Golden Crown: The Fey Lands Saga book 2

Healing the Land: From Oak Hollow village

    For the next several days I traveled through the village's. Most villagers were afraid of me, with good reason. As they'd had bad dealings with evil fey I tried to assure them that I would help them. I began by rebuilding walls raiders had destroyed, bringing back healing to the land, and creating food stuffs and seed for the following year. As I passed through Windmir village I was stopped by a carriage rolling through it. Out came count Ferson of county Nieth who told me that he would appreciate my help.
    Not only did I have to heal the land but the people who were suffering from starvation and illness. Children seemed to be the most open minded. They enjoyed my stories of Fey lands and helping my own village which I had grown up in. One old woman told me that she didn't believe that I had grown up around here, "How could you have?" "You have great magics." "Amar and Tefira, my priests would disagree." I told her.
    One night I tried again to contact Lian through our mind link and was swamped with fever and despair. He could not speak to me however and I grew concerned. I did not think I could leave these villages to their fates however. the next morning some of the children from another village told their priest that they had dreamed of me and that I was their Goddess come to save them. Later as I straightened up from creating a sack of grain one of the priests came to me and bowed, "Lady some of the children say they will honour you as their Goddess." I nodded, "Do you claim Godhood?" He asked, "I am who I am." I said, "If they choose to honour me, then I must accept it." "I cannot judge what is in someone's heart." The priest smiled and went away satisfied. The priestess however wasn't and made it clear that I was just a Fey who was a dab hand at magic. I let it go and let her harangue me as I walked the lands bringing food to grow, crop seed for the farmers, animals for their empty new pens, and clear water to their well that was almost dry.
After a few days she admitted that she was wrong. Others had been talking to the woman and she'd relented saying that I'd actually come to help. More days and more travel to other villages just as desperate for food clothing medicines and seed filled my days.
Every night I would find a place outside the walls of the village to cry out my sorrows. Seeing all those poor villagers with threadbare clothing, children with racking coughs and runny noses, little but stubble in the barns and pens made my heart sore. I thought about how if I'd not come around how many of them would die of starvation or plague which had hit these villagers and would bring more sickness as they had no seed or money to pay for it. Physicians wouldn't come here without coin, and those that did wanted exorbitant fees.
Most villagers took to market what they grew each year but that was enough perhaps for everyone to have a pair of shoes, some clothing perhaps but most of it was taken up with dry goods, plows and more seed; and that didn't count the hefty 25 percent taxes the nobles took from their crops. the noble had to be paid first. Whatever was left over was not for luxuries but all the things the people needed for the winter survival. Out here in the forest so close to Fey lands far from the capitol people ate what they could gather, kill and cook. Nobles that lived here didn't visit but twice a year to see to the growing and harvests. Most of them stayed at court for the rest of the year.
Helping was the least I could do, but it was terrible seeing the wounded from the wars trying to eek out life from dead soil and little growing time. I could not however keep myself from feeling heartsick at the end of the day though. So many people needed help and comfort. I missed Lian and my life in Fey lands. But every night I would straighten up, sigh, and shoulder my weight of duty and plod on to the next village or town.
finally in the last town called Kulinor I saw where Turnock had begun his tyranny. Many people hid from me and bolted closed their doors. Nulock had joined me however and they'd heard of Nulock. It took several days before they would allow me to so much and enter their homes to see what they needed. the children were just as hard to win over. For the past two years they'd seen as Turnock had rid them of their food, their livelihoods and their men to fight his battles for him.
One night as I sat by a river muddy and ill kept I cried out my woes. I felt something stir inside my mind. An unfamiliar mind voice called inside my head. "Come home!" "Lian is near death." The mind voice cut out as soon as it had come. Even though there were few things that killed Fey before they decided to give their lives to the earth there were a few illnesses that did cause death in Fey.
Gesturing m hand to the river and watched it clean itself. I had to get back to. I could do it here, but the portal foundations from me going back and forth from Oak Hollow made it easier to go through. If I came from here it would take three days of chanting, inlaying runes and making sure the portal would hold. As a result of this many Fey when the gates were opened flocked to places where portals had been called up for eons of time, Oak Hollow being one of those places.
I spent the rest of the night creating food, medicines, cider, medicines, cloth and clothing, pins, needles, thread, pots and pans, cooking implements, all bronze cf course leaving piles by doorsteps. I made the smokehouse fill with freshly smokies meat and the ponds fill with ducks and geese. Doing this all night long made me tired. At dawn before the first people would awaken I lifted into the sky and flew toward Oak hollow, hoping that I would get to Lian before he died. My heart was heavy as I rested each night. I finally made my way into Oak hollow seven days after I flew straight on from morning to night.
People welcomed me back with open arms and I finally was able to sleep for two days and nights before leaving the third night without anyone noticing. I opened my hands and called for the magic within me to open the portal. Strangely the magic fought me. I was able to get into the portal and whisk awy back to Fey lands but only after hours of straining.