Because You Asked: Fire fairies.: seanan

Because You Asked: Fire fairies.

To celebrate the upcoming release of Ashes of Honor, I am answering five questions about Toby's world. This is the second.

So

gwisteria asks, "Are there fire faeries or would their lifespan too short to warrant consciousness?"

Yes, Virginia, there is a Fire Kingdom.

Fae crop up everywhere in the world, from the depths of the ocean to the hearts of active volcanoes. They have their own culture, their own traditions, and their own creatures (we've seen salamanders, for example). Even most of the Firstborn don't visit the Fire Kingdoms, because unless they're extremely powerful shapeshifters, or just really, really fire-proof, being set on fire is still inconvenient.

Some fire fae do come to visit, but it's mostly the lava-equivalent of Selkies and Kelpies: the liminal fae, the ones who can do just fine in either environment. Peri are considered fire-fae, for example, as are Kesali, and both of those have been known to show up in Land courts. They usually avoid the Undersea, as being doused in water does not make fires of any sort particularly happy. There are doubtless some breeds of fire fae that have never been seen outside the heart of living volcanoes, slow falls of lava that sometimes open strangely human eyes and try to entice you to come just that little bit closer...

It isn't recommended.

Of all the lands in Faerie, the Fire Kingdoms are the most isolate, and the least likely to be visited on a whim. Most fae would die in an instant, and they lack the overlap of the land and sea or the land and air. It doesn't make them bad people, down there in the flames. It just makes them very, very, undeniably alien.

anne_d

August 24 2012, 17:46:38 UTC 4 years ago

New comment

You know, even your guidebook-type posts are lyrically written.

There are doubtless some breeds of fire fae that have never been seen outside the heart of living volcanoes, slow falls of lava that sometimes open strangely human eyes and try to entice you to come just that little bit closer...

It isn't recommended.

Seriously, that'd fit right into the narrative of one of your stories, without breaking the flow of the dialogue.

seanan_mcguire

August 25 2012, 01:42:22 UTC 4 years ago

Hee!

gwisteria

August 24 2012, 17:56:30 UTC 4 years ago

I was just thinking how amazingly wonderful your answer was and i will put in a scrapbook

August 25 2012, 01:42:31 UTC 4 years ago

Aw, yay.

vulpine137

August 24 2012, 18:23:36 UTC 4 years ago

I love the fact that the faerie world follows logic, and that a being based on fire would be 'alien'. Kudos for amazing world building.

August 25 2012, 01:42:39 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you.

hoppytoad79

4 years ago

two_star

August 24 2012, 19:11:25 UTC 4 years ago

This may out me as a bit of a science geek, but I'd really like to see the undersea volcanic vent based fae, residing among the tube worms and such that live off of sulfur based chemical energy rather than photosynthesis.

ladyphoenixia

August 25 2012, 01:08:57 UTC 4 years ago

That would be pretty cool!

avahgdu

August 24 2012, 19:59:47 UTC 4 years ago

Do you have specific sources you go by or do you create it from pure imagination?

August 25 2012, 01:43:15 UTC 4 years ago

Some of column "a," some of column "b."

idancewithlife

August 24 2012, 20:13:08 UTC 4 years ago

No ocean--logical. Wondering how they are with rain...or can you kill a fire fae with a hose?

archangelbeth

August 24 2012, 23:17:22 UTC 4 years ago

I wager it depends on the fae, its power, and how far it is from its home...

thedragonweaver

amazon_syren

enigmoid

August 25 2012, 01:39:30 UTC 4 years ago

Question

How do the fae remain hidden from the human world?

I Imagine they obviously use magic to create human illusions and can rewrite the memories of those who accidentally stumble across them (the multiple computer people from A Local Habitation, Katie in An Artificial Night, and Gillian in One Salt Sea) but how are they coping in today's world of technology? In the past I guess anyone who saw the fae and escaped with their memories would be written off as a nutcase and so obviously go into denial or keep their mouth shut. But today there are cameras, cameras and more recording devices (Hint: Enemy of the State). I mean satellite imagery should show something especially as Toby (and company) seem to be running around without Illusions quite a bit (and a man walking into a bush and a cat coming out is going to raise a few eyebrows) not to mention the other random weirdness. So how have they stayed hidden?

August 25 2012, 01:43:45 UTC 4 years ago

That's a great question, but this is not the post where great questions are gathered!

dornbeast

August 26 2012, 03:30:21 UTC 4 years ago

But today there are cameras, cameras and more recording devices

If fae illusions don't show up on camera after over a century of photography, Toby wouldn't be able to get a driver's license.

...satellite imagery should show something especially as Toby (and company) seem to be running around without Illusions quite a bit...

I think you're expecting more out of satellites than you should; even if they have 100% coverage at a level that could tell the shape of a person's ear (I don't think so, but I'm not an expert), they don't have 100% monitoring - can you imagine the workforce necessary to check all the satellite imagery that can be produced in a day, just for the sake of doing so? I have to say, if they had employment in that line, I wouldn't be looking for a job right now.

(and a man walking into a bush and a cat coming out is going to raise a few eyebrows)

Again, only if somebody's looking at the camera or reviewing the footage. (And it wouldn't surprise me if Cait Sidhe have a simple "video loop" illusion that keeps the camera looking at a false image for ten or fifteen seconds.)

At the moment, I can't see how you're doing more than imagining troubles where none exist.

estelendur

August 25 2012, 02:01:41 UTC 4 years ago

This is awesome! :D

September 16 2012, 05:38:38 UTC 4 years ago

Yay!

August 25 2012, 02:43:35 UTC 4 years ago Edited: August 25 2012, 02:44:21 UTC

Very interesting. I'd love to learn about the fae that live in the volcanoes at the bottom of the oceans.

The Nields are awesome. I remember hearing them in concert many years ago. IIRC, they opened for Dar Williams.

September 16 2012, 05:38:48 UTC 4 years ago

Someday.

ravenclawed

August 25 2012, 02:49:08 UTC 4 years ago Edited: August 25 2012, 02:49:46 UTC

There are doubtless some breeds of fire fae that have never been seen outside the heart of living volcanoes, slow falls of lava that sometimes open strangely human eyes and try to entice you to come just that little bit closer...

I've seen a couple of photos reportedly of the Hawaiian volcano goddess Pele in lava fountains. It's amazing what one can do with retouching and the power of suggestion.

Great post!