Sit down, little ones, sit and listen, for your cousin has another story to be sharing with you before he must be finding the road again. A story of a young troll, not too much older than you my friend, and how he learned just how hard the life you live can be, and how wonderful every day of it is.

Many years ago, during our time of darkness before the Resurgence, this land had many of the fair folk from across the great ocean, and there was a small Kingdom that prospered around the mundane colonies, and strove to fight off the growing Winter.

A young warrior that had proven himself worthy to defend the land was a troll by the name of Roland, son of Ulric, and just barely a Wilder he was. But he had stood his ground with the King's knights when attacked by nightmare chimera while training, and he was granted the honor of being invited to the Royal Guard, the King's personal guards. Truly a great honor, and he bore it with credit to his kith for many seasons.

But as the leaves on the trees do color and age, so did young Roland, and he did gain the notice of a devious young Eshu named Karen, and such a beauty she was, but as the rose conceals the thorns, so did her beauty conceal the true feelings in her heart. Young Karen was not the example of Seelie fae that she led others to believe, not at all. She in truth worked for the nearby Queen Melinda, a Sidhe of terrible moods, and a lust for the King's land and pretty things. She became convinced that if the King no longer had the support of his loyal trolls, she could drive him out with no effort at all.

So Karen was sent, her best spy, to charm and enchant, and slowly steal the heart of young Roland into her claws, to betray the King and his oaths. Very good at her game she was, and as the weeks passed, Roland spend more and more time with the young temptress, and grew to miss her smile when it was not present. It seemed her plan would work perfectly.

But while the Tuatha are the ones that placed such a romantic heart inside such a huge shell, they would not also sit idly by to see their creation so abused, and such a pure heart destroyed, and subtly, they worked their own plan. When Karen finally heard Roland profess his love for her, it awakened a seed inside her own soul, one that fanned itself into a flame, and would not be denied. Thoughts of ill intent towards the giant kneeling at her feet melted away like the morning frost surrenders to the sun, and she could hardly bear the sudden guilt and remorse she felt over what she had almost done. Karen confessed her heart to Roland, and begged his forgiveness, something she did not even have to ask the first time for him to give.

No, no, my cousin, sit down...you are so impatient when the story has only begun. When you sleep in the mundane houses, they might tell you such stories, but we are not so, are we? Karen and Roland had found each other's true hearts, and oathed their hearts that Beltaine. It was thought that there could not be a happier two fae, but not all were happy with events. Queen Melinda was not about to be foiled so soundly, and demanded her man-at-arms teach her little defector a lesson. Madigan was his name, and there are few redcaps with darker caps than he. He took to his orders with relish, and set off for the new couple.

They were caught in the middle of a walk along the coastline when he appeared, moving like the wind and brandishing a flaming machete. Karen barely had a chance to react before Madagan was on her, and cut her down before she could turn to face him. Roland was caught off guard, but at the sight of his beloved Karen at his feet, a rage overtook him. The happiness he had felt evaporated in an instant and was replaced by an overwhelming, seething, rage, directed solely at Madagan.

The next thing Roland could remember, he was standing on the beach with Madagan's broken body at his feet, and blood on his hands and clothes. In his rage, Roland had broken one of our most important rules: The Right to Life. Every fae has the right to continue to live, even if their fae nature has been killed or suppressed. While Madagan had only chimerically slain Karen, Roland had broken Madagan's neck, permanently ending his life.

While the Duke could overlook a lesser offense committed by one of his own guard, murder was not something that could be taken lightly. However, the Duke did have a sympathetic ear for Roland's plight, and instead of ordering a banishment or a chimerical death, came up with a way to give Roland a second chance. Roland was ordered to stand in the middle of the freehold's garden, where the Duke passed sentence on him by transforming him into a giant oak tree. Furthermore, the enchantment that bound Roland into his new form was set to release him only when the tears of an Faerie maiden were spilled at his feet.

And so, my young cousins, young Roland stood. Winters began to pass, wars between the mundanes ravaged across the land, and our precious glamour became harder and harder to find. The Duke's freehold began to fall into disrepair, and his subjects began to flee to stronger freeholds. Eventually, the Duke himself abandoned his freehold into the rest of his staff with him. Only the giant oak once known as the troll Roland stood to guard the remains of the freehold from any intruders, as the years passed, even he was forgotten.

So my story brings us to now, my young cousins, and I am afraid that it does not have an ending. For no more has been heard of the tragic knight Roland, or the freehold that he stood to guard until released by an unsuspecting young maiden. Perhaps somewhere north of here, some adventurous soul will find the long forgotten castle, and its long forgotten protector. For all punishments, regardless of the crime, must eventually come to an end, especially for such a tragic heart. Farewell, my young cousins, and may the road find you much adventure.