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The Faerie Roads, sometimes called the Old Roads, are paths that allow users to move between realms, or to traverse a single realm in a shorter time. Each road is anchored into existence much like a knowe and usable by a particular Firstborn or race. Disuse of the roads causes them to weaken and disappear. The Summer Roads Key appears to allow access to previously abandoned roads.

Babylon Road[]

The Babylon Road, also called the Children's Road is a Faerie path accessible by the light of a candle provided by the Luidaeg.

"How many miles to Babylon? It's threescore miles and ten. Can you get there by candle-light? Yes, there and back again. If your heels are nimble and bright, you can get there by candle-light." -Old children's rhyme

This road leads to Blind Michael's Realm. Passengers must not look behind them, nor ask anyone directly for help. The candle itself blocks the holder from the notice of the Wild Hunt and offers resistance to Blind Michael's compulsion. Certain actions will cause the candle to burn faster.[1]

Typically, the road is only usable by children. However, after Blind Michael's death, adults appear able to use the path.[2]

In the Series[]

  • The Luidaeg creates a candle using Toby's blood and transforms Toby into a child to access the road. While Toby is protected by the candle, she is hidden from the Wild Hunt and resistant to Blind Michael's compulsion.[1]
  • In the early 20th century, the Luidaeg provided August Torquill with a Babylon candle. August has been missing ever since.[3]
  • The Luidaeg creates a Babylon candle from Simon Torquill's blood to lead Simon, Toby, and Quentin to the missing August.[2]

Blood Road[]

The Blood Road is a Faerie path accessible with help from the Luidaeg.

The road can take travelers to Blind Michael's Realm, at the price of progressively torrential loss of blood. A passenger will bleed until fulfilling the Blood Road's price: either the passenger's death or another person's.[1] It is one of the "old ways to travel,"[4] but apparently has been "corrupted" over time.[5]

In the Series[]

The Luidaeg sets Toby on the Blood Road when there are no other options left. Toby fulfills the Road's price when she kills Blind Michael.[1]

Children's Road[]

See also: Babylon Road (above)

Dark Road[]

(Official name unknown): A Faerie path that once belonged to Black Annis. It is utter darkness much like the Shadow Roads. Unlike the Shadow Roads, it is slightly more hospitable to fae of the Divided Courts, who can breathe the relatively warmer air.[6]

In the Series[]

  • The Luidaeg sends Toby's car on to this road, with the two of them within it, to escape from Eira. She says that no one uses it anymore.[7]

Rose Roads[]

The Rose Roads are a Faerie path accessible by Blodynbryd and their Firstborn.

The Rose Roads are governed by the Blodynbryd and they hold the ways of opening of which there are many and varied, but never without cost. The Rose Road may only be used by travelers who have used the Rose Road before and therefore have the right to pass there, or those who are guided by a Blodynbryd or one of their children such as a Rose Goblin.

The Roads appear as an archway lined with roses and vines, and can cut a path between the different realms. Accessing them requires sacrificing blood to an enchanted rose, and passengers must not look behind them no matter what they see or hear. Passengers must not drop the enchanted rose or lose it, lest they be lost on the Road forever, although it is possible to return to the Road after taking a shortcut elsewhere.[8] A traveler may only take help that has been offered, not asked for.[1]

In the Series[]

  • Luna sets Toby upon the Road in order to return to Blind Michael's realm; Acacia sends her back the same way.[1]
  • Tybalt and Toby take the Rose Road to rescue Raj from Annwn.[8]
  • When the Luidaeg pulls Evening onto the Thorn Road in a confrontation, Toby convinces Luna to open the Rose Roads on the debt of saving her life and freeing her from the rule of her father. Luna does it and says her debts are paid, and that it has cost Toby more than she can know.[3]
  • Used by Ceres to bring Toby to her private gardens[9]
  • Toby demands Luna give her access to the Rose Roads when searching for Simon. Once on it, Toby appeals to Maeve for help and she leads them to the skerry where Eira sleeps and Simon is lurking.[10]

Salt Road[]

Mentioned as one of the old Roads that are no longer accessible to the fae.[4]

Shadow Roads[]

The Shadow Roads are one of the Faerie paths, held by the Cait Sidhe and also used by the Candela.

The Shadow Roads are the reason why mortal cats may seem to disappear and appear out of nowhere.[11] Kings of the Court of Cats are most capable of using them, able to hold the roads open for other passengers, while ordinary cats and Cait Sidhe may or may not be strong enough to access the roads themselves. A Prince of Cats must practice in order to become strong enough to anchor the roads himself and to carry passengers along.[8]

The Shadow Roads are the only place that a King of Cats, once killed, cannot come back to life.[8] The Shadow Roads appear sentient just like the knowes; when Tybalt's father was King, the Roads seemed to fight against Tybalt's use.[5]

Those who are not Cait Sidhe find the roads freezing, airless, and pitch black. The passenger's attitude matters; those who fear the Shadow Roads become heavier and more difficult to escort.[8] Leading a resistant passenger is exhausting to the Cait Sidhe, sometimes even fatal.[12]

The Shadow Roads were created by Firstborn Queen Erda, who gave her blood to anchor the Roads.[12] Some fae races, such as the Candela, can touch upon the edges of the roads due to their fae natures.[5] Some cats theorize that the Cait Sidhe were given independent governance in order to encourage them to keep the Shadow Roads functional, rather than withering away like the Rose or Blood Roads.[5]

In the Series[]

  • Tybalt takes Toby through the Shadow Roads frequently as a shortcut or as protection from danger, sometimes even sending her on the Roads without him.[13] At first, he must physically carry her through due to her changeling limitations and fear of the Roads, and the experience is nearly debilitating to her.[11] As she becomes stronger and trusts him more, she is able to run by his side as an near-equal.[8]
  • Toby is able to navigate the Shadow Roads independently after using blood magic to borrow a Candela's powers.[14]

Thorn Road[]

Spoiler warning!
Ahead are significant details from Sleep No More (September 2023). Read at your own risk!

The Thorn Road is a disused road intended for the children of Maeve.[6] It also has an offshoot, the Moorlands Path, which is specifically usable by Maeve's Firstborn if they know to look for it.[15]

The Road was held by Black Annis until her death, when Oberon sealed it.[6] It can still be accessed using the Summer Roads Key.

In the Series[]

  • The Luidaeg reveals that the key given to Toby by Evening Winterrose[11] is actually the Summer Roads Key. The Luidaeg drags Evening onto the Thorn Road, leaving Toby the key so that she can follow them. Together, they subdue Evening with elf-shot and abandon her on the Thorn Road.[3]
  • The allies who were unaffected by Titania's curse somehow locate the Summer Roads Key. Ginevra and October use it to locate the Luidaeg, and later they all follow it to where Titania's Ride is gathering.[15]

Tidal Road[]

The Tidal Road is a Faerie path accessible by the Undine. Traveling it involves being swept up in a wave of water. In the series, Lily uses the Tidal Road to send Toby to the Luidaeg. [1]

Rust Road[]

The Road of Rust is an old road opened for the Gremlins. The Luidaeg mentions that using the Summer Roads Key in the presence of a lot of iron may result in winding up on the Road of Rust.[16]

The Moorland Trail[]

Connected to the Thorn Road, the Moorland Trail appears as a bog. “People used to use the word ‘moor’ to refer to low-lying wetlands as well as remote hillsides,” [the Luidaeg] said. “Language changes. The underpinnings of Faerie don’t. My siblings and I used this as a shortcut, and some of them anchored their skerries here. Ismene and Hirsent and others who liked the freedom of the fens. You can’t get here unless you’re already on one of the older roads and already know the way.”[17]

References[]

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