There are fae here who would like to ask you questions, but I’ve dealt with them. You don’t want your time here to be turned into one of their pieces, believe me. There are, as you would expect, fae who like to shine a light on the chaotic nature of the world, who like to take moments and shape them to something different, who take the smallest dissenting voice and make it sound like that is the true feelings of the populace, and they are as dangerous as any marsh light you would see.
Not all of them are like that, I will concede, but here, in the fae, it is better to be safe than to become the figurehead for something that could end up with you being shown as the bringer of destruction and discovery to a peaceful Court.
You laugh? You think that because there is a similar system in your world that the safety assured you in the small, low budget documentaries shown to the select few who seek them out will wrap around you here? Freedom of speech is not the shield here that it is your world.
Perhaps in your world there are not the inherent power imbalances there are in the fae. Perhaps in your world the systems, the checks and balances, for the presentation of the world in a factual way are different, with the power theoretically belonging to everyone but the ability to capture and distribute that reality controlled by the few. I have heard that there are secrets that have been uncovered, consciousness raising, reality shaking stories told to those who need to hear it, but perhaps there is not, and the myth is perpetuated to keep the dream of freedom alive. There are always debates about the reality of a situation, and though the idea of multiple realities is given lip-service among the new generations, there is still the pursuit of ‘truth’ and ‘freedom’ and ‘honour’ with such conviction and fervour that it is a wonder mortals have not made it a concrete thing to be pinned down and examined.
Still, there are those of your people who do shine a light on things that would be left unseen if those who it threatened were the ones the only ones who could legitimise the content. It is a hard battle these people fight, and it is a battle worth fighting. Of course, to gain the attention of the populace, some gatekeepers must be passed, some powerful allies must be found, or they must find a way to bypass them all together.
Here, it is simple. There are some things made that will not be seen because the bias is so clear, the twisted truth as difficult to believe as a promise from an illusion, and these things die their natural death. Sometimes though, the reasons behind the creation of such things is not seen, for years, for generations, in some cases perhaps never. Reality has value, truth has value, but it still must be sifted, the oats from the chaff, for what will be planted in the field for next season.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Not so different
You have noticed the silver balls, haven’t you? The ones that the fae have been holding, or checking, or waving around as extensions of a gesture, and you feel the are familiar. You should, because they are the very thing that you would have used to call for directions to head away from this woods in the first place, had the magic not fouled up technology the way it does. That is one thing about magic, it and technology don’t mix well, and so the fae come up with new ways to use the ideas of technology. There is, as there always is when changes comes whispering in the winds, confusion and debate and arguments about the value of those silver balls, and some of the more traditional rue the invention of the seemingly innocuous things. This is a debate you are probably familiar with. If the fae weren’t as long-lived, the debate here would probably rage as hotly, and as spasmodically, as it does in your world, but the truth is that shifts in tradition are gradual here, though the ability of the silver balls outstrip anything your mortal inventors can come up with. That is the benefit, and the down side, of magic, changes are amplified and extended and turn into their own beasts soon enough.
But it is not the magic that is the cause of the debate here, but the need for the silver balls. They are seen as quaint but unnecessary by most, though there are enough hanging from belts to make a lie of that statement, and there are enough moments that are captured in clarity and fog that the use of them has shifted. The idea was based on the scrying balls, large marble and obsidian creations forged with a magic so strong none can break it, but the underlying magic was simple, and when someone figured that out. Well, you can see the result yourself. Unlike the scrying balls, these little silver ones are more shifting to be more for the collection of images and information, providing an easy to access store that means a fae never really feels alone. They do not wish to, not in these dark times. You think I wander the forests to keep an eye out for mortals alone? No, I spend much of my time seeking the fae who have strayed too far, took a wrong turn, who encountered something they were not prepared for, and I too use the silver balls, called Argons for ease, to find people. I care not if they cause concerns for memory, for self-reliance, for attention span, they are not only the source of much entertainment and the holder of memories and moments in time. They are a safety net in a time when the world is not as safe as it once seemed. Who am I to say that they are good, or bad, or otherwise? I have my own argon, and I use it as much as I do, for what I will. Though I do sometimes wonder at the cost of safety.
But it is not the magic that is the cause of the debate here, but the need for the silver balls. They are seen as quaint but unnecessary by most, though there are enough hanging from belts to make a lie of that statement, and there are enough moments that are captured in clarity and fog that the use of them has shifted. The idea was based on the scrying balls, large marble and obsidian creations forged with a magic so strong none can break it, but the underlying magic was simple, and when someone figured that out. Well, you can see the result yourself. Unlike the scrying balls, these little silver ones are more shifting to be more for the collection of images and information, providing an easy to access store that means a fae never really feels alone. They do not wish to, not in these dark times. You think I wander the forests to keep an eye out for mortals alone? No, I spend much of my time seeking the fae who have strayed too far, took a wrong turn, who encountered something they were not prepared for, and I too use the silver balls, called Argons for ease, to find people. I care not if they cause concerns for memory, for self-reliance, for attention span, they are not only the source of much entertainment and the holder of memories and moments in time. They are a safety net in a time when the world is not as safe as it once seemed. Who am I to say that they are good, or bad, or otherwise? I have my own argon, and I use it as much as I do, for what I will. Though I do sometimes wonder at the cost of safety.
Satyrs don't have all the laughs
There is another crowd in the market, though they are off to one side, sitting on a gentle rise with drinks in their hands and a selection of small delicacies on tray. See, they are laughing as much as the crowd with the reinvented magics, but they laugh at different things. Come, let me show you something more of the Fae Court.
Here, there is no real democracy, but the denizens are not bothered by this. Not everyone in equal among the Fae and they would consider it ludicrous to have any but the strongest rule. The Court is ruled by the Queen, and at all times there is a Former Queen, a Present Queen, and a Future Queen. So it is for the Summer and Winter Courts, and so it is here. Fae are best suited to such a style, and it is the Queen’s Champion who aids in the administration of the Court, and does whatever the Queen wills best for the Court. But she has advisors, and it is the position as advisor that some covet as much as mortals covert the position of leader, in business or government, in the world outside this Court. See the man there, his dark hair tied back, the silver ball in his hand, standing in the centre of the other with his drink tilting at a precarious angle? He does not look like that all the time. In fact, that silver ball is allowing him to appear so. What he is doing, with some help, is making a satire of one of the more prominent men in the Court. The silver ball in his hand gives him the ability to look similar to the man he in question, and to use sections of words spoken to alter their meaning. This is a simple thing for the fae, they use what someone has said and done and use it to make something new, and mostly mocking. If I remember, this is not something you are unfamiliar with.
While these are not for positions of true leadership, they are reminiscent of the way mortals take and shape recorded moments of leaders’, or those who wish to lead, lives and make a point with them. They show that one man said the same thing so many ways it turned around and became its opposite, they replay the moment another said that he exaggerates and unless it’s in writing he should not be trusted. And they laugh at the attempts other prominient figures have made to use the same silver ball to reach those who would support them, because the attempts have been clumsy and stilted. Advisors and leaders are not aware of the subtle nuances of this crowd, and they make mistakes, and those mistakes are shown again and again and again, in ways that they never would have thought of. It is this group who show you the underlying differences between those who seek power, and those who would be subject to it. The former take themselves far too seriously.
Here, there is no real democracy, but the denizens are not bothered by this. Not everyone in equal among the Fae and they would consider it ludicrous to have any but the strongest rule. The Court is ruled by the Queen, and at all times there is a Former Queen, a Present Queen, and a Future Queen. So it is for the Summer and Winter Courts, and so it is here. Fae are best suited to such a style, and it is the Queen’s Champion who aids in the administration of the Court, and does whatever the Queen wills best for the Court. But she has advisors, and it is the position as advisor that some covet as much as mortals covert the position of leader, in business or government, in the world outside this Court. See the man there, his dark hair tied back, the silver ball in his hand, standing in the centre of the other with his drink tilting at a precarious angle? He does not look like that all the time. In fact, that silver ball is allowing him to appear so. What he is doing, with some help, is making a satire of one of the more prominent men in the Court. The silver ball in his hand gives him the ability to look similar to the man he in question, and to use sections of words spoken to alter their meaning. This is a simple thing for the fae, they use what someone has said and done and use it to make something new, and mostly mocking. If I remember, this is not something you are unfamiliar with.
While these are not for positions of true leadership, they are reminiscent of the way mortals take and shape recorded moments of leaders’, or those who wish to lead, lives and make a point with them. They show that one man said the same thing so many ways it turned around and became its opposite, they replay the moment another said that he exaggerates and unless it’s in writing he should not be trusted. And they laugh at the attempts other prominient figures have made to use the same silver ball to reach those who would support them, because the attempts have been clumsy and stilted. Advisors and leaders are not aware of the subtle nuances of this crowd, and they make mistakes, and those mistakes are shown again and again and again, in ways that they never would have thought of. It is this group who show you the underlying differences between those who seek power, and those who would be subject to it. The former take themselves far too seriously.
Not all that glitters is new
The Fae Court is like any other, they have their darkness, and their light, and as with all creatures able to communicate and possessing a wish for shiny things, they have a marketplace. It is off to one side of the main buildings, half under the protective arches woven by the fae with a skill for construction, half beneath the open sky and subject to most of its whims. There are enough protection spells that neither the goods nor the sellers are truly effected by rain or anything stronger or colder. Be careful not to touch anything as we walk the rows, wanderer, these things are as deadly as they are beautiful and in some cases the most innocious are the ones most likely to cause you harm. But that is not what I have brought you here to see.
In the clearing, do you see the crowd, laughing and clapping and chatting quietly in moments of applause? Yes, the one with the small silver balls at their belts. Walk quietly with me and I shall tell you a secret, that is no secret to the fae but that mortals seldom hear. Each act of magic, of creation of nothing out of something, is more than difficult, and it is not with ease that such things are made. The original spell, the new way to make flames turn and curve to ones will, anything that has not been before, is a labour of love and talent, which most fae do not possess and in most cases the dedication to the creation of the new is not something that interests them. However, what the fae would never tell a mortal, they do not need to create something new, they can take elements of what has been and mix them in such a way that the outcome appears new and original and unique. Without the knowledge that these magics have come originally from someone else, who is to question the creations these fae show? And since there is a certain amount of art in the combining of magics, who is to truly be offended by this form of flattery? Not that there aren’t some who are, but these are the few, and not the many, and the voices that are powerful in the creation of new magic are not so clearly heard when things are being shifted to form new or different things.
You look a little, disconcerted, is that the word I want? It is no different to using someone else’s artistic creations to make new ones, the profit, if any, is still sent to the original artist, and often there is no profit at all. It is not the way of entertainment to demand new things and reject the familiar. In some cases, it is the combination of the familiar with the unusual that makes them valuable. Sometimes entire premises about the construction of a world are rewritten for the amusement of the viewer. Watch here, see what I mean.
In the clearing, do you see the crowd, laughing and clapping and chatting quietly in moments of applause? Yes, the one with the small silver balls at their belts. Walk quietly with me and I shall tell you a secret, that is no secret to the fae but that mortals seldom hear. Each act of magic, of creation of nothing out of something, is more than difficult, and it is not with ease that such things are made. The original spell, the new way to make flames turn and curve to ones will, anything that has not been before, is a labour of love and talent, which most fae do not possess and in most cases the dedication to the creation of the new is not something that interests them. However, what the fae would never tell a mortal, they do not need to create something new, they can take elements of what has been and mix them in such a way that the outcome appears new and original and unique. Without the knowledge that these magics have come originally from someone else, who is to question the creations these fae show? And since there is a certain amount of art in the combining of magics, who is to truly be offended by this form of flattery? Not that there aren’t some who are, but these are the few, and not the many, and the voices that are powerful in the creation of new magic are not so clearly heard when things are being shifted to form new or different things.
You look a little, disconcerted, is that the word I want? It is no different to using someone else’s artistic creations to make new ones, the profit, if any, is still sent to the original artist, and often there is no profit at all. It is not the way of entertainment to demand new things and reject the familiar. In some cases, it is the combination of the familiar with the unusual that makes them valuable. Sometimes entire premises about the construction of a world are rewritten for the amusement of the viewer. Watch here, see what I mean.
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