A Fairy Tale


A misty call from Dryad’s Lips
A tinker’s touch like feather tips
Brought upon a mighty roar
From magic steeped in fairy lore.

Sparkling light that Inspires Song
Chanting echoes from days long gone
Dance upon a Rainbows Wings
As Memory calls and Mystery Sings!

Such was the stirring, deep as yon’ pound
It shook the very forest ground
And our faerie hero came awake
A regal nymphadora from lovers’ lake.

His amber eyes with bejeweled glitter,
Colourful as Autumn’s litter
Sought the visage of his Dryad Bride,
But could not find her, though he tried.

A gust of muddy darkness brought
The sound of broomsticks from abroad
And witching hour’s wishful sight
Showed to him his captured bride.

Upon the Midnight’s brazen tide
The shimmering aspect of his Beloved Bride
Bound with gnarled ropes of leather
Captive to the loam, a Trollish Treasure.

A distrusted moon on the edge of things
Told a tale of magic rings
With Light that mourned the darkest night
And Sirens’ song to wrong the rights.

Our Hero arose with sabre glinting,
Baleful expression less than hinting
His wrath kindled, Wings ablaze,
His vision naught but crimson haze.

He sliced the ropes with his winged pride
And gazed into his lover’s anemonic eyes
She dipped her hand into his scaled-up chest
And stirred the bottom to retrieve Magick’s Amulet

The Magick sang it’s Sweetest Song
In spite of anger and in the face of wrong,
The Magick Whispered of Finer things,
Of the Mystery that only Magick Brings.

He spoke finally: “There is a prize.”
She drifted slowly, like a ghost, from his side
And nodded, while leaves grew from her eyes.
He faintly smiled, and kissed his bride goodbye.

Yet as the Magick played its melody
His wings grew rigid; then tinted green
As their Sweet embrace became eternal Rhyme
Twain became One, Clasped throughout Time!

This poem was written in collaboration with the magical Morgan from Booknvolume (https://booknvolume.com/). She is an amazing author and poet who has published a fantasy trilogy called Dark Fey, which you can read about here: https://booknvolume.com/dark-fey-trilogy/.
Morgan also writes amazing fairy poetry, please check out her blog, you won’t regret it 😊😊😊.

The Great Fairy Rescue


























The End

La Belle et La Bete (Beauty and the Beast)


La Belle et La Bete (Beauty and the Beast) is a French Fairy tale film from 2014 based on the famous fairy tale with the same name. The first time I watched this movie I was cruising above the Arabic Sea, happily sipping wine enveloped by white fluffy clouds. After that, I have watched it two more times, and finally ended up adding it to my own library.

Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairy tale and this beautiful film is now right up there with my favorite fairy tale movies (alongside “Three wishes for Cinderella”). The film is a visual feast for the eye, the attention to detail in the architecture, landscaping, interior design and costumes, is just amazing!
The cinematography is stunning as well! I love the way the director (Christophe Gans) has solved the twists in the story, and the characters are styled and directed beautifully.


I love how Belle (Beauty) is not overly sweet, but just a kind, brave, but otherwise normal girl who is put in an impossible situation. I love how the film showed how Bete (Beast) became a beast, and I loved the beautiful ending!


I am going to watch this movie probably hundreds of times, just to dive into that fairy tale world and become absorbed in the costumes, the amazing artistry and visual beauty. Oh, and did I say that I loooove this movie! 😀

A hundred million stars! 😀 ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

* All the images are from the movie sourced via wikimedia

How to catch a Fairy


It happened on the night that the fairies were busy bathing in the stream. She had been visiting her godmother in the North, and on her way through the moonlit woodland path she spotted them. They were quite naked, except for one, she was sitting on a throne on the bank bossing a couple of pixies around. A rabbit laughed by accident, and the queen scolded him until he ran away into the forest, mumbling something about a watch and a waistcoat that needed mending. But he was obviously just embarrassed to have been caught laughing at the naked fairies. Emberly crouched down between the brambles to have a better look. Her godmother had given her a glass jar to catch fireflies in for light, but now Emberly thought better of it. She was going to catch a fairy! But she had to be real clever about it.

“I don’t need a bath,” protested a small fairy baby, or to Emberly it just sounded like a faint squeaking sound, but that is just because she was too big to understand fairy language. The little fairy baby was sitting on a pebble with a leaf over his head. He was trying his best to appear invisible. The grown-up fairies didn’t seem to notice him at all, so maybe he really was invisible to them. “That is the one I will catch!” said Emberly to herself. The queen of the fairies had ordered the crickets to play music and some of the pixies began a funny dance, jumping and sprinting around the lavishly decorated throne. The pixies were wearing suits woven with pine needles and snake grass, and hats made of hazelnut shells. All the bathing fairies were watching the funny pixies now, and Emberly saw her chance. She crawled on her arms and legs closer to the stream and held her open glass jar out in front of her. She had put a piece of her godmother’s strawberry cream cake inside the jar and was hoping the fairy baby would smell it and willingly climb into the jar. She pushed the jar so that it was quite close to the fairy baby, and she had been right. The little creature wiggled his nose, turned his head and sniffed. He smiled when he saw the white and pink little cake, and threw the leaf he had been hiding under to the side and staggered on his little fairy legs into the glass. As soon as he was inside, Emberly quickly tipped the jar so that it stood upright again and closed the lid. She had done it! She had caught a fairy!

“It is a nice dance,” said the queen from her throne, “but something is missing.” She got up and looked ponderingly around. Her eyes went to the pebble where the fairy baby had been sitting just minutes ago, and she gasped. “Where is the little prince!? Where is he!?” she shouted as loudly as a fairy can shout, but to Emberly it just sounded like a little tingle of teaspoons of sugar being dipped into a small cup. Emberly peeked into the jar to have a better look, but when she tilted the jar to give the fairy a bit more space to move around, she saw to her astonishment that there was no fairy in there anymore, just a very small green frog with big yellow frightened eyes. “What happened to the little fairy?” she said out loud and shook the glass until the frog became so dizzy he almost fainted. The pixies had begun to dance again, but the queen stopped them and commanded rather sternly: “Stop! Stop! What is the matter with you? The prince is missing and the only thing you can think of is dancing and being funny!” The pixies stopped dancing and looked at each other, rather ashamed of themselves. “Your majesty,” said the oldest pixie, “what do you want us to do?” “Find the prince of course!” said the Fairy Queen. The pixies nodded and started looking around the banks of the stream, under pebbles, behind rocks, in between the snake grass and dandelions, but the prince was nowhere to be found. Suddenly a tiny blue fairy appeared before the queen. She had finished her bathing and was wearing a lovely frock made of bluebell petals. “I will find the prince for you, your majesty.” The queen was very pleased to hear this and asked the blue fairy to get started right away. The little blue fairy, whose name was Minoria, flew up in the tallest tree, a white slim birch, and from there she could see the entire forest.

Emberly was sure the ugly green frog must somehow have gotten into the jar before the fairy baby and eaten him up, and she was very much disappointed in her catch. A frog was a very common thing, and nothing really to brag about. So she opened the lid of the jar and the frog hopped happily back into the green grass and headed for the stream. When the bathing fairies saw the frog coming at them, they screamed in fright and disgust and swam to the shore as fast as they could. And as soon as their wings had dried they flew away from the stream. The Fairy Queen did not much like frogs herself, and she called for her firefly horses to pull her carriage home. Emberly saw the fairies leave and so she lost her interest in the forest and headed home. The only one who was left on the scene was the little green frog. He did not really like the stream, even though he was a frog, so he climbed into a walnut shell, left behind by the fairies, and fell asleep.

Minoria saw the frog from the tree, and thought to herself that he must not be much more than a baby, and she felt so sorry for him that she flew down from the tree, and covered his green ugly body with violet leaves. Feeling rather tired herself, she climbed into a marigold and settled herself in between the soft delicate petals and fell fast asleep. The next morning, when the frog woke up, he found the sleeping blue fairy beside him and woke her with a lick of his long tongue. Minoria was startled by the unfamiliar awakening, but she did not get scared. She actually laughed and started playing with the little frog. It was a rather charming sight to see, and the squirrels came down from the trees to watch. “Maybe he can help me to find the prince…” said Minoria to herself and she beckoned the frog to follow her.

For hours they walked around in the forest, sometimes Minoria took little flights into the trees to see a bit further on, but there was no sign of the prince. “You should ask the witch,” chirped a blackbird from its nest. “But how do I find the witch?” asked Minoria. “Oh, she lives here and there. Try under that root over there,” replied the blackbird and pointed towards a fallen over tree with its wing. The root looked rather abandoned and forlorn, but Minoria found a small piece of solid wood that perhaps looked a little bit like a door and knocked it three times. “Who’s there?” said an old hoarse voice. “It is Minoria, the blue fairy, and a little green frog; we have come to see you on urgent business.” Minoria could hear the sound of something being pulled and pushed and kicked, and then slowly the piece of wood, that was indeed a door, opened.

The witch was old and wrinkly with a toothless smile and a round, rather red nose. “What is it you want? I have a cold and a fever and I am not up to any spells today,” said the witch and coughed noisily. “I am so sorry to hear about your cold, Madam Witch, I will not keep you, but please we need help urgently!” The witch reluctantly let them inside. The root-home was dark and damp( a very bad place for colds, thought Minoria to herself), and there were only a few cones for furniture, and a big black cauldron made of a broken crow egg sooted black with coal. “Now, hurry,” said the witch impatiently, “tell me why you have come.” The little green frog huddled close to Minoria and stared at the witch with his frightened yellow eyes. “It is the Fairy Prince,” said Minoria, “he is missing. We have looked everywhere, but we cannot find him.” The witch looked from Minoria to the frog and cackled. “Oh, I think you have,” she said, and laughed even louder. Minoria looked at her puzzled. Perhaps the witch was mad with fever. “Take this seed,” said the witch and held out a little yellow and brown object, “and plant it tonight, when the moon comes out, in the garden of the white and blue cottage just at the border of this forest. By next morning a tree will grow from that seed, and you must pick the first berry that ripens on the tree and feed it to the little green frog.” “And then what will happen,” asked Minoria. She didn’t understand what the white and blue cottage and the frog had to do with finding the prince, but she was scared to disobey the witch. “Then you will see,” said the witch and cackled even louder.

Minoria knew the white and blue cottage well; she had flown there many times to look at the enormous golden haired girl who lived there. Fairies were not allowed to interact with, or be seen by humans, but Minoria had always been careful. The cottage garden was beautiful this time of year, all ripe and lush with roses, periwinkles, jasmines and forget-me-nots. Minoria chose a barren spot right next to the white strawberry flowers to plant the seed, and once it was done, she and the frog went to sleep amongst the sweet smelling flowers.

They were awakened next morning by a bumblebee who had mistaken Minoria for a bluebell. “Shooosh with you,” hooted Minoria and the startled bumblebee buzzed hurriedly on to the bed of roses. “Look!” called Minoria, “the seed has grown into a tree! Just like the witch said!” She kicked off and flew up to the crown of the tree to examine it closer, and there, just on the top branch, she spotted a little red berry. She picked it and gave it to the little green frog who hungrily gobbled it up in one bite (breakfast was his favorite meal). Then something funny happened, the frog started to grow! He grew and grew until he was almost as tall as the tree! His face changed too! His big yellow eyes became blue and small, and his green frog-skin turned white and pink. “You are a boy!” exclaimed Minoria. “A human boy!”

The frog, who indeed had turned into a human boy, looked at himself and smiled. Unfortunately he didn’t have any clothes on, and this seemed to bother him immensely, so Minoria helped him to gather some maple leaves to fashion into a suit. When it was done, he smiled happily and took a few dance steps in the garden. “Who are you?” called out a voice. Minoria, who could tell that the voice was human, quickly hid under a rose petal. The frog-boy turned around and saw the most beautiful girl he had even seen stand before him. She had golden hair and pink cheeks and lovely brown eyes. “I am a prince,” said the frog-boy, who discovered to his great delight that he could talk like a human. Emberly, yes it was indeed Emberly who lived in the white and blue cottage, looked at the boy and smiled, “then I should very much like to kiss you,” she said. The frog-boy smiled back at her and lifted his face up to hers. Emberly planted a big wet kiss on his mouth, but then as she did so, something strange happened. Emberly started shrinking, she shrank and shrank, and something else happened too, her white and pink skin turned green and her lovely brown eyes became large and yellow. She had turned into a frog! Frightened out of her wits, Emberly started hopping around frantically. The frog-boy hurried to catch her, and he put her into a glass jar that stood nearby. “I will keep you forever and ever,” he said to frog-Emberly inside the jar, and kissed the glass wall tenderly.

Minoria, who had witnessed the whole scene, was now beside herself with worry. What was she now to do? She still had no fairy prince, only a frog turned into a live boy, and a human girl turned into a frog! She sighed in frustration. “I better take both of you to the witch,” she said. But neither the frog nor the boy could hear her. But she motioned desperately with her wings, and soon they understood that they were to follow her. The frog-boy carried frog-Emberly in the jar, and Minoria flew a few feet ahead. When the witch she saw them, she laughed and laughed, even more than she had done before. Her whole face twisted in involuntarily grimaces and she held her stomach hard as she threw back her head and heaved for breath. Minoria looked at her a bit sternly and gave a little cough. “I am sure you find this all very amusing, but I need to find the fairy prince and your advice did not help at all!” “Oh, you think so, do you?” said the witch and smiled mischievously. “But what am I to do with these two?” asked Minoria and threw up her wings in resigned frustration. “You are to take the frog in the jar to the fairy queen. Tell her to keep it there for three days and three nights. She is not to open the jar. The boy has to go back to the cottage and live there for the same amount of days and nights. On the third day you will return to him, and take him back with you to the fairies, but before you go, pick all the ripe berries from the tree you planted, and mix them into a juice. When the sun sets that same day, give one cup of the juice to the boy, and one cup to the frog, they should drink it just as the last rays of the sun disappear.” “And then what will happen,” asked Minoria, rather confusedly. “Oh, you will see,” said the witch. And Minoria could do nothing else but take her advice.

The boy, who now had to live in the white and blue cottage, soon became very lonely, there was no one to play with, and no funny things to look at. The frog on the other hand, was thoroughly amused. Frog-Emberly had no idea how much fun it was to be a fairy! They painted nutshells purple, and danced along leafy paths, they flew and twirled in breezes, and slept in petal hats, they dried the tears of squirrel babes and hung their firs to dry, they sat and read on mushrooms and never did she see them cry! On the third day, Minoria flew to the little cottage as she had been told to do by the witch. She found a very sad boy sitting on a rock outside the door, waiting for her. He lit up when he saw her, and wanted to leave right away, but Minoria remembered the berries and motioned to the boy to pick them and keep them in his pocket. They boy understood and did as he was told. The Fairy Queen was not at all glad to see the boy walking into her little queendom. She had been reluctant enough to let the frog live with them for the past three days, and she had only agreed because it had been locked up in a glass jar. Now, however, she was to entertain a fully grown human! She stamped her foot so hard her daffodil slipper came off, and the youngest pixie had to run after it as it was caught in the wind.

Minoria lead the boy into the meadow where he was made to sit down on a log-stool next to the frog, then she started pounding the little red berries into a juice, just as the witch had told her to do, and poured the liquid into two cups, one big and one quite small and flat for the frog. Then the she told the pixies to open the lid of the jar. The frightened pixies were clumsy, but after a few attempts they managed to open the lid just enough for the cup to be brought to the captured frog, and just as the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the trees, the boy and the frog drank the sweet juice. The first thing that happened was that the jar broke. The fairies shrieked and leapt up, some of them even hid under leaves and behind dandelions. Then the boy disappeared, and in his place stood a tiny naked fairy baby, and next to the fairy baby, an enormous golden haired girl. “Who are you!?” demanded the astonished Fairy Queen. But only the fairy baby understood what she said. “I am the fairy prince,” he said, and the queen saw to her delight that he was in fact the missing fairy prince. Emberly said something too, but no one understood her. But she reached out her little finger, and the fairy queen touched it with her hand, and then she left, and to everyone’s surprise the fairy prince started crying. “Fairy babies don’t cry,” said the fairy queen sternly. “Perhaps there is a little bit of boy in him still,” offered Minoria, and all the fairies nodded their heads in agreement and stared at the fairy prince rather worriedly.

The fairy prince grew up to be a handsome fairy king, and Emberly grew up to be an author. She wrote many books about the fairies and how lovely they were, but how one should never try to catch them because if you do, they might just turn into a frog. The fairy king and Emberly met again one day, when they were both grown-ups. The fairy king was the ruler of his own kingdom then, and needn’t bother too much about rules and such. Emberly was so delighted to see him, she wanted to make him something special to drink, and then she thought of the witch’s tree in the garden. She picked all the ripe berries and pounded them into a juice. She offered one glass to the fairy king and took one herself. The fairy king did not want to be rude, but ever since he was a baby he had hated the taste of juice, so he just pretended to drink, and poured the juice discretely in the flowerbed. Emberly however loved juice, and it was a hot summer day and she drank thirstily. But as she drank she started shrinking, and shrinking, and shrinking, and suddenly something light and feathery poked out from her back. She turned around to see, and to her delight discovered that they were wings, and when she looked up at the fairy king she could see that they were the same size! Emberly had become a fairy!

The fairy king, who had always had a secret crush on the enormous girl, fell in love all over again, and asked her then and there to marry him. Emberly, who remembered being a frog inside the jar and seeing how much fun it was to be a fairy, said yes of course. . They married shortly after, and ruled the fairy kingdom as fairy queen and fairy king for many many years to come.




The Art of Storytelling

Art by Albert Anker


Art by Theodor Kittelsen


Art by Theodor Kittlsen




Art by Theodor Kittlsen


The Iron Age Farm, Stavanger, Norway


Inside the Iron Age Farmhouse, Stavanger, Norway.


Eddie Lenihan by Valerie O’Sullivan


Inish Mor, Ireland


Art by the brothers Hildebrandt



* All the images have been sourced from Wikimedia or Wikipedia

Further reading:

Nina Næsheim: http://fortellernina.no/node/1
Eddie Lenihan: http://eddielenihan.weebly.com/

The Wizard’s Spell

Art by John Howe




























For more John Howe art visit: http://www.john-howe.com

The Lost Tales of Silver Forest

Art by: Svein solem

The darkness sparkled on a canvas of white stars and tiny specks of snow drizzled dazedly upon the roof of Elsie’s house. Elsie yawned in her sleep and kicked the duvet unto the floor. Not long after, she started shivering and woke up abruptly. “That better not have been you, Foxnap Longbeak!”, she shouted annoyingly into the blackness. A tiny red-capped House Elf appeared from the invisibility of the murky courner of Elsie’s bedroom. “What!? What is this now? Accusing me of this and that! Me!? The sweetest House Elf in all of Northland!”. Elsie sighed, that he was not, but it did look like he had been sleeping. She slipped into her clothes and decided to get up, it was just an hour before sunup and she might as well make the best of it. “Where are you going now?”, asked Foxnap grumpily, he fixed his cap, tied his scarf around his neck and carefully released his long grey beard from the scarf knot. Elsie didn’t reply, she knew he would follow her no matter where she went. Outside the grass shone with hoarfrost and the sky lay dreaming in a deliciously soft bed of blue and indigo. “I’ll start milking the cows first,” thought Elsie to herself. It wasn’t as though Foxnap would bother to do it, even though as head House Elf, it was supposed to be his job. Elsie’s wooden clogs made a crunching sound in the frozen grass, the only sound audible in the quiet bliss of winter, but then suddenly, something else disturbed the silence. It sounded like some sort of snort. Elsie looked up, and there, at the edge of the Silver Forest stood a tall handsome stag staring at her.

The stag bowed its majestic head in the direction where Elsie stood, lifted it’s hooves and kicked loosely in the powdery snow. Elsie could see that it was a red deer, the messenger between worlds. The red deers’ forfather was Dvalin himself, the one true messenger of the ancient gods. Elsie bowed her head too and quickly cast the rune of Onn, the symbol of the hidden and mysterious. The stag acknowledged her greeting and gave a snort before it turned and headed back into the forest. Elsie’s grandmother had taught her about runes and their ancient symbols, she had showed Elsie how to see beyond her eyes and how to follow signs. The rune Onn belonged to the hare, the friend and helper of Dvalin. Now the stag turned back and looked at her. “What is that thing doing?” Sniffed Foxnap behind her. “Shoooo! Shooo!”he called out, but the stag did not move. Again it bowed its head. Elsie felt herself drawn to the stag. She became the hare, secretly cloaking herself in white invisibility . “stop that at once!” Shouted Foxnap, “we are NOT following that thing!”. Foxnap had clearly lived too long surrounded by the comforts of the farm. There was not much wildless left in him, but protective, he was. ” We have to,” whispered Elsie. “Can’t you see that it is calling me?”

Elsie turned towards the forest, making her way through the crisp grass with Foxnap at her heels. The stag started moving slowly, stopping, waiting, then moving again. Elsie was slow, careful, but not hesitant. She kept the rune Onn at her fingertips. Soon, the lampost marking the border between people and beast, village and wilderness appeared before them. Elsie had never been this far into the forest before. She had been warned, there was magic here, magic beyond the ancient familiar runes of old…Elsie came to a halt…someone was there at the courner of her eye, just beyond her visibility, something or someone watching her…The stag was gone. “Let’s get out of here!!” hissed Foxnap, not grumpy anymore, his voice was full of anger, warning, danger…But Elsie was frozen at the spot, eyed glued to the stranger watching her….

“Come over here, little girl!”. The stranger called out, beckoning for Elsie to approach him. Elsie quickly cast the rune of Huathe, the seer in the dark. “Rune magic, will not help you here, child,” said the stranger, “but if it is light you want, then so be it.” He stepped into the soft glow of the lampost and Elsie gasped. “You are a Grimlin!” she exclaimed. Foxnap grunted unhappily, a wolf-man was not something he had expected to meet in this forest, but then, there was a lot he did not know about the Silver Forest. He stepped infront of Elsie protectively and drew his little silver knife. ” You won’t be needing that, Elf, hurting the girl is the last thing I want, she is too valuable for that. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gwan, and I am indeed a Grimlin, one of the last of my kind in Silver Forest.” Foxnap lowered his knife reluctantly, but remained positioned infront of Elsie. ” And my name is Elsie, and this is my family House Elf, Foxnap. We followed a stag and ended up here, but now the stag seems to have disappeared.” Gwan nodded, ” I sent the stag to fetch you here. Silver Forest needs your help.” Elsie was just about to ask why, when she was interrupted by a deep piercing howl from the forest, and suddenly a flock of grey wolves appeared on the hill. The wolf leader blotted his yellow teeth and growled menacingly…

“Don’t be afraid, Elsie, the wolves are under my command. They are just put off by the Elf, we did not expect him to come with you.” Foxnap looked midly offended and put his hand on Elsie’s shoulder. “Where the girl goes I follow,” he stated. Elsie rolled her eyes, but secretly she was glad of Foxnap’s company here in this unfamiliar place. Gwan smiled, and nodded his head, “I can see that, House Elf, she is a lucky girl.” Foxnap was not sure if Gwan was being truthful or pulling his leg, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. For now. The wolves descended and formed around Gwan. They looked rather like an army of canine soldiers ready to jump the throat of any potential threat. Elsie shivered. She was glad the wolves were on their side. “Listen, Elsie, I have much to tell you, but not here, there are spies everywhere, even here, so close to the border. Let’s move quickly before they catch our scent.” “But….” protested Elsie, but she was cut short by a strong gust of north wind whirling up loose snow and rattling the heavy snow clad spruce trees so that a kind of white mist spun a web of invisibility around them. Elsie felt Foxnap’s hand in hers. “Come quickly!” said Gwan from somewhere in the mist, and before Elsie knew what was going on she had been lifted up on the back of a wolf, and the beast was running madly deeper and deeper into the Silver Forest.

Elsie held on as tightly as she could while the wolf leaped over rocks and branches. The mist was still too thick to see anything. “Elsie! Elsie, are you okay?” It was Foxnap, calling her from somewhere inside the mist. “Yes, yes I am. How about you?” she replied. Foxnap just grunted, obviously not happy with his means of transportation. But at least they were both safe. For now. As the Silver Forest grew denser and darker, the mist lifted, and Elsie could see the silhouette of a house appearing infront of her. The house looked gloomy and abandoned, with its aged wooden walls and darkened windows. The wolf’s pace slowed down as the house grew taller. Elsie felt something eerie and ghost like creep up on her, a feeling of dread, making the hair on her arms stand up as shivers went rapidly down her spine. The wolf came to a full stop right outside the old mansion-like house.

“Put me down this instant!” It was Foxnap and he was not happy having been carried, not by one of the wolves, but by Gwan himself. Gwan laughed and obeyed the House Elf’s order. “None of the wolves were willing to take him,” explained Gwan to Elsie. “Poor Foxnap,” thought Elsie, he was really not having an easy time of it out here in the wilderness. “Let’s go inside,” said Gwan and approached the door to the house. Elsie shivered again, but did not protest. “Stay behind me,” whispered Foxnap fiercely, and stepped infront of Elsie. She did not mind obeying him. The door made an old tired squeaking sound before it gave in and opened. Inside, a long dark corridor appeared and at the end of the corridor, another door. There were no lights and all Elsie had to guide her steps was the sound of Gwan and Foxnap walking infront of her. Finally, as the second door opened a tiny arrow of light shot through the corridor, and Elsie could see that the walls were covered with strange moss clad paintings. The door was pushed aside by Gwan and revealed another room, bathed in golden candlelight, and at the very end of the room sat a man, or was it a man? No, when Elsie looked carefully, she could see that it was a woman, a very old, and very witch-like woman staring straight at her with black raveny eyes.

“Come here, girl. Don’t be afraid.” The old lady beckoned Elsie to come closer. Her fingers were long and thin and crow like. Elsie hesitated, but Gwan gave her an encouraging look. “Go on, ” he whispered, “she is friendlier than she looks.” He gave a little soft laugh. Foxnap came to stand next to Elsie, “we’ll go together,” he squeezed Elsie’s hand and smiled. The old lady was waiting for them in her high royal chair. “I might not look it now, but I was once a beautiful Wildwoth. The wisest of them all. My beauty has been taken by the Mare people, but my brain is still intact.” She gave a small smile. Elsie looked at the old lady. She looked nothing like a Wildwoth, rumored to be so intoxicatingly beautiful that they could lure any man, beast or woman into their midst. ” Who are the Mare people?” asked Elsie. ” The mare people are why we have called you here, my dear. They are the darkness that lies upon Silver Forest. They consume everything that is good and beautiful in this world, until the only thing left is…..darkness, hunger, want….” The Wildwoth shivered and her smile disappeared. ” Is it because they hate the goodness and want to have the world for themselves? .” Elsie knew the stories of old, how conquerors and warriors and kings had tried to plunder and steal Northland, but they had always failed. ” Not exactly, ” answered the Wildwoth. ” The Mare people are so drawn to everything good and beautiful, because they themselves are nothing but empty shells. They want to posess all beauty, but their greed and their want never ends for as soon as they touch something good it disappears. Nothing and nobody can come in contact with a Mare and live to tell the tale.” ” So then, it is hopeless,” sighed Elsie. The Wildwoth smiled, ” for me perhaps, and for Gwan and your House Elf here, but for you Elsie, it is not.”

“But…” Stuttered Elsie, “what is so special about me?” The Wildwoth smiled again, and her eyes twinkled slightly. ” You, Elsie, have the ancient Rune Magic.” “But Gwan said Rune Magic was not going to work here in Silver Forest.” Elsie was confused and gave the Wildwoth an uncertain look. “That is not entirely true, child. For if you know the Rune Magic, you will also posess the lost tales of old, and that, little girl, is where the true magic lies.” Elsie opened her mouth to say something, but the wildwoth was not finished talking. ” Gwan, take Elsie, and the House Elf, to Ash, he will know how to help her. I will send Arn, my most trusted friend ahead to let Ash know that you are coming. But go quickly, my friend, we have no time to lose.” Gwan nodded, and before Elsie could ask another question, she and Foxnap were guided back out by Gwan. Outside, the wolves were waiting for them in the snow. The air was crisp and cold, and not very inviting. Gwan lifted Elsie up on one of the wolf’s back and just as they were about to take off, Elsie heard a shrill cry from the air above, and when Elsie looked up, she saw a majestic eagle sailing the wind above the white frosted peaks. ” Arn,” said Gwan and smiled. “If the wildwoth’s must trusted friend was an eagle,” thought Elsie to herself, “then who, or rather what, was Ash?”

The wolves carried Elsie and Foxnap deeper into the snow clad forest. The mist had gone, but been replaced by an eerie silence, as though the forest was holding its breath, waiting for something to burst out of the night. The winter darkness lay thick upon the forest, even the exquisite Northern Lights did not penetrate the wild green canopy of the Silver trees. The wolves did not move quite as fast this time, they carefully chose their steps, perhaps afraid of losing their precious cargo. Ice blanketed the rocks making them shimmer beautifully, but dangerously. All of a sudden Elsie thought she saw something moving in the shadows, something tall and dark, but when she looked carefully, it was just a tree. The wolves stopped abruptly, aware of the sudden movement. And then, the tree moved again, but there was no wind to shift its tall shape, everything was still and quiet. Elsie felt her heart starting to beat faster, louder. The tree was, clumsily and slowly, moving towards her!

“Good evening, Ash.” Gwan strode nonchalantly out of the shadows behind Elsie. ” Ash!!?” Elsie’s eyes widened and she stared unbelievingly at the tree. ” Ash is a…a tree!?” ” I am no tree!” Came the angry reply from the tree. ” I am a Tree Lork.” ” A Tree Lork!?” Elsie had heard about these mythical creatures in stories and fairy tales, half man and half tree, the Tree Lorks were a terrible sight to behold, ancient and fierce and no friend to man or beast. ” And this is the creature you have chosen to teach Elsie?” Foxnap’s voice was shaking with anger. Ash looked at him with eyes ready for the kill. ” What is all this nonsense, Gwan. Arn told me to expect a young wizard, not a little girl and an obnoxious elf.” ” The girl is the wizard,” replied Gwan, ” and it seems the Elf comes with the bargain, whether we want him or not.” Foxnap hissed and was about to fire another insult at the Tree and the Grimlin, when Elsie hushed him with a pleading look. ” She knows the ancient Rune Magic,” explained Gwan to Ash. Ash looked at Elsie suspiciously. ” Well does she now, so let’s see it then!” Elsie hesitated, but what choice did she have, it seemed, if she did not impress this Tree Lork, she would never learn the magic behind her magic. She steadied herself, closed her eyes, raised her hands and formed the rune of Nuin, the rune signifying secret passageway to the hidden and unknown,the rune belonging to the Ash tree, the tree where the warlocks of old wrote down their mystic knowledge to preserve it from the darkness. The air seemed to light up around them, it pulsated and shifted and opened, like a door someone had pushed aside, there were voices in the still wind, whispering riddles. Ash backed away from Elsie, clearly astonished by what he saw. ” Enough,” he said eventually, sternly and with finality. ” We will take her to the painted caves. They will test her, and if she can break the codes written in blood, she will pass, and I will teach her.” ” Codes written in blood!? What is this barbaric test!? Elsie will undergo no such test!” Foxnap could not hold back anymore. This had gone too far. ” it’s okay, Foxnap, I will do it. I will take the test.” And with those words filling the air, Ash led the way to the painted caves.

The Panited Caves were not far. The Wolf pack came to a quiet halt outside a slick grey wall covered in red shapes. The air was a bit thicker here, like it contained too many secrets to hold. The snow was absent, and yet, it felt colder. Elsie climbed down from the wolf’s back and approached the wall. She could see that the paintings were old, perhaps over 3000 years. Foxnap came to stand next to her. ” I don’t like this, Elsie. Not one bit,” he whispered anxiously. ” I know,” replied Elsie, “but I can feel that I must do this. It’s important.”
“Yes, it is my child, more than you understand.” It was Gwan who spoke. He put his hand on Elsie’s shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile. ” Well, this is it,” Ash’s voice did not carry any warmth or friendliness, it was simply on point. “And she must go alone.” These last words were directed at Foxnap, who looked as though he was about to burst into an anger fit at any time. Elsie nodded. She touched the paintings with her fingers. Here was the great elk, looking tall and majestic, and wolves…being hunted. There was also a bear and…Elsie looked carefully….a lynx? Elsie knew that the bear was the balancer beteween the spirit world and the human world, old spirits often took the shape of a bear when they wanted to visit the world of men. The elk was the carrier of knowledge and old wisdom, and the Rune of the Elk would help the caster of it find their own inner wisdom. The lynx gave the power to see the spirits and reveal the hidden secrets, and the wolf was the strongest protector. So then, why were the humans in the cave paintings hunting the wolf? Elsie took a deep breath and entered the cave.

The cave was dark and humid, blanketed by a wet damp cold that tore at Elsie’s limbs. It was an unwelcoming feeling, making Elsie hesitate. But she could not give in to fear, not so soon. Elsie raised her hand and cast the rune of the wolf. A formless figure appeared next to her, it was not exactly visible to the eye, more like a mass of energy and vibration not bound by matter. Elsie could feel the strength pouring into her, and she became calm again. The cave turned into a tunnel leading Elsie along black moist walls and a slippery hard floor. The wolf walked next to her, making no sound only a slight vibration. Suddenly the air shifted, it was no longer stiff and stale, but surging with energy, there was a tiny flash of light, and then, the empty air formed into a big black bear. Elsie screamed and the wolf leaped at the bear, but the wolf was no match for the bear, and soon it was whimpering on the cave floor. The black bear beckoned Elsie to follow it, and then she remembered the rune of the bear, the bear was a messenger, a spirit in animal form. Elsie patted the invisible wolf and together they followed the black messenger deeper into the cave.
Soon, the tunnel widened into a room. The bear signed for Elsie to hide, and then with a flicker of his paw, the room changed. Colors started taking shape, a soft light started glowing. The shapes took form, and Elsie saw to her utter horror that the cave was filled with ugly looking, loud, boisterous and terrifying Dwargs!

“Are they really Dwargs?” asked Elsie, her voice was shaking with fear. Dwargs were hateful, stupid, unpredictable creature who killed for sport. Her guide, the black bear, shook his head, and spoke, not out loud or by moving his lips, but inside Elsie’s head: ” These creatures are not Dwargs, they are what human beings will become if the Mare people are not stopped. These are only illusions, shadows of what will be, if you do not succeed, Elsie.” Elsie felt her whole inside stiffen, and her heart skipped a few beats. “Me….? But….I am just one girl!”. ” No, my child, you are not. You are not alone. Look inside you, look at the ancient runes, they are a part of you, look behind them, what are their stories? What are they telling you?” Elsie looked down at the wolf beside her. Even though he was invisible, he was just as real as herself, like an extension of her own courage. She looked back at the Dwargs, they were now no more than disturbances in the air, potentials not yet realized. And it dawned on Elsie that magic was no more than seeing the hidden potentials in the world that no one else saw, and fulfilling them. ” Everything is at its core nothing but energy and vibration, Elsie, governed by cerain laws. Learn these laws, and you can change any outcome. These are the lost tales of how everything came into being.” Elsie pondered these words while the black messenger guided her back into the tunnel and towards the entrance she had come from. As the soft starlight from outside penetrated the cave, the bear’s form dissolved and Elsie was alone again. The wolf leaped into her heart and Elsie knew she had passed the test. Outside the moon shone on the white snow and her friends were waiting for her. Elsie took at deep breath of the fresh night air just as Foxnap bolted to her side and gave her a rare and endearing hug. She was safe. For now.

When Ash saw Elsie appear in the cave entrance his dark wooden eyes opened wide and he gave Elsie a beady look of shock and astonishment. ” She passed the test,” he declared, trying to hide the tone of surprise in his voice. Foxnap stared at him and said darkly: ” Well, of course she did, you piece of a stick, she is MY Elsie after all.” Ash chose to ignore the rudeness of this remark, and turned to Gwan instead. ” You were right about the girl. I will take her to the swamp and teach her. We leave now.” Gwan nodded and looked proud. ” We will ALL leave,” added Foxnap, and put his arm protectively around Elsie’s legs. ” I’m sure we will,” replied Ash dryly, ” but this time, the wolves will not do, we need bigger beasts for this journey. The wolves should stay and guard the cave. I sense that something dark is on your tail and will soon try to enter the cave.” Elsie gave Foxnap a worried glance, somehow she knew that Ash was right. ” Very well, Ash,” said Gwan calmly, ” what do you suggest?” Ash looked at Elsie, who knew the answer instantly. ” Bears. We will call the bears.” Ash nodded, ” you do that, Elsie.” Elsie lifted her hand and cast the rune of the bear, and not long after a group of big brown bears came striding out of the shadows.

Elsie woke up abruptly from the deep sleep she had fallen into on top of the bear’s soft warm back. The air had suddenly changed, it was colder, solidified like ice, moving fast towards them. Ash, whose tall shape was walking next to her, looked at Elsie and nodded, “Yes, there is someone there. Why don’t you use the Owl Rune to see who it is.” Elsie lifted her fingers and formed the rune of Huath, the Owl’s rune, the one who could see in spiritual darkness and guide you out of it. Immediately a majestic white snow owl ascended from Elsie’s hand, it tried its wings and circled above Elsie’s head a couple of times before it set off into the darkness. This time, to Elsie’s astonishment, the owl had not been just energy and vibration, but it had taken full form and been filled with matter. The owl had been very much alive and breathing. Elsie looked at Ash who, for the first time since Elsie had met him, gave a small fleeting smile. They continued into the forest and Elsie was just about to fall asleep again when the Snow owl returned. She came to sit on Ash’s huge black arm seeking Elsie with her liquid amber eyes. When Elsie met her gaze she saw what the owl had seen. A bodiless crooked and terrifying head filled the sky above a small farm Elsie recognized as her own home, it gave an ice cold shriek before it dissolved, but Elsie could feel its cold bleak energy heading towards the forest. It was hunting her. “And that, my child, is a Mare,” said Ash calmly. He had apparently seen the same vision as Elsie. Elsie froze, ” but it’s coming this way, it will catch me!” ” And that is why we need to speed up, the swamp is not far, you will be safe there.” Ash snapped his fingers and the bears started running, and with Gwan in the lead, the whole party disappeared into the wintery darkness.

The swamp was just that, a dark cold and damp swamp. Why Ash chose to live here Elsie did not know or understand. Perhaps it was the tree in him that enjoyed the humidity. There was a little cottage there too, much too small for Ash who preferred the wild outside, but it was a warm and cozy little house designed solely for the purpose of guests. Ash served them some creamy mushroom soup and barley beer for Gwan and Foxnap. The food was delicious, and Elsie could feel it strenghtening her. ” We have about two days,” declared Ash. ” That is hardly enough time,” replied Gwan, ” why the rush, Ash?” ” In two days the Mare tailing us will reach the swamp and Elsie needs to be ready.” Elsie almost choked on her soup. ” Two days!” She cried out, ” What can I possibly learn in two days!? ” ” A lot,” came the somber feelingless answer. ” But first Elsie need her sleep,” interrupted Foxnap, and none of the others protested.
The next day Elsie woke up with a knot in her stomach, she was anxious about the day and frightened of the Mare closing up on them. Ash didn’t give her much time to prepare herself, right after breakfast he declared that the lessons were about to begin. ” Elsie, ” he said and gave Elsie a serious look, ” You must know by now that all magic follows laws, laws that we cannot manipulate. You have seen greed, greed is based on vanity and a want for power and control, this kind of greed is a thirst that cannot be quenched, it will ultimately consume itself. The greed of the Mare people is based on lack, on emptiness and a desire to fill that emptiness, this has led to jealousy, an idea that everyone has what I don’t and I need to take it from them to get it.” ” What has this got to do with magic?” interrupted Elsie. “Everything,” came the dry answer. ” Magic says that everything that can happen will happen, sometimes with a little help. There are endless potentials just waiting to burst forth and be realized. They want to be fulfilled. There are basically two types of energy, the energy that creates and the energy that destroys, both are necessary for life to exist. But as you probably have guessed by now, the Mares are made up of energy that destroys, not to break down and recreate, but to consume. Do you understand? ” Elsie nodded. ” So I have to destroy the destructive energy?” She asked uncertainly. Ash shook his head. ” You cannot destroy destruction with destruction. You cannot fill emptiness with more emptiness. Emptiness is nothing, so there is nothing to destroy.” Elsie looked puzzled. ” Think, Elsie. Use your intelect. Think.” But Elsie was blank. It seemed an impossible task.

” Let us try something more practical,” suggested Ash. ” I want to you to cast the rune of the Lynx. Not just to summon its energy, but to summon the lynx itself.” Elsie concentrared and lifted her hand to form the rune of the lynx. She felt it take shape inside her, then externalize and find form and matter to fill it with, and then suddenly, a beautiful white lynx came striding majestically out from behind the trees. ” Good, Elsie. Call it over here.” Elsie did, and the lynx came to stand next to them, looking up at Elsie with deep knowledgeable eyes. ” Can you tell me the tale of the lynx?” asked Ash. ” It is the animal who helps us solve riddles, find the answers to secrets and discover knowledge within.” ” Yes, exactly,” smiled Ash. ” Now I want you to try to become the lynx, to feel her energy within, to be her, to unite with her and feel her every molecule, her every vibrating cell, to see, hear and experience the world through her eyes. Not just in spirit, but in form as well.” Elsie concentrared again. This time it was tricky, she had never done this advanced magic before. She focused on the lynx, its energy, its being, the way it was created, she focused on the tale of the lynx from its very creation, and suddenly she was not Elsie anymore, she had four paws and the world looked and felt entirely different. Her senses were sharper and her energy pulsated faster. “Good.” She could hear Ash’s voice from far away. “Now come back to your own form.” It took all of Elsie’s energy to return to her own body and being. Ash smiled at her. “One last lesson, and then we are done.” Elsie was panting, and fatigue seemed to have taken her over. But she steadied herself, and lifted her hands, ready for the next rune. ” Now do the opposite, draw the lynx into you, let the lynx take your human form, and feel your human emotions.” Elsie looked astonishingly at Ash. ” How…?”, she began, but Ash interrupted her, ” just try, Elsie, trust your instincts.” Elsie closed her eyes, and invited into her, the tale of the lynx.

That night Elsie dreamt that she was fighting the Mare, but no matter what she did, no matter what rune she cast, she could not defeat the Mare. But just before the world persihed, and she with it, an elk appeared, it calmed her and told her to listen to the forest and what it was whispering, but before Elsie could hear anything more, she woke up, bathed in sweat. “Ash?” she asked at the breakfast table that morning, ” why was I chosen to defeat the Mare people, what is so special about me? Surely, you, or Gwan or the Wildwoth, are much more capable and skilled than to me fulfill this task.” ” That is a very important question, Elsie. What did the elk in your dream say?” Elsie looked at Ash with shock and surprise in her eyes, ” How did you know…?” ” Never mind that,” replied Ash, ” answer me, what did he say?” Elsie had never heard what the elk whispered in her dream, but all of a sudden she just knew, she could feel the elk inside her, talking to her. ” It says that I am happy, fulfilled, loved. It says that there is no lack or greed in me, that I am…whole…enough…worthy…” Ash looked at her approvingly, ” And that, my dear, is exactly why you were chosen”

Elsie thought about Ash’s words for a while. What did he mean when he said she was whole? It was true that she felt…loved. She did not feel that she needed something to feel…what was it Ash had called it….worthy? Was she in truth happy? She was often sad, angry, frustrated and upset, but that always passed, and she went back to…well…yes…happy in a way. ” But Ash, ” said Elsie, ” what about you? Do you not feel happy?” Ash looked at her and his eyes grew sad and colorless. ” I have seen too much wrongdoing and acts of terror, Elsie. I feel so helpless, there is nothing I can do to change it. Perhaps in a way I have lost faith in the world. Too many people turn to greed when they have an opportunity to. It saddens me, and…yes…it takes away my hope, my trust in love and goodness.” Ash sighed. In her mind Elsie saw a man, looking very much like Ash, but without the part of him that was tree and wood. He sat with his head in his hands in what looked like utter despair. Elsie felt compassion wash over her like a tidal wave and she wished to take the man’s pain away. ” But, Ash,” said Elsie suddenly, ” wouldn’t that make me the perfect target for the Mare people? You said they are jealous of happiness and seek to consume it?” ” Yes, Elsie, that is why you have them on your tail.” “Them?” Elsie had never heard him use the word “them” before. “Are there more than one? ” she asked Ash unsteadily, her shaking voice betraying her fear. But before Ash could answer her question, the trees outside uttered what sounded like a cry of terror, and the air froze solid with bleakness and stale hopelessness.

Gwan and Ash got up abruptly and hurried outside. The air was so thick they could hardly breathe. “It’s too soon,” said Gwan nervously, “she is not ready.” “She has to be,” replied Ash, “she is our only hope.” Through the darkness they could spot the shadowy silhouettes of the Mares. They were many, perhaps in hundreds! Elsie had come to stand in the doorway, she was shivering both with fear and cold. “Quickly, Elsie!” called Ash, “cast the rune of the wolf, it may stall them for a while.” Elsie raised her hand and cast the rune. Multiple wolf shapes shot out of her fingers, they seemed bigger and more menacing than regular wolves, and without further instructions the whole pack headed for the forest and the oncoming army of Mares. Ash and Gwan retreated back into the house, only Elsie was left standing in the doorway, frozen with fear.

” Get inside!!” yelled Foxnap from inside the cottage. But Elsie could not. Her legs would not move an inch. She just stood there staring the the menacing shadows getting closer and closer. Now she could see the rune wolves attacking the shadows, there were loud screams of horror, branches were cracking, snow disappeared, and the air was frozen solid with sheer terror. It did not take long, the wolves were no match for the Mares. ” Eeelsieee!!” shouted Foxnap again, but still, Elsie could not move. She watched as the Mares vanished from the shadows and their liquidy form became solid. They were a terrible sight to behold. Ash came out from the cottage and tried to shoot at them with a bow and arrow, but this seemed to just anger them more. ” Try the bears, Elsie!” he yelled desperately at Elsie, and Elsie cast the rune of the bear. A huge black bear, more than tripple the size of a human, shot out of Elsie’s fingers. It flung itself at the Mares and a gruesome battle commenced. But then, to the cottage dwellers horror, the Mares shifted form, they emerged with each other until they became one big terrorizing entity . In this form, the bear was easily defeated. It whimpered slightly and went back to its invisible spirit being. Now, the giant Mare looked directly at Elsie, and with a terrifying roar it stepped into the swamp and towards where Elsie stood.

” come inside!!” Foxnap’s voice was a desperate scream now. But Elsie still didn’t move. ” I’ve got to try to fight it! ” she shouted back. ” Nooooooo!!” Roared Foxnap, ” You aren’t ready! Even Ash said so! ” ” But there is no time to get ready!” Replied Elsie, ” I’ve got to try, Foxnap! ” Foxnap, Ash and Gwan came to stand next to her as she faced the oncoming Mare. ” You can do it, ” whispered Ash into her ear. ” just remember what you have learned.” And Elsie remembered. She closed her eyes and conjured the images of the lynx, the bear, the wolf, the owl, and then the Dwargs and the future that would await her friends if she failed. She raised her hand and made an ancient mysterious rune, and then, she opened herself up…she mustered all her power and strength and invited the Mare to merge with her spirit. The Mare did not need much persuasion, this is what it had waited for…to suck the pure innocent spirit out of the girl. But then, that is not what happened….the Mare was confused, it was being held fast, it couldn’t consume or drink dry, it could only….feel…feel Elsie’s spirit, and the light of that pure spirit was so bright…it filled the Mare, and it was no longer empty, it couldn’t hold the light…it was growing…expanding…and then it exploded…

Elsie had neither shape nor form, she was just light dissolved in space. Floating, flying, diving…then she heard a faint voice…”Elsie! Elsie it’s time to return. Elsie!” She moved towards the voice, let it guide her, then she felt solid ground and she was again bound fast by matter. She had a body, her own body, and next to her stood Ash, smiling. “You did it, Elsie, the Mares are gone.” Elsie was confused, what had happened…” You filled them with your wholeness. By inviting them into your soul, by using empathy, you finally made them stop wanting, and when that stopped, the Mares could no longer exist.” Elsie blinked, had she really done all that? ” Eeeeelsieeeee!!” Foxnap threw himself into Elsie’s arms, ” you’re alive!” Elsie smiled and patted Foxnap on the back. “Yes, yes, I think I am.” Gwan also came to join the party, and the four of them just looked at each other and smiled.
” Elsie, let’s go home,” said Foxnap suddenly. “Yes,”replied Elsie, “let’s go home.”