The Wanderlores have a secret.
The secret was even secret from me until I formally joined my mother’s clan when I was seventeen.
The secret has to do with the names the Wanderlores call themselves, as well as the nomenclature they use to describe the sacred spaces they call home.
The name Wanderlores refers to the community as a whole. The Wanderlores not only move around a whole lot, but they spin lores which bind the Creators Realm and Icon Worlds together.
Everyone on the outside thinks the term Wanderlores refers to all of the clans. It does not.
Most of the clans have personalized names for their clans, which refers to their missions and callings. These clans are closed and are not visited by anyone outside the community.
There are other clans, however, which are open to strangers and welcomes them in their midst. All of these clans refer to themselves as Wanderlores instead of their Ritual Clan names.
My mother belonged to one of these welcoming clans. Early on, when I stayed at the Wanderlore Grove where she had her tea shop, I didn’t know that the grove had another name—Bohemian Gan. Gan means garden in the ancient ritual language.
There are many Bohemian Gans, just as there are many Celestial Orchards, Enchanted Forests, Stunning Sierras.
In writing, I will rarely distinguish between these terms. I will almost always write about the Wanderlores and the Wanderlore Groves no matter which space or group of people I am referring to.
The Wanderlores, though very diverse in culture and individual missions, consider themselves working towards the same goal. They always refer to themselves as their collective name when dealing with those on the outside.
Mainly, this is for protection. They are the link between the created worlds and the old earth. They created this link, and they know how truly fragile it is. It is they who discovered the Magic long ago and keep the connection to the Magic open for everyone—or so they think.
That’s where I have a secret they don’t know—having a connection to the Magic doesn’t need a secret ritual, it just needs a true longing to join the Magic in its endeavors.
We can all be partners with the Magic—any time anywhere—without waiting for someone to let us into their club.
—Jellybean Reds, Creator of Little Creatures
