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Unlike most other fairy tales, it was not a dark and stormy night and the woman involved was not some misshapen hag who cackled over a poisonous brew.

Instead, she was a beautiful woman whose skin was as unblemished as a babe's and whose hair was kissed by the sunlight. Her eyes were the color of new shoots breaking through the ground. She loved nothing more than to wander through the woods near her humble hut and gather greenery, fruits, and vegetables. Then she would spend starry summer nights preserving these foods for the villagers for winter nights and spinning tales of old lore for the children. She would share knowledge with the men and women; this knowledge came handed down from mother to daughter and from visitors who would come at dusk and leave at dawn. Her eyes glowed bright with worldly wisdom that she used to keep her village safe and sound.

And so, with great knowledge comes great power. Not that she abused this power or used it to gain favors. Instead, she would toss her rune stones or stare deep into the night. Never was she willing to use her power to altar the course of nature, for anyone.

So mysterious and radiant was she, that she gained an admirer and a suitor in one of the men from the village. He fell deep in love with her and begged her to be with him. He would bring her animal skins, beads from other lands, and tales of his bravery in battle. But one such as herself could not have a relationship, not if she wished to keep the gifts that had been given to her. Gently, at first, she rebuffed his affections...but when he continued this pursuit and threatened to take her, her refusals grew angry and firm. She ordered him off of her land and never to return. And in anger, he retaliated.

"Witch!"

The cries were fast and furious. So quickly did they spread through the village and it did not take much from the spurned man and his collaborators to turn the peaceful inhabitants against her. They whispered of how she danced nude by the light of the moon, how she kept company with the devil and feed the livestock poisons to curl the milk. Soon every little blight, accident, and problem was fault of hers. The low mutterings grew louder, and one warm summer night-they took action! The men folk of the village made their way to her hut and broke into it, wanting only to do her harm. Grabbing her from her bed, they bound her hand and feet together, shredding her clothing as they did. In awe, they stared at her beauty...before taking full advantage of it. They stuffed her mouth with the ripped shreds of her nightgown, so that none would hear her screams. In her eyes, the glow of peace had been replaced with one of anger and fear.

Silently, they took her from her safe haven and headed towards the pond on her lands. Through the rags, she tried to plead with them, remind them of all the good she had done, but none would be meet her eyes.

Rocks were tied to feet and hung around her neck. With the preacher of the village saying prayers for her, they tossed her in. The irony of it all was that she was saying prayers for them-hoping that the Lord and Lady of the Wood would not punish them for their ignorance. She closed her eyes as she came to terms with the inevitable. And then she hit the crystal clear waters, sinking slowly to the bottom.

The deed was done. And along with her, they tossed in her "marks" of evil. Books, a wand and small dagger, but most importantly...

Her rune stones.

And now, hundreds of years after the pond dried up and the lands grew to become wastelands, a stranger had come across the remnants of the village. A strange one indeed, for she had had a dream and a random thought, and there is where she found herself. Remembering how not too long afterwards, the Lord and Lady cursed the land and its people, promising that all would be as it once was when all wrongs were righted. And so, as she walked along the dry pond bed, she noticed a smooth stone glowing brightly...as if it wre trying to catch her attention. Taking it up, the stranger watched as the land grew a little greener before her eyes and the pond began to fill up a little as by magic.