Magnifying the fantasy in Suncatchers, the Free Beings present a wild microcosm of humanity’s expression throughout history. Blending with magical elements, they have been given the task of preserving human experience, their bodies a living library with thousands of recorded years. Lead by “Fi”, these people live on the Yjoula islands, hidden away from modern society but always keeping a watchful eye on Yjoulai.

The Free Beings were inspired by a vast array of indigenous groups throughout human history. Likened to the American experience, their stories lay hidden but somehow have a deep root in the Suncatchers universe. They are representative of how culture changes, oftentimes without warning or want, and what gets lost in translation/colonization in the process. It’s another grey area in the theme of “polarity”. Some people believe change is necessary, and will pursue said change through any means necessary. Others may reasonably want to preserve their roots, even if (like many in the United States), don’t really know what that means.

Fi is the oldest of the Free Beings, indigenous to the Central Americas pre-colonization, and seems to have collected the others around a very specific time in human history. A time where magic was common place, and the connection to the stars wasn’t seen as silly or useless. It was medicine, history, culture, and woven into the fabric of human understanding. I think the Free Beings can also represent the core wound of modernity: the separation between man and the cosmos and how we got here.

This inspiration is especially interesting to me as an American. There’s a special wound here that ignores what our ancestors did to those who called the Americas home. In creating a “new world”, so much was lost for the indigenous, the settlers, and the enslaved. Not only was the spiritual culture of the Americas torn apart, but even those that came here (by choice or by force) ended up with severances to a “motherland”. Nearly everyone lost whatever magic their lineage once taught (once again, either by choice or by force). But interestingly, if you look hard enough, you can still find it in old places around the country. I think that’s why I love the American South and Appalachia so much.

Aine is a Free Being featured in Suncatchers, and she has a small place in my heart as a pre-colonial Celtic woman. I can look to my ancestry, knowing where I came from, but still have no connection to it. My culture, my home, my understanding of the world is so separated from that origin. I think a lot of Americans can resonate with that and still mourn the truth behind what it took to become America. It’s a weird feeling, but it’s one that holds the idea of “polarity” so well: holding the painful truth and the optimism in the same hand. I don’t think America has figured out what do with this, much less recognized this part of its identity. But I have hope that our country will find a way to atone for the atrocities while still honoring the special melting pot it is. Like I said, it’s a weird feeling and I’m only one voice on the subject anyway.