by K T Durham
Edellina, being in Lorne House, had shown little interest in archensoar. “I have better things to do,” she would shrug whenever Aron asked her along to the games.
Elly beamed as she tasted the sweet cherry-flavoured toffee-pop Aron had given her; it melted easily in her mouth. She sighed and looked at her two friends, almost tearfully. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you two!” They agreed to meet up at the Meridien Meadows after school before Elly’s birthday party.
Then she remembered: “Did you hear something last night? I was woken up by some noise.”
Aron raised his eyebrows. “Yes! I heard bells, and there seemed to be some sort of scuffle in the distance. I got woken up too, but my papa told me to go back to bed. Apparently, some wild wolfhounds had crossed the border, but the guards quickly chased them back. Anyway, I fell back to sleep straight away. I was zonked after staying up late studying.” As if to prove this, he yawned.
Edellina shrugged, fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist. “I didn’t hear anything. I’m sure it was nothing. But I sleep like a log, you know. I’d probably sleep through a war,” she said airily. Aron and Elly laughed. Edellina had a way of making big things sound small.
As Elly chatted with her two friends, she noticed someone staring at them from the corner of her eye. When she turned, she caught a glimpse of cloudy white hair disappearing behind one of the thick pillars at the assembly hall. Elly shrugged it off and turned back to her friends. She really, really didn’t want to go to her classroom.
Finally, the bell rang. Elly groaned with dread as she parted from her two friends. Her feet felt like lead as she walked down the hallway, her stomach lurching with nerves. Then her heart gave a horrible jolt when she saw who were standing at the door of the classroom, giggling and gossiping.
Darrius, as usual, was flanked by Lorelana and Morganai. The trio were nicknamed the Three Flamingos on account of their extraordinarily long, skinny legs and their penchant for anything and everything pink. Their parents were on the High Council and were very wealthy, and because of that the Three Flamingos thought they were better than everyone else, especially Elly. Though the Celendis family was renowned for the brave deeds of warriors past, they were not renowned for material wealth. And on top of that, she was treated as an outcast just because her family name was tarnished by someone in her clan long before Elly was born… someone she had never even met.
The Three Flamingos spotted Elly as she tried to flit past, desperately hoping they wouldn’t notice her. Elly was smaller than other elflings her age—the Three Flamingos were about a head taller than she was. Elly’s mother liked to refer to her slight build as another of her “unique attributes”, along with her manic hair and her inability to carry a tune.
Life just wasn’t fair.
“Hey, little Raven is here!” Lorelana sneered. Morganai giggled nastily. “What do you wanna become when you’re all grown up? A smithy like your papa?”
Darrius, her silky auburn hair twisted into a braid past her waist, was considered the most beautiful girl at school. She raised an eyebrow and pointed at Elly’s faded, worn-looking boots. Her hazel eyes glinted. “Lovely! Is that the new style?” she said coolly before bursting into laughter. Elly hung her head, her face burning.
Lorelana and Morganai were mean, but Darrius was the ringleader, which meant she was the meanest. From the moment Darrius locked eyes with Elly on the first day at the Academy, it was as if she lived to make Elly’s life at school as miserable as possible. It didn’t help that their class teacher, Mr Holle, didn’t do much to discourage it. Elly didn’t like him, and she suspected the feeling was mutual.
Elly kept her eyes fixed to the floor as she quickly moved past the three leggy girls. She fumed with clenched fists, a thousand angry comebacks wanting to tumble out. “Those who are slow to anger and hold their tongues are the true victors, Elly,” Papa had once told her. The problem was that she wasn’t really slow to anger, and she wasn’t really good at holding her tongue; she simply lacked the courage to stick up for herself. The thought made her feel more depressed.
Then Darrius blocked her way, and Elly’s insides clenched. “Oh, it’s your birthday, isn’t it? Don’t misunderstand—we’re only coming to your party because we have to.” She clapped her hands, her smile mocking. “Happy birthday, Raven!”
Then a voice cried out shrilly, “I beg your pardon, young ladies?” The Three Flamingos froze in unison. Elly wheeled around.
Before them stood a small, moon-faced lady with rosy cheeks and white hair piled into a bun high on her head, held together by a peacock-feathered quill. Her startling blue eyes were fierce as she glowered at Darrius and her two friends. Unconsciously, they stepped back.
“Did I hear what I thought I heard? What offensive name did you call this young lady?” she demanded, gesturing towards Elly who wanted to sink right through the floor. The lady clapped her hands, and the Three Flamingos suddenly shrieked and clutched at their heads.
Elly gawped at them. Above each of the Three Flamingos floated the words Thou shalt not be a nasty name-caller in bright, fiery red letters. Some classmates pointed and sniggered. Red-faced, the Three Flamingos stalked to their seats clutching their heads, flashing furious looks at Elly. She sank down in her seat in shock. Nobody in class had ever come to her defence before.
The lady glared at the Three Flamingos. “As long as I am here today, nobody will be calling anyone nasty names, nor get away with it!” Then she marched over to the front of the room and turned to face the class, her chin up and hands behind her back, looking formidable for a small person.
She narrowed her eyes as she studied them. “Mr Holle has taken ill, I’m sorry to say,” she announced brusquely, not sounding very sorry at all. “So I am here to substitute for him today.” With a grand wave of her arm, sparkling white letters appeared in the air: Mrs L. Silverwinkle.
The Three Flamingos, still clutching their heads, tried frantically to cast different enchantments to make the fiery letters disappear, but to no avail. Elly looked at Mrs Silverwinkle with a grin, mentally saluting her as she marvelled about this strange and extraordinary start to the day.
Maybe Mama was right. Perhaps there was something auspicious about her birthday after all!
CHAPTER TWO
The Collage
Three students had already delivered their presentations.
Mrs Silverwinkle smiled. “Last but not least—Ellanor Celendis, it’s your turn!”
Elly broke out in a cold sweat.
Lucian wanted to become a silver miner; Rainer, a researcher at the Institute for the Advancement of Magic; and Meredyth, a healer. They had all given their presentations competently with Quill-Point, a standard tool designated by the Evergreen Board of Academics for school presentations.
The Quill-Point came in different colours and styles. Storing as many images as it touched, the student simply had to give the Quill-Point spoken commands so that it would know exactly what to project on the presentation board. The students first had to conduct their research, organize how they wanted the information to be presented, write up their presentation, and have the Quill-Point on hand to do the rest. It was all rather straightforward, really. A student couldn’t go wrong with the Quill-Point except by failing to prepare sufficiently, which would become obvious during the presentation.
At the beginning of the academic year, Papa had given Elly a Quill-Point with a black handle and purple feather, and she had used it several times. But for this particular presentation, she had wanted to do something different. After all, it wasn’t stated that the student absolutely must use Quill-Point. The student delivered the presentation in an appropriate and organized manner—that was part of the grading criteria. Elly thought she could put a spin on it, which seemed fitting for the subject of her presentation.
Now, she wasn’t so sure that she had made the right choice.
The Three Flamingos and the rest of the class would probably just ridicule her for sticking out like a sore thumb. Maybe she should have just followed along and used Quill-Point like everyone else.
But it was too late for regrets now. She had to get on with it.
Mrs Silverwinkle smiled encouragingly as Elly stood there looking pale, clutching onto a rolled-up scroll before the class. She tried returning the smile, but she was so nervous that what came out looked more like a grimace.
At least Mr Holle isn’t here, she thought, having always hated speaking in front of him. He had an unsettling way of peering down his crooked nose at her whenever she spoke, as though she were a nuisance he had to put up with. She had a habit of stammering and shaking like a leaf during these dreadful class presentations. Once it got so unbearable that she ran out of the room sobbing, followed by much sniggering and laughter (instigated mostly by the Three Flamingos).
Mr Holle gave her a fail grade for that presentation, even though she had prepared a thoroughly researched and well-written paper on the topic. He hadn’t even bothered to talk to her about it; he had simply written “Failed: Incomplete” in big red letters on her paper, and below was a scrawled comment: “Perhaps you need to consult a mind seeker about your stage fright.”
Elly had felt so humiliated. For days after that, in class she could not look at anyone in the eye.
But Mrs Silverwinkle looked as if she actually wanted to hear what Elly had to say.
The class looked on in silence as Elly fumbled with the enormous scroll in her arms. Carefully, she unfurled it and held it up with trembling hands. Everyone stared, their attention piqued. Mrs Silverwinkle leaned forward with a dimpled smile.
Elly took a shuddering breath and licked her dry lips nervously. “Okay… umm… Good—good morning, everyone. I decided to do something a little different with my presentation. My dream is to become an explorer. Like my Grandpapa Galdor. Maybe some of you have heard of him.” Elly’s voice broke, and she cleared her throat. Her mouth felt like sandpaper. She couldn’t bear to look at her classmates, so she alternated between looking at Mrs Silverwinkle and the back of the room.
“Qualified explorers work for the High Council. A major part of the job is to compile and analyse information they’ve gathered on other realms, in part to help safeguard Alendria, and to contribute to the intelligence repository of the Tree. Explorers must become accustomed to not using magic, as it may not be appropriate to do so when they are abroad exploring a realm that is… non-magical. So, good explorers need to adjust to their surroundings and try their best to… blend in. That’s why I included the chameleon here… to show that explorers need to find ways to camouflage themselves in different environments.” Elly paused as she pointed at the picture of her grandpapa.
She cleared her throat and continued. “When my Grandpapa Galdor first visited the dwarves in Nazadum, he adjusted his appearance to resemble the dwarves, so that they wouldn’t feel threatened by him. The dwarves knew he was an elf, but by looking more like them, Grandpapa made it easier for them to accept him. By and by, physically he revealed himself as an elf, and by that time he had already won the dwarves over with his sincerity to forge a friendship. And, umm, I thought it would be fitting to prepare for this presentation without using magic, to make a point. As an explorer, it’s important to be… experimental and willing to adopt the practices of other realms to properly learn about them. That’s why I have made this—a collage.”
Elly shyly gestured to the work which had taken her two weeks to complete, with bits and pieces she had collected and salvaged from discarded clippings from the Evergreen Times and hand-drawn pictures that had taken her countless hours to get right. This is what her collage looked like:
There was a great deal of murmuring. Some leaned forward to take a closer look. The collage definitely looked handmade. The Three Flamingos rolled their eyes and crossed their arms, pretending to look bored. Mrs Silverwinkle was beaming and nodding with approval.
“Did you do all this yourself? What is a collage, exactly?”
Elly blinked and looked up. The voice belonged to a boy named Kaelan Tuniveer. He had fixed his serious blue eyes on her.
Elly gaped, at a loss for words. Part of her couldn’t believe anyone was actually paying attention.
She had never spoken to Kaelan before, and knew next to nothing about him except that he was quiet, and an outstanding archensoar player for Cephrin House (which partly accounted for their snagging the Archensoar Cup for the third year in a row). He was very good-looking, and it was only now that Elly really noticed.
Darrius shot Kaelan a disapproving look. Lorelana and Morganai were sniggering.
Elly braced herself and looked at Kaelan, who was waiting for her to respond. Her voice quavered slightly. “Well… a collage is a… a creative work made of different materials such as paper, cloth, wood, pictures, and any objects glued to a piece of paper. A collage is supposed to represent many different aspects of an idea you want to express. This method of expression is popular in, umm, the human realm…” She trailed off as the Three Flamingos started scoffing. They shut up when Mrs Silverwinkle glowered at them. “Let us be a mature and respectful audience,” she said firmly. “We will leave comments and questions to the end.” She looked back at Elly and winked.
Elly gave the smallest of nods and smiled at Mrs Silverwinkle gratefully. She straightened her shoulders and tried to look like someone who would grow up to be an explorer and discover great things and accomplish great deeds.
She talked more about her Grandpapa Galdor and some of his most interesting and dangerous expeditions, including his dealings with the reclusive Vierran elves in the cold northern region, and his friendship with the humans in Gaya.
She talked about wanting so much to meet her heroine, Larabeth Goldberry, because she was the most famous female explorer in Alendria, though she had retired a long time ago and had been living a quiet life away from the limelight for many years. Elly didn’t feel so alone knowing there was someone like Larabeth Goldberry to look up to. She explained why it was important for an explorer to possess certain qualities, such as a curious and open mind, and the importance of a sturdy and comfortable pair of boots for the long and occasionally perilous journeys. She hoped that her griffin, Marlow, would be her companion on those very journeys. Then she went on to explain that a Royan was essential to an explorer, acting as a guide, advisor, and protector. An explorer would also need to weather through different climates, including the harsh winters and sweltering summers that some places in Gaya and other realms were known for.
As she talked, her face relaxed and became increasingly animated. There was so much she wanted to share! For the first time during a class presentation, she felt like she was able to express herself freely. It was a thrill.
Finally, she lowered the scroll and breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s it. That’s what I want to become—an explorer.”
There was a silence. She couldn’t bear to raise her head.
Then someone started clapping. She looked up. “Bravo!” yelled Mrs Silverwinkle with a grin. To her surprise, Mrs Silverwinkle wasn’t the only one applauding now. With a hint of a smile, Kaelan had joined in, along with several others. The applause actually sounded enthusiastic. Elly felt her face grow hot.
“Class, any comments or questions?” asked Mrs Silverwinkle, standing up.
Several hands shot up. “I like the idea of the collage,” said Jessamyn, a tall, golden-haired girl who was friends with the Three Flamingos. “It’s refreshing to see something different, instead of just sticking to Quill-Point like we all did. What you did was really creative and unique.”
Not used to receiving compliments in class, Elly went even redder in the face as she nodded shyly. “Thank you,” she murmured, shifting on her feet awkwardly.
Darrius shot Jessamyn an irritated look. “I have a question,�
� she said silkily, her eyes flashing with malice. Elly’s heart sank. “You mentioned your grandfather being the famous explorer and all. I’m a little fuzzy on my historical facts, so it’ll be great if you could clarify things for me. Wasn’t your grandfather’s brother the Idril Gailfrin Celendis?”
A hush fell over the room. Mrs Silverwinkle narrowed her eyes.
Elly’s heart was hammering against her ribcage as she tried to keep herself from falling apart.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “He… he was my grand-uncle. But I never got to meet him.” She wanted to wipe the smug smile off Darrius’ face.
“Oh. So what exactly did he do? I’ve been told he was a traitor, that he betrayed us to the goblins. Right?”
By this time, Mrs Silverwinkle had stood up. Her face was grim as she looked over at Elly.
Elly clutched the scroll so hard, her knuckles turned white. “But my grand-uncle didn’t get a chance to tell his side of the story,” she said hoarsely, her eyes burning. “He was the last person to be seen with the goblins, before… before…” Her voice broke, and she could only think the words: Before an army of ten thousand goblins was unleashed on the elves, who were in a secret location that the goblins could not have discovered unless someone had tipped them off.
Darrius raised her eyebrows, feigning surprise. “So, it mustn’t be easy to become a qualified explorer, least of all accepted by the High Council, with such an unfavourable family history?”
“I don’t see how this pertains to Elly’s dream to become an explorer, Darrius,” Kaelan interrupted. All eyes swivelled around to him. Darrius looked taken aback, then narrowed her eyes to slits; she wasn’t used to being contradicted.
Mrs Silverwinkle smiled and clapped her hands. “Thank you, Kaelan. What a pleasant interruption to such unpleasant talk. Now, if we could just…”