The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods

Growing up deep in the forest, Misha is a thirteen-year-old girl learning how to craft medicine from nature’s bounty, but she’s also picked up a tremendous amount of knowledge from her mother, an estranged member of a distant tribe of remarkably skilled apothecaries. When tragedy draws the pair out of their forest home, Misha finds herself confronted with a grim truth: all the knowledge in the world is of no help if she doesn’t have the experience to put it to use. Faced with her own inadequacy, the young girl resolves to learn how to put her gifts to use properly. Her world is about to expand far beyond the forest she once called home.

After a surprisingly long journey, Misha arrives in the Kingdom of Redford. Her identity as one of the People of the Forest grants her an exceptionally warm welcome, though her first taste of high society ends up being a bit bewildering for her. However, it’s not long before she’s back in her element. After a few days of living in Redford Castle, she encounters the king’s younger sister, a frail and sickly girl just about Misha’s age. Driven by her insatiable curiosity, she can’t help but investigate what is causing the princess’s illness, even when it leads her to butt heads with Redford’s nobility.

The ball on the first evening of the Moonflower Festival ends as a resounding success, and though exhausted from the previous long night, Misha jumps at the chance to experience the second day of the festival in the city among the common people. As the celebrations draw to a close, she finds herself looking for ways to spend the remainder of her time with the friends who will be leaving in the wake of the festival’s conclusion. But while life tries to slip back into a peaceful rhythm, Misha happens across a terrifying discovery: The plague that once brought Redford to its knees has once again set its sights on the capital. Every second counts if Misha hopes to prevent the same tragedy from repeating itself.

With the help of a tremendous number of the People of the Forest—and some unexpected friends Misha had abroad—the crisis in Redford was contained. Though the devastation wrought by the last plague was averted this time, the event still served as a sobering reminder of how much more Misha has to learn. And as grateful as Misha was to see the People of the Forest turn out in such numbers to help, a dangerous precedent has been set: If Misha is in trouble, the elusive People of the Forest will show up to help her. Deciding it is no longer safe to stay in Redford, she and her uncle Ryne begin the journey back to the hidden village of the People of the Forest. Of course, her wanderlust-driven uncle isn’t about to make that a short journey. And so begins what promises to be a long, long walk back to the village, stopping for whatever detours their whims might dictate.