The Dreamstone is a 1983 fantasy novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh. It includes revisions of the author's 1979 short story "The Dreamstone" (Amazons!, ed. Jessica Amanda Salmonson) and her 1981 novella Ealdwood, plus additional material. The book is the first of two novels in Cherryh's Ealdwood Stories series, the second being The Tree of Swords and Jewels. The series draws on Celtic mythology and is about Ealdwood, a forest at the edge of Faery, and Arafel, a Daoine Sidhe. The Dreamstone was first published in 1983 as a paperback edition by DAW Books, and featured cover art by Cherryh's brother, David A. Cherry. The Dreamstone and The Tree of Swords and Jewels were later republished in three omnibuses: Arafel's Saga (1983, DAW Books) Ealdwood (1991, Victor Gollancz) – includes revisions and a new ending The Dreaming Tree (1997, DAW Books) – includes the revisions and new ending of Ealdwood (1991) Plot summary The Dreamstone begins in a forest called Ealdwood, the last remaining bastion of Faery on Earth. Once, the Sidhe had roamed the world freely, but when Man came and fought wars and spread evil, the dark Sidhe burrowed deep or hid in rivers and lakes, while the bright ones, the Daoine Sidhe left mortal Earth and returned to Faery. But one bright one, Arafel chose to remain behind and guard Ealdwood, the last untouched forest. Men avoided Ealdwood because those who ventured in never came out again. Arafel watched the coming and going of Men in the lands surrounding Ealdwood, but showed little interest in them, until one man sought shelter in the fringes of the forest. She confronted him and learned that his king at Dun na h-Eoin had been killed, and that he, Niall, was on the run from those who had seized power. Arafel tells him that he cannot stay in Ealdwood, but fearing for his safety, sends him to Beorc's Steading, a sanctuary hidden in a valley for "lostlings". Back in Ealdwood, another man stumbles into the forest. Arafel learns he is Fionn, the dead king's harper, fleeing Lord Evald of Caer Wiell. Evald had overthrown the king, taken his wife, Meara, and now claims Fionn's harp as his own. When Evald invades the forest in pursuit of Fionn, Arafel denies him access to the harper. Evald demands compensation for what he claims is his, and she gives him her dreamstone, a