Thicket of Stories

The people in the sky never thought about the people on the ground. Why should they? They were so far away, so far down. But from the midst of the squalor and misery faced by the people on the ground, a brand new power arose. ———The music in the video is by NadiaCripps and can be found here: https://pixabay.com/music/ambient-the-magic-of-hope-289763/ 

Our country is great. I know our country is great. But this winter, it’s not natural. It’s not like any winter that’s come before. And I can’t help but feel as though something is deeply wrong. Author’s note: This was a dream I had that I decided to write down. ———The music used in this video is by tinue46 and can be found here: https://pixabay.com/music/beats-my-vanity-box-309498/ 

We've all heard the stories of how the universe was created. Mama Miria was lonely, so she created life from within herself. She gave birth to her baby, the universe, and protected it with everything she could. However, the baby was wrest away from Her by cruel hands. And the world we live in now is a cruel place. But I bear the name of the celestial Mother. I bear Her name and, despite being only twelve, I bear the squalor and the mystery all around me. Music Used: Scott Buckley - Resolutions" is under a Creative Commons (BY 3.0) license:https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ https://www.youtube.com/user/musicbyscottb Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEm_RLKKGBQ&list=PLfP6i5T0-DkII7twmUseyZ8eANMzYZmBK&index=2

Azania was sixteen. And she couldn’t take it anymore. She had spent her childhood lonely, spent it terrified, spent it desperate, spent it aching. The only adults in her life were the people who saw her as nothing but a tool to exploit and use. She was told over and over and over again that she was nothing and no-one and she didn’t matter. The only people in her life who cared about her were fellow slave-children and she barely ever got to see them at all. She needed freedom. Escape. She was willing to do anything for it. And she wasn’t the only one. All over the city people were being exploited. People were being forced to work under impossibly degrading conditions and live in abject poverty. People were silenced. Stifled. And they were longing for escape.The Forest was beyond the edges of the city. It was a place of magic and miracles. It was a place of hope and freedom and rebirth. But getting there was next to impossible.Within the Forest the wolves howled. Azania emerged from the water. And she wasn’t the only one. And she wouldn’t be the only one. Who she met changed her life forever.The background ambience used in this video is from BurghRecords and can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwVTkB-BIvMThis episode includes AI-generated content.

The kings and queens were satisfied ruling in their large palaces. They thought, falsely, that their people loved them. The people were struggling to scrape by with their poverty and their oppression. But the Forest glowed beyond the fields and villages. The Forest that was the only thing the nobles feared. For its powers and its magic did not belong to them.But the young woman with the dark hair and eyes, as much as the prince wanted her, she belonged to the Forest. And she would use the powers it gave her. The music in the video is made by Alexander Nakarada and can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_cwKd81z7Q&list=PLARr_ow8WqtvYWfU17x1b5gAvXbfQpPza&index=3

The Town was a good Town. The Townspeople were kind to each other. Everything was beautiful. Everything was clean. The women wore pretty cotton dresses. The men wore handsome button-up shirts. Parents adored and doted on their children. They lived in accordance to the prophecies passed down to them by the Giver, the great being who had created all of this. The final prophecy decreed the coming of the Taker, who would take it all alway.Music used: 🧚‍♀️ Magical Instrumental No Copyright Free Slow Fantasy Background Music for Videos | Herb by Piki https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwebGYAol3M&list=PLRPR8uJQx5tFidafQgqRMngz4Nq0nuaGA&index=1

Malina-Deprassi was a world of extremes. The Big People had more than they ever could need. The Small People struggled to get by. Events occur which cannot be explained. Prophecies are told which gain widespread attention. Children are born into the world.The music used in this video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0OrfSQr_3c&list=PLARr_ow8WqtvYWfU17x1b5gAvXbfQpPza&index=2

When I was four I was taken from my family. When Miri was thirteen she was an orphan and a mother. When we were fourteen we had no shoes and too much work but we had each other. Miri kissed me three days ago. Before I set out onto this journey with the blocker of my light. She told me to be brave. Be confident. Be brutal. And I'm not brave. I'm broken. But when Miri kisses me hope runs down like molten gold over the broken, jagged edges of my heart. Pulls them together. So for her I am brave. For us both.The music for this video is by ‪@ScottBuckley‬ and can be found here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taAxpw03dgM&list=PLfP6i5T0-DkIMnLY0r17o_kOOsVtQIJIX&index=1&t=0s