Post by fae iona cloudbreaker on Oct 31, 2021 21:02:37 GMT -7
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2020-2021
The Time of Passing. The month of January had always loomed over Hy-Brasil, a time for reflection as a people, and for inner thoughts on loss and life. Being born only a week prior to Imbolc, and with an astrological twin at that, Fae Cloudbreaker knew that she was destined for a tumultuous life no matter what she attempted to do. At least that was what the elders had always prophesized to her during lessons and when January rolled around each year. She had grown accustomed to it by the time she had turned twenty though, and while there had been a brief glimpse of what the outside world could be like from her two separate trips to Hogwarts during her education period, it was quite clear that there wasn’t much for her to actually accomplish on the mainland. That was due to her fate after all. Why should she ever have a cause for celebration when it was clearly outlined in the stars that she was to amount to nothing spectacular?
The closest she could get to that taste of freedom was by working as a visitor guide at the docks. Most mainlanders that traveled to Hy-Brasil had a particular interest in the flora and fauna; herbologists and magizoologists, and Ministry researchers. The island that the druids called home wasn’t a vacation destination by any means and it seemed like they were mostly treated with the respect that they deserved. High Druid Root was fairly set in her ways when it came to maintaining the relationship that her predecessor had established with the mainland government decades earlier. She made it abundantly clear that the druids would continue their autonomy the same as they had for the last several decades, though also understanding that some adjustments had to be made to allow for the advancements in the outside world.
Fae never really understood what any of that meant until she had to go to Hogwarts for her OWLs, finally seeing the mainland for the first time in her life. That was when she ‘got it’. It was a wide open world with limitless opportunities and experiences. The way that the Hogwarts students listened to her and her peers’ questions about certain things, like what cars or phones were, was always with extreme curiosity. Apparently neither group could fully comprehend the other over the short period of time that the OWLs took place.
So upon her completion of her education on Hy-Brasil, there were many different avenues that Fae had to choose from when it came to her future and career. The most obvious was to stay on the family farm and help with the griffons, and despite her parents trying to push her into something more worthwhile, she almost did just that. They could tell that her natural curiosity of the outside was there, just that she was horrid at taking the initiative that would get her what she wanted. There was a brief interview in potentially becoming a magizoologist on the mainland but she never heard back from the researcher she would have been working for. She assumed it was due to her lack in confidence when it came to interacting with mainlanders, Hogwarts students her own age having been the only ones thus far in her life.
Her solution to this problem? Taking on a part-time job as the visitor guide for the island in the hopes that it would ease her into social interactions. It was almost like going onto the mainland but still within the safety and comfort of home. Her ‘freedom’ could come at any moment she wished now, since she was now learning little tidbits of the outside world. All she needed to do was take a little leap and try again with a new career choice, and she would be off of Hy-Brasil and exploring on her own.
Except things didn’t work out that way. A series of unfortunate and strange events occurred in a row: Cashel Nightwalker, her closest and oldest friend, and astrological twin, was banished from the community for using dark magic. She believed the story he gave, but the rules were the rules. His expulsion made her feel ostracized even if she wasn’t, though the more religious of the druid folk started eyeing her as if she was one in the same with him. Being born on the same day in January meant a whole host of problems were possible and she was starting to agree with them as well. Her please with High Druid Root to reconsider Cashel’s removal went nowhere and were completely forgotten upon the High Druid’s death soon after.
The elders on the island went about their business as usual during the period between High Druids. For the young ones like Fae, who had only ever known High Druid Root, this was a completely new experience. Specific rituals were done in accordance to tradition, and soon the waiting game for the golden snidget began. According to her parents, the selection of High Druid Root had only taken a few minutes, the eccentric old woman finding it hilarious that she had been chosen near the end of her life. Previous High Druids were similar with the speed they were chosen, typically Council members at some point in their lives or having held positions within the community of extreme importance. It made sense to her that this would be the case considering how much knowledge was required to complete the festivals and ceremonies of Hy-Brasil, as well as maintaining an overall leadership position on the island. Someone like her had much more to look forward to in life before being chosen would ever even seem like a possibility.
Life had a funny way of not working that way though - and whether it was a decision made by the old gods or because the golden snidget simply got tired of flying around trying to find the right druid for the job - three days later while walking towards Brennus’ Landing for work, she found the bird perching itself on her shoulder. Initially Fae tried brushing it away, mistaking it for a leaf. A sudden gasp from a nearby woman and a hurried crowd quickly surrounding her told her that this was only the beginning, the overwhelming pressure making her run off into the Wildwood, the golden snidget accompanying her the entire way.
Eventually Council members found her hidden in the small grove that neighbored her family’s farm, which was typically a grazing location for the griffins. The comfort and solace of the clearing had been enough for her to comprehend everything that was going on, and she willingly went with the elders to get everything in order. Rituals had to be prepared and conducted. She was the High Druid now.
Her dreams of maybe living off-island one day were gone instantly. She was now connected to Hy-Brasil and her people indefinitely, and knowing the longevity of magic folk and druid kind alike, it would be for at least a century. Any exploration on the mainland would be done with other Council members or under the watchful eye of her Guardians, and only for official business and meetings with the Ministry. It was a lot to ask of a twenty-year-old that barely knew what she wanted in life. Having her fate decided for her by a yellow bird was absurd by most standards, but who was she to deny what was being chosen for her?
Smiling her way through meetings and rituals only got her so far. Suddenly it was very apparent how much she hadn’t paid attention during her schooling about their peoples’ history and what the actual duties of the High Druid contained. The most important was figuring out the international relations and dealings that the island held with the Ministry and how there were specific people within the mainland government that vehemently opposed the separation and autonomy that Hy-Brasil still maintained. Her naivety was glaringly obvious when it came to politics, so initial discussions between her and Minister Shacklebolt were rough. And that was being kind to herself. Being thrust into a public speaking role and face of her people was nerve-wrecking and not what she had signed up for.
It was only during the following spring, when the first group of students under her had to travel to Hogwarts for their exams, that the rose-colored glasses were completely lifted and tossed to the side. The organization and implementation of everything surrounding the educational exchange was completely one-sided. Ministry employees arrived at the port and took the children with them, and while she obviously knew they were safe, she also realized that Hy-Brasil had very little say on this front. They had let it happen for decades now. Fae decided then and there that she needed to be stronger in pushing back against certain programs and laws that were also applicable to druids. Going to Hogwarts for exams was one thing, and while a great opportunity for the children, showed that the mainlanders had very little respect for what those of Hy-Brasil did. The druids allowed all sorts of researchers and experts onto the island to study magical plants and animals alike. But what did they get in return? Constant pressure about integration and conformation. The ugly side of the mainland was rearing its head, and she came to be glad that she saw it in this light and not with the innocence she held prior to becoming High Druid.
While there were indeed an infinite amount of possibilities and experiences outside of Hy-Brasil, she was not meant for it. Maybe if she had left right after finishing school there could have been a chance, but that was only a what-if scenario. Despite the difficulties she encountered early on in her training, having to overcome her own anxieties and shortcomings, as time went on it became quite clear to her that this designation was what she was meant to do. Only one druid at a time could be High Druid. Even though she didn’t understand the reason back then, only she had the ability to lead her home and people in the right direction.
Gone were the lazy, sunlit afternoons where she dozed off in the company of her griffin companions, or leading herbologist groups around the island with a curious fervor that she hoped would one day be quenched by some tidbit of knowledge that would make everything make sense. Instead she was awoken to the ugly truth of her muse: the world outside of Hy-Brasil was not a safe nor a wonderful place to be. The aggressiveness of the Ministry had made her nihilistic and jaded. The officials she dealt with, separate from the Minister’s office, treated her like the inexperienced child she was: fiercely fighting against her mild-mannered approach to the abusive relationship that Hy-Brasil and the Ministry had with one another for the last few centuries. She was sure there was something out there akin to the dreams she used to have, though that still remained to be seen. Mainlanders were crude and violent, acting on their whims to get what they wanted. Most lacked the concept of community, or what it meant to commune with nature. When she did come across one of them that was more temperamental, it almost always came as a shock; welcomed, of course, but still unbelievable to a degree. The fact that she had tried to break away from the grain her entire life, always assuming that the elders were pessimistic due to their aged viewpoints, just to find out that they had been right this whole time was like a slap in the face.
Her people had spent their entire existence maintaining their beliefs and way of life against all odds. Even though she felt like she had been thrown into the fray with very little knowledge about what she needed to be doing in her position, she also knew that her predecessors were also in the same spot she was at the start. Experience could only get them so far and they all still had to make the exact same steps to getting everything in order for their respective reigns. She was no different. Like those before her, there would one day be someone picking up in her stead, and so on and so forth. Each of them from different times and life experiences. The only similarity between all of them was that they were all chosen to take up this mantle. They were the only ones that could do this. Fae was High Druid of all druid kind and Hy-Brasil now.
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