Chapter Two

Her eyes opened at the last thought of her dream friend and she smiled. "It seems my friend has found a fortuitous encounter." She giggled as she looked up at the glowing light glyph she had carved into her room. A ghostly greenish blue emitted softly from the symbol, casting the large oak in a very homely light. She could see every line of the smooth wood as she rose from her bed.

"Elysia, you must wake now!" a voice called from outside her room. "You will be late for your training if you do not move now."

Elysia smiled as she threw her tunic and pants on. Her ears caught slightly on the fabric of the shirt as it fell over her head. Her eyes looked at the pure white wing birthmark on her hand and as it went through a sleeve. "Sometimes I envy you, Tengeshi." She sighed. "At least you don't have long pointy ears that catch on everything." She giggled again as she left her room. Her bare feet hit the soft green grass as she left. She turned to make sure that the leaf curtain fell smoothly over the trunk of the tree where her home was located before making her way into the other elvin traffic.

In Iryopyn, the elves always congregated together for one reason or another; all of the elves lived in large dwellings. Within the forest, there were more dwellings than one could count. None of them had names, since all elves were considered guests of the forest. Most elves that Elysia saw leaving their homes turned towards them, straightened the curtains and bowed in gratitude. Most gave homage to the trees for providing them shelter and had done so for hundreds of years. Elysia was only eight years old and snickered every time she saw them bowing to a tree.

It wasn't as if she wasn't grateful for having a home, but to bow to an inanimate object would be like bowing to a rock. She felt silly trying to do it, even when the adults frowned when she didn't. It was hard for her to understand the way the other elves lived. Though she was an elf herself, she also had Tengeshi who taught her of the outside world. She watched through their years of life as his father Tymore had cut down trees and made their cottage. She had watched them set up their furnace and even came up with some ideas in order to help keep the furnace functional.

Elysia walked within the crowd while looking up at the glyph lights which lined the many trees, each one casting the ghostly pale light upon them. How she wished that she would look up at the sun for once, instead of the lights. She knew that living in the night was essential to look after the gargoyles and ensure they didn't escape outside of the forest. Some of the classes she was going to take part in covered the history of the curse they had placed on the leader of the gargoyles, Medusa who also served as a warning to all elves to show humility over vanity.

As she walked, she noticed the group of children she was meant to meet waiting in the clearing they often used for classes. Though most classes were only history, meant to ensure that others would bear the burdens of the past, so they would not reenact them, this particular class had always made her excited. This class was the one class that would help Tengeshi with his various projects in his blacksmithing. Whether the boy was real or not, she didn't care. If he was real, she would be helping him and his father. As payment, she could look on through his eyes to see the outside world. If not, then she was having really vivid dreams of someone she had made up since birth.

Elysia sat with her back against a tall oak as she looked at the instructor with rapt attention. If Tengeshi truly was real, she had to do everything she could to ensure he received that sponsorship from his knight. If he did, she could follow him through her dreams to a city far larger than she had ever seen through his eyes. The thought of visiting an actual city was enough to send shivers down her spine. She had heard so many stories from Tymore, yet to actually see it, she shared Tengeshi's excitement.

"I'm glad you finally found your way." The instructor nodded her head towards Elysia who stood straight and addressed her..

"I formally apologize to instructor Keerla." Elysia said before placing both her pointer and middle finger to her lips and bowed slightly. In the elven tradition, such a bow was given from student to teacher. When graduating from their classes, one could put their fingers to their lips but would not have to bow any longer, showing that they were equals. At the time of graduation, all elves are given the opportunity to leave their current families and move on to different settlements.

Instructor Keerla nodded her head and motioned Elysia to sit. "Today we will be going over how to use agility glyphs." As she said this, a murmur spread throughout the group.

Even Elysia's eyes widened at this. She had long since seen the adult elves gliding above the ground moving faster than what she had thought possible. She had been witness to elves doing a fifty mile dash in under ten minutes, and others racing to see who was faster. They had agility games they would play routinely to sharpen their skills. If the need arose, those who used this glyph competitively could disappear right before her eyes.

"I can see your excitement, and I understand it. This glyph will start your defensive training. From now on, you will practice this glyph once a day until you make your way from novice to journeyman.

Most children sighed at this. Though it was exciting for them to finally take a step into defense, to have to go through three ranks of skill within the same glyph, some felt like Keerla might be asking for too much.

Some of the children voiced the very same complaint before Keerla raised her hands in defense. "If you don't take the time to learn this glyph to the journeyman status, how could I be certain you would put any effort into the other glyphs I have yet to teach you?" She put her hands on her hips. "If you wish to continue your education, prove it by completing your task.

After the voices quieted down, Keerla smiled and took out a small plate which had a symbol carved into it. "This is the agility glyph." She looked at everyone as they copied the glyph onto their own plate. "In order to use the glyph properly, you can place it on any part of your body you wish for the glyph to enhance. Just remember, the more glyphs you place on yourself, the more life force will be drawn from you to supply the glyphs. This is another reason I want you to practice until the journeyman stage. If you do not, you will not have enough life force to fuel more than two glyphs for more than a minute."

It made sense to Elysia. She remembered the conversation one of the villagers had with Tymore at one time. How he had fended off a gargoyle for a few swings of a warhammer with only a sword. The reason the sword broke must have been that he ran out of life force, not the quality of glyph that Tengeshi put on the hilt.

"By practicing this glyph daily, you will increase your life force. I would caution you not to use this training on your own, but instead use a training partner. If you run too far out of the settlement at the wrong time, the protectors might mistake you for trespassers." She gave them a knowing look. She had seen far too many children make their way through the forest, ignoring warnings and continuing further. She missed many of them. "The proper starting place to apply the glyph would be sandals or shoes. If used on sandals, ensure that they will be placed underneath, so as to allow you to glide above the ground slightly to promote more speed. If you are wearing shoes, place them on the heel of the shoe, so as to promote a faster pace. With sandals, you will expend more life force faster, due to the position of your feet.

Elysia's face went pale as she looked down at her feet. She had once again gone to class without her shoes, as she did on a regular basis. Why would she need them? With the elves' perfectionism, there wasn't a twig on the ground to step on. She sighed as she got up and bowed to her teacher once more, gaining her attention. "Teacher, I have left my shoes at home and request leave to go get them."

Keerla sighed and shook her head. "Just hurry."

Elysia placed two fingers to her lips and deepened her bow slightly before straightening and running out as fast as she could, earning many glances at her feet to ensure she didn't put the glyphs on them by accident.

Elysia ran through rows of trees as if they were the streets of the town Tengeshi sold his father's wares. She knew the trees better than most of the elves. As she neared her tree, she slid on her knees through the leaf curtain and grabbed her shoes. She took a few wooden plates from a shelf and sewed them onto the shoes, after which she took the carving tool and placed the glyph on each of the shoes. The moment she put them on, she could feel the familiar pull of her life force going into the glyphs. She suddenly felt more light on her feet. When she stood up, she felt like a feather in the breeze as she lightly stepped out of her home and back onto the forest floor.

Looking back in the direction she came from, Elysia took one step forward and noticed how lightly she took it. In the back of her mind she felt like a giddy little girl, cheering at the sky for how amazing it felt, but on the outside, she kept a calm demeanor as her eyes narrowed. She took step after step, going faster and faster until she was just a wisp of air going through the trees. It was as if one moment she was there, and the next she disappeared.

By the time she got back to the class area, she was out of breath and seeing black blotches within her vision. It felt like she had already traveled a full day's journey, yet it had only been a minute.

As she reappeared, Instructor Keerla walked towards her with a sigh. "I didn't tell you to use the glyph already, silly child."

"I'm-sorry-Instructor-Keela, I-was-just-so-excited." Elysia said between breaths as she bent forward in a bow with her fingers to her lips, yet she bowed slightly more than she had intended, resulting in falling forward.

Keerla moved swiftly to Elysia, catching her mid fall. As she helped her to a sitting position, she looked at Elysia's feet. "It's no wonder you are so exhausted." She rolled her eyes and smirked at the child. "Why would you attach the glyphs without knowing how to stop the flow of life force?" She raised her eyebrow. "Are you trying to die?"

"Stop the flow of life force?" Elysia looked at Keerla in confusion. "I didn't know you could do such a thing."

"Really?" Keerla laughed light heartedly as she stared in wonder at the girl. "Do you think most people take the glyphs off of their clothing when they are done using them? What if they are in the middle of a battle and need to switch glyphs? Will they put a strength glyph on mid battle? Or will they cut the flow of life force to the specific glyph?"

Elysia's ears went a slight shade of crimson as she was admonished. Why didn't she just lead with that information before having us practice then? She thought to herself as she looked at her teacher. "Then if instructor Keerla doesn't mind, could you teach me?"

Keerla looked into Elysia's eyes and all humor fell away. Instead of a smile, her straight face bore into hers. "All you have to do is picture the flow of life force and where it goes within your body. As it reaches the glyphs, place a ward to cut the flow."

"A ward?"

"It can be anything. You can picture a door, a curtain or anything else, as long as it symbolizes a halt within the journey of life essence. Just close your eyes and find the stream."

Elysia did what Keerla said and closed her eyes. As she did, she saw the familiar darkness of the inside of her eyelids. As she focused though, she could see a faint light. At first she thought it was an after image from a light glyph, but she then saw that it resembled a stream instead. She let her mind follow the stream of light until it curved off into two locations. She could easily guess that they were her feat. Even in her mind's eye, she could see a vague silhouette of the wooden plates she attached to her feet. She could see the light get fainter and fainter, and she could feel a headache coming on. As she focused on her feet, she could see the passage between her body to the wood. As quickly as she could, she pictured a large wooden door placed on each passage. As she did this, she could see the doors cutting off the flow of life force.

Elysia sighed in relief as she saw the life force building up a little more at a time, the light behind her eyes getting just a little less faint as the minutes went by, until finally she could relax. She opened her eyes to see a perplexed Keerla looking at her. "I cut the flow of life force as you instructed." She shrugged, wondering why she was getting stared at.

"Yes, I can see this." Keerla said almost under her breath. "It took the other students until you got back to learn the basics of a solid block, whereas you grasped it the first time. Most of the students pictured their leaf curtains, but that still allowed for life force to leak through, but you got it your first time."

Elysia knew the reason she was able to picture the right block was due to the life she had seen through Tengeshi's eyes. She had seen his father cut down the tree and chop the wood as well as binding and sanding it. She had seen him cast the hinges and attach them to the door. She knew how he measured the frame in order to get a snug fit without much guessing work. In many ways, she was an expert on building such blocks, so imagining one was not terribly difficult. "Maybe I've just got a better imagination." She smirked.

"Maybe." Keerla's eyes narrowed as she looked at Elysia. The younger girl met the woman's eyes unflinchingly. If it was a test to see if she was hiding something, Elysia had always been a headstrong child, so seeing whether she looked like she was keeping a secret, or looking like she didn't like being stared at, it was all the same. "Go join the other children." She sighed one last time while rubbing her forehead.

Elysia bowed her head to her teacher and placed two fingers to her lips. When she stood straight again, a small smile played on her lips as she released the blocks, letting her life force enter the glyphs and allowing herself to shoot forward. In as long as she lived, she had not felt such freedom as she felt using the agility glyphs. "I hope this helps you on your journey tomorrow, Tengeshi." She smiled a secret smile to her friend on the other side of her thoughts.