Backwoods Monsters

"It is often during the first years of one's life as a Backwood's resident that one finds an intense dislike for the flaws of Man. However, it is often during one's last years that one truly appreciates their merits. I will forever be astounded by the level of Hope and Rage that Man can inspire in both themselves and others of their kind."
- The Honorable Burrow Keeper Malachi the Elder, The Backwoods Manual, annotated foreword


Closing the old book's vellum pages as he penned the prologue's last line in what would truly be his greatest work, Malachi the Elder Vole removed his chipped quartz spectacles and rubbed his weary eyes.

"Truly, this work has taken my entire life to write." he mused as he stared at the tome before him and weighted it in his hands. The large tome was nothing less than a factual description of his life as a Backwood's resident, and included secrets that others would and had died for.

"I can only hope that it will save the lives of those who come after me and read it." Picking up the book from his matchbox desk, he quickly turned down his oil lamp before turning and scurrying from his dusty study.

As he moved from the old leather boot he had hollowed out to make his study, he heard the damp slithering sound of the Deep Wood intruding further into reality around himself.

"Not going to be much longer, old one. We will take your Heart and Soul, and sup on your Mind." The voice that whispered from the trees was a familiar one to the old vole. He had heard the voice of the Deep ever since he had first battled the monsters that invaded the Backwoods. Long had he battled for the safety of Man and Beast against that which lurked.

Ignoring the voice for now and picking up his pace, Malachi could feel the life draining from his withered limbs as the shadows brushed him. 'I must reach the clearing and the runestone before its too late.'

Entering the clearing, he beheld again the moss-covered runestone that anchored this section of the Backwoods in place, and prevented the Deep from doing more than merely intruding. The large Mannaz rune on it pulsed a gentle blue as it reinforced the clearing against the Deep.

As he gently placed his life's work into the space he had prepared previously beneath the stone, he couldn't help but breathe out a sigh of relief. 'I wasn't too late. Now to seal it in, so that the Deep can not reach it.'

Taking a breathe and bracing himself, he quickly bit his paw as hard as he could. The feeling of fangs piercing his flesh was an old one, as the scars on his paws attested to.

Raising his voice, Malachi summoned his courage and the magic that he had sacrificed so much for, one last time.


"By Blood and Bone,
with Heart and Mind,
and at the cost of my Soul;
I seal this place against the Deep."


The grinding noise of the runestone sliding over the space covered up Malachi's pained groans as everything that he was was drained to seal the tome away.

His final act of defiance against the Deep completed, he leaned against the stone and let its light soothe his wounds for a moment.

As he did so, he looked at the Deep just behind the tree-line of the clearing and for the first time in years, Malachi smiled and responded to the voice of the Deep. "Yes, I will not live for much longer, but my job is done and though I am dying my final work is beyond you, as am I."

As his eyes slowly drooped closed for the final time the Honorable Burrow Keeper Malachi the Elder, he who had defied the Deep countless times throughout his life, couldn't help but smile more to himself as he was soothed one last time by the light of a Runestone and by the enraged screams of the Deep.

---

This is a story that I've been kicking around in my head for awhile now. As far as I know, its a story that has not been told yet.

I hope it is as fun to read as it is to write.

The plan is to update on Thursdays.

I will see you all in the Backwoods on Thursdays!​