Content Notes: play violence

The village inn proved a quiet place to enjoy a simple dinner of seasoned lamb stew. The herbs, Hannu could tell, had been fresh when they’d been added to the pot. A bit of mint and parsley along with a few others. One or two other people from the village enjoyed their evening meals as well with stew, a simple brown bread, and whatever the inn offered to drink. A couple in one corner held a conversation, though not loud enough to carry.

As she enjoyed her meal a man and a woman approached. The man wore the blue sash of a healer and the knife at the woman’s hip was known for its versatility while hunting. Why would a healer and hunter approach her together? Although they did both worship the Green. But why come to her here, and not at the shrine where she had spent the last several days?

“Forgive the intrusion, Lady,” the hunter said with a slight bow. “Would you accept us as table companions for a while?”

There was no way to refuse without being rude, and Hannu was traveling to meet and connect with those who served the Green. “Of course,” she gestured to the bench across from her. “Be welcome.”

They sat down and ordered ale from the serving maid who came by. Then the healer said quietly, “We have concerns and seek your guidance, called-one.”

“And we bring warning,” the hunter said. The healer gave her a side-eye look, his brow creased slightly in discomfort.

“I will give what guidance I can,” Hannu said to the healer. To the hunter, she replied, “And I will hear out your concerns.” She didn’t know what kind of warning this hunter might have, but her reply unsettled the healer further.

The hunter leaned forward and spoke softly. “In my grandfather’s day, honored one, hunters worshiped the Great Goddess,” the healer made a sign against evil at the name, and the hunter sneered at it. “In my father’s day, they began to speak ill of the Goddess. They destroyed her shrines and drove her worshipers from the temples. Today, we worship the Green, and the Great Goddess hunts no longer.”

Hannu frowned. “I was taught that she was driven out for the good of all. I did not know hunters once worshiped her.” She thought of Iberto. He had come to the temple to petition for sanctuary and the monks had tried to destroy him. Had he always worshiped the Great Goddess? Is that why he became her Called?

The hunter nodded. “Those who didn’t give up her worship were driven out by fire and sword. My family has passed down the stories.”

With a shudder, the healer said, “I don’t know what that has to do with anything. She’s gone and it’s for the best.”

“Oh? You don’t see it do you?” The hunter scoffed. “And what were the monks preaching last First Day?”

“What were they preaching?” If it was what Hannu began to suspect, then perhaps there was more to this warning than a simple history lesson.

The healer sighed. “It was… disturbing, honored. They were warning people away from visiting the woods and wild places. Talked of them as dangerous, meant to be tamed or best avoided.” He shook his head. “But that can’t be true, can it? The Green blesses us when we join with it.”

Hannu closed her eyes and tried to gather her thoughts. She remembered her poor reception by the monks at the first temple she had visited. What was the best way to respond to this? Is this what had happened to the Great Goddess? To those who disappeared before her? Hannu took a breath. “The Green does bless us when we join with it. The Green provides for us in many ways, from willow bark for fevers to the fallen logs for our fires. I don’t know why the monks would tell you otherwise.”

Through her connection with The Green, Hannu felt a pulse of warmth, like the touch of the sun on a cool spring day. The ground would be cool for a long time yet, but the warmth promised that would change. Promised also the dangerously hot days of summer when none moved too much and you stayed inside at midday if you could. She opened her eyes and gave the healer her full attention.

“I don’t…” the healer started but trailed off and ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair. His uncertainty showed in his frown and creased brow. He kept his voice low so none of the few other patrons at the inn would hear. “This isn’t the first time the monks have said… things… and I don’t know what to believe any longer.”

“When you go into the woods and wild places for your healing herbs and tonics, what do you find?” Hannu followed his lead, also keeping her voice quiet. She couldn’t answer all of his questions and had no way to dispel all his fears, but bringing him back to his own experiences with the Green and giving him a blessing moving forward might help him find his feet again.

“When I follow the seasons, I find what I need to keep my apothecary stocked for the next season. I find the beauty of the chattering quiet with the beings of the wood and wild. But the monks say these things are not to be trusted.” The healer sighed heavily. “I don’t know…”

The hunter snorted, “Of course you know! You’re a healer, you know the difference between medicine and poison better than anyone.”

The healer’s wide-eyed stare snapped to the hunter. “The monks… they see the medicine as poison…”

After a moment of consideration, Hannu understood the hunter as well and nodded. “Too much time in the Green can be dangerous for most people. Just like too much medicine becomes poison. But banning medicine to prevent poisoning helps no one.”

The healer nodded. “Thank you for your guidance, honored one. I will continue to rely on the Green as I have been taught to do. You are right. Too much can be dangerous, but there is a proper balance to be found.”

The hunter smiled slightly.

Hannu gave them a kind smile. “Healer, I give you the blessing of the Green, that you may excel at your craft with the help of its resources. Hunter, I do not think my blessing would be fitting for you as the goddess of your grandfather’s time hunts once more with her Called.”

The hunter’s mouth opened a bit, and she met Hannu’s eyes with a shocked stare. “It has been so long… We thought…” She straightened her shoulders and folded her hands on the table.

Hannu rested her hand on the hunter’s. “I have met her Called personally. Seen them play.”

The healer again made the sign against evil with a slight shake in his hand. “Surely that is not… safe.”

Hannu smiled as she pulled her hand back. “As has been said, too much time in the Green can also be dangerous. Is that not also true of the hunt?”

“I… I suppose.” The healer shook his head. He kept silent for a long moment, and when next he spoke, his voice quivered a bit. “You say your family has stories from when the Great Goddess was worshiped openly?”

“We do, yes.” 

“Perhaps… you would tell me of them?”

“Gladly.” The hunter turned to Hannu. “Thank you, honored one, for your advice and your patience. I think it’s time we took our leave.”

“I am always glad to help. And thank you for your warning. I promise we will heed it.”

The hunter nodded, stood, and offered her hand to the healer. “It is well.”

---