from Diary of a Village Witch
Jan. 5th, 2025 03:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kimurhoMy plans are derailed.
A couple of hunters found a glastig in distress not far from Rockbottom. She was collapsed at the base of one of the standing stones on the moors, clawing her hands bloody and crying out with a voice destroyed.
I had her taken to a nearby bothy to treat. Too far to take her back to the cottage.
At first I thought that my patient was a victim of persecution. Some people treat glastigs as nuisances and vermin. They drive them out of their territory or otherwise persecute them. But glastigs are a necessary part of the wild community. They shepherd the wildlife; especially deer and wild goats. This can put them at odds with careless hunters who don't treat the hunt with the proper respect.
The hunters of Rockbottom are not careless or disrespectful. They are keeping me supplied with meat and fuel and coming to check on the glastig.
She is exhausted and weak. I don't understand her speech, which is not surprising. Fae, even wild and solitary fae, don't speak in human tongues. Mortals can sometimes understand something of what they wish to tell us, but only if they wish us to.
Luckily, one of the goatherds is part fae and therefore has increased understanding. When they brought him to the bothy, he was half-wild himself. Strange of speech and disinclined to enter the hut. But he managed to convey some understanding of the glastig's mutterings.
"Closed. Closed. I knock but it doesn't open."
I asked. The stone whereupon they found her has a local reputation. The hunters of Rockbottom leave offerings there, either asking for luck on the hunt or leaving some part of the bag. Maidens bring flowers and ask for signs of who they will love and matrons leave special baked goods when they pray for protection for their families.
I have been absorbed these past few days with taking care of the glastig. She's finally stable enough that I can risk leaving her to the care of a village elder while I go to back to the stone whereupon she was found. I hope to find some reason for her distress and condition.
A couple of hunters found a glastig in distress not far from Rockbottom. She was collapsed at the base of one of the standing stones on the moors, clawing her hands bloody and crying out with a voice destroyed.
I had her taken to a nearby bothy to treat. Too far to take her back to the cottage.
At first I thought that my patient was a victim of persecution. Some people treat glastigs as nuisances and vermin. They drive them out of their territory or otherwise persecute them. But glastigs are a necessary part of the wild community. They shepherd the wildlife; especially deer and wild goats. This can put them at odds with careless hunters who don't treat the hunt with the proper respect.
The hunters of Rockbottom are not careless or disrespectful. They are keeping me supplied with meat and fuel and coming to check on the glastig.
She is exhausted and weak. I don't understand her speech, which is not surprising. Fae, even wild and solitary fae, don't speak in human tongues. Mortals can sometimes understand something of what they wish to tell us, but only if they wish us to.
Luckily, one of the goatherds is part fae and therefore has increased understanding. When they brought him to the bothy, he was half-wild himself. Strange of speech and disinclined to enter the hut. But he managed to convey some understanding of the glastig's mutterings.
"Closed. Closed. I knock but it doesn't open."
I asked. The stone whereupon they found her has a local reputation. The hunters of Rockbottom leave offerings there, either asking for luck on the hunt or leaving some part of the bag. Maidens bring flowers and ask for signs of who they will love and matrons leave special baked goods when they pray for protection for their families.
I have been absorbed these past few days with taking care of the glastig. She's finally stable enough that I can risk leaving her to the care of a village elder while I go to back to the stone whereupon she was found. I hope to find some reason for her distress and condition.
