Title: Two Worlds
Author: Eildon Rhymer
Fandom: The Dark is Rising
Pairing: Will/Bran
Categories: Angst, Supernatural, Drama, Romance, Post-canon
Length: Epic
Warnings: none
Author on LJ: rhymer23
Website: Assorted Fanfic by Me

Author’s Summary: Will and Bran meet up again as students in Oxford, but an unexpected enemy is stirring, and nothing will be the same again, for two young men, or for the world.

Review:
If you haven’t read Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising sequence, then go do so now. Trust me, they’re excellent books, well worth your while (don’t be put off by their being categorized as children’s or YA… or the appallingly horrific movie adaptation).

If you’re still here, then here’s a quick recap you’ll need to understand the fanfic: Will Stanton, the last and the youngest of the Old Ones, is left alone at the end of the books as Watchman for the Light. His mentor, Merriman/Merlin, and fellow Old Ones pass out of time, and his human companions, who are of chronological age with him (about 12), all lose their memories of their adventures. This includes Bran, son of Arthur Pendragon, whom Will was very close to; essentially, Will was Merlin to Bran’s Arthur (though they are of age, so more in the BBC fashion than the traditional Arthurian legend fashion). Also of note: the Light in these books is not love and happiness and fluff the way modern readers often characterize it. While it is the “good side,” it’s cold and stern and notloving.

Two Worlds is not a fic made for marathon reading – it is an emotionally draining read and clocks in at about 128,000, but oh my, is it worth it! Eildon does an amazing job capturing the feeling of Susan Cooper’s original work: the story is strongly grounded in British landscape and mythology, and the magic feels organic and sweeping but somehow subtle as well just as in her books. The first part takes place in Oxford, but things change drastically partway through, and the rest of the story is… apocalyptic is the best descriptor although it’s not quite right. The plot is epic and gorgeous and fits perfectly with the canon.

But aside from capturing Cooper’s style, Two Worlds stands on its own merit. The characters are three-dimensional, often very screwed-up individuals. (Will, for example, struggles tremendously to balance his nature as an Old One and a teenage boy, all without any support.) Will and Bran’s relationship is also not a fairy-tale romance: it’s difficult and angsty and gets all tangled up in misery and anger. They face external but especially internal obstacles to their relationship, rarely managing to even be on the same page as far as whether they should be together or not.

In the end, it’s a complex story about how love does and does not conquer all… or perhaps it does conquer all, just not so easily. It doesn’t exactly end with a definitive happily-ever-after (I admit, that is my one disappointment, although I understand the reasoning), but it does end with a hopeful happy-enough. I apologize for the lengthy review, but truly, I cannot recommend this story strongly enough, especially to fans of the original books.

Two Worlds