Chapters 10-12

In the howl of swirling snowfall and tucked away in my room, I have ventured into the comforting pages of Wreathenwold and Benjamiah and Elizabella’s unfolding journey. The pair have become close, with a growing connection that can almost be called friendship, even if the two still do not see each other as friends. Benjamiah has made it apparent that he found it difficult to make any friends back home in his world, so he has little confidence that Elizabella feels any care for him. Though even through their current escapades through the winding streets and turns of the labrythine realm of Wreathenwold, Elizabella shows how much she needs Benjamiah. She just hasn’t found the words to say it. I find the pairing of these characters wholesome and interesting. The boy comes from what is perhaps more familiarly known as the “real world” and the girl born in a land of magic, ever shifting neighbourhoods and villages, dollcasters, wicked sorcerers and transforming poppets. Their worlds are vastly different from one another, but this does not mean that they are not connected in some strange and beautiful way. How else did Nuisance, a poppet of Wreathenwold, find Benjamiah in his world without crossing between realms? I believe these questions will soon be delivered with answers the more I continue following the children’s search for the missing Edwid.

I am impressed by the story’s alluring and multisensory imagery, which matches the whole aura and environment of Wreathenwold and its people. The bonewood trees are one of my favourite elements of this world and they are rumoured to be the everlasting souls and structure of the Root Folk. These people are earthly, wise and made from all that is good and natural. Wreathenwold has a delicate system of communities of people, ranging from the Magi, the Root Folk and the Dollcasters. Then there are subsystems of communities, such as the Hanged Men, the Ninety-Eight Honourable Companies and the Captains who govern them. The ruler of Wreathenwold is known as the Minitour. The Captains of each Honourable Company perform most, if not all, the governmental duties and responsibilities of taking charge for Wreathenwold on the Minitour’s behalf. After putting together all of this new information, I feel that there are these layers of rich history that compile the stories, secrets and origins of Wreathenwold, spanning all the way back to the days of the Magi and the rise of their powers over the aether. Benjamiah may be a newcomer to this world and he may feel a stranger to it, but I believe he fits into place here more than he does his own world. He may be one of the individuals, along with Elizabella and Edwid, to heal this broken world, where monsters rule and family members become lost in the constantly changing landscape.

A brand new character has been introduced to the story and her name is Ariadne. She is not a human, creature or animal, but a red string that moves and expresses herself in very humanly ways. I love how many of the characters I meet in Wreathenwold are often things rather than people, who have soul and emotion in them that is palpable. Ariadne may be a piece of string, but she understands when the children speak to her, she can move about all on her own, she shows worry, fear and excitement and she even sleeps. The children discovered that she belonged to Edwid and was a part of his quests for mapping Wreathenwold. She was in Benjamiah and Elizabella’s possession all along when they first started looking for Edwid, all they had to do was call her by name. She contains a special gift for knowing all the pathways to different spots and locations in Wreathenwold, which makes her a valuable mapmaking tool. She also makes the perfect companion for the children to find their way around and not worry about getting lost. Benjamiah is dedicated in helping Elizabella find Edwid and then afterwards, he hopes Ariadne can somehow lead him back home to his world.

Ariadne the string leads Benjamiah and Elizabella on the first trail of Edwid’s secret missions. He would go alone on these missions to draw maps and uncover mysteries of Wreathenwold and its dark Magi and the Minitour ruler. The children come to the entrance of the Whispering Wood, where beautiful lanterns of all shapes, designs, material and patterns adorn the branches of every tree. The snow was falling outside as I was reading the moment the children stood before the wood, where “A dusting of delicate snow lay over everything, drifting in dreamy flakes… Hanging from the branches were lanterns… There were thousands of them, a galaxy of candle flames– constellations and nebulae” (Lees 158). I felt at home and overcome with warmth and beauty of this painted scene, making me imagine all the branches of lanterns were like a ceiling of stars and colours of dreamland. Each lantern is handcrafted by a Root Folk woman named Honeysuckle. The lanterns are called Whisperwicks because the people who buy them and have them made whisper messages into the lantern and the wick becomes a flame of their words. A special key is created that only unlocks the lantern the key was made for and the flame speaks its message for the person listening to hear before burning out. In Wreathenwold, there are so many small things and gestures that are so meaningful and become physical items for people to hold, keep, create with and treasure. People’s thoughts and messages to loved ones become more than words, where they are physically made into lanterns that are kindled by the light of their whispered words. Edwid asked Honeysuckle to make four Whisperwicks for him before he disappeared and requested the design to be in the shape of Elizabella’s favourite spell to cast on her poppet, which is a bear. The children opened one of the lanterns in the Whispering Wood and they must now travel to other parts of Wreathenwold to find the other Whisperwicks he had hidden.

Benjamiah feels his growing attachment for Nuisance, the poppet that appeared in his father’s bookshop and brought him to Wreathenwold. I appreciate small moments between them, like when Benjamiah places his hand on Nuisance before falling asleep, providing him with security. Essence of the aether must be inside Benjamiah for him to even feel this connection to Nuisance, as aether powers the dollcasting abilities. I am still thinking about why and how Nuisance came to Benjamiah and if there is more to his story in the real world and stories within his family that ties everything together. I hope they continue to learn more about each other and Benjamiah starts to dollcast with Nuisance because I feel that through these shared experiences between them, their connection could unlock more answers for Benjamiah to discover about himself and what Wreathenwold means to him.