The Art of Raven's Shire
A gallery of art inspired by the stories of Raven's Shire
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Raven's Shire Fairies Tales
Little Red Hood
The
dark pines swept over the mountains like an inky dark sea their ancient
roots cracking through the crumbling moss covered rocks of the dying
mountain ranges crests, where the village seemed to float as if forever
ready to be overwhelmed by the forest around it.
Oh no you don’t Lywyn told the little toddler as she snatched the knife away from him. Your too little to cut apples just yet.
Instead
of accepting this however, the little boy leaned precariously out over
the edge of the counter as he reached to try to grab the knife back.
Okay
then Lywyn told him as she picked him up and put him on the floor.
We’ll just put you down here where you can’t touch the knives.
He clung to her legs for a moment before he started pulling pots out of the cupboards scattering them across the kitchen floor.
What
are you doing? Lywyn asked the child with the best stern look she could
muster but all she managed to get out of him was a mischievous grin.
Your impossible she told him, while trying to keep from laughing as she
picked him up and put him on the counter again. I’m trying to get the
food ready for dinner, but if you keep interrupting me we might just
have to eat stale bread, she warned him as she started chopping the
last of the apples.
He crawled along the counter restlessly as he waited for her to finish so he could ‘help’ her make the pie.
Okay
I’m done, she informed him after a moment as she once more snatched him
away from the knives. So you can put the apples into the pie if you
want to help me she informed him as she put him next to the bowl
of apples and the pie pan then turned to pull the broiling meat out of
the oven. It looks like its about done she told the little boy as she
pointedly put hot platter of meat far out of his reach before turning
back to help finish putting the apples in the pie crusts. Thanks she
told him while he licked the last bits of apple off his hands, after
they’d finished.
The door clattered open.
Mommy, the little boy
cried happily as he nearly flung himself from the counter before Lywyn
caught him and lowered him gently to the floor so he could run to his
mother.
Hello sweety, the boys mother greeted him as she scooped him up.
Thank
you for watching him Little Redhood the boys mother told Lywyn with a
slight bow of respect towards the oven where she thought Lywyn must be.
Lywyn
caused the wooden floor to creak in acknowledgement, for although she
liked humans she felt uncomfortable speaking with or even letting
all but the youngest of them them see her.
The dark pines swept
up over the mountains like an Inky dark sea, their ancient roots
cracking through the crumbling moss covered rocks of the dying mountain
ranges crests where the village appeared as if it were sinking into the
forest, as though at any moment it might be overwhelmed by the
wilderness which surrounded it. It was in this place that there
once lived a girl who as with many of the fairies always wore a red
hood which had been given to her by her grandmother. She was the soul
and spirit of the village. The hopes and dreams of its people, in a
land surrounded by a silent forest where mortals could here quite
whispers in the trees and would never see most of the things that moved
around them but for the site of a shadow out of the corner of their
eyes.
Little Redhood as she’d affectionally come to be known
by the people of the village moved swiftly over the cracking,
crumbling rocks of the forest her bare toes wiggling in the thick green
moss as she prepared to hop up the side of a cragy cliff. A few moments
later she’d jumped up over the tall waving pines and beech trees, she
waved at a family of eagles just before she shot up over the lip of the
mountain to land in the small pool of water that would soon turn into a
waterfall as the glacial melt above them reached a tipping point,
threatening to wash away an ancient fir tree that clung pecariously to
the side of the mountain.
In the distance the wolves had started to
howl, bidding the sun goodnight as she sank down to visit the rest of
the world, there would be no moon tonight, but that didn’t matter.
Hello,
Lywyn greeted the ancient fir tree nerviously. The twisted pine had
been struck by lighting more times now then anyone could remmember yet
it somehow survived. Broken and twisted it branched and forked,
almost as warped as the soul that lived within it. Lywyn had never
spoken to her, the for the forest and the mountains said she was crazy,
even the wood sprites who’d gone quite mad shied away from the old tree.
The
village has come to greet me, the fir tree cackled as she pushed her
head and upper torso out of the old tree causing the wood to warp and
crack. Pine needles rained down on Lywyn who did her best to keep from
taking an involuntary step back from the fairy within the fir tree. Are
you here to take my wood perhaps, for your fires, for your floors, for
your arrows and spears perhaps? The tree grinned as though she would
welcome it.
No, Lywyn shook her head as the tree shifted and twisted
pushing her roots deep into the mountain so she could lean further over
the edge of the cliff to look at village below.
It is beautiful, in
its own way, isn’t it the fir tree cackled. But it lacks a certain,
drama. It’s far too peaceful don’t you think? The fir tree grinned.
We have our share of problems, Lywyn disagreed.
Such as? the tree asked as she swivvled her long neck to look at Lywyn.
The
deer are leaving early for the valley’s below Lywyn, told the fir tree.
My grandmother worries that the wolves and people won’t get enough to
eat if they do. So I was hoping you could convince them to stay a
little longer.
Little Redhood, thats what the people in the village
call you now isn’t it? The tree grinned and snickered. It sounds like
the name of a bandit. The deer leave early because they know winter is
coming early and hard. It will snow so much that come spring when it
melts, I’ll be washed away, to crash down onto the rocks below and in
my place a waterfall will be born.
The tree snatched Lywyn from the
ground and dangled her over the edge of the cliff. Its a long way down
the tree laughed. So far down that I’ll expload into tiny splinters and
no one will be able to use my wood. The squirrals that live inside me
will be essentually insinerated. I’ll miss the birds that come to nest
in my branches, and the ducks that swim in the lake. They won’t be able
to swim once the water starts moving quickly. You see the tree told
Lywyn as pulled her away from the edge of the cliff and dropped her a
few feet onto the dry pine needles below her branches. Everything I
love will end, I’ve come to accept that now. But I’m bored. Bored bored
bored, of the quite idelic forest. I thought when the village moved in
things would change. Humans hunt, humans burn, and cut and destory I
thought. So surely things are about to get exciting. But they’ve been
boring. The spirit that represents the soul of their village is a
little girl, so little that they even call her little. She bakes pies
and worries about deer leaving too early.
What are you saying, Lywyn stepped back away from the giant tree uncertianly.
I’m
about to make things a little more interesting, the tree laughed
manacly. So if I were you I’d worry more about that than I would about
the deer leaving too early.
What are you going to do? Lywyn asked fear creeping into her voice.
Nothing
the fir tree grinned, thats the beauty of it you see. I’ve been
protecting the forest for so long, keeping order that I’d like to know
what will happen when I stop. Its going to happen next year anyways, so
I figured I’ll let it begin a little early.
My grandmother, Lywyn started to disagree.
The
mountain is far to old to do much of anything any longer the fir tree
laughed. She’s crumbling down, as sick as any fairy can get. If she was
capable of much any longer would you be here speaking to me about
something as simple as deer migrations? Chaos, maddness, pain, it
desends on it all like a glorious sunset spelling the end of the
daytime, the tree cracked and twisted as she shook with glee sending
another shower of pine needles onto Lywyn.
A small cluster of
girls had formed a circle and were rhyming through a series of tounge
twisters, laughing as one stumbling caused the others to do so as well.
Lywyn smiled wanly at the humor of their failed attempt to get through
the rhyme. Girls had been trying to get through that rhyme for hundreds
of years, it was only on rare occasion that they actually succeeded as
a group. It was made to be difficult after all, otherwise there
wouldn’t be much of a point to it.The eagle she’d waved to on the way
up the mountain was circling over head, and a fox gave a small whine
calling her cubs back to hide in their den under the bathhouse to keep
from getting carried away. Here and there candles and fires started to
glow faintly as children were called home to sleep and birds started
singing to claim their roosts for the night.
Little Redhood, Lywyn whispered to herself. It hardly seemed like the name of a gaurdian spirit, the soul of a village.
“The
mountain is far to old to do much of anything any longer. She’s
crumbling down, as sick as any fairy can get.” the fir trees words
echoed in Lywyn’s mind as she looked up at the high mountain where her
grandmother lived.
The elves and dwarfs ate certain forest herbs to
stay alive and gain strength forever. Perhaps some of these could help
her grandmother as well. They certanly couldn’t hurt Lywyn whispered to
herself as she rushed back into the forest to gather them as she went
to visit her grandmother.
The shadows grew thick as the setting
sun cast the last beams of red light through the forest as Lywyn rushed
between the trees sniffing out the tiny wildflowers she needed as she
went, ducking low hanging branches. The twilight seemed much more alive
than usual, the animals were restless. A forest bison snorted sleepily
as Lywyn passed it by, somewhere in the shadows an elk was calling out.
Here and there hedgehogs made their way across the forest floor, zigg
zagging through the leaves, she hopped over the little animals as
she went.
The fairies however seemed much more subdued then usual,
the wood sprites clung to the tallest parts of the trees, only a few
elves sang their night song for a few short moments before going
silent. Not as connected with the woodlands as the forest fairies,
their strange behavior mad made Lywyn nervous.
A gust of wind
stirred the trees sending a rain of leaves and pine needles dancing
through the air, to cover the forest floor. Lywyn felt the poky needles
crackling beneath her feet as she sped along. Here and there she could
hear the zwerg grumbling to themselves as they shook the pine needles
from their long beards. She wanted to stop and talk to one of them. For
the first time the forest seemed eerie, strange and foreign, she felt
alone within it. She glanced nerviously at the mist which had started
to roll through the trees. Perhaps the soul of the mist was doing this.
The mist after all could be almost as insane as the Ancient Fir Tree
was. The sun settled down and the night grew dark, there was no moon,
instead the only light was the faintest ting of star light mixed
with the soft flashes of fireflies rising up from the mossy ground. But
Lywyn didn’t need light. Still mixed with the mist the darkness caused
her to shivver. She was so busy watching the mist snake and curle
around the trees that she nearly ran head long into the large wolf
which stood in her path.
Sorry, Little Redhood apologized to the
wolf shyly. He was a giant creature, likely hundreds of years older
than a wolf should live. Or perhaps he was an ogre or a troll in
disguise? Either way he likely new many secrets for extending his life.
Its okay, the wolf assured her with a toothy but gentle smile. Where are you going in such a hurry?
I’m
going to go see my Grandmother, Little Redhood told him. She hasn’t
been feeling well this past century and I’m hoping to bring her
something to help. Do you have any thoughts on what could extend her
life?
The wolf sniffed the flowers Lywyn had been picking and pursed
his lips thoughtfully. Ghost flowers it told her after a moment. They
have the spirit of the trees that they grow out of inside of them.
Perhaps they could help as well.
Thank you, Lywyn nodded her acknowledgement before sniffing the night air to see if she could locate any.
The
wolf mean while had disapeared into the forest before she could even
turn away from him. Once he was out of sight he stood on his hind legs
and moved ever faster through the forest. The soul of the forest
clacked his teeth happily as the trees bent aside for him as he rushed
up the side of the mountain to the hut Lywyn’s grandmother lived in.
The soul of the mountain had practically domesticated herself the
forest spirit scowled, choosing to live in a cottage like an elf or
zwerg. The forests soul found her cottage wedged among the rocks just
above the treeline, beneath the melting glacier. With Lywyn’s
grandmother out of the way the forest spirit would be free to warp the
soul of the village, to get Little Redhood to join the primal world of
her surroundings at last.
Lywyn knocked on her grandmothers
cottage and received permission to enter, even for another fairy it was
always dangerous to approach a fairy without observing the proper
formalities. A mountain’s mood could change at the drop of a hat.
Hello grandmother. How are you feeling today? Lywyn asked with concern.
Fine fine, the wolf assured her having changed shapes to appear as Lywyn’s grandmother. Come over here and lets talk.
A
few moments later Lywyn had climbed up onto the edge of her
Grandmothers bed, it creaked a little as she got onto it but not as
much as it normally would have. It was already bent down to the floor
from the weight the forest spirit could not conceal. Lywyn looked into
the wolfs face, her Grandmother’s living form was light, it wouldn’t
have bent the bed to the ground. The old women in front of her smiled
gently and Lywyn knew then, a wolf or rather the Spirit of the Forest.
With this realization Lywyn started to notice all the mistakes he’d
made in trying to transform into her Grandmother. The nose, the eyes
all a little too large. Lywyn knew she had to get out of there now.
What ever the Forest planned it wasn’t good, but Lywyn needed an
excuse, a reason to run out. She bit her lip and thought.
My what big eyes you have, she commented to try to discract the Wolf from his plans.
The better to see you with the Wolf told her. But my eyes are growing dimmer with old age so please, please, come closer.
And a big nose too, Lywyn noted.
The
better to smell you with, the Wolf told her as he sniffed the air. If
Lywyn hadn’t already known that he was a Wolf, a Forests Soul, she
would have known then with the way he sniffed the air. But my nose
seems a little weaker than usual, come closer dear.
Lywyn knew what
she had to do then, she made a loud flatchelent noise, and crickled her
nose as if ashamed. I’m sorry Grandmother, she told the wolf as she got
of the bed. But I need to releave myself. And with that Lywyn rushed
back out into the forest. Although the Wolf was the Spirit of the
Forest, she could still hide there, the way a flea hides among a Wolfs
hair. But she wondered what she should do after that? She choked back a
sob as she realized that her Grandmother was likely gone, it had been
her Grandmother who’d kept the wilderness at bay for her all these
years.
| Rumpelstiltskin and the Knight
Rumpelstiltskin and the Fox
Little Red Riding Hood
Discription of the Whispering Forest
The Forgotten and the Future Wicked Step Mother
The Hawthorn Tree Teaches a Girl
Rumpelstiltskin
The Girl Has a Child With the Tree
Fairies Bosom
Wood Wife and the Baker
Forest Kings
Bunnik
Forest King Spreads Illness
Forest King Goes Hunting
Saga of a Nix
The Sealkie
An Old Child |
