CARAAMON: moved My Time with the Seelie to My Time with the Seelie (book)

2011-06-18T04:12:01Z

moved My Time with the Seelie to My Time with the Seelie (book)

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CARAAMON: Created page with 'My Time with the Seelie
A Ranger's Tale One day while hunting in the old woods where few rarely go, I stumbled across the most wonderful and terrible thing I have ever …'

2011-06-18T04:11:06Z

Created page with 'My Time with the Seelie<br /> A Ranger's Tale One day while hunting in the old woods where few rarely go, I stumbled across the most wonderful and terrible thing I have ever …'

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My Time with the Seelie<br />
A Ranger's Tale

One day while hunting in the old woods where few rarely go, I stumbled
across the most wonderful and terrible thing I have ever beheld. The
memories are already vanishing from my mind, and I fear that soon they
will be lost entirely if I do not preserve them in writing. Even if
my memory fails me, however, I know that I have forever been changed.

Tracing the steps of a wayward deer, I found a forest clearing I had
never been in before, though through experience I believed I knew every
inch of these woods. The small clearing was carpeted by rings of little
white fungus stalks with orange-spotted caps. Beams of light filled
the air, dappling the forest floor and illuminating specks of dust
dust, giving it an almost ethereal quality. As I stepped into the
clearing, my foot caught in a circle of mushrooms and reality seemed
to melt away and be replaced by another. It was there I met the Seelie,
the most magical of the fae folk.

As the worlds blurred, I was greeted by a small Seelie faerie that
introduced herself only as Rose of the Seelie court. She was tiny, less
than a foot tall, and would have easily fit into the palm of my hand.
With wings like a crimson butterfly and dressed in a fine but tiny gown,
she seemed to be brimming with magic from head to toe. Her hair and
clothes matched her namesake, a deep red that was almost purple. She
said that she found mortals very amusing, and would like to show me
the Seelie court since I was already there anyway.

As I passed through their land, I found it very unusual. It is the same
in many ways to the real world, but everything seems more alive, as
if enchanted by an old and unusual magic. There are plants there that
I have never seen before, huge trees, broad leaves, and strange flowers.
I am not certain whether it is all a creation of the fae themselves,
or if it's another world entirely. What I do know is that I was not
able to wander as I pleased -- I once attempted to head north and too
far away from their court. However, I simply ended up in the place I
started, as if I had gone in a circle. My tiny host chided me.

I met many more of the Seelie fae on my way. Some wanted me to do
simple tasks for them, such as fetching water or picking plants. If I
pursued these tasks, I often found that they were far more tricky than
I knew, though some were as simple as they requested. The fae truly
seem to place no value whatsoever on material possessions, and will
regard a shell as highly as a piece of animite. They seem to treasure
shiny or colorful things in particular, and once they set their mind
on something it is very hard to dissuade them. I lost a copper bracelet
to one of them once she found she could see her own reflection in it.

As I made my way through their domain, I met many more of their kin.
To watch them at play is more lovely a dance than one you would see
at a ball, and they sometimes shine with motes of light. Seelie are
petty to the point of almost being childish at times, and are quite
apt to play pranks on visitors to their domain. More than once I found
myself tripped suddenly and landing in a stream, or with my hair
mysteriously tied in pink ribbons. Trying to hold them responsible for
anything at all is fairly impossible, and to gain something as basic
as food to eat, I had to make it all a part of their games.

I found out that though their days seem care-free and fun-filled, they
are also at war, of sorts, with another faction called the Unseelie.
To be honest, I found very little difference between the two except
that the Seelie show a tiny bit more restraint at the outright malicious
pranks. The Seelie hold themselves as better than their kin, and they
seem to "war" with each other by playing pranks on each other, more
vicious than most they reserve for their own side. Frankly, though,
I did not see much of the Unseelie and I tried to avoid them, as I did
not want to upset my hosts.

Time behaves strangely in the realm of the Seelie. A day may pass in
the faerie realm while a year passes in reality, or several years can
pass in their realm while reality does not move at all. Sometimes
phantoms of times past could be seen in their realm, and sometimes
old wars would spring up around me, fought as intensely as if they were
real then vanishing upon the first light of dawn. There were times when
I felt like a lonely stranger in their world, but other times when they
welcomed me to feasting and merriment, and I danced with the Faerie
Queen. However, though their domain feels timeless, it is not invulner-
able, because the Unseelie have burned part of their forest and have made
more than one attempt to poison their waters.

Reality also behaves very strangely in their domain. There were times
that I could reach up and touch the stars, which revealed themselves
to be tiny diamonds shimmering in a black expanse of the finest ebony
and jet. Sometimes gravity failed to keep its grasp, and I would float
helpless until the area decided to right itself again. At other times
the trees would come alive and dance with the fae, joined in by the
rivers and the forest creatures. At night, the mist clung to the ground
in whorls and tendrils, flooding the trees with shadow and timelessness,
and drenching the strange flowers in the morning dew.

One experience in particular holds a deep memory within my heart. A
small faerie gave me a quest to bring her the golden heart of life's
stone. I did not know what she meant, and she would give me no further
hints, saying that it would spoil the prize. In time, I decided that
she meant a geode and eventually found one, but she turned up her nose,
even when I opened it in front of her and showed her the golden quartz
inside. I went off again on my search, asking many, but none would
give me hints. Finally I returned to her empty-handed. When I did,
she looked at me curiously and said, "Didn't you know? I just wanted
breakfast." It turned out that she had really asked for an egg.
Perhaps the most difficult task of all was to leave their domain. In
truth, I very did not want to. But all dreams must come to an end, and
I had family to return to. More difficult than deciding to leave was
convincing my hosts to let me go. The Seelie are loath to let guests
go, especially interesting ones. I am sure that it would be easier
to escape if I were more boring. Eventually I had to treat it as a game
as well, fooling my hosts into opening a doorway back into reality for
a game of hide and seek. As I left, I found my horse still standing
there, as if I had not been gone even ten minutes.

If I happen upon that strange forest, I shall try to find them again.
But more and more, I have trouble convincing myself it wasn't all a
dream.
{{Cat|Book}}[[page type is::book| ]]

My Time with the Seelie (book) - Revision history

CARAAMON: moved My Time with the Seelie to My Time with the Seelie (book)

CARAAMON: Created page with 'My Time with the Seelie A Ranger's Tale One day while hunting in the old woods where few rarely go, I stumbled across the most wonderful and terrible thing I have ever …'

CARAAMON: Created page with 'My Time with the Seelie
A Ranger's Tale One day while hunting in the old woods where few rarely go, I stumbled across the most wonderful and terrible thing I have ever …'