The Legend of Elora: Book 1 A Queen's Quest

by K. M. Bonde

  Elora looks at Eadric and rolls her eyes. “nothing to worry about, right?” I need to be more prepared, she thinks. I can't falter or be surprised like this. Where is my strength?

  Eadric smiles. “Just an animal or two, it’s nothing we can’t handle. And it’s a good thing because now we have dinner.”

  Arddun lights the fire, and a warm glow lights up the cave.

  With more light and no more danger, Elora looks around. The cave is large, and the main area with the fire place has several flat surfaces that makes it ideal for sleeping. There is a pillar at the end of this part of the cave, making up a middle of the cave. Beyond the pillar is more open space. Eadric brings a torch with him and moves the boars to the other end of the cave, working to carve out their dinner. The rest of the team finds a spot to put their items and rest a little.

  Outside, the sun starts to set. The trees are making their last stretch to reach the sun, but the sun is slowly making the descent to its slumber. A couple of squirrels runs up the trees to safety for the coming night. The moon has already made an appearance, and soon after the sun sets, a new light shines. The moon is large, throwing its shadow down on the cave while the stars surrounding it sings their song in the night. Elora looks toward the moonlight at the cave opening and remembers the moonlight promenades that she and Ryan used to take. She glances toward Ryan and gives him a warm smile.

  In the cave, Eadric comes back with chunks of meat for the fire. “Let's eat and drink,” he says, smiling. Soon, he has unpacked his ale, which is nothing less than pure happiness for a thirsty warrior.

  Once the meat is done roasting, everyone starts eating. While Eadric and Bruce start singing a folksong from old times, Arddun sits down with Elora to start her training. Ryan and Felan are both laying down already with a full stomach.

  “Hold out your hand and concentrate,” Arddun says. “Try to form a fire.”

  Elora tries, thinking about fire, the fire in the cave that is burning... but there’s not even a tingle. She puts on a mask of determination and scrunches her face, focusing on glorious fire. She closes her eyes and does what she did in the other cave while thinking of Cornelia. Still, nothing happens; her palm is empty and dark, like the far reaches of the cave. She opens her eyes and looks at Arddun, annoyed with an empty hand in front of her.

  Arddun holds out her hand and forms a beautiful fire which dances on her hand. “Focus, Elora. It must come from within. Channel your power and send it to your hand.”

  Elora looks at the fire and sighs heavily. “Maybe you aren’t explaining this enough. I don't know how to do it.”

  Arddun crosses her arms over her chest and frowns. “Perhaps you have been gone too long. Do you want help or not? Try again.”

  Elora's face turns red as she tries again. A little flicker of fire dances in her hand, almost like when lighting a match, but it disappears as quickly as it appeared.

  Arddun sighs. “It's okay, with training, you will be able to do it.” Then, the apprentice changes her fire to lightning, the electricity bouncing from finger to finger. “I can command fire and lightning and some non-elemental forces, such as stasis.”

  Mesmerized, Elora tries lightning magic, but she only manages a few sparks. She sighs and stops. Suddenly, she hears something, a humming sound, from the back of the cave. Elora looks around at her party members, they all do their own things as if they did not hear anything. Am I the only one who heard that? She looks at Arddun. “Let's continue later, I want to look at the cave some more.” She doesn’t mention the sound since nobody else reacted; she doesn’t want to seem weird.

  “We can continue later,” Arddun says, “but don't stray too far from the camp fire.”

  Elora nods, picks up a torch, and heads further into the cave.

  Meanwhile, Bruce and Eadric approach Ryan. “Time for your training, too,” says Bruce.

  Ryan scrunches his face in confusion, not moving from his spot.

  “Before we venture into possible danger, we need to be prepared, and you need to know how to handle yourself in battle.” Bruce helps Ryan up, and they bring out their swords to an empty part of the cave. “Like this,” Bruce says, showing Ryan how to hold the sword.

  Soon, they start parrying and slashing at each other. Ryan manages alright, but he quickly gets tired from the defending and blocking. Eadric hits hard, and Ryan keeps falling to the ground when blocking the swings.

  At the other end of the cave, Elora walks past the pillar and sees the dead boars. She frowns and looks away, moving past them quickly to climb up a large rock. She can see the camp fire from there; it looks warm and nice. Arddun looks at her and waves, and Elora waves back. Then, the humming sound comes back. It’s quiet at first, but it grows louder.

  Elora looks around and sees a small opening behind the rock, too narrow for a big warrior but not for a girl of her size. She climbs down and puts the torch toward the hole in the wall. It looks like it opens up on the other side. So, she pushes herself through and emerges in a new room. It’s not nearly as big as the other one, but it’s tall enough for her to stand straight. It’s almost like a dome with much smoother walls than the other cave.

  She turns around, shining the torch’s light around the cave, but doesn’t see anything. She turns again, and suddenly, she sees a skeleton in a corner. Elora gasps and releases a silent scream as she covers her mouth. As her emotions and feelings are rushing through her body, the walls begin to light up.

  Text suddenly appears on the walls, and Elora watches as it forms before her. At first, she can’t understand the ancient writing, but soon she understands it as if it was her own language.

  Years have passed, and I have been waiting, hoping.

  My end is near, but your task is only beginning.

  The legend tells of your return, an end to chaos.

  I left this for you my queen, the staff of the Wild.

  Touch the stone and build your power.

  LC, loyal servant to the queen.

  ***

  Arddun looks around but doesn’t see Elora.

  “Where did that girl get off to?” she asks herself as she stands up. “We can’t lose her this early.”

  Worried, Arddun heads to the rock where she last saw Elora. Before her, she sees the small hole. When she tries to enter, a force field suddenly throws her back, and she almost lands on one of the dead boars.

  Eadric and Bruce run toward her, swords at the ready.

  “What happened?” asks Bruce as he helps Arddun to her feet.

  “Elora is trapped behind a force field,” she replies, distraught. “I should have kept a closer eye on her.”

  Eadric and Bruce peer through the hole, and Eadric sticks his sword at the force field. But, the sword doesn’t make a dent. Arddun tries a few spells, but nothing can open the force field. They call to Elora, desperately trying to get her attention.

  ***

  Elora doesn’t hear them. Instead, she looks at a single stone on the wall that shimmers with a blue light. She slowly reaches for it, placing her hand on top. As she touches it, a portion of the wall opens, revealing a shelf. Upon the shelf rests a staff with a beautiful blue stone at the top. Elora takes the staff, and as she does, power surges through her, blue light emanating from the staff. The light shines through the whole cave and up into the sky.

  As the light washes over her, Elora see visions of her mother, the queen, as the staff is given to a servant for safe keeping. Elora sits down, exhausted, putting her hands over her face. Her hands feel strange, tingling with the power. She holds one out, trying to create lightning again. There is no lightning, but ice crystals form instead. She smiles, closes her hand, gets up to leave the small room. Elora crawls out to the other cave, where Arddun helps her up.

  Once Elora crawls back out, Arddun sees her staff and gasps. “The Staff of the Wild!”

  Elora looks at her. “You know what this is?”

  “Yes,” replies Arddun. “It belonged to the queen and ha
s been passed down for generations in your family. It was taken from the City of Lights before it was overrun by Grimdar and his army. No one ever saw it again.”

  “I saw my mother... the queen, my birth mother,” Elora stammers. “In a vision, anyway. She gave the staff to a servant.”

  ”Of course,” Arddun says, smiling. “The queen must have known what was coming and had the servant escape with the staff so that it one day could find its way to you, Elora.”

  Eadric speaks up. “It makes sense since this is the most traveled path in the area. The servant must have anticipated your travels would take you to this cave one day. It’s the perfect location when traveling through the kingdom.”

  “The blue light was the unlocking and binding of the staff,” Arddun adds. “It probably felt like what you felt with the dragon. It is the absorption of power. The light of the stone is released as it becomes one with you. You will experience this with other stones as well. The staff found its master. Elora, this staff will help you manifest your powers.”

  Elora looks at the staff in her hand, “I think it already did, I could feel it.”

  They all go back to the camp fire and lay down; the night is still young, and they need their rest for the next day of travel. Elora gently puts her staff next to her on the ground. She hugs Ryan and lays down close to Felan, snuggling into his warm fur. Then, she pulls on Ryan's hand to come closer and snuggle, but he is resistant to her invite. She giggles, knowing he must not be comfortable with Felan yet. So, she hugs Felan and lays down on her back, with her head resting on Felan, looking up toward the cave ceiling. Soon, she closes her eyes and falls asleep.

  * * *

  At the same time, dark beasts look at the sky and snarl. They’re marching toward Flaxan on orders from their master to investigate the girl.

  Their leader is an Azurghoul, a mighty foe standing at least eight feet from the ground, covered in white skin and black hair. The Azurghoul’s veins pop as it yells its orders, the black blood running through it contrasting its pale skin. “Move, vermin! Find the girl and bring her to me!”

  Stories tell of an ogre that was twisted by Grimdar, and other stories say it was created by the dark magic and came out of the ground as a horrid monster.

  The Azurghoul spanks the skulls on its belt, a hollow and terrible sound rolling through the forest. It raises its huge axe and massive sword above its head and yells, “Move if you want to keep your worthless heads!”

  Chapter 11: The Ambush

  The sun is slowly making its way over the horizon, and Felan is already up and exploring the cave. The party is soon on their feet, packing their things, grabbing weapons, and shouldering their backpacks. They eat some of their oranges and make their way to the cave’s opening.

  The morning is peaceful, the warmth from the sun gently touching their faces. Ryan stretches and yawns, then tries to scratch the middle of his back.

  “Do you need some help with that?” Elora asks.

  “That would be so nice,” says Ryan, his eyes teasing her. Elora moves over to help him, and as she leans in, he kisses her. Elora smiles at him and hugs him.

  Eadric is more serious. “We need to move,” he says. “We still have a long trip today before reaching the city.”

  They start making their way down the path, and eventually, they come to a crossroad. Near the crossroad there is a large rock, Hulking Rock, that looks like it will tip over any day. There are three signs in the middle of the road. One says Flaxan, and another says City of Bor'lansh.

  Eadric points toward the bigger path toward the city. “That's the way.”

  Elora walks around the signs to look at the third sign; it says Tower of Uthgar. She catches up with Bruce as they walk toward the city. “What’s the Tower of Uthgar?”

  “It’s a bridge, a huge bridge over a ravine connecting these lands with the lands of the mountains in the south. Uthgar was a brave dwarf warrior who held the bridge for days by himself during the war. There is a tower on the middle of the bridge where he held out. That tower now has his name. He is a hero not only to the dwarves, but to all the people of the lands.”

  This side of the hill has similar flora as the area close to the village, and Elora holds her staff close as she takes in the landscape. Arddun walks close by, lecturing about powers and magic. “When you become more powerful, you can master the combination of two schools of magic. I'm trying to master fire and lightning as one. Usually, only Elders has this capability as they have reached that potential in their training. It’s possible to shoot one element from each hand or from the staff and hand at the same time.” She holds out her hands and shows fire in one and lightning in the other. “Unfortunately, I am not strong enough to combine them. If you can combine them, it creates a beam of incredible force. That spell would be able to burn through any foe.”

  Elora raises her eyebrows. “Would it be possible to combine more than two powers?”

  Arddun shakes her head. “No, you are limited to one magic per hand. It has never been done, and not even Grimdar can use more than two powers at one time. Grimdar draws his power from darkness and death. I heard stories from the Elders of what took place on the battlefield. The power he wielded, the dark rays, burned through any defenses and made bodies implode almost instantly. Armor can defend against most elements depending on the magical ward, but there is no armor that can protect against Grimdar’s dark rays.”

  Elora shivers, the small hairs on her neck rising. That she one day might have to face this malevolence... this dark monster... is almost too much for her. Bile rises at the back of her throat. No, she thinks. I will not be afraid. I just need to master these things to stand a chance.

  She tries magic from her hand and staff, small sparks come from her hand while the staff glows. She swings the staff around and flips her fingers, generating more sparks but it’s not really lightning.

  Ryan whistles and claps. “You’re doing better!” he says.

  Elora smirks, quickly giving him a taste of the small sparks on his arms. Ryan yells and runs ahead, followed by Elora, both laughing. Bruce looks at them and smiles, watching as Felan chases Elora, trying to get some attention as well. Elora teams with Felan and the pair start chasing Ryan into the warm sunshine.

  * * *

  Half a day down the road, just outside the city, a group of ill dressed and shady people gathers. They are the Incredible Five, or at least that is what they call themselves. In reality, they’re part of a larger bandit band called the Red Riders, odd since there are no horses with the Incredible Five. They all have RR burned into their shoulders, marking them as members of the Red Riders. They are standing next to the road, among the trees, sharpening their weapons and talking to each other.

  “This will be a breeze, such an easy task our leader gave us,” says one.

  “Yeah,” says another, grinning. “The Baron finally gave us a chance to prove that we can do these things. We just had such bad luck on our last mission. That sneaky snake in the city was lucky and got away.”

  Another one responds quickly, “He was a nobody, just dirt beneath our feet. This girl, she is the real prize. It seems the Baron really wants her gone. That scout told us that she would be here soon.”

  “Yeah, that scout must be really brave. He’s probably still running. Did you see the way he took off after telling us she was on her way?”

  The Incredible Five shake their heads and sigh.

  “Let's lay the trap and ambush her as soon as she gets here,” says one. “Let's do this quickly and be over with it.”

  They grab their weapons and walk further up the road to a bend, a perfect ambush place.

  “I'm so happy to be part of an ambush again,” the smallest of the five says excited. He looks down at his sword and murmurs. “I have not always been considered first choice when it comes to these kinds of tasks, mostly because of some unfortunate hesitance that I might have showed in prior endeavors. I will not fail the Baron this time.”


  They all sit down, trying to decide which target is theirs. They are almost ready for the ambush of their life, finally a chance to prove themselves again.

  * * *

  A little later, the party moves steadily forward, Bruce at the front. They cross a small bridge taking them over the river that runs through these parts. Felan runs down and drinks some water, and Elora sits down on the bridge, looking at Felan. The sun is warm, such a nice day for traveling, she thinks.

  The rest of the party sit down past the bridge for a short break in their quest to reach the city. They still have plenty of time before night.

  Bruce turns to Eadric. “We should pick an inn for the evening. Is that inn near the east side still respectable? I told a friend to meet us there.”

  Eadric nods. “It is.”

  Elora watches the water, and it feels like it’s connecting with her. She reaches out with her hand, and the water starts to move. She laughs and makes circles in the water without touching it. Felan isn’t thrilled about the water moving around when he tries to drink, so he runs up to the bridge and looks at Elora. Eventually, the water starts to move much faster, and real waves form in the small river.

  Elora seems to struggle when Arddun comes to her and holds her shoulders. “Relax, Elora. Feel the power within and let go.”

  Elora lets go for a second and a large spiral of water reaches for the sky and quickly falls with a big splash, covering everyone in water. The river is back to normal again, minding its own business, running downwards toward whatever goal it has. The rest of the team isn’t as happy, now completely or partially wet from the stunt Elora just pulled.

  Arddun is thrilled, wet but thrilled to see Elora expressing a new kind of power. “Elora, you just commanded the water! Keep practicing, and eventually you will be able to command all elements. It is very exciting because not many are familiar with water magic; water is considered a defense magic, and most magic dabblers focus on fire and lightning as they are attack based magics.”