Gille Dubh

"*They call me Gille Dubh, and this is my loch. You’re welcome to make use of its waters to clean yourself and your clothing. I ask for nothing in exchange.*"
―Gille Dubh[[The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire, Chapter 16: Leave Be]]
**Gille Dubh** is a Seelie brownie and protector of a loch near Many Meadows market. He is friends with Luridan.

## Appearance

Gille Dubh is 'thin and diminutive, with long, wispy, uneven black hair and bright green eyes. His clothing was made from wild leaves, some having browned over time and showing bits of skin behind them, and others green and fresh. For all of his dishevelled appearance, he looked friendly.' He is shorter than Luridan, and shorter even than some trows.

When he appeared in Dharnam, his 'wispy black hair was wispier than usual after travelling on the back of the rooster, likely for some time. His belt was fashioned from bark, and the buckle was made of vine.'

He used a large, glossy red rooster 'with an ivory comb' as a mount, with black reins, the first time he ran into Gwyn during the ice plague, and later appeared in Dharnam with either the same or a similar glossy red rooster named Follow.

## Personality

Gille Dubh is polite, compassionate, and charitable, allowing many fae to make use of his loch for cleanliness and shelter. He doesn't mind if travelers appear before him looking dirty, and is rather friendly.

Augus Each Uisge noted that Gille Dubh 'has a way of plucking truths up from the sediment, and where he places his focus, hurt can follow.’

## Life

Long ago, when Gille Dubh was unlucky, he wandered into the Aur forest. He trespassed on a waterway, but was found by Amaley Manytrees. She clothed and fed him, bathed his feet, and took care of him.

Gille Dubh is the protector of his loch, and welcomes guests to rest and clean themselves by the lakeside. Gwyn ap Nudd visited it in the past, and the two were friends. Luridan came to reside for a while at the lake with him, and talked about Eran Iliakambar and Mosk Manytrees.

Eran and Mosk were recommended to ask Gille Dubh if they could clean themselves in the lake. Gille Dubh asked if the pair needed to use his loch, and when they accepted, he said they could. After Eran and Mosk bathed and were drying themselves and their clothing, Gille Dubh and Luridan brought them some cakes, which they all ate together. Eran was surprised that the tiny cake was so full of flavor and warmth, and reminded him of his mother. Mosk was struck by whatever he experienced while eating the cake, and drew into himself, unable to speak.

When Gwyn and Augus reunited with Eran at Many Meadows the next morning, Gwyn led them all back to Gille Dubh's loch. Augus and Gwyn checked on Eran, and Gwyn drank a little from lake. While the group was chatting, Gille Dubh's rooster crowed, and he and Luridan approached, with Gille Dubh mounted and Luridan skipping. Gwyn approached and knelt to speak with him, saying that the loch was as 'beautiful as always'. Gwyn asked for a few hours at the loch, and then they would leave. Gille Dubh pointed out that trows of both alignments spoke highly of Gwyn, and 'The stars still shine on you . . . In all skies.' Gille Dubh saw Gwyn's hiding his true alignment as a betrayal, but still wished Gwyn was Seelie King. He granted Gwyn the time, told Augus to treat the lake with respect and not use magic on it, and returned to the bushes. Gwyn and the others stayed and spoke to Luridan a bit, then left.

Gille Dubh went with Luridan to Dharnam to meet again with Gwyn's group. 'Gwyn offered them two of the extra rooms in the home they’d been given', which they accepted. Gille Dubh brought Eran, Mosk, Gwyn, and Augus gifts: a gold ring, a leaf-like ring, sapphire earrings, and an unknown parcel, as well as an offer of welcome should Augus wish to come to Gille Dubh's loch again. He spoke with Mosk about thinking of lost loved ones, and impossible dreams, which helped Mosk confront his own trauma and loss, and mourn.

Gille Dubh and Luridan appeared in Gwyn's party's home in Dharnam while the group was out, to steal some food, which Gille Dubh looked at least a little abashed by, though he claimed it was Luridan's idea.

When Gwyn's party prepared to leave Dharnam, Gille Dubh, Luridan, and the Gancanagh were planning to travel to the battle with Olphix together. Gille Dubh mostly stuck with Luridan and the Gancanagh, and rode Follow. He also warned Mosk that the Nain Rouge was dangerous.

After Luridan left the group, Gille Dubh alerted Gwyn's party, and said he'd said he'd stay with the healers to offer his assistance.

Gille Dubh survived the battle with Olphix, and 'was doing well'.

## Skills

Gille Dubh can seemingly prepare food that reminds the person eating of good memories. This skill possibly translates to charming objects, as he magicked pieces of jewelry to evoke certain feelings and memories.

He can also play a drum.

## Relationships

#### Augus Each Uisge

Augus noted he has 'much affection for Gille Dubh', or at least the tales Augus has heard about him. Gille Dubh gave an invitation to Augus to come back to Gille Dubh's loch in the future.

#### Eran Iliakambar

Gille Dubh and Eran seem to get along well, and Eran respected his skills.

#### Fallow

Fallow was Gille Dubh's former rooster mount.

#### Follow

Follow is Gille Dubh's current rooster mount.

#### The Gancanagh

The Gancanagh said Gille Dubh is a dear friend of his, and called him a 'sweet rooster-rider'.

#### Gwyn ap Nudd

Eran noted that Gwyn seemed melancholy over potentially losing Gille Dubh's friendship due to Gwyn's 'betrayal', but Luridan noted that the friendship might not be lost. Gille Dubh still respects Gwyn to some extent, and thinks he was a good King. In Dharnam, Gille Dubh seemed to have come more around to the idea of Gwyn being King, particularly the Dual-King, and even gifted him a pair of sapphire earrings, and noted that Augus, as Gwyn's lover, was allowed to come visit Gille Dubh's loch.

#### Julvia Dubna Vajat

Julvia and Gille Dubh met prior to the events of the ice plague, and seemed to get along well.

#### Luridan

Gille Dubh and Luridan seem to get along well, though Gille Dubh apologized to others for Luridan's crassness.

#### Mosk Manytrees

Gille Dubh seems to have a fondness and deep well of compassion for Mosk, to the point he brought Mosk a gift. Mosk considers Gille Dubh almost like family now.

## Quotations

* 'Can I help the two of you?’ the other fae said. ‘Do you need to use my loch?'
* 'It's a sair fecht. Endings with no beginnings, no beginnings yet. Once a time when I came upon mì-àdh, I wandered lost, but found a loch in a forest of magic green. Trespassing upon pure waters, I hoped to go by unseen, but found by the Manytrees was I.'
* 'I have some maps inside that might assist, and but a handful of wisdom that fits in my fist, but you’re welcome to it all.'
* 'Forgive Luridan,’ Gille Dubh said, who apparently always seemed to need to forgive his friend. ‘He is from coarser folk.'
* 'Sometimes it hurts to feel something that doesn’t hurt,’ Gille Dubh said, reaching out and placing his hand on Eran’s knee. ‘Leave be.'
* '‘They took your starlight,’ Gille Dubh said gravely, looking up at [Gwyn].'
* ‘It’s a sair fecht, Gwyn ap Nudd, when we need a Dual King.’
* To Mosk: ‘I want things I can never have,’ Gille Dubh said. ‘I don’t only imagine futures that are possible, but also the impossible ones. That all my friends who are gone, will be back with me. That my old rooster, Fallow, will be friends with my now-rooster, Follow.’

## Folklore/Mythology

'In Scottish folklore the Ghillie Dhu or Gille Dubh was a solitary male fairy. He was kindly and reticent yet sometimes wild in character but had a gentle devotion to children. Dark-haired and clothed in leaves and moss, he lived in a birch wood within the Gairloch and Loch a Druing area of the north-west highlands of Scotland. Ghillie Dhu is the eponym for the ghillie suit. *Ghillie* is an English equivalent of the Scottish Gaelic word *gille*; Edward Dwelly, a Scottish lexicographer, lists *gille* as a "lad", "youth" or "boy" with *dubh* translating as "dark" or "dark-haired".

According to folklorist and scholar Katharine Briggs, the Ghillie Dhu was a gentle and kind-hearted mountain spirit, or a "rather unusual nature fairy." The Ghillie Dhu was an individual male modern day fairy described by Osgood Mackenzie, a Scottish landowner and horticulturist, in his memoirs that were published in 1921. The fairy was generally timid, yet he could also be "wild".

Residing in the birch woods near Loch a Druing, in the north-west Highland area of Gairloch, he was mainly seen in the latter part of the 18th century. The woods are in a dip alongside a hilly area around 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) from where Rua Reidh Lighthouse was later built. One summer evening a local child named Jessie Macrae wandered into the woods and became lost. Jessie was found by the Ghillie Dhu who looked after her until the next morning when he took her home. Over a period of four decades the fairy was frequently seen by many people but Jessie was the only person he conversed with. Generally of a dishevelled appearance, he used green moss and leaves taken from trees as clothing. As implied by his name, he had black hair; he was of a small stature. His fondness of children is similar to that displayed by the little known Hyter sprite of English mythology.

Shortly after the Gille Dhu rescued Jessie, a group of Mackenzie dignitaries were invited by the landowner, Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, to get together to hunt and capture the Ghillie Dhu. The team of five hunters congregated at the home of one of Mackenzie's tenants where they were provided with a complimentary evening meal before setting off on their mission to shoot the child-rescuing, kind Ghillie Dhu. Despite searching extensively throughout the night, the hunters could not find their prey; according to Patricia Monaghan, a writer on Celtic mythology, the Ghillie Dhu was never seen again.'

The Gairloch Museum, with art by Abe Locke and narrated by Sam Heughan, made an animated video of the rescue of Jesse and the hunt for the Gille Dubh.

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 12 March 2018. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12036105/chapters/31845930. Chapter 16: Leave Be.
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 not\_poignant. "The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague." *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 14 April 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/95883649. Chapter 30: I Hated It All.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 16 March 2018. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12036105/chapters/32210853. Chapter 17: So It Is.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 28 April 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/96646797. Chapter 31: Two Hundred Years.
5. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire.” *Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 30 March 2018. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12036105/chapters/32604021. Chapter 18: Sparks of Revelation.
6. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 26 May 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/98170593. Chapter 33: Soul Crying.
7. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 23 June 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/99730371. Chapter 35: A Prophecy.
8. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 7 July 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/100527858. Chapter 36: The Light Fades.
9. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 21 July 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/101357655. Chapter 37: This Is My Power.
10. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 5 August 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/102269367. Chapter 40: A New Season.
11. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 9 June 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/98951628. Chapter 34: Our Losses - Our Gains.
12. ↑ "Ghillie Dhu". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghillie\_Dhu. Accessed 4 May 2021.