Epilogue
Sir Francis Drake died of dysentery in 1596. All the historical evidence suggests that he was very happily married to Elizabeth Sydenham. There is no reason to suggest that he had an affair or committed adultery. He is still hailed as a hero and one of the greatest explorers of all time; he particularly made his mark in the county of Devon, where his castle still stands and is open to visitors.
Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603. By the time she died, she had transformed England into one of the most powerful nations in the world; people have called her reign ‘the Golden Age’. Although her attempts to establish colonies in the New World (America) more or less failed, she set in place the powerful navy and the trade connections which England would need to build one of the greatest empires in history. The British Empire would eventually cover a quarter of the globe and control a fifth of the world’s population, and still exists today as part of the Commonwealth. The state of Virginia is named after Elizabeth, who never married. “I am married to England” she once famously said. The Armada Portrait, depicting Elizabeth’s triumph over Spain, is one of the most famous paintings of the age. Spain did not threaten England for the remainder of Elizabeth’s reign.
Sir William Cecil (alias Lord Burghley) died in 1598. He was doubtless one of Elizabeth’s most prominent supporters and it was partially because of him that she had such a long and successful reign. His role in this narrative is largely non-existent, but he was such a key member of Elizabeth’s court that he rightfully deserves a mention.
King Philip II (also Felipe) of Spain died only ten years after the Armada, in 1598. The implication that he was a hot-headed military man is false; he was actually a cunning administrator who claimed to rule the world with paper rather than military might. After the ascent of Philip III in 1598, Spain had its own ‘Golden Age’.
Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia, died in 1615. History records that after he recovered his sea-sickness, he resumed control of the Armada and led the battle against the English.
Aura was right in her prediction that the council would be slow to implement her idea for a new world as a sanctuary to fairykind, and she lost her faith in them once and for all after the Great War of 1914-1918, when many fairies were killed. In 1919 after the Treaty of Versailles, she finally had enough of humankind to create a new world herself. ‘Shaman’ was fondly named after the time when humans and fairies had lived together in peace and, as Aura had said, fairies were ‘respected, honoured and loved’. She never again spoke of Drake.
Poppy escaped from the safe-house on the isle of Sicily some time during the Second World War, probably in the late 1943 or early 1944. How she managed this is still unknown. The council were unable to conduct a proper investigation until after the war was over, by which time she had had ample time to create a new identity. Shaman and Earth times do not correspond, so although she didn’t come to Shaman until the early 21st century, only a few years had passed there since Aura had created it.
Mallos went to the New World, and had a lot of fun with the naked human savages.
The council, furious at being brushed aside, denounced Shaman and refused to have anything to do with it. It would be many years before their curiosity was sparked enough to come and investigate.
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