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Fairies
Fairies
Nature spirits. Fairies in folklore vary in size and appearance, but
many are said to be beautiful, some with delicate wings, and
resemble small humans. They have a reputation for rewarding those
they favor or causing mischief for others. In England they were said
to possess magic and have the ability to shape shift or turn invisible.
In Ireland the fairies were said to come from fallen angels.
Fairies show up as the 3 o'clock fairies in the 3rd BSSM film, and in Lodoss War. A mirror fairy gives magic to Mai in Magical Emi, and during the course of the series Mai
meets several types of faires asking for her help. One example, is a fairy who appears to Mai as a little boy and simply asks for his tiny bottle to be filled with light so
that he may return home with it.
An important aspect to fairies in anime and even in literature is that a fairy can also simply be a kind of spirit, such as a nymph or tennyo or a magical guardian. A fairy godmother for instance in
fairy tales is more inline with a sorceress or witch, and in works such as magical girl stories (Marybell for example) the term is used thus.
Primera in Magic Knight Rayearth is based on the delicate wings and more popular image of a pretty little fairy
common in Victorian and modern depiction.
The celestial maidens and inhabitants of Avalon in Faeries' Landing wear magical signs like magatama, yin-yangs, floating ribbons as part of their robes. Lotus blossoms
bloom in Avalon. Fanta is the faerie of affinity. She's in essence a faerie or being of fate and destiny,
she controls the strings of affinity, the strings that bind humans in relationships. For example,
a string running between family or friends or strangers in chance meetings. If need be, she can even alter
them by cutting the string, thus erasing the affintiy or tie binding certain individuals or groups. In Chinese
and Japanese belief, lovers are born with a red string tied between them. And ancient myth and
legends in Europe include stories of witches or goddesses who control the threads of fate, ever spinning and
cutting. Fanta's magic and role goes back to these traditions. Goodfellow is named from Robin Goodfellow. He's a reference to the character from
Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, a comedy between fairies and humans and tanglement of emotions and
relationships. Just as in the play, this Goodfellow is quite the mischief maker and ends up somehow contributing
to all the relationship tomfoolery that abounds (and if not contributing, it doesn't mean he isn't somewhere
far away finding amusement in it). Goodfellow in the story is a messenger for the beings of Avalon, and has
the antlers of a deer and the ears in his human-like form, but in need he can transform to his animal form.
Medea is the younger sister to Charon. She wants to be the next queen of Avalon, and wants to eliminate her
competiton, Fanta. Medea in Greek legend was a sorceress who helped Jason steal the Golden Fleece. She fell in
love with him and betrayed her family and country, but he later married another, and she took bloody revenge on him.
Morgan Le Fay
In Arthurian legend she was Arthur's half-sister. She plotted to destroy the Round Table and Arthur in many versions of the legends. She was known as a sorceress, and in later romances became known as the Queen of the Faery and had mortal lovers. In the AMG movie, Morgan is depicted with butterfly wings and is the Queen of the Faery who had lost her mortal lover when their love was tested long ago.
Dwarves
Dwarves were a type of goblin or elf, and were said to inhabit caverns and places underground usually. They had
the gift to transform metal and guarded their treasure of stones, metal,
and gold. Usually pictured as small and old looking. Ghim in Record of Lodoss War is a dwarf, and perhaps named from the famous
dwarf character Gimli in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
Elves
In Teutonic myth, elves are divided into Light and Dark Elves. Light Elves (Liosalfar) are benevolent and dwell
between the earth and heaven. Dark Elves (Dockalfar) were sinister and dwelled underground, but were said to be
able to fashion weapons of magic. Elves were said to be more beautiful than humans, and dwell in societies
set up in human fashion. Like fairies, they were said to dance by the light of the moon.
Arshes Nei is a half-dark elf in Bastard. Deedlit and Pirotess are a light and dark elf who appear in the fantasy series Record
of Lodoss War.
From Eden-gal: "Deedlit and
Pirotess are two elves,which I assume,are fairies of a sort. Deedlit is a High elf with Shamanic powers over
the good side of nature, or in Record of Lodoss War terms, Marfa and Falis. Falis has some traits of the
Roman god of Light, Apollo. Marfa,as I believe,has traits of Earth goddess, Gaia, being the goddess of
Creation. Lodoss cold be representative of what came out of the War of the Gods, or the mythological
entity of Chaos. Pirotess is a Dark elf whose powers mainly correlate
death, darkness, negativity, destruction, madness, and disorder. Mainly her powers are over the dark and
negative side of nature. Pirotess is the darkness to Deedlit's light. Falaris could be seen as another aspect
of a negative animus archetype telling that he is an older guy, older than Pirotess, that is. Kardis and Karla
could both be aspects of the last side of the sacred Triple Goddess and the negatively-approached
archetype of the witch."
Goblins
In European lore, they were malicious spirits, and household spirits that caused mischief. Goblins appear in Record of Lodoss
War.
Kobalds are from Teutonic myth. They were goblins who inhabited mines, and also were the name of helpful household spirits
that resembled gnomes. In Germany, goblins were called kobolds. Kobolds appear in Record of Lodoss War, but unlike their namesake,
they are more like destructive or ravenous creatures.
Season Fairies (Sugar, A Little Snow Fairy)
In this German set series, the weather and seasons are controlled by the magic of fairies. Notice each fairy is named from a spice or confection, and each channels their magic through
an instrument in the series. Fairies are commonly thought of as nature spirits, and the association of fairies with children's stories goes back to Victorian times. The theme of fairies
named from sweets or having associations with them also shows up in the Nutcracker and the anime work the BSSM SuperS Movie. Sugar herself is quite fond of waffles particularly.
Flutes and magical instruments are common in anime.
| Name | Season | Instrument. | Misc. |
| Basil | Thunder | Drum | His striped tiger shorts and horn give him the slight attire of a Japanese oni, and increases his mischievous appearance. |
| Cinnamon | Ice | Cymbol | - |
| Elder | All | - | - |
| Ginger | Rain | Violin | - |
| Pepper | Wind | Harp | - |
| Salt | Sun | Trumpet | - |
| Sugar | Snow | Piccolo | Her hat, purse, and dress are modeled after the little snow rabbits Japanese children might make. The snow is packed tightly for the body, then red berries and leaves from the Nadine (bamboo) are used for the eyes and ears. They also have a connection to the rabbit on the moon.* |
| Turmeric | Cloud | Cello | - |