Lockdown Branches twisted, twined, knotted, connecting each enchanted tree to its neighbor; roots ripped free of earth, through gaps interweaving, forming a barricade from crown to roots, that spanned a thousand feet into the air, sealing off its hinterland, keeping penned malformed creatures who eat magic. They spare no one; they kill all they encounter; penned they do no harm; their teeth made to rip flesh, not bark; their poison’s useless and their eyes don’t mesmerize plants. Keep their neighbor’s flesh whole, keep the Magic One safe, that’s the prize. So the enchanted forest’s on locked down; no one enters, nothing leaves that lock down. … Continue reading Lockdown