suantrai_nostram

Well, it's been quite a while, and I haven't written anything really into this journal, so I think I'll go ahead and finish mine and Thren's story.

I think I was about 3 centuries old at the time, give or take a few decades. I had been running the Shop of Wishes for about 100 years, and was quite successful. I'd "inherited" the shop from my "mother" several times, taking on a new guise and impersonating my own daughter. It wasn't terribly difficult, and I did a lot of good for people, so if the folks of the little town in England where I worked knew what I was up to, they never let on.

In any case, it was a relatively misty and wet day, and I was on my way back to my shop when I noticed a bundle of rags laying upon the ground outside my door.

It was unconscionably rude, and I admit I indulged in a minor fit of temper- I think the patch of ice I conjured beneath my feet stayed in the road for three whole days. It was foggy, and cloudy as the dickens, but even then I don't think it would entirely justify the appearance of a patch of ice in the middle of July.

It was at that moment that a single ray of sunlight peeked through the haze and shone, as if by divine providence, upon the pile of rags at my doorstep. A pile of rags which had, of all things, a face.

A familiar face.

It was Threnody.

Needless to say, I gathered up my dearest friend, and brought her inside. I bathed her, and gave her a healing draught to drink, and then I laid her to bed. I had a conversation with one of my spirit-companions to find out the horrible things which had happened to her.

She had gone mad, refusing to eat or sleep, and just... wandered until she found something familiar. As odd as it may sound, that didn't take as long as one might think- she was a witch of no small power, even considering her lack of wits. Her feet guided her to me, as perhaps the one person who might be able, and willing, to save her life and give her a future.

And after everything she'd given to me, after all she'd done to help me and to bring about the fruition of my Arte, how could I not?

That was the day my Shop of Wishes closed its doors. I called upon my spirits to send many of my treasures away, to those who would value them and keep them safe. Some I sold, some I gave away in exchange for a favor to be owed. And some, I kept. I too have a wish, a hope. I hope that one day I can begin again.

In any case, I sacrificed my chosen life to give her a life of her own. The spells upon the Shop which kept me alive were powerful. They gave her health and youth again, although they couldn't restore her sanity. I fear that very little can do that, and certainly not any Arte of a witch.

She vanished the same morning I departed. We were both gone by dawn- I had fell asleep on the floor after making a pact with an angel whom I knew well, who offered to give me eternal youth and health in exchange for the guardianship of his progeny. I'd gone from shopkeeper to nanny in one night.

It's surprising, I'd say. Things change very quickly in this world- one never knows quite what Fate has in store, even when one is a witch. I might have lived a long and prosperous life as a shopkeeper. If I'd turned Threnody away, who knows what might have happened? Things might have been very different.

But, even so, I don't regret that day. And I, Suantrai Nostram, granter of wishes and bringer of dreams, will make a confession to you about the wish I hold deep in my heart.

One day, I wish and hope and pray that I might see Threnody again. That one day I might find her again, healed and whole, and that she and I may walk forward once more as sisters of the Arte, ready to bring the dreams of mortals into life again.

I remain,
Suantrai Nostram

Well. I suppose I should start at the beginning.

My birth is something of a story in itself- I was the eldest of three children, the illegitimate child of a Scottish noble and his Romani mistress, who later became his wife. My two siblings, long dead now, were the progeny of his first wife, and after she died and my father married my mother, we became a family. Interestingly enough, they came to love my mother as their own- she was quite loveable, and very kind, although she was a stern mother in many ways, and possessed the ability to read minds and see the future in her dreams, making it very difficult to lie to her or hide things.

I was of mixed blood, and the daughter of a gadjo, so of course they never acknowledged me within the Romani bloodlines, but I did grow up surrounded by my mother's family and her kumpania, who lived on my father's land with his blessing. I must admit, if it weren't for the fact that my father's union with my mother had brought them such prosperity, I daresay the kumpania would not have been so kind to me as a child, especially after I began exhibiting my gifts and abilities.

Fortunately, my situation was a favorable one- the eldest of the family, a woman named Marta, taught me the first magicks I ever learned, chiefly the artes of herbalism and divination, which I excelled at. By the time I was 15, I was well on my way to becoming a master tradeswoman- with my father's backing and the instruction I received at the hands of my mother's family in the practice of trade, I was quite skilled at turning a bargain.

I suppose this was why my father chose to leave me the bulk of his fortune when he died. I was legitimized in his will, and at the age of 17, I opened my first shop, with the full support of my family and his estate.

I was therefore quite young when I first met Threnody, and very new to the Arte. A simple shopkeeper, specializing in the selling of charms and simples, making my way through life.

Until that fateful day, when she entered my shop, and changed my life.

Threnody recognized in me the markings of chovexani, a true witch and not merely a gifted dabbler. My mother's family, long-standing in the Craft and notorious amongst their fellow Romani, were nevertheless not well-known for their gifts in much more than divination. I was one of the first to have strength in more than the Artes of the Diviner or Seer, and I was putting it to use in the only way I knew how.

It was Threnody who helped me come to terms with that truth- that I was Other, and not simply mortal. That night, she took me out into a dark secluded place, and initiated me into the magic of Nocturne, the dark song of Night and Fire.

I learned to bridge the worlds, to travel between, and to bend Fate and Power, to draw upon Mystery and Necessity, truly embrace what it is to be Witchblood. With a group of about 11 others, she and I spent the better part of a century doing the work of the Craft, bringing dreams into reality.

*stops*

Well, that's the first part anyway. Next post, I'll explain about what happened to Threnody, and why I don't have a shop anymore. *laughs* Gods, I ramble on quite a bit, don't I?

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30

Recent Entries

My Story, part 2

The Beginning- My Story

Profile

June 2009

Syndicate

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags