This is part of a series of posts I’m writing to introduce characters from the Castle Keepers epic fantasy series. This week, it’s Isla of Maura.
Isla of Maura
In short: Hauflin; female; large brown eyes, long brown hair, born in Maskil; child; in the opening scene of Shadows in the Stone, her mother gives birth to her.
Family and Teen Years
Isla is the daughter of Maura of Ealasaid and Keiron Ruckle. Although few people know, a twin brother was also born that night. He was sent away to be raised by foster parents in North Ridge. Maura died shortly after giving birth to the twins. Plans were made for Isla to also be sent to North Ridge but her das intervened, and she spent the first five years of her life under Keiron’s abusive care.
When she was five, she became Bronwyn Darrow’s ward. What started as reluctant circumstances, turned into a loving das and daughter relationship. To end their arguments/discussions on a happy note, one will ask, “Do you forgive me?” The other will reply, “Like a sprite does the moon for shining so bright.”
When she was five, she met Liam Jenkins, a hauflin a year older than her. They became best friends.
Hauflins call their mothers meeme and their fathers das.
When Isla was born, Catriona gave her a small medallion with five blue stones imbedded it. Keiron promptly sold it. Her twin brother also got one.
Where I Found Her Name
I found Isla after an exhaustive search for the perfect name for this young girl. When I saw it, I instantly knew it was the right one. I loved it so much, I gave the name to my female sheep 7 1/2 years ago. It is pronounced with the long I, as if you were to say island. And that’s exactly what the name means: island. It is fitting for this young hauflin because for a large chunk of the series, Isla feels like an island, alone and unable to bridge the shore.
When she drank the potion and transformed into a marmoset, Bronwyn called her Button…because she was as cute as a button. Farlan calls her Little Sprite, and Sanderson calls her a young sprite. She calls him Sandy.
History in Real Life
Isla was part of the original cast that ran with the Warriors back when Bronwyn Darrow was simply known as Argon. She was a hauflin thief and loved being sneaky. She prided herself in being able to break in to strongholds and escape without detection. She was the spokesperson for the group and often talked them out of conflict more than talked them into it.
She was a free spirits soul who went where the wind blew her, and she was loyal to her companions and would easily risk her life to save them.
Role in Novels
Isla plays a major role in Shadows in the Stone. She is a smart, observant girl who loves to explore and feels at home in the forest. Since her earliest years, she’s been fascinated with stones, and by the time she becomes Bronwyn’s ward, she has a small collection. She enjoys fashioning the stones into necklaces, of which she shares with her family and friends.
In the first book, she is instrumental in bringing Bronwyn and Alaura together.
Isla plays a minor role in Scattered Stones even though the story is focussed on finding her. She jumps into the spot light again in Revelation Stones where she tries to find her way after enduring five years in a prison.
The first two paragraphs in Revelation Stones finds her here:
The cool evening air brushed loose strands of Isla’s brown hair from her face. The breeze caressed her skin, slipped down her neck and into her cotton shirt. The dark material had seen better days, but it provided basic protection against the elements. Not that it mattered. She tolerated the weather as she tolerated living.
Isla steeled her jaw as she surveyed Blackvale Castle from her perch in the embrasure, her back pressed against the cold stone of a merlon. She had been in almost every nook and cranny, every room on every floor, including many restricted areas, and every passageway that twisted both beneath and within the bulking, sinister structure. The black stone walls rose from the ground as if fangs from a ferocious monster, seizing anything and anyone in its grasp.
Hidden Secret: Maura’s name spelt backwards is the name of a famous castle in this series.
Diane McGyver 