Clurichauns and Leprechauns
Clurichauns are a type of faemiliar - the faer entities which assist people in their day-to-day lives. Like all faemiliars, they connect people to the intermesh, power their pocket-sized magick mirrors, and scream at them every morning until they wake up. Unlike most, they do it while seemingly very, very drunk.
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| Clurichaun by Zuza Gruzlewska |
Clurichauns are a budget version of the fancier leprechaun faemiliars. The latter are known for their flashy appearance and ability to get tasks done fast. Clurichauns are also known for their appearance and manner in which they get jobs done, just not in a good way.
Despite their obvious differences, the two look very similar. In fact, some people suspect that clurichauns are just leprechauns on a drinking spree. As faer are magickal entities that pose as physical creatures for kicks, and are therefore immune to alcohol, this is a silly thing to suspect.
The fancy leprechauns are sold to people by Familial - a monopolistic mega-company that dominates the majology sector. Clurichauns, are sold my Nokov - a business known for selling cheaper versions of Familial products. As Familial keeps its prices high, this isn't very difficult. The fact that Nokov products are borderline-worthless also helps.
The only clurichaun to feature in the Tumultiverse books so far is Naggen who works for Selll Tsukino. Primarily she uses him to track her achievements for the Rangers' Lodge. In Naggen's case, this involves materialising in the air, blowing an out of key fanfare on his trumpet, and slurring something like:
WELF PUNCHER NOVICE!
Or:
MONSTER DROPPINGS PRO!
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Creation Notes
I wanted clurichauns to represent bog-standard phones - the sort people own when they accept that they need one, but don't want people to think they want one.
Two years on from when I first gave Selll a clurichaun, it's increasingly difficult to find a handset that isn't a smart phone. My mum called me last week asking for advice on buying either a Samsung or a Huawei. I told her it didn't matter because any mobile phone created in the last 5 years is literally mind-blowing. When she pressed me a bit further, I said 'Samsung', but only because I wasn't sure know how to pronounce 'Huawei'.
The line about clurichauns just being leprechauns on a drinking spree is apparently a genuine opinion held by real-life folklorists (according to Wikipedia, anyway).
Selll's faemiliar Naggen is named after Naggeneen from the folktale The Haunted Cellar. I shortened it to 'Naggen' as it sounds more like 'nagging', which seemed very apt for a faery that acts as a stand-in for a phone.
According to Wikipedia:
Naggeneen haunts the wine cellar of an Irish lord, drinking everything in sight and playing frightening pranks on the servants. He is described as a little man measuring six inches in height with a face like a withered apple. He has twinkling eyes and a nose that is red and purple from heavy drinking. He wears a red nightcap, a short leather apron, light blue stockings, and shoes with large silver buckles. When he is discovered by the master of the house, Naggeneen talks him out of moving elsewhere by implying that he would simply move with him.
Originally, Naggen had more of an adversarial attitude like this. The stuff I'd written with him got pushed into a later book, though, and when I worked him into The Quest Factor, he had less to do. As I'm writing this, it's giving me an idea of how his personality can evolve into this in the next book.
It's a good job I wrote this, actually, as I'd forgotten most of it!
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