Grand Druid Athelstane

        
"I have foreseen a time when cities of glass and steel towers supplant our forests.
Fear not!

A new place will be created where our trees will be reborn, to live in their paper form, and we will remain their guardians. We will be known to the world as Librarians."

--The Unknown Works of Grand Druid Athelstane


First Librarian Athelstane stood on the double yellow line in the center of 42nd Street, outside the New York City Public Library, staring westwards. An uninterrupted view across the City to the Hudson River. The streets were empty, no people, no cars, no trucks, passing by. COVID-19 quarantine in effect.

She raised her staff, chanting in an unfamiliar language.

The upper curve of an enormous yellow orb appeared at the far end of the street, floating over the Hudson River. The orb rose upward filling the space between the skyscrapers until hovering a woman's height above the horizon. A yellow glow emanated from the orb, reflecting off the skyscrapers, brightening the City's streets.

Manhattanhenge began, rejuvenating New York City’s magic.