In the obscure forest of Umele One on a hillside in the outskirts of the capital of Annias, there is a grove of trees that houses a small shrine to the small and obscure Goddess of the Forest of Umele. With the passing of time, Mother Nature slowly indoctrinated the humans who inhabited the now distant land to build a shrine for the goddess, an ancestral maiden/mother who had died a violent death in her fight for her land and her species against the machinations of the ruling Patriarchs. A small grove of trees- the kind that only grows in Umele was cleared, as they were of no use to the humans of the now distant land. A small shrine was built in her name, a shrine that was now used by the daughters and daughters in law of the former rulers of the land to pray for the well being of their sons in the wars of vengeance against the proud Patriarchs.
The shrine was built very soon to be too near. Near enough to the castle of the Patriarchs, near enough to the road that was built to make the journey easier and near enough to the land that lay below. And now, the shrine has been the cause of a strange occurrence. The winds of the forests that now stood mightily and fearfully in strength, have greatly diminished. The trees that grow from the land on which the shrine stands have been breaking branches at will and yet, not a single one of the trees has cut themselves themselves. Even the maples that grow in the forest that many a time have managed to topple each other, are standing unhurt.
One can tell that there’s something special about these trees, for it is that time of the year, when the trees of the Annian forest shed their leaves, that the trees are standing tall and in good health. But when the breeze blows from the shrine, the leaves still remain intact. And the animals in the forest have ceased to wander and the birds flying above have ceased in their flight. Something is strange about this land, and the elders, the ones who know of the existence of the shrine, have set out to investigate. Sam, Milo and Sam-they three have come to investigate.
Sam, the eldest of the three, talks to the elder, the one who knows more about the shrine, about the odd occurrence. After all, he too used to visit the shrine for his mother when she prayed for the good health of his father.
“Elder, what’s going on?” Sam asked.
“Sam, I know you know more about the shrine than I do, but I’m not sure what is going on. I’ve never seen this shrine before. It is strange.” The elder said.
“Tell me what you know elder, what can you tell me about them?” Sam asked, nodding at the trees.
“Sam, these, these are the trees that once stood in Umele and are now grown here in the outskirts of Annias. Yes, this is the same grove of trees that has been here for the longest time, Sam. What is it that you’re interested in?” The elder asked.
“Well, I’m more interested in the reason why the trees are standing tall. They must have suffered a great deal, even though the canopy is quite low for the area. Why are they standing tall?” Sam asked.
“Sam, there’s something strange about these trees and that’s why they’re acting up. I don’t know what it is, but these trees are very unusual, absolutely abnormal. Sam, you can tell that there’s something different about them.” The elder said and slowly turned his gaze towards the trees.
“The trees are standing out of anger, my friend. They’re standing straight up as if they’ve been filled with anger, but at whom? Harm? They have suffered a great deal, especially in this area, from what I hear.” Sam said.
“Yes, they had, they had. It’s not the trees that have suffered, Sam. They’re standing straight up because they were angered by the humans who had fallen on them and with such a force that they never stood in their ages to come. Sam, you can tell that the way they’re standing, they are outraged. They’ve been angered. More than that, they are angry. Is there a reason for this? Do you know the existence of the shrine?” The elder asked.
“Yes, yes. I do. The goddess of this land is the patron of this land and a protector of this land. It is her that the people used to visit and request for a blessing and good rain.” Sam paused and thought to a distant time.
“She was my mother and I visited her shrine every time I had a problem to solve.” Sam continued.
“Do you know the one who used to build the shrine, Sam?” The elder asked.
“Yes, I do. It was my father and if it wasn’t for your baseless toil, I would have had a better life. I would have been born with the same facial features as my father.” Sam replied.