Wapsi Square Forum

Whooooaaa, what!? I suspected this week would take us places, but....holy smokes.

Bingo, Castela can kill fae and they can't hurt her. Except by "throwing her away".

ETA Ninja'd by seconds.

Isn't Castela the cutest little murderer?

Seems every super power has a weakness.

Backstory in 3... 2... 1...

Thor wrote:Isn't Castela the cutest little murderer?

If she's a daughter of the wood, she might also qualify as being a child of the air ...

... in which case, killing a Fae who was pursuing her, might just have been sylph-defense.

(deposits several golden rods in the Pun Jar... it being hayfever season and like that...)

Dave, pun jar now, something big and flashy...

Hooo boy. A quick Gurgle search brought me to this page which goes into some interesting detail about blackthorn:

Folklore
Blackthorn is depicted in many fairy tales throughout Europe as a tree of ill omen. Called Straif in the Ogham, this tree has the most sinister reputation in Celtic tree lore. The English word ‘strife’ is said to derive from this Celtic word. A long hard winter is referred to as a Blackthorn Winter.

To Witches, it often represents the dark side of the Craft. It is a sacred tree to the Dark, or Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess, and represents the Waning and Dark Moons. Blackthorn is known as ‘the increaser and keeper of dark secrets’.

The tree is linked with warfare, wounding and death, associated with the Scottish Cailleach - the Crone of Death, and the Irish Morrigan. In Scotland, winter begins when the Cailleach (also the Goddess of Winter) strikes the ground with Her Blackthorn staff.

According to Christian folklore, Blackthorn is seen as a sinister tree and associated with Witches. Blackthorn was often used for ‘binding and blasting’. A black rod is a Blackthorn wand with fixed thorns on the end, used to cause harm to others. In British folklore, a Witch will use a Blackthorn stang in rituals of cursing. The sharp thorns were reputedly used by English witches to pierce poppets in their curses, called the ‘pins of slumber’. In South Devon folklore in England, Witches were said to carry Blackthorn walking sticks, with which they caused much local mischief. Witches and heretics were burned on Blackthorn pyres. The Devil was said, in medieval times, to prick his follower’s fingers with the thorn of a Blackthorn tree.

I've only read that much of the page, so haven't found any references to Fae yet.

MerchManDan wrote:I've only read that much of the page, so haven't found any references to Fae yet.

Many plants actively defend themselves against insects.

Agriculturally important plants also produce toxic chemicals in response to insect attack. For example, Richard Karban at the University of California at Davis showed that when spider mites are allowed to feed on the first few leaves of young cotton plants, the later leaves produce chemicals that render the plant resistant to further mite attack. Squash plants produce a toxin to head off an attack by the cucumber beetle, which tries to protect itself by cutting a ring in the leaf to stop circulation of the toxin into its food supply.

It isn't a big leap to imagine sentient plants and insects could find themselves at war with each other.

This would also mean that Castela will grow up to be a true sloe-eyed beauty!

(Botanically, it seems that Prunus and Castela are both members of the Rosales... not super-close relatives, but not all that distant from one another in the plant kingdom)

"An air of omnipotence" indeed...

I'm guessing many people will find some cookies waiting for them when they log on to the forum next...

Since Castela can kill fae, it appears that Atsali just saved Calista's life.

I'm restocking all the vending and service units in the confusion corner, including the beverage dispensers and hot drink brewers. Fresh tea and coffee selections will be available along with pastries, frozen meals, and fresh fruit. The massage loungers and couches will be vacuumed, the white boards cleaned, and cork boards cleared with new push pins and post-it notes. Fresh firewood for the fire pit obtained and the lounge pillows plumped. Then I'm hiding in the closet for a few weeks until I can read all the next developments in a series so they make some sense. My neck can't handle the whiplash.

Knock if you need me.

"...one followed me to the orphanage..."

And again, we ask: who created Castela. And why.

Plot twist: they were only trying to guard her from something evil.

Elvis wrote:Plot twist: they were only trying to guard her from something evil.

Twistier twist: the evil was Castela's own parents.

Paul never ceases to amaze. It appears our lovable little bramble has a deep sadistic root. Catching a Fae and pulling off her wings, then her head? Shudder-ola! We're not talking Glitter Wing Fairy Princess Barbie here. The head does not pop back one once removed. Interestingly we haven't seen the princess exhibit wings as yet. I wonder if they're functional or ornamental? Also interesting how Castela calls Cricket "it." She may not consider them to be "people." Which may be why she can say she never killed/murdered anyone and mean it. To her the fae she dispatched was just a bug. Still, that may be the cause of some of those at the orphanage teasing her about killing someone. May even have been Fae which did most of the accusing. That or they got the other kids to do it. It seems likely she killed other Fae besides the one she mentioned. Probably before she got to the orphanage. Makes me wonder though what power the Fae could have over her parents/creators that would make them give her up at their behest. Assuming one or both could also do damage to Fae. Maybe a sacrifice to keep the peace? Also wonder if it is more than coincidence that Castela and Calista's names are so similar? Are they related at some level yet to be presented?

well, phix treats vampires as insects to be trodden underfoot, as you would stamp on a mosquito...
just as the blackthorn family hates the fae, for what they do, etc.... It has taken a L O N G time since many wars and terrorism, for most to realise that it is only a few that are that bad, the few 'trying to be good' ones dont have much of a chance.....
bad propaganda works both ways, you must see the similarity....

Elvis wrote:Plot twist: they were only trying to guard her from something evil.

shadowinthelight wrote:Twistier twist: the evil was Castela's own parents.

KnightDelight wrote:Paul never ceases to amaze. It appears our lovable little bramble has a deep sadistic root. Catching a Fae and pulling off her wings, then her head? Shudder-ola!

illiad wrote:bad propaganda works both ways, you must see the similarity....

So, it seems there's a common theme in play in this part of the story. The Fae may not be the only ones whose moral compass needs a bit of recharging.

Even assuming that Pickle's story about the Fae instigating her abandonment is true and complete (and we have no reason to doubt it) her indulging in a bit of private decapitation and dismemberment is rather disturbing... her self-righteous stomp-fest equally so. Phix's "little sweetie" certainly has a dark, angry side. And, if you consider that a lot of human serial killers have been reported to have "indulged" in torturing and killing pets and other animals when they were children... *shudder*... this is a pattern in Castela that might prove to be very dangerous if not addressed and corrected quickly!

And Princess Calista... we've already seen what her self-defensive anger can lead her to do. It's no wonder they call her Cricket... "Something Wicket This Way Comes!" (I think it's interesting and perhaps encouraging that she voluntarily confirmed at least part of Castla's story and identity)

And Bia, for that matter... her ancient obsession led to a sort of moral blindness as to the hurtful consequences of her actions. Fortunately for her, the return-to-childhood her father compelled seems to have pulled her out of this moral fog and reawakened her empathy and conscience.

I get the feeling that Monica's Summer School For Delinquent Paranormals is going to have several participants. Maybe the Library has the equivalent of a one-room all-ages little red schoolhouse hung off of one of its hyperspace conduits?

KnightDelight wrote: Also interesting how Castela calls Cricket "it." She may not consider them to be "people." Which may be why she can say she never killed/murdered anyone and mean it. To her the fae she dispatched was just a bug. Still, that may be the cause of some of those at the orphanage teasing her about killing someone.

Othering ...

Ties nicely together, doesn't it?

We've seen glimpses of this side of Castela a few times already... but we've had no inkling the damage went this deep...