They Cannot Recognise the Goodness in Others

“Once upon a time there were two dogs - Peter and Paul - who were brothers, and very close to one another …

“They would feed from the same bowl and sleep on the same bed, and generally were the best of companions you ever could find.

Over time age weathered them both, and Paul had become quite blind.

“Then there came the day when Paul lost his sense of smell, as well as his sight, and in a confused moment he could not discriminate his brother from any other, and in a moment of fear he lashed out and bit him hard. Reacting to this Peter bit him back, and a fight to the death ensued.

“In a manner of speaking” continued Puck thoughtfully, “this can happen with people - and does happen, all of the time, in my experience - that they become all the more angry all the more feeble that they - especially if they cannot recognise the goodness in others - will only see the enemy, to the detriment of both.”

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Finding Self - Second Guesses- Azlander Series

Ring a Ring o' Rosary

Peter Paul Rubens

“It was a sprite called Gorgon!” babbled Violet.

“Gorgon? Do you say Gordon?”

“No - Gorgon, his name was Gorgon - and he came to collect the blood, and he took it to Romulus as was commanded,” at this point she gazed into space as though she was watching someone or something over the shoulder of Puck, that the rest of them could not see.

There was nothing about Violet that resembled a human being insomuch as the mud that was still caked over her gave her the appearance of a walking talking rock.

“How did you meet Romulus in the first place?” pressed Tweak.

“How is this relevant?” asked Puck, believing that they were getting off topic and into the woods of wasting time.

“We cannot judge this until we know” explained Tweak “because sometimes there are clues in beginnings - beginnings will teach us much of how things started, and therefore also of what they are made of.”

“Continue” he said to Violet, who was quite mesmerised by her surroundings and content to talk in ways that once she might not have before.

“When I was a young girl we used candlelight at night to see by … that is how old I am and if it wasn’t candlelight, it was an oil lamp light, in which there was also a flame.”

“The flame would dance in the dark and flicker with a random regularity and in the shadows that it cast across my little room I could often see a face watching me. I became so used to seeing this face I thought not much of it until one night some years later I was playing a game with my cousins … we had a Ouija board and we were trying to call the spirits of our recently departed sisters; for we had all lost someone with the sickness earlier that year.

“And it was on that night that I saw the face more clearly, and it spoke to me saying:

“Let me whisper in your ear when darkness falls and I will speak to thee.”

“Trust in My power above all else and I will give to thee.”

“And after that game on that night this is what happened when I was visited by Romulus who would come and tickle my in ear with promises - not as a husband would make - yet very much as a husband might do. For although he was invisible I could feel his touch upon my skin and he would pleasure me throughout the night and very soon I believed all that he would tell me, and do all he asked me to throughout the day.”

It was at this point of the conversation that Eve was feeling quite disgusted in hearing how a young girl was so easily taken over by this malevolent and controlling spirit, and she wanted to hear no more.

Whoever Romulus was he certainly had an influence over this girl's life one that brought her to her knees and infected her soul.

Jupiter interjected: “This Romulus was a hybrid of wolf and man. The wolf in him took over his soul long ago and it despises the humanity he wore in form only.”

“I thought that wolves were kindly creatures when studied” Eve pondered out loud.

“To its own kind perhaps, until it’s not.”

Oh so suddenly a memory washed over Eve and momentarily she reminisced of a young man who lay on the bare earth beside a wolf as large as himself, with the wood of Rosary hung down around its a spiky scruff.

“Ring a ring o' rosary a pocketful of Posey”, she said to herself whimsically realizing that the ring of Rosary with a prayer beads, was not some mortal welt.

Puck looked over to her and said reading her thoughts “This is an anomaly, yes, however Francis did live in close proximity to the wolves truly, yet he did not become as the same as them, it was they who became as he.”

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Finding Self - Second Guesses- Azlander Series

Tweak

 Pieter Bruegel the Elder 

Tweak was famous in the Underworld (the genuine Underworld) for his stealth operations: interrupting the human intelligence surreptitiously. So little is known about the connections that parallel the Kingdoms of Dwarves and Human thought whereupon new ideas intersect frequently and develop together.

They also habituate this branch of Faerie, being literally the gardeners of cultivating concepts that flourish later into popular vernacular creating steadfast paradigms.

His qualifying accomplishments were of so many, that Puck did not doubt his expertise or ability. It was Goober’s idea to bring Tweak into the Little Heavens for his sage opinion on the perils at hand.

Tweak was wearing his usual royal blue suit, buttoned with gold, and trimmed with pearls. His long beard was twined and threaded with fresh vines, his grey eyes were stern, but not unkind.

Eve couldn’t help but think how cute the Dwarf appeared - who also could read her thoughts, and was not happy with her demeaning judgements. He ignored her stares and politely listened to Jupiter, Puck and Goober’s ideas about what had happened to the great Lake and what was to be done.

“I am essentially an idea’s fellow, you understand - and I do not have expertise in sewerage and its removal.” He frowned deeply as he said this.

Goober nodded in assent, then cut him off from adding anything further.

“Master Tweak, Governor of all ideas commodious, we need desperately your breadth of thinking - for as you can see, we have nothing - nothing to do but to watch this disaster grow with every moment.”

The zombie four started up their moaning again from the spot they were tied to - a willow tree - that was just far enough for them to be seen - but far away enough to be somewhat quieter.

“You know that is why the mouths are often sewn shut - to keep them from talking incessantly …"

Eve shuddered - what on Earth - did he just say? Tweak did not look so cute to her anymore.

“Well,” remarked Tweak thoughtfully - “contrarily, the very first thing to do is to hear what those four want to tell us. They may be able to shed light on this matter.”

“What if we allow it one at a time?” Puck added.

“Fine by me - go fetch the smallest and we will begin there.”

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Finding Self - Second Guesses- Azlander Series

Osmosis

Tears splashed against the mighty rock
from the sea that breathed heave back and forth,
Mists infused with skies above
The ocean’s rise congregates in cloud
hovering, gliding, a porous shroud -
vapours infilled with golden light
propelled by forceful breath there came
upon our wanting earth beneath
the ecstasy of rain .

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Finding Self - Second Guesses- Azlander Series

Twenty Years is Not so Long

John Everett Millais

Time in the world had evaporated, yet for Jon-Jon there was no recollection of the twenty years that had passed - not one day or night - since entering into that very private, secret of places; to find his stepmother waiting for him … and now, for all of that time to dissipate, it never occurred to him, that this community she and he dwelt in together was a magical one.

And although he had not slept through this episode, Jon had forged something of a life that was parallel to what he had known in worldly hardship prior - and with this, his memory of its suffering had lapsed completely, and his former self gave way to the Elvin dream-life in the thick woods of the Sherwood community.

Neither he, nor Isabelle, had seemed to age in this track of two decades. Quite possibly he could have stayed for many years more, were it not for a dream that visited him where Zithia pressed her face close to his, and in a brief and waking moment he instantly recalled his former self, and regret fast swept upon him.

“What if you cannot find her?” Isabelle called after him.

This thought pained Jon.

“I shall return either way,” he replied, hoisting his seat across Chester.

“Then I shall not dissuade you dear man - however you shall take this that you may find your way back - for without a key it may not be so easy to find me a second time.” And saying this she drew from the folds of her dress a fine Whistle carved from the bough of a tree from Faerie.

“It was the great monk Robin that made this himself” she said thoughtfully placing it into his hand.

Jon turned it over and recalled several legends. Even though he had resided in the host’s community, very few had taken tea with him. The Hode was a private soul. He was also rarely there, though none knew of this.

“As well my dear heart, know also that you cannot take Chester this time - for he will not survive.”

“And yet he looks long in the tooth, I believe he will be as strong as the day we came here.” Jon protested.

“By appearances yes, but appearances only. I shall arrange for you another mount if leaving is still your obstinacy.”

“It is not my obstinacy, but rather my will,” he corrected her - “for my purpose had not died, it only slept.”

Isabelle was displeased with his firmness and was sorely apprehensive about losing Jon into the world once more.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Finding Self - Second Guesses- Azlander Series

Goober Appeared out of Nowhere

“Please don’t take me to Hell” he pled …
“Don’t you know 

that I only meant well?”
“Of course you did” the sparrow said ~
“yet here we are, and dead is dead.”

“You know, if it is their world, after all, at some point we have to ask: what right do we have to interfere?”

“However, they have now invaded our domain - for many eons they polluted the Garden (he means Faerie - the original Garden) and now their filth has visited a station of Heaven. This is not good, or permissible, and because Jupiter introduced these events, Jupiter must hold the keys to fix what has happened.”

“How exactly did Jupiter cause this?” asked Jupiter himself sarcastically. He was annoyed at being spoken of whilst present and also for being blamed for the lake of souls turning rancid.

Eve was surprised as she did not know he had it in him. The day’s mishap had soured him altogether.

The golden gourds had lost their plump, the grass bent over, not being able to withstand the weight of its browned head. Weeds were erupting everywhere and some thistles already had leapt so high they were choking the pathways with their spikes and pricks overcoming the floral beds.

An ominous haze wafted overhead, dimming the once bright light, and birds were dropping from the trees, falling like coconuts with a thud here and there every few minutes. The wandering peacocks had lost their colours entirely - their plumage now black with the appearance of lace funerary attire. Small vermin scuttled around their ankles attempting to climb their legs, and chased each other over the bodies of birds piling up on the ground. Flies arrived in the thousands, and consumed the ethers in eagerness and group assault.

“Once upon a time there was no Earth life as we know it now. There was just the Etheric Land of Faerie.”

“Faerie was a place of purity - an adjunct of the Heavenly planes - subordinate to the Higher worlds - and its population was innocent to the forces of anti-nature and decay. Death was unknown. Faerie had thought itself incorruptible, and up until the time of Eden, it was.

“A place of grace and eternal sunlight - of prosperity and bourgeoning growth, of possibility and inventive magic - the seat of Creation, the home of all souls - and a family incorporating the many Kingdoms within. This was Faerie then …” he sighed.

Eve could have sworn she saw a small tear appear in the crease of his eye. Puck paused and said something in another language under his breath. She noted just how handsome this complex being was.

He went on: “It was the dark gods that introduced chaos into the realm, not the Mortals that entertained them. One brought death, and the other a fixed and imitative life - one brought disintegration and the other static - both conditions are deadly to the magical realm.”

“The world of men was soon controlled by false memory and a false economy.”

“It was an asp with a two pronged tongue that inoculated the two evils into the realm, and it has had shadows of this to deal with ever since.”

The dying birds behind them began to shriek with the almost deafening sound of cicadas. A low hum seeped out from the black sap that was oozing from the trees - it looked like old blood, dropping in clots onto the muddy ground beneath. The leaves above were losing their grip, and mostly had littered the bottom, exposing boughs that were now draped with tendrils of purple ivy.

“What have I done?” asked Jupiter out loud.

Eve remembered back to feeling something very similar, but she could not place exactly what. She certainly knew the feeling of dread to follow.

Puck read her wondering.

“If only I could turn back time on this one.” He winced.

Jupiter put his hand onto one shoulder, partly to comfort Puck and partly to steady himself.

“I had become prideful” he said, genuinely admonishing himself. “There were few things I bethought beyond me.”

“Steady on, interjected Jupiter … you never managed to solve world war or mass hunger, I really don’t think you did much at all before …”

“I need Goober” he conceded.

And as soon as this was said, it was done. Goober appeared out of absolutely nowhere right before the astonished three standing in a pool of sewer spill.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Finding Self - Second Guesses- Azlander Series

Sack of Fairy Dust

Meanwhile in Faerie Land: Tu and Goober were having a catch up - the kind you have where a special space in the universe incorporates just the two of you perfectly. There is great solace in such moments of confiding - the confidence that comes with the sharing of a confidence - and although Goober had never fought in an army and Tu had not the far reaching memories of the seasoned Elvish, they had found a common ground, those two souls there together in Faerie.

“Here” said Goober, “take some of this with you” he motioned, picking up a handful of dirt and putting it into Tu’s rucksack directly.

“What is that?” the young Monk asked.

“Faerie dust,” said Goober … “most useful in the Mortal world - but you would be wise to use it sparingly - a little is all yer need.”

Tu was just about to ask him as how to use this dust, when Goober disappeared in front of him, without warning, right before his eyes.

Tu turned around thinking that Goober was hiding, or behind him - he stayed, looking expectantly, for he had grown so used to the tall Elf being at his side. It was unthinkable for him to have gone. And, leave him especially here.

Curiously he did not feel too badly as he might have done. He checked himself and a minute later realised that he was feeling perfectly fine - albeit all alone. The air of 

Faerie agreed with him, and his health was restored, his mind was calm, and his composure had returned.

What could possibly go wrong?

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Finding Self - Second Guesses- Azlander Series