Elementals

Just as visible Nature is populated by an infinite number of living creatures, so, according to Paracelsus, the invisible, spiritual counterpart of visible Nature (composed of the tenuous principles of the visible elements) is inhabited by a host of peculiar beings, to whom he has given the name elementals, and which have later been termed the Nature spirits. Paracelsus divided these people of the elements into four distinct groups, which he called gnomes, undines, sylphs, and salamanders. He taught that they were really living entities, many resembling human beings in shape, and inhabiting worlds of their own, unknown to man because his undeveloped senses were incapable of functioning beyond the limitations of the grosser elements.

The civilizations of Greece, Rome, Egypt, China, and India believed implicitly in satyrs, sprites, and goblins. They peopled the sea with mermaids, the rivers and fountains with nymphs, the air with fairies, the fire with Lares and Penates, and the earth with fauns, dryads, and hamadryads. These Nature spirits were held in the highest esteem, and propitiatory offerings were made to them. Occasionally, as the result of atmospheric conditions or the peculiar sensitiveness of the devotee, they became visible. Many authors wrote concerning them in terms which signify that they had actually beheld these inhabitants of Nature's finer realms. A number of authorities are of the opinion that many of the gods worshiped by the pagans were elementals, for some of these invisibles were believed to be of commanding stature and magnificent deportment....

Literature has also perpetuated the concept of Nature spirits. The mischievous Puck of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream; the elementals of Alexander Pope's Rosicrucian poem, The Rape of the Lock, the mysterious creatures of Lord Lytton's Zanoni; James Barrie's immortal Tinker Bell; and the famous bowlers that Rip Van Winkle encountered in the Catskill Mountains, are well-known characters to students of literature. The folklore and mythology of all peoples abound in legends concerning these mysterious little figures who haunt old castles, guard treasures in the depths of the earth, and build their homes under the spreading protection of toadstools.

Fairies are the delight of childhood, and most children give them up with reluctance. Not so very long ago the greatest minds of the world believed in the existence of fairies, and it is still an open question as to whether Plato, Socrates, and Iamblichus were wrong when they avowed their reality.

-Manly P. Hall

Shaken from his Fantasies

[c. 21st Century ~]

Crouching beneath the bottom-most branch, with its brazen fingers drawing lines on his back, he held his breath, he felt tense, panting as slow and long as he could - daring not to move more than he had to.

He sensed that in this moment he should remain extremely quiet - it was all about sense right now. His instincts felt enlivened, enlightened. He was present, he was living this moment - he was transfixed.

Watching the young woman water the saplings with a tear dropper, he could smell her undergarments beneath her dress. He divined her floral perfume, and the light residue of a kiwi spritz hairspray. He was infatuated.

"Chips, come out from there you bad boy" she called playfully.

Shaken from his fantasies he remembered yet again, that he was a dog.

"Chips, get out of there NOW!" This time the voice was unkind and commanding, and he complied, with his head down, the old Weimarner slunk out from under the bush. The siren had called, and he defeatedly obliged.

- Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS, Second Chances

Bless & Mend

His Elvish heritage had bestowed many powers of grace, and one especially was to "bless and mend" as he liked to call it.

Torn claws, fractured wings, foot rot and painful mouths; rheumatism, kennel cough, weeping eye, seeping wounds - all of these he could cure, in the name of the Father of the All.

A feast was then laid out afterwards - mainly consisting of nuts and grains. A soft rain drizzled, beading their furs and scales. Mary was well sheltered by the arms of her tree, which was now worked smooth at its base by her leaning.

- Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

His Diverse Congregation

As he looked around his diverse congregation, Francis could perceive the strife that had afflicted each one sorely.

Every animal present there had known both grief and trial - experiencing loss and hunger, pain and fear.

Some were now separated from their families, a few had old and fresh wounds, many were desperately afraid of the night. The life of the wild was not as easy as the mortals might have thought, and so often the seasons were unkind to the creatures also.

Such sorrows bourgeoned when the hunters and farmers would take their liberties upon these gentle beasts.

And so, persecuted by both the elements and the carelessness of men, these down-hearted souls were drawn to the one who loved them as he did.

A donkey wandered into the huddle and took his place beside a balding ram. Some black hens shuffled over to make room.

Francesco made a point of greeting each one individually and took time in doing so. It had become a solemn practice that often involved some healing as well.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

The Language of the Heart

With no books to recite from, he [Francis] had by accident found that this beastly gathering preferred their stories and songs to come directly out from his imagination, whereas repetitive verse and second-hand thought had no meaning for them.

Creatures understood the language of the heart; fresh from the spiritual worlds, he conveyed the higher emotion, which in turn awoke their higher instincts ... for it was not so much the words he spoke (for which they could not understand) but rather the meaning living within, that he could impart to them.

Franco had tried to recite the common prayer, but even this had lost their attention completely.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

The Woodish Folk

A nest of hedgehog and assorted hares; woolly wild goats, an aged domestic brown cow. There were fourteen fox, five wolves and ten tall deer; three tree snakes, two brown, one green, and a weathered horse who had retired from the army.

A cluster of rats to the left, field mice to the right - impossible to count because they kept changing places with one another. Two scraggy sheep beside an old cracked turtle, and an assortment of scrawny wild dogs.

Francis's face was lit with the love of it all - his handsomeness over-ceded by his affection for their souls.

He seemed to be stronger and healthier during these months as Hannah had got to know him more and more. Francis was most at home in the company of the woodish folk and cherished their presence at this special resting-day Mass.


-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

He had a way with Words

Mary's girth had exaggerated with the swelling from an infant pushing tightly from the inside. She sat with her back against her favourite tree, listening to Francesco chant the morning's prayer.

Around the two was a great group who had seemingly appeared from out of nowhere. In the absence of human parishioners, there came the creatures.

He had a way with words, she thought scanning the crowd, who were sitting surprisingly still and appearing quite penitent.

There was a strangely uncommon communal peace there within that glade.

Some of the animals had come from the surrounding farms, pushing through the fences to join them, still in tether.

The small lambs twitched with an excited quiver. It was a big turnout for this Sabbath.

At the very front sat the smaller creatures: spotted bullfrogs with oily hides, butterflies and drowsy bats, puffed up sparrows, chatting wrens and black backed squirrels.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances