A term of endearment that the infamous Link Blackguard used when referring to Evergreen and his study habits was 'nerd'. Ever since they started spending inordinate amounts of time together that previous year, it became clear that Evergreen took his studies much more seriously than his friend. It made sense, though. Evergreen had grown up reading about magic, enchantment, and adventure. Now, he realized that his family tree was riddled with magicians, enchantresses, and adventurers. He would have to be an absolute fool not to take advantage of every bit of magical knowledge that he could. This was especially considering the dark figures and beasts that were apparently actively seeking him out from the Land of Oz. Plus, he planned to eventually track down and free Mom. Without all the magic he could, that would be a seriously tall order.
So, in true form, he spent the next few weeks of his summer using all his alone time to read and to study from his five new tomes. He especially enjoyed the words of Mom in her second volume. He thought that it was just an enjoyable read. He legitimately found himself laughing at certain parts. It was even better than the first volume, that was for sure. It made mention of various dark creatures that one must watch out for, how to tell what they are, and how to fight them or treat an individual who lost in a fight to them. There were trolls, ghouls, banshees, werewolves, hags, yetis, and vampires. Evergreen was grateful that hags and vampires were given fair treatment in the text as his history professor at Ilvermorny, Miss Agatha was one of the loveliest people he had ever met, plus she was both an excellent teacher and a 400-year-old vampire.
That wasn't to say that he spent all his time studying, just a fair portion of it. Whenever Dad was home, they would be together and would go out for the day, usually to Milwaukie or up to Vancouver and spend a lot of time near the local lakes and rivers to beat the heat. Evergreen also spent some time with Lynne, but not with Bucky because they had some kind of falling out that Evergreen was still trying to make sense of. Perhaps their worlds were suddenly so different that they had just naturally drifted apart. So, it goes. He also spent the night at Link's a few times over the summer and Link did so at the Quandarys' place.
It was late in the summer the first time Evergreen had been to the heart of the Tututni Settlement of Magic. The first two times he had been to the settlement, he spent the entire time on Link's property. They had a decently sized home for the four-person family that they had. It was just a little larger than Dad's and Evergreen's, it was also two stories, it looked kind of like a log cabin made of red cedar, only there was something more. Whenever a strong wind would blow in from the nearby ocean as they were nestled between the Rouge River and the Pacific, the house would sway slightly, but never buckle. Plus, because they were in the Wild Rogue Wilderness of Southwestern Oregon, they were surrounded by forest creatures. Obviously, deer, squirrels, and garter snakes, but also fairies, jackalopes, and jobberknolls. Evergreen had a great fright when he watched one die for the first time because the pretty blue birds lived their entire lives in silence and at the end of their lives, they mimicked every sound they ever heard backward in the creepiest scream imaginable before succumbing to the darkness' cold embrace.
"So, Link," Evergreen said on this third visit as they sat within the roomy and rustic dining room within the Blackguard cabin, "Have you b-been to Underhill yet this summer?"
"Nope. I had a thing with my cousins where we went and hunted sasquatches. My mom went and picked up my stuff." Was Link's response as he built a tower with the flatware. No magic was used, so Evergreen was quite impressed with the height that Link had managed with the forks and knives.
"Wait, Bigfoot is real?"
"You bet. We didn't manage to get any though, we did manage to find a family of northwest hidebehinds, however."
"Wait, don't those things go invisible and aren't they quite dangerous?" Seta asked, clearly alarmed.
"Yes, they do and yes, they are, Seta. We kept our distance, though. So they were none the wiser."
"They may look like your common bear, but don't underestimate them, Link. They're unpredictable and dangerous when frightened."
"Ev," Link countered, "the rabbit doth protest too much, methinks." Then adding a snippet of the Shakespeare they read bits of earlier the summer in Ashland.
It was at that moment that they heard the front door open. The boys looked toward the hallway and saw Link's mom Lynette coming out from that direction. She was the picture of what a wizarding mother should be, in Evergreen's opinion. She was bright, warm, loving, but also disciplined. Evergreen could tell by her facial structure and hair texture that she had some traces of First People's blood in her. According to Link, she was one fourth Tututni, her maiden name being Swiftwater.
"Boys, get your shoes on. It's time for the festival!" she said, whirling her wand with a single whispered phrase, causing all of the flatware to disentangle and to be returned to their proper places.
"But mom, I was about to set a record!" Link complained.
"I'm going to re-set your backside if you don't get up!" she replied with a great amount of cheek.
Every five summers, the Tututni Settlement of Magic celebrated their Tututni Unification Festival, which commemorated the time when many bands of the Tututni tribe moved officially into the settlement's territory to not be displaced by the 1855 Coast Treaty that was signed by another band within their tribe. It was the 30th festival since the first one was held in 1857. Back, hundreds of years ago, the settlement was composed of wizards and Tututni people. It didn't take long for every member of the community to end up with some Tututni in them and a certain aptitude for magic as well.
Evergreen got his Sketchers on and followed Lynette out of the cabin with Seta upon his shoulder and Link in tow. It was exciting. First and foremost, they climbed up into their family buggy that was pulled by two winged horses. Evergreen used the term 'Pegasus', but was quickly corrected. They were called Granians and they were some of the prettiest creatures Evergreen had ever seen. They were greyish, with speckled black on their backs that stood out against their flowing, silver manes. They also had two-toned feathered wings that Evergreen found beautiful. They weren't much larger than regular horses, but they carried themselves with so much more grace than a normal horse would. When the Granians took off, it felt like a roller coaster ride over the thick, coastal forest, with tears being ripped out of his eyes and his stomach finding its place up in his chest.
They landed after only a few minutes in what looked like a parking lot, only it had no cars, but winged horses and buggies. They took a short walk up a dark, cobblestone street that led to a public square that was filled with people! Mothers were juggling wiggling babies and steaming potions, fathers were casting spells left and right. Old men and women were casting a variety of enchantments as well. There were easily ten times more people there than at either time Evergreen had been to Underhill. The magic being cast caused the air to glow with a certain electricity that was so thick and prevalent, Evergreen could have sworn that it left an odd taste in his mouth, like sucking on a ginger plant.
The public square had a massive fountain in the center with a cobblestone roundabout surrounding it. There was an open-air market off across from where Evergreen and Seta stood with the Blackguards and plenty more homes and other buildings made from the same red cedar that the Blackguard home was composed of. There was a massive clock tower that looked akin to Big Ben in the UK and some smaller buildings that Evergreen supposed were schools, churches, or perhaps stores of some sort.
Lynette led the young wizards and the bunny to a small crowd across the way where Thomas Blackguard, Link's dad, was standing. When they did so, the aroma of salmon smoking on an open flame enveloped Evergreen. It was true, he didn't care so much for seafood, but with scents like that, they could make a believer out of him, yet!
There in the crowd, surrounding the platform whereon Thomas was standing, Evergreen saw small children crushing roasted hazelnuts with large, stone instruments and others were making juices with older men and women out of cherries, grapes, and huckleberries. He loved Nutella, so he was excited to see what they were to do with the crushed hazelnuts. Looking past the crowd, he also noticed that upon the platform, was Sabrina, Link's younger sister by three years. She reminded Evergreen something of the Blackguard matriarch, but he was put off a little by the blonde hair, considering that there were so few blondes in the Tututni Settlement, as far as he could see. Pretty much everyone's hair in the crowd was black or dark brown.
"Sonorus" Thomas muttered, pulling out his wand from the sleeve of his plain tunic, covered in a weave of shiny seashells. "Good morning and a happy Tututni Unification to everyone within the sound of my voice, which is quite a few. I can see from my vantage point here that all the central families are represented. I see elders of the Chaghasi Band, of the Glowing Moon, also the Xashi Band of the Rising Sun. We also have those from the Lshin Band of the Primal Blackness and the Tulaxata Band of the Rushing Waters. You all know my family; the Blackguard Band of the Climbing Salmon and it is my solemn responsibility to welcome each and every one of you here today. My late father wished to speak a few words here, so allow me to read some of his words, written for the Tututni tongue…"
The tall wizard continued and spoke a few sentences in what Evergreen assumed was Tututni. He couldn't follow any of it, and was grateful Link was there to translate. The words spoke of loss, of victory. They spoke of hope for a reunification one day with the descendants of the other bands off in the reservation. They spoke of the most important connections that individuals make in their lives and how, when such a connection is made, the two individuals involved share a bit of their spirits with one another. It really was a beautiful and hopeful speech indeed. Watching Thomas speak and hearing Link's translation was an experience, especially since he had never heard of the Tututni until that previous year. Thomas looked just like a slightly older Link, with the same charisma, the same confidence, and the same all-around good looks, he just looked a little more Euro American than Native. No wonder Link ended up becoming as popular as he did. If he grew up to look anything like his father, he was going to have no trouble with the girls ever. Lucky!
"Thank you." Thomas wiped a single tear from his cheek onto the back of his hand. "Now today is an especially special day because it is the first time that people from outside of the Settlement will be able to participate in our festival. I know that Father Xashi's granddaughter has brought her roommate from the Salem Witches Institute, Father Tulxata's son has invited the families of many people he works with at MACUSA and my own son has brought his dearest friend from Ilvermorny school. This message is for those who are visiting: You may believe yourselves outsiders, but within the eyes of Order, the Creator, and our Great Spirit, we are all family. So, while you are only briefly with us, know that the blessings of our Settlement follow all who seek harmony in their lives."
This really resonated with Evergreen. Over the past few months, his life had really fallen into serious disorder. If he could get some kind of blessing from Order, he would be definitely grateful. The idea of Order also made sense to him. Considering he grew up in the suburbs of Oregon, he did go to church, so he certainly had a belief in the intelligent design of the universe. Some call him God, others call him Order, either way, it made sense to him that out of chaos came Order and out of Order came creation. It was curious as well that this was the first festival that outsiders could attend, also that the only places Link had ever been were the Settlement, Underhill, and Ilvermorny. He couldn't imagine how suffocating that could be. Evergreen had been all over the No-Maj Western United States and he was grateful for those experiences for sure.
"Now, before we kick off the festival with our traditional meal, please, let us lay down our family sigils!" Thomas spoke, with his hands held high. "Evergreen," he whispered as an aside, "Link tells me that you're a skilled sigil maker. Would you honor us and join in the ceremony?"
"I would love to sir. But, I only know how to d-do it in the way of the White River Coven."
His claim was indeed true as he learned how to make runic sigils under the tutelage of Tokala and Maza Blaska Summerhill, some of his and Link's roommates at school.
"Whether it be the White River Coven or the Rogue River Coven, river magic is river magic."
"I hear you sir. I would be honored, too."
In that next moment, Evergreen picked up a stray cobblestone from the ground and closed his eyes. He focused on his breathing and on the things that he could feel, hear, and smell. He felt the cobblestones beneath his shoes, he smelled the aroma of roasted and liquified hazelnuts and he heard other witches and wizards close by muttering in what he assumed was Tututni. Listening too hard to their language briefly distracted him, but pretty soon, he found himself flying above his dreamscape.
There was an endless forest beneath him. He was flying at an impossible speed and the sun was low in the sky. There were great cliffs that jutted out of the forest here and there, but said cliffs were also covered in darkly colored fir trees. There was nothing but evergreens as far as the eye could see. In that moment he spoke the words wanzi, nonpa, yamni, topa, zaptan and his eyes shot open. He was still standing on the street, only, a purplish sigil burned before his face that he directed into the center of the plaza, just above the fountain where the other sigils of various colors burned.
In a moment, all of the sigils burned impossibly bright and in the next moment, they all vanished, leaving a single, black cobblestone on the very top of the central fountain. This display led everyone in the crowd to clap and cheer. Evergreen joined in soon after.
"Thank you one and all for your participation thus far." Thomas called out. "Now let us head toward the Riverside where we will eat of the summer harvest."
So, under the command of Thomas and other members of the community, the massive crowd was led a short distance to the river where a series of long tables were set up. There was a moment of pandemonium when everyone was finding a place to sit, but it was only a moment before everyone was seated. Evergreen was seated by Link who was seated by his parents, with Sabrina on the other side. Thomas and Lynnette suddenly stood with four other couples who were at other tables, and together, they snapped their fingers three times. At the final snap, a massive spread of food appeared on the tables just like at Ilvermorny.
There was smoked salmon and trout, fine, spiced venison, a squash soup, another veggie soup with carrots and other things Evergreen wasn't sure about, a cornmeal looking dish that actually ended up being ground and sweetened acorn and at least a dozen varieties of fresh fruit. Evergreen had never seen any of the dishes there and had never tried venison, but it all smelled amazing, so he was excited to try just a little bit of everything.
The food, the music, the activities, it was magic, all of it. There were also great presentations where the elders of the bands would tell stories and perform some of the most intricate magic to animate their words. Storytelling tribal magic was indeed a sight to behold! Plus, seeing Link entirely in his element without the added pressure of feeling like he had to impress anyone like he did at school was refreshing. Link was a wonderful dancer and had a beautifully mesmerizing singing voice. He recalled the fairy cop Holly Short in Artemis Fowl and the Mesmer sheused to brainwash and hypnotize humans. When it came down to it, Evergreen found his admiration for his friend to grow exponentially in the two days they spent at the festival.
When Evergreen took the floo to head home, he was feeling quite sorry to leave the Settlement. It was fine, he supposed, and however, to spend the last few weeks of the summer without a lot of magic, he was missing Dad, after all. Dad had a beach weekend planned for that next week, and Evergreen was always happy to go to the beach and to look out on the distant horizon just to remind himself how massive the earth really was and how small of a piece he was within all of it.
