Children’s Book
Date Published: June 29, 2021
Publisher: Magical World of AGAT Publishing
Welcome to a world filled with magic…and smog. But mostly smog. That is a
big problem and it won’t be left by the wayside if the witches have anything
to say about it. A magical world it may be, but with some real-life problems
that are all too familiar to anyone who inhabits planet Earth.
EXCERPT
Chapter One
T
here once was a coven of witches. They lived in a land far, far away. They lived in what used to be the woods and drew all of their power from the Green—the magical, ever-giving Green.
But the Green was in trouble. And so were the witches. Their very existence depended on the Green, but it was disappearing, faster and faster with each day. They needed to save it to save themselves. It seemed like a useless fight.
How could they, this little coven, ever save it? It seemed an impossible feat, especially because the humans seemed so intent on getting rid of it. First, they came and tamed the Green as much as possible. They bent it to their wills whenever and wherever they could. The Green was all powerful, an epic force to be reckoned with, but those humans were clever—they too were a force to be reckoned with.
They cut it down when it got in their way. They cleared the land and built towns and cities. They harvested the Green’s gifts and made them their own; then, they kept taking and taking until the Green was depleted. They asked for more, and when it could no longer give, they left it there to wither away and die—never thinking to give back. They took its resources and made them into artificial and toxic things that they then threw at the Green as if to say, “You wanted something back, here you go!”
No one seemed to care, as if the Green wasn’t important to the humans. As if their lives didn’t depend on it just like the witches’ lives. The only difference was that they didn’t have as direct of a connection to the Green as the witches did. They didn’t draw their powers directly from the Green, and the humans had a hard time understanding what would happen in a few short years down the line if they continued down the path they were on. It was too abstract for them to truly understand.
The witches loved the Green in more ways than one. They loved its beauty and what it gave them, like food and shade, and they respected it. They also loved using their powers drawn from the Green, but they needed them, as well. They needed them to fight the Ignorati.
The Ignorati were those who would spread lies, hate, misinformation. Those who distorted facts and changed things into something seemingly unbelievable, disguising lies with words and sentences that made people buy into it. They knew how to do this and had been working on it for ages, but now they were especially doing well as the internet allowed a free flow of information to come from all sorts of sources, both verified and not. To top it all off, they had one of their own in power now, the Orange Man, who called everything he didn’t like “fake news” and spewed their propaganda shamelessly.
The witches tried to do their part: they recycled, they reused everything they could. They bought less and never, ever used plastic bags. They made everything they could from scratch to avoid plastic packaging that came with everything that was bought, and they held rallies and tried to educate people on all of the harm caused by what they were doing. And yes, some people expressed interest and even changed their ways, but there were so many more who just didn’t seem to care. It felt useless. There were just so many people, products, companies using plastic once, and then simply throwing it away. The humans didn’t seem to understand what they were doing. They would use plastic for everything, from straws to bowls to cups and utensils, and then just throw them out, never thinking twice about it. They had no idea what was and what wasn’t recyclable. There were so many reusable alternatives, but the humans seemed to just love the “convenience” of throwing things away.
What the coven of witches found really strange was that no one was talking about it. They didn’t understand. Perhaps the human leaders were hiding something—and it was a secret? But the evidence was all around them. Why didn’t the humans just look around and see what was happening? The strange Orange Man, who was their leader, talked about how there really was no problem.
Surely no one is that silly to believe him? thought Analiea, a young witch who was especially worried.
Like other young witches, she had waited all of her short life to get her powers, and now she, like the others of her cohort awaiting their powers, wouldn’t be able to because the Green would be gone all too soon!
The witches held a vast power, so ironically, not everyone received their powers just like magic. They had to earn them, study for them, and prepare to handle this oh so useful and powerful weapon. Naturally, Analiea wasn’t about to let her potential powers slip away. She needed to take action!
A plan…a plan…I need a plan, thought Analiea as she wondered about her conundrum.
She decided she had to seek out the Orange Man. Even though he was a part of the Ignorati, he didn’t know that the witches sought to fight his kind. He was quite ignorant to it actually. So, she thought if she could reach him, explain to him how the Green is being killed and how it impacts not just her coven but humans, too, he would have to change his message.
How could he not? It was so obvious, so logical. Analiea already knew this, and she was just a child. The Orange Man appeared to be everywhere and nowhere at once. She realized it would be much harder to reach him than she had hoped. She needed something that would get his attention, something like Zitter perhaps? Analiea logged in and posted the post she thought would get the Orange Man’s attention. But that got no response.
Maybe he didn’t have time to read her message. Maybe it just wasn’t bold enough. Analiea also knew he liked to get his news from the Fox, maybe that was a good way to get his attention.
Maybe, she thought, if I can get in touch with the Fox, he’ll spread our message to the Orange Man.
Analiea thought the Fox would be easier to get a hold of than the Orange Man because his aim was to spread information (or what he interpreted as information) to the humans, and he therefore was more willing to meet with people in order to see if they had useful knowledge to share.
But there was of course an obstacle. The Fox was not an easy creature to please. He had many prospective sources to consider, and you had to amuse him and catch his attention for him to even consider looking your way.
Now, witches, while known for their magic, were actually creatures of many talents. Analiea specialized in dance, for example. She also dabbled in ice skating, but that was neither here nor there. Analiea was a masterful dancer, and she thought that maybe this talent could help her. She didn’t know it at the time, but she was right. One of her talents would ultimately help save the Green, but we aren’t at that part of the story, yet.
Analiea knew the Fox fancied himself an entertainer, as well as a spreader of what he called information, and needed to entertain with only the most impressive spectacles. She gathered as much help as she could get. Witches, being as communal as they were, never did anything alone, so it was no surprise that Analiea easily found the help she needed. Not everyone thought this was the best way to save the Green, especially seeing how many steps there were to this plan and no guarantees of the result.
Meanwhile, the Green continued to be demolished and wasted. Analiea argued her case saying that even if this didn’t work, at least she’d tried something new and what they had already been doing wasn’t helping anyone. But the truth was, she was sure this would work.
The Orange Man had influence over the humans. They listened to him, and the Fox had a hold over him. He listened to what the Fox said and saw only what the Fox showed him. If Analiea could make her way into the Fox’s entourage, she could be part of what the Orange Man saw, heard, and believed.
Analiea, and the witches supporting and helping her, practiced and prepared what they believed was the most stunning performance of their lives. There was no guarantee the Fox would agree, but it had to catch his attention. They combined whatever talents they had available to them, from dancing, singing, beatboxing, painting, costume design, story writing, to even glass blowing and stilt walking. The witches were creative and had to use that power to get in touch with the humans. And while they still had magic available to them, they used it sparingly, and only in cases of urgency, as the Green was being depleted at an ever-quickening pace—not to mention no one had yet invented a spell to persuade someone.
They worked tirelessly to prepare a performance that was sure to wow. Cadian helped with the lighting and set. Karth designed spectacular costumes using everything they had. The witches tried to avoid just throwing things away and often found interesting uses for things that couldn’t be recycled. Karth had a special hand when it came to design; he saw things in ways no one else could. The performers each practiced their parts, and one of the elder witches, Klava/o, who had been around dancing and staging for centuries, choreographed a most unique performance that was nothing short of marvelous.
“Maravilloso!” s/he would cry with each scene. “English just can’t express the essence of me,” s/he explained.
Klava/o was one of a handful of witches, who did not have a fixed gender, so s/he floated through both depending on what was happening in his/her life. This was particularly useful as s/he had lived through times and in places where females were not respected as much as males. S/he wore a shining, brilliant necklace designed by the glass blowers, who decorated the set with melted down glass containers they already had to make fantastic and wondrous ornaments. Crushed up debris from things, which could no longer be reused as they had lived their lifespan to the fullest, was used as makeup that could be seen from afar, catching the light and making it dance along with the performers.
Analiea grew more and more confident every day as she watched the pieces of her plan fall into place. Doubt certainly crept in, but she had to push it back down. There was no room for it. If she was going to be successful, she had to commit—and commit she did. Finally, the time had come.
They had to go meet the Fox.
About the Author
This is exciting. And…slightly awkward. You don’t know me. I
don’t know you. We’re here, staring at each other. What does one
say in this situation?
Unless you do know me, in which case, “Hey girl! Let’s twerk
later, shall we?”
We’ll start with “hi”! My name is Asya. I’m a
writer. Isn’t that sexy? I like to write. I like to talk. I love to
spread information. But only if it’s controversial. Otherwise, it
wouldn’t be fun.
You can find me on Substack and I would like to dedicate it to diet
culture. You f*cking c*nt. You, diet culture, who took away so much of my
life and takes away so many others. I’m not the first to write on this
topic, but damn it if I don’t share my piece!
The word needs to be spread, and by golly, I’m here to spread
it.
Interested in learning more? Cool. I plan on sending newsletters maybe once
or twice a week, to be decided.
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