The Rise and Fall of the Evil Root Spirits

Others Stories | Feb 9, 2013 | 8 min read
12 Votes, average: 3 out of 5
Others Stories

The Rise and Fall of the Evil Root Spirits

The little cottage

Far far away in a land that time forgot, a little cottage stood in the middle of an enchanted forrest. The woman that owned it was very old. She had lived there all her life.

Gertrude Mellow was very happy, she had wonderful memories of a long and lovely life living there in the cottage where she grew up.

Her mother and father had loved each other very much and Gertrude's childhood had been such a lovely experience, she looked back at her life and was so contented. Now she was growing very old and her hands were crooked and misshapen with the arthritis she now suffered from, her fingers were all bent and not much use to her anymore.

Gertrude loved the garden, it was a paradise of scent and flowers from days gone by. The garden was full of colourful flowers that had been planted many years ago, it was a treasure that Gertrude would always love.

After breakfast each morning she would go out into the lovely garden and soak in the wonderful ambience surrounding the little cottage. The fairies would come and fly around the garden, bringing with them a sense of hope and belonging to Gertrude in her solitude.

Inside the cottage, it was just as quaint as it was on the outside. The kitchen was lived in and had a friendly and homely atmosphere, it had a fireplace with a range on which a pot of stew would simmer for days.

As long as the fire was fuelled the range would take care of everything. A kettle was on a constant boil so cups of tea could be drank at will. Gertrude loved this kitchen.

Lots of lovely artefacts were housed within the cottage walls, they dated back centuries. It was a treasure to behold. Gertrude had spent so many happy hours within these cottage walls.

In the living room, a floral two seater settee and two matching chairs that had been there since Gertrude's parents had bought the house many moons ago, was blending into the cottage's structure. An old standard lamp stood in the corner. Plates surrounded the picture frame rail and toby jugs were a plenty on the windowsills and fireplace hearth.

History was a big part of this lonely little cottage set in the middle of the Enchanted forrest. Gertrude's only neighbours were the woodland creatures and the fairies who resided in her lovely garden. Solitude from any other human being didn't seem to bother Gertrude, she had her many enchanted friends to keep her company.

The day of the storm

Gertrude sat in her garden, soaking up the sun and taking in the perfume of the many lovely flowers in the garden. The fairies seemed to be quite restless today, usually if they were like this, it meant that something untoward was going to happen. The clouds were gathering menacingly overhead, they were in for a big storm by the looks of it.

Strong winds built up and before too long the lovely sunny day had turned into a stormy nightmare. Gertrude was perturbed by this. In all the time she had lived in this place, nothing had got to her like the foreboding that this storm was bringing. Was this the beginning of the prophecy, that had been handed down for so many years?

Gertrude went inside before the storm blew any worse. She didn't like this, it was something that her mother had warned her about many years ago. She had told her that one day in the future, a storm would come which would be the storm to end all storms. This would mark the beginning of the end of the world.

The cottage was groaning under the strain of this massive storm, it was so harsh. Gertrude took herself into the living room and seated herself on one of the floral armchairs. She listened intensely to the raging storm outside and wondered if the prophecy was coming true.

Outside the wind howled as the rain fell in torrents. The creatures in the forrest all ran for cover, the woodland nymphs and the many fairies headed for cover in the surrounding caves.

This Enchanted forrest was now under the threat of the curse of the evil root spirits. The tree's had always been a threat and now they were causing mayhem in this lovely forrest.

The Great Oak

The tree had stood tall for centuries, waiting for a time when it could take over the role of master of the enchanted forrest. The fairies had always had managed to keep their pride of place here. Now changes were taking place and the forrest was going to be ruled by the root spirits.

The trees grew in confidence as the storm approached, they knew that the time had now come for them to rise and take their place in the enchanted forrest.

The great oak was giving orders to the surrounding oak trees.

'Now is the time, we are going to take our rightful place here in our forrest. We must rise up together to destroy the fairies and their animal friends, it is our time now. A time to become what our legacy promised many millions of years ago. This is our time now, so arise and take your places we must destroy anything that gets in our way. This is our forrest, this is our time'.

The great oak swayed in the storm as the other tree's listened to him.

The storm raged in the enchanted forrest and continued to get more severe as the hours passed. The fairies flew for cover as did the many animals. They knew something bad was happening in the forrest but they didn't know what to expect.

The fairies gathered together in a bid to try and find a way to defeat the root spirits bewitching the trees. The sky had turned from a light blue into a dark charcoal grey as the fairies flew together in large groups and headed now towards the little cottage. They wouldn't survive without the old woman's help. She was their only hope.

The oak trees began to uproot themselves, they dragged themselves slowly towards the little cottage. They were bent on destroying the old woman and everything that stood in their way. The old woman was a threat to them. She was the only thing now that was standing in their way.

The great oak shouted orders at all the other oak trees, this was their only chance, it would never

happen again. Nothing can stop them now..... it was time.

The great oak stood tall and led the other trees towards the little cottage, they would have to destroy the old woman in order to fulfil the prophecy.

The magic was working now after many decades, the prophecy had predicted that an uprising of the oak trees would occur following a great storm, one which would end all storms. The end of the enchanted forrest would be the outcome.

The forrest would become a bleak and inhabitable place, a place where only oak trees existed. No more fairies, no more colourful flowers, no more animals and no more enchanted magical moments. Nothing would exist anymore apart from the trees and the grey skies.

The magic book

Gertrude could hear the storm raging outside and she was worried. She hoped the animals and fairies would be alright. This was the beginning of the prophecy, she felt it happening. She knew that the prophecy had predicted that the oak trees would live, but everything else would die.

She went into the kitchen and made her way towards the larder, there was a hidden compartment in there that housed a magic book. She had been told by her parents, that if ever anything happened to compromise the existence of the enchanted forrest, the book should be used to try and stop it. She was told that she should never use this book unless the end of the enchanted forrest should arise.

Gertrude took the magic book from it's hiding place and set it on the kitchen table, she read through the first few pages. This was just how it had been explained to her when she was a child. There was only one way to defeat the root spirits.

The little cottage held all the answers, this little cottage would save them all providing she followed the magical spell within the book. Gertrude had to make sure she had everything in place before the spell was cast.

She looked out of her window, there were many fairies in her garden, they were being blown this way and that way. The poor fairies were struggling to keep from being battered from the strong winds. Gertrude saw them outside and opened her kitchen door to let them all inside.

There were hundreds of tiny fairies all gathered together they flew into the little cottage as Gertrude open the door.

'Go upstairs and stay as close as you can together, we need to make room for the animals when they arrive'. Gertrude told the fairies.

Gertrude looked out of her kitchen window, she was waiting for the other creatures to arrive, she knew they were coming, it was written in the magic book.

The storm seemed to be getting worse, she thought she could see a number of trees in the distance that were getting nearer. This was what she feared more than anything else, this meant that the prophecy was coming true.

Rabbit's, hedgehogs, badger's, foxes, horses, cow's, sheep, hen's, wood nymph's, birds, and other creatures all made their way to the little cottage. They knew that it was their only hope.

The wings of hope

According to the prophecy, the cottage would be their only salvation. Gertrude must follow the instructions to the letter.

'You must all do as I instruct you, or we will all perish and the earth will not exist anymore as we know it. This will be our one and only chance of surviving this curse'. Gertrude told her guests.

The fairies already knew what was happening, they had always known that one day in the future a storm would come and an evil would be in their midst.

The many guests were pilled into the little cottage, the fairies were sparkling upstairs and the animals and birds tried to fit in where they could in the living room and kitchen. It was getting very crowded but at least they were all save inside the cottage.

Gertrude read the old book and knew that they would have to act quickly in order to foil the root spirits. They were on their way to destroy them, if they managed to get to the cottage before they could escape there was no hope.

'All the powers of the enchanted forrest come to us now and help us in our fight against the evil root spirits' Gertrude began.

'May all the root spirits go away
Let the all the animals and fairies stay
This prophecy will never come true
If this spell works as it should do

Great forrest with the all the magic it brings
Enable this cottage to grow some wings
Take us away from this evil today
So all the root spirits will go away

When midnight comes the prophecy will cease
The evil root spirits will return as oak trees
The spell will be broken and the forrest will return
The evil spirits will go back to hell and burn'

Gertrude closed the old book and looked through the window and she could see the root spirits slowly approaching the cottage. They were all in grave danger as the trees were getting nearer.

The little cottage started to shake and vibrate, it was like an earthquake. The fairies and animals were being shaken within it's walls. Gertrude reassured her many guests that it was ok, the cottage was going to protect them from the evil root spirits.

The trees were nearing the cottage and the great oak shouted to the other trees.

'Move forward, quickly the cottage is under a spell, we need to destroy the old woman it's our only hope'.

The trees moved forward as the cottage started to shake, they watched as the little cottage changed shape, it was sprouting angel wings on either side and the wings were getting larger and larger. Soon the little cottage was flapping it's large angel wings and lifting slowly into the sky.

'No, no, this can't be!, we must stop it now or we will be cast out from this forrest'. The great oak shouted.

Gertrude knew that the root spirits were doomed to eternal damnation and would never be able to return once the witching hour was over.

The little cottage flew high over the enchanted forrest, the fairies and animals were now safe from the evil root spirits.

Gertrude's spell had worked. They would stay airborne until midnight had passed.

The great oak roared loudly as the cottage flew away from them. It was all over.

Life returns to the enchanted forrest

The little cottage returned to the enchanted forrest with it's many guests and Gertrude inside. The cottage landed safely back in the same place as it set off from.

The cottage settled back into it's former position as the large angel wings started to retract until they disappeared altogether. The lovely perfumed flowers were still there and the oak trees were still there, but the evil root spirits within the trees had now gone forever.

Gertrude returned the magic book back to it's place of safe keeping, not that it should ever be required again.

The fairies thanked Gertrude for her help and they flew out of the cottage and back into the enchanted forrest. The animals went back to their habitats safe from the clutches of the root spirits.

The sun was shining down on the garden and Gertrude knew that her job was now finished. This was what she had been sent here for. She loved her little cottage and her lovely garden with it's perfumed flowers. She could now rest in peace......

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