*a whirring, like an old computer turning on, but, magical
*then a female voice begins to speak:
City Log #365:
Special Event: 1st anniversary of my arrival to this city, I'm the only one who cares about it, duh.
Emotional scale for the day: ( -4 ) " :( "
Citizen Standing: They still hate me. Not a surprise.
Personal Standing: "Unchanging, I'll keep protecting this city no matter how much they say they hate me. Hasn't changed since that day. Never changing ever."
Begin log:
"Ahem. This is city log number 365, a magical recording to be sent to the capital for the annual report of the city's wellbeing."
*audible shuffling of papers
"Right, here we go... Ahem. This is the city witch, Jack. Rank; Great Witch, 3rd most powerful magic user in the world. Giving the annual wellbeing report to be received at the capital for the annual screening of dangers."
*inaudible whispering, likely counting to self
"Right, population count: 19,560 people and counting. 300 deaths via natural causes, and 487 successful births of newborns, 13 unfortunate stillbirths. The population is up by about 6% from last year's count. A good steady growth, nothing unusual."
*more shuffling of papers
"Total death count, however, is not 300, it is actually about 323, 300 of those deaths were of natural causes, old age, sickness, etc. The 23 extra deaths were caused by a terrible accident that happened with a major warehouse, where it had caught on fire, and the 23 people had been trapped inside for far too long. To spare you the most of the details, 17 had died in the fire itself, 5 had died of being crushed by falling debris, the last had died from the injuries sustained in the disaster. He had died in my arms..."
*sniffling, then a deep breath
"An investigation showed that this fire was a complete and utter freak accident, where lightning had struck a nearby stockpile of wood, located by the warehouse, the result, was obvious. No one else had been injured in the fire and subsequent collapse of the building, only the 23 had been injured and died."
* saddened sigh
"My personal standings with the city folk had taken a dive with this tragedy. They continuously blame me for the fire and deaths caused by it. Not a very good thing, but I can assure you it was a freak accident. I will have nothing to do with the funerals, as per request of the mourning families..."
*silence... Then more shuffling of papers
"Ok... In terms of economy, nothing substantial has occurred, everything is well. However, due to the recent drought, the city folk have begun to run out of the water supply. This is a secondary request to perform a spell to summon in a simple rainstorm for resupply of water and to hydrate the crops. Send an acceptance/denial of request ASAP."
*more papers, then just tapping of a desk.
"Now, on a more personal note. I've been noticeably sadder these past weeks. Probably because of that tragedy, and moreover because of all the scapegoating, but I'll need to rest soon. In terms of hunting, all has gone well, any of the more dangerous beasts have been quelled, and the general number of dangerous creatures has been lower as of late. Thanks to the hunting crew and I of course."
*an eerie stillness
"You know, I agreed to be the protector of this city because I wanted to feel like a hero for once, instead of being stuck at the capital and just doing all of that paperwork. As the 3rd strongest witch, one would think that I get to go on glorious adventures, going to the ends of the earth, discovering new worlds, places, even monsters. But... No, just paperwork and protection. It's not a bad job per say, in the capital, but being so powerful and having so little to do, it dulls on you very quickly..."
*violent slam of a fist against a table
"But this job, THIS JOB, is the worst thing that anyone human can force themselves to do. I mean, I've understood why this city in particular always loses their witch protectors for a while now. And it's not because they die from dangerous criminals, or big bad monsters, no, it's because they quit in the first few weeks due to the utterly ridiculous amount of intolerance and hatred this city shows to all witches."
*a deep inhale, then a very annoyed exhale
"I just don't get why they hate us witches so much. I mean, yeah yeah, it's a religion thing, and our country doesn't want to intrude on religious beliefs, but goodness gracious. The being they celebrate as their god is so much worse than the executioner for the crown, and he enjoys being an executioner. Here, it's worse because they believe in their god so much... So much to the point of lynching their own people and children when they step out of line. I've had to stop 7 lynches before they became deadly. I've also had to separate up to 8 families due to the neglect and abuse some of the parents show their children. Their OWN children."
*shuffling of papers, then a sigh
"Ugh... I can't even bathe in my own home without having to worry about if there's a fanatic in my home, waiting for me to be defenseless. It's gotten to the point where I really SHOULD quit. But I know I shouldn't. 'Cause if even the friendliest, the most patient witch can't handle this town of religious freaks, then what message does that send to literally every other witch in our line of work? Ahh, I guess even the most patient of people have their limits, you know? And... I guess the children here aren't soooo bad. They are children, after all, at least they don't act like their parents, in private anyway."
*audible shifting in chair/seat
"Actually, the children, no matter how much they imitate the behaviors of their parents while the adults are around, all basically idolize me. The most common question I get from them, in secret, of course, is 'How can you act so nice to all the people who hate you so much?'..."
*audible shifting in chair/seat, then a sigh
"And I always tell the children, 'It's because I care about this city. I'll protect it and the people in it for as long as I live here.' Oh, they also love it when they can give me gifts. Since it's their only way of showing that they appreciate me staying here. I'll always love the look on their faces whenever I say that I'll keep this gift forever. Always pure and adorable, those children."
*audible movement, and then silence for a moment
"Actually, here is one of the first gifts I had gotten. A very young girl had given me this beautiful rose as a gift, she even said that it represented my beauty with the flower and my power and defense through its massive thorns. To think that a child so young could be so metaphorical. I've kept this rose alive for almost eight months now, and it hasn't wilted a bit. Being a witch, it's really easy to keep gifts like this alive... Very sweet."
*audible movement, and then a sigh
"Ah, I've drawn out this report far too long with my personal babblings... Alright, I'll end this soon. But first, whoever gets this message, can you tell my husband that he might be able to come live with me and that he should meet me in the usual place at the usual time. Use those exact words, please. Thank you in advance."
*distant chanting, like a crowd
"Ah, they're at my door again. As usual, they've been protesting my stay every other week since the end of that first month. Man, they just don't give up, do they? Argh, I'll deal with it now I guess."
*obvious sheathing of a sword, more audible movement
*then a clank of metal, like a lock being undone
"This has been Great Witch Jack, city witch for the city of Jerusalem, the Empire of Magic, the year 12 567, long live the crown, etcetera, etcetera... Signing off."
*door opening, the roar of the crowd becomes clear
"Begone Witch! Begone Witch! Begone Witch! Bego-"
*audio cuts off abruptly
End of log