One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness. It was a world of fear. It was the age of gargoyles. Stone by day, warriors by night. They were betrayed by the humans they had sworn to protect, frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Their eggs were guarded by Princess Katherine along with the Magus and Tom, a young lad. Together they fled with what remained of Katherine's people to the safety of her uncle's castle.
Among the people was a young maiden named Sorcha. She was a rather quiet girl, with no family to speak of, but was always kind to those in need. Before the castle had been taken by the Vikings, she lived in a little cottage some ways away from the castle. One night as she did her evening chores, she heard the most beautiful flute music coming from the hills. She was no fool, as she knew very well the stories of the Fair Folk and how often an unwitting maiden or traveler was whisked away and enchanted, children stolen from their beds if they misbehaved, lost forever.
She knew the stories, but she also knew that the Fair Folk were to be respected. Still, she couldn't resist the urge to find whoever was making that haunting melody. She followed the sound through the mist till she came a small figure, his white hair glowing under the moonlight and his elf like ears a sign that he was a Fae. He was dressed like a merry jester with his red shirt rimmed with gold, a purple one shoulder tunic over it with a yellow sash around his waist, dark red boots also rimmed in gold, golden bands around his wrists that glinted as he danced to the tune he created from the flute pressed to his lips.
She watched him, enthralled, for he was quite handsome, almost unearthly. She blushed when he stopped playing and gazed at her, his sky-blue eyes twinkling with mirth.
"It seems a fair maiden has heard the Puck's merry tune and came to dance. Will thou dance with me, sweet maiden?" He held out his hand to her, his smile charming.
Sorcha knew very well what could happen if she said yes, but couldn't bring herself to care as she placed her hand in his. He floated off the ground so his face was level with hers as he took her waist with his other hand and began to dance with her. Madly they danced, her feet twirling faster and faster upon the earth until the world around her blurred with colors and light. She lost track of time and did not find herself tired. They danced until the first rays of the rosy dawn began to paint the sky.
They collapsed to the dew covered grass and caught their breaths. Puck looked over to the maiden and smiled. Never had he had such fun with a mortal before and wished to offer her a gift for such a grand time. But he was surprised when she offered him something first.
"My home is not too far from here, and if you would like, you can rest and stay for as long as you like." She offered.
Puck smiled and helped Sorcha to her feet, letting her guide him to her humble home. The two lived together for some time, each enjoying each other's company. Sorcha was no longer lonely and Puck found someone to entertain him. Over the time they spent together, they fell in love.
Puck was not one to stay in one place for too long and soon felt the need to travel again. Sorcha understood and bid him safe travels. Before he left, Puck fashioned Sorcha a necklace from silver, the pendant a multi-point star, and took light from the Polaris star, setting it within a white stone that sat in the middle of the star. He told her it would be a sign of his love and a way to find her again, no matter where she was. He kissed her goodbye after promising to return for her and vanished.
Sorcha waited faithfully for him, looking forward to the day he'd return. But when she was nineteen, Viking attacks forced her to seek refuge inside Castle Wyvern with so many others. It was here that she first met the Gargoyles. While many others thought of them as mere beasts and monsters, Sorcha found them fascinating and made friends with the leader, Goliath and three of the younger ones. She had been the lover of a Fae, so Gargoyles didn't frighten her in the least.
Tensions between the other refugees and the Gargoyles were high. Humanity always feared what they didn't understand. Those tensions were what eventually led to the downfall of Castle Wyvern and the Gargoyles themselves.
The Vikings attacked during the day when the Gargoyles slept in stone. The castle was taken and the people were taken as prisoners. Sorcha wept as she was led away with the others, watching as the Gargoyles were shattered in their sleep. She continued to weep long into the night, her heart aching for the loss of her friends and unsure of what fate awaited her and the others. Then, by some miracle, Goliath along with four other Gargoyles and their beast appeared, setting them free. Goliath went after Hakon, the leader of the Vikings and the treacherous Captain of the Guard, as they tried to flee with Princess Katherine.
The Magus, believing that Princess Katherine had died, cast a terrible spell on the Gargoyles that had remained behind, forcing them to remain in stone sleep until the castle rose above the clouds. Upon realizing that Princess Katherine was alive, The Magus regretted his mistake, but could not undo the spell, for the counter spell had been burned by Hakon.
Sorcha was furious with the Magus and made her ire known. "They were just trying to protect us, and this is how you have repaid them! All they have ever done all these years was protect the castle and those who resided there! They could have very well left us to our fate but they did not!"
The Magus had no words, because he knew what she spoke of was true. He had made a terrible mistake letting his feelings get in the way and the Gargoyles suffered for it. To atone, the Magus agreed to cast the same spell on Goliath and watch over the eggs along with the help of Sorcha, Katherine, Tom and Mary.
After the spell was cast, Katherine led her people to the home of her uncle Kenneth, where they lived in peace. However, the peace did not last when Kenneth was murdered by Constantine and Constantine planned to marry Katherine to assert his right to the throne, going so far as to threaten the eggs to force to her to comply. The small group with the help of Finella and a bit of magic, escaped from Constantine with the eggs and sailed for the isle of Avalon, where they and the eggs would be far out of Constantine's reach.
However, after a battle with the Wyrd Sisters who guarded the isle, it was discovered that the spell book the Magus used could not be brought upon the shores of Avalon. It was with heavy heart that Mary agreed to take the book and keep it from Constantine, leaving her young son Tom in the care of Sorcha and Katherine. Finella offered to go with Mary to help protect the book. They sailed away from the island, never to be seen by the small band of humans ever again.
They were happy in this new place, free from worry and free from war. Though Sorcha wasn't fully happy. She thought about Puck almost daily and wondered if he had returned to her home and felt betrayed when he no doubt found it empty. Would he look for her? Or would he move on and find another mortal?
Magus was also facing his own troubles in love. A few years or so after they had taken refuge. Tom had started going out into the world to see if Goliath had awakened yet. Such excursions caused him to grow up faster, bringing him closer to their age. Over time, Katherine and Tom fell in love. The Magus was heartbroken, but found friendship in Sorcha that over time grew into love. After a year of courtship, Magus and Sorcha were married alongside Katherine and Tom.
Both couples were soon blessed with children, a daughter for Magus and Sorcha and a son for Katherine and Tom. The children grew alongside the young Gargoyles and when they grew up, they fell in love. They sought to leave the island of their birth and seek out their fortune in the outside world, for surely Constantine was long dead and it would be safe.
Both set of parents gave their blessing and Sorcha gave her daughter her necklace, to pass on to her daughter and her daughter after that. The two children took leave of their home and their Gargoyle siblings and sailed away into the mists, lost to the ravages of time.
But because the children had been born on Avalon, its magic had seeped into them and gave them long life. Their family grew and grew, spanning centuries, passing down the necklace until it reached young Saoirse Norcross. The legend of the necklace was well known to her family and often as a child she dreamed she would one day meet the trickster who had created the necklace.
Saoirse grew up and left her home in Kansas to study in New York. It was there that the events that would change her life forever were about to unfold.