Leora - the gleaming heroine

The portal closed right after Leora planted her feet onto the unknown grounds. She looked around letting her eyes to absorb every single detail of her new surroundings. Not far from the hills they stood, a medieval city rose proudly. She noticed some oddly huge birds flying up in the lavender sky as some tall figures that looked like guards guided them by their leashes. She couldn’t help but gasp in wonder at the sight. She still felt like she was already at home, in her own bed, dreaming all these things, but as comfortable as that thought was, she knew this was real as possible. She straightened up and turned to her companions.

‘Say, miss, don’t you think me coming from modern times would scare all of these people? Everything looks medieval and I’m just out of context.’ Leora let out her concerns.

‘ Oh dear, just call me Olive. And don’t worry, we are going to our hideout for now where we will give you some suitable clothes. Please don’t draw attention to yourself.’

‘ Are you sure I’m the one for this job? I mean, I know nothing about this place.’

‘ Come on, girl. Keep up with us. We told you we’ll explain everything once we arrive. Now, shut up and follow us.’ hissed the tall man as he was leading the way cautiously.

Leora frowned at the man’s sass, nevertheless, she ought to do as he said since she didn’t want to get punished, or worse, killed by the means of his strange power.

They went through a deep forest where she could notice several other creatures; only this time she kept her wonders to herself in fear of being scolded again. She saw a sort of a salamander that had bright colors, thick scales and little wings above its legs. Another creature looked just like a crocodile only that it had a long, flexible neck somehow like snakes do. It could spit fire as fierce as a dragon, so she had to dodge them when they passed by. Leora could swear that all these animals looked like the ones in her own time only that they kind of mutated in this realm and had hidden, magical powers. She noted to herself not approach them in the future since that is making them even more dangerous. She noticed some odd noises coming from the trees while they were passing through a few lowered branches.

‘Say, mister, I know I can’t speak now. B-but, do you hear something strange?’ asked Leora as shivers came down her spine.

The man widened his eyes saying ‘ Wait, do you mean you can hear them?!’.

‘Err, them? Are you saying about the ones that make the creepy noise?’ she added as she was trembling all over.

The man started laughing at her causing Leora to frown at his misbehavior.

‘ Oh, Leora, I’m starting to like you.’ He added as he wiped a tear from the edge of his right eye.

‘ Could you not be more vague? I’m confused enough right now. Thank you!’ she said in a scolding tone.

‘ Isn’t it obvious, little girl? It comes from the trees! They’re napping and those sounds are their snoring. They’re magical too. You’ll find them useful in the future if you’re lost. ‘ the man explained while still having a fit of laughter.

‘ Stop laughing at me! You’re not funny!’ she said pretending to be mad as she turned her back at him.

The man stopped from walking and came to her so fast that he caused some of the trees to wake up from their profound sleep.

‘ Look, I hate this whole crap myself as much as you do. This stupid creature came to us and gave us this mission while we had our own ordeal. So stop complaining about it and try tagging along without being a nuisance to me.’ he shouted as he glanced at her with his cold, blue eyes.

‘ You git! ‘ Leora shouted punching him right in the stomach area. She groaned and marched towards Olive muttering bad words under her breath. Leora linked arms with Olive which made the woman flinch. Olive recollected herself and peeped at the man who still sat on the ground realizing what happened.

‘ He is a real jerk sometimes, but you’ll get attached to him sooner than you think. Plus, you will need him for protection as much as I do. ‘ Olive declared and gave Leora a warm smile.

‘ I doubt that, but you know him better, Olive. Are we there yet?!’ she whined to Olive.

‘ Almost there. Just keep up. ‘ the woman replied as she kept walking as her entire presence graced the world at every step.

The three of them arrived at a sanctuary where ruins of something that looked like a castle still shone majestically. Underneath them was a trapdoor that was locked with a pair of bewitched chains which were smoothly unsealed by now the really grumpy man. After he was done with the spells, he spread a hand to Leora for her to grab it, but she would refuse to go anywhere near him. He then seized her from the waist and hopped down the trapdoor, echoes of Leora’s screams resonating strongly. Leora covered her face with both her hands not wishing to see death approaching. Luckily for her, they landed perfectly on the grassy ground. She felt like the hands that were gripping her tightly went away. Just seconds after that, Olive appeared next to her partner as if she was used to going down the trapdoor. Leora couldn’t help but notice how rich was the garden and wondered how plants could even grow here with so little light. She saw a dying plant among all the younger ones. She heedlessly sat down on her knees, slowly approaching her hands to the struggling plant. A vibrant, yellow light caressed the little flower, life coming back into it. Leora joyfully muttered a spell without self-awareness and the plant grew, thriving with energy. The girl smiled kindly at the plant as if a power put over her.

‘ So, you really are the Warrior of Light.’ the man was wondering at the scene that was unwinding in front of him.

‘ What are you talking about, sir?’ said Leora as she finally came back to reality.

‘ Look for yourself. ‘ he pointed at the lively flower in front of her.

Leora’s eyes widened at the sight of the glow still surrounding the flower. She then looked at the man asking for an explanation.

The man leaned on an antique pillar and sighed not feeling ready to start his speech.

‘ Alright, I guess you won’t shut up if I don’t explain you.’

‘ She DOES deserve our part of the story, Avean!’ Olive shot daggers at the man.

‘ Don’t give away my name without my consent!’ he glared back.

‘ That’s what you get for being a bully to her all this time when you know we need her!’ the woman hissed as every wrinkle on her face was showing when anger raised through her veins.

‘ Alright!! Geez, woman. Give me a break! I was about to tell her.’ he pleaded in defense.

‘ For God’s sake. Would you two stop your bickering? Shut it up already!’ Leora cried as she started having enough of the two.

‘ Anyway, you need to think of yourself as the Warrior of Light. This has always been within you.’ Avean added in a hoarse voice.

‘ You mean this Light that revived the flower? But what do I have to do with it?’ questioned Leora.

‘You were born to be here, Leora. You were born to save this land and yours as well. It's a long story so bear with me.’ added the man who sat down on the grass as light partially lit his thoughtful face.

‘ Born? Is this part of a prophecy? Why me, though? I'm just a girl with no special features. Back in school no one even noticed me.’ said Leora looking down to avoid any of their reactions.

‘You are more special than you think, Leora. You are here to fight the evil force that took over this once peaceful kingdom.’ Olive sighed to the thought going silent for a moment.

‘How did this happen? How is my own time linked to this?’ asked a puzzled Leora.

‘Leora, we don’t know much about it. We do know your legend though. You are one of the few living descendants of Merlin, the greatest wizards of all times. I’m pretty sure even your realm knows about him.’ Avean looked at Leora to see a sign of understanding from her.

‘ MERLIN?! Are you serious?! THE Merlin?! Oh my gosh! I’m his number one fan.’ sudden excitement made Leora do a little wiggle.

‘Brace yourself, woman. Yes, him. So, Merlin decided within the Order to hide you from the ones that are hungry for power that could manipulate you to use your vow for their dirty job. We particularly need to protect our Warrior, meaning you, from the current villain. He is one of your kind, so the Order decided you should be the one defeating him.’ he summed up for Leora.

‘ Completely unfair for me. So, what’s your plan?’ she raised an eyebrow questioning him.

‘Dear, we need to retrieve what he took from us by fooling the creatures of our land. That’s the quintessence of what keeps magic within us. Without it, we can’t maintain this world, nor control time in other worlds. If time is messed with, terrible things are to occur. That means it could even affect all humans in your own world. It could make the whole race disappear if he wants.’ Olive added with a serious tone in her voice.

‘ So, how does my power help retrieving this thing?’ asked Leora eagerly.

‘ Basically, you are now able to use one of the basic elements of magic. You have the Light. This Light is linked to the Essence that Ragnachar stole. He is seeking for your power. That’s why I’m here. They sent me to protect you from taking you as his slave. If both powers go to him, he can easily have total control over the whole universe.’ stated Avean.

‘ But, Avean, I have no idea how to control this…power. I wasn’t aware of what I did to this flower.’ Leora argued as she hid her face in her hands in frustration.

The kind woman put a hand on Leora’s shoulder which made her flinch. She then pulled her in a tight hug to assure her she will do great things.

‘Oh, Leora, we will train you how to use your powers during this journey. Like we said before, you were born with it. It’s in your nature. You just need to give it a chance to discover it.’ Olive encouraged the insecure girl.

‘ Ohhh, alright. I’m trusting you, Olive. And fine, you too, Avean. I’m not sure how I’m part of an ancient prophecy, but I can’t deny your pleading forever.’

‘Alright, now that we’re done explaining, we should start training you. Did you say something about clothes?’ said Avean as he dipped his hands into water. The water glittered in a green light and the next moment he pulled out a simple, yet beautiful medieval dress for Leora to wear.

‘ Wow! I will totally need this fountain next to my closet!!’ she exclaimed with pure excitement.

‘ Yeah, yeah! Now go and get dressed!’ Avean said throwing the dress at Leora so she would catch it.

‘ Thanks, master Avean!’ she bowed to him several times and jumped happily few times while clinging to the dress.

‘ Huh, girls.’ added Avean rolling his eyes at the girl’s behavior. Olive tapped his shoulder chuckling at him. He smiled weakly in return as they waited for Leora to change.

‘I’m done!!! If only I had a mirror to see myself. ‘ she struggled seeing her own reflection in the waters.

Then, Avean snapped his fingers and ice cubes shaped themselves into something similar to a mirror.

‘ Wow!! Thanks, Avean! I’m starting to like you too!’ she gasped as she was turning around to admire herself in the improvised mirror.

The two mages admired the savior-to-be girl feeling happy that her confidence level finally got boosted. It seems that they were bonding from that moment on – bond which will help them in the future.