So as some folks may be aware, a while back I introduced a concept for what the rabbits of the Green Ember series would call God. I don't feel confident in my ability to come up with something like Eru Illuvatar (Tolkien) or Aslan (Narnia). And I didn't want to just rip off another franchise by using a name like the Heart (Mistmantle) or the Maker (Wingfeather, among other things). Firstking might have been a good one, but Sam applied that as a name of Flint.

I was struck by an inspiration. One of the teachings of Christ that I treasure most is the emphasis on God's Fatherhood. I thus had the idea that the rabbits, who also value family, would call their Creator "Firstfather." The idea pleased me, and I've seen it adopted by one or two other fans as well. I figured it would never appear in official…

So had a bit of a thought inspired by The Lion King/The Lion Guard.

What if Heather's implied abilities as a seer included not just dreams and insight, but visitations from and/or the ability to communicate with the spirit of King Jupiter?

As you might guess, the main inspiration for this is Mufasa's appearing to Simba and others after his death in the original The Lion King film. I'd imagine such scenes would make for some pretty epic, solemn moments. Though it might be a bit frustrating for Jupiter not to be able to warn Heather about Bleston.

Alternatively, if you took a more humorous take on this concept, it could lead to some funny and/or awkward moments. I can totally see Jupiter being like "Heather, dear, I don't mean to pry, but I'm pretty sure I know what the S in that heart you drew in your journal stands…

I’ve got a mind for categorizing and making lists, as some may have picked up on. And a while back, something made me stop and consider the weapons that our favorite bucks have used over the course of the Green Ember series. I thought I’d share my findings.

Picket is known to have used 4 (arguably 5) swords:

• Smalls’ sword (I’m not sure this one really counts)

• The sword given to him by Wilfred

• The sword given to him by Smalls

• A sword taken from a fallen Halfwind buck (temporary)

So I was doing some thinking recently, and had an interesting realization. S.D. Smith has created a world that feels real and authentic, paralleling many aspects of our own. An unfortunate reality is that in that world, as in our own, prejudice is present even among those who profess to be part of the noble Cause of the Mending. This prejudice comes in various forms, which are considered below.

Regionalism

The idea of a bias against someone because of their place of origin actually shows up quite early in the series. Specifically, Sween Longtreader points out that the reason her husband sounds “sophisticated and clever” is because he’s from east of Nick Hollow. That in itself doesn’t sound too bad. But when she adds that rabbits from Nick Hollow are “perfectly ordinary” by comparison, it creates the impression that Nick Hollow rabbits consider their speech mode to be “normal” and…