4 Chapter III, Travels

I bought a few more things, boots with fur trim, leather gloves that matched the boots (to hide the star that popped up at random, inconvenient times), and forest green cloak that blended in with the greenery around me.

I could barely concentrate, the news about my dad being alive was overpowering. Could mum be alive too? Has all of this been a lie? A web woven to catch me off guard?

I left the market a few hours later, the town was emptying out as the sun set over the western sky. The lanterns were being lit as the sky darkened, the warm summery air was rustling the leaves of the trees.

I met up with Farvald and Kirsa, and I told them about what happened at the sword shop. Minus the part about my dad.

"Hmmm, most curious….have you met this man before?" Farvald inquired.

I shook my head, "No, I have never been to Astralla, but he said he knew my mother...no, he couldn't've met her, she was a country gal from America."

Kirsa looked between her husband and I. "Where is this America again?" she asked worryingly. I laughed before I glanced up and realised that she was serious.

"Oh, sorry. America is my home country. I traveled overseas to reach Astralla in search of adventure." I thought about the lie I told them, about coming overseas. I guess I was technically right. I kinda fell through my floor and landed in the ocean. But I still feel bad about lying to them. Even if it is half true.

"Are you going after this Quinlin man, lass?" Farvald asked nervously. I sighed and twirled the end of my hair.

"No. I shall seek Thelnilin. That's where he told me to go."

Farvald looked at me with wide eyes, his face looking almost boyish in excitement. "Thelnilin you say? Like, the elven city of Thelnilin?" I eyed him curiously.

"Er...what is Thelnilin exactly?"

Farvald looked almost too shocked to answer. "What is Thelnilin?! Pbf, every child in Astralla knows of Thelnilin. Every dwarf, human, elf, demon and nymph knows of the lost elven city of myth." I stared at him as though he were an explosive on a timer. "So you're telling me that I should be seeking a lost elven city, that may not even exist anymore." I glared at the ceiling and groaned.

Kirsa walked to her husband and kissed his brow. Farvald whispered something in Kirsa's ear that I couldn't make out. Kirsa nodded to Farvald and departed.

"What was that about?" I ask, before I could stop myself. I could feel my face turning red as Farvald studied me. "It's none of your business, lass." He said gruffly. I could feel the blush creeping up my face. "I'm sorry…" I mumbled. I looked glumly at my feet.

"Nah, don't mention it. I was asking if I could take Albert sword-training tomorrow." He said hastily. I figured that he was lying about something. "I'm getting tired, I have to wake up early anyway if I wanted to leave for Thelnilin." I said, yawning heavily.

Farvald sat up rigid in his chair. "You are going then? You are leaving for Thelnilin?" I thought for a moment. "I suppose...I really have no choice do I? Quinlin warned me that I could cause war, and I don't want people to get hurt, especially if I am an outsider, intruding on their peace." And if I'm going to find my dad. I thought. Farvald studied me carefully, "Alright then, lass. If it's fine with you, I can take a few days off and bring you as far as Caelora at dawn." I nodded. "Thank you, Farvald." He smiled. "Now, go to bed, you have a rough day of traveling tomorrow." He said grimmly. I smiled, and went to my room.

As my head hit the pillow, I was poked in the neck by something sharp. I jerked my head up, and pulled the pointy thing from the pillow. It was just the tip of a feather. I snorted, laid back down, and went to sleep.

That night, I had my most confusing dream ever.

I was soaring across the sky, on the back of a dark blue dragon, the wind was rushing against my face, my french-braided hair was flying behind me. I was wearing silver armor, and so was the dragon I was riding. At my side, there was a long sword with a silver hilt, and a diamond pommel. It's sheath was black with a silver seven-pointed star on it.

I flew over a burning city, which must've been grand before fire spread over it. There were tall turrets, balconies the size of my bedroom at home, and a large stained glass window depicting an eagle and a raven, back to back, surrounded by seven stars.

We landed in the center of the city, the flames rising above my head. I dismounted the navy dragon and walked to the flaming front doors. Without regard for my hands, I reached into the flames, my gauntlet tickling my fingers and reached for the handle.

I had to walk back several paces just to open the door to its full extent, which being a twenty foot tall door about ten feet across, is pretty impressive.

The room on the other side of the door would've been beautiful if it had not been set aflame. Large (flaming) banners and tapestries covered the walls, and a long purple (flaming) carpet was rolled out leading to a magnificent silver throne with sculpted dragon heads for armrests.

Atop the throne was a middle aged man. He had a crown askew upon graying hair and was holding a black sword at the pommel, point embedded in the carpet. The man slowly looked up as I approached. His eyes were solid black, save for a white pupil, which shifted between shades of various grays with the firelight.

"I knew you would be back." The man rasped. "I knew you would return. The Emperor knows you are here. You don't have much time left." He cackled evilly, like a mad witch as she poisoned someone.

I raised my sword, and found myself saying, "You know why I am here, yes?"

The man rose from his throne. "I know many things, and what you ask even you don't know the answer to." He drew his midnight sword from the carpet - which frankly didn't look very impressive - and advanced.

I dodged his first blow fairly easily, simply stepping to one side. "You are weak, I expected more from a king." I taunted, although I don't know where the insult came from.

The man (who I assumed was a king based on what I had said) feinted to the right. I saw the blow coming, and I blocked the sword quicker than I thought was possible, twisting my blade around his until the dark sword clattered to the floor.

I held the king at sword point, not even winded from the exchange. "You have nerve to attack me. What would your son say?"

The man breathed deeply, and spat at my feet. "My son is a traitor, and a fool. I was right to disown him." He cackled again as I cut open his cheek with a quick flick of my blade, and left him to burn.

Suddenly, I was back in my dad's study, it was clean, and the furniture was dusted. I was sitting on the bed, my feet didn't even touch the floor. I realised that I would be around six years old, and I was waiting for my father to come home. The open window blew hair into my face, and the lavender smell filled my nostrils once again.

The door creaked open, and a bright light filled the room, temporarily blinding me. I shielded my eyes from the glare, and faced the other way. When the blazing light stopped, I dropped my hands from my face, and stared at who was in the doorway.

It was a young woman, with golden hair, pointed ears, and gold eyes. She held a staff topped with a misty orb, that emanated a silvery light. Her white, sleeveless dress swayed in the breeze coming from the open window. Her golden hair was held back by a tiara of silver, enlaced with diamonds. On the back of her hand, there was a glowing seven-pointed star, like mine, that radiated enough light to fill a room.

Her voice was soft and gentle when she spoke to me. "How far you have come, child." she said softly. I stared at the glowing woman before me. "Who are you?" I asked in wonder. She smiled, her eyes twinkling. "I think you already know that." I studied her for a moment, not having a clue about who she was. Then, it came to me. "Your Theia." I said. "Goddess of Stars." Theia nodded. "And you are Alexandra, my chosen warrior." Theia smiled slyly, as if she knew something I didn't. Which is probably true.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be doing some godly thing?" I ask, suddenly confused. Theia shook her head slightly, as if about to explain the obvious to a child. "I have come here to warn you." She said. The light from her hand growing dimmer. "You cannot hesitate. They are hunting for you..."

"Who is hunting for me?" I asked, my voice rising. "What shouldn't I hesitate from?" Theia was fading now, almost like a mirage. The wall behind her growing ever more visible. Her voice growing fainter. "There will come a time where you will find yourself at a treacherous crossroads. When that time comes, seek Acantha, she shall guide you."

I struggled to find words, ��Who-who is Acantha?" I spluttered. "What does all of this mean?"

"I must go, the dark one knows of my presence. Heed my words, child."

The glowing form of Theia faded more rapidly now. I tried to grab out, but my hand closed around air. The goddess was gone.

I waited in the study for a bit, reliving all of the memories I had shared there. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I opened the door of the study, a cool breeze filled the room, salty sea air came through the open door.

When I stepped onto the threshold, the floor gave way below me and I fell, and fell, and fell…

I was reminded of when I first came to Astralla, it seemed so long ago...I almost believed that I had never lived on earth…

Suddenly, I fell past the clouds, and there was another roar added to the wind. I looked down and saw a giant sea serpent, not unlike Merial. The serpent opened its jaws and swallowed me whole.

I woke up in a cold sweat, I didn't know where or who I was. The little mouse inside me wanted to run, to find a hole and burrow deep into the ground until I was surely safe.

"Alexandra! Allix! Wake up! You are dreaming!"

A little voice was shouting at me, it sounded like my step-sister. "Ellie?"

The voice made an exasperated sigh, "No, you thick-headed spoon. It's Aletta, daddy wants you in the kitchen."

I sat up bolt upright, my face was inches away from Aletta's nose. She blushed. "Uhh...hello there...ummm I'm gonna go now…" She muttered before she ran out of the room.

I sighed and got out of bed. The room I was staying in was very dark, the only light came from candles and a small window on the north side.

Oh how I missed electricity.

I got dressed and headed towards the kitchen, where Kirsa was cooking eggs, and Farvald was holding a steaming mug of tea.

"Hello?"

"Ah! Good morning lass!" Farvald cried, spreading his arms welcomingly. "Are you ready to leave? It's just past dawn!"

I stuttered. "Just past dawn…?" I had never woken up before five, I wasn't really a morning person.

I sat down across from Farvald, "Are we leaving shortly?"

"Mhh? Er…yes. Just as soon as Kirsa has everything ready."

I noticed that Farvald's eyes were unfocused, his hair was messy, and his eyes had dark shadows under them.

I was going to ask if Farvald was alright, but I was stopped short by Krisa setting a large leather bag in front of me.

"Here you go, dear." Kirsa said. "There is food, water, a tarp, clothes, and flint for a fire. Along with extra socks, one can never have too many socks on hand."

I didn't know what to say, here was a woman, who I had known for only a few days, packing me everything I would need, even socks.

"Thank you." I said gratefully. I didn't feel like just saying thank you could ever be enough. "You are quite welcome, dear." Kirsa said. "Now, you two better best be going, if you two are going to reach Caelora by nightfall." Kirsa warned sharply.

Farvald cleared his throat. "Indeed, we'd better go. Er...goodbye, then." He kissed his wife on the cheek, and hugged Aletta and Albert.

"Come on there, lass." He called. "Adventure awaits us!"

I sighed. "Yup, adventure awaits."

Farvald led me to Thaelin's stable. "Listen, lass, we're going to go in there, and you are going to ask for a horse."

"What about you?" I asked.

"I already have a horse here, Orion."

I nodded. "Should we go in then?"

Farvald nodded in kind, and let me through the front doors.

It was a large, gray, barn with a gambrel roof and large front doors. The whole thing reeked of dung, which wasn't very surprising, due to the lack of tidiness around the place.

There were cobwebs in the corners, and dust lined shelves with dead bugs on them, the stables had mountains of dung, and the water in troughs was brown and murky. At the front desk, there was a grimy man with a scraggly beard. His feet were up on the desk, and was smoking a pipe and looking at a piece of paper through dirty spectacles.

But the worst thing about him was: he reeked.

He smelled worse than the whole barn, which was saying something, because it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years.

Farvald elbowed me in the side. I cleared my throat. "Umm...I would like a horse...er...please."

The man looked up, his pipe in danger of falling out of his mouth. "Eh? Oh, yeah, ummm…"

He got out from behind the desk and shuffled over to us. I didn't realise how short he was until he was a few feet away from me, with his hunched back, he was as tall as my eight year old step-sister. If he was standing straight up, he honestly wouldn't even be close to five foot three; five inches shorter than me.

The man led us over to another part of the building, where there were stables in various states of cleanliness.

The man turned towards us. "Have a look around, if you find one you like, come tell me, and I'll get you saddled up." He started to shuffle on back when he turned yet again. "They're all bred for adventuring, mind you. Not those fancy parades and gatherings."

As soon as the man turned the corner, Farvald rushed over to a gray stallion at the end, which must've been Orion.

"He's beautiful!" I marveled. Farvald grinned at me. "Aye. He's quite a horse."

A while later, I had finally found the horse I wanted.

It was a strong, black mare. The nameplate on her stall read: Twyla. Her coat was gleaming and silky, her mane was brushed until it was as smooth as silk. She must've been one of the more well-cared-for horses.

The only thing that told me that she wasn't some princess's prize pony, was the fire that burned in her chocolate eyes.

When I reached out to stroke her neck, the mare snorted softly, and pressed her nose into my palm.

"Hello." I whispered quietly. The horse snorted again in response. "Do you want to come with me?" The horse whinnied softly. "Okay then, I'll be right back."

When Farvald and I were finished admiring the horses, we walked back through the barn to talk to the short, ugly, dirty, smelly man with the pipe.

"We have found the steed that we require." Farvald announced to the man.

"Okay, show me which one." he drawled, clearly unexcited for the prospect of walking a mere thirty meters.

Farvald and I returned back to the horses, while the man shuffled slowly behind us.

"Here are the two we want." Farvald pointed at the gray stallion and the black mare.

"Hwbpfff!!!!" the man stifled a scream. He pointed at the mare and squealed. "That-that horse is a devil!!!"

"What do you mean? She is a fine horse, she wouldn't do any harm." Farvald told the man sternly.

"I tell you! That beast is the spawn of the devil!!! It never listens, and bucks every rider off!!!" The man was backing up to the far end of the stables.

"Can I try to ride her?" I ask cautiously.

"Ride her?! Go ahead if you dare! You can even take the beast! For Free!!! Just get it out of my sight!!!"

Then, the man ran from the room.

"Well?" I asked Farvald. "Should we take them?"

"Farvald nodded. "One would suppose that it would be what the smelly man implied."

I snorted, and Farvald smiled. "Well," I giggled "Let us take these horses off the smelly man's hands."

Farvald and I laughed as he taught me to saddle the horses. And when we were finished, I mounted the black mare, and left the barn in high spirits.

We rode through Thaelin with the sun rising at our backs. Farvald pointed out every landmark, important building, and remotely interesting person we saw.

When we reached the borders of the town, Farvald dismounted his horse and stood to face his home.

"Don't worry, you'll be back soon." I told Farvald kindly.

He turned away from the town. "Come on, we should continue moving." he said gruffly.

We walked in silence for a few minutes.

"Is it wrong," Farvald asked "to want to leave the life you have, to seek the adventure that you never had?"

I thought about it. "No…" I said slowly "Well, it depends, if you have nothing left, it's not much of a life to leave. But if you have something, something to hold onto, an anchor to pull you through the dark times, then you have a reason to live, a reason to enjoy the life you have."

Farvald looked at me. "You always surprise me, lass. For one as young and inexperienced as yourself, that was quite philosophical."

I laughed. "That wisdom didn't come from me, it came from my dad."

"Oh?"

"My dad had a tattoo of an anchor on his shoulder, and before he died, I asked him what it symbolized. He told me that we all need an anchor to pull us through the crap that life shoves at us. An anchor to keep us from abandoning our dreams, to keep us from running away from our fears."

"Your father must've been a smart man."

"Aye. Unfortunately, I never got what he meant about the anchor until after he died. When mum married my step dad, I wanted to run away. But I had a reason to stay, I stayed for my mother. And when she died, I felt like I could leave. I have no real family at home - only step-family. My anchor was lifted."

We rode on in silence, my words still hung in the air, like a cloud drifting overhead.

We kept to the road, stopping every once and a while to drink water from our flasks.

By the time we reached the alder grove (A landmark Farvald was excited to see) the sun was already starting to descend towards the horizon.

I wish I knew more about this world, this fantasy that seems almost unreal. Heck, how many people fall through a magical light-time portal, then rides a serpent all in one day? No-one. Things like this don't just happen to people, Sixteen year old girls don't just stumble upon new worlds. How did I not question this before? I must be dreaming.

So I did the only logical thing, I pinched myself. Hard.

"Ow!"

Farvald gave me an inquisitive look.

I sighed "Never mind."

As we rode through the alder grove, I started to see shadows among the trees, I figured that they were just the silhouettes of deer and other animals. But something felt strange, like someone or something was watching me.

"Farvald?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"What lives in these forests?"

Farvald had to think for a moment. "Well, there are deer, you know, the ones with gold and silver antlers. There are bears, birds; mostly eagles and ravens, which are the sacred birds of Astralla. Perhaps a few poisonous snakes?" but that's about it."

Sure. deer with gold and silver antlers. What else is new?

I glimpsed a lone eagle and more deer. I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching me, and so we kept riding.

In five days time, we had reached Caelora, and checked into the local inn.

Caelora was a slightly larger city than Thaelin, and undoubtedly richer. All of the houses were of stone bricks and the roofs were donned with clay shingles and stone slates. In the North-West corner of the city, was a fairly large castle with a large stone wall and moat surrounding it, the Shnerdelli river ran from the north side of the moat, and split around the castle wall, just to return on its course through the land. And although the castle loomed over the houses quite impressively, it was nowhere near the size of the one I had seen in my dream.

"So." I said "What happens after this?"

It was dinner time, and Farvald and I had checked into the local inn 'The River Lily'.

Farvald peered down at the map on the table. "Well, you should probably stick to the main road, up past the ravine of the dead, and through the Willow wood. From there, it should be a straight road to Thelnilin."

"And the Willow wood isn't like an evil, demonic forest with mutant animals and giant, man eating spiders?" I asked. "No, nevermind, don't answer that."

We didn't go upstairs until well after midnight, (Much to Farvalds disliking.) I insisted that Farvald stay up with me, and draw out plans for the upcoming adventure, as he would be departing in the morning.

When we eventually retired to our rooms, I laid awake on my bed, listening to the sound of owls and crickets. As I closed my eyes, I thought, maybe, just maybe, living here, wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Wake up!" A soft voice whispered in my dream. "Wake up!"

My eyes snapped open.

Standing above me was a young woman, I couldn't see her eyes, due to the dark hood that shrouded her face from view. She was dressed in black leather, and over all looked like a ninja, or an assassin.

"Get up." The woman growled.

I stood up, thankfully, still wearing my clothes that Kirsa gave me.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

"Never mind that now. Come outside."

She walked me through the back door of the inn, and down a dark alleyway. This is where people get killed in movies. I thought.

The woman pushed me against the wall. "It would be futile to try and run. I could easily outrun you." she said threateningly.

"Who are you?" I whispered again.

The woman ignored me, and lit a torch that was leaning against the wall.

"Sit down. Or I'll cut your throat." She smiled evilly.

My eyes grew wide as I slowly sank to the rocky ground.

The woman glanced up at my horrified face. "I was joking. You are much less valuable to our cause dead than alive."

I let out a sigh of relief, I didn't really want to die anyways.

"I'm merely here to deliver a message, and give some advice." The woman said.

"Oh?"

"Quinlin knows that you left, and wishes for safe travels. He also advises you to stay off the main road. Anyone who wanted something done would take advantage of your ignorance."

"Gee, thanks." I said sarcastically.

The woman frowned. "You should be thankful. We could've just saved your skin."

I changed the subject.

"You didn't say who you are yet." I said.

"Oh! Me?" The woman scoffed.

I gave her a questioning look.

"Oh, you're serious?" She pulled off her hood to reveal long red hair, shining amethyst eyes, and short scar on her neckline. "Well, in that case, I'm Arna, warrior and assassin of Thelnilin.���

She is an assassin then! I thought excitedly.

"I am also," Arna hesitated, "A shifter." She paused, as if waiting for a response.

"Er...What is a shifter exactly?" I asked, feeling a little dumb.

Arna's cautious face turned to excitement. "Oh, here I'll show you!" She closed her eyes, and kinda screwed up her face, like she was concentrating.

When she opened her eyes, they were a brilliant bottle-green color.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "Can you change your appearance to anything?"

Arna nodded, she screwed up her face, and suddenly, it was like I was looking in a mirror.

With the exception of the same scar I had seen on her neck. My neck. Whatever.

"Ugh, I really need to brush my hair!" I said. Arna giggled, and changed back to her normal self.

Then, I had a thought. "Can you do animals? Like a bird or an insect or fish?"

Arna nodded. "When I'm not around the human towns, I like to appear as an eagle. But I can also appear as larger creatures, like dragons." she sighed. "The last time I tried to do something as large as a dragon, I slept for three days straight. No joke, So I don't really like to do them that often."

"Wow." I whispered in awe.

"Yeah, pretty awesome, except for the fact that only elves tolerate shifters. About a thousand years ago, back when the great war happened, some of the shifters were involved with Ciaran. After that, the rest of us were burned at the stake. Only a few managed to survive, those ones hid with the elves, and over time, the original shifters had children with the elves, and well..." Arna gestured to herself.

I looked around, to make sure that no-one was watching. "Can you turn into an eagle, like you mentioned?"

Arna hesitated, then shrugged. "Sure thing, you might want to look away, it is pretty disgusting, or so I'm told."

I covered my eyes, but made the mistake of peeking. As I watched in horror, I saw Arna's body grow feathers, her nose turn into a sharp beak, and her feet shrivel into talons.

So in other words: I almost barfed

When the transformation was done, I took my hands from my face and looked at the golden eagle in front of me.

Arna leaped from the ground and took off, diving in and out of the firelight. I stared after her in awe, wondering how any of this could be real. She swooped down and landed gracefully on my shoulder.

I raised my hand and stroked her tiny head, and in return, she rubbed my ear affectionately.

Suddenly, Arna leaped down from my shoulder, and grew back to normal size.

"Where do your clothes go when you are an animal?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Arna laughed, which sounded strangely like a dog's bark. "I honestly don't know, let's just say they disappear into the void."

"So when you're a human, or humanoid figure, you keep your clothes, but when you transform into an animal, your clothes disappear into the void, but then you somehow summon your clothes to be put back on you." I giggled, "At least you don't re-appear naked."

"You have no idea."

Arna and I laughed for a while, sitting in the firelight like old friends.

There was a low growl behind me.

Arna looked over my shoulder, and grew white faced, and wide eyed.

"Slowly stand up. Don't look behind you. Don't make any sudden moves." Said Arna slowly.

I stood up and looked at Arna.

"What is behind me?" I whimpered.

"Giant wolves, bloody teeth, demons from hell. All mixed together." Arna responded.

Even through her calm composure, I could sense the fear leaking out of her voice.

More growling. Arna sighed. "They're behind me too. Aren't they?"

I swallowed. "Yup."

"Turn around, and stand back to back with me, so we have no obvious blind spots."

The wolves stalked forwards, their eyes were blood red, almost mesmerizing.

"Don't look at their eyes." Arna warned. "If you do, and you happen to break eye contact, they will attack."

Crap.

"Hey Arna…?"

"Oh gods, did you really? After I explicitly told you not to?"

"You should've said something earlier!"

Arna pulled a knife from under her cloak, and muttered: "How in the stars does Quinlin think that you could be the chosen one?"

"Do you have a plan?" I asked Arna, still not breaking eye contact with the wolf.

"Yeah." She said. "Are you okay with heights?"

"What?!"

"Grab my feet."

Grab her feet? What the hell?

Without much more question, I slowly bent down, and grabbed her ankles.

Underneath my hands, I felt Arna's skin molding into scales; the rough, reptilian skin scraping the palms of my hands.

There was a gust of wind, and a jolt went through my shoulders.

Suddenly, I was ten meters off the ground, dangling from the claws of a dragon.

"What the-"

I was rudely interrupted by a loud screeching noise, which I assumed came from dragon-Arna.

She dropped me down onto a slightly-slanted roof, and transformed back to her humanoid form.

I frowned. "I thought you said you said that you don't like to do dragons!"

"I don't. And that wasn't a dragon, it was a fire lizard, which are native to the Starry Mountains, around Throendwell. She said matter of factly.

I didn't know where Throendwell was, or what fire lizards were, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Why do you think they were there?" I asked.

Arna sighed. "I don't know, but they are definitely servants of Ciaran. They must be hunting for you."

Suddenly, a blood curdling scream filled the air, and a dark shadow flew into the moons beam.

"We gotta go, come on!" Arna took hold of my wrist and pulled me to my feet.

"What are those things?"

"Wyverns." She said. "Ciaran knows that you are here." She was pulling me from roof-top to roof-top. "Grab your horse and leave for Thelnilin. Stay off the roads; I'll keep in touch...if I can." She paused. "I'll hold them off."

Then, she moulded into an eagle, and took off into the night.