LENA’S PENTAGRAM

JAVIER R. FERNANDEZ

 

 

JAVIER R. FERNANDEZ

Gijón, Spain 1,953

javierrfernandez.org

MARTE2050@yahoo.es

 

 

Note : The years data related in this book are C.E. (Common Era) This book is also available in Spanish : EL PENTALFA DE LENA

 

Refer to the a.m. web page or e-mail.

 

1st Edition 2,021

ISBN 978-84-09-29478-7

General Registry of Intellectual Property M 003140 / 2021 Legal deposit M-13783-2021

 

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Year 1,627 Oak time

Lena trembled, shaken with violent spasms in the maelstrom of her dreams.

Those sinister flames broke the day, at the same time that scor- ching her skin.

Her long hair unraveled as the burning, rising smoke scorched her throat, burning her lungs, breaking her breath.

Her eyes bulged slowly, bursting and plunging her into hideous darkness, without the relief of a quick death coming to her aid.

The body of Lena was decomposing slowly, terrifyingly, tra- pped in the morass of that heinous death.

 

At the climax of that nightmare, an irrepressible, visceral scream erupted from her throat, waking her daughter Nieves, who slept beside her on the ground.

Lena sat up, staring wildly around her, like a cornered animal with no alternative, while her temples were beaded with sweat.

A beast faced with the certainty of her death.

The blackness of the night enveloped the beech forest that surrounded their hut, among the remains of snow that covered the land here and there, a silent testimony of last Winter, while the beeches generated their first-time leaves, bright green, in that incipient Spring.

Breaking the deep silence that enveloped them, the piercing howl of the owl reached their ears.

With trembling hands, Lena lit a torch from the remnants of the campfire that would warm the interior of the hut abode throu- ghout the night.

 

Year 1,610

From the year 1,598 the Black Death began its penetration in the Iberian Peninsula through the Cantabrian ports. During some three years, its sinister blow would hit almost the entire penin- sula, although with less virulence affecting the Mediterranean maritime areas. A slow, mournful episode, that claimed the lives of around half a million people.

Such a worldly event did not matter too much to the glorious head of the empire, Felipe III, who, departing from the vulgar and tedious tasks of government, devoted himself fully to the enjo- yment of earthly pleasures.

On his side, his worth Francisco de Sandoval, the Duke of Ler- ma, gave himself up, no less eagerly, to the arduous and noble task of enriching himself as much as possible on account of the public coffers.

In general, a timeless and uninterrupted common denominator of the ruling political class that competes fiercely for it, despite beliefs and ideologies.

In a parallel process, a relatively effective body of civil ser- vants under the reign of Felipe II was gradually degrading.

Worse still were the prevailing circumstances beyond the Pyre- nees, where wars, religious persecutions and diseases, framed the social panorama of western Europe.

However, wrapped in the own rhythm that isolation entails, all these conjunctures were diluted in most of the areas that made up the hispanic geography.

To the North of the peninsula, in a remote and isolated corner of western Asturias, in the region known to the Romans as the middle lands, there was an irregular and rugged valley, oriented North-South.

 

The ground inside the huts, except in the areas reserved for slee- ping and the fire, was a quagmire, a consequence of the movement of animals and the wet earth that they introduced from outside.

The spaces among the huts were also a quagmire, a flooded land, impregnated as much by the smell of the waste of people as by the droppings of cattle.

During the few months of mild weather, most of the cows were in the distant brañas, under their constant vigilance against the danger posed by wild beasts.

But the rest of the year, or whenever circumstances dictated, they spent the night in the stables of the huts, for which, as a result of the prevailing poor hygiene, the human smell competed with the animals smell.

Pigs, the animal basis of their diet, roamed the village and nearby areas, mixed with roosters and chickens.

As the cows, they were always locked up in the stables at dusk.

The small gardens around the village provided them with their daily food, while the nearby meadows were reserved for collecting the grass that the cattle would consume throughout their wintry confinement.

Their diet was not very varied. Vegetables and fruits, such as apples, cherries and pears, were consumed regularly according to their availability, in addition to eggs and milk and its derivatives, butters and cheeses.

With the arrival of Autumn, hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts, beechnuts and mushrooms constituted a very important part of their diet.

In addition to being possible their storage, they made possible an important food reserve for the long Winter, when the tough climatology limited the crops and vegetable food.

 

Year 1,611 Somiéu

With a population of around one hundred and fifty people, and settled at the confluence of two rivers, Somiéu formed the most important population nucleus of those remote lands, dwarfed among steep mountains covered with centuries-old forests and a dense vegetation that almost completely surrounded it.

Three lines of communication came together in it. The one that headed North ran along the river of its name, encased in some sections by a rugged gorge. Towards the South, the path ascended towards the port, to access the lands of León.

Facing East, a relatively open valley led to several lakes, an unimportant route of communication.

The exit to leonese lands gave great importance to the sou- thern road, one of the few that communicated the Asturias with the castilian plateau. Both the abrupt geography and the wintry climatology imposed their laws, all of which led to the isolation of the communities settled North of the Cantabrian mountain range with respect to the rest of the peninsular lands.

The southern communication of Somiéu was subjected to win- try rigor, as the port was blocked by snow for about four or five months a year. On the other hand, the northern access, although located at a lower altitude and therefore free from the harshness of the heights, was a nightmare due to its orography, with a gorge sandwiched among rugged mountains.

The huts at Somiéu, little more than thirty, were similar to those of Nevares.

As usual, cattle were the core of the life of the mountaineers, their most precious asset. The meadows near the village were the most envied by the mountaineers, and those who

 

The small fields of cereals that surrounded Somiéu were ador- ned with the yellowish ocher of Summer, on that calm and clear afternoon.

Diego was walking around the village, enjoying himself open- ly in the contemplation of the young women who worked in the meadows, when he spotted the five soldiers and the man arriving at the village on their horses.

At twenty-three years old, Diego was the designated priest for the religious services of that small community as well as, theoreti- cally, for the villages scattered around.

Some surroundings that he did not know for the most part, lacking any special motivation to explore them.

Quite the contrary …

As a priest, Diego was not very different from the rest of his few coreligionists, distributed only among the most important villages and towns of the Asturias.

Those evangelizers didn’t really stand out from their surroun- dings. Their ignorance about the christian faith they were trying to implant used to be as manifest as their crudeness, and their determination to spread these beliefs among their indifferent coun- trymen was rather conspicuous by his absence, with a minimal pastoral activity.

Other activities, such as the venatoria, attracted more their attention, especially in such auspicious places, complemented by an unsurpassed fondness for cider, wine and good food.

Obviously, the attraction to sex thrived in their bodies, being usual that their beds were shared, and that the women in their environment that were palatable to their eyes became the object of their anxieties and attentions, with the consequent offspring.

On the other hand, and as a consequence of that almost null

 

pastoral interest and little influence, their theoretical believers, framed in their Celtic culture, continued with the daily practice of their deep and ancestral religious motivations, totally different from the christian ones.

Now however, when seeing those people arrive at Somiéu, Die- go sensed that complications were approaching with them.

The small group, under the command of Fabio, a lanky and tough soldier, accompanied Tristán, a priest commissioned by the Bishop of Uviéu.

In the seclusion of those secluded places, Diego was unaware of a series of events that, taking place in the distant lands of Na- varre, began to alter the history of the Iberian Peninsula.

Those events marked the beginning of the modification of the status quo of indolence, of estrangement, prevailing in the church and the government with respect to the pagan traditions, especia- lly strong and prevailing in the rural cantabrian world.

Zugarramurdi

For a year before, an unusual number of people circulated on the paths that headed towards the Pyrenees, to cross the mountains that would lead them to the french lands, in search of a more desi- red than real security.

At least for the Holy Office, and for the government in particu- lar, the northern lands located South of the western Pyrenees, with a majority basque population, were hit by an unprecedented wave of witchcraft.

From the magical Sierra de Aralar, full of forests and dolmens, to the ancient caves of Zugarramurdi, social demonstrations from primitive cultures increasingly faced opposition from a catholic church eager both to increase its power and to impose its doctrines about those who followed such traditions.

 

The lonely, sacred yew adorned its dark branches with autum- nal fruits. The small red berries, food for birds such as beaks, blac- kbirds and chickadees, constituted a striking and curious contrast to the rest of the tree, almost entirely poisonous.

The afternoon was waning when its reddish trunk once again protected the Conceyu, the decision-making meeting of those peo- ple.

But now it was not the routine business of the village, but so- mething different and with more serious implications for their life.

The memory of those swords was not erased from their minds, nor were the threats that accompanied the memory of that sinister group.

On the shoulders of Tano fell the leadership of the village, al- though it was a relative leadership, because only when something emerged that was beyond normality did everyone meet to comment on it and, if necessary, figure out what to do.

In such circumstances, and only in the event of no agreement from the communal assembly, his influence could tip the decision one way or the other.

Above all, Tano stood out for his altruism, his strong sense of community and the security that his person exuded, the qualities required for the routine course of life in the village.

Although now this security was wavering, as clearly demons- trated his beautiful jet color eyes.

• I think we all feel … bewildered at the message of those peo- ple … although we would rather say threats … and it seems that we are forced to make decisions that are now beyond our unders- tanding – the words of Tano elicited murmurs of
• And very important decisions – Jana continued -, that as we analyze them more carefully, we will be aware of the negative

 

being with her 5 feet 9 inches hight the highest woman in the village, and one of whose qualities was her security.

• Of course not … it is clear that little by little all of us see that the explanations of those people entail, without a doubt, that our ancestral beliefs are being attacked frontally – the voice of Lucin- da was a

Gradually, the sensation of being on the threshold of an era that could profoundly modify their lives, with their deepest cus- toms fought mercilessly in the name of strange and foreign disposi- tions, was rising in their hearts.

A village, remote and isolated, implied a world in which the unity of its members is essential for its internal stability.

With values and beliefs prevailing since time immemorial, that were assumed by all, providing them with the necessary cohesion for the normal development of their social life.

Consequently, any breach of unwritten laws, but deeply rooted and deeply felt by all of them, would inevitably entail very serious disturbances in their internal harmony.

• I do not know what to think – the doubts showed up in Tano

-, because we all carry our beliefs, our celebrations in our hearts

… we cannot forget them simply because some strangers come here one day, and believe that under the threat of their weapons we are going to bow to their demands …

• We all think like you, but with respect to others … the truth is that I doubt, because although most are like us, we are also aware that there are people who are more easily intimidated …

The opinion of Priscilla needed no comment.

• In any case, let us avoid falling into discouragement … even though it is evident that these people do not threaten in vain, nor does this mean that they achieve their objectives … we have to

 

-I honestly believe that the idea of Priscila is the right one

… perhaps when we meet it will be decided that you should live away from the village, but of course we are not going to give in to the possibility that you are alone during the harshest of Winter.

They all nodded at the words of Gema.

 

The night passed slowly for Lucinda, her eyes absorbed in the

fickle fire.

Despite the fortitude that she tried to show to her friends, she felt that her world was fading before the shadows of tomorrow, before that prospect of life.

Inevitably, Lucinda flinched at the option.

Living isolated, in the middle of the dark beech forest … the

sensations, the questions flowed uncontrollably to her mind.

Would she be able to bear that forced absence of human con- tact ? How could she survive the long, harsh Winter ? What de- fense did she have against wild beasts ? What if she fell ill when the snow covered the paths, and no one could come to her hut to help her ?

She felt stunned, unable to respond to any of it.

But above all, her body trembled at the threat of uprooting, separation from her world and her people …

 

A few days later the lonely yew welcomed the small assembly under its leaves again, with the expectation present among its members.

Even among the young people, usually absorbed in their usual games and who now came to congregate alongside their elders.

And the expectation was palpable without difficulty when

Tano intervened to give way to the comments of his people.

 

between Lucinda and Cebrián were hurt by the stigma of sterility, which usually fell on women.

The inability to break that claw of life gripped Lucinda in par- ticular, who saw that despite all her knowledge, she was power- less for her union with Cebrián to bear fruit, finally bowing before that irreversible reality.

Botany was the most logical resource of her, and the lily, the borage, along with other flowers and plants, were used exhausti- vely, seeking the remedy for her inability to engender.

The women also embraced their rites, such as the purification of fire during the magical night of the summery Solstice.

Jumping several times over the crackling flames of the bonfire they pursued purification, physical and mental renewal, which could help them overcome their sterility.

Likewise, drinking before anyone else from the sacred foun- tains, abode of the Xanas, at midnight on the summery Solstice.

Or the rite of rubbing naked against the menhirs, the heat of their sexes against the magic of stone.

But when such resources were unsuccessful, and being unawa- re of both the motivations and the solutions of such misfortune, those people only had the resource of their spells, the hope that their Divinities would help them endure that misfortune.

Time, in its inexorable evolution, nevertheless favored Lucinda and Cebrián to accept their fate. Although the laurel branch that presided over the head of her bed proclaimed that her hope had remained latent until the death of Cebrián.

Lucinda, with an intuitive fondness for knowledge, found in the woman healer of Nevares the source of knowing that nurtured her need. Over the years, she was able to develop her innate abili- ties with her, and when she passed away she took over.

 

the village where Lucinda was hiding, she nodded without hesita- tion.

At 5 feet 3 inches tall, Lena was a slender girl.

Her lively greenish eyes presided over a small nose and pretty features, with a brown face that reflected the unmistakable stamp of life outdoors, with the wind and the Sun. She had shiny, splen- did black hair, which reached her waist, and her legs, appropriate for those mountains, were muscular and strong.

Curious and vital, she felt an instinctive attraction to Lucinda and her activities, with which she spent long periods of time. Nor- mally, she got more answers to her continual questions from her than from her parents, so little by little, compared to her people, her knowledge was increasing spontaneously and easily.

She used to manage to be by her side when she cared for someo- ne who was sick and, in particular, she loved to accompany her when she traveled the mountains near the village, in search of the herbs, fungi, lichens, etc., which were the basis of the medicines applied by Lucinda in her treatments.

Thus, gradually, Lena entered in the fascinating world of knowledge, of science that generations of women and men had brought to the world, and subsequently depositing them in their descendants, in their acolytes.

By means of the complicated and risky method of trial and error, the human race had gradually entered the accessible but mysterious plants kingdom, ubiquitous around them.

Spontaneously, Lena had become more and more involved in that exciting world, but now, suddenly, her daily, routine commu- nication with Lucinda was cut off.

Although she came from time to time to the village, to continue attending to its inhabitants, and Lena even slept with her some

 

Year 1,612 Hawthorn time

Winter, although it was not particularly hard, managed to des- troy the integrity of Lucinda, which was falling apart day after day, broken under the yoke of that bitter loneliness.

She drowned among the walls and the darkness of her hut, with the only company of the fire of the pot-hook, with that fee- ling of helplessness, of isolation, stalking her relentlessly, especia- lly sensitive throughout those endless nights.

The troubles of her new life, in slow but steady progress, took a toll on her spirits, eroded her integrity. Constantly fighting against her desire to return to the village, to bend to the feeling of her need for company, of people.

In the end, on a rainy Spring night, Lucinda broke down.

In the torchlight, braving the dangers of the dark and gloomy

beech forest, her frail figure headed for Nevares.

With trembling hands she held the brand, while her breath caught with the sobs that imprisoned her.

The threatening barking of the dogs spread alarm among the people, until the animals recognized her.

Indecisive, Lucinda stood in the center of the village, not knowing what to do, until the door of a hut opened and, cautious- ly, the figure of Eusebio emerged from inside, lighting itself with a torch.

Progressively, Lucinda watched as almost all the inhabitants of the village came out of her homes surrounding her, at first with surprise and questioning reflected on her features, but then sensing what was happening inside Lucinda.

Seeing her, soaked and trembling, a chill ran through the body of Lena, who ran to her side, hugging her tightly.

 

Willow time

Lucinda feared the mist, ethereal and enveloping.

Diluting distances, transfiguring the contour, destroying lands- capes. With its dimensionless volume, its soft but persistent grip.

Around it all was altered, deforming under its weightless wei- ght, among delicate shreds, with its capricious appearance.

With an unpredictable duration of hours, days, weeks.

A day that dawned radiant could be transfigured in a very

short time, turning it gray and silent.

 

Lucinda, lacking the instinct of the people who followed their path through it, returning normally without problems to the villa- ge, felt her legs tremble as her heart beat faster watching it.

For this reason, she hardly strayed from the paths, rushing back to them when she sensed that the mist was approaching.

Something very difficult to foresee …

But she was especially awed on the high moors, where the hei- ght overcame the forests, covered with brooms and dense vegeta- tion.

In these places, faced with this impenetrable tangle, getting lost in fog was almost certain, sometimes even for the most expe- rienced and intuitive people.

Collecting the gentian that summery afternoon, the fog gripped her without forgiveness in the solitude of the moor.

Trembling, the woman forgot her task by starting to walk, eager to take again the return path.

But, when some time later she found the pieces of gentian that she had abandoned on the ground, she paled realizing that she had been walking in a circle.

 

THE VACUUM

Mountain ash time

The blackness of the second Winter outside Nevares gripped Lucinda.

Relentless, the anguish of her dissolution loomed over her, for- ced with no alternative to loneliness, to her cloistered in the hut.

The cold, the snow, made it impossible for her to get out of the hut, forcing her stay in it.

Hour after hour, day after day, among those walls that protec- ted, isolated her in its dark interior.

Her gaze staring to the volatile fire, its wayward forms.

Sometimes ignoring if it was day or night, the sheep being the only ones who managed to momentarily bring her back to reality.

Lucinda was slowly breaking down. She alone …

She was sometimes unable to determine what was keeping her alive … why not go deep into the heart of the beech forest, to freeze to death or be eaten by wolves … ?

Everything instead of continuing like this, feeling how her life was falling apart every moment, how her heart exploded, burned by that chilling loneliness …

Incessant, the wind beat the trees, a persistent murmur of waving branches, gusts that brought an incessant rain of leaves wrapped in the darkness, barely betrayed by their soft beat on the trunks, the hut, the earth.

 

the rays of Sun before the beech leaves completed their develop- ment, which would lead to less insolation in the understory.

Here and there, the humble wood sorrel, lover of shady and hu- midity, with its five whitish petals, purple veins, capable of pre- dicting the rain when its leaves spread; the vivacious and creeping tormentil, also with five white petals, among which its numerous yellow stamens stand out.

Less conspicuous, but higher, the maidenstears exhibited its small flowers at the top of the stems, sprouting from the globose calyxes, while the beautiful greater stitchwort attracted the eye without remedy, with its ten snowy flowers, together in pairs, sprouting from five leaves greenish.

The greenish leaves of the spurge-laurel also protected its greenish-yellow, small and fragrant flowers, used as rodenticides, while the Angel’s tears displayed its yellowish bell-shaped flowers, inclined towards the ground. Instead, the discreet wood anemone looked up, its seven pink flowers jealously guarding its numerous stamens.

As tall as Lena, the foxglove flowers, forming clusters oriented towards the ground, exhibited its purple color, with small white spots inside the corolla; the geranium, tender and fleshy, with its pink flowers, a model of simplicity compared to the splendid gran- ny’s nightcap, with its ten flowers facing the ground and forming clusters, bluish in color, five of them in the shape of petals, the other five central with a long curved nectary, wrapping its nume- rous stamens.

Little sticking out of the ground, the green leaves of the squills forming a rosette, with five to fifteen blue leaves; similar in hei- ght, the green hellebore with its leaves, and its large flowers, while the tall wood spurge, also herbaceous, accumulates its dark-green

 

leaves from which its equally green flowers sprouted.

The view was ecstatic at that spectacle, and the two women did not feel time passing by, strolling through the trees.

Without forgetting the offerings to their Deities … those rare, delicate yellow poppies that they humbly deposited in small clus- ters under the proud beeches.

Oak time

– This is the first step – Lucinda commented, as they left Nevares behind – of a special learning, to begin to enter one of our most powerful inner enemies, physical loneliness. For a few days you will face that need for company, to be among people … an innate part of our feelings, but that we must be able to avoid if circumstances dictate. Right now that loneliness may seem easy to cope with, but when you really face it … it is very hard … perhaps insurmountable … but apart from being a necessary stage, it will show you parts of yourself that could be surprising …

– Later – she continued, breathing heavily as the path climbed a steep slope – if you want to continue to overcome yourself, the time will come to access other stages, which would be in two or three Moons. Even more problematic will be your attempts to enter the hidden, uncertain world of natural forces, of the buried essences of our Nature, normally accessible to few people. It is a difficult space, where perhaps your mind can be temporarily split between two worlds, the real and the magical, when forced be- yond its apparent possibilities … but hey, I’m already anticipating events again, don’t think now about it.

Lucinda fell silent, meditating how problematic it was to go deeper into these stages, as communication with the vital forces of Nature entailed entering unknown dimensions, alien to everyday ones …

 

only able to see the visible one … but I suppose this is all new to you, ¿ truth ?

The face of Lena was answer enough, although for her, intuiti- vely some of the explanations of Lucinda weren’t too far off.

– In those places it is also possible to experience our sacred superior Deities, as well as magical spirits, capable of intervening in natural laws … but it is very difficult to reach, only very few people are capable of feeling such communication …

An indefinable sensation enveloped Lena as they approached the dolmen. Those special perceptions floating in the atmosphere, as before with the oaks, but here much more accentuated …

Intangible, but real.

 

In a remote, isolated and secret place, known only to a small number of women and men healers, stood the ancient construction.

On an empty grassy ground, trapped in the power of the sacred yew and under the shelter of century-old beeches, the megalith propagated a special calm.

Wrapped in a cutting, primal silence.

Seven slabs loomed skyward. Three feet wide, and about ten inches thick, they protruded five feet from the ground, in which they were anchored to a depth of one feet eight inches.

Its irregular heptagonal plan provided an interior space, on its largest side, close to seven feet long.

Those slabs supported the roof, a rough, huge quadrangular stone about eight feet on a side, and about a foot thick.

Lena herself would enter the dolmen, where she would remain

alone for an indefinite time.

Constrained by the magical volume delimited by the slabs, roof and ground.

 

 

 

THE DOLMEN OF NEVARES

When Lucinda said goodbye with a hug, Lena felt her stomach involuntarily shrink, watching the woman healer walk away from the dolmen while she stayed behind, alone in the embrace of that loneliness.

Not only did she have to fight against an overwhelming force

that made her run after her …

Secretly, but with increasing intensity, Lena began to perceive how all the little noises in the environment faded, replaced by a growing silence.

The gray slabs of the megalithic construction not only protected her from the environment.

They were also a door that put heaven in contact with Earth, seeking in it its telluric energies that rose to the heights.

But that unnerving silence …

Amplified without measure among the slabs of the dolmen.

Insidious, it slid slowly and imperceptibly inside her, altering her senses of perception, deforming them from the outside, from the environment.

Lena throbbed tremulously, struck by that call from her heart.

Spurred on by a desperate need to get out of there, to run towards the village and vibrate with the presence, the contact of her people.

She felt unable to resist the blow of the void, that total loneli- ness, her gradual disconnection from the life that boiled beyond the cold walls.

That insidious need faced with her personal resistance, her self-control.

A struggle she perceived little by little, only dimmed when her mind was distanced from the thrust of her most vital needs.

 

THE JOURNEY

Willow time

The mild morning temperature accompanied Lucinda and Lena on their departure from Nevares, beginning a journey that would take them into the magical heart of Asturias.

There, under the powerful influence of an ancestral dolmen, Lena would try to access dimensions unknown to her,in another essential stage to access the women healers world.

Under the thick shade of the beeches, the path followed the course of the river that, on its way to the Cantabrian Sea, crossed a relatively wide valley.

As they advanced to the North, the river would grow slowly, due to the continuous contributions of lateral streams.

Towards noon they entered Selgas, where after greeting its people and eating lightly, they continued their walk.

Now, the path became more irregular, so it would take them longer to reach their goal, the village where the river mixed with the one coming from Somiéu.

After spending the night here, they both left as soon as dawn broke, heading upriver, and the eyes of Lena progressively wide- ned in astonishment looking the indescribable spectacle that was showing before their eyes.

For a long way they crossed a terrifying canyon, patiently, slowly drilled by the force of the waters for millions of years in the limestone walls, through which the waters flowed in rapids as impetuous as wild.

Not hundreds of thousands, but many years it had cost the human species to open a minimum path in those walls, through which the carriages could travel in a difficult balance.

Along that stretches, any carelessness had fatal consequences,

 

to count on her …

– And I don’t know, but I sense that … perhaps it is possible that you can enter that nucleus of people … privileged in that aspect, although in others …

Lucinda cut herself off, now seemingly unable to proceed.

– Well, don’t listen to me, maybe my affection for you influen- ces my heart too much … ah, here comes Mahra.

 

A broad smile framed her features as she approached them. In her sixties, her long, gray hair surrounded a pleasant face, serious but close at the same time, with brown eyes that emana- ted a special magnetism, something that did not go unnoticed by Lena, as well as splendid teeth, which was very rare in people of

that age.

Her height was medium, with a slim physique, although so- mething indefinable clearly indicated that such thinness did not correspond to the strength and vitality she showed.

First he hugged Lucinda long and effusively, before turning her attention to the young woman, who was gazing at her indeci- sively, until she hugged her tightly.

Lena reciprocated the hug, when she realized that an unknown energy enveloped her, blocking for a few moments both her body and her mind, a kind of fading that diluted everything around her, while her mind went blank, floating, until a few words of Lucin- da brought her back to everyday life.

• Her name is Lena …
• Yes, I know – Mahra replied, ceasing to embrace Lena recovered, unconsciously following the two women.
• Today we will approach the sacred dolmen, so that Lena knows it, and if she wishes, tomorrow we will begin her

 

• The Trasgu, our house elf, always boisterous and busy doing little tricks, and from whom we have no possible Although in the end we change hut, he accompanies us as our shadow.
• And what about our little Xanas, dwellers of sacred foun- tains and lofty dancers, in addition to Deva, Lady of our
• And more Spirits that we have… but above all of them, there are our Deities, before whom we simply bow in recognition of our

Lucinda concluded with a smile, now letting her friend conti- nue.

• True, our timeless, beloved Deities … to Belenos, the resplen- dent, king of Sun and light … to Lug, who presides over the Sun, thunder and rain, revered in our dolmens and menhirs … to the fertile Maya, goddess of pleasures and fecundity … to the glorious Taranis, lord of war and storms … to Ariadna, our lady of the fo- rests … to Aramus, who watches over the paths, and above all …

Mahra paused for a moment, her eyes shining with a special brilliance.

• Especially our mighty Hecate, Lady of the crossroads, who knows about plants, Queen of the Black Moon and of the

A shudder ran through the heart of Lena as she heard those na- mes, some totally new to her, others diffuse, but sensing that they were the most sacred Deities of the Celtic world, its most ancient essence.

She leaned against the reddish trunk of the yew, feeling how little by little the energies of subterranean life, from the surface, from the sky, were penetrating her body, floating for a time in an amazing emptiness, until she separated from it.

• The same goes for our sacred dolmen – Mahra commented. Seven vertical slabs, except in the area facing East, three feeet

 

center of the pentagon.

The thickness of the pentagon was just under 0.4 inches, decreasing by half at the final vertices of the triangles, while the total diameter of the star was 3.5 inches.

Between two of the triangles, at the junction with the central pentagon, there was a small appendix with a hole, through which the leather tape passed.

All of it was solid gold, with rounded edges.

The golden color gave it a special appeal, although for Lena the noble metal was not reason enough to explain the magnetism that the star gave off.

• How pretty ! What is it ?
• It’s a
• What does a Pentagram mean ?

– Penta means five, and gram means line, but let’s say tha Pen- tagram means a star.

After assimilating that clarification, Lena immediately inqui- red.

• What material is this, with such an attractive shine ?
• It is gold … a very rare and valuable metal, which resists the passage of time without changing … it is very beautiful, right

? … but because of it, because of its possession, our species has never hesitated to murder girls and boys, women and men …

Disbelief crept into the eyes of Lena, unable to believe such words.

• I don’t understand you … what value does this have to justi- fy the deaths you tell me ?

Now it was Lucinda who intervened.

– It is something difficult to explain. Beyond our mountains,

there are much larger villages inhabited by a great number of

 

THE DOLMEN OF BERMIEGO

Her heartbeat increased, while an unknown instinct prevented her from taking the steps to get through that opening, to enter those stones, now suddenly experienced as a space without ba- rriers.

Her body froze, until her mind dissociated her instincts from her body and, without conscience or will, her legs went through that door.

She sat in the center of the dolmen, her back to the doorway, letting her eyes close, her mind deprived of the resource of sight.

Time after, her whole body sought the caress of the moss, lying on her back, her arms outstretched.

Slowly, as her breathing slowed, she lost the notion of time. Her body became weightless, her ears thundered with emp-

tiness, even beginning to feel the flow of her blood through her

heart, through her veins.

Her darkness equaled the night, a deep, cosmic black, as Mo- ther Earth seemed to open up to absorb her, to welcome her.

Everything disappeared in that total emptiness … her body, the Earth, emotions, feelings … everything merged with nothingness.

What brought her back to consciousness ? The whisper of a girl ?

The icy cold of the void ? A ray of sunshine ?

The heat of a human body ?

 

At the wintry Solstice, the rural world of ancient Greece vi- brated with festivals dedicated to Dionysus, son of Zeus and the mortal Semele, who would marry Ariadne, the Aegean goddess of forests.

Dionysus was the divinity of the forces of Nature, of the re- newal of meteorological stations, of vegetation, especially wine, as well as animal and human fecundity.

The latter was celebrated in the Phalophorias, with processions with a phallus for a banner, singing the falikos, songs in honor of the phallus that would eventually lead to comedies and theater.

Bulls and he-goats, as prolific species, were the animals chosen for sacrifice, with whose blood the lands would be strengthened, in ceremonies where they used to be quartered, for their ritual con- sumption among the attendees, in a festive atmosphere, of total surrender of these to earthly pleasures.

The Dionysian festivals were also characterized by the tempo- rary abolition of prohibitions and taboos, and many people sought purification in honor of their divinity by pushing their desires to the limit, in a personal liberation that, possibly, clearly shows the human effort to break the barriers. from the earthly limits, the return to some primordial forms of our nature, repressed by social norms, but as vital as they are essential to us.

 

Year 1,614 Beech time

During the Winter climax, the woman healer was completely

isolated during an infinite Moon.

With great difficulty, her instinct forced her to kill a sheep, to feed himself minimally in spite of the reluctance that gripped her mind.

The Grim Reaper stalked her, and she barely got through that long month.

Obviously, her loneliness entailed physical wear and tear, but it was already undoubted that on her, the most shocking and determining factor was the psychological one.

Worn out by the rottenness of her helplessness, her body was infected with the apathy in which she progressively submerged.

Her appetite was diluted, and she was eating less and less, which contributed to her progressive weakening.

Despite the care of Lena, both a continuous bronchitis and the cold irremediably weakened her defenses, and now her days passed by the fire.

Perhaps she was searching in its warmth for that other that

she was denied for, but as important as those caressing flames.

In the end, the contemplation of that almost cadaverous wo- man shocked viscerally Lena, and the certainty that Lucinda was in the last Winter of her life ruthlessly impacted her heart.

 

void, we are helpless … and it really is a difficult situation, from which I cannot find a way out.

• Tano, we all share your feelings, but we must be aware that, to a certain extent, we ourselves have caused this situation … yes, I know, there are the soldiers and their threats, but in the end, we have not been able to find an alternative, and the only certain thing is that, unfortunately for her, Lucinda has paid with her life for all this
• That’s right, and I’ve hardly been able to sleep since her death

. Although it is late, I feel personally ashamed … on the one hand, always unconditionally at our service, and we have paid for it by allowing her to live apart from us like a plague … even turning her back in her last days …

The words of Priscilla and Jana silenced the audience, but Bardo was quick to react.

• I … I also regret her death, like all of us, but I do not agree with your words. The decision that she lived apart was the deci- sion of everyone, although she also intervened, and now it is not worth looking for guilty, I think it is better to dedicate ourselves to finding a solution, if there is

Neither of them responded, for they could not but realize that those words, within the personality of Bardo, were relatively true and measured.

• I feel the same as you – Dora intervened, looking at Tano, Priscilla and Jana – but I do not stop admitting that the com- ments of Bardo are true, and although it is difficult for me to ad– mit it, I agree with him that now the best thing is to look
• By tradition, our women healers have always passed their knowledge on to their favorites – the words of Enea made all eyes converge on

 

all the other details.

• Up to a point, I understand that it attracts you – Priscila ad- mitted – , being interested in others is beautiful and gratifying … but even so … it is very different to think now that you can bear isolation, separation … is not the same reasoning as seeing yourself in that Also, when taking that step you have to think what would happen if you were unable to cope with your isola- tion … at the end you should return to us again, but you could feel it like a personal defeat.
• On the other hand – her father added – … perhaps you have not reflected on other implications that your life would Have you thought of children ? What if you had any ? How could you raise it in those circumstances ? … as you can see, to make that decision, it would be necessary to take into account many details, with the consequences that could arise from them…
• And we – said her mother, with contained tears – we need you, we want to have you We do not want the emptiness of your absence, even if you live nearby …

Confronted with herself, Lena swallowed hard and shuddered at the arguments. As true as logical, as real as inevitable.

She hugged her mother, realizing that making a decision for her implied not only the suffering that concerned her, but also that of her parents.

But despite all that, she was unable to back down. Inexplicably, without representing a challenge to her person,

that tendency seemed to influence her with greater force than her

need for affection, relationship and contact with her people.

At least for now …

The voice of Lena sounded safe when in the Conceyu she trans- mitted her decision, amid the expectation aroused among them.

 

• No, I refuse, we cannot accept another Lucinda in any way

… the best we can do is that if Lena wants to take that step, she does it, but after a while … until then, she can live in the hut if she wishes, but she will be free to come here among us whenever she want or need it. Once she feels sure, what she is going to do with her life … but without any rush, without anyone imposing their decision on her.

Her gaze fell on Ricardo and Bardo, who lowered their heads, unable to object to her words.

• Well, I also think that for now this solution is the most There is still a long time until next Winter, and when it comes, Lena will be ripe to decide… if no one opposes, we consider the Conceyu over.

After the words of Tano they all disintegrated. The interven- tion of his couple had been accurate, and despite the divisions, it was accepted that this was a plausible solution during that time, so it only remained to wait for the decision of Lena.

 

Moving to the hut that, in principle, would be her home in the near future, Lena felt a knot in her stomach.

A part of her realized that, compared to Lucinda, she was very fortunate to enjoy the possibility of choice, to be able to meditate more calmly what taking that step entailed in reality, the possible consequences it would bring to her life.

Strangely, what affected her most now was the intangible presence of Lucinda.

Despite her physical absence, her presence was floating both

within the hut and in the surroundings.

Her first night alone was endless.

Loneliness was not limited to her surroundings, especially

 

Willow time

The evening, with its warm temperature, enveloped the forest.

The tops of the oaks were bathed in sunlight, filtering down

everywhere through their leaves.

But in contrast to that relaxing environment, Lena walked alert, with her eyes fixed on the ground, noticing how the palpita- tions of her heart accelerated.

Under the strain of her instinct.

Lena had inadvertently wandered into the tangle of vegeta- tion. When she realized this, she was unable to return to the path, but she did not worry too much, because descending the slope she reached the valley without possible mistake and, sooner or later, she would find again the path.

She was passing through an area of huge ferns, so tall they surpassed her. Lena disliked those areas so closed, where her vision barely reached a few meters, needing to fight the feeling of claus- trophobia that attacked her.

Suddenly, where the mass of ferns was thinning, her foot hung in the air, motionless as a branch.

On the ground, in the middle of the path, was a viper. Relaxed, but with the tension of every hunting animal throb-

bing in its being.

She paled, but only because of how close she had come to in- advertently stepping on it, for she knew that the viper would not attack her, unless she cornered it or it felt attacked.

Indolently, the animal uncoiled, watching her as it slid into the shelter of the vegetation.

Those were the moments when the vipers would emerge from their burrows, enjoying languidly, lovingly the afternoon heat. Coiled in on themselves, they were everywhere, enjoying the

 

Lena greeted him, but now something was withdrawing in her, a feeling that she never thought would surface in her heart, for al- though she had only lived in the hut for a few months, that time, inadvertently, had instilled in the young woman a certain sense of isolation and suspicion of strangers.

• Hello ! My name is And you ? – she exclaimed.
• My name is Landro – replied the boy, with a spontaneous smile that hid his

Confidence was reborn in Lena, perceiving the naturalness that

emanated from the young man.

• Are you alone ? – asked the surprised vaqueiro, because it was strange to him to meet lonely women, far from their
• Yes, I’m collecting

A superfluous answer, as the pieces of the roots were piled up

nearby.

• So are you a woman healer ? – he asked Obviously, although surprised by the unexpected encounter,

the pleasure of momentarily breaking his solitude with the young woman illuminated his features.

Not least those of Lena, who now fully realized the worth of human contact, as she nodded at him.

Shortly after they separated, returning to their respective huts. But now the tomorrow took on an attractive attraction for both of them.

Their relationship took another step when, some time later, they both entered another world.

As unknown and new for the two as simple and joyful.

For both, sex was devoid of inhibitions and ravings, of vanity and daring, and even with their null experience, they surrendered with enthusiasm and joy to the youthful ardor that emanated

 

Having one or several more places at the table for them, with the plates full of their favorite foods, acquired an intense magne- tism that was filled with their presences.

Presences as powerful as they were intuited, regardless of whe- ther the foods were consumed on the following days.

During dinner, the experience of lost beings was accentuated by their absence, and it acquired a preponderance that only the strength of the group attenuated.

A force that then increased in each person, as they surrendered to the rest of sleep, and until their eyes were closed with the sha- dows and darkness of the night, the memory of the lost ones was reinforced.

The next day, on the first day of the New Year, they would return to normality, with the symbolism of their experiences rein- forced, and wishing that those who returned to their world would do so with the feeling of the strength of their presence among their people.

Throughout the night, a candle lit the plate with food that Lena arranged for Lucinda. And until sleep, late that night, enveloped Lena, she would experience Lucinda with extraordinary strength, almost feeling her warmth …

Remembering when she accompanied Lucinda through the crossroads near their village on the evening of this day, to pay ho- mage to their Divinities and Spirits, with the modest birch torches lighting the night of those sacred places.

 

The first snows not only proclaimed the arrival of Winter, but

for Lena the time of decision had already arrived.

Above all, it was clear that whatever she chose, she shouldn’t back down.

 

spontaneously, indifferent to her will.

Belenos was 5-foot 11-inch tall. He was around twenty-two years old, strong and muscular, with pleasant features and a confident personality, as well as abundant blond hair, semi-curly, and blue eyes that irresistibly attracted all the women who were around him.

And Lena was no exception.

Belenos fully enjoyed his vitality and that instinctive attrac- tion that he exerted on women, lavishing himself without pro- blems among his lovers, being equally skilled in not being tied to any, enjoying the fullness of those years.

When his eyes fell on Lena, he perceived something different in that young woman, and when they looked at each other, they were both aware of the spontaneous attraction they exerted on each other.

The language of their bodies was unmistakable …

The loneliness of Winter, the experience of her isolation, had contributed to Lena remarkably mature, giving her a firmer and more secure personality, in which the duality between her innate inclinations and the needs of her people had already clearly opted for the former.

Inevitably, her separation from the village entailed a personal improvement, a self-affirmation without which it would be impos- sible for her to cope with that kind of life.

And her body, her person, gave off that maturity, especially compared to the other women in the village.

On the other hand, the young woman was not indifferent to the needs of her body, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Landro to relive sex, that new world into which they both joyfully entered.

Lucinda had taught her the precautions necessary to avoid her

 

 

THE MENHIR

With her pupils dilated by the small blue-black berries of the love apple, the Belladonna, the sexual arousal of the young wo- man was further enhanced, completely surrendered to the whir- lwind of the celebration of that magical night.

With her body exhaling the fire of the call of the flesh, she held tightly to Landro, who was dancing beside her, and for a few mi- nutes they continued with the call of the dance, but the strength of the desire was already unstoppable.

Leaving the central fire, they looked for the menhir, before which they took off their clothes, letting the Moon illuminate their sweaty, vibrant bodies, so anxious for each other that the whole environment vanished, while several couples around them enjoyed the pleasures of their bodies.

There were only them two …

Lena knelt, swallowing with her eager mouth that virile member that, full of vitality, seemed to emulate the menhir in its hardness and haughtiness.

Landro reddened, melted into her incandescent desire, while caressing the head of the young woman..

The plentiful hair of Lena, spilling over her back, had an unstoppable, magnetic pull on him, like those perched nipples that quivered under his hands.

Lifting her, they approached the menhir.

Lena, noticing the coolness of the rock behind her, felt her entrails pierced, her vagina oozing liquids through which Landro’s penis slid unhindered.

Her senses broke, as the two of them moved frantically.

Not far from the couple, Belenos watched her, gazing at her with his wild eyes.

 

Like a multitude of people, filled with the fullness that sex

brought to their bodies, to their hearts.

The ravishing Maya not only provided the enjoyment of bodies, the ecstasy of sex. Life and death are always associated, twinned, conforming the continuous turning of the Wheel of Life.

Those ancient pagan manifestations, known to all, now co- llided head-on with the times to come, haunted by a cluster of profound transformations and social changes.

In the European lands, two cultures faced each other without possible reconciliation. At first secretly, progressively irreconcila- ble, finally without forgiveness.

Monotheism, proclaiming the yoke of a single divinity, of the firm control of the people to rigid commandments, based on total submission and dependence on a single distant and inaccessible God, stood threateningly against the ancestral polytheism, sustai- ned in relationships with Nature.

Polytheism used to entail general freedoms, based on the lack of religious dependencies, traumatic impositions, with laws and customs normally devoid of intolerance with respect to other beliefs.

Monotheism was radically opposed to the diversity of divini- ties and spirits that had always lived in the hearts of women and men, in their daily contact with the surrounding world.

Its imposition on the old beliefs depended solely on time and circumstances, and its degree of severity, the traumas that such al- terations would entail, would depend on the peculiarities of each region, but the path would continue to narrow inexorably.

And already on the merely human level, the social status of women would undergo no less traumatic transformations.

The role of women in pagan cultures, even though they were

 

This provided some fantastic views, throughout that pure and crystalline sky. The view expanded towards the four cardinal points, and aquiline eyes would reach to see the deep blue of the Atlantic if the clouds allowed it, while towards the East they would glimpse the distant and still snow-capped mountains that culminated the highest heights of those regions.

A limestone sea with ridges and deep gorges, the first sight that proclaimed the joy of the proximity of the coast to sailors coming from the northern lands.

 

Their bodies, full of sex, basked in the Sun lying on the grass, while the hissing noise of flocks of swifts, sometimes flying almost within reach of their hand, filled their ears with vibrant music, amid the prevailing primeval silence.

The curious eyes of the short-toed snake eagle, a summery visitor to those mountains, also contemplated the couple, as it languidly gained height, on its tireless daily search for snakes.

Lena spent many days with Belenos in those brañas, enjoying almost idyllic days, even when in the end the skies were filled with dark clouds.

When the storm broke, everyone ran to shelter where they could, to protect themselves from the torrential rain that poured over the mountains.

Startled by the thunderous thunder, terrified of the lightning

that, close to them, fell on the peaks.

The coolness brought about by the storm brought the smell of wet grass, the smell of the earth, while the mists dominated the mountains, turning the landscape dark and misty.

Restlessness flared in Belenos, as it did among their country- men, when a deep mist enveloped them for a long time, then

 

forest, was drastically reduced as they entered it, accessing an increasingly dark world.

• These places … sometimes – commented the young man – in these moments, I even feel some fear … this darkness, this silence penetrates me, and especially the visibility so small … do not lau- gh, but it is almost as if I gasp for air….

Year 1,616 Beech time

Towards the equator of Winter, protected from its rigors by their warm casings, the she-bears gave birth to their young, usua- lly two tiny esbardos, barely weighing 0.9 pounds each.

In this way, the highly energetic milk that they would require in their first months would imply an acceptable consumption for their mothers, who depended exclusively on the fat reserves stored in the Fall for their wintry slumber, in addition to the protection of their thick fur and the cave.

Despite everything, they could lose 40% of their weight throu- ghout their hibernation.

A prodigy of lethargy, because the body temperature of planti- grades drops only to 93º F, their heart slowing down considerably, and they are the only mammals capable of spending all this time renouncing their normal physiological functions, without eating, drinking, urinating or defecating.

In addition to all these characteristics, they will be able to wake up and defend themselves on the spot in the event of an attack, something unthinkable for any other being.

The first symptoms announced to Jana, who along with other women now took turns almost daily to accompany Lena on those days, that she was approaching the expected moment of delivery.

Even with the threat of the swords over her heads, neither

 

aware of all the implications that the new situation would entail.

With the help of the rue, it would have been easy for her to cause the abortion, but a very strong feeling pushed her not to do it and, on the other hand, her choice would not be influenced by her family, who happily received such news.

Her pregnancy ran smoothly, although her isolation deprived her of the attention and care that, if she were in the village, she would receive from everyone. A few small privileges, a life as calm as possible, without scares or complications, to encourage the life that she carried in her body to develop without major problems.

Although, according to her traditions, this would not free her from the curiosity of people in the predetermination of the sex of the fetus, as her womb developed. If this one were big and round, he would be a male; if small and flattened, a female.

If the beauty of the pregnant woman stood out, male ; if wi- thered, female …

 

Carried away by the immemorial strenght of their traditions, Lena walked through the frozen beech forest. Her feet slid on the snow, hardened by the rigors of Winter, and as time passed, the presence of the forest deities was becaming more omnipresent in her heart.

The skewed presence of the Xana enveloped the sacred foun-

tain, filled with ice and silence.

There, standing out over its centenary companions, stood an imposing beech tree, whose soft bark inevitably invited caresses.

Kneeling before it, Lena felt its powerful influence, the beat

of its life. Beside the trunk she was pushing the snow away, until she reached the ground, to continue digging to a depth suitable for her purpose.

 

At the bottom, she placed the placenta of her daughter, then covered it with several stones, to then fill the hole with earth, and on it the snow, carefully smoothed out.

With all these precautions, she hoped that no vermin would be able to detect the placenta, even less to devour it.

In intimate contact with the original Mother Earth, and protected by the vitality of the beech, the newborn was inexorably linked to it.

All their lives, their vital pulses, in unison.

 

The snow was falling violently, whipped by the wind.

Despite the intense cold, Lena walked around Nevares, eager to breathe that fresh air. She felt very lucky to have her easy deli- very, and now she was enjoying the snow hitting her face.

She was brooding, undecided about the name she would give her daughter, when she stopped to contemplate the naked beech forest surrounding the village, apparently desolate.

Both the gusty and unpleasant wind, and the dark clouds that darkened the midday, invited to return to the hut, to the shelter of the fire.

Her feet led the way, through the fluffy snow. She stopped, and raised her face to the sky, closing her eyes. That sensation of freshness, of vitality that the snow transmitted to her lit up her heart, despite the trembling that the cold transmitted.

She smiled … she already knew the name of her daughter. When towards the beginning of Spring the two of them retur-

ned to the hut, Lena smiled at the attraction that her daughter aroused, with frequent visits.

With the slightest pretext, people, especially women, visited them, eager to see the little girl.

 

On the other hand, he did not see the alternative of both of them moving with him to their wintering lands.

He knew Lena well enough to know that that possibility was simply non-existent …

Something that, on the other hand, he admired in her.

She was well aware of the details that had led her to move away from Nevares, to continue with the work of Lucinda, and when comenting it with her, he couldn’t but wondering how that young woman, seemingly so fragile, was able to choose that option.

And, above all, to remain in it.

Something that, deep down, he envied in Lena. Her security and her steadfastness, her decision …

 

Lena fell silent, sometimes unable to hold back her tears, when the inexorable date of the departure of Belenos was drawing near.

Regardless of her mind, her heart sank, her personality clearly shaken by the separation. She was divided, anxious that he did not leave her, that he stay with them, secretly wishing that he would propose to accompany him during the Winter.

– Although those propositions will never leave my lips …

Birch time

The rain fell incessantly. With force, soaking the huts, the forests, the mountains, the river roaring impetuously, almost over- flowing by the uninterrupted days of rain.

Tano gazed at the fire, absorbed by this fickle element, its deli- cate tatters and whimsical shapes, the whisper it gave off.

Enjoying the shelter that the hut offered, the heat of the fire,

the company of his people.

And once again, he thought of Nieves and Lena. The sadness

 

her face flushed with anger – … because when you’re sick, then you

do remember Lena right away …

That situation shocked Tano, who even knowing the two, had been unable to expect such strong reactions.

The division that this situation could implant in the village was so worrisome that the next steps would clearly affect or tem- per it.

– I think – he exclaimed, with a firm voice that concealed his real indecision – that it would be better for all of us to de-dramati- ze this situation. After the threat of the soldiers, we are all aware of the danger we are exposing ourselves to and in fact, we already choose when we reject Lucinda, forcing her to withdraw from us. But now, we cannot be indifferent to the situation that Nieves and her mother will face during these next moons … and especia- lly, value that our isolation is a factor that will reduce the danger. I would be the first to object to this if I saw any hint of doubt, but honestly, I am convinced that there is no such threat.

• We could try to solve this situation temporarily – Gema rea- soned – , why don’t we agree that they can spend this Winter here

? … During the next one, with the girl older, perhaps it is more likely that they will stay in the hut …

• I think what Gema is proposing is reasonable – said Jacinto, among murmurs of
• I strongly oppose – Ricardo answered -, my life is more im- portant than yours, and besides, I am already fed up with this, we cannot repeat this painful spectacle once again, continually deciding on this If it is true that this girl really worries her mother, that she renounce once and for all to be our woman healer and return here, without the need to put anyone in danger …
• But don’t you realize that this decision would imply that

 

They all looked at each other, and when Tano and Luis met, Luis couldn’t but nod with an empty gaze, incapable of another proposition.

Tainted by the expectation of wintry solitude with the little girl, and with the emptiness of Belenos in her heart, the visit of Tano communicating her the possibility of moving to the village in the harshest of Winter filled Lena with joy, although the reverse of the fact that it would be the last time represented a hard blow.

In spite of her, the departure of Belenos destroyed her stability more than she was capable of admitting.

Something disturbing on the other hand because, although Nieves grew up without major problems, she required continuous attention.

 

The first wintry snowfalls began to fill the mountains, forcing

the seclusion of people and livestock.

Lena and Nieves shared their small hut with Luis and Prisci- la, who took turns accompanying them.

Each time they were relieved, Tano and Marcos accompanied them, fearful of the packs of wolves that left the mountains to descend to the valleys in search of preys.

When the wintry Solstice spread its languor over the land, they all headed for Nevares.

There, temporarily, loneliness faded into oblivion, and Lena was able to sleep relaxed, free from the fear of the noises, from the terror that the shocking howls of the wolves awakened in her heart.

 

Bardo was approaching his fifties, and his body was beginning to show the first signs of the physical wear that such age brought. Given the need to need her care and attention in the future, it was important to maintain good relations with her.

After these internal considerations, Bardo asked to speak.

• Perhaps – he added – the position that I have maintained so far has been conflictive, but in truth, I cannot remove from my mind the fears that those soldiers provoked in me with their

He paused briefly, to continue with his characteristic and

strong voice.

• However, now I think that the alternative of the teitu, for a wintry stay, is a good Therefore, I agree with it, and without a doubt that this step will positively influence our inter– nal relationships.

The general approval his words garnered was reflected in the features of Bardo, who was visibly satisfied with this reaction.

Not least Tano, since the acceptance of Bardo regarding that solution could only positively influence normality to return to Nevares

• I’m glad that we agree on this alternative – he intervened, looking at everyone present – , now, if we consider this issue to be settled, we will proceed to finalize the preparation of the teitu before

Oak time

Spring was blazing with a hot and sunny two weeks, an un- usual weather bonanza that brought a rapid rise in temperatures.

After those days of prolonged heat, the snows that still dotted the lower areas of the valleys melted, except those that crowned the mountains, sheltered by the cold prevailing in the heights.

Overflowed by the rapid input of water, the rivers and streams

 

Holly time

The face of Lena was transfigured when the splendid star headed for the Solstice, when the shortest nights of the year ruled her world.

The deep, unconscious call of the Earth, influenced both her and the locals, living the need to celebrate it in all her greatness, with all the energy of their bodies, the vitality of their minds.

The equilibrium, the daily normality was fragmented before the rhythm imposed by the Sun during the days of the Solstice.

That unusual lengthening of the days seemed to slow down time, especially during the afternoons, when that incandescent and golden sphere, the source of our lives, slowly slid into the sunset, although this did not imply the immediate darkness of the night.

On those clear days, a light that tenaciously refused to disa- ppear took over the mountains, from the bottom of the valleys, where the warm-loving country houses, full of plenty, were loca- ted.

That extended clarity, together with the warmth of the tempe- ratures, impelled the people outside their dark huts, to participate and enjoy the fullness of life. Even if the clouds appeared, they were usually faint, so a soft light filtered through them spread to all corners.

Across the length and width of the Asturian lands, from the bottom of the hidden valleys to the shores of the sea, a plethora of bonfires lit up the darkness of the magical night of the Solstice.

Like tiny fireflies, seen from the heights, they proclaimed to the planet that harbored them their respect and reverence for Nature, their identification with the annual seasons that governed their lives, and instead of the usual gathering by the fire, the call now

 

leap, to the possession of leapers that crossed it amid the crackle of

the flames.

That ritual ceremony involved the leap forward while symboli-

cally, the past to bury was trapped by the flames.

Together with sexual enjoyment, as the culmination of that celebration, the source of life was offered to those who wallowed their naked bodies in the coolness of the morning dew that flooded the meadows, in correspondence with their ancestral traditions that this would increase the fertility of the land.

In some places the ground of dance was sacred, and in the most significant festivities and ceremonies, people gathered  in towns and villages, moving there dancing.

On the other hand, for the ecclesiastical authorities the circle dance was a sinister ceremony, fighting to eradicate it, although without much enthusiasm in its imposition.

The forces of nature, of instinct, faced the restrictions, the yokes that culture, religion, struggled to impose by the force of terror, by the unreason of arms, especially in the European lands beyond the Pyrenees.

Also by some flames, but very different from those that invited

them to jump, to the deep vitality of existence.

The sinister flames of the bonfires burning people …

 

Birch Time

That autumnal morning was cold and unpleasant, with a plumbeous sky sporadically discharging an unpleasant rain, which hit the faces of Luís and Tano with force, until they left the path overflowing with mud, entering the mountain, on the way to the chorco.

Now, their hearts were stirred by the anticipation of the hunt.

 

The chorco was an ancient trap, designed to capture live ver- min, primarily the hated wolves. It was made up of a palisade of about thirteen feet in diameter, made up of beech logs driven into the ground, rising to a height of about eight feet.

Intertwined, they allowed to see the interior, where another palisade stood, about six feet in diameter, similar in construction to the external one, while a tree-frame, roofing the entire complex, prevented any large animal from escaping from the trap.

Protected within the central stockade, the bait, usually a sheep, was placed for several days. The anguished bleats of the animal attracted its hunter who, seeking access, introduced throu- gh an opening in the outer ring.

When the predator turned around, it came to a porthole, which it had to push to continue on his way, thereby causing it to turn, blocking the external opening.

Now the beast was locked in, and its only alternative was to move along the corridor, whirling incessantly around its terrified prey.

To reach the chorco it was necessary to walk about two hours from the village. It was located in a hollow of the mountain, a ra- gged area, tangled between large rocks and abundant vegetation.

Tano and Luís carried their knives, made up of long, grungy iron blades with an oak wood hilt, and their essential pikes.

With the favorable wind, the penetrating scent of the wolf permeated their noses when they were still three hundred feet from the chorco.

The animal perceived them intuitively and its growl, contained but clearly threatening, managed to bristle the hair of both.

The instinctive response of the prey in front of its hunter …

Overcoming their fear, and with the expectation reflected on

 

to face those beasts, for all that they influence in our lives, but …

She broke off, trying to piece her thoughts together.

• You know, I feel On the one hand, everything pushes me against them … our lives are pending of their misdeeds, our livestock can be destroyed, exposing us to starvation … but despite all this, looking at it so closely, I have felt something strange.

They both looked at her, curiosity reflected in their eyes.

• I had never been so close to one, and I can assure you that by looking into its eyes … I don’t know, don’t laugh at me, but … it was like looking at a

Those words stunned them, unable to assimilate the feelings behind them.

Lena caught the reaction to her words, almost like an indefi- nable feeling of fear, but at the same time she felt her body relax, and an inexplicable serenity washed over her.

– The truth is that we find it… strange… to hear those words

• Luís commented, trying to penetrate inside the heart of his
  • I … I was also surprised to experience those feelings … it was like an inner discovery, something like …

She broke off, noticing how difficult it was for her to express

that feeling now.

• Go on, daughter, I think nothing can surprise us

She smiled at the encouragement of her mother, a cheerful and spontaneous smile that broke the tension unleashed by the expres- sion of those feelings, as if normality were returning again.

• Nothing more, nonsense – she tried to make her words sound

It was perceptible that her parents were not very convinced with the answer, at the same time that they did not want to go

 

Year 1,618 Oak time

• No, it’s not the same … how happy I am when I’m with Nieves, with Belenos, with my parents! … But now… what a difference when I go alone! … I feel the beech forest in a different way, much more intensely, and this is only possible in

An unconscious chill ran through her body as she moved throu- ghou the beech forest.

Perhaps as facing a dilemma, perhaps the beginning of the me- tamorphosis that she inevitably experienced at certain times.

• The forest is diluted if you are with someone … what a stran- ge sensation, you think, you talk, and then the trees are secondary, the primary thing is human

The necessary human contact …

• On the other hand, now I am one more part, like a tree, a fern, an animal … I feel like the forest is absorbing me slowly, inexorably …

Blurred among the wisps of mist, the impressive centuries-old beech stood haughtily, undeniable queen of the immense beech forest.

From the great trunk that formed the base of the tree, half a dozen vigorous shoots sprouted, rising towards the sky, to form a crown of about one hundred feet.

Under its many branches, covered with mosses and lichens, life passed slowly, deliberately, while myriads of animals enjoyed protection and fruit.

Lena knelt before it.

• Oh, Ariadna, lady of the forest …

The Deity gazed at that small figure through her daughter,

from the arrogance of its one hundred thirty feet height.

 

Winter

The harshness and rigor of Winter hit the mountains with their

low temperatures, with averages hovering around 32˚ F.

The plumbeous and dark skies prevailed daily, except for the sporadic bonanzas offered by the northern winds, after the passa- ge of the cold fronts.

These fronts marked the wintry climax, with strong winds and freezing temperatures, coupled with heavy snowfall.

The temperature, cold during the short day, fell progressively at dusk, and the ice took over lakes and ponds, sometimes even rivers.

The areas in continuous shade provided a humid and icy cold, with almost all life slowing down in this environment.

Inside the dark beech forests, which usually reigned on the northern slopes, the cold was special. Less than in the heights, but much deeper.

Perhaps due to a higher degree of humidity, perhaps because it did not receive any little ray of the Sun throughout the wintry

moons, but all this contributed to the fact that the stay among the beeches was unbearable for the human being.

Perhaps also because of its silence, unnerving, ancestral …

A merciless, primal cold struck those who crossed its immensi- ty, those who walked under its branches, spurring them to flee, to escape from there. From the oppression of that frozen world, to breathing the relief of the open spaces.

The tops of the mountains, devoid of vegetation, imposed even more extreme conditions.

Hostile and ruthless without concessions, where the white of the snow seemed to merge with the grayish sky, as if there were no transition between those worlds, so opposite and far away.

In the peaks and high areas, the temperatures were glacial,

 

its great adaptation and resistance were known, the relationship between human beings and the wolf would begin to change.

But in the seventeenth century, those times were still a long way off …

Year 1,619 Holly time

Leandro was a peddler who, during Summer, moved from vi- llage to village, with his pack full of the most varied pots, imple- ments and iron utensils, his specialty.

Uncomfortable work, although not too hard.

The deplorable state of communications, added to the small economic capacity of the mountaineers, with barter as the usual currency, led to the fact that few peddlers and itinerant artisans made their living exclusively from this activity, traveling across those lands, and it was not uncommon for several years to pass before them passed across the same village again.

One of the additions to their work was the propagation of news and novelties that occurred beyond the daily world of the locals, so a great expectation used to preside over their arrival to the villages.

With his usual vitality and verbiage, Leandro entered Nevares one sunny Summer morning.

An inveterate chatterbox, he was quick to pick up on the changes that had taken place on Nevares, so he immediately asked about Lucinda when he noticed her absence.

Their rather evasive responses told him that something strange was going on about her, and when he learned that she had finally passed away a few years earlier, he quietly ceased her curiosity.

A few days later, he was leaving the village to continue his itinerary when, by chance, Lena and Nieves came to visit Elvira,

 

Prodigious in their adaptation, in their ability to survive, but inescapably requiring the contribution of meat to survive, the pack of wolves approached the teitu, attracted by the smell of the preys that sheltered inside.

Ready to tear their prey alive under their fangs for a few eter- nal moments, until death freed them from such terrible agony.

Their howls froze the blood of the two women, for whom their only defense was those walls of moldy stones, the solidity of the door. Their bodies spasmed their instincts at the howls of the pack, and their minds inevitably gave way to that primal terror so deeply embedded in their unconscious.

The score of beasts surrounded the teitu. They tore with their sharp fangs the stones, the door, looking for a hole to access the interior, while their growls increased, excited by the proximity, by the heat of those people and animals that their refined noses per- ceived through the cracks from the stones and boards of the door.

For a few eternal minutes, they did not cease in their tenacious determination to access the interior, to survive at the expense of their prey. But little by little, due to their impotence, they su- rrendered and finally, in the pure image of wandering death, they moved away towards the village, in search of more feasible preys.

Lena and her daughter breathed a sigh of relief when time passed and nothing threatened them from the outside.

But once again, they realized the deep bitterness of their total loneliness with respect to the village.

 

those circumstances, she did easily experience the unequivocal call for freedom that Belenos incarnated, that deep and ancient force that guided so many people in those northern mountains throu- ghout the history.

Year 1,622 Ash tree time

For the first time in her life, Nieves was witnessing the drama of death, peering into that inexorable event, constantly leveler of classes and privileges.

Admitted and respected as inevitable, although always feared, such an event broke the security of everyday life, shamelessly revi- ving the constant insecurities that punctuate our existences.

The two went to Nevares, to participate in the funeral rituals of Neira, who died the day before at the age of 77.

The life of that man turned into thorns from the moment his body showed the symptoms of the the dreaded leprosy.

To try to avoid contagions, that disease implied the isolation of the sick person with respect to their environment and, until death conquered life, the disgrace of separation was imposed on those affected, adding to the suffering caused by the disease. .

However, at least Neira was lucky that the dreaded evil mani- fested late in his body.

Although the people of Nevares were aware of such a disease, it was really rare there, and in fact very few people had suffered from it in that region.

Possibly Neira acquired it by contagion in another far village, and with its characteristic slow development, when it manifested itself with all its virulence, he was already in full maturity.

The last seven years of his life were spent secluded at the bot- tom of the stable, next to the cattle, no leaving that dark corner.

 

Telling her about the need that Belenos had to take care of his cows, the customs of his people to travel to other locations to spend the Winter there, were only half-convincing explanations, as well as she should try to assimilate that people whould follow their feelings.

• And what about my feelings ? – she asked with her overwhel- ming logic – , why aren’t they important to him ?
• Of course they are – replied his mother – and the proof is that he comes to being with us when he But in some aspects,

people, especially older ones, are complicated … some situations we live in are not simple … and well, above all, we have to get used to the fact that in life, we rarely enjoy everything we would like to have …

 

Autumn provided the freshness of their nights, in addition to the prolonged rains. After crossing the threshold of the Equinox, the length of days diminished appreciably, proclaiming little by little the next arrival of Winter, and as in an instinctive rite, the whole village seemed shaken by the need to gather food.

In an incessant activity, people gathered chestnuts, apples, walnuts, beechnuts, blackberries, hazelnuts, mushrooms …

But not only them.

At the same time, the bears were choosing their burrows, ca- refully arranging them for their use. Fat and shiny, they did not stop eating, gorging themselves. Fruits, berries, mushrooms, grass, any domestic or wild animal that fell into its clutches.

In that fight against the clock, their lives were at stake.

If, during their wintry drowsiness, they did not have sufficient fat reserves, by consuming these they would be unscathed against the cold, dying irretrievably.

 

Year 1,624 Birch time

A strong autumnal wind whipped through the mountains, pus- hing the rain-soaked clouds, and the whole beech forest vibrated, with the noise that the branches of the trees made as they collide with each other.

A delicate cloud of reddish leaves, produced by the eddies of wind, fell, slowly but constantly on the humid and smelling earth.

Xuanon snorted, struggling up the gentle slope, sweat soaking his body despite the cool prevailing temperature.

His inquisitive eyes scanned the ground carefully, magnetically focused on those footrpints, as clear as they were fresh.

More than fresh, recent.

At 5 feet 5 inches tall, and weighing more than three hundred thirty pounds, Xuanón had a great corpulence, with broad shoul- ders that gave him an extraordinary muscular strength.

Short blond hair, sweat running lavishly, crowned his large, ro- bust head on a short, muscular neck. His nose was large, his chin pronounced, with shaggy brows crowning small blue eyes.

His features were rough, with a scruffy, strong reddish beard of several days, and his legs were short, of strong musculature.

His clothing consisted of coarse bearskins, which contributed to a surly appearance.

Xuanón, a self-confident and usually lonely man, was unaware of fear, and was one of the few capable of wandering alone in the mountains, without fear of beasts.

Perhaps because beasts were the center of his life.

He was a hunter of all kinds of vermin, but specialized in one in particular.

Bear hunter …

 

body without much difficulty.

All this took several hours, feeling that flesh still warm under

his hands.

Then he hurried away, afraid that the wolves would appear. A pack was always a fearsome enemy.

Even for Xuanón …

Mountain ash time

During the long and cold wintry nights, Diego remembered the conversation he had with Leandro about Lena.

Now thirty-six years old, Diego reflected that, unless some exceptional event occurred, his pastoral and personal life would be inexorably circumscribed to those lands.

When at the end of his internship he learned that his destiny was Somiéu, he felt no objection about residing in that remote place.

His comfortable existence, in comparison with the life of the peasantry, was totally satisfactory to him, and as a rule and prin- ciple, he always avoided all kinds of problems, adapting without any objection to the smoothness of that easy life.

But, albeit belatedly, the visit of Tristan had prompted him to reflect, and now, as a result of the comparison, he felt the weight of the new reasonings that sprung from his mind ever stronger.

He remembered his times in the seminary in Uviéu, the capital of the Asturias, and first veiled, then fluidly, his nostalgia was reborn within him.

Over the years, he now realized the prostration that his isola- tion meant and, above all, the null prospects of moving to another village more important than that remote and forgotten one in which, apparently, his days would end.

As a result, his mind continually proliferated with ideas,

 

THE BATH OF THE XANA

The song of the wintry Solstice permeated life, the Earth.

For those who could perceive it, despite the cold, it invoked its celebration, to the exaltation of the cosmic event, always in personal solitude.

Lena was entering the beech forest, looking for the magic foun- tain, with pure and crystalline waters, the home of Xana.

The sacred fountain pond had not yet frozen, still free of the icy crust that would cover it for several weeks, but a thin layer of frost was already beginning to form on its banks, and a thin layer of snow covered the graceful ferns, wearing the silky moss of the stones.

Beside it, under the encouraging gaze of the haughty beeches, Lena stripped off her garments, and her graceful naked body recei- ved, indifferently, the falling snow, the cold, penetrating breeze.

She gathered her long hair into a tight bun, and took several deep breaths, completely filling her lungs with the cold air that surrounded her.

She felt completely absorbed in the ceremony of her wintry

purification, dragged by the inescapable call of the waters.

Even the wind seemed to slow down, allowing a special silence to fill in those moments the sacred waters, that resplendent envi- ronment against the dark sky.

Like a whisper, like a song of freedom, Lena stepped into the sacred fountain.

Gently, feeling on her skin the shock of the brutal and gripping contact of the icy waters.

She sat up, the water covering her up to her throat.

During that time, Lena lost contact with her body, which was dissociated from her mind.

 

Year 1,625 Hawthorn time

In these times, the total population of the Asturias was around 175,000 people, of which about 8,000 lived in Uviéu.

A whole world compared to small towns and tiny villages.

On the other hand, the citizens of Uviéu not only enjoyed the advantages of living in the largest population, but were also favo- red by relatively low taxes compared to the peasantry.

The total number of doctors for the entire region amounted to a dozen, which further highlighted the fact that the cathedral coun- cil enjoyed the privilege of having one exclusively for its members and the scarce thirty students who attended its seminars.

The stay of Diego in the asturian capital did not go exactly according to his plans. The prevailing laziness among the religious community did not allow a simple and unknown priest to easily interview his bishop, and when Diego saw the plethora of officials who stood between him and the bishop, he felt gripped by doubts, intuiting that it would be better if he avoided giving the true reasons for his wish.

But the most discouraging thing about that scenario was reali- zing in person that no one was the least bit interested in the daily reality with respect to women and men healers, which would lead to his reflection that in order to have any chance of success, he would have to raise his arguments from another perspective.

• This happens everywhere – the bishop will answer me – , and nothing will be resolved because in your parish we capture a dozen women

Such an accurate answer would leave him without arguments.

Coincidentally, he was returning to boarding school when the idea came up spontaneously.

 

Osorio analyzed the details of the approach of his subordinate.

His first impulses led him to reject the proposal, despite his undoubted attractiveness, to avoid any unnecessary complications now that he had just been appointed bishop of the asturian capi- tal, with all that it entailed in adapting to its new destination.

With the weight of his authority, any excuse would do, wi-

thout needing to give any explanation to that insignificant priest.

But still, he wouldn’t hurt to consider whether he could get any advantage out of it all.

Certainly none clear.

Unlike that devious one, he didn’t build castles in the air, and he always carefully measured his steps.

Coming from the remote sicilian cities of Syracuse and Catania, where he had stood out for his charitable works with the less for- tunate, it was clear to him that his stay in Uviéu was temporary, so it was convenient for him to avoid unnecessary complications.

But, on the other hand, such action could avoid future pro- blems with respect to that issue, since it did not escape him that the rural world involved the powerful livestock sector, in which the ecclesiastical monasteries had great interests.

His assistant seemed to guess his thoughts.

– His Most Reverend does not know it, but in the area where Diego lives, cattle herds are very important. A part of them usua- lly belongs to people known as the vaqueiros, of transhumant customs, although most of them are owned by the powerful lan- downers, especially the Miranda family, with whom we must be very cautious, since they enjoy powerful influences at the court of our king and lord Philip IV.

Despite everything, the religious vein also influenced Osorio, and certainly fighting against paganism was one of his

 

Although his origin was lost in the mists of time, Osorio had read ancient Latin writers mentioning sorceresses, fearful of their power over natural elements and people.

But women endowed with great personal powers, acting alone or in small groups for their evil ends, and without needing the help of the devil, being consequently fearsome.

However, the official doctrine of the Vatican did not enter into such subtleties, so it was limited to widely apply the names of witchcraft, women healers, sorceresses, witches, warlocks, etc., regardless of the differences.

And with this policy, they could even argue that the witches were guilty of collective conspiracy, a crude but effective legal excuse with which they justified the justice of their hunt.

Even if they didn’t really bother to argue such legalisms … Undeniable, on the other hand, its political effectiveness in controlling the people, diverting resentments and frustrations

from these towards unfortunate ones … even giving kings and po- pes the role of benefactors, of protectors of their subjects against the diabolical powers …

The lucidity of Osorio even reached the denigrating judgments, although in certain aspects his reasoning faced the limitations of his time. In his assistance to some of them, he clearly distinguished the manipulations and falsehoods of magistrates and laws, al- though he also captured details that confused him.

Undoubtedly, it was very difficult to even intuit some of the

effects that hallucinogens had on the people who consumed them.

Most of these were solanaceous plants, with alkaloids such as atropine present in all of them, and so powerful that they even work through the pores of our skin.

Its consequences depend, of course, on the personality of

 

whoever ingests them, and it is possible that with autosuggestion the hallucinations come to be taken as real, and in the trials of the time, with their ritual torture, some testimonies from the accused will become convincing.

Even so, Osorio had no doubts about the connotations of the witch-hunt that took place mainly in central Europe, where the events had their own and reasonable logic. Politics, religion, lust for power, easy and effective repressions, class wars, all this – and even more – could revolve around those bloody persecutions, in some extreme cases comparable even to genocides.

Fortunately, the situation in the Iberian Peninsula was far from that of more northern latitudes, and even with the Inquisi- tion involved, the incidents were minimal.

Mountain ash time

The afternoon gave way to night, and the wintry darkness began to tint the beech forest with its shadows, when the knocks on the door of the teitu provoked first the surprise, then the rest- lessness between mother and daughter, busy to accommodate the animals and the preparation of their dinner.

– Open up, daughter – the voice of Luís restored their tranquili- ty, and Lena unbolted the door, to open it immediately.

Before her eyes, her father and Tano accompanied an old wo- man, gripped by the cold despite her coat of fur.

• Mahra! – the voice of Lena reflected both her surprise at the

presence and pitiful state of her mentor.

After silently hugging the two of them, she was clearly anxious for the heat of the fire, and Lena could not but be impressed by her appearance. The jovial woman she knew was far from that trembling person, being clear that something had changed in her, and not just physically.

 

lands had long since vanished, since it was in the interest of the government that the instability of those lands was not beyond a certain point. With the Holy Office now acting as an effective guardian, the official policy to follow was normalcy.

The Asturias, as well as other isolated regions, continued to be

wrapped with the stamp of their specificity, and the authorities, both ecclesiastical and civil, once again avoided going too deep into those turbulent waters, and in the end they would settle the most outstanding episodes with a few scourging and banishment.

But inevitably the threats of change hung in the air.

The feeling that the penalties would harden with time was evident, and the alarm, the unease, was gradually implanted in the rural world.

Lena could hear Mahra, shaking despite herself. Progressively, the luck that her daughter could run was begin-

ning to devour her, but to her greatest concern, she saw no other way out, no alternative for them..

– What could we do ? – she was commenting with Mahra.

– I don’t know, it seems that we only have the option to flee.

– Where ?

Unable for an answer, her eyes drifted to the half-open door, to the surrounding beech forest.

They went out, walking towards Nieves.

Cheerfully, the girl walked towards them, but the shadow of sadness permeated her gaze.

She did not require comments or explanations either …

-You know – the voice of Mahra seemed distant, although Lena was able to grasp it easily, as if she understood everything she said, although some parts of her rather cryptic message escaped her – the first time I stepped into a yew forest I was shocked.

 

village similar to our Bermiego, on the slopes of a mountain range that ancient people, called the Romans, knew as the Mountains of the Eagles … yes, those were the most arduous and difficult times… but I managed to overcome them, and finally start a new stage.

They respected her silence, as if understanding that her memo- ries also needed rest and calm.

But Nieves …

• And why did you come here with us now ?

A strange smile came to her features, as if understanding her impatience.

• Daughter, I don’t have to answer you now …

The girl did not insist, staring at the fire, until shortly after

dinner she was sleeping peacefully.

Lena crossed her gaze with Mahra.

• The four elements … Air, Fire, Water, Earth … each one re- presents a stage of overcoming … and the Fire of the second stage purifies and transforms …

The shadows, the doubts … before falling asleep that night, re- flecting on what Mahra had told her, Lena believed that the final gaze of Mahra had slipped on her daughter.

Mahra stayed with them a little longer.

Her body gave way, broken both by the vicissitudes of recent times, and by a bronchitis that became a constant nightmare.

Despite all the attentions from Nieves and Lena, she was get- ting progressively weaker, choking on phlegm and among constant coughs.

One frigid morning she insisted on being helped out of the tei- tu, laboriously entering the snowy beech forest, until they found a lonely yew.

 

 

THE PENTAGRAM

Year 1,626 Beech time

The harshness of Winter lashed valleys and mountains when Lena, after leaving her daughter with her parents, entered the overwhelming heart of the snowy beech forest, to initiate one of the teachings of Mahra.

One of the most hermetic, buried.

Covered by the silence of the beech forest, Lena drew a circle in the snow, which would contain the figure of the Pentagram that she hung around her neck, proceeding then to circle it twice.

Then she closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths, feeling the cold air in her lungs transmit a blast of energy to her body.

Slowly, she stepped into that magical space, unable to ignore the unease that lurked in her heart.

Instinctively anxious for the shelter of that magical wall, wi- thout beginning or end like the cycles of life, which would provide her protection, safety from supernatural forces, in the event that the Beings she would invoke with the force of her spells were hostile to her.

And above all, without being able to avoid the fear of the new world that would open up before her, of the consequences that its power could bring her.

Closing her eyes, Lena raised her arms to the sky, concentrating on perceiving the force of energy that, descending from the Cos- mos, united her with the Earth.

Time passed timelessly, while she felt her body vibrate slightly, as a strange emptiness began to take over her mind.

Until she felt that the moment had come, as longed for as feared.

 

On the other hand, that little witch-hunt only gave him hea- daches for a few days, finally giving way to irritation and finally indifference.

When Pedro de Herrera informed him of the results of the mis- sion, both dignitaries found themselves in the ambiguous situation they had anticipated.

• Now, I don’t think it’s worth prosecuting those wretches … accusing them of witchcraft ? … Maybe, but if we think there are a dozen, and in the rest of Asturias there are still hundreds of them, the truth is, I only see unnecessary
• Yes, I agree with those reasons, that this episode should cease without any more noise … I admit that perhaps I was influenced too much by my ardent priest, but once we have taught a lesson

in those mountains, it is not necessary to go further … without a doubt that we will have time for it.

– So be it, and this decision is also influenced by the guidelines of the Court, which after the shock of Zugarramurdi, advise not to rekindle the ashes, give time to time … if now we get into that issue, we will surely attract attention of all, and I would not be surprised if a letter from Madrid reaches us … no, the best thing is that we avoid those problems, we will give them some symbolic lashes, and we will also impose them the penalty of exile, with which this episode will be closed.

• If I returned to Uviéu now, I would have to provide much more convincing arguments for the bishop … but which ones ?

His following reflections gradually opened a new door for him.

• More serious, yes, capital sins against our

Without focusing his ideas, still lacking a concrete plan, he would need to find out s¡what women and men healers were con- tinuing their activities, any detail that, although insignificant,

 

a studied submission, returning to his expected role.

• My confidence in the correct conduct of his Excellency is total, and I am sure that, when circumstances arise, you will act with the measure and success that characterizes Now, howe- ver, a new factor has induced me to momentarily distance myself from my dear parishioners, to communicate it directly to you and, above all, to prevent a possible distortion of my words from hiding their value.

The looks of the two religious reflected a slight increase in the

interest that the words of Diego aroused in them.

• Yes, Excellency, events are taking an unthinkable turn a year ago … now, we are faced with something much more serious than simple pagan healers – Diego spoke slowly, with impressive assu- rance, making the words sink easily into the mind of his attentive
• Now – he emphasized with the required gravity – … now, we are facing directly the devil,

A sepulchral cold settled over the room, while the bishop and his assistant visibly paled.

• What are you telling us ? How, why do you mention Satan ?
• In recent times I have compiled information that irrefutably proves – Diego continued, internally transfigured by the magne– tism that his words induced in his interlocutors – that there is a woman healer who, not only continues to clearly defy our prohi- bitions with her pagan practices, but it goes even further, relating directly to the devil …

Faced with the icy silence that welcomed his words, he conti- nued.

• That witch … has been seen alone in the most remote places, in the hostile moors, in the dark depths of the beech forests … with

 

Again, the gaze of the bishop could not move away from the welcoming flames that heated his office, but now his memories were stained with blood and death, with an expression of severity prevailing on his features.

 

The mansion was located in the middle of the piedmontese countryside, in the lands South of the Alps, a region whose strate- gic importance meant that it change owners easily.

The forests surrounding the building were dressed in Winter, with the snow-covered fields illuminated by the vigorous force of the full Moon that Friday night, but the large fireplace that

heated the spacious room allowed the thirty people who were in it, men and women of all ages, could be comfortably naked.

The walls of the room, lit by black candles, were adorned by large canvases, also black, and in one of them stood out the stu- ffed head of a large wild boar.

On the head of that animal, symbol of aggressiveness, perfidy

and courage, stood out a small crown stolen from a church.

But the figure that attracted the attention of everyone was

that of Lucifer, perched on a pedestal.

Represented as a seated black winged male goat, he wore a lar- ge erect phallus, while at his feet was an inverted cross, on a small altar covered by a red canvas.

The arrival of midnight marked the moment of the beginning of the celebration.

A beautiful naked woman stretched out on the altar staring at the ceiling, her legs spread wide and her arms outstretched, her hands holding black candles.

When the apostate priest, wrapped in a wide black robe, ente- red the room, the assistants began to sing, their bodies swaying

 

moment in which a gust managed to extinguish the torch, cursing for his despair, because he could not light it again.

When, abruptly and suddenly, an intense snowfall began to devastate the fields, a shudder ran through his body, more and more trembling from the continuous drop in temperature.

Belenos sensed that the night was turning into a death trap.

The sleet, driven by the gale, hit his face, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably, at the same time that a total darkness enveloped him more and more, intimidating his heart.

Several times he slipped, falling to the ground, while his hands, cut by blows against stones and frozen branches, became progres- sively numb, affected by the first symptoms of frostbite.

Clumsiness made him more and more dull, and his gait became erratic, laborious, while around him the snow increased in height, slowly but incessantly. With his senses progressively numb, amid the total prevailing darkness, his destiny was lost like his wal- king, at a crossroads, taking a wrong path.

The passage of time warned his of his mistake, although it was too late. His frozen feet refused more and more to continue his walk, and in one of his falls his head collided with an unusual force against a stone, leaving him half shocked.

Without hardly noticing it, his strength to stand up was dilu- ted, like his life, accompanying the blackness of the night.

Caressingly, the Grim Reaper slowly enveloped Belenos, shaken by the hopeless embrace of the cold.

A black emptiness inevitably caressed his body, while the deepest experiences of his existence began to surface in his mind, those engraved in the depths of his heart.

Those stretched horizons, broken in blue and green … the song of the rain, the roar of the wind, the icy snow under the

 

An unknown anxiety trapped Lena, her gaze fixed hypnotica- lly on the fire, while next to her Nieves stirred restlessly, without enjoying a dream.

Even as she approached the fire, uncontrollable shivers gripped

her body, while an unfamiliar languor caused her to faint.

But it was laxity devoid of pleasure. On the contrary, she felt a strong pain in her chest, a sinister anguish oppressing her entire being …

Endless, that nameless fear prostrated her on the ground, while her eyes filled with tears, contemplating through those of Belenos the night of death that enveloped him, experiencing how her belo- ved died slowly, how his frozen blood refused to continue running through hisr body.

Fugitive from time, Lena vanished, her mind gripped by dark- ness.

When her consciousness returned to her body, she needed to gather the strength to stand up slowly, heavily, as if her body was crushed under a heavy load.

Instinctively, she turned her head to look behind her.

Nieves, sitting on her bed, watched her hypnotized, until she suddenly threw herself compulsively into the arms of her mother.

Her eyes shone with tears, while a silent cry shook her body.

 

Certain forces of Nature no longer frightened Lena, but man-

kind, one of its fruits, terrified her.

Narratives of Mahra related to the persecutions unleashed beyond the Pyrenees were beginning to slide into her subconscious. The details that came out from the lips of the woman healer vi- sibly affected her, but to her misfortune, the most profound result of it was that buried feeling, which penetrated as imperceptibly as

deeply into her being.

– There are people who flee from Navarre, especially towards the North, heading towards the french lands, but they are unawa- re that their fate there may be more terrible. Sadly, we could still say that the persecutions we suffer in our lands are relatively benign, if we compare them with those.

• And it is not that the christian church – she continued – pro- tects On the contrary, it persecutes us more and more relent- lessly, and tries to exterminate us, but for now this happens at the level of its most exalted leaders. Those who are lower down, the priests and others, are usually indifferent people, little inclined to complicate life. And on the other hand, the civil governments do not shine for their enthusiasm either.
• Of course – she continued after a pause – , danger stalks us, but so far it does not imply a persecution comparable to that which occurs in those distant
• How – asked Lena – do you know all those details ?
• The news from the different countries reaches us through the Cantabrian ports, while what is happening now in Navarra, we know it by people who fleeing from there arrive at our

It is not really new data, but the worrying thing is that at this time we have to be aware that the repression will slowly increase. When this repression is the hardest, I do not know if they will be

 

able to annihilate us – her face darkened – , rather I would like to think that it is impossible … but I shudder when I think about it, and with everything that happens in European lands, I lose confidence that we can overcome those times …

A heavy silence was imposed between them.

For Mahra, crier of torment, blood and fire, while a less cons- cious Lena, was entering into it.

Mahra briefly explained to her the legal mechanisms used by the civil and religious powers in their persecutions, the laws on which they relied.

• Anyone can accuse a person of witchcraft with impunity, without providing any proof, since the one who has to prove her innocence is the accused … and all this with judges who have nor- mally already handed down their verdict, that of guilt …
• If they are eager to kill, or want to avoid the comedy of judg- ment, they use the test of water. It’s very simple – Mahra com- mented – … they tie up her suspect and throw her into a river. If she floats, she is a If she sinks and drowns, she is innocent.
• To confess her guilt in the event that a person insists on her innocence – she continued – , she is subjected to torment, because for some debased judges, failure to plead guilty is a clear sign of guiltiness, and this encourages them to increase the severity of their torments, always with the greatest In the end, the only way an acussed has to escape the slow death that torment brings is to tell them what they want to hear from her lips.
• I cannot believe that all this really happens – Lena jumped

– … what kind of people can act like this, torture and kill in cold blood ? … And besides, what have we done to deserve such puni- shments ?

– Daughter, when I first heard these details, I didn’t think it

 

Oak time

Remembering more and more obsessively those stories, the mo- rass of concern, of unease, constrained Lena.

But not only during the last nights, during which nightmares haunted her incessantly.

Something indefinable hung in the air, enveloped her.

That Spring morning, with her daughter watching over the small flock of sheep grazing outside, Lena reviewed the platform where she stored plants, making sure of its condition, fungus-free and dry.

But she did it carelessly, unable to concentrate.

Her eyes, misty with emptiness, contemplated the embers of the still crackling fire and without noticing how, she found herself sitting by it, with a strange feeling of fatigue taking over her.

 

Something was gripping her stomach, her mind …

Time volatilized from her consciousness, while imperceptibly her skin prickled.

A strange paralysis took hold of her reflections, of her mind, as

that hand gently grasped her right arm.

A hand lacking in human warmth, but not cold …

In her trance, Lena raised her head slowly, disconnected from both time and the blurry surroundings.

That hand …

Mahra, standing beside her, watched her. Silent

Her face exuded a deep gravity, although her features shone with that serenity that characterized her.

Her gazes met … those eyes … clearly loving … but shrouded in a mist, in a sob …

 

Nightmares of torture, of humiliation without measure or end

… those inhuman degradations, torn flesh, bodies delivered to the orgy of fire … the climax of human aberration …

In Lena there was that peculiar and mysterious genetic pro- gram of the human species, leading to a rejection, as instinctive as absolute, in the face of death.

But luckily for her, and now faced with it, all her preparation led her to accept this without any fear, within her beliefs of being simply one more part of the transitory phases, of the Cosmic cycles that govern our lives.

Lena couldn’t stop thinking about her daughter.

The saga of life, still brief and fleeting, had embraced Lena, and if she had not felt exultant, at least she had experienced both the honey and the gall of existence, although now all this was like past water, immeasurable. ..

But Nieves …

Her daughter was a flower of a few days, a seed for the future, a project of experiences, an existence to be developed and protected above all else.

 

When the little girl woke up, her eyes focused on the gaunt features of her mother, and silent tears accompanied her embrace until, without words, she tenderly separated her.

Twinkles of chills, the bias of that dichotomy took possession of Lena.

Within a few hours, she was internally aging years …

One life … although … if she was captured and they forgot Nieves … but … would she be able to resist the torture, not reveal where her daughter was ?

And when they captured Nieves …