#faerielogue

“After the Lurlinemas of 1927, Shiz University would acquire a new transfer student with a scandalacious reputation from the Vinkus, Prince Fiyero Tigelaar of the Arjiki Tribe. His arrival would spark a media sensation in Gillikin, as Galinda became enamored over the “Crowned Prince of Winkie Country”, while Elphaba isolated herself from the noise to study in their dorm. Their paths would eventually cross, as Elphaba attempted to return to Shiz from a nighttime Animal Rights meeting, almost trampled by a galavanting Fiyero atop his trusty steed, Feldspur. No amount of ego or embarrassment could distract from the obvious affinity, though they would go their separate ways into the night.”

Paristan is a lost civilization, or to be more precise, a country built off of several lost peoples, expeditions, entire empires having slipped from history. In truth, Paristan is a wormhole, a bridge between Earth and “the Source”, whatever it may be, having stabilized after thousands of years in existence. Due to its nature, the progression of time is nonlinear compared to Earth, those who have survived, and escaped, their trip to Paristan having either only spent a few seconds away from their origin despite their travels, or in turn, may have wound up spending decades, even centuries away from Earth. There are several “doorways” to Paristan, including an ancient spring within a submerged cavern beneath the Indian Ocean that had been infused by the nearly radioactive properties of the rare fauna and minerals that grew in the cave, the source of legends across cultures as the Fountain of Youth. Off the shores of ancient England, there is a misty isle that appears only once every full moon, the home of a coven of priestesses cultivating a sacred orchard, communing with their patron from the Otherworld known as “the Fair Lady of Avalon.” The major culture of the modern people of Paristan, known as the Paristani, is an evolution from the Persian and Roman Empires. The country itself is an exotic mountainous valley, bordered by rocky cliffs, a shroud of mist cast over the rolling fields of crimson poppies, poisonous due to their naturally opium rich pollen. Paristan itself sits atop a subterranean fungi jungle, practically a cavernous underworld compared to the countryside above. At the borders of Paristan, the physics of reality are warped and corrupted, the borders of the wormhole being literal mountains defying the natural laws of gravity, beneath them being nothing but an toxically abyssal and impassable desert, running off into the nothingness.

The ancient heartland capital of Paristan is Pulchra-Shahr, the ancestral home of the acclaimed Crowned Heads of the Paristan, and in the recent centuries, the seat of the Imperial Courts of Lord Oberon, the deformed bastard son of Julius Caesar and Shahbanu Morgana “The Fair Lady of Enchantments/Empress of the Fair City.”

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The biggest inspirations for the character of Lord Oberon is obviously the character from a Midsummer Night’s Dream, but also King Pastoria and the Nome King from Baum’s works. I’ve been toying with this villain for a while, having carried him over from the original “Faerietale” Project, I’m just not sure where he fits into the overall story(ies) of the Faerielogues, right now just serving as background knowledge for a possible adventure.

(I love how small his pompous ass is compared to everyone else so far)

Introducing the Gringard’s, the main characters of “Faerielogues: the Elixir of Life”, adapted from L. Frank Baum’s John Dough and the Cherub. They’re a humble French immigrant couple running a bakery in New York circa 1906.

Leontine Grignard, the Madame of the Bakery

The wife of Jules, Madame Grignard was the one who had the dream of opening a bakery once they arrived in the United States. In only a matter of a few short years however, her rheumatism would worsen, leaving her suffering more days than not by 1906. She adores her husband, wanting nothing more than to build a happy family for them, however as the pain has worsened, her body has prevented her from performing daily tasks within the bakery and also private intimacy with her husband.

Jules Grignard, the Monsieur of the Bakery

A French immigrant to the United States, having arrived with his wife to Ellis Island, New York, in 1904, shortly afterwards opening a local bakery. Jules is red-green colorblind, and a man of strong will, carrying the burdens of everyday life for himself and his beloved, on account of her ailments. He is a loyal husband, and wants nothing more in the world than to make his wife happy, despite their inability to conceive a child.

The Grignard’s and their fire breathing friend “Cupid”

The Cherub (They/Them) in my story “Faerielogues: the Elixir of Life” adapted from John Dough and the Cherub by L. Frank Baum