Feather Vane

Morfran and his twin sister, Creirwy, are twelve years old. On their thirteenth birthday, they will each be given a mission by the Consort of Paracelsus, to become a sorcerer. Before their birthday, they travel with their mother, an enchantress of great renown, to the village of Greeth-Under-Edge where their mother has been tasked with removing four types of magical creatures who have been causing havoc in the village. In this world, it is usual for an enchanter to have to remove one or possibly two types of magical miscreants, but not four. That number has never been eradicated successfully before.

Morfran has feathers on his arms. This is an allegory for disability and leaves him excluded by many people particularly non-magical people called Nulluses. Morfran is bullied by a Nullus boy. This makes his mother so angry that she breaks the magical code which forbids magic to be used on a living being. This is the third time that Morfran’s mother has lost her temper in this way and she is called to account by the Counsel which means that the twins must complete their mother’s mission alone. They must do this in seven days or risk their mother being banished forever.

Will they complete this seemingly impossible mission and win over the people of Greeth-Under-Edge?

This is a narrative with a very complex plot. It is refreshing and quite rare to see a character with a visible disability in a lead role in a fantasy.