A Coven of The Brave

There was a girl, as many stories go, but this one had eyes of honey and a voice as crisp as morning dew. Her mother warned her of the woods, which lurked just beyond their white picketed fence, but she paid no mind to these words and left them at the door. With feet as light as air she hurried off one day… as the young do, to see where this path of chaotic dreams would lead her. And so, this is where it truly begins… at the edge of destruction the youth is set out to make or break their fragile souls. I do wonder, what happens to those who don’t pass the horrid test of the great unknown?

Deep within our core there are gems wrapped around our spines, each holds a function but there is always one that resonates more so than the rest; so, she stood at the edge of this wilderness set on stealing our gems, our beloved gifts. The trees hid haunted faces filled with lies and corrupted tales. If one were to stare into their shifting leaves, they would see the troubled lives turned to demonic form. The devil hides in the trees.

Not a single trace of fear left her limbs as creatures with fangs and claws reached to pull her underneath the earth, which craved virgin tears, but none could take hold. Until she lost her sense of direction after wondering too deep and came face to face with the most gruesome of all nightmares. His name was Vile, and he stood as tall as the redwood of lore, with eight horrid legs as thick as the pillars in Hell, a body always engorged with living beings trying to escape, and a head as human and as damned as any man who lusts after fear. He was the keeper of those woods, a monster who’s only desire was to see his victims suffer, and when he had enough of their screams, he would consume the gifts they held.

Upon seeing her there, unknowing of his powers, he grabbed her and held her down with such force yet little effort. She screamed. She yelled for help in the light of day. She begged for help as creatures watched, but no one cared. For the time of reaping had been made, this was a pawn in the great scheme of things, a sentiment no human could see. The louder she screamed the happier he became. He so loved the sound of her he decided to take the thing most prized, her voice. The ends of his legs were as daggers forged with razors and he lifted to ready the first slice. She knew what was to come. She realized the sound of her pain gave him strength, and though she wanted to get away she couldn’t… therefore, in order to save her soul, she had to turn off her mind, become numb. As still a board, light as a feather she held in her screams as he sliced open her neck with such delicate ease. Blood trickled down her neck, feeding the hungry dead rotting six feet deep. He fished around for the gem he so craved buried under nerves and veins. When he pulled it out, he had with him a glowing stone as blue as an Imbolc sky.

Now, I won’t go into detail of how her young body bled, how she was forced to hide her scar because no one would believe, or even how many years it took to learn how to cope. Only that she lost her ability to speak and tell the world when something hurt. She was like a walking corpse, un-feeling, and drifting. There was some good that came of it though, in her mist of misery she built a garden. It was a garden filled with wildflowers that danced to love notes, herbs meant heal the wounded, and fruit as sweet as candy. It attracted many creatures that brought with them adorning gifts, promises, and secrets which made her garden grow out into vines of longing.

Amongst these creatures was a coven of praying mantises. They were, despite they’re form, women who changed with the phasing moon and who held the girl in high regard. On the night of a new moon the leader of the coven asked the girl “Why cannot you speak child? You have such talents to heal, yet you cannot heal yourself. Why?”. She stared into eyes that demanded answers to a pressing issue, and with shaking hands she got down on her knees to trace in the dirt the monster who took her voice. The leader of the coven knew this monster well, for it was not the first time she had seen or heard of his curses. “I will not let this crime go un-punished. You will have your voice my dear, because you have given us a place, we can call home.” So, the coven set out into the woods in search of the monster that took the girl’s voice.

He was as much as a nightmare as before except he smelled of rotting flesh, for no one was ever willing to put a stop to his stealing. The coven creeped slowly behind him as he took another victim, but before he could swallow another poor girls’ soul they attacked. Four plucked out his eyes as several more tied his legs with his own web. The screeching pain emitted from that bloody mouth echoed hundreds of miles across valleys, mountain tops and villages fearful of his power. He tried to claw away the women who bested him, but his efforts were useless, for they had tied him to a banishing tree that burned up in flames on every new moon night. The lightless sky was vibrant with stars that evening; it was a sign of heaven blessing the covens act of justice. Once the tree had burned away the monster’s body all that remained of him were the many gifts he had stolen. The women saw how many had suffered at his hand and wept for the souls they could not save, but now no one would have to suffer again.

They found the girls gift, a stone that shone as bright as spring and made they’re way to return it to her. She was tending to her garden, as always, but when she saw the coven approaching with that glowing blue stone she leaped up for joy and cried rivers of grateful tears. The leader of the coven presented the stone “My darling, we have kept our promise to you, and the monster that so haunted your heart and mind is now dead. No one shall suffer at his hand again. Now, live your life as you have never before, and take these gems with you.” The coven had collected the many gifts the monster had stolen and put them all in a bag. Together they would search for the lost souls who were without their gifts. “We only ask that you join us in search of those who have suffered as you had, heal the wounded and be a voice for change.” The girl took the stone and upon holding it to her throat it absorbed back into her body. She was so moved by their courage and strength she broke out in song, offering her thanks and service to heal the broken. And from that moment on the girl lived in peace and fulfilled her purpose to be whole again by giving the many who had lost their way a second chance at living. The End.