The craft

The sweet Sapphire awoke from sleep without dreams feeling stiff and weird; it´s was hard to explain the sensation of having a dream hijacked.

Your Mother Jolly Acacia and the Cooca were looking at the wind.

Took a few moments to remind where she was. The anterior night wasn't a dream, the feared Cooca the queen of the wicked witches and high priestesses of the dragon god Green Storm, really existed and was right in front of her.

She looked a the window and saw a bright blue sea, an island with a volcano, a beach with tall waves and white sand, an immense jungle until the mountains on the horizon, that had chains holding a flying island. And in the middle of the jungle, a farm surrounded by a forty five-foot fence made with the logs of immense threes.

And in the tallest trees, wooden houses, some like charmed castles.

She could feel the breeze of the sea with its typical scent.

As they approach the Mary gold manor, some figures in the sky join them around. Flying witches. Some are in kites, other in birds, staffs, broomsticks, carpets, and big toy animals and even transformed into birds and bats.

Like a line between the beach and the Jungle, a road leads to the Manor entrance.

Over the gate, a few carts in front a bunch of houses around a small square, surrounded by orchards and behind them a horse stud and a farm. There was more stuff around like old ruins and a village on the other side.

The carriage landed surrounded by Cooca witches kike a flock of birds. Everybody gave space to the carriage land with the enormous colored animals. They were twice as big as horses and their wings wider than airplanes. When the door opened, Jolly Acacia appeared with Gem in her arms in their nightgowns.

"Acacia! Gem!" Bonina ran to hug them.

Soon after her, Cooca appeared, with her fan and hood covering her head. A hood made with the head of an alligator. She looked exactly like the legends said and at each step, the grass withered and crumbled under her feet leaving her footprints behind.

"That's Cooca?" Sapoti said surprise. "I thought she looked like an alligator not that was a skin she puts in her head."

"Why every elf has an obsession with alligators?" Cooca put two fingers between her eyes and sighed.

All the Cooca Witches gave an angry stare to Sapoti who hid scared behind Granny Calla.

"According to the procedures, the three tanzeks responsible for the lands should give the blessing to any ritual. Those are the Tanzeks who rules the Marigold?" Cooca pointed at Granny Calla. "The crone." They pointed to Auntie Arum Lily the satyr. "The mother and…" She looked around. "Where's the maiden? A noble elf house must have three head Tanzeks. A crone, a mother, and a maiden. That´s the procedure."

The big Andean goat step forward. "I´m the maiden."

Cooca didn't believe it. "The elf goat is the maiden? Elf goat is not a maiden."

"Well… I was, them was Bonina and now is…" She looked around. "Where´s Daisy? I´m here representing the maiden."

"That´s not the procedure. Where´s the real maiden. Only the maiden can bless the ritual."

"Oh yes…" Granny Calla rubbed her chin. "I forgot about that. It´s a very old tradition. Bring Daisy here."

They pushed a frightened twelve years old girl.

"That´s Daisy."

"Good! Now the blessing." She gave the tube to Granny Calla.

"What´s that?"

"The Dharmaquation scroll."

Granny was startled and almost dropped it. Cooca gave her an angry stare.

The little Sapphire was all the time following Cooca that had her stuffed dragon and the picture book under her arm "Gem can have her Cooca back?"

"Not now Puppy elf." Cooca gave her attention to the anxious Cooca witches crazy to talk with her.

Auntie Arum Lily waved to gather the family in a circle.

"That means if we didn´t give our blessing she's going away?" Greyclaw asked.

"It´s possible." Jolly Acacia said. "Cooca seems to be very strict with old traditions and procedures."

"It´s like Mister Prudence." Granny Calla reminded. "Maybe is a thing from dragons priests."

"That´s good news." Aracaea the Andean goat said happily.. "They can´t do the forbidden ritual in our lands."

"Are you out of your minds?" Bonina said angrily. "We are talking about Margot."

"We are talking about the whole Marigold county," Aracaea said angrily and turned to the others. "We all know the feeling of losing someone we loved, Calla, Lily, and myself lost children, but we can't let Bonina risk everything because of her loss."

"I don't lose my daughter." Angrily Bonina held Daisy's arm and pulled her.

"That's a cute elven village." Cooca praised scratching the stuffed toy.

"Cooca, I´m the second Tanzek, I give you my blessing."

"No, you are not." Miss Kale said.

"I was the tanzek maiden. I´m the Marigold countess and now I´m the mother."

"The land recognizes you as the ruler but not as the mother." Kale looked at the big Chateau. "From here I can feel that your daughter has her soul between the Pachas. She never had fully born. You're not a mother."

Bonina gave an angry stare at Auntie arum lily. "At least we have Daisy." She pushed the frightened child. "Daisy said that you bless the ritual."

Daisy uttered. "I bless the ritual."

Cooca stared with an uninterested expression. "No."

"What? What you mean by No?"

"The blessings need to come from the heart. A fake blessing is no blessing." Saying that Cooca turned over.

"Wait, wait. This whole land is the territory from the Yellowbelly Dragon, you can´t have the blessing of the high Priest Prudence? "

"Look at there." Cooca pointed at a symbol carved in a nearby pole wooden wall.

"That´s the yellowbelly symbol." Bonina recognize.

"That´s a yong boho seal. Everything inside those walls is protected by Yellowbelly, but belongs to the Marigold House."

"We can´t do outside the walls?"

"No."

"That´s it? If you don't save my daughter you will not have a castle."

"Na! Bonina child isn´t even Cooca first option. The plan will not change."

"And you are just going away?"

"There´s three days for the blessing, then Cooca goes away anyway, with ritual or not," Cooca said and went away. Gem followed her with her toy and picture book.

"They are going to be here for three days anyway?" Jolly Acacia commented holding Gem to stop following Cooca.

Granny Calla pulled Jolly Acacia's ears. "I thought your brother was dumb to go at Dark Mist looking for a folktale, but hanging out with the Cooca kicked the bucket."

"Cooca is listening," Cooca said aloud in a singing tone.

"It's not my fault. She appeared yesterday at night with the dharmaquation in Gems bedroom."

"She didn´t that because you are investigating about the Dharmaquation?" Bonina asked.

"You really looked for a dharmaquation?" Granny shook her head face palming. "That's heresy, my child."

Aracaea the Andean goat head bumped her. When you arrogant wizards are going to learn to not mess with unnatural things?"

"Margot is our niece, and she can be the last thing about Zenon." Jolly Acacia tried to justify her actions in a distressed tone. Even that her talk was telepathic it was easy to see her emotions. No doubt was easier to see her emotions than through speech.

"You know that Bonina has a crazy idea to patch souls?"

"Yes! I tried to take this crazy idea from her head. It´s madness."

"Why you don´t listen to Jolly?"

"Because is impossible. Jolly talk in people's heads granny, we didn't listen."

"Cooca listened and yes Bonina is going to give part of her soul to the child as Cooca is going to do too," Cooca said.

"We didn't agree with this part." The witches started to protest. "Mama can't give a piece of her soul."

"Yes, that way she's going to be Cooca's daughter too. Bonina and Cooca, both mothers, and Cooca witches are going to be all her godmothers."

The witches started to change her opinion and whisper.

"The Cooca coven is going to summon the most glorious and powerful Cooca witches that ever lived. A dragon soul that will be not patched, but recreated." Cooca said theatrically.

The witches started to be excited.

"But Mama Cooca, all the good souls are already given to the juvakas and the dragon souls to Mama Tainakan." Kale scratched her head. "Where Mama is going to find a dragon soul to patch?"

"Cooca didn't teach the witches to widen their horizons? There are other worlds out there, with uncountable souls and many dragon souls."

"Bonina." Granny grabbed her arm. "They want to turn Margot in one of them."

"Miss Butternuts was of them and nobody had any problem with her," Bonina said with a serious face. "Is better than what she is now."

"Margot will not be just one of the Cooca witches," Cooca said with a victorious smile. "She´s going to be most, angrily, lazy, covetousness, vainglory, and self-indulgent soul that ever was."

All the witches cheered and whispered.

Daisy looked terrified. "Sorry cousin Bonina, but now I don't want them doing the ritual from the bottom of my heart."

"Cooca is tired of the travel, where is Cooca's room?"

"Come with me, madam." Bonina also bows to her. "Uncle Nick has the best bedroom in the whole Manor."

"Cooca is pleased." She gave the tube to Jolly Acacia. "Prepare a feast to Cooca when she wakes up."

After Cooca and the Cooca witches settled. Gem was introduced to her distant cousins.

"Sapoti, this is your cousin Gem." Bonina introduces them, "And this is Jolly Acacia, she´s the sister of Margot´s dad."

"You remember me Sapoti? I meet you when you are younger than my Sapphire."

Sapoti had a vague memory of that woman.

"We can take care of her while we adults solve something?"

Sapoti held Gem's hand and agreed with her head. Known as "Sweet Thing" she was the youngest in the Manor. She was the one who most paid attention to her.

To Gem, she was the funny one after Sapoti described Cooca despise stare as someone who knows you farted and is pretending didn´t.

Sapoti was one of the youngest granddaughters of Granny Calla, the crone one of the leaders of the county.

Daisy was a bit older, and also known as "Tooty Booty". She treated Gem as a baby and was the granddaughter of auntie Arum Lily, the satyr and Tanzek mother the second in charge. She also had a younger brother around Sapoti Age, Iron Tortoise. He was Okay.

The fort kid was Crowclaw around Daisy´s age, he was the grandson of Auntie Aracaea that had the shape of a huge Andean goat, and he was the son of her son Greyclow, leader of the Marigold personal army.

There´s a few teenagers and adults, but Gem didn´t feel motivate to memorize their names and barely could distinct them.

There were too many adults in the place, and at Gem´s age, teenagers didn't have much difference from adults who treat her like a baby and are interested in other things than funny games. They liked only boring games.

Besides those few adults, the only one she reminded was countess Bonina.