Aliandra: nymph: Book 1 The Nymph chronicles

by Jacqueline Marshall

  The elves showed Ali to her assigned accommodation. It was a palace with about fifty staff. Obviously they are making up for previous lapses and protocol indiscretions. An elaborate forge had been built in one of the back buildings and Ali was advised that the most famous elven smiths would be coming to her private forge to conduct the lessons. A schedule was provided for her approval. Each smith had been ordered to download their knowledge and craft secrets onto disks for Ali's private use. There were even professional forge staff to manage the fires, set up the tools and clean up. The palace staff were constantly on alert to meet Ali's every need. Ali kept reminding herself that she could always go into her window to escape the craziness and no-one would ever know. I bet Gramma is laughing her butt off right now.

  Ali summoned the palace senior manager.

  "How many bedrooms are in the palace?" asked Ali

  "Eighty, mistress."

  "I see in the schedule that there are twenty three smiths invited to teach. Invite all the smiths and their families, including children, to stay in the palace for as long as they wish while I am here. Ensure all the needs of the families and children are catered for, including education and entertainment. Store any fragile palace decorations for the duration of their stay. Ensure the families are shown around and properly hosted. Invite local children to the palace to play with our visitors and provide them with supervision, food, toys and entertainment. Encourage the smiths and their families to invite their friends to visit and cater to their needs. I want them to feel entirely comfortable and at home during their stay. Encourage the smiths to feel free to make requests that ensure they enjoy their stay. If any smith declines the offer then advise me of the reasons and we will try to accommodate their preferences or ensure their concerns are addressed. That is all."

  He turned and left. Ha! That should keep them too busy and distracted to hover over me all day.

  Soon the palace was a hive of activity and the smiths and their families began to arrive the palace. The senior manager approached Ali.

  "Two smiths have declined the offer to reside in the palace. One has cited his reason as having a very ill wife requiring his care and the other cited that her workload is too heavy to leave her forge for long" he stated.

  "Offer the smith with the ill wife full free medical attention and a private nurse. I can 'port the couple and their children directly to her room so she does not suffer the journey. Advise him I will call in expert healers to cure her. All palace resources and facilities will be at their disposal. For the busy smith, advise her that we will build her a exemplary private forge at the rear of the palace for her to continue her work. I can 'port all that she requires, including her personal tools, directly to her new forge and she can continue her work as she sees fit. Please advise me if my solutions are insufficient to change their minds. That is all."

  The two reluctant smiths agreed to come to the palace. The private forge was being built and medical staff were brought in. Ali 'ported in the sick woman, her worried husband and their children, ranging from adult to infant, to their room and personally welcomed them. "Please keep me advised on her medical condition and if there is anything else that is required let my manager know immediately and it shall be provided" ordered Ali to the chief medical officer. "While your parents settle in, how about we explore the palace together? There are lots of other children here to meet and play with. I think morning tea with scones are waiting for us in the main dining room too." The offspring looked to their parents, who nodded and smiled, then they all nodded their approval to Ali's plan.

  When they exited the room, a tall young man stepped towards Ali and said "Aliandra, I thank you for the medical care you have provided out mother. It has been a great concern that has been lifted from our shoulders. It is hard to express our deep gratitude, I am at your disposal" he said and bowed.

  "I assure you that it is entirely my pleasure" insisted Ali. "Let us all go and explore and enjoy ourselves. I have a pet mountain lion around somewhere in the palace being thoroughly spoiled and petted by the rest of the children. His name is Rom. Do not be concerned about him when you do see him, he is a big pussy cat who loves to be hugged and petted" grinned Ali as they set off. The smith's children soon blended in with the rest of the palace guests. Meals were served as buffets to keep up with the heavy demand. Rom walked through the palace with a trail of children of all ages following him from room to room.

  The lessons began and Ali went to her window regularly to download the disks provided by the smiths. When the smiths got together at mealtimes, they debated and discussed their craft and Ali was fascinated. She thought that she learned just as much at mealtimes as she did in the formal classes. As time wore on the smiths and their families relaxed into the palace routines and their behaviors became less formal and stilted. When a mother was trying to discipline her two boys over getting into a fight Ali stepped in and offered to hold her baby while she fixed up their clothes and hair. Initially the mother was embarrassed but Ali assured her that when she was raised by mortals she fought and argued with her siblings a lot because she was so stubborn. Soon mothers felt comfortable enough to ask Ali to hold their babies while they raced to break up arguments between the children. The palace had become one big happy smithing family and Ali was enjoying herself thoroughly.

  When the private forge was complete Ali sent word to the smith to arrange all that she required to prepare it for teleportation to her private forge at the palace. Ali 'ported in the smith and her equipment directly to her forge. The elderly smith wandered around inspecting the forge before she gave her grunt of approval. She turned to Ali and said "I am Melian. Activate your armor I wish to inspect it, Aliandra."

  Ali complied and immediately wore the elven armor. The smith walked around the armor, rubbing it here and knocking it there while Ali stood still. The elf pondered a while before she announced "It is incomplete. They gave it to you prior to completion. Unacceptable! Shoddy! I will fix it. Remove your armor."

  "May I ask what is to be done to it?" asked Ali as she removed the armor and carefully stacked it on the work bench."

  "There is no brightness control and some powers have not been added. Two important ones. Repelling all poisons and fluidity" she responded. "I will return your armor when it is complete and not before."

  "What is fluidity?" asked Ali.

  "It is the elven technology that allows easier movement in the armor during battle. With fluidity the armor will be able to bend with its wearer to allow a wider range of movement and comfort during combat. I am one of the few who has mastered it" she replied.

  "May I stay and watch?" asked Ali.

  "If you sit quietly while I work, you may stay" Melian replied. Melian instructed Ali as she worked through the night and into the next morning. Occasionally Melian passed Ali some spring water and bread to eat whenever she took a short break. Finally Melian announced her armor was ready and Ali stored it. Melian got Ali to again activate her armor and instructed her how to adjust the brightness of the armor.

  "Brightness comes in useful as a way to stun and dazzle your foes when you flash to diamond brightness. When you need to more stealthily and unobserved you go dark" Melian advised.

  "May I show you to your room so you can settle in, Melian?" asked Ali.

  "Yes."

  They made their way through the palace to the bedrooms and every smith who saw Melian stopped and bowed to her. Ali showed Melian to her room and asked if it was satisfactory. Melian nodded. Ali then invited Melian to attend breakfast with her in the dining room and advised the palace staff would unpack for her. Melian nodded and they left for the dining room. When they arrived Melian said "This is some party you are holding, Aliandra."

  "I confess the idea of having all the smiths here was because all the attention from the palace staff was so tiresome. I thought it would give them something else to do rather than hover over me all day" said Ali.

  Melian let out a barking laugh and said "I approve
, Aliandra."

  "The unexpected bonus is that the meal table conversations are so enlightening for me. I have learned much more than just the downloaded information. It has made it so much more interesting" whispered Ali. "The other bonus is that the wife of one of the smiths is getting the medical attention she needs, so her husband and children can finally relax and enjoy themselves."

  "I know of it. I will pay a visit to her after breakfast" said Melian.

  Rom wandered over to Ali with his usually contingent of trailing children in tow. "May I introduce you to my pet, Rom. He is obviously enjoying himself with all our guests too" said Ali.

  Melian nodded to Rom and said "How do you do?"

  "Rom" growled Rom to her.

  "I apologize. How do you do, Rom?" she repeated with a smile.

  Rom approached Melian and pushed her hand to get her to pat him.

  "He has become so spoiled" laughed Ali.

  "He is sure of love and that is good. It reflects well on you, Aliandra" replied Melian as she rubbed Rom's ears and he purred loudly.

  Ali finished her breakfast and advised Melian she had a lesson to attend. "I hope you enjoy your stay here. A staff member can direct you to the lady you wish to visit. Let me know if you require anything or just tell the palace manager and he will arrange it" said Ali as she stood, bowed and left for her lesson. Ali headed out the doors and headed to her forge lesson. Before she entered, Ali quickly opened the window and closed it behind her. She flopped exhausted onto her bed and slept like the dead. Her night-long lesson with Melian had completely fried her brain. When Ali woke, she quietly stepped out of the window, closed it and entered the forge room to begin her lesson.

  When it was time for Melian to teach her months later, Ali was full of trepidation and excitement. Melian began conversationally "I am four thousand years old and I have made many sacrifices to be one of the finest practitioners of my craft. I have no husband or children to distract me from my work. Over the entire span of my life I have accumulated the knowledge and experience required for my craft. You, Aliandra, are only seventeen and you expect to learn all that is required in a single year?"

  "Melian, I have secrets that I cannot reveal. I can assure you that I am mature beyond my years and I am committed to learn whatever you are prepared to teach me. The only hint I might give you is that time is irrelevant in my particular case" responded Ali.

  "I use elven powers and you are a nymph. How do you hope to replicate the processes required?"

  "Elves and nymphs are also related, so in many ways our powers will be similar. True, our powers are also different, so some outcomes are likely to be different. I can experiment with that in my own time. I will not produce exactly the same products that you are able to produce. I will focus on refining whatever I have learned with the elves and with Hephaestus to create other processes. Your time will not be wasted" assured Ali.

  "The workload will be heavy and complicated. Will you be able to keep up?" asked Melian.

  "Perhaps we can record the more complex work and I will review it and learn it in my own time. You will only have to show me once and I will learn it perfectly. If I consistently produce different results due to my different set of abilities then perhaps we can consult over the outcomes and derive alterations to the processes for me" Ali said.

  "We will record every lesson because the work begins as complex and intricate then moves to difficult and tricky very quickly" said Melian. "I am willing to teach you because the other smiths have remarked how quickly you learn and you are competent at the forge. All the previous work has been simple preparation for my lessons. I will impart my secret processes if you are willing to swear they will remain secret" Melian said.

  Ali put her hand on her heart and said "I so swear that I, Aliandra, will keep secret the work of Melian" swore Ali.

  "Accepted. Now we work" said Melian.

  At the end of each day, Ali's brain swam with information from Melian's lessons. Ali spent a great deal of time in her window studying the processes until she was certain she had properly absorbed the information. Ali also used her portable forge in the ancient plane to practise and perfect her techniques. When results were consistently different Ali experimented with the processes and returned to consult Melian to examine the results and recommend alterations. Melian announced she was pleased with Ali's progress so far and so the difficult work would now begin. Ali then took a very long window holiday. As promised Melian's lesson cranked up and Ali buckled down. One morning Melian approached Ali at breakfast:

  "Olander, the sick lady, has left her bed and is walking around now" said Melian. "She has asked me to pass on her thanks to you for her medical attention."

  "I will visit her tonight. I am pleased and relieved she is well again" replied Ali.

  "No more than her family" said Melian. "Her grateful husband made you this."

  Melian handed Ali a dragonfly ring. "Stillen asked me asked me to check it first. I pronounced it to be well-made and of a suitably high standard for you" said Melian.

  Ali took it and put it on her right hand to admire it. "It is so delicate and beautiful. The work is incredibly intricate. I love it" she declared.

  "Stillen has left the diamonds in the wings empty so that you may store your choice of powers, gifts and technologies in them. It will be good practise for you. Choose wisely and be careful of the combinations you install into each gem or the results will be unpredictable" instructed Melian.

  "Do you have any recommendations for the downloads for this ring?" asked Ali.

  "I knew you would ask. Here!" Melian handed Ali a list. Ali pointed out there were many with which she was unfamiliar.

  "That is why you are here to learn. That is a list for our next lessons and you may use the ring to practise" said Melian. After Melian's lesson concluded, Ali went straight to Stillen and Olander to visit and give them her thanks for the ring.

  As the year reached towards its conclusion, Melian's lessons steadfastly increased in difficulty and Ali worked hard to keep up. Melian and the rest of the smiths called a meeting to discuss Ali's progress throughout the year. The results of their conversation was a final list of lessons to be done before they certified Ali as competent in elvish smithing. When Ali finished the final lesson she submitted to testing by each of the elven smiths. A final meeting was held to discuss and review her results and they agreed to grant Ali certification and membership to the association of elven smiths. Ali stood before the group and formally thanked each and every smith for their time, patience and efforts on her behalf before accepting her certificate.

  Finally Melian stood to provide her own characteristic response. "Aliandra, you have received certification and membership because you have earned it. No more, no less. We do not accept the undeserving into our trade. Your work has been of a high standard and although there is still much to learn we have all decided you know enough to be declared competent. We accept that no craftsperson is perfect and if we have the correct attitude then we all remain students of the craft until our dying day. You will continue to learn and develop your craft as we all do. As a nymph, you will have to develop your own processes that suit your own distinct abilities. We have taken you as far as necessary for you to progress in your own way. I wish you well. It was decided unanimously by all trade masters present to invite you to remain in contact should you wish to make further use of our expertise. Your kindness and generosity has won many hearts and you will always have friends among the elves." Melian sat down and polite applause broke out among the elves.

  Ali stood up and hugged Melian. "Thankyou again" she whispered "Melian, I have never heard of elves applauding before."

  "No, they were very emotional. It has been an unusual day" replied Melian as she wiped tears from her eyes.

  "I will make you proud, Melian" assured Ali.

  "You already have, Aliandra. You have done well" she responded. "I have to pack and return home to my forge."

  "I will 'port
you there directly if you wish" offered Ali.

  "Yes. I will be ready to go in one hour. Meet me in my private forge" said Melian.

  Melian left to pack up and Ali remained talking with the smiths. An hour later Ali met Melian in her forge room. Everything looked packed and ready to go.

  "A final word, Aliandra" said Melian. "I have a parting gift for you."

  "Thankyou, Melian" responded Ali.

  "Put your hand on the bench to your left" instructed Melian.

  Ali did so and found something under her hand but as she lifted her hand there was nothing there to be seen. Ali turned and looked questioningly at Melian.

  "I have made you footwear to go with your armor. They are invisible. I am the only one to have the knowledge to create invisible items. It is knowledge I do not share with my fellows. Take the footwear and store them." Ali did so. "On my death I will bequeath you the knowledge to craft invisible items. You are young and one of the few capable of applying the skills with sufficient competence. I have no children to pass my knowledge to, so you will keep this knowledge alive when I am gone" stated Melian.