Witchin' Around

They live deep in the woods, far from most people, you could say.
There are a few people living close by, but not many were allowed to live under the barrier.
“The barrier” is this sizable dome around the forest, made to protect the fauna and flora inside. Created years ago by a group of witches and since, the forest has been inhabited by witches, healing the magic cupola, hindering it from withering out as the spell grew weaker each year.
The humans in the village, just outside the woodland, have a history of trying to hunt in there, but a deal was struck where the woods shall be left alone as long as regular rain-spells were cast to help the crops grow steadily inside the village.

I am crouched down by a pond close to my hut, quietly collecting spores from the aquatic mushrooms that grow there. I listen closely to the pouring water and the blowing wind. There are birds singing and branches cracking in the distance.
 As I run my hands through the water there is a calm running over me. My lungs fill with air as I take a few deep breaths. Yesterday's full moon has filled the streams with energy, perfect for brewing my new potions. I smile to myself and take out an empty bottle to fill it up.

 I hear the bell to my hut’s front door ding, so I get up to brush off the dirt from my dress and start heading back to my home. I walk past my garden and make my way in through the back door. As I walk over to the front desk of my small potion shop, I see a young lady, perhaps in her early 30’s, standing there looking quite wary, scanning her surroundings. By the looks of the woman, I quickly guess she comes from the village close by.

 “Hello and welcome to the Herbal Hut, what can I help you with today?” I say to her with a smile on my face. She looks at me sternly and places a few gold coins on my counter.
“I need a potion for my son, he has grown ill.” She says, quite in a rush and understandably so. I give her a quick nod, respecting her unspoken wishes to keep the conversations to a minimum.

 I turn around and walk into a small broom closet where I store all my premade potions and scan for some advanced healing potions, guessing his condition is quite critical, going by her behavior. I pick up one and blow a layer of dust off of it and head back to the counter and hand it to her.
“Mix some of this into his food, this bottle should last you about 10 days and if he’s not better by then you should come see me again. I will have to look for something stronger.” I say calmly and bow slightly and wave her off as she leaves.

 As she closes the door behind her I let out a small sigh and put away the coins. I look out at the sun and realize it is almost time for the ritual. I step to my closet and throw on my cloak and start heading towards the center of the woods.

Greenery flashes past my eyes. Low vines tickle my sides for a fraction of time before they are gone in my retreat. Over and under thick tree roots in a forest more ancient than my own blood. Every press of my paws in the earth sends ripples through my body and makes my ears echo with the sound of my heart beat. My veins burn with a sense of urgency. Urgency for the shaking being gently carried in my jaws. My blood is boiling and it pumps faster and faster. Soon there.

The last track of my journey is now visible in the shape of a slow moving river where I can hear the otters playing and the ducks preening their wings for their flock mates. But my eyes are locked on the moss covered building across the water. Low hanging vines embrace the dark wood and the light from inside makes them shine golden.

I don’t slow my pace even as I cross the bridge over the moving water. It’s only when I can smell the scent of firewood and dried grass that my paws slow to a trot and later a walk. My eyes get distracted by the sound of singing birds flying back and forth to the low hanging feeders all around. I can feel my body tense ready to launch, but it’s gone as fast as it came. Not enough time.

I make my way over to an open window and with grace I feel my body leap up onto the ledge and another jump takes me fully inside. The smell is strong now and mixed within it is cinnamon and oranges. My eyes focus for a second and spot the familiar figure inside sitting in a circle of ash and candle. She sits in complete silence with the only movement except her breathing being her long red hair swaying from the open window. Her eyes are closed, but I know that bright blue eyes hide under the lids. In front of the woman lay several bowls with different smelling herbs and a roll of clean cloth.

I let out a deep sigh as the rush of the run seeps out of my body but the urgency is not yet gone. I make my way over to the woman and gently lower my head to drop my precious cargo into her waiting hands. Her skin is calloused from years of working with the land, but they are gentle as she sighs.

“Thank you friend for bringing them here at such speed. Thank you gods of wind, earth, water and fire for their protection through the forest.” My ears twitch at the familiar sound of her voice and it almost feels like they are my own.

“Life from life and mind from mind. Our spirits now will disentwine. We part our souls and journey home to let out thoughts be their own.” Her words vibrates through the air and I feel them shake my very being, but there is now fear only open trust and acceptance as I close my eyes.

With a deep breath out I reopen my eyes and meet the amber eyes of vixen. The candle light around me flickers as I turn to look at the young fox now resting in my hands. Its breathing is slow and forced as it trembles. Its pain resonates through me and I feel my heart break in empathy for the mother in front of me.

“I will do my best to save them. I promise.” I say and the vixen bows its head before backing out of the circle to lay and wait. Her eyes never leave that of her cub. I let out another deep breath and collects myself. I need to work fast or I will lose them.

I crouch down as a smirk plays on my lips, just what I needed. My bony, pale fingers reach out and softly grab hold of the toad carcass laying on the side of the footpath.
"I thank thee Satan, ruler of the earth, true god, almighty and ineffable" the words and the meaning behind them escape with such emotion I have to gasp for air and press a cold hand against my neck to cool myself off.
"Satan, Lucifer, true god, true god!!" an eerie voice exclaims from a branch above me while my satisfied, tense laugh falls flat against the thick, mossy trees. I need to get back to my hut to clean the toads' bones.
I place my left hand against my forehead to avoid getting blinded by the suns' final rays as I look up into the sky. The ritual is about to start, there is no time to head back.

With careful hands I wrap the limp toad in a thick cloth and slip it into my black leather pouch. "Good girl, Lilith" I whisper as the sound of rustling feathers approach me and sharp talons dig into my shoulder. "Let's get going."

With a sigh of pleasure I admire the darkness that's starting to embrace my surroundings. The singing of birds starts dying out, an owl makes its' presence known by hooting lowly and a fox hurries past me across the footpath. I keep walking slowly.

As I arrive at the ritual grounds I reach my hand down my pouch, rummaging through critter skulls, odd body parts of unknown origins, hair, dolls, jars and herbs. I grab the one jar with a sticky dark brown substance and take it out, popping the lid and sticking my fingers deep inside, scooping out a large amount. The metallic smell spreads as I smear it horizontally across my eye area and vertically from the forehead down to my chin. Blood and soot, it'll make me feel closer to Him. Afer all, the sacrifice was made by me in His honor.

I gracefully tuck my robes in underneath myself and and sit down on a rotten tree trunk and wait while the others trickle in one by one.


_________________________________

I think it's gonna take a while to get back into it (((( that was hard

As I step out of the small lodge I call my home, I take a deep breath and take in my surroundings. I have about one hour before the ritual. Perfect for a slow stroll gathering materials. I check my bag to make sure all the necessary candles and dried sage are in there.

I whistle loudly and soon hear small pitter patters of paws coming closer and smile widely as I see my little feline familiar closing in on me. I take out a small pouch from my sack and bend down to tie it around his neck as he comes to me.

“Only a few things on the list today, Djinn. I’ll need some wormwood, mugwort and nettle.” I hum as I pet his head. He gives away a small meow before running off again.

I get up and start walking along a small pebble lined path that leads the way towards the center of the forest. I hum on a song I once heard one of the village bards play on one of my visits there, as I peel my eyes for any vegetation that suits the needs for the ritual. I only gave Djinn the task to find the ingredients that don't grow along the path, knowing it by heart from perhaps a couple of thousand strolls, back and forth.

As I start getting closer I start seeing some of the other witches also making their way through the warm midday sun and by the ritual grounds I see Splendora, sitting on a stump, looking ready as ever. I do admire her dedication to Him. It has always amazed me.

I once again hear the pitter patters approaching and I turn around and my eyes meet Djinn’s. I crouch down and collect the small haul in his pouch and throw him a piece of meat before making my way to the center of the spell circle and start placing down the various herbs we gathered and sage the area.

With every second slipping by like sand through my fingers I can feel the life drip away from the small cub in my hands. It was times like these that I wish I had lightning speed as it feels like my hands are working in slow motion as I reach for the golden sewing needle with its golden thread attached.

“Come on Valerie. You have done this so many times before. We need to hurry to the ritual grounds as well…” I mutter to myself as I gently press the sharp needle against the soft flesh of the fox cub. The wound on its leg is deep, but the cub does not react with even a squeak as I sink the needle down and watch the magical thread start to glow. I thank the deities around me that the needle causes minimal pain and soon enough the wound is closed. The golden thread is visible in the red fur, but it will soon disolve into the young fox’s body.

“Phew… There we go. Now all we need to do is wait and let it rest.” I say with a smile towards the vixen who yipp in reply. “You are welcome to stay here, but I need to hurry or I will be late.”

I place the cub on the soft blanket dressing my bed and watch with a smile as the vixen mother jumps up and wraps around her only cub. Sadly nature took the rest of the family too late for me to save. But nature is both cruel and merciful.

I watch them for a minute or two before I shake my head and hurry to pack the needed items for the ritual. ‘I’m most likely last like always.’ I sigh to myself and race out the door.

Luckily the ritual grounds are not far away and it only takes 10 minutes or so to reach the ground and I can spot both Lorelei and Speldora waiting on the grounds. I smile and hurry over to them.

“Beautiful day we are having.” I call out.

I nod at Lorelei. "Good evening."
As she starts preparing the area I get up and stroll over to the middle of the ritual circle, unbuttoning my robes and letting it fall to the mossy ground. The air feels cold against my bare skin and I shiver as long white strands of hair brush against it, swaying with every step I take. I kneel down and open my pouch, picking out the skull of an infant, lady's mantle and a small leather pouch containing a set of pigeon bones with carved runes. I reach for the black, worn sheet at the bottom of the pouch and pull it out, spreading it on the ground: a pentagram painted in white is revealed. Caressing it slowly, I smirk and tilt my head to the side to admire it; it always makes me filled with pride and joy to know I am here, doing these things for this forest and for Him. After all, I have been visited by Him in my dreams, where He lets me know that I one day will find Him in His human form, only for Him to spend time with me walking the earth and then bringing me with Him to the Black Halls of Hell - that I would be His woman, His one and only woman! All because of my deep devotion and loyalty to Him. A pleased sigh escapes me as I carry on placing the ritual items on the sheet, one by one and in the correct order.

I mumble cantations in latin while lighting a few black wax candles and mindlessly chewing on a dried lady's mantle leaf. As the effects of the herb kicks in, my mind feels woozy and the voices of the others' become distant - this rush will make my impact greater and my rituals and cantations more powerful. And boy, do we need power.

With clouded eyes I look up at Valerie. "Yes, quite. Welcome. I believe I'm ready to start."

As I finish setting everything up, I look over at Valerie and smile kindly. “Nice of you to finally show up.” I say with a smirk and take out a salve from my bag to rub over my arms, a mixture of mugwort, chives, nettle and honey.

I roll my eyes with a playful smile on my lips.

“Yeah yeah I know, but I actually have a good reason for being late this time.” It's like second nature by now as I dig into my bag to find the animal pelts and bones as well as some natural crystals. “I brought some new raven bones for Splendora. Hope she finds them good enough.” I delicately pick up the bundle of bones wrapped in some dried rosemary and sage. It saddens me to find them, but death is just as natural in the forest as life is. With a sad smile I wander over to where my dear satan loving friend sits and puts down the bundle beside her knowing she will find them on her own when she needs them.

With foggy eyes I gaze at the two witches near me. I look at the bones and give Valerie a nod of appreciation before letting my eyelids drop and my eyes to roll back as I continue chanting, the flickering light from the candles dancing before my inner vision.
"In nomine de Luciferi, Rego mei spiritus.
In nomine de Luciferi, Annuo me tui scientia."

I whisper rapidly, leaning my head back and letting forth a chuckle as white teeth are revealed in a wicked smile.

I look over the coven and make sure everyone is ready before I kneel down and dig a small hole in the ground. I start humming, trying to match the faint existence of a beat coming from Splendora. I take out my sacrificial dagger from my sack and close my eyes.

"Craft the spell in the fire;
Weave it well, weave it higher.
Weave it now of shining flame;
None shall come to hurt or maim.
None shall pass this fiery wall;
None shall pass, not none at all!"

The chant I'm so familiar with yet feels so new each time I say it. My lips keep repeating it as I cut a deep slit in my palm to start pouring my blood into the opened soil. I feel so honored to be a part of mother nature, to connect to her in such an intimate way.
I am one with the earth.

My eyes fly open and I start to scream. We are in pain. Mother and I.

I frantically start looking around searching for the source of our misery. She takes my hands and I feel cold. I feel as if my brain is clouded with a thick fog. I am surrounded by our barrier, smaller, but still our barrier. As my fingers reach out to touch it, it cracks. It falls apart like sand between my fingers, making me jolt up from the ground as I open my eyes, for real this time.

I look around at the others frantically, my breaths cutting short as I feel myself starting to panic. "It's breaking." I manage to get out.

I watched as Lorelei screamed in a way I hadn't heard her do in a ritual before and my heart was instantly in my throat. I was quickly over by her side just as the words left her mouth. "Its's breaking."

"What? Lorelei what do you mean?" I ask even thought I can feel my heart beating like a war drum as I already have my guesses. This was bad. So bad.

I stop chanting and my eyes open wide. "Oh no..." I whisper and cover my mouth with my hand. "This can't be, what can we do?!"

Not knowing how to tackle the situation I start chanting louder, screaming for Lucifer to help us protect the forest and the dome, my voice turning hoarse from the frantic shouting and distressed breathing. I snatch my bag up from the ground beside me and start rummaging through it for my book of dark spells and satanic rituals - there must be a way.