Equal Rites

The last thing that the wizard DrumBillet did, before Death laid a bony hand on his shoulder, was to pass on his staff of power to the eighth son of an eighth son. Unfortunately he failed to check on the new-born baby’s sex. This is a story about magic and where it goes and perhaps more importantly where it comes from and why. It may help us explain why Gandalf never married and why Merlin was a man.