The Elementals occupy a position between humans and pure spirits. Made of flesh and blood, they eat and sleep and procreate like humans do. But unlike mortals, they are long-lived, capable of superhuman speed and movement, and without immortal souls.

Prof. Carole G Silver, Strange and Secret Peoples

Chapbook, paperback, 60 pages.

Gideon Ryan is a capable Forest Ranger in his 20s. With radio backup and wise advice from his semi-retired father Donald, he patrols a spectacular wooded valley with a lake and a leisure park.

Five generations of the Ryan family have served this valley. They identify with it and feel responsible for anything that happens here. Their traditional duties have included managing the woodland, policing the area, looking after the public… and dealing in a matter-of-fact way with the occasional rogue nature spirit or Elemental that may need capturing and returning to its habitat.

Our premise is that the preternatural world is a reality, a secret that’s shared by everyone who has to deal with it on a daily basis. Gideon’s job is a combination of conservation and pest control and he’s here to protect the nature spirits from us, as much as us from them. Part of that protection involves guarding the secret of their existence. It’s just a small part of his day and it’s no big deal.

Everything changes on the day an earth tremor puts a crack in the dam.

The reservoir has to be drained and, for the first time in fifty years, an ancient woodland is uncovered. Its Elementals, trapped in darkness and slow decay for those five decades, are suddenly set loose.

There’s nothing fey or benign about these mothers. The Elementals of an ancient woodland are numerous and formidable. Fifty years in darkness has given them plenty of time to build up one hell of a grudge against the human race.

The moment they’re free, they’re away.