My love has returned as he does every year
With his dark embrace and passionate temper,
His eyes sparkling with frost.
We turn away from the golden sun to notice
The leaves falling away, leaving monuments
Of green needles, ever beautiful against the cool gray sky.
I sink into his embrace and feel his breath -
Cool on my skin -
And I am alive as a chill runs through my body.
I drink him in, as he breathes serenity into my mind.
I surrender and I feel the weight of mortality,
Knowing that eventually things must change, and he must go.
Everything grows sweeter and more full,
With Life as his acquaintance he turns my garden from green to red,
Delighting in the manipulation.
But only with Death as his partner does he lose himself completely
As the red turns to ash-gray.
Now he is too far gone in his conversation with Death
And I know he will not return.
I am left standing on the hard frozen tundra
Watching him leave, knowing I will eventually see him again.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Homecoming
Lilianna stood at the edge of the forest, looking out into the surrounding field. It was March, and most of the snow had melted except for a few stubborn patches underneath the trees. She could see the village now, in the distance, and wondered if anyone would care to remember the girl who left so long ago.
She was 10 years old when she stole money from her mother’s purse and left her home. Her friends had abandoned her, said she was unnatural. She decided to travel to the city of Havina and find a way to rid herself of the offensive magic. Elves shouldn’t be able to raise the dead, even if it was an accident, even if she couldn’t control it.
Now, 20 years later, Lilianna thought she would be ready to return home, but the memories came flooding back. “Why can’t you grow a garden, Lilianna? Every child can make a flower blossom!” “I heard Lilianna can’t hear the trees, what’s wrong with her?” “Did you see all the dead grass outside her house?” She was an embarrasment to the elves then, but that was before she inadvertently raised her uncle from the cemetery. Then she became a monster.
She hadn’t found the answer she was looking for in Havina. She studied the life magic of the elves, but could not harness it herself. She resisted going to the necromancers both because she wanted to suppress her abilities, and because there had been no recorded case of an elf developing necromancy. The lycaths were an insular race and took pride in their exclusive necromantic skills. She found ways to keep the magic from coming out, but mostly that consisted of raising small animals from the dead.
Eventually a small guild of necromancers found her and took her in, studied her, trained her, and even named her an honorary lycath. She made lycath horns for herself and hid her large ears under a scarf most of the time, so as not to stand out in public. For years, she kept herself safely hidden in the guild, but felt that now it was time to reveal to the world what she was.
Starting down the path towards the village, she wondered what her family would say to her. Suddenly the gold she had brought to repay her mother didn’t feel like enough. Likely they would label her an abomination and chase her out again, but tying up this end of her past was necessary. At least she would be able to see her parents again, even for a moment.
As she made her way into the village, she saw that not much had changed. People still kept large personal gardens, and the town square was overflowing with flowers, despite the chill in the air. She passed the bakery and the schoolhouse, and found her father’s shop, Walt’s Tailoring Emporium, beside her childhood home.
“Care to try on a dress, traveler?” She turned to find a handsome young elf standing in the doorway. “My father’s styles are unique, you won’t find them anywhere else,” he added.
She hesitated, then asked, “You are Walter’s son? May I speak with him?”
“Certainly,” he replied. “I’ll go get him from the back. Take a moment to look at our designs.”
She admired the new dresses on display, definitely her father’s designs, augmented by her mother’s embroidery. They had also started making men’s clothing as well. A display of hats stood by the doorway with a sign that read, “Will’s Hats for All Occasions.”
“Hello there! What can I help you with today?” Her father’s cheerful voice was like a forgotten melody. She turned, and saw the recognition wipe the smile from his face.
“Father, I…,” she felt the magic well up inside her, tried to choke it back down. “I…I wanted to let you and Mother know I was okay.” She thought she would have more control over her emotions, enough to keep the death magic under control.
“Lilianna? I can’t believe it…I thought I’d never see you again,” her father said, reaching for her hand.
“NO!” she screamed. “Stay back! Don’t touch me, I don’t know what will happen.”
“Father, what’s going on?” The young elf rushed to his father’s aid.
“Stay back Will!” The air in the shop grew thick and dark. Lilianna’s head ached from the effort of holding back her emotions and her magic. She ran out of the shop, running in the direction of the cemetery. She had to release her power, and she would rather raise the dead than kill the living. She stopped at the first headstone she saw, dropped to the ground, and forced the magic into the earth. The grass wilted and the flowers dried up, and the corpse underneath started scrambling towards the surface.
Lilianna rolled onto her back, breathless, and waited for the creature to present itself to her. A crowd was beginning to gather by the cemetery gate, and she spotted her father and brother among the spectators.
As the corpse climbed out of the earth, Lilianna looked at the villagers and saw horror and disgust on their faces. Her father took Will by the shoulders and led him away, though the boy craned his neck to see what would happen. The corpse stood by Lilianna and said in a breathy voice, “Mistress, what do you command?”
The corpse had been dead for a long time, but Lilianna could see from the jewelry and tattered robes that it had been once been a priest. “Please sit, and do not move,” she told the creature.
“As you command,” it replied. Knowing it wouldn’t make a difference if she told the villagers to leave, Lilianna prepared her things to bind the creature to a small area. She made a circle around the creature with salt, chanted in the lycanthian tongue, and closed the ritual the way she had been taught by the guild.
“Do not disturb this creature,” she addressed the villagers. “It will not move from beyond this circle, and in a few hours’ time it will return to the earth.” Not knowing what else to say, she started to make her way back through the village to make amends with her family.
She found her father waiting for her outside of the shop, an unwelcoming look on his face. “I am glad to know that my daughter is alive, but you are not one of us anymore.”
“Can I speak to Mother?” she asked. “I have money to repay what I stole from her.”
“She does not wish to see you after what you did to her brother,” he replied.
“I understand.” She tossed the bag of coins at his feet and made her way back to the city.
She was 10 years old when she stole money from her mother’s purse and left her home. Her friends had abandoned her, said she was unnatural. She decided to travel to the city of Havina and find a way to rid herself of the offensive magic. Elves shouldn’t be able to raise the dead, even if it was an accident, even if she couldn’t control it.
Now, 20 years later, Lilianna thought she would be ready to return home, but the memories came flooding back. “Why can’t you grow a garden, Lilianna? Every child can make a flower blossom!” “I heard Lilianna can’t hear the trees, what’s wrong with her?” “Did you see all the dead grass outside her house?” She was an embarrasment to the elves then, but that was before she inadvertently raised her uncle from the cemetery. Then she became a monster.
She hadn’t found the answer she was looking for in Havina. She studied the life magic of the elves, but could not harness it herself. She resisted going to the necromancers both because she wanted to suppress her abilities, and because there had been no recorded case of an elf developing necromancy. The lycaths were an insular race and took pride in their exclusive necromantic skills. She found ways to keep the magic from coming out, but mostly that consisted of raising small animals from the dead.
Eventually a small guild of necromancers found her and took her in, studied her, trained her, and even named her an honorary lycath. She made lycath horns for herself and hid her large ears under a scarf most of the time, so as not to stand out in public. For years, she kept herself safely hidden in the guild, but felt that now it was time to reveal to the world what she was.
Starting down the path towards the village, she wondered what her family would say to her. Suddenly the gold she had brought to repay her mother didn’t feel like enough. Likely they would label her an abomination and chase her out again, but tying up this end of her past was necessary. At least she would be able to see her parents again, even for a moment.
As she made her way into the village, she saw that not much had changed. People still kept large personal gardens, and the town square was overflowing with flowers, despite the chill in the air. She passed the bakery and the schoolhouse, and found her father’s shop, Walt’s Tailoring Emporium, beside her childhood home.
“Care to try on a dress, traveler?” She turned to find a handsome young elf standing in the doorway. “My father’s styles are unique, you won’t find them anywhere else,” he added.
She hesitated, then asked, “You are Walter’s son? May I speak with him?”
“Certainly,” he replied. “I’ll go get him from the back. Take a moment to look at our designs.”
She admired the new dresses on display, definitely her father’s designs, augmented by her mother’s embroidery. They had also started making men’s clothing as well. A display of hats stood by the doorway with a sign that read, “Will’s Hats for All Occasions.”
“Hello there! What can I help you with today?” Her father’s cheerful voice was like a forgotten melody. She turned, and saw the recognition wipe the smile from his face.
“Father, I…,” she felt the magic well up inside her, tried to choke it back down. “I…I wanted to let you and Mother know I was okay.” She thought she would have more control over her emotions, enough to keep the death magic under control.
“Lilianna? I can’t believe it…I thought I’d never see you again,” her father said, reaching for her hand.
“NO!” she screamed. “Stay back! Don’t touch me, I don’t know what will happen.”
“Father, what’s going on?” The young elf rushed to his father’s aid.
“Stay back Will!” The air in the shop grew thick and dark. Lilianna’s head ached from the effort of holding back her emotions and her magic. She ran out of the shop, running in the direction of the cemetery. She had to release her power, and she would rather raise the dead than kill the living. She stopped at the first headstone she saw, dropped to the ground, and forced the magic into the earth. The grass wilted and the flowers dried up, and the corpse underneath started scrambling towards the surface.
Lilianna rolled onto her back, breathless, and waited for the creature to present itself to her. A crowd was beginning to gather by the cemetery gate, and she spotted her father and brother among the spectators.
As the corpse climbed out of the earth, Lilianna looked at the villagers and saw horror and disgust on their faces. Her father took Will by the shoulders and led him away, though the boy craned his neck to see what would happen. The corpse stood by Lilianna and said in a breathy voice, “Mistress, what do you command?”
The corpse had been dead for a long time, but Lilianna could see from the jewelry and tattered robes that it had been once been a priest. “Please sit, and do not move,” she told the creature.
“As you command,” it replied. Knowing it wouldn’t make a difference if she told the villagers to leave, Lilianna prepared her things to bind the creature to a small area. She made a circle around the creature with salt, chanted in the lycanthian tongue, and closed the ritual the way she had been taught by the guild.
“Do not disturb this creature,” she addressed the villagers. “It will not move from beyond this circle, and in a few hours’ time it will return to the earth.” Not knowing what else to say, she started to make her way back through the village to make amends with her family.
She found her father waiting for her outside of the shop, an unwelcoming look on his face. “I am glad to know that my daughter is alive, but you are not one of us anymore.”
“Can I speak to Mother?” she asked. “I have money to repay what I stole from her.”
“She does not wish to see you after what you did to her brother,” he replied.
“I understand.” She tossed the bag of coins at his feet and made her way back to the city.
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