I.

Once upon a time there was a Cold Land that was largely forest; wherein it was always November. The Master of the Hunt and his hunters stalked the wild elk in the forest, they hefted their spears and stalked the wild hart and the golden hind and the dire wolf; and at dusk they feasted in the great halls and caverns of their Master, deep below the earth.

In the center of the forest, there was a rather large plain, wherein roamed some of the most splendid horses in all of creation. These were the Horses of King Mar'vel, who lived in the tall stone castle in the very center of the clearing, which was the heart of the land of November. The Master of the Hunt, (whose name was Soril) ruled the forest; but the Land belonged to King Mar'vel, who was also November. So the Master of the Hunt tithed a portion of his kill to the king, in return for soverignty over the forest.

King Mar'vel had two daughters, and that happened like this:

King Mar'vel ws known to love only two things: his horses and his library. These were siutable loves for a king to have. He never ventured out of his clearing save to ride, or for congenial visits with the Master of the Hunt in his great halls of stone. There he would be offered, oftentimes, his pick of the female fey of the forest; sylphs and nymphs, dryads, niads, nixies and pixies and succubi, and the fairest of the faries; would simper up to the king and offer themselves to him. Depending on his mood, the King would ignore them, rebuke them, or apologise to them, but he never showed any interest at all in their feminine charms. Titania, the queen of the Fey; wishing to align her realm with that of November even offered up any of her seven beautiful daughters to wed. Even though he was in a more distempered mood than usual that day; King Mar'vel nevertheless sent a very politely phrased letter to decline. This, of course, infuriated the Queen Titania. So she sent her seven comely sons with the same offer.

This did not make any better an impression on King Mar'vel, and he replied, most politely, that he did not intend to marry with any sort of creature, no matter how lovely; as he was rather conent in his solitude with his horses. But thank you very much for the consideration. (he did not add that truly; he thought that offering your children up for political alliances through wedlock was terribly tasteless and really, Titania ought to be ashamed of herself). But the more politely the King of November refused; the more infuriated grew the Queen of the Faries. She went to the Lord of the Hunt; but he refused to help her; ever respectful of his fellow with whom he shared the cold land. But his daughter, Kassandre, had listened to the complaints of the niad and the dryad and the succubi that her father had commanded not to molest King Mar'vel when he went riding in the wood, and she went herself to see Queen Titania.

Now, The Daughter of Soril, the Master of the Wild hunt was a Sorceress, and she could call upon Hecate and Circe and run through the woods in the guise of a silver wolf; but for her plan she needed some of the glamour of the Fairie Queen. And now; simply wishing to see King Mar'vel embarrassed; the Queen of the Fey gave Kassandre any thing she wanted, with the understanding that if there were any sons born of the planned seduction; they would be given to the Fairie Queen (over a girl, the women-witches could have no sway). And so their plans were laid behind the backs of the two lords of November.