Witch of the Dark Forest.
By Eric Marsh
These are a set of stories based on the life of Calizone who is the Witch of the Dark Forest. Seven Came to Dinner is the story of how she became the Witch.
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Seven Came to Dinner. Chapter 3
Seven Came to Dinner Chapter Three. Stories. Magrib coughed, sniffed sharply, and brushed a speck of imaginary mud from her sleeve before beginning...
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Seven Came to Dinner. Chapter 4
Seven Came to Dinner. Chapter Four. Spelling. The next morning, Eddo sat in his study trying to think through what the witches had said that might...
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The Castle With Hiccups Chapter 1
The Castle with Hiccups. Chapter One. Hiccups. The Castle definitely hiccupped. It did it once on Monday, twice on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday...
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The Castle With Hiccups Chapter 2
Chapter Two. In the Cellar. “Excuse me,” said a voice behind Thomas, “can you tell me who I am?” Thomas spun round, and sagged with relief. It was...
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The Castle With Hiccups Chapter 3
Chapter Three. A Dragon. It was a long way from the Dungeons to the throne room, and Thomas was very much out of breath when he arrived. He burst...
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The Castle With Hiccups Chapter 4
Chapter Four. Heroes. Thomas dashed up the stairs to the Magician’s room with his news. The Magician listened intently, nodding with sympathy. “Quite...
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The Castle With Hiccups Chapter 5
Chapter Five. Freedom. After breakfast, Thomas watched Sir Cedric prepare himself. The lute was tuned, the throat was oiled, and Sir Cedric practised...
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The First Witch Prequel.
Chapter One. Prequel. Some distance along the road that winds through the Dark Forest, there is a narrow path that no one remembers clearing. The...
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The First Witch Chapter 2
Chapter Two. Princess Jasmine. Princess Jasmine was angry. She stood on the Castle battlements kicking the wall and muttering some very un‑princess‑...
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The First Witch Chapter 3
Chapter Three. The Witch’s Cottage. The Witch’s cottage would have taken Jasmine all day to reach on horseback, but it was only a short flight for...
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The First Witch Chapter 4
Chapter Four. The Lake. Das flew steadily over the Forest. Jasmine leaned over his neck, peering down through the trees and picking out the winding...
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The First Witch Chapter 5
Chapter Five. The Search Party. Jasmine woke at dawn. The air was cool and still, and the lake lay smooth as glass. She crawled out of the tent and...
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The First Witch Chapter 6
Chapter Six. The Turret. They didn’t have to wait long for Das to return. He landed beside the carriage, looking thoroughly miserable. “I did not...
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The First Witch Chapter 7
Chapter Seven. The Witch’s Cottage. Back at the campsite, Jasmine and Emdan slid down from Das’s back. Jasmine set the dragon‑skin box carefully...
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The First Witch Chapter 8
Chapter Eight. Home Again. Jasmine carried the box into the cottage and placed it carefully on the kitchen table. She stepped back at once. “Wait...
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The Beginning Chapter 1
The Beginning. Chapter One. A Visitation of Dragons. Princess Jasmine’s Coming Out Ball had been a great success. True to her promise, she saved a...
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The Beginning Chapter 2
Chapter Two. A Dragon’s Tale. They sat in silence for five minutes before Das swooped down beside them. “Calizone is on her way,” he announced. “She...
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The Beginning Chapter 3
Chapter Three. The Birth of the Dragons. Alphaz could not spend all her days sitting beside the hole. The people of the Forest soon learned to treat...
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The Beginning Chapter 4
Chapter Four. Dragon Rampage. Calizone frowned. “If you dragons only came into the world at that time, how do you know what happened before it? You’...
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The Beginning Chapter 5
Chapter Five. Hate and Fear. Eldest paused. “I don’t know about you humans, but I could do with a drink. My throat is getting very dry.” Princess...
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The Beginning Chapter 6
Chapter Six. The Dragon Boxes. “We are happy to have been of help,” said the Fire Demon. “But this part of the world is far too cold for me. I must...
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The Dragons' Lair
Chapter One. Prelude. Today was the greatest celebration the kingdom of Sealand had seen for many a year. It was the Naming Day of the Princess,...
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The Dragons' Lair Chapter 2.
Chapter Two. A Bored Princess. Princess Sarriette picked up her embroidery ring and hurled it across the room. “I am fed up with this silly sewing. I...
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The Dragons' Lair Chapter 3
Chapter Three. A Bored Prince. Prince Finn was bored. He sat slumped on the throne in the Great Hall. He was not supposed to sit there, it was his...
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The Dragons' Lair Chapter 4
Chapter Four. Trying Out a Spell. Princess Sarriette talked for hours about how wonderful it was that Rose could do magic. Rose listened, tried to...
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The Dragons' Lair Chapter 5
Chapter Five. Finn in Hiding. Sadly, Finn rode back through the town gates. He had ridden hard since leaving home, sleeping by the roadside, and he...
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The Dragons' Lair Chapter 6
Chapter Six. Finn Learns About Dragons. Finn washed his face and ate the food Rose had brought. He tried the door, just in case, it was definitely...
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The Dragons' Lair Chapter 7
Chapter Seven. Dragon’s Lair. Sarriette kept her eyes tightly shut for a long time and clung to the Dragon as if her life depended on it. Finn, by...
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The Dragons' Lair Chapter 8
Chapter Eight. The Ice Cave. Sarriette was very glad of the warm cloak. The further north they flew, the colder the air became. Eventually Jak landed...
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The Dragons' Lair Chapter 9
Chapter Nine. Home. “Home at last,” said the Mountain Dragon leader. “But there is no food here.” “It isn’t far to the lake where we camped the other...
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The Ragdoll
The Ragdoll. Chapter One. The Ragdoll The village of Othermoor was so small it hardly deserved to have a name at all. It was just a small collection...
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The Ragdoll Chapter 2
Chapter Two. Watching the Witch. LP put her mind to work on a way of getting home. She watched carefully everything the Witch did. She even...
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The Ragdoll Chapter 4
Chapter Four. Release. LP did not know what to do, but before she had time to decide, the Witch muttered something and went out of the cottage. LP...
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The Music Box Chapter 1
The Music Box. Chapter One Visiting Great Grandmother. Miya did not look forward to Saturday mornings. That was the day her mother took her to visit...
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The Music Box Chapter 2
Chapter Two. The Clock maker. Miya could hardly wait for bedtime. As soon as she was tucked in, her mother sat beside her. “Now,” she said, “remember...
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The Music Box Chapter 3
Chapter Three. Prince Roban and Prince Rogan. Princes Roban and Rogan liked nothing better than hunting deer in the Dark Forest. They knew better...
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The Music Box Chapter 4
Chapter 4. A Clock for a King. Miya insisted on an early night so she could hear more of the story. Once she was tucked in, her mother continued. “...
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The Music Box Chapter 5
Chapter Five. Ingford. Two months later, Jack’s father returned from a long trip to Ingford, a northern town near the mountains. He placed a wrapped...
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The Music Box Chapter 6
Chapter Six. Endgame. Prince Rogan and the hunters were overjoyed to see Jack return safely. They wrapped him in a blanket and gave him a hot drink...
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The Music Box Chapter 7
Chapter Seven. Annie. Annie found herself standing in a small room. She looked around curiously. It was clearly a workroom. In front of the only...
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The Golden Acorn
The Golden Acorn. Chapter One. The Blacksmith. Babbin was born big, and he carried on growing after that too. By the time he was fourteen, he was...
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The Golden Acorn Chapter 2.
Chapter Two. The Witch. One day, Babbin was standing outside the smithy, taking a well‑earned break from the heavy work, when a woman rode up on a...
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The Golden Acorn Chapter 3.
Chapter Three. Heart Stopping. After six weeks of trying her best to cheer her husband up, Babbin was no better. No matter what Inga said or did, he...
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The Golden Acorn Chapter 4.
Chapter Four. Into the Dark Forest. At the end of the week, they reached the place where the road divided. One track led toward Grimbridge; the other...
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The Golden Acorn Chapter 5.
Chapter Five. Calizone's Cottage. Inga and Babbin continued along the forest road. The deeper they went, the more the trees leaned over the track,...
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The Golden Acorn Chapter 6.
Chapter Six. A Missing Knight. Inga and Babbin climbed back onto their cart. “Turn right when you reach the forest road,” Calizone said. “The Palace...
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The Golden Acorn Chapter 7
Chapter Seven. A Beating Heart. The doctor examined Babbin and shook his head. “The heartbeat is very faint. I can give you some medicine that might...
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The Golden Acorn Chapter 8.
Chapter Eight. On to Wilford. Babbin was not in the inn. “He’s down in the village,” said one of the foresters. “I think he was heading for the...
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The Golden Acorn Chapter 9.
Chapter Nine. A Heart to give away. Babbin was helped to his feet by Prince Rogan and the Sergeant, who half carried, half dragged him to the bench...
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The Shadow Prequel
The Shadow Prequel. The Mirror Broke. In one corner of the Royal Castle was a tall tower. At the very top of the tower was a single room. The only...
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The Shadow Chapter 1.
Chapter One. 18 Years Later. John Clothman was a Draper, and not just any Draper, as he often reminded people, but the finest in the land. He boasted...
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The Shadow Chapter 2.
The Shadow Begins Aidan had no memory of his parents. He supposed he must once have had a mother and father, but he could not remember them. He had...
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The Shadow Chapter 3.
Chapter Three. Emma Gets Lost. Once a year, when the Taxes had been paid and the Clerks from the Palace had been and checked that everything was in...
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The Shadow Chapter 4.
Chapter Four. The Garden Party. The morning of the Garden Party began as it should. It was bright, sunny and with the promise of fine weather lasting...
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The Shadow Chapter 5.
Chapter Five. Aidan’s Travels. Aidan knew that he had no choice but to go. He had always helped the people of the town and now they needed him more...
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The Shadow Chapter 6.
Chapter Six. Birch House. As good as his word, Mr. Powell delivered them, his milk and eggs to Birch House. This was a huge grey building with small...
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The Shadow Chapter 7.
Chapter Seven. Rougham Manor. They reached their destination around lunchtime. "That’s Rougham Manor," said the carter. "A lonely old place really."...
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The Shadow Chapter 8.
Chapter Eight. The Wraithlands. The next morning, Aidan put on his suit, then his ordinary clothes. The carter who had brought them to Rougham Manor...
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The Shadow Chapter 9.
Chapter Nine The Valley of the Wraiths. Just beyond the skeleton, the path entered the valley proper. Aidan took a deep breath and walked on. For a...
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The Shadow Chapter 10.
Chapter Ten. Recognition. Aidan pushed his way through the thick air of the spell. The cave was hidden behind a rock a little way down the path. He...
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The Shadow Chapter 11.
Chapter Eleven. Barford Again. The journey back down the mountain was hard and slow. Aidan told the royal couple all that he could remember of his...
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Wirl's End
Wirl's End. Chapter One. Introductions Wirl's End was a small street in the poorest part of the town. There were only four houses, two on each side...
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Wirl's End Chapter 2.
Chapter Two. The Door. One day, Brian and Lexa were sat on Brian's garden wall idly chatting about the books they had just got from the library when...
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Wirl's End Chapter 3.
Chapter Three. The Dark Forest. Brian pushed himself upright and spat out a mouthful of leaves. The clearing was the same shape as Wirl’s End, the...
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Wirl's End Chapter 4.
Chapter Four. In the Royal Palace. After what seemed like hours and feeling very sick, Brian was dumped like a sack of potatoes on to the floor...
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Wirl's End Chapter 5.
Chapter Five. Calizone. When they reached the place where Brian and James had first met, the riders stopped and dismounted. “Right,” the leader...
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Wirl's End Chapter 6.
Chapter Six. The Cottages by the Gate. The cottage on the right of the Gate looked to be the cleanest, so they went inside and made themselves as...
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Wirl's End Chapter 7.
Chapter Seven. Resolution. Brian dashed into the cottage, followed by the others. He gave the bell a good hard tug and set it jangling. He put his...
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Wirl's End Chapter 8.
Chapter Eight Homecomings. Life at Wirl's End should have gone back to normal after that, but it did not seem to. Brian and Lexa sat on his garden...
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Wirl's End Chapter 9.
Chapter Nine Sending them home. William Custos walked down the gangplank and onto dry land. It felt rather strange to be on solid ground after...
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Wirl's End Chapter 10.
Chapter Ten. The Man with the Clipboard. Brian and Lexa were sitting on Brian's wall, as they often did. They were discussing the books they had just...
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Wirl's End Chapter 11.
Chapter Eleven. Endings or perhaps beginnings. The following day, Peter Keeper got off the 'bus at the stop nearest to Wirl's' end. It was a short...
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Micah or the end of Magic. Chapter 1.
Chapter 1. The People of Sowton Bred Pigs. The village of Sowton lay on the edge of the Dark Forest, and its people bred pigs. Their animals spent as...
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Micah or the end of Magic. Chapter 2.
Chapter 2. Deserted Places. Micah walked down the road feeling sad and confused. All his life he had believed that people who did magic were bad,...
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Micah or the end of Magic. Chapter 3.
Chapter 3. Elsewhere. Jek lived deep in the shadiest part of the Dark Forest, where the trees grew so thickly overhead that no sunlight ever reached...
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Micah or the end of Magic. Chapter 4
Chapter 4. More Deserted Places. The next morning, Micah left the inn. Brean was sitting beside the village well. “I wouldn’t drink this water,” he...
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Micah or the end of Magic. Chapter 5.
Chapter 5. A Dragon Calls. Jek would not stay in Calizone’s cottage when daybreak came. As soon as the sky began to lighten, he slipped back into the...
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Micah or the end of Magic. Chapter 6.
Chapter 6. Second Sight. Early the next morning, Micah set out again. He walked for a long time without seeing a single person. Hungry and tired, he...
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Micah or the end of Magic. Chapter 7.
Chapter 7. Calizone’s Cottage. As Josiah had said, the road into the Dark Forest began a few miles from the village. They stopped at the crossroads...
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