Author’s Note
I have a soft spot for this story, because it lets me play with my academic research interests: fantasy, medievalism, and romance! There’s a lot of folklore sprinkled in here, primarily Eastern European, borrowing from legends about fairies and wolves and enchantment; there’s a nod to some medieval history, and some Roman history, with Julian’s name. As usual, Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is a fantastic treasure-trove of folkloric trivia, and Katharine Mary Briggs’ work on fairies and folklore is an excellent starting-point for exploring more.
The iele in particular are Romanian forest-spirits mainly known for playing haunting music and seducing humans, particularly handsome young men. (They’re more traditionally female, but, for story purposes, I’ve played with
