In the old days, when people had problems, they would visit the holy cave
or the well of light or the ancient tree located at the gateway of the
worlds.
There they would turn to the Fair Folk with their problems of love and
obligation,
or human cruelty and deceit, and we would counsel and guide them. We have
been secret helpers, imaginary friends, and forest spirits who cheer up
the lonely and despairing. We came in shapes of light and power to chase
away fear.
We were secret companions of mankind. Today we would be imaginary friends,
but in the past, the line between physical reality and imagination
was not as clear. We helped the child hungry and confined to
bed because of famine or
the child sick with fever to relax. We helped the isolated maiden
with no boyfriend to appreciate her, and the widow whose
heart was lonely and whose good deeds went unappreciated. We would
support the householder whose family was not satisfied, and the elderly
with nothing to look forward to whose family had moved away or was dead.
There is yearning at all ages - from the child
who was hungry or had been beaten unjustly, to the old
woman with no one to love.
The Fair Folk were companions and counselors, and the supporters and
substitutes for those whose relations were dead and gone.
We gave encouragement, optimism, and hope for a better day.
Sometimes we could even direct hungry people to stores of food,
or take them for a visit to our world to give them the equivalent of
a good meal.
We could point out the beauty in the awkward teenage girl, the nobility
of trying to a support a family, even in poverty, the future virtues
and helpfulness of a clumsy child, and the good deeds done by the elderly
that showed that their life had worth and meaning.
People would come to see us on festival days and sacred nights, at the new
moon and the celebration of the ancestors, and during
the difficult periods of death and birth.
We could help guide the souls of the dead
who were anxious in their travels, and point out how change could be a good
thing for travelers.
While mages might come
when specifically called, many of our young people saw helping humanity as
a good deed, or a kind of community service. People dealt with
loneliness and death much better because of our efforts.
