I had to clean up the garage for a couple of weeks before I could start welding the faes onto the gate. I mark time as a computer programmer: a couple of weeks is roughly a Robert Jordan novel listened to on my iPod.
***I am "iReading" the Wheel of Time series. It is ok. I prefer a little more philosophy woven into my stories. But I have read Tolkien's books 5 times (before they were popular) and I have always been disappointed that he did not complete more books. Jordan is no Tolkein but he is ok and he has a whole library of books already. So if, as they lay in my mind and age properly, that they survive the test of time, I will have plenty of books to keep me occupied as I clean the garages of my life over and over.
***
The first fae to go onto the gate will be Roseri (Rose-Airy). It is fitting that she should be first because her wings are rose petals (well, iron rose petals). I had started this project not knowing that faeries did not like iron and in some cases were afraid of iron. But like all things fae, there has to be a loophole. So I determined to find it.
***In all of the web I could not find a loophole. My project was doomed. How could I forever trap faes in a metal that would drive them mad? And so I experimented. It did not take long until I found that roses are the loophole. As long as there are roses nearby, the fae did not seem to be affected by the iron.
***And so I intertwined roses though out the arbor and gate. So far the Faeries don't mind. I am, however, certain that if what I have done ever gets known in the wider world (that would be east of family and friends), then I will be decried as a Fae-Foe.
***
The place next to Roseri is, appropriately, a Rose. The rose to the left to be specific. This would be the perch of Talena if she had not flown up to the top of the arbor. ***
All of the Faes have perches: mushrooms, lilies, branches or roses. But only seven are actually on their perches. Talena did not like her perch and instead is on top of the arch, leaving the rose to be faerieless.
***
At first I thought that she was declaring that the iron-rose theory was incorrect. But then I did a little more research and that is when I found out that her likeness was of an Native-American Faerie.
***
And as I promised, this is the place where I reveal her secret. She is not on top of the arbor because she does not like her perch or even, as some have opined, because she feels that she is better than the rest of the faes. It turns out that this is the very land that she watched over before the Europeans invaded.
***
She watched buffalo and elk and deer wander the plains for centuries. And then came the wonderful horses; beautiful, strong, majestic horses. She was quite stricken, to the point where she was not alarmed by the people that were riding on the horses' backs, until is was too late and they kept coming and coming.....
***
So, it appears that she feels really bad about the European invasion and has vowed not to let that kind of thing happen again without an all out battle. And that is why she flew up as high as she could on the fence so that she could continue watching for trouble. She says she is looking for something she calls: "WorseThanFrench".
***
I hope she lets us know in time!
