths and drive the invaders back into the sea, and as compensation, each of his three wives receive a goat. Cwunt starts to untie Kenrik, but he protests and starts to make noises to alert his nearby tribespeople, who surround Divis, Rayne, and Cwunt.

The tribe does not believe when Divis, Rayne, and Cwunt tell them they are Druids, because they walk the Roman paths. The tribal leader gives them the chance to prove themselves as true Druids by asking Cwunt to identify a plant, but he cannot. Rayne says they are on a sacred mission, and they too hate the Roman road. The tribe asks they prove their hatred of the road, and so strap them to chairs and paint their faces green like Kenrik and are prepared to be sacrificed. Divis hallucinates Cait falling into Aulus' arms, and Kenrik is disembowelled by the tribal leader. Cwunt wants to be sacrificed next, but Drella arrives and slaughters the tribespeople. She interrogates the tribal leader to the location of the Romans, and kills her.

Divis, Rayne, Cwunt, and Drella make their way to the Belgae Tribe, who are attacking the Romans, and are taken to see Antedia who is with them. After going into the prison, Divis picks up a fallen Cait, and he carries her out, supported by the band.

After escaping the Romans, Divis betrays Cait by returning and giving her to Aulus. The band realise Divis and Cait are missing, and are left confused.