Return of Silvanus Tutelary

Members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) met for an emergency meeting in Glasgow, Scotland after half of Greenland broke off and floated into the North Atlantic Ocean causing one of the greatest environmental shifts ever recorded.  Over one hundred eighty nations sent representatives to this crisis counsel meeting with one hundred eighty different points of view presented at the meeting.  They argued as the biggest iceberg in history floated freely in the ocean waters.  Disaster loomed on the horizon as the big iceberg began to melt raising ocean levels to a new all time high.  It was clear that unless action was taken, life as most of us knew it was going to change drastically.  There were no easy answers.  No clear solutions.

Silias was a pan who playfully played the games with his companions in the woods north of Seattle.  In this deciduous rainforest, the last stronghold of the wooded north, mythological creatures thrived.  While known as mythological creatures, there was nothing mythological about their existence from Sasquash to the pans and nymphs, they were all the citizens of the mighty northern woods.  

“Over there Herschel.” It was a human voice and all of them froze where they were.  When they did this, human eyes could not see them, but the same did not hold for wolves and other non-mythological creatures of the wood.

“I see him.” His voice was hushed so as not to startle the wolf in the crosshairs of the rifle scope.  

Silvanus floated over to the pair of hunters hunkered in the blind and before either could react, removed the rifles from their hands.  Both yelled “Hey!”  But Silvnus had their rifles.

“Gentlemen, I have your rifles.  Shooting a wolf is not allowed in my woods.” He said calmly as he unloaded both rifles and handed them back to their owners.

“Since when?” Herschel growled.

“Since my return.  SIlvanus Tutelary at your service.” He bowed and doffed his cap.

“That ammo cost us a good chunk of coin.” The other hunter complained.

“Take your ammo with you by all means.” Silvanus shrugged.

“It’s worthless, because it’s wet.” He began to pick through the soft snow.  

“What about elk?” Herschel asked with a sneaky smirk on his unshaven face. 

“Take what must be taken for subsistence is allowed.  That which is taken for sport, I will have to prevent that.” Silvanus explained.

“Who are you again?” Herschel asked.

“Silvanus Tutelary, guardian of the forest.” He said proudly.

“So you are some ranger or what?” The other hunter was still picking up his bullets.

“More than that.  I watch over all of the woodland creatures.” He nodded.

“Ain’t no such a thing.” Herschel retorted.

“A few years ago, you would’ve been correct, but I have returned because there is a need to return the woods to the pristine way they used to be.” He sighed, “”There has been so much damage, so much.” 

“Hey can we take a picture with you for Facebook?” Herschel asked, pulling out his cell phone.

“I suppose that will be okay.” The naive Silvanus replied as he posed with both hunters never once suspecting that he would be the next big thing on social media.  He would be dubbed the “Big Fairy of the Woods.”  

Completely oblivious to the hubbub surrounding him, Silvanus continued to take his duties of protector of the woodlands seriously as the climate change continued to send shockwaves through the natural environments.  Slowly Florida and pieces of Texas were becoming part of the sea.  As homes became washed away, lumberjacks began to descend on the forests of the northwest with their axes and saws slung over their flanneled shirts.  But before they could put their tools to use, Silvanus was there with his pans to stop them from destroying the woodlands he had worked so diligently to preserve. 

“Hey look, it’s that Big Fairy Fella.” One of them shouted from the rear.

“My name is Silvanus Tutelary and I am here to stop the onslaught.” He raised his hand.  There must have been over a thousand flannel shirted lumberjacks ready to start taking the lumber away.

“We are here, because there is a great need for homes for our citizens.” One of the multitude stepped forward and leaned on the handle of his axe.  

“There must be other things that can be used to construct the homes you need.  Please do not remove the trees from my forest.” He stood in front of the lumberjack.

“Why is this your forest?” The lumberjack tried to say this in a civil tone, but his patience was wearing thin.  His company had paid him a lot of money to harvest the trees and he was not going to let some fairy stand in his way.

“I have been appointed by my father Apollo.” He put his hands on his hips in defiance.

“I don’t care if God Himself came down to face us, I am still cutting down these trees.” He waved his fellow lumberjacks on.  They followed him uphill where the great forest was, but all of the magical creatures, the pans and the nymphs as well as a couple that weren’t documented, began to cast spells on the lumberjacks’ tools so they would not be able to cut wood.  Infuriated, the leader went to face Silvanus.

“So you use magic?” His voice was tempered.

“Yes,  We are here to protect the woodlands.  In case you hadn’t been paying attention each day thousands of acres of wood are cut down needlessly.”

“My contract has a lot of zeros in it.  Needless or not, the money pays a lot of my men’s bills.” He said as he watched two men try to cut down a tree with a two man saw, but discovered the blade had turned to rubber. “It’s all well and good to conserve resources, but when people’s well-beings depend on it, what then?”

“Find other means.” He answered as the disgruntled lumberjacks began to file from the forest with their useless tools. 

“We will be back.  You can count on it.” He turned and led his crew away from the forest to the cheers of the magic creatures.

“It’s good to have you back, Silvanus.” One of the pans stepped forward wearing the traditional attire of the wee folk of the forest.

“It’s good to be back.” He declared.

“Next time, don’t go so long.” One of the nymphs fluttered about.

He did not want to tell them the reason he had been gone.  It was not the part of the story he wished to tell.  His father had called him to Olympus, exile him from the woodlands he dearly loved.  It was a matter of principle and conviction, but in the end he was exiled on a remote island in the North Sea where he spent his time wandering the hills of the small island surrounded by gray choppy seas.  His father also removed his powers so he was just like a mortal since Apollo knew his son was capable of swimming the great sea no matter how cold the water was.  What had started out as a lover’s spat wound up with his banishment.  

Hecate was one of the most beautiful goddesses on Olympus, but he had been warned that she was basically evil and would not think twice about betraying her lover.  Surrounded by her Hellhounds and other wicked creatures, Silvanus got sucked into her web like a helpless fly waiting for the spider to appear.   

“Apollo is no longer the strongest of Olympus.   We will have ourselves a new leader.” She declared at a secret meeting in her lair. “His son is now strong enough to ascend to the throne of Olympus.”

A mighty cheer arose from those in attendance. 

The plot was to have one of his many hand servants deliver a beverage that was laced with a sleeping potion.  Once asleep, Silvanus would come in and behead the sleeping patriarch of Olympus.  It was all set, but as with any event in Olympus, someone would curry favor with the powers to be and end up spilling the beans to Apollo, which is exactly what happened.  

Entering his father’s room armed with a magic sword, Silvanus began to lose his nerve as well.  The sword was much too heavy.  There were too many people gathered around the palace.  What if the blade was not sharp enough?

He entered the dark room where his father slept.  Only his father was only feigning sleep and when the shadow of his son appeared, he called the guards to seize him.  Silvanus never had a chance.  

Thrown into the dungeon with Sisyphus, the two sat commiserating until Sisyphus was called to trial and in less than an hour it was decided he would push a giant rock up a hill and just when he got to the top, the rock would roll back down the hill.

“How long?” Silvanus asked his crestfallen cellmate. 

“Eternity.” Sisyphus sighed.

“You’re kidding?” Silvanus gasped, but the big man just shook his head and it was at that moment, Silvanus realized he was in deep trouble. 

A tearful testimony from Hecate proved to be his downfall as she spoke of love and betrayal and a plan to usurp his father’s throne.  

“Enough.” Bellowed, Apollo distraught and in tears. “Take him as far away from me as you can.” 

The island turned out to be nearly barren and there was no one to talk to.  He built himself a modest house where he spent over three thousand years wearing a simple robe that tied at the waist and a pair of sandals.  Each day he would get up early and start walking the parameter of the small island.  It would take him most of the day so he’d arrive back at his hovel right about dinner time where he would cook up a pot of thistles he had picked in his journey around the island. 

“Silvanus, my son.” Apollo appeared to him as a humble shepherd holding a crook.

“Father.” He could feel the tears sting the corners of his eyes.

“I have come to ask you a favor.” He coughed and Silvanus noticed how feeble he had become, “I know you owe me nothing, but the world is in peril and I want you to return to the woodlands.”

“Why so?” He shook his head.

“That which was is no longer.” He answered in a soft voice, “We are seeing how the mortals have slaughtered all the beasts of the forest and now are removing the great woodlands that once stretched from one corner of the world to the next.  The waters have become abused as well, but that is not your concern.  Poseidon is tasked with that.”  

“Who has watched the woodlands in my stead?” He asked.  

“I believed that so great and vast were these lands that they would not require such vigilance.” He sighed and sat on a rock in front of the cabin, “But I was wrong.” 

“What can I do?” Silvanus shrugged.

“Gather up the magical creatures and use the magic to stop them before it’s too late.” He rubbed his eyes with his hands, “Perhaps I have waited too long, I fear.” 

“Why?  What has happened?” He asked squatting down on his haunches in front of his weary father.

“Each day more and more trees are taken.  The creatures living there have nowhere to go and often become victims of the hunters.  It will not end until all the creatures have been killed and all of the trees have been cut down.” Apollo explained.  Silvanus’ eye turned crystal blue focusing on a point far beyond the horizon.

“I will go.” He said putting his hands over his father’s.  Apollo looked up and smiled.

“I knew I could count on you.” He was barely able to speak.  

When he did make it to the forest, Silvanus could not believe how little remained of what was once one of the great forests of the world.  The magical creatures were overjoyed to see him back, but so many had been wiped out in the onslaught, it almost left Silvanus speechless, but he got up on a stump when they surrounded him and said, “Time has come to protect our dwindling woodlands before there is nothing left.  Nothing is more satisfying than to take a walk through the woods and listen to the songs of the creatures who call this place home.  We must be the protectors and guardians.  We will use our magic and any other means to stop this slaughter.”

The iceberg which was once part of Greenland's ice mass began to change the coastlines of some of the countries it came in contact with, but the real danger was in the melting as the huge ice cube floated toward the warmer latitudes.  Reports of countries that began to disappear chunks at a time included Holland and a number of islands in the Philippines.  Teams of scientists began camping out on the huge floating ice floe to take measurements to determine how much time they had before some of the countries would vanish underwater like Atlantis supposedly did many years ago.  Tides became an issue as well, but one thing at a time.  Poseidon was working as much as he could to undo the damage that had been done. 

Meanwhile Silvanus was assembling the magic creatures into squads surrounding the trees.  Even some of the non-magical creatures were willing to defend their homes against the invaders.  Bears willingly let the pans ride them as the elk and deer formed lookout posts.  Some of the nymphs flew with the birds to create an eye in the sky.

“So, what do you think?” Izzy one of the Sasquash asked as night began to fall.

“I wish I had returned sooner.” Silvanus mused a bit.

“What difference would that make?” Izzy scratched his bearded chin.

“I just wish we could come to an understanding.” Silvanus threw a twig into the blazing fire before them.

“Understanding?  You did see what they have done to the buffalo and other creatures since.” Izzy snoted. 

“Are they not capable of learning?” Silvanus sighed. 

“Learning comes with a willingness to admit you were wrong.” Izzy pointed out. “I haven’t seen that until the die is cast.  And then it’s too late.” 

“We will do our best.” Silvanus stood up and rubbed his hands together.  

“We always do.” Izzy smiled as Silvanus retreated to his tent.

“Father, I don’t know what to do.” He knelt on one knee once inside. “I wonder if we'll have any chance at all. The sea is angry.  The winds are angry.  Perhaps we have waited too long.” 

“No, we must make our stand.” His father’s disembodied voice came to him.

The next day a hundred trucks appeared on the horizon, each carrying a crew of lumberjacks.  The price of timber had gone even higher as the land disappeared.  Everyone coming was desperate.  No one could turn away.  As Izzy said, “The die was cast.” 

Bears and pans move in, but this time the lumberjacks brought weapons and once they got close enough, the lumberjacks opened fire.  Soon the ground began to shake with the sound of vicious battle taking place. Chainsaws began to bite into the bark of the tree and in less than an hours ten acres of trees had been cut down.  What had once been Sylvan land would soon turn to desert. 

“Just like it is today, daddy?” The little girl asked as her father closed the book.

“Yes, but now it’s time for bed.  I read your favorite fairy tale and it’s getting late.” He smiled and stroked her face with his hand. 

“Is that the way it really happened?” She asked, laying her head on the pillow.

“I was just a boy when this happened.” He kissed her on her head and stood up. 

“And there were really trees?” She asked.

“That part is true, but some of the rest of it is just a fairy tale.” He sighed, “We had a chance, but not enough people were willing to believe what was happening.  All anyone cared about was how it affected their lives. As it turned out, we were all too late to save what we had.”

“I wish I could see a tree one day.”  She closed her eyes.

“I wish I could take you to see one. I’ll read your story tomorrow at bedtime.” He chuckled as he started to close her bedroom door in her climate controlled room since just beyond the walls the sun was rising and soon the haboob wind would blow the dust as the temperature would soar to nearly one hundred and fifty degrees.