* * *
Evening had just begun to take hold.A gentle breeze stirred Magnoliah's fair hair as she sat in Domnann. As always she was startled by the words that only she seemed able to hear.
**Forgotten soul who sits and waits**
**Forgotten by life's busy Fates**
**What to do and where to turn**
**How to stop the wrenching yearn**
**To walk the grove all alone** **Forever banned from my true home**
**So here I sit and contemplate**
**On what it takes to cheat cruel Fate**
**The Fates, their hold it does ebb**
**I'll work my thread into their web**
**To feel the warmth, life's sweet caress....**
As the voice drifted off Maggie closed her eyes and pondered visiting the grove. It had been ages since she spent much time there, and for some reason she felt it would unlock the mystery she was dealing with. Heeding the silent call, she gathered her things and made her way to the willow grove.
Soon Magnoliah was standing under the shadow of the once proud Great Willow. It's skeletal branches seemed to stretch upward, towards something just out of reach.
**Broken shell that stands alone.....**
She knew she was in the right place.
**Elven child whose spirit touched......**
Maggie started slightly as a sapling spirit stopped in from of her. Her emotions were clearly outlined on her face, begging the sapling to tell her its secrets. Quietly she sat before the spirit, awaiting what it had to tell her.
**Elven child, Fates' favored toy.....**
**A chain of events was set into motion long ago with the death of the Great WIllow's Protector.**
**Clotho cut the Protector's thread, sending him beyond the veil. Mortal intervention repaired that thread and brought him back.**
**Thus the Great Willow was first bound in blood.**
**The spirit of the Great Willow was then housed in a shell of flesh and blood.**
**The Protector's heart was pure so when the veil threatened to claim a loved one, he did the only thing he could. He placed the Great Spirit within him into that loved one. **
**Again, the Spirit was housed within a flesh and blood shell, but it was closer to life than before for Adelia was with child. The shock of housing three souls was more than her mortal form could bear, however, and both she and the babe died in childbirth.**
**This was the second and third binding of blood on the Great Willow.**
Magnoliah sighed, memories returning in a torrent.
**The Fates are always busy and failed to notice a thread that was not cut. Banned from its home and without another shell, the Willow's spirit has been forced to walk between the living and those across the veil.**
**Only recently has Fate's hold been slipping, allowing the brief communication with you.**
**You who has already been spirit touched.**
**It is lonely between worlds.......**
Tears began flowing freely from Magnoliah's eyes.
**and I thank you for keeping me company.**
**The Fates' hold weakens, their attention going elsewhere.**
"What can I do?" she asked, violet eyes still overflowing with tears.
**You have already done much. Long has it been since I have had someone to talk to... someone who can hear me.**
**When the Fates gaze away from me I intend to return to this side of the veil.**
**I wish for the warmth of life....**
**I only hope the Fates do not notice the change in their weave.**
"I would do all that is in my power to help ye," the elven girl offered as she nodded in understanding.
**I fear my time for now is gone. Fate's hold on me is still too much. **
**Thank you for listening and hearing my tale....**
Magnoliah cried as the voice and the sapling faded away. Her eyes seemed to plead and beg as she placed a hand upon the Great Willow. A soft, warm breeze arose and dried the tears from her face.
Magnoliah smiled.