Fays, Elementals & Celestials

The Supporting Cast of Second Thunder: Fays, Elementals & Celestials
Second Thunder is a rich, visionary work; and woven into this story of unique worlds and heroic pursuits are the elementals and the celestials.  The book is speckled with these characters throughout, and they are actually quite an important part of the landscape of Second Thunder.
As we immerse into the story, we may run across: Darien the wind celestial who loved a minstrel woman who could hear and see the celestials; the three wood elves who flew in a triangle and finished each other’s sentences; the shy, yellow flower elemental who found the courage to deliver an important message to Gana; the celestial warriors and the celestial army fighting the big battle at the end to tip the scales of darkness to light.  The list goes on: spring elves, fall sprites, water nymphs, wind spirits, brownies, pixies, naiads, dryads, gnomes, dwarves, the humanoid faces in the Guardian Mountains and the ruler of the entire mountain range, the High Lord of the Fays, the Celestial gardeners.  Many of these are just briefly alluded to, leaving one curious of the worlds that are out there, while others play a larger role.  The underlying message is that there is a whole other level of perception that most are not aware of.  As the character Almira mentions, “Each and every grain of sand has a unique existence, an individual reality in the One’s light... All natural laws maintaining the integrity of Narain’s Dream have humanoid counterparts. Even if never seen, they have always existed. And always will, even if the ability to know them be one day lost.” (p. 207-208)
Here is an excerpt that illustrates this magical world: “Engrossed in thought, the adan stretched out his arm to touch a small, crimson snap-dragon. It seemed particularly lovely, more alive than the others. It took Gana several moments to realize that he was not staring at a flower but a small humanoid figure, clothed in the colors of its stem with its leaves as arms . . . this delightful little creature had been invisible a moment before solely because his senses had been too narrowly defined. Gana stared entranced until he noticed some other peculiar motions near his feet. Looking around, he saw that all the flowers were now also human. Even the blades of grass had humanoid shapes, with their arms raised above their countless heads, bending now this way, now that in the gentle breeze. Every plant was human! Every one different, every one unique, every one beautiful.” (p. 207)
We all have the ability to perceive this subtle level of creation. Though many have lost this ability, Second Thunder reminds us of a time and place where these beings were our allies and worked closely with us for the good of all of creation.
Surya Ishaya

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