Brother Fenzel struggled in this wind to light the candles of the Passive Hours, the hours in the middle of the night when your fate was in the hands of the More Powerful. The candles were a symbol of light, clarity, even in the darkness. However, tonight the wind snuck through the branches and stones of the little shrine, making it harder for him to see that clarity, that light. He had trusted his life to the care of Mundimila the Compassionate. She protected the wanderer, the castaway, the hidden, the vulnerable, and so he honored her for her help in these vulnerable hours. He was the attendant and cleric of her forest shrine here in the Autumn Woods. But in this steady night breeze, even inside the shrine, the candles would not stay lit. His old hands trembled to light them again.
He’d been that kind of wanderer for many years, on lonely paths, mapping the world with his feet, pulled by wanderlust. But then, one night, he’d heard Her singing and followed the sound. She led him to the Church of the Starlit Branches, promised him something bigger than just his vagabond traveling. Folks of the forest gave him food and shelter and friendship. Many of them were displaced by war—smaller creatures, humans, Silvi, the Reconstructed, the Clodders who were just trying to settle again, anywhere. He stayed, became a cleric, learned healing magic. He found he wanted to help people. He served them for years and thought he always would. But you don’t always get to stay where you want.
War pushed them all out. Sent them all traveling again. The Church of the Starlit Branches had been razed, the refugees scattered again. Eventually he found a new group of souls to serve–
Something raced by the shrine, stopping at the arched entrance.
A helmeted figure stood in the doorway. He smelled blood and took a step back. The figure removed his helmet. His black body blended in with the night, but his glowing cat eyes reflected the small torch in Fenzel’s hand. He took a deep breath to calm himself. It was the General.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Brother Fenzel, especially at the Passive Hour, but I’m afraid we need to wake everyone up.”
The Brother invited General Astrati to sit and tell him what was happening. The lean black cat General welcomed the wooden bench; he must have run from the edge of the woods. Astrati recounted his brush with the Orcan Troop marching through the woods, switching paths, coming this way. “I don’t know how many of them there are. Where there are Orcan armies, there is war somewhere. That I know. They could be bringing that war to us if we don’t get them out of the woods. We must find out why they are here and if we can redirect them away from us.”
A small panic arose in Brother Fenzel. A memory of the night at the Church of the Starlit Branches surged within him. Would this refuge he’d found be destroyed, too? Tension caught his voice. They must protect this refuge, secure the Autumn Woods. He gathered his robes about him. They would go from home to home and wake everyone.
As the Cleric moved to the shrine’s doorway, he heard a sizzle behind him, and light caught his eye. He turned.
All three candles were lit.
He felt a presence at once familiar and reassuring. Mundimila the Compassionate had ignited the candles of the Passive Hours herself. Ah, he regained his footing, a moment of stability, even as his feet tingled with urgency. Never had he seen the candles of the Passive Hours so bright. He would have to break the Passive Hours with his call to action, but the light felt like a promise from Her. I will be with you.
Empowered, he swept through the doorway, in step with the General, calling out into each home, “Protect the Autumn Woods!”
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“Protect the Autumn Woods!” is an illustrated story by Jerome Stueart in 33 short flash fiction chapters. The story features D&D-inspired magic-using forest animals who fight to protect their homes. This story was at first a response to a prompt list created by Jenn Reese and Deva Fagan for an October Art Challenge in 2021. You can now read all 33 parts of the story, “Protect the Autumn Woods” with the search term, #AutumnWoods. “Protect the Autumn Woods!” Art Show at the Dayton Society of Artists (48 High Street, Dayton, OH) from November 1 — December 15 2024.
“Protect the Autumn Woods!” is adjacent to a larger show of amazing Dayton Artists, “Small, but Mighty.” Come see all of the art, any weekend, Friday 12-5, Saturday 12-5 to experience the art yourself.
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