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

Episode 55: Workers of Death: Furies

The folklore of furies in a nutshell, how I reimagined them for my writing, and these fae translated into Afrikaans.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2023 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about furies 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 Origin of the Fae book series. You’ve met them on the podcast, now see them in action. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/originofthefaeseries 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 the workers of death.

Today’s Faery: Furies

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

The Furies, ancient spirits of justice and vengeance, are the daughters of Uranus (Sky) and either Gaia (Earth) or Nyx (Night), depending on the source. Their numbers are indeterminate, but Virgil recognised three: Alecto (“unceasing”), Megaera (“grudging”) and Tisiphone (“avenging murder”). It is well-established that their role is to keep order and punish those that break the rules (e.g. persecuting murderers, etc.).

Goddesses of vengeance, personified curses, ghosts of the murdered: no matter what they are, the Furies punish their victims by driving them mad. They carry torches, whips and cups of venom to accomplish punishment. And when not working in the Land of the Living, they torture damned souls in Hades.

The Furies aren’t evil: they only punish evil-doers, so innocent people have nothing to fear from them. Even when they appear as storm clouds or swarms of insects.

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

Furies are legion. They collect the souls of the fallen to do battle at the end of time.

They also punish the wicked, avenge the innocent and interfere in the lives of mortals and fae.

They wear clothes of ash, cinders falling in their wake. They have wings resembling that of bats.

Furies are excellent in battle. They can wield any weapon and can decimate their enemies in close-quarter combat (with or without weapons).

They live in the Underworld. They answer to Dagda, the Keeper of the Veil and Ankou – the King of the Dead. Like all creatures associated with Death, the rules of Faerie do not apply to them. They can be classified as deathfae.

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.