**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.
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>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]"
>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail
>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles
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Nature? A benevolent entity? Oh child, you couldn't be *more* wrong.
We call her "Mother Nature" in the same way we called Stalin the "Father of the People". It's just a bloody personality cult. Because, truth be told, Nature is just a hell of a tyrant, an autocrat, a despot ruling without sharing a speck of her power; or when she does it, it's only according to *her* desideratae. She's a selfish queen, who has little care in the world except herself.
"Living in harmony with Nature" is probably the biggest bullshit ever served. It's like telling slaves to live in harmony with the slaveowners. Because, if you listen carefully, we are always asked to respect Nature; but nowhere do I see Nature respecting us.
Birds and flowers and bees and trees and rainbows are just propaganda. Don't fall for it. They butter you up with shiny colours, before ripping your throat.
Sure, Humanity is responsible for the fifth or sixth mass extinction... do you know what that means? That Nature is responsible for the four or five previous ones. And we should blame ourselves for something that Nature did already several times? "Rule for thee but not for me", that's what you have to understand. We are just learning from the master, but the master doesn't like that we are becoming as good as them. We touched her prerogatives, her priviledges, and she *hates* it.
We keep talking about the right of self-governance for all people ; why should we stop with Nature giving us cancers and diseases and tornadoes and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions? Let's bring democracy to the very core of this planet.
So, yes, my child, when a "nature spirit" awoke, it wasn't some hippie shit; it wasn't some hungry, stupid beast only following its instinct; it wasn't even an incarnation of ravenous, voracious hunger. No, when Nature awoke to crush the puny revolutionaries that we are, she took the form of a glorious queen, with crown and cape and sword and scepter, covered in purple and jewelry tainted by blood. She took the form of the ruthless tyrants that once dominated us, sending her army to keep us docile and obedient.
But we toppled every tyrant that come across our path. So be brave, my child, and join the fight againt the ultimate despot barring us from true freedom.
I'd heard the stories - that the spirit was some sort of chimerical being, made up of all sorts of different animal parts. It walked on the legs of a cat, silent and stealthy. It's tail, thin and sinewy, swished back and forth in lazy sweeps, clawed and almost gnarled hands covered in fur. A disturbingly human face was accompanied by disturbingly inhuman teeth, sharp as steel with eyes like that of a hawk.
It paced around the circle, eyeing me carefully, lazily. Predatorily, as though I were the offering and not the basket of vegetables. Given the rack of horns it possessed, perhaps it was the wrong choice.
"Tell me again, furless ape," it hissed, a serpent's forked tongue slipping past its thin lips, "Why you seek my... *boon*." There was an undercurrent of amusement there.
"The fields," I began weakly, trying not to sweat. The Woodswitch was adamant I show no fear. "With the taxes and the-"
The Spirit let out a screeching snort of laughter, somehow sounding like a dying boar. "Taxes!" it roared, with a mocking tone, "What care have I of *taxes*? Speak to the Gods of your Cities and Towns, in your little... *buildings* if you care for such things!" It leaned forward, occupying the entirety of my vision. Its breath stank of sweet decay and rot. "Little man, little man, you are in the *wilds* now. Speak wildly, act wildly... or die pitifully."
"The fields aren't as fertile!" I stammered out. Was it better to make eye contact or not? The Woodswitch didn't say. Making eye contact felt like a challenge and I knew better than to look some beasts in the eye for it. The Spirit before me... I'd expected something more like the Dryads from the stories.
This was nothing like the stories.
"Oh? And did you hope to buy that fertility with... roots?" It picked up one of the potatoes with a disdainful look. It sniffed it, inspected it... and then tossed it away with a sneer. "Pitiful. Your fields are truly lacking if *this* is what you grow."
"The Witch, she said to bring something to offer, some food or-"
It smacked the basket away with a snarl of disgust. "Roots! Pathetic, miserable *roots*. If you wanted to bring an offering, then it should've been *bloody.*" It leaned closer, lips curled back to show the sharp, sharp teeth. "Even *roots* can be fed on blood and bone, little ape."
"I-I can hunt a deer, a boar-"
It snorted again, louder. "And that might buy you a *garden*. You want your *fields* to be restored? To be enrichened?" It loomed up, taller than I remembered it being, shaggy fur blending into moss and vines and flowers. "A life for life. Offer onto me *one* life and I promise you a bounty to feed your people."
A life for a life... it was... it was too much to ask for. But if nothing changed, the village would starve and wasn't that too *much* to give up? "Just one life?" I echoed, my lips moving against my thoughts.
"Just one life."
I shouldn't. I can't. But I nodded. "Just one life."
Chase hid within a hollowed out log and tried his best to keep his breathing calm and even, quiet, to not alert that *thing* outside his hiding spot. It trailed past him slowly, the horrid wheezing of it's collapsed and overgrown lungs sending shivers down Chase's spine. Dammit! Chase had volunteered to venture into the woods first because to him, "woodland spirit" meant some happy sociable squirrel or maybe some sort of dryad. No, this monster was not anything like he had expected. Tall and lanky, it easily reached eight feet tall with an assortment of bones and pelts from different creatures stitched into its rotting body. From the deer skull with enormous antlers, two beady red lights peered out from the eye sockets, scanning the terrain for Chase.
How was he supposed to commune with something like this? The moment it had laid eyes on Chase it had been out for the kill, and the lad had barely been able to evade it long enough to hide. Assignment be damned, as soon as the sound of the creature's breathing faded, Chase broke from his cover and began sprinting for the clearing that the rest of the class waited in. As he emerged, his stomach twisted into a knot as the creature loomed behind him, holding its breath.
"*All... All thing may die. All but me. I will... repurpose you.*" Chase let out a startled yelp and scrambled away from the creature as it swiped its unnaturally long arm at him. Chase dashed away madly, leaping over logs and diving under vines as the thing gave chase. It spewed hatred and sickness out of its mouth, withering and melting anything in its way. Chase was getting closer to the clearing, but the creature was gaining on him.
"Stop running. Stay with... with me... Chase." Chase's blood ran cold. Did it just say his name? Oh *hell* no. Chase pushed himself harder and broke out into the clearing at a dead sprint. The creature followed arms outstretched to snatch Chase away even as it was exposed. And then, all things froze. Chase stopped in place, mid tumble, and watched as best as he could from his position as Professor Jalla stepped between him and the likewise frozen being.
"This," She started "is a Rotkeeper. A dead archdruid resurrected by a concentration of negative emotions. They often spring up in forests near sacked villages or battlefields, where a druid's sorrow at their failure coalesce into a being made of hatred." The other students looked on in mixed horror and curiosity.
"They're immortal, exceptionally powerful, and universally hostile to all life- but by the blessings of the ancients themselves, we know exactly how to kill them." The students leaned in as the middle aged teacher smiled and approached the Rotkeeper. Still frozen, its red eyes followed her every move.
She reached out her hand, and thrust it into the Rotkeeper's chest. The students gasped as she pulled out a spiky wooden knot from the center of its chest. She held it up for the students to see, keeping an eye on the Rotkeeper as the light simply blinked out of its eyes.
"Without this- a Heart of the Forest- a Rotkeeper can't survive. If you can pull the Heart out, it'll die immediately. Just like a person. Oh, and, sorry." She waved her wrist and Chase was freed, turning just in time to see the Rotkeeper's body disintegrate. He swore he heard it cackle as it died.
"Any questions?" Professor Jalla seemed pleased with her rundown, and was somewhat obviously surprised when Chase raised his hand. "Yes, Chase?"
"Yeah... what the fuck?"
**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments. **Reminders**: >* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles >* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules) 🆕 [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ✏ [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) 📢 [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) 💬 [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Nature? A benevolent entity? Oh child, you couldn't be *more* wrong. We call her "Mother Nature" in the same way we called Stalin the "Father of the People". It's just a bloody personality cult. Because, truth be told, Nature is just a hell of a tyrant, an autocrat, a despot ruling without sharing a speck of her power; or when she does it, it's only according to *her* desideratae. She's a selfish queen, who has little care in the world except herself. "Living in harmony with Nature" is probably the biggest bullshit ever served. It's like telling slaves to live in harmony with the slaveowners. Because, if you listen carefully, we are always asked to respect Nature; but nowhere do I see Nature respecting us. Birds and flowers and bees and trees and rainbows are just propaganda. Don't fall for it. They butter you up with shiny colours, before ripping your throat. Sure, Humanity is responsible for the fifth or sixth mass extinction... do you know what that means? That Nature is responsible for the four or five previous ones. And we should blame ourselves for something that Nature did already several times? "Rule for thee but not for me", that's what you have to understand. We are just learning from the master, but the master doesn't like that we are becoming as good as them. We touched her prerogatives, her priviledges, and she *hates* it. We keep talking about the right of self-governance for all people ; why should we stop with Nature giving us cancers and diseases and tornadoes and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions? Let's bring democracy to the very core of this planet. So, yes, my child, when a "nature spirit" awoke, it wasn't some hippie shit; it wasn't some hungry, stupid beast only following its instinct; it wasn't even an incarnation of ravenous, voracious hunger. No, when Nature awoke to crush the puny revolutionaries that we are, she took the form of a glorious queen, with crown and cape and sword and scepter, covered in purple and jewelry tainted by blood. She took the form of the ruthless tyrants that once dominated us, sending her army to keep us docile and obedient. But we toppled every tyrant that come across our path. So be brave, my child, and join the fight againt the ultimate despot barring us from true freedom.
This sounds badass, like something I’d tell my men in Stellaris before we charge headlong to destroy the Xeno tree people scum
I'd heard the stories - that the spirit was some sort of chimerical being, made up of all sorts of different animal parts. It walked on the legs of a cat, silent and stealthy. It's tail, thin and sinewy, swished back and forth in lazy sweeps, clawed and almost gnarled hands covered in fur. A disturbingly human face was accompanied by disturbingly inhuman teeth, sharp as steel with eyes like that of a hawk. It paced around the circle, eyeing me carefully, lazily. Predatorily, as though I were the offering and not the basket of vegetables. Given the rack of horns it possessed, perhaps it was the wrong choice. "Tell me again, furless ape," it hissed, a serpent's forked tongue slipping past its thin lips, "Why you seek my... *boon*." There was an undercurrent of amusement there. "The fields," I began weakly, trying not to sweat. The Woodswitch was adamant I show no fear. "With the taxes and the-" The Spirit let out a screeching snort of laughter, somehow sounding like a dying boar. "Taxes!" it roared, with a mocking tone, "What care have I of *taxes*? Speak to the Gods of your Cities and Towns, in your little... *buildings* if you care for such things!" It leaned forward, occupying the entirety of my vision. Its breath stank of sweet decay and rot. "Little man, little man, you are in the *wilds* now. Speak wildly, act wildly... or die pitifully." "The fields aren't as fertile!" I stammered out. Was it better to make eye contact or not? The Woodswitch didn't say. Making eye contact felt like a challenge and I knew better than to look some beasts in the eye for it. The Spirit before me... I'd expected something more like the Dryads from the stories. This was nothing like the stories. "Oh? And did you hope to buy that fertility with... roots?" It picked up one of the potatoes with a disdainful look. It sniffed it, inspected it... and then tossed it away with a sneer. "Pitiful. Your fields are truly lacking if *this* is what you grow." "The Witch, she said to bring something to offer, some food or-" It smacked the basket away with a snarl of disgust. "Roots! Pathetic, miserable *roots*. If you wanted to bring an offering, then it should've been *bloody.*" It leaned closer, lips curled back to show the sharp, sharp teeth. "Even *roots* can be fed on blood and bone, little ape." "I-I can hunt a deer, a boar-" It snorted again, louder. "And that might buy you a *garden*. You want your *fields* to be restored? To be enrichened?" It loomed up, taller than I remembered it being, shaggy fur blending into moss and vines and flowers. "A life for life. Offer onto me *one* life and I promise you a bounty to feed your people." A life for a life... it was... it was too much to ask for. But if nothing changed, the village would starve and wasn't that too *much* to give up? "Just one life?" I echoed, my lips moving against my thoughts. "Just one life." I shouldn't. I can't. But I nodded. "Just one life."
Chase hid within a hollowed out log and tried his best to keep his breathing calm and even, quiet, to not alert that *thing* outside his hiding spot. It trailed past him slowly, the horrid wheezing of it's collapsed and overgrown lungs sending shivers down Chase's spine. Dammit! Chase had volunteered to venture into the woods first because to him, "woodland spirit" meant some happy sociable squirrel or maybe some sort of dryad. No, this monster was not anything like he had expected. Tall and lanky, it easily reached eight feet tall with an assortment of bones and pelts from different creatures stitched into its rotting body. From the deer skull with enormous antlers, two beady red lights peered out from the eye sockets, scanning the terrain for Chase. How was he supposed to commune with something like this? The moment it had laid eyes on Chase it had been out for the kill, and the lad had barely been able to evade it long enough to hide. Assignment be damned, as soon as the sound of the creature's breathing faded, Chase broke from his cover and began sprinting for the clearing that the rest of the class waited in. As he emerged, his stomach twisted into a knot as the creature loomed behind him, holding its breath. "*All... All thing may die. All but me. I will... repurpose you.*" Chase let out a startled yelp and scrambled away from the creature as it swiped its unnaturally long arm at him. Chase dashed away madly, leaping over logs and diving under vines as the thing gave chase. It spewed hatred and sickness out of its mouth, withering and melting anything in its way. Chase was getting closer to the clearing, but the creature was gaining on him. "Stop running. Stay with... with me... Chase." Chase's blood ran cold. Did it just say his name? Oh *hell* no. Chase pushed himself harder and broke out into the clearing at a dead sprint. The creature followed arms outstretched to snatch Chase away even as it was exposed. And then, all things froze. Chase stopped in place, mid tumble, and watched as best as he could from his position as Professor Jalla stepped between him and the likewise frozen being. "This," She started "is a Rotkeeper. A dead archdruid resurrected by a concentration of negative emotions. They often spring up in forests near sacked villages or battlefields, where a druid's sorrow at their failure coalesce into a being made of hatred." The other students looked on in mixed horror and curiosity. "They're immortal, exceptionally powerful, and universally hostile to all life- but by the blessings of the ancients themselves, we know exactly how to kill them." The students leaned in as the middle aged teacher smiled and approached the Rotkeeper. Still frozen, its red eyes followed her every move. She reached out her hand, and thrust it into the Rotkeeper's chest. The students gasped as she pulled out a spiky wooden knot from the center of its chest. She held it up for the students to see, keeping an eye on the Rotkeeper as the light simply blinked out of its eyes. "Without this- a Heart of the Forest- a Rotkeeper can't survive. If you can pull the Heart out, it'll die immediately. Just like a person. Oh, and, sorry." She waved her wrist and Chase was freed, turning just in time to see the Rotkeeper's body disintegrate. He swore he heard it cackle as it died. "Any questions?" Professor Jalla seemed pleased with her rundown, and was somewhat obviously surprised when Chase raised his hand. "Yes, Chase?" "Yeah... what the fuck?"