Shipper's Essay: A Place to Call Home (Will/Bran, The Dark is Rising)
A Place to Call Home
(A Will Stanton/Bran Davies essay)
Probably because of an unusual fixation with rareslash in the Harry Potter fandom, until I started reading Susan Cooper’s The Grey King, I believed that there could be no such thing as an OTP in my life.
Guess what? I was wrong.
I first picked up a copy of the second in the sequence, The Dark is Rising, on a whim. I read it all the way through, understood about two words, and cast it aside, vowing never to touch it again. Of course, though, it very rarely happens that I keep promises of this kind, and when in the bookshop about a year later, I discovered that the first book I’d read was, in actual fact, part of a sequence. I immediately decided to give it another go, found it much more comprehensible the second time around, and fell in love with the writing, the storyline, and the characters.
It is due to be noted that I also fell in love with the pairing of Will Stanton and Bran Davies, which I - and a lot of others - believe to be canon subtext. And here’s why:
Last of a Legacy
Will Stanton is the youngest of ten children living on a farm in Buckinghamshire, and he also had one older brother who died as a child. As anyone who’s read the sequence will know, the revelation of this other brother whom Will never knew about makes Will a seventh son of a seventh son. Will was born on 22nd December, and is described as having “longish straight hair” (p. 635*) which is mouse-brown, I believe, and blue-grey eyes.
He is also the last of the Old Ones - a group of immortals born at various points in time, whose purpose it is to defend the world against the Dark. They are, in actual fact, the Light (and if you want to define the Dark and the Light, then think of them as the driving force behind good and evil thoughts and actions, or picture it as the common image of the angel on one shoulder, and the devil on the other. The Dark is the devil, and the Light is the angel).
Last of a Lineage
Bran Davies is the adopted son of Owen Davies, who works for Will’s honorary aunt and uncle on Clwyd Farm in Snowdonia, North Wales. He is an albino, and is an outcast in his own society - essentially, it is implied that his only friend until he meets Will, is his dog, Cafall.
We learn in The Grey King, that Bran is actually the son of Guinevere and King Arthur, brought forward in time by Merlin (or Merriman, as he is better known in the sequence) at her request, because she thought that Arthur would not believe that Bran was his son (due to the well-known affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, though their relationship itself is only ever implied in the sequence).
Physically, Cooper describes him as “drained of all colour, like a shell bleached by the summer sun” (p.483), with eyes that are “yellow, tawny, flecked with gold, like the eyes of an owl” (p. 637).
Between All Times
The first thing that either of them ever says to the other is Bran’s question, “‘Are you hurt?’” (p. 483) on Cadfan’s Way. This indicates an immediate concern for Will, and though it could be seen as just being polite, considering that they’ve never met before, it is repeated often throughout The Grey King, from both of them. For example, when Bran says “‘I knew, and I ought to have remembered’” (p. 490).
“‘It’s not a problem. It’s that Bran. It’s just - oh dear, you wouldn’t understand.’ Jane poked dolefully at a tuft of grass.
‘They’re waiting for us,’ Barney said.
High up on the path beyond the farmhouse, beside another gate, the two small dark figures stood turned, looking back.” (p. 648)
“Up on the highest ridge of the slope, looking out over the Lost Land and the city that seemed to govern it, Will and Bran stood together, outlined against the blue sky.” (p. 664)
“She heard the sound of the music again, lovely and elusive, and she saw Will and Bran step together on to the bright road of light and move away, over the river, through the air, into the haze, and towards the Lost Land.” (p. 665)
These three quotes all emphasise Bran and Will’s closeness and togetherness throughout the course of Silver on the Tree, and the effect that it has on the Drews, and especially Jane, who seems to have developed a crush on Will towards the end of Greenwitch, and as such, seems to see what’s going on between him and Bran much more clearly.
The effect of their relationship on Jane is further strengthened by these quotes from Silver on the Tree: “‘No,’ Will said, glancing at Bran. He offered no explanation for the total finality in his voice. Jane felt herself resenting the feeling of exclusion that was growing in her.” (p. 640) and “She felt a vague formless resentment of the way [Bran’s] presence somehow complicated their relationship with Will” (p. 645). There are also several instances which make her sound very much like a jealous girlfriend when she speaks to Bran. For example, when she says, “‘We’re all marching along as if everything was ordinary but we just can’t go on pretending to one another.’” (p. 649), which, though it is interpreted by Will as a request for information, could easily be interpreted otherwise, as a request for an explanation or confession of the relationship between the two boys.
“Instantly Bran’s cold golden eyes were on it; then up glaring at Barney, fierce, accusing.
‘Was that you blowing the horn?’
Will said quickly, ‘No, of course not, it was me. Calling, like I said. Calling you, and them.’
Something in Jane’s mind flickered at the note in his voice: a small strange difference, so slight that she could not be sure that she was imagining it.” (p. 638)
This quote demonstrates a certain protectiveness that Bran feels towards Will, though it doesn’t quite make sense why he’d be upset about Barney blowing the horn, it seems almost as if he doesn’t like the idea of Barney getting close enough to Will to be able to sound it. Will is also quick to reassure him, and Jane informs us of the difference in Will’s voice from the last time he spoke, meaning that there is obviously a change from the way he speaks to Bran to the way that he speaks to other people. The final point concerning this quote is the use of the comma in the middle of “‘Calling you, and them.’” Grammatically, the use of a comma in front of the word “and” is not necessary - and Cooper rarely does put one in -, unless it’s to signify a pause between the two parts of the sentence. The pause itself makes it seem that Will only adds the second part as an afterthought, or to stop people from suspecting his feelings for Bran (because he is, after all, only twelve, and what twelve-year-old - Old One or not - would willingly admit to having more-than-friends feelings towards anyone; boy or girl?).
“‘[Bran] belongs to this age just as much as we do’” (p. 659)
This sentence shows us Will’s tendency to jump to Bran’s defence, even when there is no real cause. Simon, Jane and Barney only asked who and what Bran was, and one of the first things Will says is this, probably to make sure that they won’t treat him like an outsider.
“[Delight] was singing all through him, he scarcely knew that the others were there. Except one of them.
‘Bran?’ he said. ‘Bran? Do you feel it - do you -’ He flapped one hand impatiently as he found he had no words; but then looked and knew that he had no need to, from the rapt astonishment on Bran’s pale face.” (p. 663)
In this, the first thing to say is that, effectively, this feeling makes Will forget that there is anyone but him and Bran in that time and place. Secondly, we should note the communication-without-words that takes place: Will tries to explain the feeling, but he doesn’t need to, because Bran can feel it too.
“‘I am not a part of your stupid quest any more, I don’t care what happens to it. And Cafall was never a part of it either, or a part of your pretty pattern. He was my dog, and I loved him more than anything in the world, and now he is dead. Go away.’” (p. 533)
“He saw Bran begin climbing away up the hill, diagonally, in an obvious effort to avoid him.” (p. 538)
“‘Tell me, Will, have you had some sort of quarrel with Bran?'
Will thought: and that’s what you wanted to ask me, with the cup of tea, because you are a kind soul too, and can feel Bran’s distress…” (p. 547)
“Will heard again in his mind Bran’s anguished cry as the dog Cafall was shot dead, and heard his cold dismissal: go away, go away… And for a second another image, unexpected, flashed into his mind out of the past: the strong, bony face of Merriman his master, first of the Old Ones, cold in judgement of a much-loved figure who, through the frailty of being no more than a man, had once betrayed the cause of the light.” (p. 548)
These four passages are part of Will and Bran’s first major disagreement, which results in their not speaking to each other for a while. The relevance here is that every relationship is going to have at least a few quarrels in it, whether they be small or large, and the possibility of Will and Bran being together would be severely lowered if not for this occurrence. We also learn shortly after this, that they both possess the ability to work through such arguments. The last passage is particularly important because it shows Will, the Old One, fully realising that the Light is a harsh master - enough to seem uncaring, and perhaps too harsh for Bran to be able to deal with at this point.
“It was a strange sly smile; Will was not sure that he liked it.” (p. 491) and “He did not look at Bran; he disliked the shadows of crafty arrogance that this talking had put over the other boy’s face. It was a pity, it shouldn’t be necessary; one day he would take it away…” (p. 491) are both examples of Will’s want to try and make things better for Bran, even though they haven’t known each other very long, as well as his acknowledgement of the way Bran is generally treated by the world in general outside Clwyd Farm.
“Will turned to Bran, standing hesitantly nearer the fire, and beckoned him. Bran came forward very slowly, feet unwilling as if they swam against treacle, and stood at his side. The light from the torches on the walls shone in his white hair.” (p. 518) This image is perhaps one of the most endearing in the whole sequence, portraying the trust that Bran places in Will, especially seeing as he is quite obviously afraid. The last sentence shows us of Will’s attention to detail, at least where Bran is concerned (which is backed up by the fact that Bran is the only character that Will himself has described in detail in his narrative), and another quote which shows this is his observation that “a mocking note slid again into [Bran’s] clear voice, perceptible just for an instant” (p. 485).
When Bran is targeted by the warestone, it first tries one course of action, which fails, and then a second which succeeds. The fact that the first route is to try to separate him from Will and that the second is through Owen telling him about his mother’s connections to the Brenin Llwyd may or may not have anything to do with that, but it’s an interesting fact to note. “He was being influenced subtly to turn against Will. Bran felt pleased with himself for noticing so soon.” (p. 565)
“Something in the way Bran spoke was making him oddly uneasy, and he did not want to think about it too closely.” (p. 498)
“Controlled again, but cheerful, he gave Bran a sideways, rather shy glance.” (p. 556)
These two quotes are the ones that make the feelings between Will and Bran seem most plausible, and especially the first one, which would be typical of a young boy or girl with a crush that they didn’t know about, and the second indicates subconscious, if not conscious acknowledgement of Will’s emotions.
“[Loving] bonds,’ Merriman said, ‘are outside the control of even the High Magic, for they are the strongest thing on all this earth.’” (p. 770) This is probably the most-quoted phrase from any of the books in the sequence. It talks of both platonic and romantic love, and Merriman says it in reference to Owen Davies and John Rowlands in particular, but it could easily refer to Will as well, as Bran’s best friend and potential love interest. The fact that they “are outside the control of even the High Magic” means that this could very well be seen as a way to reverse the consequences of Bran’s decision at the end of Silver on the Tree, and make him remember the events of the rising. However, even if it doesn’t, the choice to remain was a good one on his behalf, because even if Will can never have the Pendragon, he will still have Bran, and in the end, Bran is the person who he fell in love with in the first place.
Will/Bran fanfiction by Natalka
The Dark is Rising Slash Archive
Clear Skies’ Profile
The Book of Gramarye
The Lost Land
Wonderful Journey (the official Will/Bran essay at ship_manifesto)
*Page references are taken from the UK paperback issue of the blockbuster edition, published in 1984.