The Long Man

As they approached, a ponderous creaking sound filled the air like the groaning of a huge, old ship in a storm crossed with the scraping of fingernails on a chalkboard.
        "What was that?" Jake started, but then his jaw dropped as the Long Man sat up slowly from the hillside and rose stiffly to his feet, chunks of turf and dirt and chalk dust raining from his towering, lanky body.
        "Who goes there?" he boomed down at them.
        Jake and Dani shrieked.

The Long Man of Wilmington ~ Wikimedia Commons

Thought you guys would enjoy seeing photos of the actual Long Man of Wilmington, or as we call him, Aelfric. :) It was so much fun bringing him to life for his brief scene in Chapter One of RISE OF ALLIES. Take a look at the actual picture of him and decide for yourself ~ is he holding up two spears or standing guard in the doorway to the Realm of the Fey underneath the hill??

Below is a photo of his trusty steed, the White Horse of Uffington (374 feet long!) aka Stormwind. The White Horse was one of the first sights Eric and I saw when we descended in the plane on our first trip to England, which was actually our honeymoon! The White Horse is truly impressive, isn't he? A very mysterious figure galloping across the green hills.

If you and I had been lucky enough to have been in England this past summer, we could have participated in the massive volunteer effort to keep the White Horse bright and shiny on behalf of the National Trust ~ kids, too! ~ like this mother/daughter team. (See below) Hard work for a good cause! What a great chance that would've been to be a part of hands-on history. Wish we could've been there.

If you are headed to England, check out the National Trust for cool things to do while you're there. Otherwise, why not look into what you can do to help preserve local history in your own area? We're fortunate the Brits have kept these World Heritage treasures from Neolithic times in such amazing shape. Lots of preservation and excavation is going on at Stonehenge, as well, since it hasn't fared as well over the ravages of the past several thousand years. More to come on that! Well, that's all for now, but check back soon for more behind-the-scenes snippets about your favorite characters from RISE OF ALLIES! ~ xo, Gael

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The White Horse of Uffington ~ Satellite photo via Wikimedia Commons

Click to visit the National Trust website and find interesting things to do in Great Britain! :)