Biography:
Wooden Heart: Daniel is the first emanation of Atlas. He was spawned in response to the tanzaku Tara left for Atlas during the Nau’gsh Festival – it read, “I wish you were a man, so that I could marry you.” With the Cantor’s help, Daniel makes the grand jeté during the festival. He then takes part in the month-long education of the new Cu’endhari – he learns human language, human and Cu’endhari culture, and importantly, to conceal his true nature. He is told the parable of Theresa and Ashtheresa, which is later revealed by Wyrd Elma to be a piece of propaganda devised by the 5th Matriarch to keep the Cu’endhari in line.
Daniel gets a job as farm laborer in Merenis Port-of-Call and takes a humble apartment for himself. He is visiting Atlas when he encounters Tara in person for the first time. Despite the Cantor’s advice not to meet the second sun by standing there like an idiot, holding out a flower, Daniel does exactly that. Nevertheless, it works – Tara will later say that she wanted to live in that moment forever.
Tara and Daniel become lovers, which remains secret for a time, except that they are noticed by Lady Claris. Claris understands Daniel’s origin because she is also a Cu’endhari, but she resents him due to political tensions between Cu’enmerengi and Cu’enashti. In The Perpetual Rose, Tara reveals to Lord Danak that she feigned a rebellion against the Archonist religion in order to sneak off to be with Daniel instead of attending church. “The Vision of Berries” describes how Daniel decorated his apartment to suit Tara’s taste in preparation for her first visit. On this occasion he gives her a gift – the locket with his picture which she will wear for the rest of her life. Later, in Eden Blues, Tara will recollect her first sexual experience – she was solely motivated by her desire to spite Merkht, especially by having sex with a lowly farm boy. She is surprised by the intensity of the encounter, and by its emotional impact on Daniel.
The following year, when Tara is seventeen, she attends the Nau’gsh Festival with Daniel. He promises that he will always be with her, and that he will find her even when she is forced to go to Volparnu to marry Tenzain Merkht. But despite the sacred nature of Festival Lovers, her uncle takes revenge on Daniel by having the pair ambushed at the foot of the Atlas Tree. Daniel is beaten and thrown off the cliff into the sea while Tara watches in horror. Daniel is so terrified by the story of Theresa and Ashtheresa that he does not reveal his true nature, nor does he intervene when Tara is dragged away to go to Volparnu. At the last minute, Ash follows her shuttle in his mothman form, but it is too late, and he is not yet strong enough to travel beyond the Dolparessan thermopause. This will have ramifications which last for decades – Daniel will never forgive himself for the pain he causes Tara both through her grief and by failing to protect her from her uncle and Merkht. When Tara finally finds out the truth, she will resent Ash for allowing her to believe that Daniel (and also Sloane) had died.
Eden Blues: Tarlach realizes that the emanations share a mental space which is a replica of Daniel’s apartment in Merenis. He theorizes that it is the place they feel the most secure and loved because it is the site of Daniel’s clandestine romance with Tara. Daniel is in the background in this novel until the very end, when he emanates to comfort Tara. She wants him to stay with her, but he tells her he cannot – he is not yet ready to forgive himself for the pain that he has caused.
The Poison Garden: Daniel does not take part in the majority of the novel. At the end, when Tara is upset with Ash, it is Daniel who is chosen to emanate since Tara will always forgive him. When he goes to her, Daniel promises her that he is ready to move forward. However, she has taken the blue amrita, and is able to tap into Ashtara’s ability to predict the future. She already knows what he will say, and makes a number of prophecies. She then playfully seduces him.
In “The Prophecy of Blooming,” it is Daniel who is with Tara when they discover that Lugh has put out a sport – flowers specifically for Owen.
The Perpetual Rose: Daniel is present, but does not figure into the action.
The Portable Grove: Daniel has a brief liaison with Ellery during the second experiment. He participates in the ninth experiment along with Ari and Jamey. On the surface, it seems as if the purpose of that experiment is for Jamey to teach Tara and the others the art of flower arranging. After a discussion where Tara tries to explain the concepts of gender and sexual preference to the three Cu’enashti, Tara and Daniel end up having a fight, finally facing Tara’s guilt and anger over Ash’s deception and Daniel’s death. After they reconcile, Tara is visited in Universe Prime by Ashtara in the prototype for his new body.
In the first stress-test, Tara is privy to the cross-pollination requests, and knows there is a mutual attraction between Daniel and Malachi. She sets them up, and Malachi confesses that he is falling in love with Daniel. Daniel encourages Evan to be more open about his attraction to Quennel.
During the second stress-test, Daniel confronts Ailann about his pointless jealousy and his isolationism. He teams up with Evan to seduce Ailann in order to break the Archon out of his shell. Ailann goes along with it out of respect for them – they are both older than he is.
Correspondence Chart Entries from The Portable Grove
| Denotation | Daniel McDarragh (Hebrew: God is my judge; Gaelic: Son of the Oak). |
| Numeration | 1st Emanation of Ashtara; 1st branch of Atlas; 77 in the correspondence chart. |
| Age | 19 |
| Hotness | 8/10 |
| Vital Statistics | 1.822 meters tall, cock size 16.51 cm when erect. |
| Description | Incredibly thin and weedy, pale, dark, mid-length hair which falls into his eyes. Handsome in an adorable puppyish way with a lopsided grin. Wears loose-fitting tunics made of clearly organic rough weaves, boots, practical trousers. |
| Skills | Migrant agricultural worker; sweet natured, allowing him to charm his way through most situations. |
| Sexual Prowess and Kinks | Sadly normative. Endearingly awkward in bed. |
| Average Duration of Play | 15 minutes, 39 seconds. |
| Totem Tree | Prunus persica, the common peach. |
| Fixed Star | Alnilam, arrangement of pearls (ε Ori). |
| Color |  |
| Esoteric Symbol | The minchiate trump La Speranza, hope |
| Function | Creative inertia. |
| Official Title | Ard-rí an chroí (High King of the Heart). |
| His Prophecy | The first blossom never fades. |
| Dessert | Chocumber-nau’gsh cupcake |
Persistence of Weeds Addendum
| Branch Growth Characteristics | Natural branch growth. Used as a template for his half-brothers on Goliath, Manasseh and Anthony. |
| Nul-history | Joined with Davy and Dermot before becoming a part of the Atlas entity. |
| Proto-conscious Root Concept | Flowering, designated Sex. |
| Prime Number of Energy Resonance | 389 |
| From Self-Portraits Not-of-Me II: Baby Pictures by Driscoll Garrett |  |