Contents
Map
Descendants of Erodis The Elandrea Chronicles Book 1
Copyright
Dedications
ORAELIA
Part One: Ellie
Jeii 1997, Síosa Palace, Ledoran, Elandrea
An Old Friend
An Unusual Piece of Jewellery
Learning Why
Portal Pieces
Magic by Moonlight
A Sweet Moment
Back Then
Before Dublin
Hope
The Bracelet Hidden Beneath A Shell
Greece
Poseidon’s Cave
Through the Portal
The Ledoran Guard
Síosa
A Tearful Reunion
The Ball
Aiolos’s Past. A New Bond
Instruction Begins
A Request
Flirtations
The Grand Piano
Aiolos’s Fate
Changed Appearance
A Book On Elves
Part Two: Harry
A Memory
Her First Gift
Angel Wings
A Trip to the Beach
A Gentle Kiss
The Thraxin Thief
Gone
Part Three: Ellie
Ascevos’ Prison
Another Gift
Meeting Apollo
An Aquatic Saviour
Battle Plans
Ascevos’ Demise
Cookie Cutters
Setting Off for a Forgotten Kingdom
The Sixth Gift
The People of Feldar
Part Four: Harry
Unexpected Guests
A Royal Decree
Lord of Emohn
Important Guests
Will You Marry Me?
Kaldar’s Foolish Mistake
Part Five: Ellie
Forever Bonded
Beginning of a Family
EVANDER
Part One: Evander
County Wicklow,The Republic of Ireland, The Human
The Girl on the Beach
How?
A Trip Into Town
The Elandrean Portal Guard
The Ever-Fruitful Apple Tree
The Thrangorn Mountains
Arekin
Burial Ground
Worrying News
Still Alive
Training and Rescue Planning
The Jekoran Desert
A Painful Recount
Part Two: Fallon
Reunited With Family
A Book of Elandrean Fairytales
Alpin’s Amazing Book Imporium
The Battle Commences
Part Three: Evander
Tragedy On The Battlefield
A Blessing From An Avadorae King
Alive Again
Part Four: Fallon
A Shock For Two Friends
The Victory Ball
Back Into The Human World
A Big Ask
Letters From Feldar
Arriving In Yrandes
Athena and Apollo’s Gifts
Introductory Lectures and Flying Lessons
Return to Nälis
The Tutelage Begins
Part Five: Evander
A Welcome Home Party
Wedding Day
Honeymoon At Arénia Lake
The College’s Opening and Book Research
Erolin and Réna
Extra Content
Jaron and Kenton's Beginning
Pronunciation and Translation Guide
The Elandrean Calendar
Ellie's E and H Banana and Chocolate Biscuits
Acknowledgements
About the Author
The Elandrea Chronicles Book 1
Descendants of Erodis
By Katharina Sinead
Descendants of Erodis Copyright © 2019 by Katharina Sinead. All Rights Reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Cover designed by Kaitlin Weikel
Map illustrated by Horrortist.
This novel is a work of fiction: any names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Katharina Sinead
Visit my website at www.katharinsineadsbookblog.wordpress.com
For the ones who inspire and encourage me to write.
To Taran and my best friend Tashi, for the help you have given me.
And for Mumu, who will always be loved.
ORAELIA
Part One: Ellie
Jeii 1997, Síosa Palace, Ledoran, Elandrea
It was was nine o’clock on a Tuesday evening, troubling and terrifying news had reached the palace of Ledoran, and everyone was in a panic.
‘Is it true? Does Ascevos really plot to kidnap, and kill, Oraelia before she reaches childhood?’ Queen Pheonala asked King Gardohil, who had come to warn her and her husband King Thäro, about the Uaea Ki Ascevos’ twisted plan to kill Princess Oraelia, who was barely a month old, to prevent a prophecy about her from coming true.
‘I’m afraid so’ he replied, his voice thick with sadness and repressed anger.
Pheonala let out a sob and turned into Thäro, who comforted her. ‘What can we do to keep her safe? She’s bound to wonder around our lands – especially the beach. Ascevos could have warriors posted anywhere near the coast, and snatch her away’ he asked, the worry in his voice all too palpable.
Gardohil was silent for several seconds, and then sighed as though filled with regret at what he was about to say.
‘The only way we can ensure her safety is to send her to the human world until she’s old enough to protect herself and come home.’
‘But, how will she get home when she is ready?’ Pheonala asked, wiping her tear-streaked face with her handkerchief.
‘With six pieces which will form a portal into our world once successfully put together. I’ll infuse them with some of my magic, so that they let out a melody when she’s in their presence, and then scatter them across the human world. You two will hold onto a fully formed version of the portal creator, and each symbol will glow when she retrieves each part, until the symbol at the centre glows and Oraelia’s completed device appears beside your own. This will signal that she has come home, and that Jaron and his men can now be sent out to greet her and bring her home.’
Thäro and Pheonala glanced at each other, and then nodded their agreement.
Four months later the six portal segments, each engraved with a symbol representing values held dear to Ledoran and its allies, had been made and infused with Gardohil’s magic, along with the fully formed version for Oraelia’s parents to hold onto. Gardohil had then thrown the Pieces through a portal into the human world to be scattered, and Oraelia’s parents had written two letters to the couple they were entrusting their daughter to and had enclosed them – along with a journal Pheonala had compiled over the months- within a large cream envelope, to be taken with their daughter into the human world.
‘Goodbye, beautiful girl’ Thäro murmured to the sleeping baby girl when it was time to say goodbye, and softly kissed his daughter’s forehead.
‘We’ll see you again, when you are able to find your way home. We love you’ Pheonala whispered, tears filling her eyes as she held out her finger and stroked little Oraelia’s soft cheeks.
Once the king and queen had said their goodbyes, Gardohil took the sleeping princess into his arms along with the rather bulky envelope, stepped through the portal, and Princess of Oraelia Teranis of Ledoran, disappeared.
When she returned at eighteen, a prophecy that could not be undone would be fulfilled.
This is where our Elandrean tale begins, but it will be a long while before it comes to an end.
An Old Friend
Eighteen years later…
It was a warm summer’s morning in Ipswich, England, and I was sitting on a bench in Christchurch Park re-reading the second of a favourite series of mine for what must have been the third time, when a voice pulled my attention away from the page I was reading.
‘Ellie, is that you?’
Recognising the voice, I looked up from my book in surprise, and found myself looking into the ocean blue eyes of an old friend.
‘Harry!’ I exclaimed with a smile, marking my place in the book before getting up and crossing the short distance between us.
We shared a slightly awkward but warm hug, both wearing broad smiles as we parted.
‘How long has it been? Six years?’ Harry wondered aloud as we started a walk around the park together once I’d grabbed my bag and put my book away.
‘I think my parents and I moved a few months into the autumn term of year seven of high school, so yeah that’d be about right,’ I replied, stepping over an exposed tree root so I wouldn’t trip and embarrass myself. ‘Did you stay in Norwich until you finished high school?’ I asked him as we reached the smaller of Christchurch Park’s ponds.
‘No, we moved to Buckinghamshire when I finished year eight because Dad was relocated for his job, where we stayed for a year, before Dad’s job relocated him again, this time to Shropshire. Back in the Spring of last year, Dad quit his job and applied for a new one in Suffolk. When he got it, the house and my six form were sorted out, and we moved here over the summer’ he replied as we reached an unoccupied bench.
‘Oh? I thought Adam loved his job?’ I enquired (Adam is his father’s name), frowning as we sat down.
‘He did love the job, but they wanted to continue relocating him for the next four years, and he didn’t want to keep moving me and Mum around the country so he made the decision to quit - though how you and I have not bumped into each other until now is a mystery to me’ he answered, leaning back against the bench and gazing up at the sky.
‘Ipswich is a relatively big town, and judging by the fact we’ve not bumped into each other until now suggests we’re not attending the same six form - if we were, I would have spotted you the first day of term back in September in the sea of faces’ I mused aloud, looking at him out of the corner of my eye and smiling.
Harry chuckled, clasping his hands together and leaning forward on his knees, turning to look at me as his mop of caramel coloured hair fell into his eyes, ‘what sets me apart in the crowd?’
I thought his question over for a second, smiling as I answered. ‘It would have been your eyes, they’re a beautiful shade of blue…like the Atlantic Ocean.’
He grinned back at me, eyes crinkling cutely at the corners as they had when we were kids, in lieu of a thank you. Then, without me even asking him the question he said, ‘it’s your smile that sets you apart in the crowd - plus you’re one of the fastest people I know, so even if I’d missed you on the first day I would definitely have been able to single you out on the running track.’
‘You only needed to say one thing, Harry,’ I laughed, punching him playfully in the shoulder before standing up and holding my hand out to him.
‘Now come on, we have six years of friendship to catch up on.’
An Unusual Piece of Jewellery
About a fortnight (maybe longer) after our reunion in the park, which included my parents’ joy at seeing Harry again and inviting him to stay for dinner and a catch up, Harry and I are in the library doing schoolwork. He’s working on something for History, while I’m working on a Psychology essay but we’re also helping each other out. It just so happens that we both chose and did well in the respective subjects in our first year of six form, but chose not to take them into the second year (Harry is doing History, Mathematics and Biology and I’m taking Art, Psychology and Spanish).
Three and a half hours later, Harry closed his text book and laptop, ‘shall we call it a day?’
‘Yes please, my brain has had enough of studying for one day’ I replied, closing my own and rubbing at my tired eyes.
He chuckled as we put our books away.
‘We’ve been here for almost four hours, are you hungry?’ he asked as we headed outside.
My stomach grumbled loudly, making me blush and eliciting a laugh from Harry.
‘McDonald’s, or Costa?’
‘Costa please, I could do with a tomato and mozzarella Panino’ I replied with a grin, and then stopped mid-step as a soft tinkling sound met my ears.
I frowned.
There were no buskers around so where was it coming from?
As I turned my head, searching for the source of the sound, the tinkling grew louder and sounded as though it was coming from the tree ten paces to my right, and something was glinting in the sunlight, amongst the soil surrounding it. As I walked closer to the tree, this beautiful sound grew louder and louder until I crouched down over the soil and began to brush it away, at which point it began to grow quieter.
The soft music faded to complete silence when I discovered the silver earring with a polished stone the colour of aquamarine and shaped like one half of the Yin-Yang symbol, a small heart engraved into the curved silver casing at the top, buried beneath all the soil and bark.
‘What’s that doing there?’ Harry asked behind me.
‘I have no idea, I’ve not seen anything like it before’ I replied.
Chewing my lip nervously, I thought about whether to tell him about the music I’d heard before discovering the strange earing. What if he laughs at me, or thinks I’m crazy? Then I realised that Harry was my friend - my best friend, even after all this time, so of course he wouldn’t laugh or tell me I should go and see a doctor.
‘Harry, this might sound weird or even crazy, but I swear I heard this lovely, lilting tune as I approached the tree that grew louder until it grew silent after I uncovered the earring…what do you think that means?’ I looked up at him confidently.
He stood looking thoughtfully between me to the earring, and then back again, before speaking.
‘Why don’t you ask your parents about it when you get home? They might know something. It’s quite possible you heard something similar when you were younger and have simply forgotten about it’ he suggested.
‘Good idea’ I nodded with a smile, sliding the mysterious piece of jewellery into the inside pocket of my shoulder bag to keep it safe. Ever since we were children, he’s had a knack for finding a solution to problems or questions, and that’s something I’ve always loved about him.
‘Right then, a tomato and mozzarella Panino and a mixed berry cooler for the lady?’ he asked.
I grinned at him. ‘You know me so well.’
‘Yes, I do’ he replied, returning the grin and throwing his arm over my shoulder as we headed to Costa Coffee.
Learning Why
Harry and I hung out in my bedroom after getting home from lunch, doing more coursework as well as odd pieces of homework that were due soon (and also reading) until we heard the front door open and close.
Heading downstairs we found my parents - both professors at UEA - carrying shopping bags into the kitchen-diner.
‘Hey sweetie, did you and Harry have a productive afternoon?’ Mum asked as she and my father started putting everything away.
‘Mhm, very. Um, can I talk you both about something?’ I replied, reaching into the pocket of my jacket to wrap my hand around the earring I’d found, transferred from my bag once we got back to mine.
‘What is it, love?’ Dad enquired, he and
Mum turning back to me as I pulled the curious earring from my pocket, and held it up for them to see.
‘I found this earlier today before Harry and I went for lunch, buried beneath the soil surrounding a tree. A sort of…. melody filled with the tinkling of wind chimes and other pretty sounds followed me until I found it, and the earring’s silver casing has a heart symbol engraved into it. I don’t have a clue why only I heard it, or why there’s only one of them. I don’t know what’s going on.’
My parents looked closely at the earring before sharing a look, and then my father disappeared into my parents’ shared office, returning a short while later with a leather bound book held in his hand which he handed over to me.
Taking it slowly from his offered hand I looked down at the cover, expecting it to be an aged artist’s sketchbook they’d been saving for me, but my eyes only found a large “O” embossed on the front in silver. I glanced up at them, mildly puzzled.
‘What is it?’
‘It’s a journal honey. It belongs to you’ my mother replied.
‘But…what does the “O” stand for?’ I asked, still confused.
‘It stands for Oraelia…’ Dad answered, a pained expression on his face as he gazed at me, heaving a great sigh before he continued. “Oraelia is…your true name. You were brought here from another world eighteen years go for your own safety. Your mother and I are your adoptive parents.’
I blinked at him, not quite believing what he had just told me, but at the same time… this afternoon music only I could hear had led me to the interesting earring I held in my hand, so was what Dad had just told me so hard to believe?
‘Okay, so…who am I exactly?’
‘Why don’t you sit down sweetheart, and we’ll explain as much as we can. Harry, could you go and wait in the living room please, son?’ Dad kindly suggested to Harry, who nodded and glanced at me with an encouraging smile before leaving the room as I sat myself down at the breakfast table.
‘During a storm eighteen years ago – at around eleven o’clock at night – there was a knock at the front door. When we opened it there was no one there but looking down, we found you on our doorstep. Two handwritten letters and the journal were enclosed, within a large envelope, in front of you. After reading the first letter twice over, your mother and I searched online for an adoption agency close to where we lived at the time. There was one, no more than half an hour away and when they opened the next morning, we took you in. We told them we’d found you on our doorstep with a letter in which your details were written, giving them the second of the two we found with you, also informing them that there had been no birth certificate with you.
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