At the time of the Wanderlores New Year, I always like to share with those of you who are uninitiated a little about our ways. I know that getting to know the Wanderlores will help you understand not only me but the aesthetics of how I live my life in the Creators Realm.
During the seasonal festivals, I can usually be found in one of the Wanderlore groves. This is a generic term that the Wanderlores use to describe the natural spaces that they inhabit—especially to visitors.
There are groves in the Creators Realm, just as there are groves amongst the icon worlds. No one knows how many groves there truly are. Some are more isolated than others.
What’s important to know is that these natural spaces are considered sacred for the Wanderlores who seek to live in accordance with the Magic and its ways.
Another thing to know is that the groves in the Creators Realm and the groves of the icon worlds are not connected. These realms are separate in the same sense that heaven and earth are considered separate spheres.
That being said, the lives of the Wanderlores in both realms are similar, though those who live in the Creators Realm have the power to call forth the Era of the Bards when they feel that the Decorum of the Realms has become oppressive. This is where I, and the other Bards like me, come into the picture.
Now that I have that out of the way, let me introduce you to a concept that makes the Wanderlore observances so important.
According to Wanderlore cosmology, the Magic has always existed. They also believe that there is a piece of the Magic inside each and every person as well as a spark inside all flora, fauna and element. Thus, the Magic exists everywhere as sparks, but the core of the Magic is confined to a place that is reserved for it* alone.
This necessity for the Magic to be isolated goes back to another concept that states: Nothing could exist if the Magic, in its wholeness, existed in the same space. Thus, the Magic—in order to give space to us—contracted into a Realm of its own.
Of course, since we all have a piece of the magic inside, we long to reconnect to the wholeness of its power.
This is where the celebrations and observances come in.
Communing with the Magic—be it weekly as some observant souls do or monthly as those who follow the cycles of the moon do or here and there as everyone else does when the festivals roll around—is vital for maintaining not only the individual’s connection to the Magic, but the community’s connection to the Magic as well.
These observances are portals where we can reach out to the Magic and the Magic to us without either one breaching the sacred separation needed for both of us to exist.
I know these concepts may be a bit weird to the uninitiated, but neither the Creators Realm nor the icon worlds could exist without the Wanderlores dedication to this connection.
My sister Poppy, and I, called these opportunities of connecting “dancing with time”.
We marked our dances with the help of the Eternal Clock, looking forward to the time when we could put down our daily concerns, gather together with our loved ones and reconnect with the Magic, thus renewing that inner flame of wonder that made all the other days of the year worth living.
—Jellybean Reds, Creator of Little Creatures
*The Wanderlores envision the Magic as genderless. They also aren’t all that comfortable personifying the Magic as if it is knowable.
They do believe the Magic has various aspects or qualities—none entirely good or bad. The Wanderlores believe that the good/bad pendulum is a result of physical existence and its attendant limitations.
