The Little People
Have you ever wondered why, in this grand world wherein we live, there have always been "commoners", "little people", peons, the mass majority of folks just living their lives doing the best they can, rarely seeking fame or fortune (perhaps wanting it but instead being content with where they're at ...for the most part)?
The common people: the mass of humans who are the target of powers-that-be to try to influence and win favor of, but should their efforts fail, they blame for unrest?
These little people are represented in literature in almost all fantasy as the slaves and peasants, the other beings out there that make the world go around. They have a hounding voice that, should one listen, says "enjoy the simple life". Hobbits, have you, who pay little mind to the conflicts that rumble in fortune-seekers' hearts but go about their business planting, tilling, baking, cobbling, dressmaking, and working other skills with talented hands. The folks who, should they get together and agree on one thing, could shake their realm into a frenzy.
The voice of one peasant alone is seldom heard. They are sent to the bottom of the slush pile, subordinate to their masters who have achieved a platform be it from hard work and luck, or simply rubbing shoulders with influencers. And yet how can the peons complain? It is the way of things.
Even chickens have a pecking order.
I remember an old Vietnamese man I used to visit in my youth. Always smiling, he had the most beautiful flourishing garden. He was content in his role of tending to it. Nothing else in the world bothered him. I remember wanting to someday have that same peace. What more is there in life?
“There is much wisdom to be gleaned from the minds of the common folk, and it is their continued goodwill that drives the wheels of our barony.”
― Daniel Thorman
I am content to be a commoner. It's in my blood I believe, even though my parents tried hard to rise above that status. It is the way of things.
In case you missed it, Thread of a Spider, a historical fantasy about the uprising of the common people in Ireland in 1920 is free on Kindle Select for a limited time.
