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Rael

The Beginning

By Lauren MillsPublished 3 years ago 19 min read
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In the darkest forest, on the edge of the largest city in the fairy kingdom, the creatures that had inhabited it for the last two million years were more restless than they had been in the last century. For the last seven weeks, fairies across the land had tried to restore the land to its natural harmony. Some of the fairies had taken to meditating in the forest for hours upon hours. One such fairy, who was more worried about healing the forest and setting it back in order than chanting idiotically around the ceremonial alters, Rael sat on an old stump beginning her daily meditation routine. Just from placing a hand on the stump, she could feel the anger, resentment, and pain of not only the tree itself but of the entire forest for miles upon miles. Something in the radiating pain made Rael uneasy. As welcoming as the forest seemed, Rael could almost feel the forest's creatures and the ancient magic that had sustained it for ages take their last dying breaths in the stillness of the sudden silence that ran unbroken throughout the entire expanse of

the vast reaching forest. As soon as this realization came to her, she sensed a life being ended. With all her training and self-meditation, the life she felt was not that of a creature of the woods, but of something so different and strange that it took Rael a full ten minutes to realize that it was a human life.

The prospect of humans in the Great Forest of the fairies was more frightening than exciting to Rael. The Great Scrolls of Knowledge last told of the atrocities of the humans and what they had tried to do to the Ancient Ones, the fairies of old. If humans had indeed reentered the Great Forest, Rael knew that the Elders must be informed. She regretted leaving her favorite spot, but she knew her task. She had to tell the Elders.

Twenty minutes later, Rael was at the gates to the Elders' vine-covered meeting hall. Rael knew that they did not like to be disturbed. She also know that her information was important. After arguing with the guardians of the Elders' hall, Rael decided that she would have to find another way to alert the city. Her first stop would be the Library to have a look at the Great Scrolls of Knowledge. She hoped that with her information she could persuade the Elders that this threat was real.

Rael didn't know how long she spent in the Library. She had stayed as long as she felt she needed to in order to gain the information she sought. As soon as the Elders adjourned their morning meeting for lunch, Rael took the opportunity to stop one of the youngest members of the Council of Elders. She had never known his name but had never needed to. He was about her age but a few years older. Rael, although outspoken most of the time, was shy and a little bit reserved when she was face to face with him.

Rael started one of her practiced speeches, but before she got very far the young man silenced her with an upheld hand. He had seen Rael on many occasions and had admired her from a distance.

“I am Simon,” he told her. “What is it that makes you so bold as to stop an Elder outside of the meeting house, Rael?”

“I bring news of an urgent sort. But...how did you know who I am?” Rael was surprised that he knew who she was, let alone her name. She had tried to distance herself from the rest of the fairies. She was shocked, not that he spoke to her the way he did, but because he knew who she was.

“I know more than you think, Rael,” he said, “But what of your news?”

Relieved that Simon changed the subject, Rael almost didn't answer. Rael's answer changed the look on Simon's face.

“I was in the forest early this morning doing my meditation. I sat down on a stump in a clearing and I felt the anger and pain of the forest and creatures alike. Then I felt a life, a human life, end. I felt its death within the forest. I fear that the humans are returning to punish us for the past.”

The color drained instantly from Simon's face. “We must alert the other members of the Council. They must know of this strange occurrence.”

“I am glad I was of use to the Council. I will refrain from bothering the Council again.”

“What do you mean?” Simon sounded surprised for the first time during their brief conversation. “You need to come with me to tell the rest of the Elders exactly what you told me. You are still needed, Rael.”

Simon and Rael made their way to the city dining hall. Once they were there, Rael

helped Simon find and gather all the members of the Council of Elders together for an

emergency meeting.

Once they were all back at the meeting house, Simon stood up to speak. He told the Elders why the meeting was called. Then he indicated Rael.

Nerves fluttering, Rael stepped to the platform. She retold her story in front of the entire Council.

Every expression in the hall turned from anger to fear to resolve. Every face grew white. Every face but one. Rael noticed the one fairy who did not look afraid. It was the King's most trusted friend, Matthew, who looked more angry with Rael than afraid of the humans. Rael quickly turned to Simon and told him what she saw. Simon looked too, saw that Matthew was trying to leave unobtrusively, and muttered a quick spell to shut and lock the doors of the hall. Matthew, seeing that they had caught him, started ranting about Rael.

“Why does she come to stir up trouble in the city? Why does she bring these lies about humans returning? Why? To cause trouble, that's why. To uproot this city and our very way of life. How do we know that she is not controlling Simon or he controlling her?” This tirade sent the hall into a mixture of angry shouts and fearful exclamations. In all the chaos of Matthew's speech, Matthew himself had disappeared. Vanished. Simon, seeing that Matthew had escaped, took Rael's hand without a second thought, and led her through the doors and into the city streets.

Together, Rael and Simon wound their way through the streets to the Visory. Simon went straight to the Seeing Wells to find out where Matthew had gone. After speaking who and what he wanted to see, Simon saw Matthew entering the forbidden part of the Great Forest. The Old Forest was where thousands of fairies had met their deaths one million years ago.

During the Annihilation War and the Dark Years, hundreds upon hundreds of fairies had entered the Old Forest never to be seen or heard from again. Any that survived to tell the story died a few days after.

What did Matthew want inside the Old Forest? Most fairies now couldn't get within a few miles of the Old Forest without getting sick.

Pushing these thoughts from his mind, Simon turned to Rael. He knew that he wouldn't be able to catch Matthew alone. He also wanted to get to know Rael.

Rael was thinking about what Matthew was doing in the Old Forest and what he had to do with the dead human. The only possible thing that Rael could think of was that Matthew sold himself to the humans...

“Rael.”

Rael was brought out of her reverie by the harsh sound of her own name. Forgetting where she was, Rael started looking around in search of the voice that had spoken to her. As soon as Simon came into view, she remembered everything. Apologizing for her moment of daydreaming, Rael listened intently to Simon.

“We have to get to the Armory and protect ourselves against the sickness of the Old Forest. Then we have to find Matthew and stop whatever he has planned.” Simon spoke with the authority of a general. “I don't know how many spells or magic you know from the old kingdom but you will have to use it now. You know our history and you can not fail in the eyes of the people.”

Rael looked at Simon now with the gaze of a young girl who sees a handsome young man. Both of them knew what was required and were convincing themselves to do it.

“I will not fail my people.”

They looked at each other until both were ready to leave. They walked side by side out of the doors.

Once in the street behind the Visory, they made the journey to the outskirts of town. One of the old armories still stood as a reminder of lost years. Simon and Rael entered the armory in search of anything that could aid them in their pursuit of Matthew. They saw swords, shields, armor of all kinds. They passed from chamber to chamber and saw many wondrous things. They were awed by the power the room held.

Simon wondered why the Elders didn't teach the fighting skills of the Ancient Ones to the more responsible of the fairies. Were the Elders afraid those taught would want to take revenge for the War of the Ancients? Why...

Rael was amazed at the power in the halls of the armory. They heightened her sense of life and emotions. She sensed anger, strong and powerful, very close by. She felt the hatred of someone evil and corrupted. The feeling was so intense that Rael dropped to her knees and started shaking.

“Are you alright?” Simon was standing next to her, concern on his face. “What's wrong?”

“I feel his hatred. Hatred for his own people,” Rael gasped.

“Whose hatred? Matthew?” Simon asked with surprise.

“Matthew despises us for not embracing war against the humans to avenge the deaths of the Ancient Ones.” Rael shuttered. “He means to destroy us if we get in his way. He will destroy anyone who gets in his way.”

“We must stop him before he has a chance,” said Simon with resolution.

With an effort, Rael regained her strength again. They started to explore the last two remaining rooms in the vast armory. The first room held potions of every kind imaginable. Healing potions, venerability potions, morphing potions, every potion ever made. Simon got a pack while Rael picked out some potions she thought might help them. Rael filled the pack as full as she dared. Then they explored the last room.

The last room in the very back of the armory was a great surprise to both of them. This room was as dimly lit as the rest, but this one had bookcases and cubbyholes along the walls. Rael moved to one of the cubbyholes. Inside the cubbyhole was a scroll wound neatly around a carved wooden rod. She took the scroll out of its resting place and untied the string around it. She was about to unroll it when Simon motioned to her. Still holding the scroll, she went to him. Standing next to Simon, she looked to the middle of the room where he was pointing. There Rael saw a light of the purest white floating in the darkness. Rael felt drawn to this light for reasons she couldn't explain. After handing the scroll to Simon, Rael started toward the light. She felt this apparition could hold all the answers she needed to all the questions she had about herself and her past.

Rael was taken back to her birth. Laying on the bed of leaves in front of her was a beautiful fairy with dark hair, blue eyes, and a baby in her arms. She looked exhausted but happy. The baby was content for the moment. When she slept, her mother slept. Her mother looked at the child and sang to her.

“My beautiful child is going to face so much in this life,” the mother thought. “But I will make sure she is strong. Her name will be Rael. She will be independent, confident, and powerful.” The mother got up.

She placed the child between two willow trees. “She will grow up gentle and kind. She will help others and be a great lady. She is destined to be the savior of her people.”

She picked the baby up and wrapped her in a soft blanket of pure white. She left the clearing and walked to her favorite stream. She placed the child into the stream up to her neck. The child did not cry. She didn't try to get out of the water. She started to kick her feet and move her arms to swim against the slow current. The child's mother cast a spell of ancient magic over her and when the incantation was finished, the child was enveloped in a bright white light.

With this image, Rael was snapped back to the present. She was lying on the floor of a dim room full of bookcases and dark holes in the walls. Kneeling next to her was Simon with his head in his hands. He looked like he had just lost a friend. She tried to speak to him but all she could do was whisper. Simon looked at her not expecting her to be alive. Rael was shocked when Simon pulled her off the floor and into his arms.

Simon was so surprised when Rael whispered his name that he thought he was

imagining things. When he looked at her and realized that she was awake, he couldn't stop himself from pulling her as close to his chest as possible. He had seen her reach out and touch the orb then almost instantly fall to the floor. He barely made it to her in time to keep her head from hitting her head on the floor. When he couldn't wake her up, he had assumed the worst. Simon was afraid to let go of Rael, but after a minute he released her and helped her lean against the nearest bookcase.

“What happened? You tried to touch that orb then almost hit your head on the floor.” Simon couldn't keep the pain out of his voice.

“I saw my mother put me in the river and say an incantation. Then I was back here.” Rael didn't tell Simon what her mother had predicted about her. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“About 10 minutes.”

Rael reached into the pack from the potions room and pulled out a bottle of water. She drank until she felt able to stand and focus on their task. She faced Simon and gathered strength from the ancient magic around her. “Where is the scroll I handed you?”

Simon retrieved the scroll and unrolled it. His expression changed from concern to

confusion. He handed it to Rael and she understood why he was confused. It was written in the language of the Ancient Ones. The words didn't make sense at first but the more she stared at the scroll the more she could read.

“Do you understand the writing?”

“The more I look at it, the easier it is to read. It talks about the Ancient Ones and the war with the humans. It even gives spells they used against the humans.” Rael shuddered. She could just imagine Matthew trying to read this text. If he could understand this writing, what chance would the humans have against the old magic?

Simon must have read her thoughts. “What if Matthew intends to use these against the humans? It would be a slaughter not a battle.”

“We have to get back to the Elders and tell them what Matthew plans. They will be able to raise the soldiers. We would have a chance of stopping him.”

“I will go to the Elders. You need to rest and get your strength back. Rael, I can't do this without you.”

“No. I have to see this through. We need to get back now before Matthew has a chance to get any further.”

The walk back to the meeting house seemed to take an eternity. The Elders immediately sent a message to the king to prepare for a manhunt. Meanwhile, Simon and Rael took their supplies from the armory and headed to Rael's favorite clearing. The vision she had of her mother was seared into her memory. She knew she had to figure out what the incantation meant. She and Simon reached the clearing and made an attempt to decipher the scroll. After 20 minutes of staring and reading, Rael finally understood that this scroll was a history of the war so many years ago.

"Simon, we have to figure out where Matthew would go. This is a very dangerous history that cannot repeat itself and he would be able to wipe out all of the human race. I didn't know someone could harbor that much hatred."

"People can surprise you." There was a bitterness in Simon's voice that told Rael he had personal experience with this situation. "No one is immune to hatred. All we can do is move past it." Simon looked up at Rael like he was just remembering that she was there.

"Matthew seems to have more hatred than love in his heart now. What happened to him to cause him to hate his own people and the humans too?" Rael was curious as to why Matthew didn't speak to the king about invading the human lands if his hatred was that strong. This brought a new streak of worry to her mind. What if the king knew all along?

Simon took a deep breath to steady himself then spoke to the King of the Fairies with ease and authority.

"My King, we have been betrayed by one close to you. Matthew, son of Joseph, has reignited the killings that should have ended with the Annihilation War. There have been humans slain in our very forest and all evidence points to Matthew. What I ask, my lord, is that myself, Simon, son of Liam, and Rael, daughter of Mia, be allowed to take a small force into the forest to find and stop Matthew. Do we have your blessing, great king?"

King Caden looked very bewildered by the news of Matthew's betrayal but immediately requested that Simon and Rael meet him in a private room off the throne room in 20 minutes time to discuss their request in detail. After being hurried into the room, they took seats in front of a window but immediately stood up when King Caden entered the room.

"You are certain it was Matthew?" Caden asked Simon, as if hoping Simon was mistaken in the identification. "You could not have Seen wrong in the Seeing Wells?"

"No, my lord. His face was very clear and he was heading into the Old Forest." Simon looked at Rael and gestured for her to stand beside him. "This is Rael. She is the one who brought this to my attention and deserves to see it finished through the end."

Rael curtsied and kept her eyes to the floor as was expected of common people when in the presence of royalty. Caden did not allow her to remain this way for long and hastily told her that while in this room, they were all equals and she need not remain bound to the proprieties of the throne room.

"Thank you, my king. I am sorry that we are meeting under such circumstances," Rael said when she raised her eyes.

"As am I, to be sure." Caden returned her glance and then gestured to the chairs. "Please, let's sit and discuss the plan you have to retrieve him."

For the next hour, King Caden, Simon, and Rael went over a plan designed to retrieve Matthew. The king was shocked that Matthew would betray his kind and go into the Old Forest. Simon and Rael eventually convinced the king that the only way they would be able to stand a chance of finding Matthew and bringing him back would be to get help from the Ancient Ones.

Rael explained that this was one thing she knew how to do, thanks to her mother. She led Simon to a spot at the edge of the city where she knew was a hidden path to the grove of Amphrael. Amphrael was the wisest, strongest, and most gifted of the Ancient Ones. She was also their queen at the time of the Annihilation War. She had a vision of her people's defeat years in the future and had all of their spells and histories transcribed and placed in a tree trunk in the center of her grove. Rael had visited this tree many times with her mother and could still remember her mother telling her that inside lay her birth rite. There was a tromm, or elder, tree that was centuries old. She left Simon at the edge of the grove, staring in wonder around him.

Rael walked up to the tree and kneeled at the roots. She took a deep breath to steady herself then started the prayer to Amphrael.

"Amphrael, light of the ancients, queen of the fae, hear my prayer. I ask that you release your magic and aid me in my task. In love and light, patience and action, blood of my blood, hear me." Rael completed her prayer and placed a single drop of blood on the tree roots. There was a tiny silver flash as it hit the root and sank in.

There was a rustling behind the tree and she looked up to see Amphrael walking towards her from the other side of the grove. Amphrael was Rael's namesake and she had only spoken to the goddess once before. Rael knew that this was going to be an enlightening experience for Simon, but it had to be done if they were going to have the help they needed.

"Rael, blood of my blood," Amphrael said. "It is good to see you, child. You have need of me and we have to move quickly. Who is the young man with you?"

"His name is Simon. He is one of the Elders now, the youngest in fact."

Amphrael looked past Rael at Simon. Her eyes slid out of focus for an instant then gazed back down at Rael. "Is he trustworthy?"

Rael gave a small smile and nodded. "Yes. He is the reason King Caden allowed me to ask for your help."

Amphrael smiled at her kin and knelt down next to her. She touched Rael's face and gave her a long, protective hug. "My child, you do not need permission to speak with me or ask for aid. You are precious to me, Rael."

Rael smiled and returned the hug. "I know. It's so good to see you, but we really need to go see King Caden."

Rael and Simon led Amphrael to the city gates where they were stopped by the guards and asked to identify themselves and their business. Amphrael spoke for them all.

"I am Amphrael, ancient queen of the fae. Myself and my companions come to speak with King Caden about danger to this city and our way of life."

The guards were taken aback at the light authority in her voice but scrambled to allow them passage. They called up to the gatekeepers to raise the portcullis and followed the three through up to the palace doors. Amphrael turned to them at the doors and thanked them for their company. They bowed low and returned to the city gate once more. Once they were gone, Amphrael turned to Rael and motioned her to go first through the doors. Rael looked at Simon to make sure he was ready and pushed the doors open.

fantasy
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