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Anything and everything that crosses my mind
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nano to 4078
“How did Man correct the problem?”, Ace asked.
“Same way they caused it, by adding more chemicals to the problem until it either died or was corrected.” Dubois replied.
“Is that why younger trees don’t talk?” asked Ace.
“Those trees who were born from trees such as I, can still talk, but we have not let our numbers swell. We didn’t want our intelligence to become common, so we selected our mates instead of letting Nature do it for us as we did before the change. We keep ourselves isolated and insulated to protect ourselves. She should really be the one to explain, though.”
Ace and Rath both looked at Gliss.
“Well, really,” she said, slightly flustered, “We had to do something. We couldn’t have a bunch of sentient trees wandering about, squandering their gifts and getting themselves axed, left and right.”
Rath and Ace were both startled. “Wandering about?” they said in unison.
Gliss glared at Dubois. “I wasn’t ready to tell them, yet. No matter, I guess the cat’s out of the bag, now.” Rath and Ace winced at the reference. “Fine, okay, then, time to fess up. The reason I know so many in the forest and why I have been around for centuries and why it has been so many centuries since I have been welcomed willingly into someone’s home, is because I’m a Sylph, a Faerie.
“My kind have been alive longer than Man was on this planet and saw all his highs and lows. Men were not always bad, there were good ones here and there. It was just that, as a species, they seemed to lack awareness of what they did or how it affected others. There are thousands of my kind, but most do not come to this world anymore because to be seen, we either have to have a dire need or have someone believe in us to allow us to cross the veil between our world and this one. When Man left, there were few others left to believe. Animals never really had need of us. They took care of their own problems, mostly, but the trees were a different matter.
“It was part of our job, since time began, to keep them strong. When Dubois and his generation became sentient, we knew we had to protect them, so we asked the other trees to guard them and keep them safe. That’s why the Birch are here standing around this glen. They entwine their branches and form a ring around Dubois to keep those who harvest lumber away from him and his kind, willingly, knowing that some of their number may die protecting Dubois.
“There are glens like this all over the world and wherever you find one, you’ll notice the grass is green and tender and the snow never touches inside the ring. It is our magic that keeps the ground warm so that the sentient trees are not stressed. Yes, they are free to go wherever they like, but when they stop to rest, a ring is formed for their safety and the local trees stand honor guard around them.”
“But, if you are magic, why couldn’t you just fix everything and set it right again?” demanded Ace.
“Because, dear, that’s not how it needs to work.” She said, laying a hand on his arm to comfort him. “Sure, we could have used magic on the world and Men, but that would not have been just. It would have taken away everyone’s choice. We would have been as guilty as Men of deciding others’ fates for them. When we granted our magic to those like Dubois, it was their choice, just as it was the choice of the non-sentient trees to be their guards and the grass and the earth to provide a serene resting place for them. We didn’t force any of this, we simply offered an alternative and let them decide.
“You have to remember, most of Mankind had forgotten about us or refused to believe in us, and those who did believe were either too young to be listened to or were considered insane or childish to believe in us, so we had no way to include them in our offer. It made us very sad, but we couldn’t break our laws.”
Anger seethed from Ace’s lashing tail as he shot up from the ground and started pacing under Dubois’ boughs. “But I never had a choice!”
“Yes, Ace, you did. You could have ignored and refused to believe the voices in your head. You could have chosen to go to town that day, run your errand and gone home immediately. You could have gone home at any time along the journey. You still can if you wish, but now that you have named it what it is, whatever you decide from here on will have to be your decision and you will have to live with that decision and it’s consequences.”
Ace was beyond forlorn. He stopped pacing and curled up in as small a package as his body would let him. “But I don’t know how to fix the world. What if I try and it doesn’t work? What if I make it worse? What if something happens and you get hurt or killed?”
Gliss walked over to him and sat next to him. She pulled his head into her lap and began stroking his ears. “Ace, Rath and I knew before we met you what might happen. We accepted it, good or bad, because we both believe it’s important to try, and because we both believe in you. We both believe you will be the one to return balance to the world and we both will do everything we can to make sure you have the opportunity to do so, but we will not force you. It must be your choice.”
Rath curled up beside Ace, licked the other ear briskly and purred. “Perhaps, you should take a nap before making any decisions. Gliss and I will stay right here and Dubois will guard us, for a change. We can be safe and warm, for just a little while, and recharge our spirits as well as our minds and bodies.”
Ace relaxed a little with Gliss on one side and Rath on the other. It felt good to have his friends near to comfort him. He was still worried, but a nap did sound like a good idea. |
Posted: 07:02, Mon-5-Nov-2007 |
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| This is very good, I can't wait for the next installment! |
Posted by LauriesAsylum at 01:04, Mon-5-Nov-2007 |
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| Thank you, Laurie. *imagine the huggy smiley here* |
Posted by treasa at 04:29, Mon-5-Nov-2007 |
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*kicks back to wait for the next part*
I'm making popcorn next time! It's been fun to read. : ) |
Posted by DeeJay at 07:22, Mon-5-Nov-2007 |
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| hmmm, plain or flavored? |
Posted by treasa at 07:45, Mon-5-Nov-2007 |
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| This really is good Treasa. Keep it up. I look forward to more as well. |
Posted by ben at 10:01, Tue-6-Nov-2007 |
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I can't help but drift off and start think about the paper issue when I'm reading it.. what would be preferrable to those trees.. to have trees chopped to make paper, or to recycle old paper and "add more chemicals".. it must be that sentence that does it, because it sounds like something Ben said on my blog last week.
It is nicely written and somehow reminds me of The Celestine Prophecy.. funny because there are no talking trees in there.. |
Posted by thyme at 02:00, Tue-6-Nov-2007 |
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Thank you, Ben. :)
Marjolein, you make a very good point. I don't have an answer. |
Posted by treasa at 11:43, Wed-7-Nov-2007 |
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| Quite good Treasa....I too will be looking forward to the next installment. |
Posted by Rubicon at 02:55, Wed-7-Nov-2007 |
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