I liked to walk the streets by night. My only companions rats and cats. They shared my grey visage, my silent movements, my unseen observations of The Folk. The Folk, those clumsy noisy prattling herds whose lives are only half lived, I despaired of them then. I despair of them now.

Where are My People now? Lost and gone. We once held sway over great dominions, our words, our very thoughts, were sought out and taken heed of. Not now. Not for a very long time, even in my reckoning of time.

We were as ancient as the stars. Our path had always been enlightenment, to guide the spirit along its path, to bring the knowledge of the Way to all who would hear. We previously lived within the forests, spirits to all who would see. We tended our duties and gave succour to all. Animals, plants, birds of every variety were guided and lived out their days according to their nature.

It started in the Time of Man. Man appeared. At first a tremulous, pale and timid creature, though curious and questing. They soon began to develop their own communities, at first small and held together for common good, but later the first signs of their malignant curse began to show. Unnatural we thought them then, and feared they would destroy themselves with their greed. We little thought that their way would be to destroy all else before themselves.

Some Folk of course would be guided, all unknowing, and seek the Light, explaining the wonders with their halting words and bringing others to the Way. But many saw the path as just another means to power over their brethren, corrupting goodness into vice, and giving preference to those who shared their views. Great Empires and great Religions rose and fell, each containing within itself the seeds of its own destruction, but another and another soon arose. The virtues of Folk were in their indomitable spirit, their refusal to be diminished despite the awful conditions that were imposed or visited upon them. This grace alone commended them to My People and we continued to guide them where we could or when they would hear us.

All too soon though they began to seek further shores and even to subjugate others of their own kind. Oh, they made justifications for all their actions. This man was less than me because of his belief, this other because of his colour, and another because his simplicity enabled me to enslave him.

They were unable to see that often those subjects contained within them the very path they should have followed. And worse still many subjects when freed from tyranny sought themselves to enslave others as if they had no knowledge of injustice in their hearts. These truths confounded us.

This is when My People began to fade away. The shining spirits diminished along with the Rise of the Folk. Their greed for riches beyond what they needed for a good life started to destroy the very fabric of the world. A darkness began to spread along with every tree that died, with every animal lost, with every plant that flowered no more. Our forests declined, burned not by Nature’s fires but by The Folk. Or torn up by the roots and discarded. We found that where ever The Folk spread their ways nature suffered.

At first the bounty of the Earth could contain all that was asked of it. It had after all lived many millennia and held within it all the treasures of the ages. Eventually though it started to become too great a burden. Minerals laid down were ripped from the earth and crafted into machines of destruction. The Folk outdid the worst of Nature’s disasters and if along the way others of their kind perished they took no heed. The very children became sick and ill and still they did not see the error of their ways.

Because of this My People lost heart. The shadows lengthened. If few believe then Truth dies. If no one listens the sounds become stilled. If no one sees the Light becomes lessened. The guiding spirits of woodland and glade were there no more. My People were lost. I alone now remain amongst The Folk, unheeded and unheard except by a few.

Yes a few enlightened Folk have raised their voices against the Greed. But too few and too late I fear. I say to the few that remain to hear, “Whatever Path you choose to walk, let me be the light that will light your way. Wayfarer that you are, You must fare well along the way with Love and Joy, to be kneaded to be fit for the Divine.”

My words may still be heard. My spirit still is there to guide you. My Light though is sadly dimmed.

Beware. I walk amongst you still but I have become The Shadow of The Night.