The Search for the Lucky One

I walked down the stone hallway of the Faerie Castle, glancing at the intricately carved stones between normal flat ones. Faeries were quite artistic in every parts of their life style. I assumed that was why they got along so well with the Elves. We were artistic in a way too, or at least some of us were.

Elves main artistic abilities were more Earth centered while Faeries artistic abilities revolved around their decorating and attitudes. Elves used the earth to decorate and arrange, but the faeries created useful objects that all magic beings all over the magic realm could use. Elves had a magic craft of working with the earth. Flowers would bend to our will and become any kind of object possible. Most of the time they would form swords, but furniture and other types of equipment could be made. The type of sword an elf could create depended upon how skilled they were in using the magic and how well they understood the magic they were using. A highly skilled elf could create multiple swords from the foliage in one go, whereas an unskilled elf could take a week to make a single petal turn into a blade. Our one law that we followed, if we ever used the earth, was that we had to at least thank it for bending to our will. We respect the earth and all the creatures as well. Showing simple gratitude was the least elves could do.

All elves were required to learn how to create flower swords. It was the basics of all Elven craft. Once this earth manipulating was learned an elf would take an apprenticeship and learn a craft. They might create furniture from the thick stems of thistles or houses from tree bark. Eventually all elves would break off into their own jobs to help the community.

No one job was considered better than the other. Some might take more skill than others but that didn’t make an elf any better than another. No matter how it benefited the Elf Circles it benefited everyone in the end. Everyone was treated the same, even, like I said, royalty. Royalty didn’t have special privileges like in the human-tales we heard as children. Royals worked in the dirt with everyone else, only we had our own jobs to carry out, and some we weren’t allowed to perform.

Royal elves were only called royal by the other magic beings of the magic realm. My family was educated in ways to negotiate and settle decisions across the magic realm. That meant that we had to be well versed in multiple languages above the basic ones we were required to know. We also had to be trained highly in combat because we were meant to not only lead into a war but also be able to defend ourselves and others. Most of all we needed to be trained in magic. All elves were trained in magic, but royal elves, once we become of age, get our own private tutor and we become their apprentices. Knowing magic in the magic realm is one of the most useful skills for any creature. It is what separates us from each other while separating us from the non-magic folk, such as humans. It can be a variable weapon in battle as well as a remedy for cures. It isn’t only spells and tricks, but also a knowledge of magic that is learned as well.

There are always basics that all elves must know, but it is the royals that are required to be educated highly in every matter of the elf lives. As a royal elf that means I have a pre-determined job. I take it as seriously as I would guarding my life. Unfortunately that means there is one specific job that I am not allowed to even think of doing, and that is the job of healing.

Not every elf carries the ability to heal, just like not every elf can change colour when touched. When an elf can heal they, much like royalty, have a job from birth and they are trained very specifically for that one job. Healing is not only a dangerous job, but it is also difficult to perfect. Other magic beings are highly skilled at healing such as nymphs or phoenixes, some are more apt to train other magic beings at healing than others. The danger in healing comes from the healing itself. If an elf is not careful they can become injured themselves or sick. An elf usually studies for many years before attempting to heal anything at all.

The danger of healing is the reason why royal elves are forbidden to heal. Some may be born with the gift, as I was, but it is not to be used. Most royal elves don’t let any other being know they have the ability. I know my father had some ability in healing minor wounds but I am not allowed to talk about it.

As I walked down the decorated faerie corridors some of them stopped and bowed towards me. I bowed back and thanked them for allowing me to stay. When I turned a corner I could hear some of them remark, “He acts so grown up for being so young.”

“I know, he takes being royal very seriously.”

“It is an honour to have him here. He will be a great leader one day.”

I appreciated their remarks, but it was only natural for me to take things seriously. Ruling the elf circles, even if it was just to negotiate was an important ordeal and someone in my position despite my age did not have the right to slack off on my studies.

The elf carriage could be clearly seen as the drawbridge was lowered. I preferred to travel on foot where I could get access to my weapons at any moment, but I am young and I understand that as much as I disliked depending on others, it was safer for me. It seemed all the faeries in the castle had come to see me off as well as their Sidhe pets. Two of my father’s best elf fighters came across the drawbridge to greet me.

“Happy birthday.” The red elf guard said as he came over and ruffled my hair. His name was Jethreigh and he was the best guard we had at the elf circles, he trained many of the advanced defense classes that I would soon take part in as my training in all factors of the royalty job advanced. He was followed by a green elf named Kairoh. He too was a great warrior among the elves. His specialties included using magic with weapons.

“Ready to go, Prince Asher?” Kairoh asked. I suddenly found myself lifted from the ground and quite nearly thrown into the air. He had lifted me up as though I was a child! I didn’t know what to say. I was relieved when he put me back on the ground but I was not happy with his methods of greeting.

“Aw he got all serious just then!” Jethreigh joked.

“He’s always serious. Doesn’t even enjoy being a kid.”

They spoke as though I wasn’t there. I knew it was their nature to joke about but I was not pleased. I worked hard to be an adult and I only wished I was treated as such. I didn’t want to wait around to see what other humiliating things they may do. I bowed towards the faeries and walked with whatever dignity was left to the carriage.

“Thanks for taking care of our prince.” Kairoh announced with gratitude in the faerie language, “I’m sure the royals will be more than pleased with what you have taught him.”

“Fare your journey well.” Faeries announced back. I was soon joined by the two elves in the carriage and it took off by itself.

I mentioned before that we respect the earth. That also includes beasts. We do not use them to pull carriages much like humans do with the beasts from their realm, and other magic beings do here. We rarely even ride on other creatures unless it is out of necessity or it is invited by the beasts themselves. It is also rare for an elf to have a pet, or animal companion and if an elf does it is probably because it was the beast’s choice to adopt the elf.

“Aw Prince Asher, you’ve gone all silent. Usually you are brimming to talk about what new thing you’ve learned.” Kairoh announced and bumped the side of my arm more than likely leaving a green patch against my skin. “You probably know more than I do already and I’m about three times your age.”

“He’s probably mad you picked him up so flamboyantly.” Jethreigh joked.

“Oh well, you’re just a kid I didn’t think it would bother you that much.”

“I would prefer it if it didn’t happen again.” I said and inconspicuously checked my arm to see if there really was any green. Sure enough there was. I didn’t have anything against green elves, I didn’t have anything against any colour of elf. I just preferred to stay my one colour and not have it changed.

They laughed at my response, as I found most of the elder elves did whenever I spoke. I had been told I spoke with a language too old for my age. The faeries seemed to appreciate my discipline for learning. That was yet another difference between us. Faeries were quite structured on learning and found education to be of a higher priority than playing, though they did encourage it in-between some of my classes. Elves were quite care free in all aspects of work. I admit sometimes I had feelings to play with the other elf children, but my need to educate myself came first.

Despite their less than favourable shows of affection I appreciated that they were accompanying me. The journey home, especially with royalty, was dangerous. It would take a week to get back to the Elf Circles and I knew there would be trials that we were going to have to watch out for.

Jethreigh and Kairoh joked and swapped numerous war stories as the hours dragged slowly by. The carriage moved at a speed that was nearly as fast as an elf could run. I watched out through the windows of the carriage as the grass and flowers slowly crept by. Hours dragged monotonously by and we finally made it to the great Black Lake. As a reflex I drew my daggar at my side. It had been a gift from my faerie sword master and was engraved with runes that gave it a bit of a magic edge. Kairoh and Jethreigh continued to talk unnoticing the danger we were passing and would be passing for the next few hours.

The Black Lake was one of the most ominous lakes in all of the magic realm and it didn’t help that the Forest of Alleghany was across from it. The Black Lake used to house many different yet sinister magic beings, however a clan of Water Specters took over and were now the only soul survivors beneath the dark waters. It was unknown just how many of those creatures were in the water but it must have been an alarming number since it had taken them only a fortnight to completely empty the lake of anything else living.

Water Specters took the shape of attractive females with long white hair. They had perpetual grins that beckoned to anyone that happened to pass by or disturb their waters. At first they would seem gentle and friendly, but as soon as they got a hold of their prey they would drag them into the water never to return to the surface again. It was rumored they would drag their prey to the bottom just for fun. The only way out of their slippery grip was to show them something that reflected. The thing they loved more than dragging prey to the bottom of the water was looking at themselves. A simple mirror would cause them to completely forget their prey.

The Forest of Alleghany was even more dangerous than the lake. It was the only non-enchanted forest in the whole of the magic realm but that was because of the beasts that resided within. Wildebeests and other monsters lurked between the twisting branches absorbing all the magic. They themselves were not magic creatures, but rather nightmarish beasts that severely guarded their territory. They didn’t usually travel in herds but if they were found together it was impossible to escape. Snarguls were another dominating reason for why magic wasn’t in those woods. They scared anything magic and non magic away. They were evenly matched with the Wildebeests, and even though they didn’t tolerate each other’s presence in each other’s territory they did not fight. They would either both end up severely injured or dead. There were no in-betweens. Other creatures lurked in the shadows of the half-dead trees that nullified anything magic that crossed their boarders.

It wasn’t only the creatures and beasts that kept everything out, but it was the forest itself that caused problems. Near the entrance it had many traps and pitfalls that were sure to catch anyone wandering in without an education on the dangers of the woods. These drops and cliffs were masked by the leaves and trees that gave off illusions of safety. It was said that great wars were once fought on the very land where the forest now stood and the earth rebelled causing many oubliettes and traps. It kept anyone from entering or leaving the woods. If anyone was unlucky enough to get past the beginning dangers of the hidden drop-off cliffs they were sure to be greeted by some other unknown disaster. Very few journeys have been taken into those woods and those that survived usually went mental or were too scared to relate their findings. It was by complete chance that I had learned all the information that I had on those woods. At first I thought they were just tales to keep young children out, but through research I had grown to learn more facts. That was one of the benefits of knowing multiple languages. Apparently the only magic beings that successfully traveled through the woods were Shrilfs.

Shrilfs were luck beings that not only caused themselves to be lucky but anything around them. It was unfortunate that the most recent war that was being fought as I was born caused all the Shrilfs to go extinct. Their language was considered dead and was never taught to anyone. They had the ability to learn and speak any language immediately after hearing a few simple words and they were more than willing to use any language of the creatures they were talking to. It was deemed an unimportant language to know mostly because all of them were gone. None the less I always had a knack for broadening my knowledge and I found a book written about the Forest of Alleghany in the Shrilf words. I taught myself as much of the language as I needed to know to understand the book.

An hour had passed and the Black Lake was still and unwavering. There weren’t any signs of the Water Specters and all seemed safe for now. I still held on to my sword as a precaution. We were walking in-between two very dangerous places in the whole of the magic realm.

Eventually, our journey led us passed the lake and then the forest without any problems. It was rare to be attacked by anything form either side unless a traveler was uneducated about either of the sinister places. Despite the danger, if one keeps moving it is more than certain they should get through safely. It is only dangerous if either places were entered.

Day one of the traveling was coming to a close. Jethreigh jumped form the carriage at one point and scouted out a place to make camp. We were about an hour away from the dangers of the Black Lake or Forrest of Alleghany and we were now very near the largest enchanted forest in the magic realm; The Enchanted Forest Bellessa. The trees hummed lullabies at night like all enchanted forests, but it was said that this forest’s songs were the sweetest. The creatures that lived in these woods were known to be gentle and of the rarest of breeds. This forest was so large that the elf circles were connected to it at the very end. Staying under the branches of these woods would almost guarantee safety. Jethreigh led us on for another hour or so until he found an acceptable spot to stay.

I was only too eager to leave the carriage once it had stopped. I preferred the use of my legs as transportation as opposed to anything else. I sheathed my sword and didn’t feel the need to pull it out. It was always important to be on guard but I knew this area fairly well and was comfortable in the surroundings. Jethreigh went about clearing the leaves with a simple bit of earth magic while Kairoh went to work building a bit of shelter. He placed his hands firmly on the ground and a dome of roots, vines, and branches grew up and entangled themselves together in the cleared land. I, too, placed my hands on the ground to create my own makeshift shelter. I wasn’t completely experienced with magic yet, but I had learned that patience and determination never hurt anything. I concentrated on what was below the warm grass and what I could use to make a shelter. When I was ready I willed the objects below to grow. It wasn’t as simple as it looked, like all magic eventually seemed. Controlling multiple vines and things underground took plenty of power. It was a much slower process than Kairoh’s had taken and it didn’t look as neat, but by the time either of the two guards looked at my work it had begun to at least take the shape of a dome.

“Well I’ll be.” Kairoh mused and came over to examine my work. “The prince is a natural! I know the faeries didn’t teach you that! This is elf craft. Where’d you learn this? Shouldn’t you only be on sword forming from flowers?”

“I watched you do it.” I said, though still concentrating on getting the branches to curl together just right, “Then I thought about how it should be done.”

“Reminds me of my kid.” Jethreigh said coming over to also check out my vines. When I was satisfied I sat back and admired my work. I had never controlled that many element sin one go before, even though it didn’t look as correctly constructed as Kairoh’s structure I was proud of it. Jethreigh’s son was well known in the Elf Circles. Many years ago he had been out traveling with a group of adolescent elves when they were attacked by a group of Goblins. Since he was the son of a swordmaster and was adequately skilled to fight he told them he would go quietly with them and to let the other elves go. As soon as the younger elves had run a battle ensued. He had successfully taken down whole group but by the time he had returned his wounds were too late to heal. He had sacrificed himself for the others and was regarded as a hero in our circles.

Despite the unsoundness of my structure I wanted to sleep in it. It took some diplomatic negotiating but I finally convinced the two guards to let me alone. The area was safe enough anyway. Besides we were close to the forest and they were going to sleep in their shelters next to me. As I crawled into my dome of vines I lied back and gazed up at the stars through a few of the holes in my roof. I thanked the earth for bending to my will and I turned over to go to sleep.

I slept peacefully through half the night until something latched onto my foot and pulled me fiercely from my tent. I choked as I breathed in smoke and I saw that the three domes of ours had been set alight. The stone-like grip around my arm and neck as well as the stench of old earth and musk immediately led me to believe that we were ambushed by goblins.