A 2021 fantasy novella by musician and poet James Tait
.
Beneath the Simonside Hills, live the Duergar, a tribe of dwarfs. They go somberly about their business, with only a derisive chuckle, or pranks on Overworlders, to keep them amused. Young dwarf Ivar, bewildered by his own strange variety of emotions, is visited by Wizard Moorgol, spirit of the hills, who tells of the Duerga's spiritual imprisonment by Queen Olga, another such being.
Down in the World of Lightness, as the Duergar call the nearby village of Rothbury, lives ten-year-old Talitha Jacobs. Her Wishing Star, a strange pendant found one day on her windowsill, may restore the Duergar to their natural, joyous selves. While Olga warns leader Roarie of the supposed destruction this will bring, Ivar sets off into Rothbury, in search of the human child who might save his people. Talitha, overjoyed to meet an actual dwarf, readily agrees to help. She, Julia, Sebastian and Brett, one snowy night, each sneak out of their homes, to meet at the base of Simonside...
This novella provides examples of:
- Agent Mulder: Talitha, fascinated by such otherworldly beings as fairies, ghosts and dwarfs, dearly trusts in the possibility of their actuality.
- All Girls Like Ponies: Julia Kidd, a keen rider, lets Talitha ride her horse.
- All-Loving Hero: Talitha likes to see the good in all.
- All of the Other Reindeer: For having such bizarre emotions as sadness and curiosity, Ivar is ostracised by his fellow Duergar.
- Another Dimension: The Duergar live on “a higher frequency,” passage to which enables the children to see and hear their underground city.
- Bad Boss: Roarie threatens to “yark” two of his subjects if they don't get back to work.
- Beneath the Earth: Beneath the Simonside hills, in a slightly higher dimension, lies the kingdom of the Duergar.
- Care-Bear Stare: The very presence of four young humans, with their creativity, friendship and song, rouses the Muses, which return to the Duergar from whom Olga banished them. This restores their creativity and compassion.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Talitha's friends consider her fascination with magical beings slightly odd.
- Cool Gate: Atop one of the hills, Ivar shows the human children a fox hole. As they step into it, the hollow beneath gradually becomes more spacious, and they become aware of the previously unheard sounds of the Duergar city.
- Creative Sterility: Downplayed. While Queen Olga magically erased the Duergar's capacity for compassion, affection and inspiration, they remain highly skilled builders and sculptors.
- Energy Beings: Moorgol, who appears in the form of a dwarven wizard, is said to be a spirit of the Simonside hills, who has lived among the stars. While Olga appears as both a tall queen and a haggard old woman, she is of the same kith as the wizard.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Downplayed with Charlotte, who is merely somewhat exasperated by Talitha's fascination with mysticism.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: On appearance to Ivar, Moorgol the Wizard appears in the form of a dwarf.
- Free-Range Children: Somewhat deconstructed. The children fairly easily sneak out of their homes at night to venture onto the hills. However, Julia, overwhelmed by the cold, has a brief moment of panic. Later, Talitha catches hypothermia, and has to be taken to hospital.
- Heel–Face Turn: On restoration of their Muses, the rest of the Duergar revert to their kindly nature.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Following their adventure on the hills, Talitha's friends retain no memory of the visit.
- Mineral MacGuffin: Talitha's Wishing Star, a marble-like pendant found on her bedroom windowsill at the age of four, is a fragment of the spirit of a star, unwittingly called to Earth by the raging Queen Olga. It sought Talitha as the one able to free the Duergar; appears to contain a miniature universe, and when placed in the hollow of Dove Crag Rock, banishes Olga's power forever.
- Oop North: Set in Northumberland, England's border county.
- Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Subverted. The Duergar have similar personalities, but this is induced magically - their natural demeanour is caring and joyous.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Throughout the underground city, the air, at night, shivers with discordant murmurings. These turn out to be the Muses; the creative passions forcibly removed by Olga from the Duergar.
- The Power of Love: The very presence of four musically creative, devoted friends in the Duergar city is enough to call home the Muses to the Duergar.
- The Power of Rock: On arrival of the Muses, their spectral music inspires the children to break into song, which finally guides the Muses home to the Duergar.
- The Prankster: Duergar often enjoy scaring unsuspecting "Overworlders."
- Rail Enthusiast: Brett.
- Scenery Porn: Some beautiful descriptions of Rothbury and the surrounding Northumberland countryside.
- Sentient Stars: In her rage, Queen Olga unwittingly calls to Earth the spirit of a dying star, which drifts for centuries in the air, until it lands on Talitha's windowsill in the form of a marble-like pendant. She occasionally hears faint musical whispers from it.
- Stargazing Scene: On their nightly walk to the hills, Talitha ponders the stars.
- Token Good Team Mate: Among his fellow Duergar, Ivar is unaffected by Queen Olga's spell.
- True Companions: Brett, Sebastian and Julia, despite their reservations about Talitha's disquieting belief in having met an actual dwarf and wizard, readily agree to help her return the Wishing Star.
- Weird Beard: Murgool's white beard continually moves, as if blown by several continual breezes.
- Will-o'-the-Wisp: A favourite trick of the Duergar is to lead lost walkers into bogs.
