Chapter 1
Merriella heard the bell tinkle against the door as she
entered the small shop. The fire was crackling comfortably in the corner of the
room. She stepped in and set her packages on to the counter. Crystalline
statues and models of all shapes and sizes lined shelves along the wall.
A head peered from the door leading into the back and eyes blinked a time or
two, before an older Sen walked out and smiled at her.
“Getnel, I heard it’s ready!” she said excitedly.
“Well, young one…you heard right,” Getnel said.
“Oh, c’mon Get. I’m not that young anymore, after all, this
Novus Daga is my coming of age, I’ll be fifteen, even treated as an adult… well
for the most part.”
“What is fifteen to one who has been alive for as long as I
have Merriella? Why, this year marks two-hundred seventy years.” Getnel
exclaimed. Merriella giggled as he waved his arms in enthusiasm.
“So? Where is it?!?” Burst out Merriella.
“Patience, I will get it right now” said Getnel as he
disappeared into the back room chuckling.
“This is my best work yet Merriella! I almost considered
keeping it to display in the parlor window” Getnel teased as he came out with a
carefully wrapped box.
“Real funny Get, then I would have to tell my little sister
that she wasn’t getting a Novus gift this year, and then listen to her cry.”
Merriella opened the box a peeked inside. Then gasped in
amazement, just as she had ordered, there was a complete replica of their city
Aurion. It was all clear glass infused with magic that swirled and moved
vibrant colors inside. When she looked carefully, she could even pick out
streets, and individual buildings that she ran past every day.
“This is spectacular Getnel! Thank you!” Placing the top back
on, she put the box on top of her other packages, and handed him the agreed
amount of money. She picked up her load and ran out the door, waving as she
left. Getnel just laughed and waved back.
Merriella walked quickly, arms full of packages, through the
narrow alleyways of Aurion leading to her house, careful of the small patches
of ice visible only in the reflection of twinkling lights. Though the streets
were always clear of snow, no consideration was given for the alleys, leaving
oddly shaped drifts, and patches of ice where any water had frozen. The final
candle was to be lit in the town center, marking five days until the beginning
of the Great Winter Festival. Eight candles were to be lit, one for each month
on the beginning of the eighth week, and then at the end of the eighth week of
the eighth month, was a celebration marking the beginning of the new year. It
lasted for five days, and was celebrated by all of the Senial cities. Though
Aurion was not the smallest of the Senial cities, it wasn’t Callione, which was
easily the largest, boasting almost 40,000 Sen. Merriella rounded a
corner sharply, and ran into a cloaked figure, that was hustling the opposite
direction at almost the same speed. Her packages fell to the ground, thankfully
landing in the small drift at the corner of the buildings. Except for the one
for her sister, which landed on a patch of clear walkway, and tinkled as it
shattered in its wrapping. She knelt down and retrieved it, and slowly opened
the box, gasping at the broken pieces inside. What had been a full replica of
the entire city, in full emberclear colors, was now nothing but broken glass.
Any magic contained in the glass was now gone, as the containing force was also
broken. She stifled a sob as she looked up at the cloaked figure, but the
figure had taken off, not looking back for a moment. She sat for a moment
more, tears shed and gathering to freeze on her thick fur jacket lapel.
Slowly she stood, cradling the box with it's shattered contents in her
hands. Picking up her other parcels, she slowly continued the walk to her
home, unsure of what to do now, the gift was ruined, and she would have to find
something else to get now. The wind picked up, humming it's sad tune
through the surrounding buildings, shivering she picked up her pace again.
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He woke suddenly, looking into the darkness
around him, searching for the sound that had taken him from his blissful sleep.
Another loud boom broke the silence, crashing into his ears harshly.
Light flashed outside, then all went still, and quiet. Caeleb
slipped into his pants, and jerkin, confused since he and his mother lived on
the opposite side of the mountain from the civilized world. Slipping out
the door into the night beyond, he tried to pick where the sound and noise had
come from. A flash lit up the darkness, illuminating the forest below, a
resounding crack came directly after. Caeleb stared in disbelief, he
knew that the Forest at the base of the mountain was uninhabited. Many
years before, the King of that land had left to quest in search of his
long-lost love. The kingdom had fallen into disrepair, and the forest had
quickly taken over, forcing what inhabitants remained out. Word had come
back a few years after that, the King had been lost on his quest. The
occasional treasure hunter or historian had come through, to find the lost
Kingdom, despite much warning of the dangers of the forest. As of yet,
none had returned, disappearing into the forest which had been given the name,
Ghosting Woods. Sometimes during the day, as the fog over the forest
lifted, figures could be seen moving at the edge of the woods, vanishing before
the view fully cleared. Peering through the returned darkness, Caeleb
could see smoke lifting into the sky, blending with the deep night blue. He
would have to look again in the morning to see what was visible, but it was
late now, and he was too tired to give in to his interest of the strange occurance
in the valley. He opened the door, and walked back to his bed, yanking
his clothes off, and clambering back in. He pulled his blanket up around
his neck, and did his best to ignore the continued noise outside.
Eventually the violent disturbance in the valley ended, and he passed
back out of the world.
"Caeleb, Please don't do this! No one
has returned from the Ghosting woods since the kingdom fell. Why do you
need to pursue this?" exclaimed his mother Gloria.
She swept her grey streaked
chestnut hair out of her eyes, and looked for any sign on his face that he was
listening to her, but all she saw was determination and curiosity glimmering in
his azure eyes. Not quite sixteen, he was the picture of his father, who
had disappeared at the edge of the forest searching for fallen branches for
wood. He had the same bright eyes, dark brown hair, the single dimple on
his right cheek. Just like his father, tall but not lanky, built quite
well. He was not broad across the chest and shoulders as Aeric had been,
but he was still growing. Hunting and tracking for meat had left him
tough and strong, while teaching grace and fluid movements. He had
recieved the lopsided grin, and strong jaw from her side of the family, and his
jaw was set in the manner she had seen too much from her own family many times
before.
Mentally Caeleb checked the supplies he was
packing, while Gloria continued to give him reasons it was not wise to go into
the woods. She had slept through the noise and flashes of light last
night, but anyone could see the smoke rising from the woods come the
morning. Something was digging at his mind, a feeling that he must go
into the forest.
"Mother, please stop. I can take care of
myself, and there is a change in the forest, I can feel it. The shadows
were not there before the fog lifted this morning, and you know they are always
there." He said, cutting his mothers protests short. She was
always worried when he was leaving, especially since he would be heading into
the place his own father had vanished from..
