Prologue
In the scenic town of Talishe in
the province of Toristiman in the land of Taulishkie, there
lived a thirteen-year-old girl by the name of Amara. She
was the younger of two children. Her seventeen-year-old
brother was the town handyman. Their father was the
blacksmith. Their mother was the seamstress
During the summer following her
thirteenth birthday, one walk in the woods changed Amara's
life forever.
She'd been idiot enough to obey
her brother's request to walk through the woods on the
outskirts of Talishe. “Don't you know what people say
about that forest?” she asked. “It's enchanted.”
“Yes, I know they say that,”
her brother Jonas replied. “That's why I want you to
check it out for me. I want to write to Jarvis about it.”
“Jarvis lives a mile down the
road; you don't have to write a letter to him when you
can just walk down to his house! Besides, why do I have
to do it? Are you scared of going in? I thought you and
Jarvis were more 'mature' than that. Anyway, I'm not going
to do it.”
“You don't understand; Jarvis
and I don't have similar schedules. We don't have the time
to get together and go on a walk like that.”
“Yeah, right! You don't have
time to go on a little walk, yet you have time to wreak
havoc at the fairs and dances? Give me a break. Go on the
walk yourself.”
“You don't get it, do you? I'm
not asking you to do it; I'm telling you to do it. Now,
either you do it, and you don't get something from me; or
don't do it, and you do get something from me. I suggest
you do it, because you won't like what you'd get from me.”
Finally, she gave in.
At noon, she set off for the
cluster of trees outside Talishe known as the “Enchanted
Forest.” The emerald trees, the ebony trunks, and the
rainberries seemed almost magical. Amara easily imagined
elves, fairies, and pixies singing and dancing among the
saplings.
Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of
disorientation swept over Amara. She stumbled up to a tree
and slid to the ground with her back to the smooth bark.
As she waited for the spell to pass, a sprite-like figure
flew by in front of her eyes. It's
my imagination,
she thought to herself, brought
on by this spell.
Within a minute, the disorientation passed. Amara pushed
herself off the ground and continued her walk through the
woods. Five yards from where she'd collapsed, she heard a
rustling sound from the rainberry bush to her right. She
stopped in her tracks and looked around. Nobody. Nothing.
Then, unexpectedly, a little winged figure darted out of
the bush. It was carrying a tiny basket full of unripe
berries. It appeared to be a girl.
She had on a crystal blue, flowing dress and tiny silver
slippers. Her hair was a thick, wavy, rich black that
flowed to her knees. Her skin was a tanned brown. Her
wings were a blue-silver gossamer. All these details Amara
embedded into her memory.
“Who are you?” a bell-like voice asked.
“You talk?” Amara said, bewildered.
“Of course I do, silly. My name is Lydian. What's
yours?”
“My name is Amara. If you don't mind my asking, what
are you?”
The sprite laughed. It sounded like a chorus of chimes.
“Why, I'm a pixie! Didn't you know that, silly goose?”
“Um, no. I come from Talishe. Most people don't believe
in fairies or pixies or elves. Some of the older and
younger people believe this is an enchanted forest.”
“What do you believe?” Lydian slowly flew up to Amara.
“Well, at first I did, in a way. I believed this place
was enchanted, but I never thought about fairies and elves.
That is, until I saw you.”
“Oh, so you know better than that, now don't you?”
“Absolutely.” Amara paused. “Why are you looking at me
like that?”
“Like what?” Lydian asked.
“Like I'm some kind of freak of nature. Have I grown a
third eye in the middle of my forehead or something?”
Lydian chuckled. “No, you haven't. Speaking of which,
could you put out your right hand with your palm up?”
Amara complied. Lydian flew to her hand and landed in the
center of her palm. She sat down gently and pulled her
feet up beside her.
“Hm, I feel something about you. It's not quite clear,
but one thing feels certain: you are part elf.”
