The Back-Folk: Day XXIV
Magic: Unease, tree roots, misunderstanding
Little is known about the Back-Folk’s rumoured ability to use magic, but it is suspected that some of the more fanciful local tales have been embellished.
Back-Folk venturing out of their community have a tendency to employ what is known as The Unease as a way of self-protection. A description of The Unease was noted by Alice Telescoping, following discussions with some members of the Back-Folk. From her notes, and noting the imperfection of the translation, The Unease is a trick of “borrowing from the environment, returning to the environment”, creating an uncomfortable sense or presence.
“Sometimes, walking alone in the woods, you are sure that you feel someone watching you, but you turn and all you see are trees, white birch standing like sentinels. Perhaps a flash of movement you’re sure is a bird. But it isn’t what you see, it is what you feel: a slightly eerie sense of not being entirely alone.”
It appears that The Unease can also remain in a place after the member of the Back-Folk employing it has moved on. The Back-Folk have a tendency to use upturned tree roots as a place of shelter, and a place to hide from humans passing by. It has been noted that such tree roots hold a residual Unease, that sense of strangeness.
It is also suspected that reference to The Unease, as much as it is understood, has caused some issues in the past, including a misunderstanding that the Back-Folk carry disease (rather than employ Unease). There are still some local people who will confidently state - entirely incorrectly and unfounded - that the Back-Folk are to blame for certain outbreaks of illness in the vicinity.
