Of Elves and Dragons

Chapter One, A Beginning

The river ran backwards the day the Queen vanished. The oceans fed by the river turned red. The seven suns of Nardor fell from the sky, leaving the seven kingdoms under a dark, never-ending night. Spring flowers wilted. Ancient trees burst into flames. Dragons woke from their graves. Mountains crumbled. Cities washed away in flood waters that surged from diurnal tides. White magic disappeared. Tentacles of dark sorcery stretched a sinister blackness into the lands. Seals placed on the Temple of Aragon were broken. And an ancient prophecy was begun when a pair of Druid eyes opened for the first time in a thousand years deep within the temple's depths.

Armies of Giants, Elves, Humans, Dwarves, and Hobbits battled with Orcs, Trolls, Corsacs, and Halflings until entire lands were painted in the blood of their deaths. Heroes embarked on quests to save the Queen. Only to die at the hands of demons summoned from the Nether Worlds. Dragons returned from exile to roam free and cover the skies with their wings. Alkon, the sorcerer, spread plagues upon the kingdoms until each was a place of suffering. Nether Walkers, beasts with the ability to pass freely from the Nether World to the land of the living, were sent into towns and villages to steal anyone who whispered of the Queen's fate.

Years, then decades past. Suffering spread until hope was driven from the mountains and valleys, the lakes and streams, the villages and towns. Shadows hid watchful eyes that searched for those who would seek the truth of the prophecies. Desolation spread as the ancient buildings of the elders were torn down. Histories were no longer spoken of for fear of death at the hands of Alkon's Nether Walkers. Creatures of all kinds slipped into an oppressed life of survival and nothing more. But as the scrolls of Yovan promised after a hundred years of evil's reign, the hands of fate began to turn.

Allaron stepped from the Temple of Aragon's Doors, knowing he may never return. His eyes searched the dark purple colors that kept hidden the stars he spent hours staring at in his youth. In his mind, he saw a vision of the sun that once burned a bright yellow in the sky before he slept his sleep of a thousand years. Adjusting his pack, he looked out onto the horizon and took the first steps of a long journey that started lifetimes ago when he closed his eyes deep within the temple. Following a path overgrown with time, he thought of the countless Druids who had walked the same Earth before the seven kingdoms turned from them.

In the passing century, he had waited and readied himself for what would come. With each step he took, he felt the weight of the fate that was now beginning on his shoulders. Yovan's prophecy was at hand.

If Druids were to walk in numbers again. If the seven kingdoms were to survive the plagues of darkness and not be lost forever to the Nether Worlds. He would have to help a young elven girl who was about to reach the age of maturity discover hidden truths buried deep within her.

Aerilaya danced through the fields of night grass that covered the hills outside her home nestled in the Arbon Trees of the Elven Forest. Excitement buzzed in an electric current running through her limbs. She reveled in the alive feeling sneaking away always gave her. Taking a quick look back, she checked for any sound that would indicate her mother had discovered she was gone. Satisfied she was still undiscovered, she quickened her pace toward the valley caves where dragons had emerged a hundred years before.

Cold air tickled goosebumps on her skin as she sprinted with elven speed across the last of the fields before the cliffs that marked the end of the valley rose toward the forever-dark sky. Her eyes searched the thick blankets of storm clouds that never left before settling back down and sending alarm bells ringing through every part of her body with what they saw.

Ahead in the trees, shadows moved. A new scent floated on the drifting air that made her blood race with fear. Gliding across the fields, she moved toward the dark forest. As she approached her ears picked up quieted whispers of sound before a thunderous symphony of hooves erupted all around her.

Demon horses ridden by Nether Walkers appeared out of the darkness and took chase after her.

Why had she come? Why hadn't she listened to her mother? Her birthday celebration was to begin in hours. What would her mother say when she wasn't there?

Every elf knew the Walkers always caught their prey. And those who were caught never returned.

Images of her family filled her head as she ran. A sinking pit in the bottom of her stomach told her she would never see them again. Fresh sweat glistened on her body as heat rose within her. In just a span of minutes, she had already run for miles. Her eyes danced over the terrain, desperate for a path of escape as the hooves of the demon horses grew closer.

Allaron felt the change in the flow of energy that ran through the current of all life. Quickening his pace, he let his face fall with the stone of his resolve. The young elf, who would play such an important role in what was to come, had just fallen into the prophecies written about her. He was still many days from her, with many mountains and valleys to cross. Centering his mind, he moved within himself, allowing his vision to grow dark and his feet to lead themselves.

As the world around him disappeared, he began to see the forest her eyes searched. To hear her panted breaths as she ran. To feel the desperation coursing through her veins. Falling in on himself. Gathering his energy, he sent his voice out across the lands to find her ears.

Heartbeats thundered in her chest. Fear roared louder with every pulse. Aerilaya scolded herself for all the decisions she had made. She didn't want this to be her end, but thoughts of her demise marched inside her mind to the rhythm of the demon horses's hooves as the ground shook with their chase.

Her fear slightened as she started to accept her reality. Her body was betraying her. Exhaustion was turning her legs into rubber.

A tear escaped her eyes at the truth that she couldn't go on much longer.

"Don't give up, child." A voice boomed in her head. A new fear raced through her in a lightning strike down her spine. "There is a strength beyond anything you have ever known inside you." Where was the voice coming from? The question repeated and chased her like the demon horses behind. "I will give you what I can, but you must trust in the ability that is within you." What ability? She had no ability. She was just an elf who never listened to her mother. "When the boy finds you, give your trust to him." Continuing to run. Feeling a new strength in her worn body, she felt a strange familiarity with the voice. As if she had been waiting her whole life to hear its sound.

Allaron lost his grip on the connection to Aerilaya. The young elven girl the fates had chosen was too far away for him to do more than he had done. Quicking his pace, he searched the horizon and hoped his effort had been enough. Letting his vision settle on the orange glow, coloring the sky far to the east, where Alkon stoked the fires of the Nether Worlds. He repeated the prophecy of the elven girl who was now running for her life and the quest she was destined to take. He prayed she would stay alive long enough for him to get to her.

Pulling the precious mushroom cap that would sustain him from the soil. Rossfinn cradled it in his hands before placing it with the others in the worn leather satchel his father had given him. The morning that used to be marked by the sun's rise would come in only a few hours. Standing looking at the bounty in the satchel, he decided it was enough. Moving from the trunk of the Mesola tree where he'd found the mushroom growing, he began his search for a safe place to spend the dangerous hours when the world would wake, and he might be seen.

A vision of burning houses and dying cries flashed in his mind. Shaking his head, he cursed himself for dropping his guard. For allowing the thoughts and the terrible ache that always came with them past the wall, he kept up in his mind.

He couldn't think about the pain that never left him when he was in the open. He had to keep his thoughts alert and not think about the life he'd been forced to leave behind. Walking on, he concentrated on thinking of nothing. In an hour's time, he found what he had hoped to. When he Slipped through the space between two large roots of an ancient Arbon tree growing at the edge of the river, he had been following for weeks.

Laying his few meager belongings on the cool earth hidden beneath the tree, he busied himself, making preparations for the night. After journies out to gather small pieces of wood from the forest floor. He built a small fire that would not be seen from any distance and boiled the mushrooms from his satchel. After the mushrooms had been cooked into a stew, cooled, and eaten, he let himself relax in the warmth of the small fire. Curling down, he used his satchel for a pillow and drifted toward sleep, watching the dying embers of the fire he couldn't risk letting burn till morning.

His eyes shot open, and he was suddenly awake. The sound of thunder filled the hollow under the tree. Dirt shaken loose from the tangle of roots above him rained down, covering his skin and clothes with dark soil. Moving quickly, he stamped the last remains of the fire, caught his breath, and listened. He knew what the sound that was resonating through the earth around him meant. It meant his nightmares were coming to find him. Struggling to control his fear, he scurried to the edge of the curtain of roots that concealed the small hollow. Telling himself he was brave, he slipped from the safety of the roots.

Aerilaya felt the last of her strength fading. She longed for the voice that had spoken to her. For the resolve, it had given her. Losing her balance, she caught herself one more time. Her strides were no longer swift and agile. They were shaky and faltering. She dared not look over her shoulder. The demon horses were so close now she could hear the guttural rumblings of the Nether Walkers atop their saddles. Each breath that struggled from her chest burned with its passing. She stumbled again and caught herself with her hands before she fell to the ground.

Hearing the sound of rushing water, she moved toward it with all the speed she had left. If she could make it to the river, she could let its current carry her away. She knew the tales of those who went into the red water and never returned. But, she had nothing left. It was either the fate of the cursed river or a tortured death at the hands of the Nether Walkers.

The banks of the river and the water just beyond came into sight. From somewhere behind her, she could smell the stenched breath of the demon horses chasing her. Telling herself she had to make it, she asked her body for one last effort.

Just when she reached the bank, her foot caught on a root.

Landing hard on the ground, she felt the last of the air in her lungs leave her body. Pain erupted, and she gasped with her inability to take in any breath. With frantic eyes, she dared a look up and froze at the sight of the Nether Walker's demon horses. This was her end. Her death.

Suddenly she felt her body sliding down the bank. She had no strength left to struggle, and she let herself be dragged. She watched as her body moved between the roots of a large Arbon tree. Then she was no longer out in the night. She was beneath the large tree with the wide eyes of a Human boy in front of her. As fast as the boy's eyes had appeared, they were gone. Leaving her briefly alone before strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back from the curtain of roots.

As she sat with the boy, holding her tight to him, she felt the earth around them quake with the movement of the Nether Walkers above. When her breath returned, it came in a gasp. And the boy's hand came quickly up to cover her mouth. Sitting breathing against the cool skin of the boy's palm, she grimaced against the pulsing pain of the cramp constricting her middle. Before it began to subside with each of her breaths.

Feeling the boy's muscled chest pressed against her back, she heard the voice, again.

"When the boy finds you, give your trust to him."

Easing into the comfort of the boy. She worried why the Walkers were in the forest. Worried, about why they were so close to her village. For long hesitant moments, the hooves seemed to dance all around them. Before they finally moved off and faded into the distance. Turning to face the boy, she got lost in matching pools of brown, which seemed to take in every part of her at once.

After a second of uncertainty, she gave in to the gentle pressure his hands were putting on her back and allowed herself to be pulled into him. Falling deeper into the boy's chest. She sunk into the comfort of him. Relaxing in the safe feeling, his touch gave her before closing her eyes and losing the battle with her exhaustion.