Darkain is an Unseelie Sidhe Wilder of House Eiluned and a member of the Shadow Court.
Overview[]
Darkain is the younger brother of Baron Aubergin of the Kingdom of Apples. The two have a strong sibling rivalry. In the story "Rebirth," Darkain returns to his brother's freehold in the Catskill Mountains on Samhain after a year and a day of exile after being named an Oathbreaker.
Exile[]
The events leading to Darkain's exile are as follows. Aubergin suspected some of his loyal retainers were conspiring against him and Darkain ended up taking an oath to expose them. The only way he could think to do it was to take on his Unseelie nature and join the conspirators. Not only did he join them, but he became their ringleader and worked to overthrow his own brother. He simply wasn't subtle about it. His association with them drew Aubergin's attention to his supposed friends. When the plot was uncovered, Darkain couldn't admit that he had deliberately sought to bring them down because it would have weakened the case against them, making it look like entrapment. So he remained silent and entered exile with the rest. However, he couldn't return to his brother even later and explain because he had to become Unseelie to accomplish what he did and once he had "launched (him)self upon that path, (he)... had to follow it to its conclusion."
Return[]
During his exile, Darkain learned much about the Unseelie side of himself and was ultimately recruited by the Shadow Court. He returned to bring truth to his former freehold. He returns riding a motorcycle (an instrument of Banality!), which he left outside oof the freehold grounds, and a bag of Iron shavings, a gift for his brother to remind him of the world Aubergin has denied and which is as much part of his nature as Glamour is. He demands a Trial by Fior to prove the rightness of his path. His brother honors his request but in an unexpected way. He makes Darkain the Lord of the Samhain Revel and commands him to speak about the Unseelie Code, but then also geases him to speak what he knows of the Shadow Court. Darkain realizes that this endangers both him and his brother but both count on the Samhain Mists to erase the memory of it from any who could harm them. However, Darkain agrees and begins the revels, but instead of sitting and speaking, he gives his first lessen. He sees a fae woman dancing in the crowd named Monica and pursues her first, spending the evening with her before returning to the festivities.
Samhain[]
Eventually, Darkain and Aubergin begin to talk, but not before Darkain tries to make a second point by jumping through the Samhain bonfire, to the shock of all present. He succeeds but Aubergin is so frustrated, Darkain goads him into fighting with him. It is a close match that ends inconclusively (when both almost roll into the fire). Aubergin regrets loosing his composure, but Darkain says that's what Samhain is about. As the two continue to talk, with Monica and Aubergin's eshu consort for the night, Lucas nearby, Darkain reveals he spent time with "the Prodigals, the Thallain, the witches, and the wolves" who taught him to revel in the inner darkness, live without shame, and prepare for the coming, inevitable, Endless Winter. He and his brother spend the rest of the night speaking of the true Shadow Court, or at least what Darkain knows of it, being far from its center of power. Though in danger, he decides to "Risk all, lose all." He admits that he is committed to seeing that the fae survive the end of the Dreaming.
As the two brothers talk, other fae of the court start jumping through the fire as well. Some back down, some succeed, and others get hurt, including Otho, Aubergin's troll bodyguard. Aubergin sees it as pointless. Darkain counters, asking him how he can pass judgment without having experienced it.
The Morning After[]
In the morning, Darkain leaves on his motorcycle before his brother awakens. Monica goes with him. He tries to give her a reason not to follow him into the darkness but she persists. She asks him why he didn't stay with his brother. He says he left a part of himself there that his brother won't recognize for some time... a seed planted in his soul (rosemary for remembrance) and a gardener to tend it. It is heavily implied that the eshu Lucas is working for Darkain to help convert Aubergin.
Image[]
Though still comely in the unearthly way of the sidhe, Darkain’s appearance had taken on an air of wildness. It is a desiccated beauty. He moves with the grace of a cat on the prowl. His long, raven hair hangs in a series of braids that do not conceal his shaven temples. He wears unadulterated black, from his loose-fitting silk shirt and leather jacket to his black, tight-fitting jeans and ebony-studded, knee-high boots. Everything about him points to a transformation that goes beyond the physical, that has infused his personality with the darkness from the shadows that lurk on the fringes of the Dreaming.
References[]
- CTD. The Shadow Court, pp. 7-15.