The Stone of the Tree"--the Cloch a Bhile--located at Lough Gur, Co. Limerick. The Cloch a Bhile itself is a large stone (it looks like a tree trunk) which is said to represent a tree growing at the bottom of Lough Gur. At this tree, one could access the Otherworld. It was under the protection of Aine Clí and her son Gearoid Iarla. Nearby, there is still a stone circle, reportedly the largest in Ireland. Were one to climb the branches of this tree, they could access all parts of the Otherworld.

Petrified trees in Tulsa, Oklahoma?

The Fae originally began as rural gods, praised in the early days of mankind. Fueled by the worship, offerings and dreams of humans, the Fae were powerful beyond their wildest imaginations.

But as time went on, the One God came upon the land and with him, a diminished worship of the old gods. The Fae shrunk in stature and in influence, until eventually, they found they were unwelcome in land of mankind. Abandoned by the very people who created them and gave them reason to exist, they were soon chased out of Earth into endless wandering.

It was then that the Fae were approached by the demons. Monsters of nightmare, they offered the Fae a piece of their realm in Hell; a frozen wasteland known as Caina, the First Ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell, where those who betrayed their kin were eternally punished in a lake of unforgiving ice. In return for this land, the Fae were expected to offer up, every seven years, seven of their people to Hell's voracious appetite. Lost without a harbor and left with little choice, the Fae agreed and seven of them were immediately hauled in chains to the chasms of pain and suffering.

The remaining Fae took it upon themselves to remake the land into a pastoral paradise, gilded though it may have been. They rechristened their new nation the Elfhame, named after the first Elven king who had brought them there. Elfhame (or the Summerlands or Faerie as it also came to be known) became a sanctuary for thousands of gods and beasts seeking refuge from mankind. The only remnant of its original hellish origins lay in the river of blood one had to cross to enter it.

But behind the closed doors of Elfhame's kings lay a secret discovery. An island full of beauty and devoid of the Teind, located at the farthest oceans of men's dreams. Avalon. This great island, resplendent with its apples of immortality and called by many names (Domdaniel/Tir Na Nog/Hy Braesil/Atlantis/Thule) held the promise of a new life for the Fae. The only obstacle to possessing it lay in the Fomorians; brutishly cruel gods of the sea who ruled over the island. The battle fought by Elven and Fae to secure the island was long and arduous. But eventually, following the second battle of Mag Tuireadh, the island was secured and the Fomorians, a conquered people, were allowed to marry within Fae bloodlines. Some say the Fomorians went on to become the insurrectionist Shadow Court.

But all was not prosperous for the Fae following the annexation of Avalon. Fearful that the land would be overrun by non-royals, the successive kings of Faerie kept it as their own, silencing dissenters who threatened to announce its existence to all of Elfhame. After several generations, Avalon ceased to be an opportunity for the Fae to live free of the Teind and eventually became a paradisiacal refuge reserved only for the royal lineage... an ethereal place spoken of only in legends.

It is there that Tisandra must go.

Thomas paused. “You must leave, Tisandra” he told her. “You must flee to Earth. From there you will find a gateway to Avalon, where your ancestors reside. They will keep you safe. They will find a way for you take back the land.”

“But how, Thomas? I’ve never been to Earth. I wouldn’t know the first place to look to get to Avalon. Why can't you take me?"

“Because I wouldn't survive, Tisandra. And because..." Thomas told her, pointing at Bobby. "He will take you."

Bobby stirred, wide-eyed. “Excuse me?”

“You will guide her, Wanderer” Thomas told him.

“No offense, old timer, but what the hell gave you that idea?” Bobby replied.

“You have no choice, boy. If you wish to return home, you will guide her to safety.” Thomas’s face was steeled with resolve. “If you do not, you will endanger us all to Kurlos. You will never see your family again and, in all likelihood, die here."

"But wait--"

"I alone know the gateways to get you back. I alone am your key to getting out of here. You will do this for her or be stranded here for the rest of your days. Do you understand?”

Bobby looked at him, then grinned. “You’re bluffing.”

“Leave with her tonight and you will win your chance to return to your life back on Earth.” Thomas told him. "These are your options."

Bobby smirked a bit. “You’re not bluffing, are you?”

“What is your decision? We have little time for you to think it over. Will you guide her or not?”

Bobby paused, looking at Thomas and then at Tisandra. Thomas couldn’t lie. But he sure as hell could.

He looked at Tisandra then said with a mischeivous smirk. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll do it. Long as I get home, I suppose it doesn’t matter if we take a little detour to this Avalon place of yours.”

“Then the compact is struck” Thomas told him. “And to guarantee you are a man of your word...” Thomas rose his hand, palm out, and waved it in a circular motion. Bobby looked at him quizzically.

“What are you doing?”

“Sleep, Wanderer. There is something that must be done before you go.” Bobby’s eyes grew to leaden weight under Thomas’s magic.

“Stop. What---” Bobby asked as he felt his legs slip out from underneath him. The floor. The floor was so comfortable. How could he not have known how comfortable this floor was, before now.

Quick notes: First, Kurlos is NOT a shapeshifter. The way in which he kills first Niamh, then Malacar, is the same means he uses to kill Bobby. The Huntsman. Kurlos strikes a devil's bargain with the death entity in order to achieve his goals (will have to sort out the consequences of that).

Shadow Court plays a large factor in Kurlos's past. It's a sort of winter death cult that believes the original fae were demons/fallen angels themselves and by whom, Kurlos is taught Hibernal Magic.

Associated with the ancient Fomorians (The name comes from fomó: 'dark of the sea'/'giant'/'pirate'). The Fomorians are sometimes mythologically associated with the powers of nature which challenge man: fog, storm, winter, disease, crop-blight.

Shadow Court believes that Faerie was in fact the frozen wasteland Caina, once the deepest heart of Hell itself. Leased to the fae by price of the Teind, Shadow Court believes this land should be returned to its original hellish masters. They are nihilists, striving for the death of the Faerie race and the embracement with Hell itself.

Shadow Court introduces themselves to Kurlos while he is Commander to Malacar's Captain aboard the Hemlock. They slowly enfold him in their rituals and beliefs and reveal to him is legacy and birthright, by introducing him to his demon father, Asmodeus.