Thank you for reading Be With Me. This novella is actually part of a much bigger story concerning Demairo and his family, and how he changes from a lonely little boy into something quite different. That story is called Unbound and Free and this novella slots into the middle. Elisud and Briallen’s romance isn’t vital to that longer tale, but I wanted to tell it, because I like Elisud and I wanted to find out how he and Briallen first met and fell in love.
This story is set in Dumnonia, in what’s now modern day Devon, in the British southwest. At the time this is set the Romans controlled Britannia, but there were certain regions where their occupation was barely felt – Dumononia was one of them. The name is what the Romans wrote down, so I don’t know how close it was to what these Iron Age people called themselves, but it’s the best I can go on.
After the Romans left Britain, Dumnonia spread out across the westcountry region, until they clashed badly with the Anglo-Saxons. Cornwall was eventually all that was left of this once powerful kingdom, and why it still has a fiercely independent streak today. That’s why I’ve used little bits and pieces of Cornish throughout.
First Frost is my version of a Celtic Halloween, taking aspects of Samhain and mixing them with the Cornish Kalan Gawv. My original draft took a lot more from that Cornish festival, but since I couldn’t be certain about the apples or how far back it went, I created something of my own instead.
As you can probably guess, though I love history I’m not an expert so my knowledge is sketchy at times. This world is actually a parallel one to our own, but I do try to get things as right as possible, so I apologise for any mistakes.
Thank you for sharing in Elisud and Briallen’s story – I hope you enjoyed it.