Alterra Worldbuilding Journal: A Walk Through the Woods

Your party is walking along a forest trail by moonlight, trying to make it to the next town before the inn closes for the night. As you make your way in the dim light, you see an old man sitting by the side of the trail, his head bowed low under a wide brimmed hat.

Feeling sorry for the poor fellow who obviously has nowhere warm and safe to spend the night, you toss a few coins at his feet. One of your companions pats you on the back as you continue, and you feel a swell of satisfaction at your good deed.

And then you feel several sharp thumps on the back of your head as the coins smack against your skull.

“What’s the big idea just droppin’ your trash wherever ye please?” says an oddly spry voice from behind you. “The forest is no place for emptying pockets and scattering bits and bobbles!”

You turn around to see the man you passed by, now standing and holding a long walking stick. Next to him you see (though you don’t know how you could have missed it before) either a very large dog or a very tame wolf.

“Uh, that’s not… It wasn’t garbage sir,” you stammer out. “Those were coins I dropped at your feet.”

“And why would you do a thing like that?” he asks, not unkindly, but not with the gratitude you might have expected either.

“Well, you’re alone out here and I figured you might be… hungry?” The end of your sentence turns into a question under the piercing gaze of the stranger.

“Hungry?! Ha!” The man laughs. “How could I possibly be hungry with such an abundant feast all around us?”

Just then your grumbling stomach speaks up, making it obvious you have no idea what kind of feast the man could be thinking of. It also reminds you and your companions of your desire to get to the inn at the next town while its kitchen might still be open.

“I’ll tell you what,” says the stranger, now smiling at you, “I’m no fool. I know you were trying to show me a kindness, and for that I thank you. To make amends for your sore head, allow me to provide you all with an evening meal and a bit of entertainment!”

“We appreciate your offer,” says one of your companions, “but we really must keep going.”

“Not a problem!” the man replies. “I tend to eat on the move too. Keeps the old limbs limber as timber, as the saying goes! Lead the way!”

As the five of you walk, the old man begins to whistle a tune.

As he whistles, his dog hops excitedly around him, and his walking stick begins to glow. Many of the blossoms and flower buds near the trail seem to give off a faint light as well, in a myriad of colors.

Branches from the trees begin to bend down, with faintly glowing fruit now easily in arm’s reach. Berry vines you hadn’t noticed before now seem to line the edges of the path on all sides, offering plump and juicy berries to enjoy.

You glance at the stranger. He gives you a slight nod as he continues whistling. You pluck one of the berries and put it in your mouth. DELICIOUS!!

“Are you a Nature mage, then?” asks the youngest member of your party. “I’ve never met one before.”

The stranger stops whistling and smiles. “Well now I don’t know that anyone has ever called me a ‘mage’ before,” he says. “Though I am quite fond of nature. I’ve just never cared too much for books and classrooms. They’re fine for some folks of course, but I prefer to seek out magic through other means than disciplined spells.”

“There are ways to use magic other than spells?”

“A great many!! Probably more ways than there are squirrels in this forest! My personal preferred method is music.”

Your young companion looks to you, trying to figure out if the man is making some kind of a joke. “You can’t cast magic through music, can you? Really? Is that something special for Nature magic?”

“Of course you can! Music can cast magic of any element, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes a bit more naturally to Nature magic, what with our love of harmony and all.” At this he gives you a quick, knowing wink.

“Let’s see,” he continues, sizing up your party while stroking his chin. “Between the four of you I’d say you can cast Lightning, Earth, Metal, and Water spells. Is that right?”

“How could you possibly know that?” asks the water mage in your group.

“Don’t worry,” says the man, waving a hand. “I’m not reading your minds. I can’t do that like you can. I just happen to have a talent for seeing connections between people. I have a nose for sniffing out how groups and different elements fit together. Like how two of you are secretly quite fond of each other.”

At this last comment everyone in your party becomes quite stiff, not wanting to make eye contact with any other member of the party. At this the man laughs heartily.

“Relax! I won’t spoil the surprise. Now eat, I still have some entertainment that I promised to provide.”

“Can music REALLY cast magic from any element?” your young companion finally bursts out again. “Not just nature?”

“Hmmm…” The man strokes his chin and begins to whistle his tune again. “It’s like this…”

Well wind, it sure can whistle

And rain keeps quite a beat

Hearing sandstone rubbed together

Can make me tap my feet

And there is no denyin’

Some singers sing with fire

But nature’s the conductor

That can harmonize the choir

Yes horns of brass and metal

Can trumpet clear and far

And those electric fiddles…

….

….

(OK, so they’re bizarre)

But just ask anybody

Be they Oni, Elf, or Faun

And they’ll confess that nature

She provides the wood baton

He closes his song and you find that despite the corny lyrics and campy tune, you couldn’t suppress your smile.

“So that’s it then?” you ask, raising your eyebrow. “Nature is simply the best?”

“Bah! Haven’t you been listening?” he says incredulously. “Nature is all about finding the harmony in life. You can’t have harmony without balance, and you can’t have balance if everybody is trying to sing the loudest.”

The light of his walking stick dims a bit as he speaks next. “Some nature mages who come through here, they’ve got heads full of moss. They think the only way to appreciate nature is to keep it ‘pure,’ which to them means keeping everything and everyone else out.”

“They don’t get it,” he says with a sigh. “This new world of discovery and exploration isn’t something that can be kept out, and trying to is only going to make things worse. The only way to keep Nature healthy is to be part of helping everyone, all the nations, all the spell schools of every element, to find that harmony for themselves.”

“I don’t know,” you say with a sad shrug. “I’ve seen a lot of struggle, and I’ve been through a lot of fights. We all have.” Your companions nod in agreement. “How do you even begin to tackle something like that?”

“I find a good place to start is just to get the song stuck in somebody else’s head,” he says with a wink.

Just then, you come around a bend in the trail and you see the light of the inn’s windows in front of you. “Hey we made it!” you say. “Why don’t you come join us for the night, and…”

You and your companions turn to look at the stranger, but he’s gone. No glowing stick, no large dog, not even footprints or tracks where he had been just a moment before. The faint glow of berry juice around your lips is the only evidence that it hadn’t just been a dream.

“Well, I guess he had somewhere else to be,” you say to the rest of your party. “Come on, let’s get inside and out of this night air.”

And as you walk to the door of the inn, without even realizing it, you find yourself softly whistling a tune.