Prologue
Have you ever wished that life would throw you a curve ball just to make things interesting? I did and boy was it a curve ball, made my head spin. One day I was just living my normal 19 year old life and the next i get thrown....oops I am getting ahead of myself. Can't very well tell the middle before the beginning. I'll start with the day everything changed...
I was driving home from my friend Sam's 20th birthday party and regretted it about half way home. It was pitch black and raining heavily, I could barely see two feet in front of me. I was careful and going well below the speed limit just wanting to go and crawl into my nice warm bed. Twenty more minutes went by and I knew I was almost home but as soon as I came around a curve something, most likely a cat, jumped out in front of my car. I did the normal human reaction and turned the wheel trying to avoid it which was the wrong move. The wheels of the car never caught tread on the slick road and I went spinning out of control. I never had time to react because just in those few short moments there was a loud sound of tinfoil crunching and the car came to a stop with a sudden jolt which in turn made me bang my head on the stirring wheel and everything went black.
Chapter 1
It was early morning and the sunlight was just breaking through the canopy making the dew twinkle, sparkle, and shine. A redish brown squirrel was going about his business when he was suddenly scared away by the movement of something not to far from him. The movement came from a girl and she was just waking up. She slowly opened her eyes revealing bright silver eyes and just laid there a moment until she finally woken up enough to sit up and take a look around herself. Nothing looked familiar and she wondered how she ended up here, where ever here was. The last she remembered...she couldn't remember anything before waking up in this strange forest. She shook her head trying to remember anything at all but came up with nothing. The shake of her head caused her to wince in pain and she placed her hand on her forehead feeling a small bump. She finally decided to get up and explore, maybe she would find some clue as to where she was or get some help. After what seemed like hours of walking through the lush forest, she finally heard people talking to her right and quickly went that way following the voices. If they were going to harm her or not she didn't care at the moment, anything was better than being alone and she would deal with the situation if it turned sour. The trees slowly began to clear away the closer she got to the voices and just a few moments later she broke through stopping at the edge of a clearing. She took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness from the sun that the trees had been hiding. Just as she was getting use the light someone grabbed her from behind and placed a knife at her neck. She wanted to scream but found it stuck in her throat. Her captor quickly and roughly brought her to a group of two women and two men and pushed her to the ground in front of them. "Look what I found hiding in the trees." The captor's voice was rough and harsh but his look was somewhat of a gentleman in his late twenty's with his dark green eyes, short black hair, a black goatee, and tanned skin. He was wearing a blood red shirt that fit him to a tee, black leather pants, black boots, and a black hooded cloak which would russle every time the wind blew. He had a short sword on either side of his waist both in blood red sheaths with a print of a rose on them (the flower part without the stem) and in his hand was a wicked looking dagger which ended in a curve that was at her neck only a few moments ago. "I-I wasn't hiding." "Then what were you doing if not hiding?" She took a deep breath before answering,"I'm lost and was trying to find my way to someplace familiar then I heard voices. I followed them and they led me here." The captor was about to say something when he was interrupted by one of the males,"Hold your tongue Leion. She maybe telling the truth just look at her clothes. They are not of anything I have seen before." Indicating her blue sundress and blue and white converse shoes. She looked to the one that spoke, he seemed to have a gentle heart and that was just confirmed more when he smiled kindly to her. He seemed to be in his early forty's. His red hair was neat and trimmed with only a few gray hairs showing in a few places, eyes a bright steal blue, and also tanned skin. He was wearing the exact same thing as Leion expect his shirt was rain forest green and instead of short swords he had one long sword strapped to his back. He looked down at her and offered her a hand to stand up. She waited a few seconds hesitant then took his hand and stood up. "My name is Ryel Ames and I am the Head Master of the Rozen. This is Leion Raleste, Vexonee Syn, Tamoril Eldendil, and Silimaure Eldendil." He introduced starting from Leion then going left ending with a small slim woman with pointed ears, light tanned skin, short strawberry blond hair, and violet eyes. Leion wasn't all too happy about how this was turning out and was just about to say so when he was interrupted again by Ryel,"Why don't you go tend to the horses Leion?" He scowled but did as he was told with Vexonee, a tall woman with hazel eyes, light brown hair with hints of blonde that looked like gold, and fair white skin. She had an elegance about her which was noticed when she walked away. Now all who were left was Ryel,Tamoril, Silimaure, and the girl. She relaxed once Leion was gone and introduced herself in a quiet small voice,"My name is Sylvia Moon. Can you tell me where I am? Nothing at all looks familiar." Ryel smiled kindly once again taking charge like a leader would, the other two still hadn't said a word just stood there watching and listening. "You are in Lessien Telemmaite, Crystal Forest where the Elves live in the land of Sphira." "I've never heard of any of the places you mentioned but then again I dont really remember anything expect waking up here in this forest." she commented looking about herself noticing that expect for Ryel and Vexonee all the others wore the same thing as Leion but each with his or her own weapon of choice. Vexonee wore a long blood red dress of what looked like made of fine thread. "As far as I can tell you don't seem to be from around here. We are headed to a nearby town called Celesia. You are welcomed to come and maybe we can find someone there who can help you with your problem." She smiled the first time since she met them, a truely bright smile that made her eyes sparkle,"That would be lovely, thank you." "Why don't you rest a minute before we head off?" She nodded and went to go sit down in the shade of some nearby trees finally glad that things were looking up. As soon as she was gone Tamoril a male elf with the same features as Silimaure expect his hair was long turned to Ryel with a worried expression on his face. "Are you sure about this? Bringing her along?" "We don't know if she is friend or foe so it is best she comes along so we can keep an eye on her. We will know if the story she told us is true or not once we get to Celesia and talk to Elder Letti." Tamoril nodded and left to go get Vexonee and Leion. Silimaure watched her brother walk away towards the two by the horses but said nothing keeping her thoughts to herself. After ten minutes everything was loaded up on the horses and everyone was ready to head off to town. Sylvia sat in front of Tamoril sideways on his horse. It was uncomfortable at first but she soon got use to it. After hours of riding they weren't any closer to town and the light from the Moon was now lighting their way. With the cool breeze, quietness of the night, and weariness finally catching up to her Sylvia laid her head against Tamoril's chest and fell fast asleep.
Chapter 2
They made it to Celesia at the break of dawn. It was one of the few large towns in the land of Sphira and was situated by the sea with shops selling from food to fine jewelry. People from all over came to this town which made it lively and festive. As soon as they were in town Tamoril took off his cloak and put it around Sylvia to hide her clothes. They went to the local tavern, Sea Serpent where the owner was a good friend of theirs. Inside was empty since it was to early in the day so they had the place to themselves and took a seat at a table that was set in the middle of the room. "Lucus! Are you going to just hide and let us starve or serve us your fine food and drink?" Leion yelled. "Aye, shut your trap." a voice replied and a short time after a man in his mid thirty's came from the back carrying a big plate of food full meats and vegetables followed by a girl about the same age as Sylvia carrying a pitcher of mead, cups, plates, and a big bowl of fruit all on a tray. They sat these items down in the middle of the table and Leion helped himself to some mead and meat before anybody else. "So what brings you here to Celesia? I thought you all were on some type of journey." said Lucus curiously as the girl went away to finish chores. He hadn't noticed the new addition to the party yet as he was looking at Ryel. "We came to speak with Elder Letti. We traveled far and wide but our search for the Fire Stone was not successful." Ryel replied while helping himself to some food and drink. Lucus nodded understanding,"I hate to give you more trouble than you already have but Elder Letti is no longer with us." Shocked Ryel put down the piece of meat he was just about to put into his mouth. "What? This can not be. When did she die?" "Last month. It was a very tragic day it was. The whole town mourned for days and days. We are now just moving on." The whole table was silent for a moment sending out prayers to the late Elder Letti. "Who has taken her place?" Vexonee asked in her sing song voice. "A young girl of twenty one by the name of May. She is traveling here from the Seer's Cove and should be here in four months time." "We do need rest and I must go back to Dragon Hill to check on things with the Rozen." Ryel said thoughtfully. They finished their food and drink a short time after, said goodbye to Lucus, and left the tavern. Outside they each went their separte ways to collect the things they would need for their journey to Dragon Hill but not before Ryel ordered Vexonee to take Sylvia along with her to buy her some new clothes for the ones she was wearing would make her stand out. It took them awhile to get to the shop that sold fine gowns, cloaks, and other types of clothes for Sylvia would stop every so often to admire the different things she saw. When they finally did make it to their destination Vexonee was in a bit of a foul mood but that quickly changed once she started conversing with the seamstress. After a couple of hours they left and Sylvia had on a new gown and cloak. The gown was a deep royal blue made of silk with gold trim that showed off her curves nicely and the sleeves came a little bit past her fingers. On her feet she wore deep royal blue boots and her cloak was pearl white with blue trim which came from the Elves. Anything type of clothing the Elves made was highly priced but would never tear or get dirty. Now that they taken care of Sylvia it was Vexonee's turn to get the things she needed and by the time they came to their last stop it was midday. "You stay right here while I go in and get the herbs I need okay?" Vexonee told Sylvia. She nodded understanding and Vexonee went inside. After a few minutes something caught Sylvia's eye a little ways away. Forgetting that she wasn't suppose to move from her spot, she went to go an investigate. What she found was a woman selling jewelry and other goods but what caught her eye was a silver necklace and hanging from it was twisted metal that formed into a dragon who had a sapphire gem for an eye. It was the most beautiful thing she ever saw. As she was admiring the necklace Vexonee came out of the shop and noticed that she was gone. Vexonee looked around thinking she was only a few feet away but couldn't find her and the market was getting more crowded by the minute. She wasn't in the mood to be babysitting but she had to find that girl. As she was looking she bumped into Tamoril. "You look frazzled. What is wrong?" Vexonee sighed and brushed her hair back as she replied,"That...that girl ran off while I was busy getting herbs. Now I am looking for her but it is a bit hard with so many people around." Tamoril nodded,"How about I help you find her? I finished everything I needed to do." Vexonee smiled greatful and they set off looking for Sylvia. Half a hour later they found her looking at some jewelry. "There you are! I thought I told you not to move from that spot while I got my herbs." Vexonee said relieved but angery. "I'm s-sorry." Sylvia said with her head down. Tamoril looked at her for a moment then asked,"What were you looking at?" She pointed to the dragon necklace. He looked at it, looked at her then looked to the woman selling the necklace,"How much is it?" "Twenty gold." He nodded and handed her the money and took the necklace giving it to Sylvia. "Come on it is about time we met up with the others back at the tavern." Without a word more he turned and went in the direction of the tavern. Vexonee frowned at his back, grabbed Sylvia by the arm, and followed. She didn't even notice she was being pulled along as she held on tightly to her new necklace smiling down at it.When everything was loaded up and everyone was ready to go they set off to Dragon Hill. Once again Sylvia was riding in front of Tamoril on his horse,"Tamoril?" "Yes?" "Why did you buy me the necklace?" "You wanted it didn't you?" "Yes." "Then there is no other reason." She was quiet for a moment then said low and softly,"Thank you." Silimaure looked at her brother with a hard to read expression on her face. "What is it Silimaure?" "Nothing brother." she said looking away and rode past him to ride next to Ryel. The day soon turned into night and at its darkest hour they arrived at Dragon Hill and the Rozen. They dismounted their horses and unloaded their things before the stable boys took care of their horses. Each went to their quarters and Sylvia was showed to a guest room by a female servant. Any business they needed to attend to was to be handled in the morning for now they needed rest. Sylvia's room was located high up in a tower with a window facing towards the town and sea. She took off her cloak and draped it over the back of a chair then sat by the window on a small bench. What magical place did she end up in she wondered. Five minutes went by with her staring out the window before she became weary and tired. She got up and blew out a candle that luminated the room and went to bed on soft fluffy sheets.
Across the sea of Faedor in a land called Fury lived a powerful man named Hawrthorn. He was of average build with fiery but dark red eyes, long black hair, and dark tan skin. He only wore the finest of robes the color black. At the moment he was furious and not one of his minions would dare go near him. "How did my spell go wrong?!" He yelled and threw a book at the wall. The spell he was talking about was meant to bring him the one that would find the Fire Stone for him but instead of bringing the one he needed to him it sent them somewhere else. He didn't know where and that just added to his already bad temper. He calmed down some after a moment when an idea came to him,"Not all is lost. I know that they are somewhere here in this world and maybe not to far away. I know their essence...yes this isn't so bad at all. Daefor!" A large black bird swooped into the room from a high open window and landed on his perched. "Ahhh Daefor my trusted companion. I need you to do something of great importance for me. I need you to find who this essence belongs to." He held up a bowl that was billowing white smoke underneath the bird's beak. Daefor tasted the white smoke on his tongue and shreeked. "Now when you do find out who it is come back to me at once. Do you understand?" The bird shreeked again and took off back out the same window in search of who his master wanted. Hawrthorn grinned,"I will soon have what I want and when I do no one absolutely no one will be able to stand in my way. Not even that dreadful Rozen." He laughed which was heard all throughout his domain and made every living creature shiver in fear.
