He is the Shield Anvil. Fener knows grief, so much grief that it is beyond his capacity to withstand it. And so he chooses a human heart. Armoured. A mortal soul, to assume the sorrow of the world. The Shield Anvil.
Northern Ireland. I've heard that they have conventions across the pond, but travel is expensive. Also, they might once have had them in Ireland, but nowadays people have to boil their books to make soup. These are dark days.