The Kingdom of Malaren

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. In fact, no one knows they are hidden here among us now, except me, but tomorrow, that will all change when I am presented in the Great Hall as a shieldmaiden.

In this moment, I am standing at the highest point of the Mountain Way on the last day of my childhood. The path rises as it comes from the upland village of Norland where my family lives, snaking its way between the stony twin peaks of Law Rock Mountain and leading down to the Great Hall. I am looking out on the jewel of Norland, a bay of impossibly blue waters, flanked by forest on both sides with our majestic Great Hall at the center. This beauty is hidden from foreign view, it is a secret built into the mountain. The mountain and our beloved Hall stand as one and the same.

This is where our people’s history began. Up here on the bluff, the Great Hall is our people’s shrine to truth, peace and freedom.

The natural beauty is not enough to distract me from thoughts of what is to come. Tomorrow, I will still feel like the same Lumena, but everything will begin to change. Once it starts, it will remain irreversible. There will be less time to dream and responsibilities in bucket loads. Plans, other people’s plans for my life will be set in motion.

Thirteen. It is a sacred number in my people’s tradition, coming of age is the most critical time of a person’s life. It is a decisive moment, a turning point.

It is said that those who do not embrace a calling in their thirteenth year languish. It is the opportunity that becomes a bad omen if passed over. We have no cultural history of anyone failing here in Norland, but since it is ancient wisdom, my people take it at its word. Wisdom and stories are what we live by here.

Tomorrow is also the day of my betrothal to Ryder. We have been best friends for as long as we can remember. Thinking about him makes me smile. I want to be his wife one day, although I am not sure that being a wife is a natural fit for me. It is, however, the way of things. As Ma says, “Fish swim, birds fly and young people marry.”

I still have not told him my secret, but I will. I know that I must, before our betrothal ceremony. He may break it off when he knows, but that is a chance that I must take.

At this moment, I feel so at home out here in the mountains, in the high open spaces where one can breathe and laugh without restraint and climb and shout to hear an echo call back to you.

“Woohooo,” I hoot.

“Woohooohooo,” Gemmy hoots in return, drowning out my echo.

Gemmy, my sister, is a girl after my own heart. Wild and bright-eyed, she is passionate like me.

She is growing up much too fast. Gemmy is a child entirely of this place. The green forests of Norland and these mountains is the only home she has known for all her ten years. I envy her that. She does not have the burden of a heart torn between two worlds. Gemmy is not haunted by the memory of Malaren or the brother we left behind.

She brushes her auburn locks from her face as she peers eagerly over a nearby ledge looking down upon the Great Hall.

As I scan the far horizon out at sea, I feel that the breeze is gaining strength and clouds are gathering. A storm is coming.

“Gemmy, it’s time to go back,” I call to her.

“Only if you take me the forest way,” Gemmy replies defiantly.

Walking together has forged our bond with one another. Gemmy knows that the days we have together are numbered. Since time stops for no one, as change comes, our silent protest will be to treasure each moment we have together. Even if it means Gemmy’s forest way is about to get us completely drenched in a storm.

“Ok, we'll take your forest way,” I called back.

She is on her feet in a flash waiting impatiently for me.

“We promised Ma we would be home in time to help her with my thirteenth year eve preparations, so we’ll have to run,” I warn her. ‘Ma will have our heads if we are late.”

“Maybe we'll find a new shortcut this time,” Gemmy said.

Rubbing the back of my neck hastily I cast a last glance down on the Great Hall. I can feel fear beginning to pulse through my veins, a warning against beginning my thirteenth year on the wrong foot. The Great Hall is at the heart of all the secrets I hold inside me. Despite its loftiness, I had never felt alone there even though it is a forbidden place for children. The fire burning high in the age-old lamp inside gives me light and warmth I do not feel anywhere else. I can’t explain it, but I know I have a calling. There is a path I must follow, an unrevealed purpose I am to fulfil.

"Last one home helps Ma alone," Gemmy shouts.

She is quick on her feet, scampering down the rough stone steps hewn into the mountain.

I turn away from the Great Hall and follow.