Characters in "The Grey King"

• Will Stanton, at the start of this book, is recovering from hepatitis. He is under strict orders from the doctor that he can't go to school for at least a month, so his mother sends him to Wales to recover with his uncle, David Evans. It is here that he meets Bran and their adventures begin.
• Bran Davies, the raven boy, is an albino boy with golden eyes, of about the same age as Will. Bran is a loner. He has no friends at school and he isn't allowed to go out after school. His name means 'raven' in Welsh, and is possibly named for King Bran Fendigaid (the Blessed), who was a Celtic God known from both Welsh and Irish mythology and who was later mortalized into a monarch of North Wales. He is a bridge to the unknown. Bran has a white dog, Cafall, who is able to see the wind (Cafall was the name of King Arthur's dog)
• Owen Davies is Bran’s father. Bran’s birth mother, Gwen, had showed up on Clwyd farm with a baby in her arms. Owen took her in and took care of her. Owen proposed marriage to Gwen, but the next day she was gone. She left the baby in the care of Owen. Later he legally adopted the baby. Owen doesn’t want to lose Bran, so he's very possessive of him.
• The Brenin Llwyd, or The Grey King, is the evil lord opposing the Powers of the Light. His breath is the low hanging fog that covers the mountains of his home Cader Idris. The Grey King is very powerful, but he's limitations. He isn't allowed to break the laws of The High Magic. "The Breath of the Grey King" is spoken of with dread in the mountains - a thick fog that descends in the space of a few heartbeats; it drives unwary travelers to their deaths, by hiding the edges of precipices and scree slopes.
• Milgwn: More terrifying than this fog are the Milgwn, huge grey foxes, which he's bent to his will, known to attack in situations where no normal fox would. They are creatures of the in between times, things which are not of this world, although they walk upon it. It is said they can walk through his mist in secret, with no footprint visible to even the best of trackers. Most mortals can't see the Milgwn. Bran however is privileged and can see them. Will is an Old One (or "Dewin", in Welsh) and so he too can see them.
• Caradog Prichard is a corrupted man who unknowingly helps The Grey King. Caradog is a bitter and mean man who is always trying to ruin people’s lives. There is a legend that if someone spends the night on top of Cader Idris, then in the morning, they'd either be a poet or crazy. Caradog wanted to be a poet when he was younger and he spent the night on the mountain. He isn't a poet, but he often acts as if insane. Interestingly enough, there was a real Welsh poet called Caradog Prichard

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