Chapter 2

Elyza's story continues.

Elyza opened her eyes to find herself in what looked like a cave. She was laying on the hard cold floor with her hands were bound together. She sat up quickly realising she had been yet again kidnapped. Her head started to thump with a headache. She looked around and realised that this cave must be someone’s home. There was a fire pit and fire wood along with what looked like the coat of a large bear like animal. She really needed to stop being taken against her will it was really very inconvenient and distressing. Just as she was looking for a way out of this situation she heard a voice speak to her only it sounded like it was coming from inside her own head. She looked around for the source of the voice and was shocked to see a massive creature sitting on a bench behind her.

“Why am I here?” she asked it.

“It is dangerous to roam the forest at this time” again the voice seemed to be inside her head not coming from the creature.

“Why is your voice inside my head?” it seemed a ridiculous thing to ask but it was the only answer she thought.

“It is how we communicate. We do not speak as you do.” She had not expected that.

“What are you?” It was the most answers she had gotten out of anyone in this ‘world’.

“They call us Forest trolls.” Myths said Trolls were stupid, ugly and dangerous.

“And what do you call yourselves?” She asked

“I am Malak.” She was surprised, it was quite a nice name.

“I would shake your hand but...” She raised her tied hands. He stepped forward into the light and she got her first real look at him. She understood why people would think they were stupid and dangerous, he was large and a little slow in his movements. He looked like nothing she had ever seen before. His head was flat on the top and he had horns protruding from the sides, his eyes were set deep in his face, his arms were strong the muscle visibly large and his clothing was shabby with holes and rips in it. As he leant down he looked her in the face and she saw that his eyes were a beautiful bright blue colour and there was intelligence behind them. He gently undid the ropes binding her hands together.

“Thank you. My name is Elyza.” She stood and shooks his hand.

“You are different to the other Humans.” He stated.

“And you are not what I thought a Troll would be like. You are kind and I think you are more intelligent then you let others believe.” He laughed, this time with his own voice. It was a rough raspy sound. It was a laugh that reached his eyes and they shone bright.

“You are not easily fooled are you?” He responded. It was her turn to laugh.

“I suppose not. Why did you bring me here?” She asked.

“I told you it is dangerous to be in the forest on your own.” The Queens men she remembered.

“What do you know of The Guild?” Perhaps he would give her answers. He looked at her quizzically.

“They protect Magic.” Was all he said.

“Do you know a lot about Magic?”

“I know enough.” He said getting more evasive with his answers.

“What do you know of a woman by the name Alyssia?” his eyes widened.

“Follow me.”

He led the way out of the cave and into thick greenery. He took her into another cave a short walk from his own. When they entered it was so dark she couldn’t see her own hands. He lit a torch and led her on. She had never seen a cave with such intricate tunnels within it. He finally turned down one of the tunnels, handed her the torch and motioned for her to enter. It was not a tunnel but a small empty room with a drawing on the wall.

“I do not know who told you of her but this is the story of Alyssia.” Malak looked sad as he told her this.

He walked up to the drawing and waved his hand in front of it. It suddenly came to life. It was a young woman, she couldn’t be much older Elyza was now, and a man who looked remarkably like her father. The way held the woman’s face in his hands told Elyza that they were very much in love. A voice started to speak.

“Alyssia and Airdan had a love to last many life times. It was true and honest more than any could ask for. The gods blessed them more than most. However, during the rising of Keldora and Zaymore they led a rebellion to stop the slaughtering of those with Magic. Alyssia was the most powerful Magi that had roamed the lands in many years and her followers were many. One by one they fell to the new Queens army. Alyssia knew the Queen would come for her and her young family. To protect her new born daughter she took her and Airdan deep into the forest and opened a portal to another world. Only they were betrayed and the Queens men were upon them. Alyssia gave her bundle of joy to her husband and pushed them both through the portal and closed it. She stood and fought for a family she would not see again in the hope that they would live long full lives without her. Queen Keldora destroyed the rebellion by taking away the only one powerful enough to stop her.”

The drawing on the wall faded with the last image of the beautiful woman’s limp body being dragged away by many men with swords.

“She took many of the Queens men with her on that day.” He looked at her and saw tears falling down her cheeks.

“The Guild was right. My father’s name is Airdan.” There was an echoing silence after she shared this with Malak.

“You are Alyssia’s daughter?” he asked softly.

“So it would seem. My father lied to me my whole life. He told me my mother’s name was Alice and that he died in a car accident. Why wouldn’t he tell me the truth?” She was angry and sad and she wanted things to go back to the way they were.

“I am sure he was trying to protect you. It is something Humans do with their young. He loved her more than anything and she sacrificed herself to protect you both.” He put his large arm around her shoulders and started to lead her outside. Before they could get too far she felt her hands go warm and start to glow followed inevitably by the wind starting to build around them.

“Oh no, not again.” But this time she couldn’t stop it and the wind swept around them lifting them both off their feet.

“Is this you?” Malak asked. She didn’t answer her mind in turmoil from the revelations of the day.

“Concentrate Elyza, calm your mind.” He yelled over the noise of the wind. She looked him in the eyes and he realised that she was in no way to calm anything.

“Forgive me child.” He said and knocked her out.

She awoke surrounded by warmth and voices.

“We must help her to control her powers.”

“It is not for us to interfere Malak. She is human.”

“She is Alyssia’s daughter. We must do what we can to ease her passage.”

“Do as you will Malak but you will have no help from the rest of us.”

She heard the heavy thuds of the other forest troll leaving. She opened her eyes and looked Malak’s sad face.

“I am sorry Malak. You should have never brought me here.” She said softly.

“Do not be silly. It was my choice and I shall live with the consequences. How long has this been happening to you?” He asked looking at her seriously.

“This is the second time it has happened.” She answered looking down at her hands.

“I will teach you to find balance within your power. You must understand that your power is the control of Air. Air is a never ending power of the worlds, it comes, it goes and it is not stopped by anything. Your power will grow exponentially the longer you are here. Most children of magic have years to develop their control and understanding of their power before it has the ability to control them. It grows as they age. Your power is hitting you much faster as you are already a young woman. You will need to concentrate and do exactly as I say. If you promise to do this we will start.”

“I promise.” She knew she couldn’t risk letting this power within her control her.

“Follow me.” He said smiling now. He led her out of the cave once again only this time they went into the forest. He led her into a clearing covered in flowers.

“It’s beautiful.” She couldn’t believe her eyes, there were so many colours, so much beauty. He smiled at her.

“I thought you would like this one. In order to control your power you must understand what triggers it. When we shared your mother’s story with you it started an emotional reaction which in turn triggered your powers. Normally this would not be a problem however, you have an elemental power.”

“An elemental power?” Elyza had no idea what this meant.

“Yes it is one of the four most powerful forms of magic in the 3 worlds. No one has had an elemental power in many generations.” She was stunned, how was that possible.

“Sit. I am going to tech you meditation. If you are to control this power of yours you will need to find peace and control within yourself. Make sure you are comfortable you may be here a while.” Elyza sat with her legs crossed and her hands resting lightly atop her legs.

“Close your eyes and focus on finding the centre of your power. Everyone’s is unique to them.” She opened her eyes and looked at him.

“How on earth am I supposed to do that?” He laughed.

“For me I feel around me in the earth and the streams what makes me happiest. For you I think it will settle more here in your heart where you hold everything dearest to you.” She said pointing at her chest, a kind smile on his face.

“Try.” She closed her eyes once more and reached out with her feelings.

“I feel stupid.” She replied opening her eyes after only 5 minutes.

“Take my hands.” He reached out and she put her small hands in his large ones. He closed his eyes and found exactly what he was looking for in seconds.

“Close your eyes.” As she closed her eyes she gasped. She saw a ball of light with tendrils of colour reaching out everywhere.

“That is my power you see. It is warmth, a kind touch, a friend.” She could feel everything he said.

“Open your eyes.” She didn’t want to leave it, but as promised she followed his directions.

“That is what you are trying to find, the centre of your soul where your power comes from.”

“I have that inside of me?” She couldn’t believe it, how was any of this possible.

“Yours will be different but yes.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“Look within yourself until you find a place of absolute peace. Do not get lost amongst your feelings, push past them.” His guiding voice kept her on track she felt the sadness but let it go, the anger but pushed through it, the fear but let it fall away and there it was the absolute unwavering peace she felt it wash through her to the tips of her fingers and the ends of her toes. She had never been more relaxed or more accepting of everything in her life. Malak could sense her getting lost in the peace.

“Keep going Elyza, you must not get caught in it. Push through and find your centre.” He was worried. Elyza heard his voice but didn’t want to leave.

“Elyza of you stay much longer you will not come out, you will be stranded within yourself.” She heard the warning and reluctantly moved through the feeling of peace remembering her promise to Malak. What came next was darkness, absolute darkness.

“Tell me what you see Elyza.” He could sense her no more.

“Nothing. There is nothing but darkness.” He saw a tear fall down her cheek.

“Open yourself to all possibilities. You’re holding back, hiding from yourself.” She knew it was true she was afraid of what was at her centre.

“I can’t. What if it’s bad, what if I am bad?” He could hear the fear in her shaking voice.

“You are not bad Elyza. Your heart is true and pure. Do not fear yourself. I am here no matter what happens.” He hoped it was enough. This girl was more pure than any in the three worlds of this he was sure. He saw her body relax and her expression became one of determination.

She saw a light in the darkness. It was getting closer and closer until it was right in front of her. It was more beautiful than anything she had seen before. It was made up of four flowers each a different colour. One was a deep brown colour, the second was the clearest blue she had ever seen, the third was a wild red and the last was the most pure white she had ever seen. She reached out her hands to Malak.

“You must see this, it’s beautiful.” He accepted her hands and was drawn to her power. He couldn’t believe it. He had helped many to control their power over the years but never had he seen anyone’s power made up of four separate sources. This was incredibly unique. He knew now that she not only had the power of Air but that of all four elements, something that had not happened in the history of magic.

“Follow me out.” He instructed her.

She found it much easier coming out then going in. It was just one step and she was back to reality. She opened her eyes and looked up at Malak. He looked worried.

“Is something wrong Malak?” She asked him.

“Not wrong no. Just different. We are going to require some help with your training. I don’t want to scare you my dear but you have four powers.” He picked up a stick and started drawing a rough diagram of her powers source.

“You have four separate sources to your power. The white flower represented Air which I have experienced you using. The brown flower represented that of earth. The blue is water and the final red flower is that of fire. You can control the four elements. Never in the history of magic has one person had the power to control all four. One yes but four it is more power than a single person can manage. And yet here you are with all four.” Elyza’s mouth hung open at his explanation.

“Am I going to explode or something?” She asked. He laughed at this.

“No you will not explode. But we will require help in your training. I can manage earth as my own power comes from the earth. The others we will have to source some assistance. Since Air has already shown its face we shall visit the turtles.”

“Turtles? What do turtles have to do with Air?” She was confused for millionth time since arriving in Wifaria.

“Turtles are not the same here as they are on Dorfrin. You will see what I mean.” With that he led the way back to his cave where he packed supplies for their travels.

Once packed they started their journey to see the turtles. It was a two day journey east. They travelled through dense forest avoiding the Queens men until they finally came to a stream that they followed into a grass covered clearing. This was the largest clearing Elyza had seen yet. What she saw baffled her. There were about twenty turtles in the clearing and five of them were flying through the air like it was completely normal. Her eyes were wide with wonder at this incredible sight.

“Welcome back Malak. Who is your friend? You know we don’t like strangers coming here.” His voice was that of a young man. Stern but kind.

“Cidion it’s a pleasure to see you my friend. This is Elyza we require your help.” He was very respectful to the turtle.

“We turtles do not bother ourselves with human problems you know this Malak. So why would you bring her here?” He seemed calm yet his words were filled with impatience and dislike.

“May we speak in private Cidion?” The turtle nodded at one of the turtles on the ground and he took flight and came to him.

“Watch the human girl.” And off he went with Malak.

“I am Farora. I shall watch you until a decision is made.” She had a gentle voice that sounded a lot like her favourite teacher at school.

“I am Elyza. I don’t want to be rude but how is it you are able to fly? Aren’t you too heavy?” She asked wearily.

“There is much magic in the air of Wifaria we use that magic to lift us into the air. There was once many of us but now there are only a few.” She sounded so sad.

“I am sorry to hear that. May I ask what happened to the rest of you?” She had a feeling she already knew the answer.

“Many years ago there was battle for the freedom of Magic. Many fought and many perished. But everyone knows this. How is it you do not?” Elyza quite liked this turtle she seemed nice and honest as far as she could tell.

“I am not from Wifaria. I was sent to Dorfrin a long time ago. Or so it seems.” Elyzas thoughts caused a wind to swirl around them. She closed her eyes and focused on the present. The wind died down but not before Farora noticed it was her that had caused it.

“It’s not often we get wind this far into the forest.” She beckoned for another turtle to come over. There was some whispering and then the other turtle flew off in the direction of Cidion and Malak.

“Is everything okay?” Elyza asked Farora.

“Of course.” And the turtle actually smiled at her. They continued their walk around the clearing until Malak returned with Cidion.

“We will help you human, but you must swear on all you have that you will never disclose our location to anyone.” Said Cidion.

“I swear it.” Elyza did not hesitate. And with that she was welcomed into their world.