The Fire That Reforged Me
With a shimmer she drops from the branches of her favorite birch tree and resumes the human form she has worn for centuries now. Like many of the immortal races, she finds comfort in things that stay the same as the mortal world changes around them.
The morning air held the first bite of winter’s cold, not bitter yet, just enough to remind one that summer had yielded to autumn. The path through the woods was covered in leaves, fading from their bright reds and yellows to deeper burnt orange and browns. She watched with amusement as her familiar Aeron, glided through the air beside her, swoping low to scatter the fallen leaves into the air then charring some to ash with his small bursts of flame. She ran through the preparations for the Samhain celebration in her mind, looking forward to the shared energy and peace of the ritual with those who help in leading it as well as those who only attend.
A touch of melancholy clouded her mood as thoughts of Lark filled her mind. She had loved this time of year. Lark would badger until she agreed to go to the mortal realm with her, their glamour strong enough even as children to hide them or make them seem but shadows or one of the wee fae..a pixie or gnome.
They would play games with the humans who left milk or honey for them on the doorstep, though never malicious or cruel. A washing left folded in a woven basket or a cord of wood chopped and left for those who farmed the land. Those who forgot to remember the fae would find their cow missing, tied in a neighbors yard or a pig escaped from the pen, with a subtle command not to stray into the woods and become a meal for one of the predators. Tricks that would cause a bit of extra work but no real harm.
Lark was across the Veil now, dead by her hand, albeit accidental. She knew that Lark held her no ill will and waited for her to rejoin the Wheel, so they would not be separated again. Even the so called immortal races eventually found their way back to the great Wheel to be reborn again, it just took them so long that to mortals, they appeared undying. All things die, it was part of life and Samhain was the remembrance of that fact. The time to shed what served you no more, to seek clues to the future and the wisdom of those who had gone before.
Emerging from the woods, she stepped onto the cobbled stones of the path that led to the town. She considered the past as she prowled the streets, checking to be sure nothing had entered their sanctuary while she slept. Aeron landed on her arm and curled around it , nipping at her ear gently to remind her that he was hungry, though she knew he could not be as his bowl of gooseberries, full when she closed her eyes, was empty when she awoke.
The Wheel turned and her path had been twisted and not always smooth. At the time, her trial had broken her open and made her see herself. But just as it broke, it reforged and she remerged from the gate stronger and more free than before. She knew that Sutekh did not demand worship as his brothers, but she sent a silent wave of gratitude into the world for him choosing her. She would not be whole enough to lead a ceremony if not for his trial and her Mothers guidance, both of them. One who forged her to fight and one who taught her to see.
Leave a Reply