Episode 75: Solitary Fae: Steeds

The folklore of steeds 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 steeds 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: Steeds

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

There are several shapeshifting faery animals in folklore. Some, like the Brag, enjoy being in the form of a horse so it can trick people to get onto its back so it can take them on a wild ride through the countryside – much like the phouka. It also appears as a calf, a donkey, and some other animals. There are water-dwelling horses from Scotland and Ireland – whose names I won’t even try to pronounce – who change their shape to the kind of steed their prey would find enticing to ride. Once on the back of this creature, it would gallop to the water and then devour the human foolish enough to get on its back – much like a Kelpie. But these faery horses, if properly bridled, would be faithful mounts until the special bridle is removed.

Probably best to stay away from magical horses and the like if you’re not a magical creature yourself.

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

Vicious hunters that will eat anything they can kill. They roam freely in Faerie and rarely venture into the Mortal Real – especially after the Compact.

They’re shape-shifters (cars, animals, etc.)

They’re immune to iron.

Rarely, they’ll bond with a Faery. This bond allows a telepathic connection between Steed and Faery. Though lower Fae such as Brownies and Phoukas can easily understand them without any such bond.

Mortal enemies: none known.

As a little bonus, let’s look at this faery translated to Afrikaans: Strydros

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.