The Witch's Gauntlet

7th of Fall Spring, 4201
 
My name is Kaia Winterdahl of Brille, and this is my journal.
 
I have been meaning to start one for a while now, but something always gets in the way. Well, no more: if I keep waiting, soon Ill be seventy and there will be no more memories left to write about, and that would be a tragedy. I know a bit about tragedies, so I know one when I see one – even if I am not sure at what I am looking at. My family and I were victims of a tragedy – a real one if I can say so.
 
It arrived with a storm, twelve years ago. It was the last night of fall, and Brille, as usual, was ready for the winter. I remember the smell of chocolate as missus Elin cakes were served in the town hall, and that people were worried something was going to happen with the Helgerson’s livestock. The person who was supposed to have secured them did not for some reason, and the weather was about to turn. Lots of people’s livelihood depended on those animals, so if they got hurt, lots of people could be in trouble. That did not sit well with my parents. They were regular folk, but regular folk takes care of other folk around these parts. They got a few people together and headed out to the Helgerson’s barn. Few minutes later, a terrible storm hit Brille – we did not know at the time, but it was the Second Nether Storm that just hit us – and all the folk in the townhall could do nothing or go nowhere but stay there and weather the storm. In the morning, people went out and saw the damages done. Few folks were still missing – between then, my parents. They were found later that day, under the wreckage of the bridge that led to the Helgerson’s land. Apparently, a bolt of lightning hit the bridge as they were passing it. They told me that from that height, it was probably quick. I was also told that they had managed to secure the livestock, and that a lot of people owed them a whole lot. None of those things made me feel any better.
 
The next months were a rough blur, but they would have been rougher the townsfolk had not taken me in and cared for me as their own – specially missus Elin. The help she has given me I will never be able to repay. I know that because I have tried, but she would have none of it. She just wants me to be happy, it seems. Since she will not let me pay it back to her, I try to pay it forward as much as I can to the people of Brille. And, so far, I have not found a better day to spend my days than helping the townsfolk as much as I can.
 
I have been seventeen for five whole months now – almost six – and the last four have been the weirdest I can remember. Not because of my age, no – because of the ruins of Aurin they have found out about two days from here, and how fast foreigners have been arriving in town to try and check that out. It feels even weirder than the days right after I saw the Pattern and, believe me, those were some weird days. I guess I will write that story some other time though. Ingram – my familiar – tells me I should hurry and get ready because the day will be an interesting one. I guess I forgot to mention that at the beginning, but I think maybe it is time to write it down and say it out loud:
 
I am Kaia Winterdahl of Brille, and I am a witch. And I am damned proud of it.