Before Gil and his cousin set
off, Bruno informs Gil that his apprenticeship is over. Bruno consulted with a man named Francis who
informed him that once Gil goes to see the elfs his training is complete. Francis, Bruno informs us, “was born a son of
Adam but now serves a better father. The
beasts of the wild are in his charge.”
That sounds an awful lot like Saint Francis, and given the overwhelming
references to the Christian faith in the book so far that seems a safe
assumption, but this is a book where the whole point is that nothing is as it
seems, so let’s stick a pin in that thought for a few more chapters.
Of more import to Gil, Francis is a rebuilder of broken
churches. We’ve met Francis. Back in Chapter Two, he’s the robed man who
allowed Gil into the broken Anglican Church during the thirteenth hour of night
to avoid detection by the elfs on parade.
Nerea takes Gil up the river to the local national forest
where they spy on a tournament of the elfs, and for the first time we see them
in all their terrible majesty. A long
parade of elfish knights in full regalia crawl out of a hole in the ground to
meet on the field of battle. The
WinterKing and the King of the Summer Country both desire that their power hold
sway over the earth in the coming months, but both have malicious results in
mind for humankind. Which makes Lammas Day the perfect day to fight this tournament - this will decide how fierce the winter will be.
The tournament itself rages over the hillside, and Gil
finally learns what it means to be a knight.
Contrary to the descriptions of knights by modern day historians – that knights
were loutish brutes who took what they could from the weak – these knights
follow a strict code of honor. They meet
in fair battle, and how one wins is as important as the victory itself. Better an honorable death than an ignoble
victory. This is Gil’s training for
knightly behavior on the field of battle, and it quickly becomes a ‘sink or
swim’ lesson when one knight discovers Gil hiding in the bushes.
Nerea exercises the better part of valor, and Gil stands his
ground to give her time to escape. He acquits
himself well, thanks to his bearish lessons, and this wins him no friends on
either side of the tournament. We see
first-hand the contempt the elves have for mankind as they refer to Gil as a, “ruck
of common clay,” and a “son of the dirt”.
Despite making several attempts on his life, Gil out-knights the lot of
them both in manners both martial and chivalrous.
The only thing that saves Gil’s life is the King of Summer himself. After a bit of banter in which Gil holds his
own, shows his silver hair, and confuses them by his half-human blood, the high
king commands his knights to allow Gil to leave in peace. This towering power commands goes by many
names, the one most familiar to us would be Oberon, but for the remainder of the
book, he is referred to as Alberec.
This chapter pays off the first five chapters of set-up. We get our first naked view of the elfs. No more shadows, no more mists, they are portrayed in all their terrible might and beauty. Everything about the elfs is almost-but-not-quite human. They look a bit like humans, but not quite. They talk a bit like humans, but not quite. They clearly inhabit a world similar to humans, but not quite.
In short, they are alien creatures. They live within the uncanny valley, and with all the pageantry and beauty they possess, they maintain a haughty and deservedly arrogant attitude toward mere mortals. While Gil holds his own in the events depicted, it is clear that his escape with his life was miraculous and largely the result of the rules of the tournament itself. It's clear from this chapter that Gil has powerful enemies, and now we begin to understand exactly why his mother kept him hidden for so long.
This chapter pays off the first five chapters of set-up. We get our first naked view of the elfs. No more shadows, no more mists, they are portrayed in all their terrible might and beauty. Everything about the elfs is almost-but-not-quite human. They look a bit like humans, but not quite. They talk a bit like humans, but not quite. They clearly inhabit a world similar to humans, but not quite.
In short, they are alien creatures. They live within the uncanny valley, and with all the pageantry and beauty they possess, they maintain a haughty and deservedly arrogant attitude toward mere mortals. While Gil holds his own in the events depicted, it is clear that his escape with his life was miraculous and largely the result of the rules of the tournament itself. It's clear from this chapter that Gil has powerful enemies, and now we begin to understand exactly why his mother kept him hidden for so long.
