Chapter 2
Asher awoke to faint rays of sunlight which shimmered and shifted through the trees of the forest. The sound of birds filled the air with life and vitality. Wearily he glanced about, waiting for the fogginess of sleep to disperse, so that he might think clearly. In the faintness of the morning, he realized his horse was nowhere to be found. Hurriedly he glanced about, searching for some sign of the whereabouts of his horse. All he saw around him was bushes, ferns and massive trunks of redwood trees interspersed with pine. Panic festered inside of him. In the saddle bags that were strapped to the horse, was a few days rations of food, skins of water, and hunting supplies. Without them his chances of survival would diminish greatly.
He tried to recall memories of the previous night. He remembered his flight through the forest, with a handful of soldiers closing in on him, there speeders clearly had advantages over his horse. Asher had been fortunate enough to out whit the soldiers, his familiarity of the forest gave him a distinct edge. After he escaped the soldiers, his mind suddenly went blank. The next thing he knew, he awoke on the forest floor.
An aching feeling developed on the top of his skull, it radiated with pain. He placed his hand on his head and felt a lump, a bruise had formed that was tender to the touch. Then he remembered. During his escape he was hit in the head by a branch. He remembered it wasn’t a branch from a tree, rather someone had swung the branch deliberately to knock him from his horse. He did not see any distinguishing features of the person who hit him, other than it was a girl.
He sat down on the ground to think more. His fingers traced the outline of the necklace his grandfather had given him just before his grandfather was killed. He brought the pendant out of his tunic and fumbled the ancient relic between his fingers. He wondered why the relic was so important to the caped man that he killed his grandfather over it and evaded his home. As he pondered, he watched a mysterious glow inside of the glass sphere. It whirred about with a red aura intermixed with black clouds. It reminded him of the great storms that would surge upon the western seas. He heard stories from travelers about the destructive power of these storms. The storms would begin as spiraling mists and then crash upon the shore line destroying everything in its wake. Perhaps, if the tiny storm inside the relic were allowed to escape, it would destroy those who held it. It was a thought Asher quickly dismissed. In any case, Asher could only speculate on the importance of the relic, obviously it was something of great power. A power his grandfather never mentioned to him.
Asher’s hypnotic stare was interrupted by the sound of cracking sticks behind him. Quickly he turned about in the direction of the sound. Behind him, on a small mound of dirt covered by ferns, a small creature stared back at him with wide curious eyes. The creature was a mere three meters in height and had a frail frame. Its fingers were crooked and bent. Its knees were awkward and knobby, which protruded out of a grey tunic that was covered with dirt and grime. The creature’s facial features were triangular, with a droopy nose and long pointy ears. Asher could not help but laugh to himself at the pathetic looking creature.
Asher smiled and patted the ground beside him, as an indication to the creature that he was a friend, and that he meant no harm. “Hey there, are you lost?” Asher asked the creature. The creature cowered behind the ferns. After a moment, the creature timidly poked its head into view. “It’s ok, I won’t hurt you.”
The creature decided it was safe to proceed and it pensively hobbled towards Asher. Its hands were tucked under its chin as if it were afraid to touch anything else in the forest. The creature pointed a long finger at the necklace around Asher’s neck.
“Pretty...pretty thing. Makes Alby happy.” The creature let a grin cross its face.
Asher chuckled to himself and turned to sit ‘Indian style’ in front of the creature. “You like it? It was a gift from my grandfather. Do you want to hold it?”
The creature bobbed its head up and down rapidly, overly excited to hold the necklace.
“My grandfather says it’s an ancient relic. Will you be careful with it?”
The creature bobbed its head once more. Asher handed the creature the necklace. The creature cuddled the necklace in its small hands and gazed upon it longingly.
“Your name is Alby? I am Asher. You must be a forest-elf. I have heard stories about your people.” Alby looked up from the necklace and a snicker crossed its face.
“Yes Alby is forest-elf, last of my kind. Mistress protects Alby. Mistress will be very happy with this pretty thing. Alby thanks Asher for pretty necklace.” Then in a whir, the forest-elf spun on its heels and vanished behind the small mound of ferns.
“Hey wait,” Asher shouted after the elf. “That’s not yours. Give it back!”
Asher stumbled to his feet to give chase. He watched the forest-elf poke its head out from under bushes and around tree trunks. The little forest-elf ran circles around Asher, as it dashed about on all four legs. Then, Asher realized the creature was playing games and had taken the same series of turns. He decided to simply wait for the elf to circle back through the same route. Finally, he cornered the elf behind the trunk of a massive redwood tree.
“Got you now, you little thief,” Asher said and jumped around the tree. To his surprise, he did not find the elf as he had expected, instead, he was staring down the blade of a long knife. Asher hesitated. The hairs on his neck prickled and stood on edge. A thought crossed his mind that he had been caught by one of the soldiers from the previous night. He traced the tip of the blade to the face of a girl. Asher let out a sigh of relief that it wasn’t a soldier from the previous night. She stepped forward and dug the tip of the knife into Asher’s chest drawing a prick of blood. The forest-elf emerged on her shoulder, handing her the necklace.
“Get back now, don’t make this any harder,” the girl said, jabbing a little harder with the knife. Asher moved away slowly, careful not to stumble over any rocks.
“Who are you?” She asked.
“Miss… if you will put the knife down...I will explain.”
His words were interrupted when she brought the blade higher, this time under his chin. “Okay fine. My name is Asher. That necklace was a gift from my grandfather, I need it back.”
The girl looked at him curiously. She pulled back strands of dark brown hair which had fallen in a tangled mess in front of her eyes. Asher continued to stay calm, careful to not make any sudden movements. He watched the girl carefully, as she circled about him with the blade pointed at his neck.
She was dressed in forest-green traveling leathers and wore knee high boots. A bow and a quiver of arrows was strapped to her back, along with a large traveling pack. Clearly she was accustomed to the forest and accustomed to robbery.
“You don’t look like anything special.” She said and circled back in front of him. “Why were you being chased last night?”
Asher didn’t quite know how to respond. “They are after that necklace your little thief of a friend stole from me. They are dangerous men who will kill anyone with that necklace.”
The girl sheathed the blade and took the necklace in her hand that Alby had handed to her. “The elf is not a thief; he is my friend.”
“Oh you both are thieves then. And you both happen to be friends?” Asher asked sarcastically. “How convenient.”
“Stupid boy,” The forest-elf interrupted. “Alby is friends with girlie-girl. Alby no thief.” The elf then made mocking faces at Asher. The girl giggled to herself and patted Alby on the head.
“Alby is right. Stealing is a matter of perspective. Is it wrong to steal so you don’t starve?” She asked him with an honest look. Asher couldn’t help but be enchanted by her emerald green eyes. There was something about her that felt different, it felt almost other worldly. He felt his feelings slip for her. Then he realized how foolish he was. He and his family were in danger and he did not need to be distracted by the looks of a random girl in the forest. Especially one who robbed him and held him at knife p
oint. But still the feelings were there...nevertheless. In any case, he needed the necklace back.
“Please just give me the necklace and I will be on my way.”
“You have no idea what this is do you?” She asked. Asher shook his head ‘no’. “This is one of the seven Artifacts of Creation.”
“Artifacts of Creation? I have never heard of it.” Asher said with a look of confusion on his face.
Kayla could see the blank stare on his face. “Oh dear, where do I start. The artifacts were created thousands upon thousands of years ago. There are seven artifacts in total that are scattered throughout the world. The legends say that whomever unites all seven artifacts together, will inherit the power of creation. Imagine the ability to create anything. Mountains, trees, gold coin, and… even entire planets. The possibilities are only limited by the imagination of the user. For centuries, the artifacts have been safeguarded in various temples by those who possess the power of the Awakening. Without their power, the artifacts could fall into the hands of evil men and then.... well you can imagine what would happen.”
Asher had heard legends of those called the Awakening. He heard his grandfather speak of the Awakened, but Asher only considered them to be fables to entertain around a camp-fire. “I thought that the Awakened was just a myth.”
Kayla shook her head. “I have seen the power of the Awakening once…when I was a little girl.” Kayla paused a moment.
“You seem to know so much, can you help me find the Temple Anin’Nar?” Asher asked.
Kayla studied him for a moment and shrugged. “What’s in it for me?”
Asher debated about how much of his situation he should reveal but decided the entire truth was best. “Those soldiers that chased me killed my grandfather, but before they killed him, my grandfather asked me to return the artifact to Anin’Nar... I am not sure why…”
She debated for a few moments. “I will take you to the temple and no further… deal?”
“Deal.” He said.
“My name is Kayla by the way and you already met Alby.” She said with a warm smile. “Oh I am sorry about your horse. I had to send it into the forest to get those soldiers off your tail. And that bruise on your head, I have no idea how that happened.” She snickered to herself and brushed past Asher. “Come on its this way. It’s a day and a half’s walk to the temple. Hurry.”
The three continued deeper into the forest. The trees became taller and the vegetation denser as they continued. They walked all day, drinking fresh spring water and catching fish for food. They talked little as they journeyed. The sun melted into the sky and the stars soon appeared. They slept soundlessly in the stillness of the forest.