It happened so fast, but the eclipse was coming to an end. The final story was about to be told by the Moon. The Moon was going to tell an older story told to her by an ancient tree named Antique Tree. This last story also dealt with the good and evil forces of Nature battling for dominance on Earth. The Moon originally heard the story from one of the oldest trees in Scotland. Since it was so old it was given the name Antique Tree. He was the source for many old tales and as it happens this last story of the Moon's came before man shared the Earth with Nature.
I have seen many things happen on this lush land. Most of the events are ones that Nature rejoices about. Every once in a while there will be some kind of travesty that gets our roots quaking and has us talking about the ordeal for ages. I remember this story way back from when I believe I only had one ring. I was a baby compared to the company that I shared the forest with. I loved to sway in the breeze and mingle with the passing birds. I was more active than some of the trees that I lived near and this gave me the title of being somewhat of a rebel. On this certain day there was a horrid stench that filled the air. It was dark and cloudy and a menacing gray. One of the birds came whizzing past me and turned around after my yell to tell me it was a fire. I had never heard of a fire except for it being a common occurrence across the mountain valley. Apparently Thunder Hag was on a tirade against Nature and was setting fires to the forests because they celebrated the day she was first cast from our lands.
There was a council held in which I learned that Thunder Hag was a venomous cloud of thunder, lightning, winds and rains. She had been plotting to punish our lands for their happiness at her defeat. She had to wait until the time was right to strike. So she had been saving up all the hot and cold air that she needed to feed her stormy cloud and make it vicious. Thunder Hag was using the her pet cloud to throw lightning bolts down on the grass and start fires. At our council we thought of ways to stop her. Considering that most of us were naturally defenseless against such a force, we needed to ask for outside help. The best suggestion received was to contact Conall. Conall can be best compared to the earthly world of men as a spirit. We considered and treated Conall as a god though. I was absolutetly thrilled because I might have a chance of meeting Conall if we were to summon the spirit.
Conall was a spirit of Nature. It was
neither male or female but encompassed the goodness of Nature. The
council chose me, since I loved to sway in the breeze, to spread the
message across the spring wind to try and get any little seeds to find
Conall. I could feel a nice, warm, soothing feeling in the air when
Conall did arrive. It whispered in the wind that it could feel the hurt
and pain of the forest.
The council explained the trouble with Thunder Hag and the air suddenly
turned cold with Conall's anger. The sun had not shone in days and some
trees had begun collecting mold at their bases which was a concern for
Conall. That night Thunder Hag struck again and a fire started a mile
from where I stood. Things got really hot and smoky and it was hard for
me to breathe. I feared for my life. Conall was there and tried to
combat Thunder Hag with winds but it did not work. She had gained too
much power and Conall's winds were no match. Luckily, the fire
was put out with the help of a nearby stream. The next day there was a sense of urgency in the forest to get rid of Thunder Hag or we might not survive. Conall had devised a plan for us in the morning. Conall suggested that we gather all of our loose branches and place them in a pile. Conall had the animals of the forest get together around the pile of branches and gave them instructions for what needed to be done. The rest of us trees needed to huddle together to keep the work of the animals' out of sight of Thunder Hag. When they were done they had a beautifully carved spear. Conall said it needed to be hidden so we tucked it under some leaves for safe keeping. When Thunder Hag began her attack again on us that night, the animals rushed to retrieve the spear. They all stood on one another's shoulders and when Thunder Hag poked her head out of the cloud to see her damage, they stabbed her with the spear. She wailed in agony and quickly blew herself out of our territory.
Everyone in the forest rejoiced. Conall said there was probably a chance that Thunder Hag would come back and if she did, he would be back to help. She has not been back since so we must have really scared her good. Conall could not do anything for the trees and grass that had been killed in the fires but Conall did say that new and glorious things would come from the devastated lands. Conall was right and where a forest once stood there are now beautiful fields of heather that bring many birds and insects.
Author's Note:
This was originally a very short story. I kept Thunder Hag just the way she was but completely changed Conall. He was a man in the original. He was summoned by a king to get rid of Thunder Hag. She was killed by a spear but not from the paws of animals but from the hand of Conall. I invented the character of Antique Tree and made Conall a spirit of Nature. This story did not contain a lot of natural elements in it and so I had a lot of fun creating characters to enhance Nature in the story. I also felt that the last two stories should be about Nature battling Nature without the influence of man because it gives Nature an extreme amount of power to endow her with such qualities as fighting. This last story makes my collection complete and I hope you enjoyed it!
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Email me: The Planter of Trees---- Amber Sears
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