The Witch of Flowers
Prologue

Garrick and Vessa lived together in the Great Forest of Lux. Garrick was a famous healer who crafted many of the strongest healing potions in the bordering nations. At the same time, Vessa was a famously strong mage, capable of stopping any monster in its tracks before destroying it completely. They were the only ones permitted to live within the bounds of the Great Forest of Lux, though they did recieve visitors from the nations, requests for help occassionally. Garrick sent out healing potions on a regular basis to each of the bordering nations with the understanding that they would not encroach on the Great Spirit Lords’ land. Vessa’s services hadn’t been required to fight monsters in a couple decades, though her magic still held strong.

The couple walked through the forest to give their monthly respects to the Great Spirit Lords. They only rarely showed their presence during these monthly trips, but their permission to continue havesting the herbs within the Great Forest of Lux and their tolerance of Garrick and Vessa’s house in the woods remained. They arrived at the oldest oak tree within the forest and stood on opposite sides. Their monthly ritual began. Garrick used the healing magic on the tree, sacrificing a portion of his power to strengthen the tree while Vessa pushed out protection magic. The Great Oak tree was the center of the Great Spirit Lords’ influence. Vessa’s magic spread across the whole of the Great Forest of Lux, protecting the forest from monsters and other intruders with malicious intent. Once their duty was done Garrick and Vessa joined hands once more.

They were about to walk back towards their house when they heard the voice of the leader of all the Great Spirit Lords. “Healer and Mage, please do not leave yet and hear my request.”

The couple immediately turned to face the Great Spirit Lord and kneeled. “Great Spirit Lord Lux, we shall assent to your request,” Vessa said immediately.

The leader of the Great Spirit Lords let out a small laugh, “You have not even heard my request yet. I guess I chose the correct people for my request. Please raise your heads. You have done so much for my forest up until this point.”

“Very well, Great Spirit Lord Lux,” Garrick spoke with reverence. Recieving a request from any of the Spirit Lords was an honor, let alone the leader of the Great Spirit Lords. Garrick and Vessa tenatively rose their feet but were hesitant to directly gaze at the leader of the Great Spirit Lords.

“This child,” only then did the couple see the baby held in Great Spirit Lord Lux’s arms, “she has received the blessings of all of the Great Spirit Lords including myself. However, since she is human herself we cannot raise her ourselves. I ask that you raise her as your own and teach her all that you know including knowledge of the world outside the Great Forest.”

“What of her parents?” Vessa asked.

“This child’s presence in this world is not that of a normal human. She is indeed human, but she was not born in the normal way but instead appeared in these woods under our care. The Goddess of this world begged me to ensure this child received all that she needed to grow up happily and never experienced hardship. Sadly, the most we Great Spirit Lords can do is give her our blessings. We are not capable of caring of a human on our own,” Great Spirit Lord Lux said gently. The baby gripped a strand of the leader of the Great Spirit Lords’ golden hair and tugged gently making a cooing noise. Great Spirit Lord Lux smiled softly and touched the baby’s cheek gently.

The request was much greater than the couple had initially realized. If the Goddess had requested the child be raised to only experience happiness and safety, then her presence in the Great Forest of Lux was more significant than they could request to know. “We will follow your request to the best of our ability,” Garrick said softly, Vessa nodded in agreement.

“We thank you. Please bring her with you freqently. She is quite precious and we are already attached to her more than some of us are willing to admit,” Great Spirit Lord Lux said softly.

“Does the child have a name?” Vessa asked.

“Many of us have taken to calling the child Iris due to the fact that the flower tends to appear whenever her skin touches the earth. She does seem to like the flower as well.”

“Then we shall assent to keep that name. We will raise Iris as our granddaughter to the best of our ability,” Vessa said with a smile. The child had already recieved a blessed name if the Great Spirit Lords had already called her by such a name. She would be loved.