Put the Torches out: Chapter 1 – Guardian Adventure Begins

Adventure begins as the howling wolves heralded that night had fallen long ago, and the hooting of owls only confirmed it. Few animals sought food in the forest at night, and they didn’t have to worry about anything, as their caretaker, the forest guardian, was there. She was a witch named Martha.

Martha was tasked with caring for this forest because it was a sacred place for witches. Legends say that the first witch in the world was born in this forest, and it’s thanks to it that witches possess their powers. Over time, the witches named it Ely to show respect and gratitude for the powers the forest offers them.

Born centuries after these events, Martha knew the legends of her origin and was delighted to receive the offer to become the guardian of the forest. Taking her work very seriously, she tended to every plant and every creature living in the forest with great care, aided by the powers she possessed.

She could completely control plants – she could bring them back to life, make a new tree or flower grow in a place she chose, or use them for defense. Her favorite shield was to create a dome around herself from the stems of milkweed because both their thorns and poisonous sap were deterrent enough. Martha had only been living in the forest for a few years. Her predecessor was an older witch who couldn’t use magic as she did in her youth, and caring for the forest became too much for her. When Martha arrived in the forest to replace the older witch in her duties, she asked her predecessor for advice on caring for the forest.

“Watch out for ordinary people,” said the older witch, emphasizing the dangers they posed.

Martha understood her predecessor’s words perfectly. Witches and humans didn’t get along. Humans accused witches of destroying their fields, stealing cattle, spoiling their food, kidnapping children, and many other horrible crimes. Witches also didn’t hold back and accused humans of destroying the works of Mother Nature. Martha tried to deter people from the forest, but as their kingdom expanded and people prospered in it, the old villages became too small for them. They also needed more space for new farmland.

The young witch didn’t understand this. She believed that what the residents of the surrounding villages were doing was robbing Mother Nature of her goods and destroying her. Over time, human settlements began to encroach on Ely. Martha watched day and night to prevent people from trying to destroy her forest, but unfortunately, it was too much for a novice in the world of magic. Trees were being cut down, their roots torn out, and the land after them was sown with grain. People built new cottages from the wood or used it as fuel in winter.

“This is too much,” Martha thought to herself. “You’ll see what it means to anger a witch.”

She decided to take revenge and deter people from her sacred forest. She started by spoiling the fruits and vegetables people were growing. At night, while they slept, she snuck into their homes and, using magic, made all the produce rot. When that didn’t work, Martha made all the grain fields overgrown with thistles. Sharp, prickly thorns that were particularly painful for ordinary mortals to pull out. Still, that didn’t work either. In an act of desperation, she stole all the livestock. She thought that if that didn’t work, people were tougher than she had imagined.

Meanwhile, people had long known that the forest was special, but they called it “haunted.” Among the residents of the villages, there were rumors that anyone who entered never came out. People feared Ely and wanted nothing to do with it; mothers warned their playing children not to approach the forest, no one ever grazed cattle near it. They avoided it as best they could.

The braver ones approached the forest to see what was happening from a distance. Upon their return, they spoke of feeling shivers down their spines with each step closer to the forest, overwhelmed by fear. They said that the closer they got to the forest, the quieter it became around them, and from the depths of the forest, they heard the moans of spirits.

Over time, as the population grew, living space became scarce. Adult children wanted to move out from their parents’ homes to start their own families, but they had nowhere to go. They needed new farmland, small plots for building houses. Due to the lack of other options, people decided to approach the forest. They were afraid, but they had no other choice.

Martha didn’t understand this. From childhood, she was fed hatred for humans. That’s what her parents taught her, and their parents taught them, and so on. It was a kind of tradition, the hatred between humans and witches.

After stealing the livestock, Martha returned to guard the forest’s border. She hid among the treetops and watched. However, after months of this lifestyle, without the possibility of proper rest, Martha’s body finally demanded sleep.

“Maybe I’ll take a quick nap?” Martha pondered. “It’s better to be fully rested for guard duty. Just a minute, no more.”

She created a large leaf, which she attached between two trees with its ends, resembling a hammock. She lay down on it and fell asleep. However, Martha’s tired mind needed more sleep than just a few minutes. She slept through the whole night and woke up only when the sun’s rays fell on her closed eyelids.

Martha opened her eyes and immediately squinted because the light irritated her. Sitting up, she stretched lazily, trying to recall what she had been doing before falling asleep. However, her thoughts were interrupted by loud shouts from the village.

“Lock her up in the dungeon!”
“To court with her!”
“Burn this haunted forest”

The cries Martha managed to discern amid the chaos were but a few. She attempted to peer out from behind the treetops to ascertain what was happening. The sight that met her eyes was of the entire village community gathered, people shouting amongst themselves, fraught with nervousness and lamenting their fate. Martha realized she had gone too far, seeking vengeance on the villagers, and now they sought retribution against her. She needed to flee. But where?

“Agnes! She’ll know what to do,” she thought.

Agnes was Martha’s older sister. She possessed the power of ice, meaning she could control existing ice (altering its shape or location) or create it herself. Her power surged with the onset of winter. The sisters were different from each other and rarely spoke. In their childhood, they quarreled more often than they played. Although they shared a few beautiful memories, both agreed it was better to avoid each other to prevent unnecessary exchanges.

Martha hurried to her hut. She didn’t know when the villagers would attack the forest, so she wanted to pack and flee as quickly as possible. She found her satchel, stuffed it with a few fruits and water, and stood by the door, hesitating.

“I won’t be able to defend the forest against all of them. There are too many, far too many. But can I reach Agnes in time? It’s a long and perilous journey. I’m scared.” Martha debated with herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the same cries she had heard earlier. The villagers were approaching. Martha dashed forward.

As she fled through Ely, Martha passed by all the familiar trees, shrubs, and flowers. She knew every detail of the forest by heart, every mushroom, every creature that inhabited Ely. Her heart ached at the thought of bidding farewell to her home. She had always been melancholic, emotional, and easily hurt. Martha remembered how in her childhood, her sister Agnes often reprimanded her for bursting into tears over trivial matters. Everyone thought Martha would outgrow it, but she didn’t.

As a child, Martha tried to change her weaknesses, to destroy her emotional nature. Her childish mind suggested to Martha that since everyone disliked her sensitivity, it must be something bad. However, her governess advised her not to rid herself of them. Instead, she advised her student to turn them into her strengths. With age, Martha understood that her teacher wanted to convey that emotions were not inherently bad, that her sensitivity, emotional nature, and melancholy were actually beautiful emotions, characteristic of good people and witches.

However, these emotions did not help Martha in her escape.

“I need to pull myself together. I need to stop daydreaming, just as Agnes used to say when we were children.” Martha thought to herself and plunged into further escape.

At every moment, she had to climb trees to avoid the hunting dogs used by the villagers, which prolonged her evacuation far beyond what the witch had anticipated.

When she finally reached the edge of the forest, her eyes beheld a cornfield. The vast expanse, overgrown with plants, some of which reached up to 2 meters (6.7 feet), provided an ideal hiding place for wild animals. The additional cover of night made the field seem haunted. Martha stood on the forest’s border and gazed ahead. The corn swayed gently in the wind, emitting a delicate, rustling sound.

Somewhere in the distance, a wild boar emerged from the forest, rooting in the ground for truffles. Martha, knowing there was no turning back, clenched her teeth and entered the field. She walked on the dry ground, pushing aside the plant stalks with her hands as they surrounded her from all sides.

“Why did you do this?” Martha thought bitterly.
“You called it a haunted forest yourselves, you knew you weren’t supposed to approach here!” Martha ruminated, angered at the inhabitants of the surrounding villages.

Her musings were interrupted by a strange sound, akin to growling, but Martha didn’t recognize the creature whose growl sounded like that. Nevertheless, Martha didn’t halt, for she heard voices in the distance, the villagers chasing her.

“I just hope they won’t set this field on fire with torches.” She thought and continued onwards.
“Focus, Martha!” The witch scolded herself.

She couldn’t afford to get lost in her thoughts; otherwise, she would easily lose herself in the corn. She glanced at the sky to determine her position and guide herself westward to reach her sister.

“If the little wagon is here, then the North Star is there, so the west must be here.” She traced her finger across the sky to orient herself.
“Great, well done, Martha!” Martha praised herself.

She enjoyed doing so because few praised her in her childhood. Her parents were strict, demanding good academic results. Her sister was very much like them. The only people who showed young Martha tenderness were her governess, employed by her parents, and her grandmother. She missed them terribly, but unfortunately, she had no opportunity to meet them. She had an important job and needed to focus on it; the forest was essential for witches to maintain their powers.

The witch struggled to continue her journey. She had to look up at the sky to avoid getting lost and losing sight of the stars that helped her navigate, while also watching ahead to avoid getting hit in the face by corn. Slowly, she moved forward and heard growling again. This time, it was closer.

“What is that?” Martha was terrified.

Suddenly, a monster emerged from behind the corn. Martha stifled a scream to avoid attracting the attention of the villagers and tried to examine this strange creature. It was difficult because the moon was in its first quarter, and its light was too weak to see details, but she managed to make out some features. It looked like a bestial man, with strangely formed arms that seemed to have claws like a wolf, its face twisted in a grimace of anger, and its eyes shining with a red glow, almost like those of an owl.

“What are you?” She asked, but all she heard in response was the familiar growling.

Martha didn’t know what or who it was. She was scared, but even more afraid of the people chasing her. She hoped the monster would be friendly towards her.

The creature stared at her with red eyes. The witch felt hostility emanating from it, feeling that she would have to prepare to fight the monster, even though she hated fighting others. She had always avoided direct conflicts in her life. Even now, she hoped to scare off the monster before resorting to battle. So, she created a shield from the wood of a lime tree and filled her pouch with acorns, which she would throw at the creature to deter it. She manipulated the acorns in such a way that upon hitting the target, they would burst open, releasing a terrible smell of rotten eggs.

As she looked up at the enemy, Martha noticed that the monster was advancing towards her. With her power, Martha lifted the acorns into the air and threw them one by one at the creature. It remained unfazed by her attempts to deter it and with one swift motion struck the witch, who fortunately managed to shield herself in time. Martha prepared for another blow, but to her surprise, the monster took a step back and looked at her with sadness in its eyes.

The monster felt a strange mix of emotions as it looked at Martha. Anger, sadness, and longing, strangely accumulating with each passing second.

“What are you?” Martha repeated her question.

The monster turned away from Martha and hung its head.

“Evil. I am evil.” The creature replied.

Martha didn’t understand this answer. What did it mean? These questions swirled in her head.

“Tell me about yourself. Tell me your story.” Martha requested.

Subconsciously, Martha felt strangely connected to the creature.

“I am the embodiment of the emotions of humans.” The monster replied.
“Tell me more, please.” Martha insisted. She was determined to understand what or who she was dealing with.

The monster sat down on the ground, trying to reach back into its memory of the last time someone asked about its feelings or who it was. Looking up at the sky, it gathered the courage to express what it felt.

“Give me your hand, we need to escape!” Martha grabbed the monster’s hand and pulled it towards her to help it up.

The creature understood why the witch reacted this way. The voices of the people seemed to grow louder, the villagers were getting closer, and the monster knew what could happen if they were caught. Without much thought, they ran quickly ahead. Corn cobs struck their faces because they couldn’t push away all the plants.

Martha tried to quickly remember which way they should run, but she gave up on the idea. After the fight with the monster, she lost her orientation, not knowing where she was or which way they were running at that moment.

“Is this south or west?” The witch wondered.

After what seemed like an eternity for both of them, they reached the end of the cornfield. Martha greeted the beautiful sight that lay before them with immense relief. A vast meadow where field flowers stretched out like a large, colorful carpet.

“We’re safe, come with me, I want to talk to you further.” Martha said to her companion.

When they found a convenient spot, they both sat down, still breathing gently after the exhausting run. The witch encouraged the creature once again to tell her more about itself. The monster opened up to the witch, explaining that it was created by Ely. Over the centuries, people had been reluctant to approach the forest, but with the creation of new villages and the villagers’ need for more fields, they had to move closer to Ely. As legends and stories about the forest became known, people became increasingly discouraged from going near the magical place.

Martha’s teasing only made things worse. The villagers became even more irritated. This resulted in negative emotions and energy that the forest absorbed. So, Ely had to defend itself. It created a monster to absorb that energy instead of the forest, and that monster is Martha’s companion.

“I didn’t know the forest reacts to the energy it receives from others.” Martha was shocked by what she heard.
“The forest has many secrets, but you must understand, it’s not the fault of the people.”
“Yes, it is. They could have stayed away; they knew what it would result in.” The witch retorted.

The monster leaned towards Martha, trying to look her in the eyes, but Martha was too bitter. She tore blades of grass from the ground with her right hand, tearing them apart to calm herself.

“You don’t understand. People had no choice. Try to understand them; they don’t have an easy life.” The monster tried to explain the plight of the poor villagers.
“Fine, fine.” Martha dismissed him. “But I still don’t understand something. Why did you attack me?”
“I knew no other emotions than anger, sorrow, and fear. And longing. It was the only way of interaction with others that I knew. You are the first person I’ve talked to.”

Martha finally looked up. She realized how unhappy and sad the creature was. She had to ask:

“What do you long for?”
“For Ely. That’s my parent.”

Martha felt very sorry for the monster. She wanted to do something for it, but she was far from home, and she also needed to seek help from her sister. She thought that the only thing she could do for the monster at the moment was to give it a name.

“You’ve done so much for Ely, and it’s I who should protect it. You helped me do my job, and I attacked you. Let me make it up to you. I don’t have much with me right now, I can’t give you anything. So, let me help you choose a name.”

The monster agreed, although he didn’t quite understand why he needed a name when he would spend most of his life in the forest or in the cornfield anyway.

“What about Magant?”
“It’ll do.- the monster smiled at Martha.”
“Go back to the forest now. If my cottage is still intact, you can live there. Consider it your home.” Martha felt guilty for not realizing how much Magant had helped her all this time.

They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

To be continued…