I'm going to begin the story in this post. To introduce the story, it'll be a story about an enigmatic girl named Elfie found in a cave by our main character, Jasmine. Elfie is a young girl who has been surviving on her own in an unfamiliar land, but with Jasmine's aid, Elfie will be able to complete what she needs to do, not that she's willing to tell Jasmine much at the start. Let's get started!
Elfie
Adventuring through a dark forest in the middle of the night is normally considered a behavior of deviance in my sweet little village considering all the tales about monsters and witches that hang around during the night in the forest. I wasn't scared. If there really were witches and monsters, then I could always find the source and stop them from... well, existing. Drive them out or something. I just wanted to explore the forest in peace.
Explore I did, and as I found trinkets and all sorts of interesting little baubles, I saw a pale blue glow off in the distance shining through the thicket of trees. It looked to be coming from the tall mountain that shielded our village from the worst of storms. I made my way there, excited to see what the source of the glow was. A mystical waterfall? A star? Maybe something magical?
I trampled my way through the forest to the base of the mountain and saw the light coming from a cave. However, getting to the cave would require quite a bit of climbing. I wasn't deterred though and began my hurried ascent. A few falling rocks and slips later, I reached the cave. The glow was bright yet soft. Taking a breath, I entered the cave, following the glow. Within about ten minutes, I had reached the source. It wasn't a waterfall, a star, but maybe something magical.
The source of the glow was a blue orb, about the size of a watermelon, sitting in a pile of large leaves. In a corner on another bed of leaves and vines, a little girl lay asleep, her body curled up under a blanket woven from vines. She had pale skin and long, blonde hair. A little box sat at the end of her makeshift bed holding some fruit from the trees in the forest. I nearly whistled, impressed. It was hard to get the orange, slightly glowing fruit from the tall trees of the forest for even me, let alone a little girl. I turned my attention to the orb. Its interior looked like it had swirling blue gas or liquid in it. I went to touch it when I heard a scuffle.
"Don't!" a small voice came from behind me. I turned to see a spear in my face. The little girl stood there at the other end of the weapon, wearing only a dirty white dress that had only straps to keep it up and ended at her knees in a frayed hem. She wore no shoes and had a vine tied around her waist, a large brown cloth pouch hanging from it. "Who are you?"
I took a breath. "My name is Jasmine. I hail from a nearby village named Josenine."
"I've never seen a village anywhere near here. Why are you wandering around in the middle of the night? Shouldn't you be asleep or something?" the little girl asked.
"I wanted to explore and I saw a blue glow and wanted to know what it was," I explained. The little girl eyed me suspiciously. She then moved her spear to her side.
"It looks like you're telling the truth. Do you know anything about this land?" she asked.
"Yeah, lived here my whole life."
"Wonderful. In that case, you are going to help me in my quest. I don't know this land or anything and I need a guide. Before you attempt to refuse, just know that it would make up for waking me up during the few hours of sleep I get," the little girl said. "We leave at dawn. We can stop in your village to pick up your things and supplies."
"Woah, woah, woah, little girl--"
"I am one hundred six years old! I am not a little girl!" the girl barked. She softened. "I guess I should explain. I am not of your kind. Forgive me for snapping there, I forgot that your kind doesn't look like mine."
"Okay..." I trailed off. "I'll help you. It'll give me more adventure than what I have here. Just explain the orb and... everything."
"I can't tell you much since we just met, but I'll give you a basic rundown. To start, my name is Elfie. I'm one hundred six years old and one of few guardians of the elemental vessels," she gestured to the orb. "Mine is the Vessel of Sky. Each Vessel contains special powers and if they're not where they're supposed to be, bad things happen. For example, my Vessel can gift many great powers to an organism, but if taken from its proper place, it will cause the sky to die." She took a deep breath.
"What do you mean, cause the sky to--"
"I mean your sun will stop shining, the moon will stop bringing light to the darkness of night, birds and flying creatures will begin to die or lose their ability to fly, there won't be any clouds, and storms will be so much worse," Elfie interrupted. "Finally, the atmosphere will begin to dissipate and everything will die. Each elemental vessel being removed from their proper pedestal will have similarly devastating effects relating to their element. Make sense?" I nodded. "Good. You may head to your village now. Come back here in the morning and we can begin." With a prompt goodbye, I headed back home. On my way home as I mulled over the information that had been dumped upon my mind, I noticed a flock of birds on the ground. They were jumping and flapping their wings, but not able to get airborne. As I approached, instead of fleeing to the sky, they squawked and tried to hop away. The same thing happened with a falcon I found stuck in a tree. Instead of fleeing, the falcon stayed with me, hopping to follow me before I picked it up and perched it on my shoulder. I cringed at the talons digging into my skin, but eventually, I grit my teeth and dealt with it.
At home, I realized what Elfie was saying and the birds' inability to fly couldn't have just been pure coincidence. I had to help her, if not for her or for waking her up, for the poor falcon that now rested in a makeshift nest I put together. I named it Morana.
I watched the moon from my bedside window, then tried to sleep. I had to help Elfie. I had to. Despite how tired I was and how bad the situation was, my heart raced for the upcoming adventure.
