` Then why was he on the Wall ? ' Una asked , quickly . ` They 'd all done something bad . You said so yourself . ' ` He was the nephew , his Father had died , of a great rich man in Gaul who was not always kind to his Mother . When Pertinax grew up , he discovered this , and so his uncle shipped him off , by trickery and force , to the Wall . We came to know each other at a ceremony in our Temple -- in the dark . It was the Bull-Killing , ' Parnesius explained to Puck . ' I see , said Puck , and turned to the children . ` That 's something you would n't quite understand . Parnesius means he met Pertinax in church . ' ` Yes -- in the Cave we first met , and we were both raised to the Degree of Gryphons together . ' Parnesius lifted his hand towards his neck for an instant . ` He had been on the Wall two years , and knew the Picts well . He taught me first how to take Heather . ' ` What 's that ? ' said Dan . ` Going out hunting in the Pict country with a tame Pict . You are quite safe so long as you are his guest , and wear a sprig of heather where it can be seen . If you went alone you would surely be killed , if you were not smothered first in the bogs .
Only the XXXXX know their way about those black and hidden bogs .
Dan Father Gryphons Mother Parnesius Pertinax Pict Picts Puck bogs