Morning of Survival
Assistant 1:
Pronunciations:
Sharia Felvor - Sha-ree-uh Fell-vor
Queen Raina - Kween Rain-ah
Vidra Drunvre - Vee-drah Druhn-vrae
Woroon - Woh-roon
Kaezima - Kay-zeema
Elvish city: Chemiation - Kem-mee-ah-shon
Hampwich Woods - Hamp-wich Weods
Sword name: Theliel - theeh-lee-uhl
Bow name: Spitfire - spit-fire
Language name: Ainucuri - Ain-oo-keori
Chapter 1: Morning of Survival
The fire roars around me. There is no escape. My bow nor sword with help me now. There wind is blowing sparks and burning leaves all around me. The swirling heat stabs at my skin. My hair is tied back in a ponytail to keep it out of my face. There are a few free single strands of my pale blonde hair roaming around but for the most part it is out of my way.
I turn to face the east and there is a man there. He is taller than me and is wearing an all black robe that covers his arms, legs, and part of his chest. There is a streak down the middle where I can see his muscular abs. He has a large evil smirk on his face and he unsheathes the sword that was at his side.
“Sharia Felvor. If it isn’t the loved and nurtured elf-princess herself.” The man says.
I grimace as he says my name in his cold, hard, emotionless voice.
“Vidra Dunvre…” I say to myself. This is the man that was destined to become an amazing leader and the king of my beautiful city. The capital of the Woodland Elves. Chemiation.
“It means so much to me that you remember my name.” The man laughs, “My dear fiance.”
I clench my teeth and grab the hilt of my blade, Theliel. I feel the comforting stones I had placed on the pommel. As I am about to take my sword a darkness surrounds the man whom I was supposed to marry.
I release Theliel and instead reach behind me to grab Spitfire, my bow, and an arrow. I string the arrow quickly and aim at the darkness that has engulfed Vidra.
The arrow flies straight and hits its mark. Vidra looks at me from the embrace of darkness and takes the arrow into his hands; he pulls it out of his chest and turns it on me. He forms a bow out of the shadows and strings it.
He aims and fires it at me. Before I can do anything, I feel the arrow pierce me.
I wake up quickly. I blink my eyes and look around my room. I peer into the darkness. I blow into the shadows and my spell makes the darkness disappear and reveal my room. I had my hand on Theliel that I keep by my bedside. I release him from my grasp and lay back down. I take deep breaths to calm down.
Vidra was destined to come back at anytime now. He had been banished because of his illegal actions but that doesn’t mean it will stop him. He had been making deals with demons and evil men. He revealed us to men, they came to hunt us down but we dispatched them.
We had been living in Hampwich forest for centuries. A few times men would wander in by accident. We would simply clear their memory and send them on their way. I personally had never met a man nor had a conversation.
I get up off of my soft bed of downy owl feathers and grab my gear. I get clothed in my armor and head out of my small, 1-room house. As soon as I step onto the pathway, I smile. The air smells good and there are butterflies fluttering lightly around. I know that today will be a good day.
I begin to walk down the path to go to the watchtower to begin my watch.
“Sharia!!” I turn to my name. There is a tall dark, dirty blonde, she-elf. I turn all the way around and bow politely.
“Yes my queen?” I ask without looking up.
“Sharia, you need not call me your queen. You are my daughter, just call me by name.” She says with a lilt in her soft voice.
“Yes Queen Raina.” I respond and stand up straight.
“You are getting so old… I wish that I could keep your forever.” She tells me with a sad smile.
“I am not going anywhere mother.” I say. I hadn’t been told that I was going on a mission so I was confused. I am excited though. I have never been on a mission before. They were always looked down upon.
But a mission means freedom. It means that I don’t have to be stuck here for the rest of my life, no matter how happy I am.
My mother gives me a look of sympathy and of pity.
“Mother, what are you talking about?” I repeat myself.
“Come with me.” She says and turns and starts to walk towards the Great Hall. I turn and look behind me at the watchtower then turn and run after her.
“Please tell me. Have I been assigned a mission?” I ask eagerly.
She looks down on me with a frown, “In a way. But I am afraid that you will not return the same Sharia that everyone knows and loves dearly.”
I don’t respond and keep my head down. My hair falls down to make a shield over my eyes. I close my eyes and try to calm down.
We walk deeper into the village and pass the Great Hall. My mother is guiding me into the forbidden edge of the forest.
“M-mother… This place is off limits…” I whisper as I grab the pommel of my sword.
“It’s alright, it is safe.” She says calmly. Once we get far enough away that we can’t see the walls anymore she turns to look at me. Her eyes are filled with tears.
“What has happened?” I ask her. My eyebrows are knit together.
“You must go and find the half-elf that is in the man’s villages. Vidra will return soon. We need the half-elf to defeat him.” She says pleadingly.
Everyone knows how powerful half-elf, half-humans are. They hold the power and wisdom of elves and the fearlessness and drive of humans. They are such rare creatures that every living being is somehow looking for one.
Once one becomes ‘of age’ they let off a certain smell to the world. It makes it so much easier for evil beings to find them. The half-elf must be coming to that age. The term ‘of age’ refers to the moment when the half-elf falls in love. It is when they release their trust and devote themselves. You must find them before they fall in love to keep them safe.
“I don’t understand. How will I find him?” I ask.
“You will know when you see him. You must go now. There are clothes and supplies by the North Tree. You must go to the capital of the man’s country. No one must know that you have left. This is of the utmost importance that no one knows you have left. To keep you and the half-elf safe.” She says quickly. She has tears in her eyes.
“I will.” I hug her tightly, “I swear that I will come back. Don’t wait for me mother.” I tell her. I feel my chest surge with emotion but I keep it down. This is my first mission, I can’t decline it, especially as the Grand Elf Princess. I release my mother give her a parting bow out of respect. I stand and start running towards the North Tree.
I turn for a second and see my mother staring after me. Just before I look away something comes behind her. A dark, dark shadow. It engulfs her from behind. I keep running as I see her arm reach out to me. At that moment, she is lost. There is nothing I can do.
I take a breath a turn around. Her fingers are just barely disappearing into the black fog that is engulfing her. I don’t know what to do. I am close enough to hit the fog with an arrow but I don’t want it to harm my mother.
I make up my mind.
I feel the setting is familiar as I draw Spitfire. I grab an arrow and aim at the center of the shadows. I release the arrow and it flies home. It hits its mark and the shadow stops moving. A tendril snakes out and grabs the arrow. The arrow is crushed in its grip.
I turn and run faster until I arrive at the North Tree. I climb into the boughs of the tree and stay there for a while. I am waiting to see if the shadow had followed me. After an hour I climb down to find the supplies that I will need.
I find them under the roots of the tree. I grab them. It is in a large black bookbag. In it I find a school outfit, a phone, paperwork, and some food among other things. I quickly change into the new clothes and stuff my armor into the bag. I eat some of the human food that is in the bag. Elves only eat vegetables and plant food. If we were to eat meat then we would get mortally sick. Special elves, like me, have developed a certain tolerance towards it but it doesn’t save us. We still get food poisoning.
Once I am dressed I hide my sword in the skirt and put Spitfire and my arrows into the bookbag in a special hidden compartment. I walk north, in the direction of the capital of this human country: Seoul.
I find a human path and I walk on it. After a while I see a few other men who stare at me. I glare at them and they quickly turn away. I am aware of the unholy lust that every man feels. I am not afraid of it though.
Men are usually slow and dumb witted. Nothing the Grand Elf Princess can’t handle on her own. I walk further and it becomes even more populated. Now there are mostly pairs that are travelling around. Usually male and female but also some female and female or male and male. I never understood human logic but if it works for them, the elves won’t intervene.
I walk down a busy street, full of teenage mortals. I know that the half-elf won’t be where I just was, because they haven’t been awoken yet. I would feel it. I would feel it even more now that I am closer to him.
I wander around until I come to a sign. It is the title of a school: Maple Ridge High. I look at the paperwork that I had found in the bookbag and it has the same title. I walk towards the gates and try to open it.
I hear a voice, “Please state your business.” It says in a robotic voice.
I walk to it and my fate is sealed.
