This is a channelled story that came in a few years ago, and which I had forgotten about. As usual, channelled stories have layers of meaning, and the POV is tricky because I can see inside everyone’s heads, and feel everyone’s emotions, all at once. In rewriting the story, I would choose one POV, or two, and add much more description of where they are, etc. This is the first draft so it still needs a lot of work. As I read it, I am itching to change things but I want to show you an example of how a story comes in. I will work on this later and post an edited version. There is much looking and staring at each other!
This is only the seed of the story and as I write it down, more comes into my mind, just as it does with normal fiction writing. But there is always a golden thread in the tales, which I follow because the thread is the important energy, like Ariadne helping Theseus through the labyrinth, (although in that story her thread was red). The stories take us deeper into the consciousness of all life on the planet and in following it we find our way to the centre of meaning.
This story appears to be the seed of a longer story which, if I ever find the time, I will write fully. Sometimes these seeds are not enough and I have to ask for the next bit before I can start planning and plotting. But if I focus on the story, and then let it simmer on the back burner, if I have decided to write it, then out of the blue, more will come. Sometimes, I get it in dribs and drabs, so I just have to wait. It can take months, and sometimes years, to receive the complete story. But that’s alright. It’ll get there, eventually.
The wizened old crone sat looking around at the faces staring back at her.
What was she going to tell them now, the creatures wondered? What pearls of wisdom did she have before she went into the Void? She always had something before she went to sleep. To keep them going.
The Crone stood up, gently pushing her rough wooden chair backwards, away from the table they all sat around, and faced them. They were all looking expectantly at her, hopeful even and she felt guilty at what she was about to tell them. They would not be expecting it.
“I have brought you all here this evening,” she started, “to tell you...” she paused. How was she going to put this? “To tell you all...” she repeated. Her audience began to look uncomfortable. Whatever was the matter with her tonight, they must be thinking? Come on now, Maud, she admonished herself. Just spit it out.
“You have brought us here this evening... Prickly Pete, the hedgehog, began for her. “Go on”
She looked at them, their innocent faces making it all the harder to tell them what needed to be told. She nodded gratefully at Pete, “I have brought you all here this evening... to tell you...” she took a deep breath. “That I have to go away for a while.”
There was silence around the table. The group looked at each other in confusion, then stared back at her, too afraid to speak, to ask the obvious question. Again Pete rose to the occasion. He could always be counted on to be the first to ask anything.
“Maud,” he began, a little confused, as Maud always went away at this time of year. Well, she didn’t quite go away, so much as transform herself. “This is obviously hard for you to say, but we will be alright, really, we won’t break. Will we, gang?” and he looked around at the sea of faces staring back at him. All of them looked nervous or sad and some looked perplexed. “I’m sure you have a very good reason, don’t you, Maud?” he asked, hoping, silently praying, that she would not let him down.
“Yes Pete,” she answered quietly, looking down at her hands which she realised she was wringing. She stopped, tutted with irritation, and hid them behind her back. “I have to go away,” she repeated. “But only for a short time. You see...” and she stopped again. She was finding this very difficult. “My Granddaughter...” she took a deeper breath and continued. “My Granddaughter has been kicked out of the Witch’s league.”
Everyone gasped. Kicked out of the Witch’s league? How? That was virtually impossible. What could she have done to warrant such a punishment? Everyone knew that she was one of the best witches in the country. Hadn’t she learned from her own Grandmother?
“I know, it’s very difficult to imagine. After all, I trained her myself. But, she has been doing magic lately which the League does not agree with. So, after lengthy discussions, they have decided that they can no longer allow her to be a member.
There,” she said, “Now you know.” She sat down in a defeated heap. How many years had she been a member of the league? Too many to remember, and in all the time she had been part of it she couldn’t remember anyone ever being kicked out for doing magic. I mean, it was the Witches league, for cryin’ out loud!
“Maud?” the timid voice of Lucy Heron piped up. “Can I ask a question?”
Maud tried to conjure up a smile. “Of course, Lucy, ask away.”
“I know it should be rather obvious,” she began in a querulous voice, “But isn’t the league THE place for witches? Surely doing magic would be a prerequisite for being a member?” She glanced around nervously at the group who were all staring at her. They weren’t used to hearing Lucy’s voice. She was normally such a quiet bird.
“Yes, Lucy, indeed it is,” she answered sadly, “...or at least it used to be before the Norns took the helm.”
“The Norns?” the group asked in unison. Weren’t they Scandinavian? They looked at each other in confusion.
“Yes, the Norns.” Maud sighed. “They’re Norwegian.” She slumped even further down into her chair.
“Well, what are they doing here?” asked Prickly Pete, annoyed. He wasn’t called prickly for nothing!
“They’ve come to overhaul the League, they say we are getting too ahead of ourselves and need to be brought back within league guidelines.”
They all looked blankly at Maud, who shrugged.
‘Look, I don’t know,” she said with irritation, understanding exactly what they were thinking. “That’s just what they said. We have forgotten the fact of Destiny and we need to be reminded, that’s all.”
“But that doesn’t make sense,” said Ruby spider. “Surely magic is all about Creation?” Her eight eyes looked at everyone at once. “Well isn’t it?”
They all nodded in assent, murmuring their agreement.
“But hold on,” said Nigel Newt. “If we are not allowed to do magic then how are we to maintain the Fabric of Life?”
“Well,” began Maud, “They say that is their territory.”
“What?” asked Pete in disbelief. “Their territory? How is it their territory? What have we been doing all of this time? Sunbathing?”
Lucy tittered. “Sunbathing,” she repeated humorously. “Of course, what else?”
Pete glared at her. “This is no laughing matter, Lucy,” he said to her sternly. “If the Norns are saying that creation is their domain then we are in big trouble.”
She looked at him from beneath long eyelashes, and she shrank back into her timid, little self. She didn’t like being shouted at; it made her feel stupid. Tears welled in her large eyes.
Pete continued, taking no notice of Lucy’s upset. “If the Norns believe that they create the fabric of Life, and therefore Destiny, then what is our purpose? We have been keeping the ecosystem of this planet in balance for millions of years and now they come along and think that they have all the answers? What rubbish!’
“Now, now, get a hold of yourself, Mate,” Nigel Newt said. “Destiny only works for humans, and we all know how humans like to interfere in everything so it really goes to show that the Norns are probably thinking about their interference, not ours.”
Pete tried to control his irritation.
“Breathe, dear,” his prickly wife whispered. “You know how your emotions get backed up when you don’t breathe. It makes you curl.”
Pete ignored her. He turned to Nigel. “Pete,” he started in that voice of condescension they all hated. “For one thing - don’t call me mate. And two, if the Norns control Human destiny then why are they interfering in our Witches League? We don’t have any connection to humans. We do magic — every day. We are the ones who create —every day. If it wasn’t for our magic, humans would not exist. Would they?”
Nigel sighed. He hated getting into arguments with Pete. You could never win. Nigel never could understand why Minnie had married him. Maybe you had to be a hedgehog, he thought.
“Boys. Boys,” Maud interrupted. She was too tired and too depressed to listen to Pete and Nigel bickering, again. She felt exhausted. It was hard enough dealing with her Granddaughter’s expulsion from the league without having to listen to the rebellious voices of nature’s creations too. She understood their fear and their anger, but she was more used to change than they were. She was, after all, the snows of winter, when the cycle of time slowed down and went into the void. She knew her role, she had always known. Nature had always known and even mankind had known it once. At least they used to. Over the years they had slowly forgotten her and her magical transformation into Spring and then Summer. That was real magic. Now the Norns were here, taking over, just like the men had come and taken over before them. It was harder and harder to make things work in the right way. The Norns belonged to the new men, the Northmen. They didn’t belong here, but they seemed to think they did.
And now they were changing everything…