All Hail The Oak King

This piece was created using the art of Coffee Stains as well as the dipping fountain pen for drawing. Be sure to watch the Short film of this ghost story based on the old pagan legend of the Oak King by scrolling down to the bottom and unearth the haunting film….

"Goodbye to him I will always love. Hello to to the one I will always love." What is a Goddess to do when she is caught between twin brothers- equally powerful, enticing, attractive, and equally wild for her love? Indeed each Year The Oak King - God of MidSomer will battle his Twin- the Holly King- God of Yule for command of the Year and in their bitter midst: the Beautiful Goddess whom they both adore beyond reason and because she is such a deity of  celestial power,  she can and will love them both. Even if they will not share.

It is early Spring and Oak King holds her in his arms, watching her with ardent devotion after aaaall It has taken to bring her here with him. He is the God of warmth, Summer, new beginnings, and light- and though he rains his eternal love upon her- it is still his lot each year to lose her to his twin brother- the Holly King- lord of winter, harvest, darkness, and nights of revelry. Her heart will be broken to lose one lover only to be consoled in the rekindling of fire for her previous paramour. Ah but she loves them both. As only a Goddess can. Yea but for now...

Hail the Oak King - reborn during MidWinter whence the Holly King is at full power. Oak gathers his energies and as he prevails over his Wintery Twin- defeating him in the Spring Equinox he again wins the favor and love of the Great Goddess, taking her once again in his arms, inspired to create beautiful things for her- he offers up an amorous bouquet of flowers, lush trees, and song birds bathed in his own sunlight. Again, he takes the power back unto the spring and life bourgeons with the love they make under his great Oak.

He remembers the ravages of Autumn and then the dark chill of Winter. Alas, his beautiful flowers were withered, decayed, and destroyed, his little rabbits and foxes made to seek shelter from the bitter cold, even his champion the Bear is in hiding. The once- vibrant gardens are sad and weak. All he created for the love of thriving life- decimated by his own dark and equally passionate brother. And... he took HER away with him. It hurts him like a great icicle stabbed through his magnanimous heart by his Twin, The Holly King.

Ah but the day came when Oak King took his due. He gathered the forces of Spring's fervent awakening. There is nothing the armies of Winter fear more than the first song bird alighting on the budding branches of the awakening Magnolia tree. The Red Breasted Robin, symbol of the Oak King appeared  to proudly herald turning of the tide to the world. "Welcome the Spring! All Hail the Oak King!" The white flowers bloomed, the yellow belled Forsythia opened her eyes and petals, the grass thrived in the dawn of a new day. Soon the Oak tree leaves would return. The great chill of an eternal January left off by the end of March.

Now, the Hare tastes the first herbs and wild grass as the warm breeze touches his great ears. Then he locks eyes with the Fox who is still tasting the scent of Spring's beginning. The Hare leaves off. The Fox breathes a moment before their game of survival begins. Off he goes after his quarry. The Great Bear emerges from his cave. He tastes the berries. The Beast bellows a great roar... and the last forces of Holly King shrink away. Oak King has won.

The Returned King walks the lush forests of the world he has reclaimed. He is merthful at the love of the Woman who inspires his Kingdom and whose soft little hand is nestled within his.  He brings her acorns and she plants them... She recalls their days together- the two of them free and wild in the summer forest. She makes him smile and the sunlight finds her skin, dappled by the delightfully twisted shadows cast by the oaken branches above. O but she is worth the endless cycle of triumph and defeat that awaits him because she whispers things to him like "I love your sunlight on me as well as the shadows you cast..." And once more he feels Godly again- their immortal bodies make another great kiss…

Sure this battle will play out again as the Holly King with his powers of Winter and Darkness will be reborn at Midsommer and then defeating Oak at the Winter Equinox. She will lose one dear lover only to rediscover another. Yea, But for now- he feels the warmth between her face and his. The power of his sunlight warms her as her smile warms him. And all around the Fearsome Oak King and his loving Goddess, the acorns begin to sprout...

And NOW!! Experience the GHOST-STORYTELLING as told to you by yours truly… Enjoy the show!

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