The Hatchling—1996
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IX—A Feast of Candles
"Do you think we need to put jade on our shopping list?" asked Holly. "There are only a few pieces left in the jar."
"It might not be a bad idea. We have quite a bit of elixir stored. I don't know how long the potency lasts. Your idea of growing hellebore in the greenhouse this winter was wonderful. This batch should be even better than what we made last Lammas." Arnica was pouring the warm elixir into small vials and sealing their glass stoppers with wax.
"We could use some more amber pieces for our ritual incense as well and a couple of boxes of charcoal. With Dark Star we can bring more back from Merrydale and save a trip this spring." Holly was adding items to the list they were taking with them. "What do you think is in the parcel Amber sent us?"
"Candles, I think. The postmarm said it was heavy, but not too large. Put down a half pound of dried boneset, would you? We're running low. I've given out quite a bit already and we're not even in the midst of the flu season yet. This year seems worse than usual. Did you hear? There are two deaths in Merrydale and three in Mill City. This year's influenza is worrisome. But so far, not one person taking my tonic has even caught a cold. Amethyst said we're 'lucky' but I think it's the magick of the herbes in our gardens."
"Ouch," Arnica exclaimed with humor. Dark Star had poked him right in his buttock with her horn. "Yes, munchkin, I'm sure it's your magick as well! Look, Holly, her horn is completely invisible. Let's get our walking shoes and jackets on and be off. It's a beautiful day and Merrywood is already showing the signs of renewed life."
"The bulbs are up early this year. I sure hope we don't get a late freeze." Holly buttoned his jacket and laced his hiking boots. "I'm ready…let's go, munchie!"
And Dark Star walked to the door, her hooves sounding sharply on the floor.
Dark Star did not like this part of their journey. The road through Merrywood was fun. At times she'd run ahead and duck into the trees, jumping out to startle Holly and Arnica who feigned great surprise. The woods were filled with the scent of new life, for the growing sunlight was causing the trees to bud and mosses to green. Bulbs were pushing their leaves through the damp, brown leaves and life was returning. But here she was, tied to a post in front of the apothecary just like a horse. Yet the hatchling knew the dangers should anyone realize that she was a Unicorn.
"Hey there, Dark Star…Are Holly and Arnica in shopping?" Gino's freckled face was warm and loving and he began stroking her neck. Dark Star no longer felt frustrated. Gino's touch was so calming and she was glad to be right where she was.
"Gino, what a treat!" Arnica was backing out the door with three large parcels in his arms.
"Here, let me help," and Gino ran quickly to give his older friend a hand.
"Look who's here. Gino, have you grown since Yule?" Holly's compliment brought just the slightest blush to the lad's cheeks.
"I've got nothing to do this afternoon," he said. "Can I help you carry these things back to your cabin?"
"Bless you, boy," said Arnica "you're strong for your years, Dark Star will be so happy to share the walk back with you and I've got a fresh apple pie waiting in the cooler. Can you stay for dinner?"
"I'll need to call my mother when we get to your cabin. I'd have to borrow a lantern for the walk back."
"What about staying the night? You can snuggle up with a blanket next to the hatchling and you could join us for Candlemas Eve if you'd like. Pearl said you've been doing well in your training and Phoenix believes you're ready to start joining us in Circles."
"Oh, Arnica, do you mean it? Can I really?"
"And I've got a robe you can wear. It's a little small for me and I've been thinking you'd look pretty fine in it," said Holly.
Just then darkness fell upon them as a man strode purposefully up to them. They fell silent and drew their energy in, even without wanting to. Shadows seemed to spread from his black cape and frowning face.
"I know who you are," he said lowly. The hair along the hatchling's neck showed her nervousness but she did her best to look 'horse-like.' "And I know why you're here."
"Good morning, Pastor Dolorum. How is your mother? I heard that she has had difficulty recovering from her stroke." Arnica spoke carefully, shaping his words into a soothing sound so that their vibration created a sphere of protection about them.
Dolorum, the new minister hired by the Church of the Martyr was a 'New Priest.' Holly had heard he was very popular among the Users and was known to quote from the Book of Doom in ways which caused the Politicos to give him considerable support and tithing.
The man stepped closer to Arnica. Holly wanted to back away but forced himself to move closer to his partner. He slowed his breathing and focused his mind to wrap Arnica with his love.
Pastor Dolorum spoke quietly.
"I do know who you are. I understand more than you may realize. We each have our own calling. While at my morning prayers I sensed that you would be here but I also have my ways. Here," he said, reaching into an inner pocket of his heavy cape, "this is for my mother. Could you please bless it in your rites this night and secretly return it to me?"
"Yes, we would gladly do that," Arnica said kindly. Gino exhaled loudly but he pretended to have not heard. "We would be honored. It may be that Gino could drop it at your mother's door tomorrow morning."
The dark man's face brightened. "That would be a blessing. Thank you. Don't think badly of me. We are not all the same."
Arnica placed one hand on the man's shoulder and extended the other. They clasped hands and the Dolorum seemed visibly moved. "But I must move on. You do understand."
"Oh yes, I do." Arnica's voice suddenly grew louder. It was his 'public' voice, one which could freely be heard when they were in the village. "Please give your mother our best." And they parted ways, Dolorum heading toward the village square and Dark Star, Gino and the men quickly carrying the packages back toward Merrywood road. They were anxious to be back home.
"Oh, it's so beautiful. I never could have imagined. Why, it's like magick." Gino was stunned. He stood upon the back stoop wearing his 'new' robe. The path through the gardens back to the stone circle was lined with small votives in clear, glass holders. Earlier he had helped unpack the box of hand-made candles Amber sent from the River Mountains. It was a large carton, for she sent enough for all of her kindred of the Loon Tribe. Baskets of candles were waiting to be blessed, then returned so they could be burnt throughout the year. Gino held his candle in his hand, a beautiful work of art with many colours banded throughout the wax. His father sent it from Mill City, hand-carved by an artisan who worked alongside him in the flour mills. So many of the Renaissance men found they had to turn to hard labor to support their families. The Politicos saw that most monies went to the factory owners and their wealthy friends. There was a growing inequity in this country that worried Arnica. At least they were safe here at the Grove during these Changing Times.
Arnica came out of the cabin in his winter robe, his staff in hand. "Look how clear it is," said Holly following behind, holding their most sacred chalice aloft, it's crystal as clear as the night sky. And they set off down the path. Dark Star was waiting for them in the woods.
The stone circle was ringed with candles of all shapes and sizes. They were set to flame on this night of the Waxing Light, one by one to represent the subtle shifting of the tides, the growing amount of sunlight which blessed their days and which would carry them to Eostara. Many of these were the stubs from the previous year's rituals, many were new, sent by friends who could not be here in person.
The baskets of new candles had been anointed with oils and blessed with incense. The cone of power had been raised and they quietly spread small rugs and the three sat in a three-pointed circle, forming a triangle with their hands as they moved into trance. Their thoughts merged and mental pictures melded. Holly's eyes closed, his mind saw Gino's mother. Her face looked strangely different and he realized that this was how Gino saw her, not the way she appeared to Holly. Gino was imaging his mother and asking the gods to bless her candles.
The energy shifted. Individual blessings done, they now began to draw down the Goddess. No matter that the Moon was just a slim crescent hanging low in the sky, together they imaged a Full Moon directly overhead with a beam of radiant light rising from deep within the Sacred Earth upon which they sat. Despite the brisk air, they were warm within the stones. Dark Star was quietly walking deosil around them. They began breathing as one, moving the energy through the candles, then slipping into deeper meditations so they could themselves be filled with Her awesome power.
"What?" Holly was pulled out of his trance by a slurping sound. All three opened their eyes and looked about.
There, in the west, stood Dark Star, bent low and drinking from a small pool of water just outside the west altar stone..
"I don't believe it," Holly said in wonderment. "There was no water there. Am I awake or am I in a vision so real I'm confused?"
"No, you're awake," Arnica responded. "We all are and somehow, when we thought the legends of the Mother renewing Herself at Her sacred well before She returns as the Maiden, we now have a sacred spring."
"Can we wash our faces in it, just like the Lady does?" asked Gino.
"Oh, yes," said Arnica. "Look at her." And the hatchling, a few beads of water dripping from her chin, looked at them. Her eyes twinkled. She knew more about this gift than they could ever have imagined.
"I'll start," said Holly, who knelt alongside the west stone and dipped his hands into the water. "This is so wonderful," bathing his face with the sacred water.
Gino's first ritual had brought him a rare experience. These candles would be some of the most healing, ever. All done at the spring, they gathered the ritual tools and candles and headed back to the cabin. The flames would safely burn themselves out through the night as they settled into dreams. Gino yawned, a basket in each hand, as he walked along the path. He was eager to snuggle up with Dark Star and feel her warmth. His first ritual! What a Candlemas Eve this had been.
X—Eggs in the Trees
"Be careful, you'll fall," Holly said with more than a trace of anxiety in his voice. Arnica was high up the ladder propped against the branches of the hawthorne. Holly could tell that Arnica's legs were bothering him a bit and it was a bit windy out today. The branches, the ladder and Arnica all moved gently in the breeze.
"I'm almost done with this one—hold the ladder steady." And Arnica began slowly lowering himself, rung by rung. 'Old bones,' he thought to himself. A new set of wind chimes had been hung high in the tree in anticipation of Eostara. A loud whinny set both men to laughing. Dark Star had been pacing nervously about ever since Arnica had climbed up the ladder higher than her head. Apparently she did not think humans belonged in trees!
"Holly, you should have seen the view from the top of the hawthorne! It looks as if Merrywood is under attack. I could see plumes of smoke and it looks like many acres of trees have been cut down."
"Oh, Arnica, no!" Holly was on the verge of crying. He always felt so deeply for the trees. Arnica knew that Holly held some type of spiritual kinship with the tree devas.
"Don't let your fear and pain become part of our magick, my sweet," answered Arnica. "Just remember to increase the magick of your morning devotion. I think it's time to move forward with our plan."
"Hello, is anyone there?" A voice called from the other side of the gate.
"It's Amber," said Holly with excitement. "Dear lady, I'll come and open the latch," and off he went running toward the side of the cabin.
In moments a flurry of voices was heading back toward Arnica who was hanging more Eostara eggs from the lower branches of the hawthornes around Circle in the gardens. Holly was carrying a large travelling bag and Gino and Amber were both carrying baskets filled with goodies. "Amber, you look lovelier than ever! How lonely my arms have been for one of your hugs." And they embraced warmly, as old friends do.
"Look what I've brought with me," Amber said. "It was a blessing that Gino was able to come with me from Merrydale. Phoenix and Pearl sent this one," and she reached into the basket and brought forth a large egg, decorated with the most delicate of miniature needlepoint runes and sigils. Her silken, black hair spilled over her shoulder as she leaned forward.
"How do they do that? It looks as if they made the egg itself with their magick needles," Gino asked. This was his first Eostara and he'd never seen anything like this before.
"Pearl learned this art from her grandmother, Lady Ellhorn," Arnica explained. "I'm not even sure that Phoenix understands how she does this, even though Pearl taught him how to hold the Circle around her while her stitching transforms the egg. Oh, Amber, how are they doing? Does Phoenix look well? Have they decided?"
"Yes, they have. They're moving," Amber said, quietly. Holly and Arnica both sighed, for there were no words. "Phoenix looks well enough but he needs a change of climate. Lady Ellhorn's house is large, with many empty rooms and no one to help her tend it. And she's getting old—she's almost eighty. Phoenix will be able to live more restfully and he'll be closer to good healers in Cloverville. It's a good-sized city."
"Where's Cloverville?" asked Gino. His freckled smile was so sunny and he loved asking questions. "Phoenix said I can come and visit him if I can reach my Initiation with you, Arnica."
"I was there once," said Arnica, "many years ago. Pearl had been here to attend the Beltane Faire when she met Phoenix. It was pure magick, so much that the morning of Beltane she decided she would come and join him here in his work. I went with Phoenix to help him move Pearl. Lady Ellhorn is wonderful. She's so beautiful and I'm sure she'll be glad to have Pearl and Phoenix home again. When I saw Phoenix last week he said that the pain in his bones is worse and some days he's no longer able to go up and down the steps even to reach their gardens. It's warmer and dryer in Cloverville. Oh, Gino, I'm sorry, my mind was wandering. Cloverville is far to the south, about seven days by carriage from here, in Sagaireau Province. It's a different climate and Phoenix can grow his roses year 'round."
Amber held up the egg. "Pearl sent this. It's been prepared and filled and she asked that you bury it back in your woods near the stone Circle. She said that she can journey easily if it's here and she'll be with you at all the Sabbats, carrying the healing back to Phoenix."
"We'd better keep going," said Arnica. "We've got more eggs to hang in the trees."
"But where's Dark Star," asked Gino, his voice raised in youthful hope. He so loved the young Unicorn. They had bonded quickly and were quite a pair when they were together.
"She was here when we heard your voices," Holly said. "I was so distracted by the news of our Pictish friends' move that I don't know. Where could she be? Dark Star…Munchkin…" he called out, but there was only silence.
More and more the hatchling was wandering off on her own when she felt the need. Arnica no longer worried about the Users spotting her in the village for she'd learned well how to render her horn invisible, blending in and easily moving about. Holly and Arnica had learned that, despite her frisky demeanor and her fey, eldritch soul, she was highly skilled in working within the mundane world.
"She'll be back before the eve," said Arnica. "She's been preparing for this celebration for weeks. I expect she's going to have one of her surprises for us."
The torches were set along the path through the garden and candles were lit around the garden Circle. Arnica seemed restless. He'd gone to the window frequently but trying to do so in ways no one would notice. Holly was doing the washing up. Amber's long journey and Gino's hunger (a boy's hunger, Holly thought) meant a meal was essential before the Eostara Eve ritual. It was just a year ago that the hatchling was born. Holly was always amazed at much their lives could change in a year. Arnica was definitely able to stir the cauldron of change and now, with Dark Star in their lives…Living in both worlds, she matured at her own rate and in twelve, short months it now seemed like she'd been in their lives for a long time. And perhaps she had.
Holly's train of thought was interrupted when Arnica called out, "she's here," trying to downplay the fact that he'd been more anxious than Gino. "And look, who's this with her?"
They gathered, all cozied together in the kitchen as Dark Star stood in the doorway, half in and half out. An elfin-looking man stood there shyly, not knowing quite what to say. His face looked as boyish as Gino, his eyes sparkled with a wisdom as old as Arnica. Despite his reticence, a smile of pure glee lit up his face.
"I'm, um, my name is…" his words stumbled softly into the room. "Actually, I don't have a name. I mean I've had lots of names…I've been living with the dryads since before the Changing Times began and trees don't use names but I've lost my home, you see, they cut down the trees near Fern Hollow and all the creatures had to flee quickly and find new homes and I was wandering in Merrywood when she came along and she told me you needed me here and…" He stopped in mid-sentence, his face blushing brightly.
"I'm Arnica and this is Holly. This is our home and we welcome you." Arnica reached forward and took the man's hand. How small and gentle it was. "This is Amber. She's here all the way from River Mountains—a two days' walk. Amber's of the Loon Tribe." Amber smiled warmly. "And this is Gino, our young friend from Merrydale." Gino stepped forward and spontaneously hugged the man, who was not that much taller than Gino!
Now they all felt better.
"Thank you," the man said. "Actually, I don't have a name. I've been living in both worlds. The Mother blessed me with the gift of shape. When I'm with the trees, I can dance through the woods looking like an image of leaves. And here, where I'm safe," at this the man blushed ever so slightly, "I can look like my parents. My mother was of elven stock and met my father—an Earthkin Priest—at the Sabbat. When I was born on Midsummer's Eve it was in the realm of the faerie and I was given this gift. My job has been to move in and out of the village to let the nature creatures know what's taking place. When I'm in Merrydale, I look like a puppy and no one holds back when I'm around. But I need a new home and Dark Star told me I was her birthday present."
A loud whinny demanded their attention and they all looked at the hatchling. It was obvious that she was ready and her hoof pawed at the wooden porch to let them know she felt it was time.
"She wants us to begin the Ritual," the man-puppy said. "My mother sometimes called me Poppy and I've been in Circle many times. Dark Star and I speak without words."
"Then, let us begin," said Arnica. "We've got eggs in the trees and it's time to turn the Wheel. Last year at Eostara Dark Star was brought into our lives and now we have Poppy. Oh, Amber, I'm so glad you're here to share this with us. O.K., my loves, let's hold hands and breathe as one, settle our thoughts quietly before we carry the cakes out to begin the Circle."
And so they did. Dark Star looked quite pleased with herself. She loved surprises. Ever since her earthquake birth she'd enjoyed shaking things up just a bit…She reached forward and took the handle of a basket in her teeth and followed the procession out along the garden path.
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