Gnomy tells all: stories from his lifetimes throughout the universes

You would think that the fairies must have very luxurious abodes in which to hold their many parties and celebrations, but you would be wrong. As beings of light, they have no need of soft surfaces or beautiful fabrics. They carry vibrancy from the creation of the cosmos deep within themselves. The mesmerizing colors stream out, shimmering upon their silvery wings. The fairies hold their own celestial light; they have no need of further decoration.

Their home on Zelen is a large, light-filled cavern with a plain but inviting ambience. This enchanted location is known as the Grotto of the Fairies. It has a kind of Bohemian flair, with its mismatched furnishings and combinations of hand carved wooden items mixed amongst salvaged tableware. The space is always pleasantly warm or delightfully cool, depending on the season.

At night, the overall glow of the Grotto combines with the glow of visiting fireflies, who circulate among the guests to add to the soft cavern glow. Lovely harp and flute harmonies weave around each other to further charm the guests.

All the major VIP luminaries from throughout the galaxies have stopped in for a visit at some point. Besides getting to meet actual fairies, the unspoiled, spectacular view of land and shimmering ocean is its own draw.

Sometimes the flying creatures of the night, like moths and bats, join the fairies in their nocturnal festivities. If I am patrolling the area I can hear the little squeaks and wing flutters of small creatures joining the celebration. The night beings come just to the edge of the lighted area to watch and wonder at the ethereal fairies, before darting off into the darkness again.

In fact, all types of wanderers are invited to visit the fairies. It is an easy matter for a magical being, or a technological being in a spaceship, to quickly travel through time and space to get to the Grotto.

There is much conversation and camaraderie from the various guests. The multitude of languages and intergalactic news from outside our planet are a counterpoint to local, familiar voices. During these gatherings there is much joy and many songs. It’s true that some of the words and verses are expressed through thought alone, but a song is a song no matter how it is sung.

The brilliant evenings are legendary, and it is a great honor to receive an invitation to attend a celebration at the Grotto of the Fairies. If the visitors’ vibrations are compatible, they will have an evening of festivity they will remember forever. If a visitor’s vibrations are not compatible, they must have been invited simply to overhear their chatter. Otherwise, beings of questionable character simply would not be requested to attend, nor could they see or hear the fairies or their guests. In fact, the Grotto itself would be invisible to them. So sad for them if they cannot partake of the enjoyment.

Now remembering that fairies are guardians of Zelen, do you imagine that these parties are held simply to satisfy the fairies’ need for fun and companionship? No, indeed.

In actuality, the fairies like to host a variety of beings so they can find out what is going on in the galaxy. Who is in, who is out. Who is selling, who is buying. Which governments are stable, which regimes are on their way out. Who is dealing, who is double dealing. Who was triple dealing and has suddenly disappeared from view.

Fairies use their lovely appearances and enchanting personalities to discover plots being devised against a multitude of beings, governments, planets, or entire galaxies.

It’s not that the fairies are being dishonest. They don’t use any extra magic to lure in travelers. The fairies simply present themselves as delightful party organizers and servers, usually human-sized so they can be at the same eye level as most of the guests. It’s not their fault that visiting beings assume that fairies are merely gracious and naïve hostesses who revel in parties and wouldn’t know an evil plot if it was thrown in their faces. The schemers can only blame themselves for indulging in foolish, revealing chatter. The fairies merely provide refreshments and listen well.

One evening Phyler and I managed to strategize quickly and work together to avoid a catastrophe. On that particular evening, Phyler had been acting as bartender. She was mixing drinks for a small group of Cernaian scouts. Naturally the group became loud and boisterous, and discussed their plans to search the skies around our planet Zelen for their rival group, the Betomits.

The Betomits are a powerful, dominant civilization in competition with the smaller but more technically advanced neighboring Cernaians. Phyler called me over to figure out our plan. If this wasn’t handled correctly, the Betomits and Cernaians might start a skirmish. On top of starting an intergalactic incident, the combatants might decide that Zelen was worthy plunder and decide to claim ownership. After all, what better way to compare manliness and military superiority after a few drinks than to use the planet they were standing on, which belonged to neither group, as a battlefield.

Phyler and I decided to work together: I would cast an uneasy, menacing feeling in the Cernaian minds, so they would feel they would lose badly if they started any fights with the Betomits. I had lots of practice giving off menacing feelings to unpleasant humanoids who misbehave in the Round Woods, so I was very good at that particular task.

Phyler would set up an electronic device that simulated Betomit warship tones, suggesting that the ships were hidden nearby with their distinctive resonance signatures imperfectly muted. The ships didn’t actually exist but sensors could be fooled with the almost-but-not-quite concealed vibrations.

Fortunately, the Cernaians were merely a small party in a lightly armed ship. The Cernaian sensors were indeed fooled by the decoy energy patterns. The scouts became uncomfortable thinking there was a warship full of aggressive Betomits nearby. With my help manipulating their minds, their anxiety and fear almost drove them mad. The Cernaians quit the planet quickly and completely.

It was a good charade and both Phyler and I were relieved it worked. If the menacing Cernaians and Betomits ever decided to come back to the Fairy Grotto, they would find themselves unable to locate it. In fact, they would become forgetful and confused at the mere thought of returning to Zelen. The same menacing fear, generated by me, would paralyze both groups. They could never return.

I even took the liberty of planting a small subliminal thought into the Cernaian spaceship’s consciousness, merely noting that it would be a good thing if the two worlds stopped fighting. That thought may just possibly be shared with other spaceships in the fleet and eventually reach those stubborn humanoid neighbors.

Both Phyler and I were delighted by what we achieved working together. If a little planning and ingenuity could stop a hostile action and keep the guests from disrupting a brilliant party, we were all for it.