“I hope it’s a girl and not a boy.”
“Well, whatever comes is what comes.”
“But I told you I wanted a girl.”
“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way.”
“Well, how does it work?”
“Well, you see, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much…you know what? Ask me again when you’re older.”
Autumn and Philiastra came to the living room and watched as Storgen slowly made his way towards the house. His gait was small, and his steps were wobbly, but his back was straight, and his head was held high.
Philiastra could not help but look on in admiration.
Autumn reached up and picked her nose. “Momi, why doesn’t Dadi have any legs?”
Philiastra brow pinched, and she looked as if she didn’t know how to answer.
Autumn dug deeper into her nostril. “Momi?”
Philiastra noticed and shooed Autumn’s hand away from her nose. “Daddy got hurt really bad a long time ago.”
“A big owie?”
“Yes, a big owie.”
Autumn thought hard. “Did he fall down?”
The child watched as her mother’s eyes began to moisten. “He saved Mommy…from a very evil, very powerful demon. He saved my life.”
Autumn looked up at him with her wide, innocent eyes. “Wow!”
Storgen reached the front porch and placed his elbow on the cane to balance himself while he unlatched the door. Autumn and Philiastra knew not to offer to do it for him.
The door opened and Autumn came bounding up to him. “Dadi, Dadi, did you get my treasure?”
“I did! It was wonderful,” Storgen praised, struggling to keep his footing as he wrapped his arms around his daughter.
“Did you eat it?”
“I sure did.”
“Gramma let me help her make it.”
“Oh, I hope you said ‘thank you’ to her.”
“I did. Did you keep my drawing?”
“Of course I did.”
Autumn put her hands on her hips. “Show me.”
Her father rolled his eyes and opened his satchel for inspection. Autumn carefully looked through the folded drawings to make sure each and every one was accounted for.
“Okay, it’s there,” she approved, taking a moment to look around at the rough murals painted on all of the walls of their house. Most were rather crude compared to what Storgen used to make, but many of the more recent ones were more than passable as Storgen had taught himself to paint with his left hand. “When I grow up, I’m going to be an artist like you.”
“And you’ll be the best artist ever,” Storgen encouraged.
Autumn watched as Storgen carefully stepped over to give his wife a kiss.
“Dadi, when will your owies get better?”
The question made Storgen pause, his eyes becoming sad. “Some owies don’t get better, sweetheart.”
“Maybe Momi can kiss them better.”
Storgen looked up and allowed Philiastra to give him a tender kiss. “She is sweetheart, little by little.”
He noticed that Philiastra was wearing her leafy hair in pigtails. “Hey, that looks nice.”
She blushed under the praise. “I thought you’d like it.”
“How did you know I like pigtails?”
She gave his ribs a little tickle. “A wife knows her husband.”
As Storgen set himself down into his chair, Phyllis came in carrying a tray of fresh muffins. “Philiastra, you shouldn’t be walking around.”
“I’m fine, mom. Stop hovering.”
“Well, it’s my grandchild too, of course I’m going to worry.”
The door opened and Gaetan walked in, taking off his traveling hat. “Hey, everyone, I’m back!”
Autumn threw up her hands. “Grampa!”
Philiastra glanced out the window to the sailing ship tied to the dock outside. “Did you bring in the last of the supplies?”
“Yep, they’re all in. You wouldn’t believe the rumors I heard. Both sides have stopped fighting. Some kind of curse or plague, they can’t figure it out. The war’s ground to a complete halt.”
“Well, that’s good news.”
Autumn sprinted at her grandfather, and Gaetan scooped her up and gave her a big bear hug. “How’s my favorite little autumn blossom? Oh my, you’re getting so heavy.”
Phyllis set out some fresh slices of earth melon. “Dear, mind your back.”
“Oh I’m fine. Stop hovering.”
“It’s annoying isn’t it?” Philiastra quipped.
“Yes, it is.”
Phyllis tapped her foot. “Now, don’t you two ally against me. He hasn’t been taking his medicine.”
Philiastra grew concerned. “You haven’t been taking your medicine?”
“I forgot to take it with me on my last trip.”
Philiastra mimicked her mother’s tone. “Dad, take your blasted medicine.”
“Ugh, don’t you start up, too.”
Phyllis and Philiastra laughed heartily. Gaetan joined in as well. Autumn jumped up and down, so excited she didn’t even know what to do with herself.
As the laughter died down, Philiastra half expected Storgen to crack a joke like he always used to in the old days, but he only sat there quietly, enjoying the laughter of those around him. Her smile faded as she realized how much his wounds had changed him.
She sauntered over and sat down on her husband’s lap.
“Whoa, careful of my legs there,” Storgen cautioned.
“Oh, stop fretting. That’s alchemic steel, it’s rated at over 1200 drachmae.”
“I know that, I’m just worried about you hurting yourself on the harness.”
“Oh, I’m fine. Stop treating me like a frail flower.”
“It’s annoying isn’t it?” Gaetan quipped as he ate a slice of melon.
Philiastra wrapped her arms lovingly around her husband’s neck, and looked deeply into his eyes. “I just realized, I never thanked you for saving my life.”
“No, you never did.”
She leaned in and gave him a passionate and sultry kiss. A deep kiss, a needful kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair and tickled the back of his neck. She could feel his heart beat faster in response.
She pulled away, happy to see that he wanted more.
She looked deeply into his eyes, her expression brimming with love. “Thank you.”
He looked back tenderly, and for a moment, she saw his old flame kindle within his eyes. “You’re welcome, Phili.”
Phyllis fanned herself with the tray. “Oh my.”
“Should we offer to babysit again tonight?” Gaetan asked, a twinkle in his eye. “Give you two some privacy?”
Storgen perked up. “Yeah, that would be…”
“Not tonight, dad,” Philiastra interrupted. Tonight we have something special planned.”
Storgen pursed his lips grumpily.
Philiastra held up the completed crystal board. “Tonight we begin the gathering.”
* * *
The very air crackled with energy all over the island as Philiastra threw the lever and sent the shell-shaped alchemic generator into full awakening. Violet energies moved from one crystal seed to another, working their way through the ground like a great system of roots. Droplets of glowing lavender dripped down runic stones as if they were melting ice, the ground lapping up the nurturing energies.
One by one, the towers of crystal and wood sung to life, filling the air with a sweet humming melody. The sky above reacted to the vibrations of so much energy, lighting arcing from cloud to cloud and lighting up the shifting skies.
Standing on the porch of their house, Gaetan and Phyllis could not help but look on in awe as the entire island buzzed with powerful energies. Autumn jumped around, laughing and giggling as the skies were coaxed to rain, each droplet refracting and stirring with shimmering starlight. Autumn stuck out her tongue, and delighted at the little zing she felt each tim
e a droplet landed.
“It’s working,” Philiastra shouted with delight, the clouds glowing brighter and brighter in the sky. “It’s working!”
Philiastra could not help but laugh for joy as a flash of lightning passed behind her, her multi-lensed goggles making it seem like she had a dozen eyes. She reached her hands up into the air and cackled wildly as a second bolt struck the dock and broke the sailing ship free.
Gaetan and Phyllis looked at one another in concern. “Are you sure this is safe, sweetheart?”
Philiastra took off her goggles, the glowing rain soaking into her green skin. “If it was normal alchemy, yes this would be insanely dangerous. But I have rejected that path. This webway is not powered by fear or hate or any emotion like that. I have transformed the entire island into one gigantic alchemic circle, and it draws its power from the dreams of all trees.”
~
At the very center of the island, Storgen held out his hand as roots grew up, weaving themselves together into a podium, that blossomed into a radiant flower of delicate petals. They reached up as if to caress him, and the sweet scent made him smile with pride for his wife.
“In the name of the forest, I call all those who desire peace to gather to this sanctuary garden,” he said solemnly. He knew he didn’t have to say it, but it just felt right.
Storgen opened his hand, and the crimson gemstone fell into the flower, which wrapped itself around it creating a living bud. The stone’s power extended out, canceling out all magic in a growing sphere around it, but each of the towers had been carefully placed to be just outside its range.
The final piece in place, each tower released a fountain of energy that rose up and fused with the others, creating a dome like glistening glass that grew down, falling over the entire island.
From inside the dome, it seemed like nothing had changed. But from the outside, the island completely disappeared from view, as if it had never existed to begin with.
~
Philiastra held out her arms and let Autumn jump into them, staggering a little as she strained under the weight. “It’s amazing, Momi,” the young girl squealed. “I can hear the trees singing!”
“Before long, there will be more trees here than you can count. This will be a special place, a safe place, a sacred grove.”
Gaetan strained his eyes looking out through the distant dome. “So, we’re invisible to anyone on the outside?”
“This place has never been charted, and I intend to keep it that way,” Philiastra explained. “Not even the gods could find us now.”
Phyllis clapped her hands. “That’s amazing, honey.”
Gaetan scratched his nose. “But, couldn’t a ship accidentally hit us and run aground?”
They all watched as the untethered sailboat was blown back through the barrier, passing through the sands as if it were a ghost.
“Well, I guess that answers that.”
Gaetan could not help but marvel as the spectral sailboat floated past them, as if the island weren’t there at all and instead it were bobbing on open water.
From the center of the island, a pleasant sound began to beat. A steady rhythm not heard but felt, emanating from the glowing bud at the center.
Phyllis placed her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “What is that, honey?”
“It’s an etheric beacon. A spiritual lighthouse that can only be found through the trees. A message to all the scattered forest nymphs of the world that a new haven has been created. An invitation to gather here and rebuild our tribe. In time, that bud will grow into a new great tree. The magic in that stone will be gradually transformed, integrated into a great tree, the ancient magic purified and repurposed until it becomes a new heart of the forest…”
Philiastra watched as the silhouette of her husband drew closer, his broad shoulders straight and tall as he drew near. She felt her heart brimming with love, overflowing with happiness. She felt warm, as if a light that could not be seen but rather felt, radiated from within her whenever he drew near. It was stronger than any magic, more irresistible than any force of nature. It bound her to him and him to her with bonds stronger than steel, but softer then clouds.
“…And we have Storgen to thank for it.”
“That’s incredible, that you were able to forge ancient magic,” Gaetan marveled.
“Actually, that was the easiest part, Dad. I barely had to do anything. All I had to do was create the right conditions. You see, that’s what trees do. They dig down into the slop and the filth of this world, and they turn it into something wonderful. They turn death to life. They turn grime into beauty. That’s what a tree is.”
Autumn tugged on her mother’s white coat. “Momi, Gramma said the forest nymphs almost died off. Is that true?”
Philiastra looked down at her daughter lovingly. “Yes, we would have died out…”
She turned her gaze back up to her husband.
“…but then a hero came. A man with a heart like a lion, and a will like a mountain. He was brave and strong, and he fought for us, even when he didn’t have to. Even when we asked him not to. He fought when no one else would. He kept our light from going out. He brought us back from the brink. He sacrificed everything to save us.”
Autumn’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “Wow. Can I meet him?”
Philiastra gave her a wink. “I’ll introduce you to him sometime.”
The young girl pursed her green lips. “It was Dadi, huh?”
“Yes it was.”
“You always say good things about Dad.”
“Well, he deserves it. He’s got the heart of a true tree.”
Giggling happily, Philiastra took Autumn by the hand and they ran out to meet Storgen. The three of them embraced as the glimmering rain pattered around them. The ground swelled, and tiny buds of flowers began to push free, unfurling their petals towards the heavens. The clouds parted, and warm sunlight fell down upon the small family as they held one another.
Storgen motioned with his hand, and Gaetan and Phyllis ran out to join them, the five embracing as a rainbow traced its way across the skies.
* * *
Autumn hooted with joy as she corkscrewed through the forest, sliding along branches, diving down through hollow trunks, and catapulting herself through the canopy.
“You better keep up, little bud!” she called out.
Her younger brother, Screpio, swung from a vine as tree trunks whizzed past, looping up one mossy trunk, then sliding back down another. Unlike his sister, he had his mother’s green leafy hair, but his skin was a human-looking bronzed tan like his father.
“Who are you calling a bud, you knot?”
At his command, tree roots became a ramp and he launched himself high into the air, flying past her and flying out above the canopy, the rich glow of twilight bathing the entire landscape.
The island was so different now he barely recognized it. A lush forest from shore to shore, the alchemic towers lost in a vibrant garden of green life. Hundreds of houses dotted the woods. They were not traditional forest nymph homes shaped like a pod, nor were they the boxy structures favored by humans, but a fusion of the two. Staircases wound around the trunks of trees, and sturdy rope bridges hung from tree to tree like lazy hammocks. This was a forest unlike anything that had existed before, a place of light and music. The smell of roasting hydromelon was positively irresistible.
Screpio landed gently, a wide leaf catching him and lifting him aloft so he could get a better view. Above the seemingly endless woods was one tree ten times as tall as the others, its branches piercing the clouds with soft lavender blossoms. When he closed his eyes, he could feel it like a second sun. He felt energized, as if joy itself were soaking into his skin. From deep within its heartwood, he could see with his mind the heart of the forest beating strong, the waves rippling out throughout the entire island.
Autumn swung up and came to a rest next to him. “Hey, there’s a blossom dance going on at the lagoon, you wanna go?”
Screpio adjusted his glasses. “Again? Why do you always wanna go dancing lately? Let’s have Grandpa to take me out fishing again.”
“Fishing? Ugh, you are such a twig.”
“You are.”
“You are!”
“Hey you guys, not so fast!” a younger voice called out.
Autumn and Screpio looked at one another and winced.
Their sister, Aspen, clamored up the tree trunk as fast as her little limbs would take her. Unlike them, she had a full head of long human blonde hair, and from behind she could easily pass as one, until she turned around that is, revealing her green skin.
“Wait for me!”
Huffing and puffing, Aspen crawled up onto the giant leaf they stood on. “You know I can’t go that fast yet!”
“Well, we were trying to ditch you,” Screpio explained.
Aspen stuck out her green tongue at him. He stuck his pink tongue back at her.
“We’re going to the blossom dance,” Autumn said. “It’s no place for little kids.”
Aspen put her hands on her hips. “You’re thirteen, Autumn, you’re just as much a kid as I am!”
“Ugh, fine, you can come.”
The three of them heard the blossom dance long before they saw it. A riot of music and unrestrained joy. Festive drums and wooden flutes, with some human instruments mixed in as well. Four-stringed lutes and brass trumpets. The air tasted so heavenly with fruits and juices, pastries and wines to be enjoyed and shared.
They arrived at the platform, a cluster of glowing amber crystals burning brightly at the center like a luminescent bonfire. The costumes worn were bright and the dances performed were lively.
It was a celebration of the simple joy of being alive.
Aspen and Screpio made for the banquet table, while Autumn circled her way closer to the center. Only the younger forest nymphs were willing to dance among the humans. The older ones hung at the edges, pretending not to notice or feigning some excuse for why they were not dancing.
But it was one particular nymph that Autumn was looking for. His name was Cedar, and he was a bit on the tall and gangly side, but she didn’t mind. The way he moved when he danced, the tensing of his muscles, the glistening of the lights off his green skin, the way his leafy hair swayed and waved to the rhythm. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
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