The Faeries and Folklore Podcast by Ronel: Farralis #podcast #faeries #folklore

Episode 84: Solitary Fae: Farralis

The folklore of farralis in a nutshell, how I reimagined them for my writing, and this faery translated to Afrikaans.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2023 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about farralis in folklore here.

Get the transcript here.

Music: Secrets by David Fesliyan (FesliyanStudios.com) and Dramatic Heartbeat by FesliyanStudios.com

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With nearly a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my Dark Court Sisters book series. Available in ebook, paperback and audiobook. Three sisters. Three destinies. Three ways to destroy the world. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/darkcourtsistersseries for more.

You can now support my time in producing the podcast (researching, writing and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion. Go to buymeacoffee.com/ronel to support me.

We’re continuing our exploration of Solitary Fae.

Today’s Faery: Farralis

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel by Ronel

So I found the term “Farralis” for a specific kind of fire fairy in Lucy Cooper’s “The Element Encyclopedia of Fairies”, but I couldn’t find it anywhere else. I even asked my new research partner, ChatGPT, to help me look for answers, but it says that there is no established mythology or folklore that includes a fairy named Farralis – and definitely not one with the attributes given. This means I’m not as bad at research as I at first thought when I couldn’t find this faery.

Thankfully I had decided to look at other fire folklore figures to fill in the gaps.

First up, Maui. He learned from birds how to rub sticks together to create fire and he then shared this knowledge with others. There are different tales as to how he achieved this, but usually it involves the birds being smarter than him and outwitting him at each turn until he is successful.

Next: Prometheus. He stole fire from the gods and shared it with humans. He, of course, paid a painful price for his generosity. He hid the fire he stole in his staff until he could give it to mortals. When Zeus found out, he tied him to a rock where a vulture would peck out his liver every day. Being immortal, Prometheus didn’t die, just suffered. Forever.

One can’t talk about fire and fire faeries without talking about Salamanders.

Ignoring first that they are elemental fae, we should remember that for thousands of years, humans believed that these creatures knew the secrets of fire and that they hold the clues to the flame of life. Of course, we know that they are elemental fae and thus the embodiment of fire.

Aibheaeg seems to be the only faery queen connected to fire with her Well of Fire where she cured toothaches (among other things).

Where does this leave us with the creature Farralis, though?

And now for my interpretation of the fae in an Origin of the Fae: Farralis

“Farralis” is the codename for those who work for queen Aibheaeg of the Well of Fire. These fae are known to take fire where it is needed most, like how Prometheus and Maui gave fire to mortals. Some of these fae live in Avenir Hollow with the Salamanders, while others live openly among other fae as summer fae who are immune to the dangers of fire.

As a little bonus, let’s look at this faery translated to Afrikaans: Vuurfeetjie (this is of my own making)

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faeries.

Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!

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You can now support my time in producing the podcast (researching, writing and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion.