What was special about this year's celebration was that the Baron and his mother, the dowager Griselda, were hosting the Harvest Event at the Baron's Mansion. As the Baron was discussing the seating arrangements with Snoop since both were nobility in their own ways, the dowager was directing their servants Fiddlefaddle and Sneefle in their duties. "Now don't forget, today you will be serving our guests more than you will be catering to my son's or my needs," she reminded them over and over again.
Meanwhile, Granny Flare was busy in the kitchens in the back of the mansion making sure that everything would be ready for the feast. As she checked each item as it was prepared, Gardner was bringing in the fresh vegetables and fruit that he had grown specially for just this occasion. "Here is the last of it," he told Granny as he set the heavy crate down on the kitchen floor. "Is there anything else you need brought in?" he asked as he stood besides a large boiling pot and enjoying the wonderous aroma that it was making. Granny just smiled as she gave him a couple of the hot pumpkin spice cookies that had just come out of an oven and shooed him outside as she told him to come back in a couple of hours. "By then I will know if I need anything else," she told him.
In the grand ballroom Efem, Cornelia, Parsley, and Nemmer were busy cleaning and setting up the decorations. The dusty mytes were being extra careful (and under the watchful eye of Nemmer) to only suck in the dust as they cleaned instead of blowing any out. "All we need is for them to make everyone forget today," Nemmer thought as he kept one eye on them while he was helping with the decorations. And finally, there were many more helping outside in preparing for the arrival of those who were invited. Since everyone in the Realm was on the guest list except for the Wysps (who would show up invited or not if whoever held the leadership stick felt like it), that meant that a lot of chairs, tables, and tenting was needing to be setup. Dewin, the wizard, was using his magic to have the folding chairs unfold and stand up where he directed while Scarlet was watching over the Nytemares as they dragged in the tables and large tents. So, as all of those who live in the Realm of Wymsy prepare for this thanksgiving feast, we at MisPlace Dolls would like to thank all of you on this Thanksgiving Holiday as we come together to celebrate.  Happy Thanksgiving!
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The council meeting broke up as soon as everyone learned that Aralt had managed to leave Meen behind. With him disappearing the Dowager immediately sent Meen to warn Drat that the Herald may be heading towards the caves where Drat and Dree were supposed to be hiding out. Awena also wasted no time and went directly to her library to find the Dragon's Return prophecy to see if there might be a clue to reveal what Aralt's power over the Dragons might be. As she sorted through the many prophecy scrolls, more than once she thought that they should have some sort of index to be able to find the one she was looking for faster. "Once this is over, I will have to meet with the staff to figure something out," she told herself as she put another scroll aside in her search for the right one.
Normally Efem would almost dread having to enter the Sacred Grove to talk to the ancient trees but not this trip. Since learning they could speed talk, she hoped they would respond quickly to her requests for knowledge that only they knew from the roots of the Realm's past. "I hope that the Ol' Yew is not asleep," she thought as she approached the mighty tree. As she stood next to it and looked upon it's shiny green foliage, Efem was awed by a random thought of how much it must have seen during its life cycle. "I remember my mother bringing me here to see the Yew when I was a young sapling and the Yew was ancient even then." As she silently waited for the tree to notice her so she could ask her questions about Aralt the Herald, Efem was contently lost in her own memories of the past. "One of the stories of the ages and I don't know where to start," thought Snoop as he sat at his desk in the Bellwether and tried to put quill to parchment. "I promised the Dowager that I would not print anything that would give Aralt a clue as to Dree, but I have to print something!"
It was his pile of the Herald newspapers that came crashing down from a shelf and just missing hitting him on the head that made him think... "Herald! That's it! I need to write about what we know about Aralt the Dragon Herald. That way I won't give away what we know about Dree. Plus I can get the word out that he has returned. This will be a terrific article!" Right away Snoop was lost in his writing and not even wondering any longer if Aralt might have found the caves where Dree was hiding.
"Hhhmm, the Sleeping Sisters are also involved," Aralt realized when he recognized the bird as a magpie sitting in a tree behind the other minion. "I do wonder what this council has been up to in my absence." As Meen caught sight of the Herald coming out of his home, she quickly jumped the last log as she tried to get back to the council chamber to alert the others of his approach. "This spying stuff is fun," Meen thought to herself. "I can actually play my favorite game of Leap without even getting into trouble." But she apparently did not need to worry too much of Aralt beating her to the council chamber. "He seems to be stopping at several of the local shops and apparently taking his own sweet time to arrive at the chamber. I wonder if he is part Pkysee like me since he seems to be playing instead of worrying about getting to the meeting," Meen pondered for a moment. Aralt even stopped by the local brewer to place an order of Dragon's Brew to be delivered to his home later today. It wasn't until he finished his tea and biscuit at the teashop that he finally started towards the chambers. "That should have given those silly council members plenty of time to arrive," he smiled, knowing that he was subtlety letting them know who will be in charge of this meeting.
"But I would have to surmise with this mix of citizens here, the Troll and the young Nyte Shade must be important as well as the older couple in the corner." As if they heard his unspoken thoughts, the older couple both turned their attention to him.
"This is Queen Ffion of the Shadows' Realm, King Dulbbe of the Trolls, Awena of the Sleeping Sisters, and Efem the Tree Mother. The others are citizens of the Realms who are here to witness this historic occasion. We also have Augustus, The Earl of Grey, who is also the editor of the local newspaper, The Bellwether, to record this news worthy event." Aralt let the silence last a little longer when the introductions were completed. "I must show them I am in charge here," he thought as he silently walked to a corner of the room so all had to turn to see him. "I am Aralt the Herald. I speak to and for the Dragons and the Clans and will prepare the way for the return of the Dragons. Soon they will return and we must be prepared to make sure they cause no chaos nor reek havoc among the fae folk or the Outies. I will meet with their leader, the most powerful of their kind - a Wish Dragon. Upon her return I will re-establish the rules of order laid down by me in the past for their conduct. If I need your assistance, I will ask for it then. I expect you will all be available and require each of you to have a runner or setup a message system so that I may contact you when I need your assistance. If there are no questions, then we are adjourned," he finished as he started towards the chamber doors. "But what about Hungry?" Meen uttered to Queen Ffion. "I mean Dre..." she started to add before she saw the look she was getting from all of the others. "Opps..." she muttered as she tried to find someplace to to look other than at everyone who was glaring at her.
Deciding on a new tact, he stopped just short of the doorway and turned back towards the council. "I am sorry. Being alone for so many years has made me a little brusque in my ways. I am concerned for the safety of everyone in the Realms and sometimes I do not present myself as cordial as I should. I have been gone for so long and so many things have changed, I would like to meet with all of you to see what I should know that will help me prepare for the Dragon's return," he finished as he sat down in one of the nearby chairs and awaited their response. It was slow in coming. Actually it was none as no one wanted to be the first to speak back. "I came on too strong," Aralt realized as he waited. "I will have to start this." "Dowager Griselda, I am honored to be met by a member of the Dragon Clan. I will rely on your assistance upon the Dragons return as you are one of the few who really understand the importance of what I need to do. We must keep the Dragons under our control if we are to maintain the peace and harmony of our way of life." As the Dowager remembered the incident with the scroll showing her past and why the Dragon clan was formed, she knew that their decision not to tell the Herald about Dree, the Moon Dragon, had been for the best.
"We have also heard from King Dulbbe and Queen Ffion about the potential dangers of a ruling Wish Dragon according to the past stories of the She-Dragon," finished Griselda. Everyone looked at each other, waiting to see if someone would start the conversation they all knew had to happen. It was Awena who began. "We need to create a plan to minimize the chaos of the arrival of the Herald and the Dragon's return. I have searched the records of the Sleeping Sisters and have found nothing that will aid us in this problem. The only ancient text or prophesy that was discovered is extremely vague. The most we can confirm is that all realms are in danger if the Dragon's are no more and the game is lost. We have not found out what is meant by 'this game of power' nor what would make all of the Dragons disappear," she said and sat down on one of the many chairs in the audience chamber. "You have all heard what we have found out about the returning Dragons. Do you have any further questions of the Dragon orb?" Griselda asked the others. "If not - then now is the time we must decide what we can do. The one major question we cannot answer is does Aralt know we now have a Moon Dragon here in the Realms?" What do you think of this Dree?" finished Griselda as all turned to look at the young Moon Dragon. Dree was totally caught off guard. He had been listening to everyone's discoveries and was picturing in his mind what the other Dragons would look like and how they would act, but he had not been following the Dowager's final comments. So with a startled look he realized everyone was staring at him and waiting for his comments. After a few gulps, he finally started to speak. "Excuse me for not paying attention at everything that has been said here, but I have been listening and thinking. I understand both from your discoveries of the Orb and from the reading I have been doing from some books that Granny Flare gave to me what it meant to be a Wish Dragon. I am just now getting my wings under me in trying to find out what a Moon Dragon may be. I am hoping this Herald can help me discover what it is that I am supposed to do," he said. Taking a slow breath Dree continued, "But, I also know that he is a stranger to me while all of you are my family. I may be a Dragon, and formerly of the Wish Dragon Clan, but you have all raised me and have helped me become what I am now so you are my clan too. I do not know if there is anything I can do to prepare for the coming of my kin, but I do feel that I should learn all that I can to be prepared for their arrival," Dree told the others.
Everyone in the room stood and bowed to the young Moon Dragon to show him their support. It was almost too much for the Dragon, but he finally did look back at them all and said a simple "Thank you." It was then that the Goodie Sisters and Parsley entered the chamber and announced that the meal they had been preparing was ready... was anyone hungry? Dree started laughing and said "No, I'm Dree now - but I am still Hungry!"
The Root Connection ran deep and far. The only problem was that it was slow. Most messages sent via the Root Connection were answered by some other service like the Flutterbys or the Bee-Gs since this connection was even slower than Snailmail. The only reason anyone used this approach was that the Root Connection's knowledge ran very very deep. The ancient Yew was thousands of years old and had heard lots of gossip (news) in it's many years. This is what Efem needed. "Knowledge from the past," she mumbled to herself as she walked to the stone platform in the center of the grove and stood, waiting for the trees to acknowledge her. Sometimes she had to wait days for the trees to notice her as their world ran a little slower than hers. "At least I am not trying to talk to rocks," thought Efem. "I am sure I would be waiting longer," she figured, "but then again, I wonder what we would talk about? Would I take what they say for 'granite'?" snickered Efem as she thought about how many other puns that would fit in the conversation. "I wonder if the rocks would even notice the puns?" It was as she was thinking about rock puns, that the Willow spoke to her. Surprised because they have never noticed her this quickly before, she bowed her head and waited. "Efem, we knew you would not be late... Your coming here, was it just desperation or fate?" The question caught her by surprise making her forget the questions she had made up on her way to the Grove. "Desperation or Fate? What did the Willow mean and how should she answer?" Efem wondered. It seemed like a long time that she thought about the question, and maybe it was, but the Willow did not seem to notice. Finally, Efem knew what she had to answer. "Great Elder..." she started but stopped when the leaves of the Willow started shaking and a giggle could be heard on the wind.
"Great Willow maybe it is both fate or desperation... but with the Grove's help and ancient knowledge, maybe you will be able to give me the much needed information," answered Efem. With this answer the ancient Yew spoke, surprising Efem as she had never heard it talk before. Usually it would sit and listen and in the many years she had been a Tree Mother visiting the Grove, this was the first time it ever spoke. "The time is coming that a great change may occur. We do not know if the return of the Dragons is what starts the change, but they are players in the game." It took Efem a minute to realize that the Yew had spoken plainly and not in rhyme or verse. "You spoke plainly. Why have none of you done this before?" she asked. "We did it because we thought that is what you wanted. It's a nuisance to have to make everything rhyme like the Wishing Well," answered the ancient Yew. "Do you want us to go back to rhyming?" "No... uhm... no thank you. I would prefer this way. Now, can you tell me more about this game that is being started and how the Dragons may be part of it?" as Efem sat down on the stone platform figuring this was going to be a long visit and happy that she remembered to pack a few things in her satchel.
Now she could focus on the real problem. She realized what she needed to do. "I should have thought of this earlier," she mumbled to herself. "Maybe it's time to talk to the trees. After all they were here when the Dragons were plentiful. As a Tree Mother, I should have thought of this before now," Efem continued to herself. " I will make time now to go to the Sacred Grove." Earlier, before Nemmer delivered his good news, Efem had received a Flutterby from the Dowager. Griselda told her about the scroll and how she had seen the Herald named Aralt in her vision. "I'm old, but even I don't remember anyone named Aralt," Efem thought. "Maybe this Herald can help us when the Dragons arrive." Now that she had a plan, Efem started her preparations. "One doesn't just walk into the Sacred Grove and ask questions." she mumbled to herself as she started looking for some necessary items. "First I need a small satchel bag to carry everything."
Off to one side was Hewy, the Troll, who was busy giving the Gooblin King, Hir'aeth, the evil eye as the Gooblin King wondered to himself where had Druzzy, the Troll King, snuck off too? Efem, the Tree Mother, was huddled with Dewin by a small bench and waving her hands in the air trying to make a point as she tried to get his complete attention. While Dewin was trying also to see where the Troll King had wondered off as well as try to keep one ear open to listen to Efem. Things were certainly tense and confusing. It was then, as Goodiegood was looking around at everyone, that she noticed the large crystal-like egg in the the middle of the garden. "I doubt that has been here very long," she asked without expecting much of an answer. She realized what it was as she looked closer seeing something blue swirling around inside of it. Turning to her sisters she said, "It looks like what we feared has happened. The Prophesy has begun with the Last Wish Dragon being lost. Now we must find out who sacrificed their magic for this to have happened." As the three sisters started looking around the garden to see who might be missing from the vision they had earlier, Goodie2shues finally hollered to the crowd, "Everyone! We don't have much time so listen up! We need to talk to Ffion or the Shadows' King. Does anyone know where they are?"
When the Dowager finished, Goodie4u mumbled loud enough for only her sisters to hear, "Now we know who sacrificed their power, as the King and Ffion being Nyte Shades are the only two beings strong enough to give up their power and not be swayed by the Darkness or Greed." Realizing that speed was now needed, Goodie2shues spoke again to the crowd. "We need to speak to Ffion immediately! The Realm depends on it!"
As her sisters disappeared, Goodiegood quietly mumbled to herself, "The best thing we can do now is get Ffion back to our place so we can whip up our 'Surrogare' recipe before this egg fully hatches. The Ntyemares are the best choice to fly us home in time." As the other two sisters flew off to do her bidding, Goodiegood thought about trying to explain to Awena and the Dowager what was happening, but there just wasn't enough time. All she could do was shout out "Trust ME!" as she ran to follow her sisters.
The first to arrive was Awena which the Dowager was very glad to see. Griselda had quickly grabbed her and took her down into the depths of the library where the Shadows' King had been holed up for the past several days.
As they approached their destination, a green glow was emanating from under the door to room 101. When they knocked they had already decided not to wait for an answer and rushed in before the King could refuse seeing them. What they saw was a surprise! Both spied the King sitting on a low stool with his head in his hands. His clothes, normally clean and spotless, were rumpled and dirty. His hair stuck out in all directions, no longer combed and braided, but the part that shocked them the most was the defeated look in his eyes. As they rushed to his side to find out what ailed him, the Dowager was first to speak. "What is it King Hunter?" she asked as Awena placed her hands on his slumped shoulders. Awena could feel the tension and frustration that was floating around the King but also something she thought she would never see in him. She could feel his despair! Slowly the King looked up at them and in a weary voice asked, "What do you know about the Dragon tablet?" "Very little," the Dowager replied. "Other than what the flutterby just shared with me a little while ago. It has been located and coming here by way of a Borrower as well as with your faithful Scribe, Dulbbe." "Then there is hope!" murmured the King. Slowly he stood up with a little wobble since he truly hadn't eaten much in days. He placed the silk cover over the green glowing crystal ball that had been beside him. While he was doing this, the Dowager was sharing that she had felt the need to assemble everyone in the King's garden, while she was apologizing that she had used his personal messengers the Nytemares. The King nodded to her as he picked up the crystal ball and proceeded to leave the library room. "I agree," answered the King. Appearing to gain strength from all that he was hearing from the Griselda, he continued, "We will all assemble in the garden as soon as everyone is here, especially Hungry. He is the key element and now it seems is his time. I had hoped to give him more time by sending him to his teachers when he first arrived in the Shadows' Realm. When the tablet had been taken, it started the process and whether or not he is ready, it seems that Hungry will now be coming into his power."
King Hunter, the Shadows' King, lead everyone out into his garden and then down a trail and through a veil of hanging vines that parted as the participants approached. Hidden inside was a secluded garden of Moonflowers which surrounded a small stone bench in the center. The night was black with the new moon and only a handful of dimly shining stars were in the sky but everyone could see the white trail of stones that lead through the Moonflowers and surrounded it. "Hungry, would you please sit yourself on the stone bench in the center of the garden?" asked King Hunter while directing the others to stand in a circle around the bench and the now seated Dragon. "Arnie, as I understand it, you have my tablet?" asked Hunter to the Borrower who was trying to hide behind some of the others in the circle. With a bowed head, Arnie approached the King while offering the tablet in her hands. "It is the one time I am sorry that I 'borrowed' something Sire Sir," Arnie meekly replied. Hunter gently took the tablet from her hands. "You are forgiven, for it was all part of the prophecy and you were just the element that sparked the beginning of it," the King told her. He then turned to Awena of the Sleeping Sisters and asked, "Did you bring the Blue Rose with the Tear that your Order has been watching over for eons?"
"No, Awena, Please hand it to me," the king replied. With the Dragon tablet and now the rose in his hand, King Hunter approached Hungry. "Do you trust me?" asked the King to the lil' Dragon. As Hungry looked up into his eyes he could see a great sadness in them but he could also feel an over whelming sense of peace and love. "I don't know you well Sir, but I do trust you," Hungry replied. "Then eat the rose," the King commanded as he handed it to the Wish Dragon. Hungry replied, "That should not be a problem for I am forever hungry and sure could use a little snack right now. Is it sweet? I do love sweet things, especially from the Sugar Plum factory." The King nodded his head and told Hungry that he wouldn't be hungry afterwards. Hungry ate the rose. As he started chewing, he closed his eyes savoring the sweet taste and the lovely smell of the magic ambrosia. Then he burped. It had come from his tummy where a little spark had arisen while he chewed the flower. It had floated up his throat and out his mouth as he burped. The spark continued to rise and was quickly hovering over his head where it grew bigger and brighter. Larger and brighter it grew like a shining star in the sky. The light was almost turning this dark night into day with it's glow and then all of a sudden it burst! Sparks flew everywhere causing those standing around the Wish Dragon to shield their eyes and turn their heads away. When they turned back to look at Hungry, the Dragon tablet laid on the ground, the Shadows' King was gone, and a huge crystal orb was in the middle of the garden where the Wish Dragon had been sitting. As everyone was examining the crystal orb, the others did not notice as the Troll King quickly picked up the tablet and slide it under his crown. 
"Is everyone okay? Where's the water buckets and I will start trying to put the fire out!" asked Hewy as he started towards the well. "Hewy, It's fine. The fire is out," Efem was finally able to tell him after she had stopped coughing. Cornelia grumbled, since Efem was coughing again, "We have found out that when Hungry gets excited, he spits a little fire and a lot, and I do mean a lot, of smoke." It took Hewy a minute before he realized what was happening, then since everyone was okay, he started laughing. This is when The CAT joined in as he also thought it was funny. Knowing that he was Hungry's Spite, The CAT was enjoying both being fed by Cornelia and Efem as well as the entertainment of these Wish Dragon's lessons. Hewy, soon realizing that both of the Dryads were not as amused as him, quickly stopped laughing but still could not take the smile from his lips. "And to what do we owe this visit from you today?" growled Efem as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "You are not scheduled to be Hungry's teacher for another couple of weeks." Having almost forgotten his reason for the visit, Hewy quickly told them of his meeting with the King of the Trolls and his concerns. "I agree Hewy, he is up to no good," answered Efem. "The question is, what do we do?" "I have been thinking about that and the best I can come up with is to send Hungry somewhere for a while so Druzzy won't be able to find him until we find out what he is wanting," answered Hewy. "The problem is that I can't think of anyplace safe and where he won't be seen."
Now Dewin, being a wizard, had given the others each a crystal to communicate with him over long distances so they could keep in touch. They decided that would be the best for Hungry and after the smoke cleared, went back inside of the cottage where they told Dewin about their concerns and request. Shortly Sprigg'n, the Spite that had attached herself to the wizard upon his arrival to the Realm, arrived and they (Hungry, The CAT, and Sprigg'n) were off to the safety of Dewin's cave. As they left and Hewy watched them crest the first hill and disappear from sight, Hewy finally felt that Hungry would soon be safe... ahhh, but will he? There seems to be others who also wish to see the Wish Dragon and not all of them from just curiosity. "Now," wondered Hewy, "in the meantime where I am going to disappear until this blows over?"
Later, as Efem and the Dowager were walking around the tournament field admiring the beautiful Nytemares competing against each other, the Dowager asked Efem "Have you heard anything in the Mushroom line about Hewy's new commission to the Troll King and what the King is like? I have been gone quite a while and maybe the Baron has met the Troll King, but I have never been introduced to him myself."  "I had not heard about a commission and I don't know anything about the King of the Trolls personally, only gossip of what the Twitter Birds retweet about him. They say that he can be a devil," Efem answered. "Oh No!" Griselda exclaimed. "Do you mean he is evil? We don't need that here!" "No... No..." smiled Efem. "He not the blackhearted, world destroying evil type. The buzzing I have been hearing is that he is more the minor, mischievous imp, wicked-fun type than dark evil. Just not someone you would trust your family fortune too! Eventually he would find a way to keep it and have you working for him too." "Oh" the Dowager sighed. "Then he could still be dangerous in his own way," dreamily smiling as she gazed at a knight riding a Nytemare in the jousting arena... "We will have to keep an eye on him - for Hewy's sake of course." Efem, realizing that Griselda was staring at the knight and not the horse, turned startled eyes to the Dowager and smiled, "Griselda, aren't you too old for such nonsense?"  The Dowager, turning her big innocent eyes towards her answered with a laugh, "I'm not dead yet!"
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GreetingsWelcome to my blog. This is where I will reveal the magic of my Fae and their stories and share with you some of the success and pitfalls through the journey of doll making, sculpting, and other crafts that all come back to my dolls in many ways. Archives
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