The Power of Amulets
The library smelled of old bones and burning tallow. Everything was quiet, save for the faint rustling of hay as a young scarecrow crept stealthily through the stacks.
This was going well. Nobody knew he was here, and there'd been no sign of that librarian, Mr Rattles. It was late, after all. Maybe the old coot was already asleep?
Moving quickly and quietly, the youth turned a corner and headed for the room containing the library's famed private collection.
"Good evening, young pumpkinhead," said Mr Rattles, who was standing in the doorway.
"Ahh!" went the scarecrow. "I was just... I was only..."
"Browsing?" said Mr Rattles.
Autumn's head librarian looked incredibly ancient. His bones were withered and bleached, and he wore clothes that hadn't been fashionable since the last Alignment of the Realms. Despite having a skull for a face, his expression was one of warm, patronly concern. He stared down at the boy, apparently awaiting an answer.
"Uh," said the youth. "Yeah, browsing. That's what I was doing."
"And what exactly were you looking for, at this late hour?"
The young scarecrow fidgeted. "You won't tell anyone?"
"Of course not."
"Okay... honestly," said the scarecrow. "I was looking for a book on how to fight."
Mr Rattles raised an eyebrow. "And why would you want to know that?"
"Because I'm not tough, and I can't do any cool martial arts. I'm small and quick, and I know a bit of magic, but that's it. The other scarecrows make fun of me at drill practise. I want to join Grim Jack's army and defend Autumn from the Plan, but nobody thinks I'm strong enough. Nobody gives me a chance. I wish I could show them all."
To the scarecrow's surprise, Mr Rattles simply nodded.
"Walk this way, boy. I think I have just the book for you."
Mr Rattles entered the room containing the private collection, and the youth followed. The librarian clapped his hands once. Immediately, all the candles in the room lit up, bathing the ancient books in orange light. Running a boney finger across the spines of a dozen dusty tomes, he selected one, pulled it from the shelf and blew cobwebs from its cover.
The scarecrow watched him with interest. "That book... can it teach me how to fight?"
Mr Rattles shook his skeletal head. "No, child. This book won't tell you how to fight. It will, however, tell you why to fight. This is the story of the Amulets of Autumn and the brave souls who wore them."
Mr Rattles opened the book, turned to the first page and began to read. And this is the story the skeleton told...
"War, young man, never changes. Long ago, in the time of one world, before Otherwhere split off from human reality, Human and Aisling warred constantly with one another. The Elves especially despised humans, who they considered 'limited' and 'lesser' beings, no better than insects.
When the war was over and the treaties signed, Otherwhere split off from Where, and the humans inherited the world. The Elves raged against this injustice, even though the Elves themselves had been granted the beautiful and splendid kingdom of Spring to rule. Barred from entering the human world, they instead turned their greedy eyes to our Realm of Autumn.
They hated us, you see. We are their very opposite - the twilight to their brightness. We are creatures of decay, boy, whereas they live forever, and that makes us monstrous to them.
So the soldiers of Spring poured across the border and attacked our Realm. Summer quickly entered the war as Spring's ally, while Winter chose to side with us. The damage they inflicted was terrible and swift, for they wore armor of mithral, and they carried wicked flaming scimitars that cut through our soldiers like scythes through wheat. More importantly, they wore the Amulets."
"Amulets?" said the scarecrow. "What are they? Some kind of super cool weapon?"
"I'm getting to that. Now if you'd kindly stop interrupting..."
The boy nodded politely. "Sorry."
"Where was I? Ah yes, the Amulets. The Elves of Spring posessed the greatest artisans and spellweavers of any race that has ever lived, and they equipped their warriors with only the finest of magical items. Chief among these were the Amulets of Spring, powerful pendants that could be made even more powerful by placing magical Gems into them. In the face of these Amulet-wearing warriors, our own soldiers were helpless.
So a war council was called to discuss what to do. Present at that historic council were all the first Essences of all the Autumn races we know today. The members of the council included The Dark Stranger, first Essence of gravediggers; Morgana the Raven Queen, the first witch; and the infamous thief Garett the Garrulous, the Essence of scarecrows."
"Like me!" cried the youth.
"Like you, boy. Very much like you, in fact. You see, at that council of Essences, Garett the scarecrow devised a daring plan to defeat Spring's army. He disguised himself as a dryad, snuck through the enemy's lines and infiltrated Spring itself! Once inside the borders of Spring, he conned his way into the artisans' workshop and stole the blueprints for the magical Amulets and Gems.
Once Garett made it back home with the blueprints, it was a simple matter for Morgana the witch to create copies of the Amulets. But this time, they were attuned to our Realm. The precious Amulets and Gems were given to Autumn's finest soldiers, and the fabled Leafguard of Autumn were born. The Elf knights had met their match. Very soon, the tide of war began to turn.
Within a few months, all four of the Realms were fielding Amulet-wearing warriors of their own. With the war now threatening to turn into a stalemate, each side saw that the only option left was compromise. The leaders of the four Realms met and decided on a radical solution - they would close their borders, and at the point where the four Realms met they would build the Seasons Gate, the only link between the Realms. Each Realm would govern and control its own quarter of the Seasons Gate, so only travellers with peaceful intentions would be allowed to cross through the portals.
So it was that through the ingenuity of the people of Autumn - and one sneaky scarecrow in particular - a lasting peace was won."
"Wow," said the youth. "I get it now! I'm sneaky and clever, just like Garett. I can be a great warrior after all."
Mr Rattles smiled. "That's exactly right."
"But what happened to the Leafguard? What happened to all the Amulets?"
"Ah. Well. Sadly, the price of peace is complacency. With no more battles to fight, the warriors went home and became regular citizens again. The Amulets and the Gems within them were passed down through the generations, or else they were lost in the mists of time. But now that war has broken out again, and the Plan and Terata plot and scheme to wipe each other out, I fear the Leafguard are needed once more. Who knows - perhaps new heroes will rise, heroes worthy of wearing the ancient Amulets? Perhaps you could be such a hero, one day?"
The young scarecrow beamed. "You really think so?"
"Who knows, child? I'm a historian - I can't see the future. But for now, you should be getting along home. The hour grows late, and there are much bigger monsters than you and me out there in the twilight..."