The Hedgebrume's Whispers

Brigid hurried through the foggy highland forest, wicker basket in hand, collecting herbs for her grandmother's Hallowmas rituals. At twelve years old, she was finally allowed to assist wise Danu, the village's elder hedge witch.

As the cold November wind howled, Brigid gathered dried burdock and bog myrtle. Danu needed these to create charms protecting the villagers through the long winter nights. Brigid felt proud to help, though she still struggled to remember all the old spells and traditions Danu taught her.

When Brigid returned, Danu crushed the herbs in a stone bowl, chanting in the ancient tongue passed down through generations. At sunset, a brume covered the forest, shrouding the land in ethereal mist. Brigid sensed spirits awakening, their whispers riding upon the wind.

By candlelight, Brigid and Danu performed the Hallowmas rites, leaving offerings at the edge of the woods to honour ancestors and appease restless souls. Brigid worried she would forget the words, but the incantations flowed from her lips as though placed there by magic itself.

At midnight, their ceremony ended with the lighting of the crimson Hallowmas candle. Danu said that the burning candle would keep the dark forces of evil at bay.. Before bed, Brigid gazed out the frost-lined window. She imagined generations of village hedge witches performing these same rites, the ancient traditions flowing through her blood. Brigid valued her role as the preserver of the old hedgewitch ways.