The talking trees

The Talking Trees of Idzumo

By Casey Brockelman

Page 1

Panel 1: Largest panel on the page. This is a station wagon slamming with high speed into a large oak tree. It is hitting at such an angle that a body of a small boy can be seen flying out of it through the windshield. The tempered glass of the windshield keeps it all together, but it pops out as one spider webbed piece as the boy comes through it. The boy is flying far enough that we know he is flying past the tree. The car is experiencing extreme trauma, and the tree is splintering a little bit, but less than a forth of the radius is damaged. The tree will be just fine.

CAPTION: I WASN'T WEARING MY SEATBELT. I FLEW TWENTY FEET FROM THE CAR INTO A FIELD OF SOD. IT WAS A NICELY CULTIVATED ST. AUGUSTINE, A SOFT AND STURDY GRASS, SO I LANDED WITHOUT EVEN A BRUISE. MY PARENTS AND BOTH BROTHERS WERE WEARING SEATBELTS. THEY WERE KILLED WHEN THE CAR EXPLODED SECONDS AFTER.

Panel 2: A boy of ten on a tire swing attached to a tall Maple tree. Let's call him Magnus. The swing is in a backyard. In the background is the back of the house. A man and woman are standing in the doorway of the back door. Silhouettes only.

CAPTION: I LIVED AS A FOSTER CHILD, NEVER REALLY "CONNECTING" WITH ANY OF THE FOSTER PARENTS. WHEN I WAS EIGHTEEN, I MOVED TO COLLEGE AND HAVE NOT HEARD FROM ANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAD CARED FOR ME.

Panel 3: Magnus at the age of 19 on the campus of an ivy league school. He is sitting under a fair sized weeping willow secluded from anyone else, intently reading a large book.

CAPTION: I IMMERSED MYSELF IN MY STUDIES. EIGHT YEARS LATER, I GRADUATED WITH A DOCTORATE IN BOTANY AND A BACHELOR'S IN BOTH COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY AND THEOLOGY.

Panel 4: Magnus, aged 25 is inside a large study room. Books line the walls, and huge oaken tables fill the floor space. The table Magnus is sitting out faces a large cathedral style window probably 20 feet tall, and outside the window is a large, ancient oak. Magnus is staring outside at the tree. A book is open in front of him. If we can make anything out of it at all, it is further described in the next panel.

CAPTION: IN ALL OF MY TIME AT COLLEGE, I HAD NOT MADE ONE FRIEND. I DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME. INSTEAD I WORKED ON A SECRET PROJECT…

Panel 5: Zoomed in to see Magnus holding the book open. He still stares at the tree outside, but has his finger pointing to the center of the page he has the book open to. On one part of the open book is a black map with a white star marking the place where Idzumo is. (graphic included) It is an encyclopedia entry, and at the top of the page it reads, IDZUMO, JAPAN.

CAPTION: I WAS GOING TO FIND THE SECRETS TO ETERNITY.

Page 2

Panel 1: Panel is a bird's eye view of the forest in Idzumo. (picture available for reference) It is a lush and dense forest of wildly varying shapes and sizes of trees, but all quite large.

CAPTION 1: (TOP LEFT CORNER) IDZUMO, JAPAN.

CAPTION 2: (BOTTOM OF PANEL) ANCIENT JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY TALKS OF IDZUMO AS THE FIRST PLACE ON EARTH TO EXPERIENCE LIFE, AND THAT THE TREES COULD SPEAK. IT WAS A TALE TOLD TO ME IN PASSING BY MY FATHER WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG, BUT HAD BECOME AN OBSESSION TO ME SINCE MY FAMILY'S DEATH.

Panel 2: Magnus, with a backpack on, shorts and short sleeved shirt and a wide brimmed hat is bowing to a group of four or five Shinto monks (picture available for reference), who are bowing back to him. Behind them is a Shinto Shrine (picture available for reference), with the forest all around.

CAPTION: IN THE FOREST THERE IS A SHINTO SHRINE. MY RELIGIOUS STUDIES INCLUDED SHINTO RITES AND THE MONKS OF THE SHRINE ALLOWED ME TO STAY WITH THEM AS AN OBSERVER.

Panel 3: Magnus is standing near a Kusu tree. Maybe wearing a different shirt and shorts, but the same hat. He is studying a cluster of leaves closely.(graphics of Kusu bark and leaves available for reference)

CAPTION: BUT MY STUDIES AS A PLANT BIOLOGIST LED ME TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TREES OF IDZUMO.

Panel 4 : Magnus is walking through a bit of a clearing looking at the trees around him. Some are Japanese Red Cedar, some are Kusu. (Graphics available)

CAPTION: THE FOREST IS MADE MOSTLY OF CRYPTOMERIA JAPONICA, THE JAPANESE RED CEDAR, AND OF CINNAMOMUM CAMPHORA, THE KUSU TREE. ALL OF THEM IMMENSE ORGANISMS REACHING AS HIGH AS SIXTY METERS, AND WITH BRANCHES ON SOME REACHING A GIRTH OF TWELVE METERS AT THE BASE. IMPRESSIVE PLANTS, INDEED, BUT I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING BETTER IN THIS FOREST.

Panel 5: Close up of Magnus's face. He is looking at something, and overcome with joy.

CAPTION: AND AFTER A FEW WEEKS, I FOUND IT.

Page 3

Panel 1: Large panel. Actually takes up whole of the page, with panels 2-5 at the bottom 2/3 of the page spaced evenly. We are looking at a clearing of the forest that could be taken from a fairy tale. The trees are not crazy tall or anything, but they are very wide. Bases are about 20 meters around. The branches are close to the ground and are very large themselves. Another tree can be a Ginko Biloba with its wild network of trunks growing all over it. (graphic included). It looks like elves and dryads should be popping out at any minute. Mossy ground cover, and some smaller plants around as well.

CAPTION: I DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE TREES IN THE CLEARING WERE. THEY WERE NOT IN ANY OF MY TAXONOMY TEXTS. FROM A CLIPPING OF A SMALL TWIG AN INCH AROUND, I COUNTED 400 ANNUAL RINGS. THE BASE WAS EASILY TWENTY METERS IN DIAMETER, WHICH, AT A ROUGH ESTIMATE MADE THE TREE ALMOST 315 THOUSAND YEARS OLD. I HAD FOUND THE TREES OF THE LEGEND.

Panel 2: Magnus is kneeling near the largest, most gnarly looking tree of the group. He is reading from a notebook to the tree.

CAPTION: EVERY DAY I RECITED A SPEECH THAT I HAD WRITTEN OVER THE COURSE OF MY LIFE.

MAGNUS: I HAVE LOOKED FOR ANSWERS WITH THE THEOLOGIES OF MANKIND, EXPLORED THE FAITHS OF THE RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD, WITHOUT EVER FINDING A TRUTH I COULD BELIEVE IN…

Panel 3: Same as panel 2 only Magnus wearing a different shirt.

CAPTION: I WOULD BEGIN THE SPEECH AT DAYBREAK, AND WOULD FINISH IT JUST BEFORE DUSK.

MAGNUS: …SO I KNEW WHAT I HAD TO DO: I WOULD ASK THE TREES FOR ANSWERS.

Panel 4: Same as panel 3 only Magnus has a different shirt. Some evidence of stubble on his face.

CAPTION: I READ THE SPEECH EVERY DAY FOR MORE THAN TWO MONTHS.

MAGNUS: I NEED TO KNOW THAT THE UNIVERSE WAS MORE THAN ATOMS AND GRAVITY AND LIGHT.

Panel 5: Same as panel 4, only Magnus wearing a different shirt. He is no longer holding the notebook, he has a fair amount of growth on his beard, and is not wearing his hat this time.

CAPTION: BY THEN I HAD IT MEMORIZED, AND EVEN TOOK TO MAKING ADDITIONS IN PLACES FOR VARIETY.

MAGNUS: I NEED TO KNOW THAT MY FAMILY IS STILL AWARE, AND THAT I WILL SEE THEM AGAIN SOMEDAY…

Page 4

Panel 1: Same as page 3 panel 5, but Magnus has a little scruffier beard, and shaggy hair. Three months of growth from the clean shaven man he was when he arrived.

MAGNUS: GIVE ME THE ANSWERS. TELL ME IF THERE IS A HIGHER PLAIN OF EXIS--

Panel 2: The old gnarly tree that Magnus has been speaking to the last five panels or so is now talking back. A face is almost visible in the mottled bark, branches and leaves as if by an illusion. The tree's name is Huggrack, and he is angry. He is yelling to Magnus, who is reeling backwards from the situation.

HUGGRACK: SWEET MOTHER OF US ALL!! WILL YOU SHUT UP!!!

Panel 3: Close on Magnus as he gets up. He is bewildered as he speaks.

MAGNUS: OH MY GOD, YOU DO TALK! Y-YOU SPEAK ENGLISH!

Panel 4: Back to Huggrack, who is speaking further and still angrily with Magnus.

HUGGRACK: WE KNOW ALL LANGUAGES, INSECT. OUR ROOTS CONNECT TO THE GREAT SOIL OF EARTH, AND WE SPEAK WITH ALL TREES.

Panel 5: Looking at another tree that is near enough to Huggrack that their branches could meet is developing a face of her own. It is a feminine face, and it is full of worry. This tree is Veggnosa.

VEGGNOSA: HUGGRACK! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Panel 6: Huggrack is turning his attention to Veggnosa. Looking at her with frustration. Magnus is watching with worry. Trees on other parts of the clearing are speaking up. All with faces, and all looking worried.

HUGGRACK: I AM SORRY, VEGGNOSA. THIS MAN--I THINK HE WAS GOING TO GO ON FOREVER WITH HIS SENSELESS CHATTER!

TREE: YOU HAVE DOOMED US ALL, HUGGRACK! OUR TIME IS FINISHED!

Panel 7: Back to Huggrack. He is speaking with a helpless look. Magnus is chiming in with a curious look.

HUGGRACK: MY APOLOGIES TO YOU ALL! BUT THIS MAN HAS NEARLY DRIVEN ME MAD!

MAGNUS: DOOMED?

Panel 8: Huggrack looking at Magnus angrily.

HUGGRACK: YES, WHELP! WHEN LIFE WAS CREATED, TREES WERE GRANTED THE GIFT OF CONVERSATION, BUT WE WERE TOLD NEVER TO BE HEARD SPEAKING BY A HUMAN EAR.

Page 5

Panel 1: Looking at Huggrack as he speaks. He is beginning to look tired, as any tree in the clearing would look if they are seen.

HUGGRACK: TO BE HEARD WOULD MEAN THAT OUR GIFT OF SPEECH WOULD BE LOST FOREVER. WE HAVE SEEN BILLIONS OF SUNRISES HERE IN THIS FOREST ALONE, SHARING OUR THOUGHTS WITH THE EARTH AND WITH EACH OTHER,

Panel 2: Looking at Magnus's face while Huggrack speaks. Magnus has found an emotion of hopeless despair. Mouth gaping with shock. Eyes welling with tears.

HUGGRACK: AND THEN YOU CAME ALONG. NOW OUR TIME IS UP. VERY SOON WE WILL BE SILENCED FOR ETERNITY.

Panel 3: Huggrack turns to Veggnosa again. His emotion is one of admiration. A gentle, warm look.

HUGGRACK: SWEET VEGGNOSA. I NEVER TOLD YOU, BUT I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU. I HOPE THAT WE WILL STILL BE ABLE TO SEE, SO I MAY BE ABLE TO GAZE UPON YOUR LOVELY BRANCHES FOREVER.

Panel 4: Looking to Veggnosa as she speaks to Huggrack, with her own face full of sadness and love.

VEGGNOSA: HUGGRACK! MY LOVE FOR YOU WILL BURN LONGER THAN THE STARS…FAREWELL TO THEE!

Panel 5: Huggrack turns to Magnus one last time. His face full of fury like the wrath of a god.

HUGGRACK: AND YOU. IF ONLY I HAD THE ABILITY TO MOVE MY BRANCHES, I WOULD REND YOU ASUNDER!--MAY YOU ROT FROM THE INSIDE OUT!!

Panel 6: Magnus is on his knees holding his hands to his ears and grimacing in pain. The trees behind him are yelling to the sky in pain.

CAPTION: AND THEN THERE WAS THE SHRIEK. EVERY TREE IN THE FOREST--PERHAPS IN THE WORLD--WAS SCREAMING. THEIR VOICES LIKE OLD WOOD SPLITTING. AND WHEN IT WAS SILENT, EVEN THE BIRDS WERE SILENT.

Page 6

Panel 1: Magnus is gathering some hand made gardening tools. He has a rake, a shovel, and a hoe. Some of the Shinto Monks are in the background. One or two looking at him. Some of the trees behind him are missing their leaves, but the Red Cedar are evergreens and still have their needles. Magnus is now wearing a colorless version of the robes the Shinto monks are wearing. He has shaved, and cut his hair as best as he can.

CAPTION: IT HAS BEEN FOUR MONTHS, AND I HAVE STAYED AT THE SHRINE WATCHING THE FOREST AS AUTUMN APPROACHES, CAUSING THE LEAVES TO TURN AND FALL. I HAVE NOT SPOKEN A WORD. THE MONKS KNOW SOMETHING BAD HAS HAPPENED, BUT THEY DO NOT MENTION IT.

Panel 2: Magnus is walking toward the forest with the three tools under one arm, and a ladder, perhaps 12 feet long under the other.

CAPTION: I NO LONGER PRAY WITH THEM. INSTEAD, I VISIT THE TREES.

Panel 3: Magnus is standing around some trees in the forest, raking near one of them while the rest of the tools lay nearby.

CAPTION: I AERATE THE SOIL, TRIM DEAD BRANCHES. I GATHER THE FALLEN LEAVES CLOSER TO THE TRUNKS TO INITIATE MULCHING TO KEEP THE SOIL WARMER AROUND THEM. I KILL INSECTS HARMFUL TO THEM.

Panel 4: Back to the clearing of the talking trees. Magnus has his ladder propped up to a place between Huggrack and Veggnosa. He is tying a rope around branches that extend from Huggrack and branches that extend from Veggnosa. Tying them together, making an arch. Some of the rope will dangle from the top of the arch, but it will be obscured by Magnus on the ladder.

CAPTION: AND FOR THE NOBLE HUGGRACK: ONE OF HIS GREAT BRANCHES STRETCHES CLOSELY TO A BRANCH OF HIS LOVE, VEGGNOSA. I BRAID THEM TOGETHER, BINDING THEM WITH SILK ROPE. THE UNION MAKES A WONDERFUL ARCH, AND WILL SERVE AS A FINE BRACE FOR MY FINAL SERVICE.

Panel 5: Zooming in and panning around to get a closer view of Magnus at the top of the ladder working with the branches. The rope dangles four or five feet down, and ends with a hangman's noose.

CAPTION: THEIR BRANCHES ARE STRONG, BUT IT WILL BE THEIR LOVE THAT HOLDS MY WEIGHT.

End

3-31-2003

Idzumo, Japan

Japanese Red Cedar

Cinnamomum camphora, the Kusu tree

Leaves of the Kusu tree Bark of the Kusu tree.