Afan was a warrior of Caer y Bathau who served as guardian of the sacred springs in the high valleys, c. 587 BC. Grey in his beard, he bore the scars of a man who had seen considerable combat.

In the borderlands between Powys and Brycheiniog, a healer learned to survive by trading in secrets both tribes wanted kept. When they moved to claim her, she fled into high country where the west wind itself intervened to save her life.