Folk Lore

by Joanne Ellis

  “Fine, you deserve to learn about your heritage. I’ll answer all your questions after the meeting.”

  Anna packed the last few items in a bag.

  “Are you taking anything with you, Sam?” Sera asked him.

  “No, I’m good to go.”

  “I noticed Keelor carried some type of weapon. Do you have one?”

  At once, with one swift motion, Sam revealed a sword.

  “Wow, that’s impressive.”

  “Sampson, put your weapon away,” Anna told him. He did as he was asked.

  “Where were you hiding that?” Sera asked in awe.

  “It folds down to sit concealed in the waistband of my jeans.”

  He lifted his shirt to reveal a small handle and she wondered how she’d never noticed it before and decided it was probably because she’d rarely seen him without a shirt.

  “All this time you’ve been this warrior-type person, then?”

  He grinned. “Something like that.”

  “Enough, Sera. We have to leave now.” Anna said.

  Anna helped Sera throw a few final items in her bag before they walked out to join Keela and Keelor waiting for them outside.

  Keela and Anna took the lead, speaking quietly to each other, as Keelor walked behind them to protect Keela. Sera lengthened her stride so she could walk beside him while Sam brought up the rear. Sera suddenly realised that Sam usually walked slightly behind her wherever they went, and until now she’d never given it any thought.

  As Sera turned to Keelor to begin her inquisition, she noticed his slightly pointed ears and restrained a giggle. It looked as though the legends had been correct about some things.

  “Keelor.” Sera gazed at him while he stared straight ahead without response. “I suppose this would explain your ears.”

  “Sera,” Sam said. “Keelor doesn’t need to be subjected to your usual level of curiosity.”

  “I don’t mind, Sampson. If Princess Seraphina would like to ask me questions, she is welcome, but we are about to cross through the gate so she will have to wait a few moments for the answers.”

  This is when Sera noticed that Anna and Keela had stopped to recite words she didn’t understand, until a shimmering light appeared and spread out to form a golden gate. The swirling arch and intricate details on the door glistened in the sunlight and Sera gasped at the sight.

  “Has this been here the whole time?” she asked.

  “No, the gate can be summoned at any time with a chant,” Keelor told her in a gently patient tone.

  “Oh,” was all she could manage to answer.

  Anna and Keela disappeared through the gate and Keelor gestured for her to walk through with him as Sam followed. The moment Sam stepped through the gate, it vanished.

  The scene before her rendered her speechless. As far as the eye could see, green and lush rainforest surrounded them. Although dark and dense with trees, it permeated a surreal ambiance. Faintly in the distance she could hear the tinkling sound of running water and the singing of forest birds. The forest’s aroma, fresh from recent rain, surrounded them with a moss-like fragrance. At once a glowing light hovered above and slightly ahead of Anna and Keela, illuminating the trees ahead of them.

  “What is that?” Sera asked Keelor.

  “A guiding fairy, the smallest of their kind. She will assist our journey through to the garden where the Chosen are to meet,” he replied in his habitual patient melodic tone. “We have a slight walk before we reach the clearing. Did you wish to continue to ask me strange and insignificant questions?”

  “They are not insignificant to me,” Sera replied in the same hurt voice he’d heard earlier, and the small crease between her brows reappeared.

  His heart skipped a beat as he attempted to suppress his emotions. “I meant no offense. Please continue. It will pass the time.”

  “You asked for it,” mumbled Sam behind them.

  Sera said nothing, obviously still feeling a little stung by his words.

  “You commented on my ears,” he prompted and offered her a glib smile.

  “Yes, I did. I was simply saying this particular feature seems to be accurate in drawings from story books, a speculation Sam thought was funny earlier.” She glared at Sam.

  “Yes, it would appear so.”

  “How old are you?” She’d obviously decided to make the most of his charitable mood.

  “One hundred and five in human years. This is comparable to a twenty one year old mortal human.”

  “Mortal human? Are there different kinds?”

  He kicked himself for revealing too much.

  “Yes, the Chosen humans do not age the same as other humans.”

  “Keelor!” Sam cautioned.

  “What,Sampson?” Sera said. “Please, Keelor, I want to know.”

  “Elder Annaphina, do I have your permission to share this information with Princess Seraphina?”

  “You don’t need her permission. I’m asking you to tell me.”

  “Actually he does, honey. He is prohibited from answering certain questions without my consent. It is the law and Keelor is very respectful of folk law. Go ahead, Keelor. She has to know sometime. We should answer her questions.”

  “Very well, a Chosen One comes of age at twenty, however, if you lived here, it would not have occurred yet.” Sera continued to look intently at him with her indigo eyes, waiting for further explanation. “Chosen humans age slower than mortal humans. As you have been living in the human world, you have aged as a human until you turned twenty. If you had grown up here, you would have aged as a Chosen human and would only be four years old. You see, five years in the human world is only one in the Mystic Lands. In theory, if you continued to live in the human world, you would look twenty until you were twenty-five human years and twenty-one until you were thirty, and so forth.”

  “So you’re telling me I won’t be twenty-one for another four years and that you only consider me to be four years old?”

  “If you were to stay in the human world, then yes, you would not age for another four years. You would still celebrate your birthday each year but your true age would be different. If you resided here, it would only be one year and you would be twenty as you have spent your first twenty years as a mortal human. Most Chosen humans live about three to four hundred human years, equivalent to an eighty year lifespan here. That is why in human years I am about eighty five years older than you, however in the Mystic Lands I am significantly less than that. I was fully trained to be a protector by the age of fifteen. It becomes quite complicated when you reside in the human world.”

  “Is that why you look so young, Mum?”

  “Yes, I’m forty-five in human years, however look about twenty-five here and in the human world.”

  “So I look twenty in both worlds?”

  “Yes, you appear the same age as other folk who are twenty. As I said, you have aged as a human for twenty years and now will age as a Chosen One. In essence you are aged twenty in folk years; you merely have done it at a rapid rate. We are about the same age in appearance, however I have lived eighty-five of your years longer. I lived sixteen of ours until you were born.”

  “Gee, that really cleared things up,” Sera replied and rolled her eyes. “I have more questions.”

  “They will have to wait. We are almost at the garden.”

  Sera ceased her interrogation to take in her surroundings as the forest landscape had changed around her. It was now much lighter than it had been when they’d first begun as the trees had thinned out. That was when she realised their guide had disappeared.

  As they passed through the last of the trees, they walked out into a large clearing blooming with spring flowers. The colours were much more vivid than in any garden Sera had ever seen.

  The water Sera heard earlier came from a river flowing from a small waterfall cascading from the mountains at the edge of the garden. The river seemed to hum or sing instead of making the usual sounds of rushing water.
It appeared to run along the right side of the garden and into the forest. A meadow in the centre formed a perfect circle, surrounded by flowering plants, the river and the mountains.

  The garden as a whole was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, next to Keelor that was. Within the circle meadow stood several females, each with a male standing close by, and she assumed these were the remainder of the princesses and their guardians.

  “This is the most astonishing place I have ever seen,” she sighed and turned to Keelor who was studying her with immense interest. “What is it?” she asked finally.

  “Your eyes do match the River of Music.”

  4

  The Gathering of the Circle

  Sera continued to gaze at Keelor deciding if fate, intervention and love at first sight really did exist. She usually discarded such fanciful notions. She’d been struck by Keelor from the moment she saw him but until this very moment she hadn’t understood her feelings. She was totally dazzled by the exquisite elf. How was any of this possible? Was it a dream? To think not hours ago she was simply a girl waiting for her best friend and now she was completely smitten with an elf.

  She was watching him with her music river eyes and Keelor realised he’d spoken the words aloud. He had to put an end to this and now. He could not entertain ideas of any sort of relationship with the human beyond a platonic one regardless of how intoxicating she was. He could not, under any circumstances, fall in love with a human. It would only end in heartbreak.

  He had eighty five human years of wisdom on her and even though they looked the same age there would be a substantial gap in their knowledge and experience. Besides it was against the law for which he held the highest regard. He would simply have to divert his attention and avoid her from here on in. That is, of course, if he could manage to drag his eyes or himself away from her.

  He was saved by Keela as she introduced their newest addition to the princesses and their protectors.

  “Seraphina,” Keela ushered her forward, “I would like to introduce you to the covenant.”

  Keela began by gesturing to an extremely pale beautiful girl with masses of golden brown hair and the greenest eyes Sera had ever seen. She looked sleek, agile and Sera soon discovered the reason. Angelique was the vampire princess. Standing behind her was Angeles, a man just as pretty and elegant. Both wore black which only emphasised their pale translucent skin.

  Suddenly aware she was in the presence of vampires, apprehension tickled Sera’s skin. Do these vampires drink blood as they do in the myths and legends? She wondered how they could be part of the folk if this was the case. Sera pushed these thoughts aside and decided to ask her mother or Sam about it later.

  Next to Angelique stood a small, petite girl with long curly hair as green as the eyes of their vampire friends, her own large, expressive eyes yellow like a cat. Her skin was the colour of honey and her wings were lucent with a shimmering glow. Sera realised they fluttered silently which enabled her to hover slightly. Tiana waved by way of greeting and her protector was introduced as Tanner, who possessed the same colourings as his princess. Sera began to see a trend, princess and protector possessed similar looks. This was why Sam looked so much like her.

  On Tiana’s right stood a redhead who was introduced as Farina, the witch princess, who was barely taller than the fairy. She too had curly hair which was deep in colour like wine, and her eyes bronze and sparkly. Unlike the others, her protector was female. She was blonde, with the same bronze eyes, and introduced as Malena.

  The nymph princess Mimi was next, her hair long, straight and bronze in the same hue as the witch’s eyes while hers were amber. She wore flowing clothes in various browns. Her skin was golden and her limbs gracefully lithe. Masseno appeared strong and solid, almost like a tree trunk with strong arms like boughs.

  Finally they came to Audrey, the hazer. She looked more like Sera than the rest of their party, her hair short and blonde with large chocolate eyes, while she was tall and slim, as was her protector Andre.

  Each princess wore a gown similar to Mimi’s but in varying colours. The sight before Sera now was like something out of a magical fairytale.

  Staring at the colourful creatures before her, Sera decided she would remain in the mystic lands after the meeting convened regardless of whether or not they needed her to. She thought there was nothing this beautiful anywhere in her world. Suddenly fascinated by the various folk before her, she vowed to learn all she could about them, especially the vampires as she was still a little concerned about their bloodlust. The strongest reason to stay, however, stood beside her with an impassive face and aloof manner.

  Missing from the circle was Nermina who the elders assumed had been abducted by Mecaldorf. The only way to determine this was to talk with Nermo who was currently trapped within a shield which resembled a large bubble. He appeared to be sleeping or in some kind of trance-like state and his face contorted intermittently as though dreaming. His hair was bright blue with the same pointy ears as the elfin.

  There was also a group of slightly older looking females standing to the left of the circle and Sera assumed them to be the elders. A tall, regal, fair haired woman in the group stepped forward and introduced herself as Kalar, the elfin elder, who explained for Seraphina’s benefit that she held the title of High Princess Elder. She went on to explain that her duties entailed her being the spokesperson for the Chosen along with holding the deciding vote within any law making decisions.

  Kalar urged them all forward and they took their places on coloured square patches which suddenly appeared. All the princesses were also holding a large, cut gem stone. Their gem matched their assigned squares and Sera noticed two blue squares - one light, one dark - stood vacant and she assumed one was to be hers.

  She turned to glance at Anna and noticed she was holding a gem which was dark blue so Sera assumed which square was hers. She walked over to Anna, took the gem and knelt on her square - as the others were - in between Keela and Angelique. For a brief moment she wondered at the wisdom of placing a human next to a vampire.

  She sensed someone standing behind her and guessed it to be Sam. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Keelor and felt a jolt of electricity. Sera shook it off and glanced around the circle looking at the various gems which now glowed brightly.

  Keela’s was white and clear like snow, Tiana’s yellow like her eyes, Farina’s the same deep red shade as her hair, Mimi’s with the same amber glow as her eyes, Audrey’s a pale pink. Sera noticed her blonde hair shimmered in the same pale glow, and finally Angelique’s gem was green and reflected her eyes.

  Kalar stood in the centre with a tall spindly man with blue black spiky hair and blue eyes so vivid she thought it impossible to imagine an eye more brilliant or expressive. Finally Kalar started proceedings and Sera became eager to discover exactly what was going to occur next. The trepidation was exhilarating.

  “The majority of you know our warlock friend Minato. He has come here today to incorporate his power with ours to attempt to free Nermo from his imprisonment. As he was acquainted with Cornelius, Minato believes this to be his work. He anticipates if the circle uses their chant of freedom and he uses a reversal spell, we should be able to free Nermo.”

  “Seraphina, as you are unfamiliar with our chants, we ask you continue to sit with the circle and we will have to hope a six princess chant is enough. As you have come of age we cannot even have Annaphina cite the words in your place.”

  Sera waited apprehensively for them to begin. The princesses began to chant in varied melodic voices. The language was foreign and Sera was immediately lost. Sam leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

  “They are speaking Folkanese. Would you like me to translate?”

  She nodded her reply. He whispered the words to her as the princesses repeated them over and over while Minato created his spell in a different sounding tongue again.

  May thee be free

  Let the incarceration fall

>   Seek the freedom from your bindings

  Awake from your slumber

  May thee have freedom

  May thee be free

  With a resounding pop the shield burst and Nermo collapsed onto the soft grass. He sat up abruptly before back-flipping to a standing position. He poised as though preparing for combat.

  “Nermo,” Kalar spoke gently. “You are here with the circle. You are amongst friends.”

  “Nermina?” he asked as he relaxed his stance.

  “We hoped you could advise us.”

  “I do not recall any details. Nermina was over by the river collecting flowers for her garland. This is the last memory I have until now.”

  Sera watched as Nermo turned his glance toward her. His eyes were as blue as his hair and they seem to penetrate hers, peering into her soul. He was pretty, yet manly, and his fascination with her was intriguing.

  “Are you Seraphina?” he asked her after staring for several moments.

  “Yes.”

  “I saw you in my dreams, however they did you no justice.”

  He walked nimbly to her and touched a hand to her face which was smooth and cool against her now flushed cheek.

  “I have been waiting for you,” he said in a surprisingly deep tone.

  “Step back, Nermo,” Sam cautioned.

  Nermo’s hand remained.

  “You’re forgetting the law, Nermo,” Sam warned him again.

  “I suppose she belongs to you then, Sampson” Nermo asked contemptuously.

  “I don’t belong to anyone,” Sera said.

  She was not and would never be owned by anyone.

  “Nermo,” a voice scolded. Sera looked over Nermo’s shoulder to see the voice belonged to a blue-haired elder who could only be Nermina’s mother. “You are being inappropriate. Respect the law.”

  With a reluctant sigh he drew his hand away but his eyes didn’t leave hers as he went to stand with the elders.

  “What law, Sam?” Sera asked.