Chapter 1 The Sorceress

“It all began with a young maiden,” recited The Hermit grinning with his pipe stuck between his teeth.

“A young maiden, barely a woman, prayed to the gods to find her true love. Nobody in her small village desired to be married to an orphan girl raised by the shaman. Her father was an elf from the village who traded with human nomads sailing the rivers. Her mother was a human nomad who arrived at the village pregnant to find her lover had been killed by bandits. Her mother died in childbirth and buried by her lover. The elf’s family refused to acknowledge a half human and allowed the shaman to raise the child. The shaman taught her magic and one night, she looked into a bronze goblet filled with water. She lit sage next to the goblet and saw a vision of a young man riding a white horse looking sad and exhausted. Many days passed and she never met this man. Days became years and one day her village was attacked. Humans often attack elf villages to find slaves to trade beyond the elf lands. She ran into the flax fields, but a horseman caught her and bound her hands. Her village burning into the sky, the villagers were taken to the other side of the mountains. Her neighbors were sold first to a lord living in a hill fort, but nobody wanted the skinny and dainty maiden who could write in three languages. One evening as they camped along a road, the man in the bronze goblet rode by on his horse. The slave traders rushed his horse and grasped for the reins. Very defensive with an axe in his hand, he assured the slave traders if they dared to capture him that they would be cut to ribbons. Backing away, they offered to sell him slaves. He declared he was returning to his village after chasing a dragon into the mountains and had no interest for slaves. He rode away and the maiden could hear him splashing in the river. The night wore on and the traders fell asleep.

The maiden undid her binds to run into the darkness. She waded through the river and followed the sound of music playing in a tavern. She raced through a wheat field as fast as she could, then crashed right into a building. She heard animals call and the man opened the barn door to demand who was out there. The maiden came up to the man and begged to hide her. She would do anything he asked in exchange for shelter. He ordered her to leave because the slave traders might attack his village to find her. She collapsed at his feet and begged again to help. He replied it was too dark to see so she may sleep in the hayloft, but be gone by morning. After the rooster crowed, she squeezed milk from a cow and ate some fruits hanging in the loft. She tried to sneak out of the village unseen, but the slave traders entered the town looking for their runaway slave as she reached women washing clothes in the river. They dragged her into the street and tied her to a well. They hit her back with sticks and announced a low price for the slave girl. The man on the white horse came up and gave them ten freshwater pearls for the maiden. Back then before making coins, traders used shells and gemstones for currency. Later, humans began creating round coins out of metals and used those as currency. Elves followed suit and started creating metal pieces resembling axe heads to trade. The slave traders released her and the next day the man married the slave girl. She had a son and a daughter to teach them elf traditions.”

“Great story. Were you the horseman?” asks Dracon.

“No, they were my in-laws.” answers The Hermit.

"I like your pipe grass too. It smells like lavender." commented Alaric.

"Plants like rivers have elf and human names" replied The Hermit.

“Then one day when her daughter Nix was a toddler and her son Laeos old enough to shoot a bow, two elves came with the high priest. They had letters of introduction from their fathers asking to take the boys as apprentices. The first day the young elves walked into town to find the notorious Cossus the Dragonslayer was an experience in itself. Extra places were set at the dinner table and the elves ate their first human food. Biscuits, beef stew, and apple cider were served at the table. The boys declared they were from a mountain valley with a waterfall called Leesville. There they meet with mermaids every year swimming up the river and trade with them on the coast. They dig up freshwater pearls every year and take them to the coast called Narva where many ships rest at the coral reef. Ship captains from the South Sea love Narva pearls above others. The next day walking around the village, the boys appeared out of place among the grassland humans. Their facial features were larger, their hair long and scraggly, wore seaweed necklaces with shark teeth beads, and tall boots up to their knees. All humans here had smaller facial features, hair kept neat and oiled with sheep’s wool wax, wore shell bead necklaces, and low cut shoes. The elves also spoke to their livestock as if they were people, which made the humans wary they were planning to steal them. The elves speak of sandstone hills near the rivers where much flax grows. Once there was a great battle between griffins resembling giant hawks and mermaids they preyed upon. The great mermaid Queen Aurora led the merfolk into battle against griffin King Hades. When the griffins were shot from the sky by Aurora, they landed with a terrible thud that turned them into stone. Mermaids planted seeds in the sandy soil to help the elves have food and clothing to guard the mermaids as they come ashore to give birth. Mermaids and elves have been allies since a great sea wave flooded the elves’ Doggerland and the mermaid Adah saved the elf Luwain on a floating tree to guide it to land.”

“I know that story. The former mountain tops became islands.” interrupts Homer.

“Yes, and some of them are called Mermaid Islands.” replies The Hermit.

“The boys slept in a room above the stable. The toddler daughter, with her mother brought up warm milk to help them sleep. Sleeping in a bunk beside the wall seemed like home. The next morning, Cossus took his son Laeos and the elves out with digging sticks to plant seeds for wheat, rye, hops, gourds, beans, herbs, and pipe grass. As the sun rose higher and the air warmed up, they returned to the house for a midday meal. Then they returned to the fields to finish the planting of vegetables. At the end of the day, they took care of the barn animals and brought in water for the evening meal. In the evening, the lady twisted reeds into baskets while The Dragonslayer taught the boys basic fighting positions. Once the fields were planted, they worked on shearing the sheep and the helped the lady wash the wax off so she could spin it into thread. Their basic fighting skills were then used to practice with each other. The lady sat at the front door weaving the thread into cloth, making clay pots, melting beeswax candles, making soap from ashes, and embroidering their clothing. Visitors came often for herbal remedies for many ailments from lovesickness to upset stomachs. The boys wondered if the elf wife looking somewhat human was ever accused of cursing her human neighbors. Cossus answered that they would not dare to confront his sword. The boys accompanied the lady to search for plants to make medicines and dyes. In the marketplace where traveling merchants set up shop, she bought salt from the Desert of Kadacia, amber beads from the coast, and copper knives from the hill swamps near the mountains. Once in a while, she would take the family clothes down to the river to boil them with soap in a pot. Then beat the clothes with sticks in the river. She also baked bread in the village ovens and went out to the lake to hunt for crayfish. The elf boys cleaned their leather boots rubbing wool wax in with a rag. They learned much about humans in their stories of wars and conquest. Humans came from Titania’s forests to settle all over Lotan and Blythan grasslands when the great ice world melted. Others moved to the South Sea Lands. Elves from Titania speak of humans using fire to hunt great beasts who moved into northern forests when the ice world came to Titania. It is believed many stayed up north and mine the tin they use in bronze. They hunted and gathered in this beautiful place trading stones, shells, and feathers. Elves taught the humans farming and sailing. Upon the grasslands, the humans learned to ride horses and herd cattle from the hunt goddess Diana who charmed animals with a flute. Some humans grazed and hunted on the grasslands becoming the nomads and other humans settled along rivers as villagers. Some settled on the coastal plain of Doggerland with the elves gathering amber stones that washed ashore. Then the great sea wave drowned the lost Doggerland and made the Mermaid Islands. One human family was saved by Eridu telling the father, Ilio, to build a boat. Then the great sea wave came and the boat floated to a new coast. The family built a shrine along the sea wall to thank Eridu and called their new village, Illium. Elves would come from the nearby village of Ashleigh to trade. Later more humans came from the South Sea on boats following the currents brought copper tools and built stone buildings. They brought cereal grains from their homeland and taught the North Sea people about breads that rise. They also brought chariots and carts with them to carry trade goods over land.

They settled mostly in arid desert to the west called Kadacia to farm along flooding rivers and learned to ride hairy double hump camels. When the spring rains flood the rivers, they plant their crops and harvest them when the dry winds come. They were skilled with gold and silver smelting. Lotan nomads migrated in systematic routes to keep their herds in good pastures. Soon attacking villages of humans and elves became routine when trade was weak from famine, disease, or harsh winters. This brought forward the royal family of Kadacia. A great warrior queen who fought alongside her husband when he was killed had sons who also died in battle. She declared her daughters should inherit her crown upon her death. Ever since, the oldest daughter of the queen and her husband are crowned in the temple as King and Queen of Kadacia. Other creatures learn to farm, herd, and trade with these new humans. The centaurs in the hills learned to raise goats and grow grapes for wine. They learned to smelt copper and eventually added brass, tin, pewter, gold, silver, and iron to their forges. Iron is harder to melt and good for casting molds. Fauns who are half goat and half man learned to raise sheep on the sides of the mountains. They bring their flocks to the valleys during winter and live in caves. The leprechauns in Kadacia traded with the South Sea people and learned to alter their honey into mead. There is a story about a leprechaun who fell in love with a human girl and did magic to stop her from growing. In his conjuring, he met a banshee explaining the girl will die soon. To stop the girl’s death, he trapped the banshee in a box covered in spells. Sadly, another banshee took the girl to the afterlife. The leprechaun released the banshee from the box and asked to take him to the afterlife to be with her. The banshee refused. Cursed to stay in the living world forever, he carved a gourd with face and holding a glowing will o’ wisp light so his love could find him during the return times for spirits. After he died, he continued to walk the earth with his will o’ wisp latern. His name was Jack.

Then, a few hundred years ago, the people of Blythe came when their island home was destroyed by a volcano and settled along the coastal plains. They also built stone buildings and learned to ride horses. But then, they started attacking their neighbors and separated the land. After a couple generations of trading and harmony, a human arose in Blythe that wanted to control all the trade in the land. A great war between humans ensnared elves, centaurs, fauns, and leprechauns into the fighting. The greatest war leader of the nomads became King of Lotan and settled the boundary at the Olin Mountains with Blythan king. Queen of Kadacia placed the border of Anasazi Mountains between her and Blythe. Many Lotan villagers moved north when the Lotan king split the land between his soldiers to start new villages. Nomads remained on the Blythan grasslands with their flocks and traded. The King of Blythe taking land and controlling trade routes for various groups gave his top warlords a city to control. He taxed the merchants coming into the cities and created chiefs in the villages to collect harvest taxes. For a time, there was peace again. Then, the king’s son Emperor Ilio built a palace inside the village of Illium and conquered the nomads into paying taxes for grazing on his land. Heavy tax burdens upon the nomads caused them to attack their neighbors. Warlords realized great potential of capturing villagers and selling them in the cities as slaves to become quite wealthy as the kings in the cities.”

“What happened to the elves as the Blythans conquered the nomads?” inquired Dracon.

“They moved north with the Lotan farmers. Blythans kept enslaving elves so usually we avoid them. Mothers even tell their children that if they are bad that the Blythans will take them away. But in the borderlands between the kingdoms, they live peacefully in small villages. My home village was right here in this valley called Leesville. We would travel to the coast marshes to sell fabrics to the mermaids coming ashore. We sailed the rivers and seas. Merchants would travel through the mountains and sold wares in our valleys. It was a beautiful time to be an elf child when I was young. Before the famines, wars, and feuding humans destroyed our valley villages. Now the elves live where they can make a living and often sail the seas to scatter into other lands. My, I sound like the elves who lived in the Black Forest before the sun horse struck. We must end my stories tonight and get some rest. You are meeting the priestess Ophelia tomorrow. Come inside my lodge and sleep.” ended The Hermit.

The boys entered the bark covered house and slept on wool blankets on the ground. King Jason laid beside Dracon to doze off. The Hermit and Eurick put out the fire to settle into beds covered in willow branches and fur blankets. A woman entered the lodge soaking wet from swimming in the river and lies beside The Hermit. A horse nickered outside and Homer knew his horse had found them. The next morning, two girls and a woman were eating outside. The Hermit introduced his great-great nieces and his wife Nix who found Homer’s horse. Homer was confused, Nix was dead. She was shot with an arrow on her way to warn Whitefield of the impending attack on their village grain. The River of Nix is named for her. The Hermit explained she came back to life, but that is another story for another day. They must go up the mountain. The girls were to show them the Temple of Eris upon Glacier Mountain. They walked up the mountain path with the nieces. Dracon asked who their parents were. The girls said their mother is the Oracle of Nix and does not speak of their father. He visited the forest often as he sailed the seas and then he broke their mother’s heart marrying someone else. After that experience, she vowed to never fall in love again and devoted herself to the gods. Alaric asked what Ophelia was like.

The priestess is married to their distant cousin, god of winds Aelous, and lives with her son Addison in the temple. She is calm and patient person full of stories. They traveled half way up mountain and found the temple carved into the opening of a cave. The girls state they must cleanse themselves before entering. They enter a wood shack with a brick oven that is covered. They burn wood from outside the building and heat the lodge. The girls grab a pail of water near the oven and pour the water over the oven to create steam. Homer noticed one of the girls looking at him.

“You stare, Ishtar.” he spoke as he spread out a towel upon the wooden bench.

“I’m sorry,” she answered looking down. “I’ve not seen a creature like you before. You have a human face, but you have elf feet. May I ask what you are called?” begged Ishtar.

“My father is elf and my mother is human. Often creatures like me are called weasels because I know elf magic, but I look human.” replied Homer to sit down on the towel.

“I understand. My father was a human and my mother an elf goddess so I am a weasel too.” responded Ishtar.

Once their steam bath is finished and they scrape the sweat off with willow branches, they enter the temple. The entrance is covered in painted murals and statues with altars. In the center is a pool of water and they walk over to cool themselves off. Then suddenly, a great mass of yellow hair emerges from the pool to reveal a woman. She stands in the center of water as if it were solid rock. She pushes her hair aside and exposes her sky blue eyes. She gasps at the visitors gazing upon her and pulls a white robe out of the air to cover herself. The girls had covered their eyes in haste and did not receive any wrath of this woman. The boys on the other hand saw a blinding white light erupting from her hand and fell down to the floor. The boys awoke in complete darkness to the girls shaking them. The girls explain that was The Hermit’s sister Gilda, goddess of the harvest. The priestess Ophelia told them they were cursed until they made amends to Gilda. She had them apologize to Gilda’s statue and cut pieces of their hair to show humility. Gilda appeared and demanded a prayer bath to resolve their shame. The boys stepped into the pool and splashed themselves as they prayed for forgiveness. As they opened their eyes, they could see again and Gilda was gone. Homer removed an amulet bracelet from his wrist and dropped it into the pool. He splashed himself again reciting a prayer begging to marry a woman as beautiful as her. Ophelia declared his desire was granted. One of girls helped him step out of the pool and wrapped a towel around him.

“Thank you Ishtar,” said Homer and gazed deep into her eyes.

“Now shall we commence with preparations for our journey to the capital city?” asks Ophelia.

She brought a bronze bowl to her husband’s statue to pray for guidance and protection while burning incense. Addison arrived with chesnuts to make bread. The visitors spent the rest of the day crushing the chestnuts for the priestess. They spent the night in her residence inquiring to know who the father of the girls was. Ophelia answered a man who sailed the seas and then broke Lilia’s heart when he married another. Homer declared he heard that from the girls, but what was his name. She replied his name was Linos and had been murdered many years ago guarding King Jason. She offered wine and nut bread. She began to cook the evening meal of pickled mussels, carrots, green beans, and apple butter on chestnut bread. They watched the sun set over the mountains and Ophelia gave a lesson in navigation with the star constellations. Homer wondered what Tatiana the Great was like, he heard the stories of her saving elves from a forest fire by causing it to rain and banishing a witch to Titania. Ophelia declared that once upon a time before The Wizard was even born, the priestess Tatiana and an apprentice were living in the Temple of the Moon when their tutor priestess became ill and died. She had named Tatiana as her sucessor, but the apprentice believed a sprite should not be in that position in an elf temple. Tatiana asserted how her mother was an elf and that made her elf too. She also declared the apprentice cannot be the successor because she had not traveled and not gone through the devotion ceremony to become an official priestess. Angry, the apprentice left and suddenly news arrived saying Tatiana’s betrothal had became ill. She prayed in the temple and the god Eris appeared. He announced the apprentice gave him poisonous mushrooms when he asked for assistance to help his sick family. He could not do anything to stop his doom. By the time she arrived in the village, her betrothal’s family had died and he screamed in pain begging to view his betrothal before he died. She arrived as he slipped into the afterlife.

Furious, she prayed in the temple to grant her revenge. Tatiana had said Eris came to grant her desire if she would accompany him to his palace. They entered the prayer pool which became a doorway and they entered his great hall through a mirror of brass. She met his wife Iris who gave her apples of Idun. Eris presented a gold bracelet with magic crystals to defeat the apprentice, but he had demanded her first born child be given to him as a warrior to die in a great battle. She wept, but accepted the terms. As for her betrothal wish, he demanded that she look in the Mirror of Anastia. This magic mirror holds a goddess trapped in the brass who sees the viewer as they truly are. Whoever searches for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow must look in the mirror. Many are frightened by the image they see and flee. She stood in front of the mirror and Anastia looked deep into her soul to announce her betrothal will arrive when the plague ends. With her gift, she returned to the temple. She searched the forests for the apprentice. She found her along the river and held a wizard’s duel hurling curses at each other. Using the magic bracelet, she turned the elf into a white wolf and cursed her into exile acrosss the sea. She returned to devote herself to the god Eris and he arrived to give her the son he demanded from her. Her sister Amalia came up the mountain to help her give birth to the future warrior. Upon Leander’s birth, she presented him at the renamed Temple of Eris and at that moment, his wife Iris knew what Eris had done. She arrived to curse Tatiana to have no more children and tossed Eris into a volcano. She continued her duties and made healing herbs for the fever and boils plague covering elves and sprite in the mountains. Once requests for medicines waned, an elf appeared to pray in the pool. He was a sorcerer who wandered the world selling herbs and prayer crystals. He claimed his crystals held great magic. He noticed she had no apprentices to help her. She explained the great sickness upon the land and was certain apprentices would be coming soon. They prayed in the pool and she believed this was her foretold betrothal. But it wasn’t. It was Eris in disguise wishing to see his son. The next day, a sprite came to thank her for her healing herbs and offered to help her in her duties since she was alone. She married to the sprite and he raised his stepson as his own. But, alas, Eris made his presence known to Leander as he grew older and stronger. He gave him a magic helmet and sword when he had his adult ceremony. As news of Tatiana the Great’s deeds spread, apprentices came to learn from her. When she became ill and named Ophelia her successor, she presented the bracelet of Eris gave to her and told her to keep it safe. Her son Leander was given to Eris as demanded to become a great warrior in the Elf War and died outside Illium. Ophelia devoted herself to Eris and he allowed to keep the magic bracelet. He even came to her wedding to Aelous to give her a gift of a magic girdle made of obsidian jewels.

Alaric also wondered out loud what this Leesville The Hermit grew up in looked like. Ophelia declared she does not know for it was before her time, but The Haunted Forest is where it was located. Homer recalled stories of the great battle where Nix as a deer rushed to their village to warn them and died in their temple. Ophelia laughed how he lives in the same spot he built his first home to welcome his bride Nix. It made it easier for Nix to find him once she returned to life. Dracon was surprised The Hermit had a goddess sister, is everyone in his family holy ones? Alaric noted The Hermit’s son was a darman, his great-great nieces were goddesses, his wife is a mermaid, and Ophelia’s husband was the god of winds. Ophelia declared she heard these stories so many times as she was an apprentice to The Hermit that she will do her best to repeat them as he would.

“It all began with a sorceress.” started Ophelia.

“A sorceress who desperately desired for her children to have immortality that she took them to the great creator god Alano to be judged worthy and dipped in the Pool of Immortality. Living creatures that walk to the afterlife are judged according to their past life for their placement in the many houses of the netherworld. Immortals are judged according to their future life before given the gift of everlasting existence. Alano, who rules the Atlantis Mountains to the west of Kadacia, demands that immortality be entered with a child’s innocence. The Sorceress was delighted at her children becoming immortal and the predictions of greatness in her children’s futures worthy of legends recited for generations. She loved the idea of her children having the best she had to give and proud of her achievement at obtaining gods as betrothals for her precious daughters. She was disappointed, however, her dream of having a goddess betrothed to her only son did not come true. Her pride shaken, she ceased her search for a betrothal.

The mortal sorceress raised her immortal children in these very woods and they walked where we now sit. The village lay at the bottom of this mountain in the meadows. His home was near the waterfall. The elves use sheep’s wool to sift out metal ores and gemstones from the river silt. The large Aurora River was full of mussels and women wore pearls and shell beads. The elves loved to swim, fish, and had fun with the river mermaids. They sailed the rivers in canoes and ran raft ferries. They explored caves and played with fairies. The Sorceress’s husband was a blacksmith who had a forge along the river beyond the waterfall. The blacksmith’s father knew how to make the best boats to sail around the rivers. The blacksmith’s mother wove the most beautiful brocade linen. The Hermit’s father would hire boys to blow air into his furnace fires with long straws and would help dig out the cooled metals. He worked in silver, gold, tin, iron, brass, pewter, and bronze. The blacksmith was a great craftsman and traded with the trolls. Trolls who live in caves and come out at night or be turned into stone in the sunlight dug deep in the caves to find ores and crystals to trade with elves. The Sorceress gave every bronze weapon a spell that resulted in beliefs of elves having magical powers. The elf family occasionally paid tribute to the Chief of Leesville. The village was founded a thousand years ago by elves settling in the valley. Leesville elves lived in bark covered homes like The Hermit’s, kept luscious gardens, and hunted in the forested mountains. They had a mystic religion believing everything has a soul and the power to control natural forces is called magic. A magic wand is quite easy to make. You take a branch of willow with the leaves plucked off and rub the wood with fairy dust. Elves also burned incense from the South Sea during prayers to gods and goddesses in temples erected in special places. At home they prayed with crystals in a circle to send their prayers to their ancestors and nature spirits. Human and elf merchants came for treasured Leesville jewelry of magically twisted brass and gold chains and knots complete with embedded gems. Sailors came to the coastal marshlands beyond the mountains to find coral and pearls along the shallow coast. This coral reef called Narva and is famous for the number of shipwrecks during low tides. Mermaids find sailors washed ashore and approach with caution because humans kill mermaids like they kill seals or whales.

A large canopy of a tree served as a school for the elf children. The elf children learned from The Sorceress three days a week. The mornings were devoted to reading stories from leather parchment scrolls, practice writing on clay tablets covered in wax, and learning mathematics. The afternoons were devoted to music, geography, and languages. The children also learned to make stone tools and where to find medicines. To older pupils called apprentices, she taught magic potions, navigation, and ceremonies. The boy Alaric made many friends with the Leesville elves and exchanged gifts during festivals. He loved sailing the rivers and meeting merchants with his dearest friend Alexis. He came from the chief’s family of five sons, who lost his wife to fever shortly after Alexis was born. Alaric and Alexis were inseparable. Alaric taught his friend how to transform into animals and make things he needed come out of thin air. They often traveled to the sprite town where The Sorceress’s parents lived. Her sprite father carved gemstones and molded pottery. Her elf mother grew healing herbs and taught her daughters magic. The Hermit’s sister Gilda detested Alexis from all his magic on her to make her drop a plate or stumble over a stone. She once turned Alexis into a cat and refused to change him back. She could never comprehend what Alaric saw in this mischievous imp. After much begging from the chief, she turned him back into an elf. Alexis’s brothers were great hunters and traded well to gather a great deal of wealth for themselves. They found betrothals easily and built large homes for their families. Alexis was betrothed to a daughter of a war leader who fended off humans attacking their food supplies during a drought. During the attack, Alaric killed his first human. He saw his mother fending off men grasping at her daughters and hurled a stone with his slingshot. He fell over to the surprise of his family. His body lay on the grass, but he still breathed in his slumber. His mother handed him a knife to finish him before he regained alertness. He stabbed the man and watched his spirit rise like steam to be picked up by banshees riding winged horses. His mother said his magic crystal was the reason his pebble knocked over a man in a bronze armor. His grandfather later gave him a bow to practice and later took him hunting. He killed a bird and made his mother a feather headdress to wear during ceremonies. Then Alexis’s betrothed girl died during a scarlet fever epidemic that killed half the children of the village. Prospects of fortune eluded them so they sought out to be apprenticed to a hero. Alaric didn’t want to loose his friend either so he asked Tatiana the Great for help getting Alexis immortal magic. She changed into an eagle and took off with him. They returned at sunset and Alexis showed his own magic crystal. Tatiana told them to be careful with it because few spells can be undone. Searching to learn from a great hero, centaurs they traded with spoke of a human who defeated a dragon and took in apprentices. Elves often wore shed dragon skin as armor because is was tougher than bronze. This human also had dragon leather armor, which was unique because humans are terrified of dragons. When they returned as men, they had their chance to protect their village from human raiders who were again attempting to take their food supplies during another famine. The elves who survived scattered to other villages after burying the dead. The Haunted Forest got its name from the result of this battle where ghosts wonder around looking for loved ones they were separated from.”

“Good story, Ophelia. Tell me something. The Hermit said his mother-in-law was an elf who looked human from a mountain valley. His father-in-law was a human called Cossus the Dragonslayer from grasslands. So how did Nix come back to life as a mermaid?” asked Alaric.

“The goddess of the afterlife Isis demands return to the living in another form. That is why vampires look different from their living selves.” replied Ophelia. “Yes, we saw war god Eris raise a troll into a vampire. His eyes were black, his teeth and fingers grown longer, and his skin was blue. Before he could bite us, we left.” blurted out Dracon.

“You did? Wise.” spoke intrigued Ophelia.

“Yes, Eris said to give his regards to Prince Alaric the Great.”

“He did. Most interesting.” said Ophelia.

“Yes, The Hermit said something like that. He thought because my sister married a descendent of Leander is why he said that. How do they know each other?” asked Homer. “You said Tatiana and Eris got together before The Hermit was born.”

“Because of Iris. She grew fond of father-in-law and this led to conflict with Eris who does not like any being close to Iris. For him to give father-in-law his regards is unusual because he despises him.” recited Ophelia.

“But he is married to the volcano goddess Maya,” said Dracon.

“Yes and while married to Maya he fathered Jack Frost with Iris when she asked him to turn Nix into a vampire so Alaric could have her back. Anyway, he is a very jealous god.” replied Ophelia.

They rested into the night and woke up at sunrise smelling frying meat and porridge. In the blue twilight, they could see creatures walking into the cave temple. Ophelia explained they are vampires returning to the care of Eris inside his temple. Deep under the temple are tunnels running through the mountain holding crypts for the vampires to sleep in during the day. As the sun grew higher, they walked down the path to the waterfall. Homer had so many questions for The Hermit. To answer them in due time, he continued his story about His Lovely who likes pipe grass.

As The Hermit grew up in Brightsburg, he ventured out with Cossus to the capital Kamala to make weapons for the army gathering to fight the Kadacians to the west who had been raiding Lotan villages after the spring planting. The Kadacians who had a fallible harvest the autumn before decided to cross the border to raid the Lotan villages who had bountiful harvests. The grand city Kamala was built upon marshland and still has many canals. Thick stone walls surround the city and tall temples grew higher than the walls. The marketplace was filled with scrupulous vendors. They worked hard selling livestock, arrow tips, spear tips, swords, and armor. News came of a new group of women warriors settling into a valley in the Anasazi Mountains to the west. The Amazons were girl orphans from nomad culture that passed through the mountains. Orphan boys inherited their father's position and possessions, and thus cared for by their male relatives. An orphan girl saw her father's wealth go to a male relative and possessed no dowry to gain a husband. The girls were regarded as nothing more than servants to their family and left the tribe. These girls becoming women began to reject male membership into their homes. Their newly crowned queen who was an apprentice to a priestess is the only one who has a husband who translates for the women. They built homes in the valley to hunt, fish, and gather food. They often leave to trade or raid. Both sides of the war wanted the Amazons on their side. The Lotan king sent his daughter to negotiate an alliance. It was said the Amazons joined the Lotans for tools, weapons, and hunting rights in the grassy hills near their valley. The King of Lotan and Queen of Kadacia fought many battles along the border to retreat into winter camps. Cossus took the boys home to begin the harvest.

Upon their return to Brightsburg, their village was raided by Blythans and buildings burnt to the ground. Livestock taken and the few who ran away picked up the pieces of their lives. Cossus gathered the villagers together to hunt down their family. They tracked the raiders towards the coast where pirates often trade with nomads and fishing villages. After riding their horses for three days, they reached the beach where the people from several villages were lined up for inspection. The pirate king walked down the line grabbing chins and checking teeth. The children were sent to the river to fill the water jars before they sail. Alaric snuck up in the grasses to guide the children away. The villagers spread out to begin their attack. The boys readied their slings to release pebbles. Then the men fired arrows into the crowd. The slaves dodged and the raiders prepared for battle. They hid behind shields and crowded together. Then Cossus held a brass mirror to the sun and waved it to cause a light burst to signal the charge. The boys continued their slings and arrows until they ran out. The men charged on their horses swinging battle axes. Alaric was impressed with Cossus besting every man he crossed paths with. He met the pirate king and jumped down from his horse. His wife nearby jumped up and took off with his horse. Equal adversaries on the ground swung their weapons at each other. Laeos slung pebbles at the pirate to allow an opening for Cossus to slay him. Unlike the dragon, the pirate king was not slain. The pirates retreated to their ship and villagers could not assault the ship. The raiders made a retreat and the villagers took back their families. The slave traders conquered, the villagers returned home. Nix embraced Alaric as one of her heroes. The village was rebuilt and crops harvested to prepare for winter. The autumn and winter were full of activity searching for wood to make weapons and making bows. Cossus presented his apprentices with dragon leather for helping him out. Alaric’s father came up the river with axe head pieces and casted tools for the villagers. It took two more years before the king and queen made peace.

A few years later, Cossus also brought the elf lads south to the Blythe capital Illium to trade for valued wine. Vineyards outside the walled capital made the best known wine. This was a more impressive sight with a tall stone lighthouse to guide ships through the coral reefs. Most buildings were stone, though many homes in the poor section were made of wood. The Blythans are great sailors and trade with faraway places. Rich soft cottons from Anakia in the South Sea arrive to rival the soft linen the Lotans brought. The wealthy merchants and nobles dress in ankle-length robes compared to shorter Lotan tunics. The poor Blythans dress more modestly in tunics and low cut shoes. Their Lotan honey colored hair and shorter stature also stood out among the taller auburn colored haired residents. Alaric and Alexis took the opportunity to sell herbs that heal and make food tastier. As Alaric was wandering the marketplace, he ran into a young woman who was admiring brocade cloth. He stepped up to her and told her she was wasting her money on such frolics. Her beauty surpassed this fine cloth. Flattered, she requested he show her where she can find beautiful cloth that matched her beauty. He guided her to the stall where they sold their fine linen. He explained it came from the Plains of Julia up in Lotan and nowhere will she find better fabrics. She bought a bolt of the linen brocade and ordered it to the palace. Alarmed, Alaric reflected that she lives at the palace. She answered she was a companion to the royal family. Alaric then pulled out an iron bracelet with a bull’s head in the center. He told the pretty lady that he carved the clay mold himself and said he could part with it for five gold coins. She bargained for two gold coins and two silver coins. Alaric agreed. She offered a meal from the palace kitchen in exchange for stories of the Plains of Julia. His traveling companions walked to the palace gates where all the guards bowed to the lady calling her Grace. They had tea, fruit, bread, and tarts in an entrance hall. Surrounded by benches, statues, and banners of the emperor hanging on the walls, Alaric spun stories of the mountains, the grasslands, and the grand city Kamala. Grace insisted they continue on to her sitting chamber. The boys recited tales to her ladies as they played a harp. Her favorite was the story of the cosmic river appearing in the sky at night. Grace sat sewing with her ladies listening to every word. Then the evening meal was announced and the boys had to leave to return to their master. Grace presented them with gold candle sticks for the entertainment. Cossus allowed them to return to the palce the next day to entertain the emperor in his sitting room. His Imperial Majesty sat in a chair with his hands politely folded and appeared as a statue listening to their stories. Grace sat next to him sewing upon a robe.

“Once, the astrology goddess Alma was lifted to create the heavens by her creator father Alano to give a place where the sun horses and moon horses could roam without damaging life on the surface. Alma gazing upon her siblings getting married and having children, began to long for that life. She sent down a falling star and it crashed through a human’s leather tent. The human Draco decided to make it into a piece of jewelry. He cooled the star iron and in the smoke rose a child god. He named the boy, Vanir. Soon, another falling star came and out came a baby girl named Ymira. Draco went to a priest asking where these children came from. He discovered he was the guardian of Alma’s offspring. He wished to meet her. Alano heard his prayer and changed him into a giant water snake to place him in Alma’s cosmic robes. He fell in love and refused to return to the surface. The children were raised among the nomadic hunters and gatherers. Different from the others, they became outcasts with superior strength and magic powers. When grown, their hearts were cold and they cared nothing for humans. They left to live inside a temple cave. The priestess said they were holy beings made from magic of star iron. Alano visited them to give them the realm of snow and ice to rule the winter months. Then the Ice World came when the 2nd sun exploded over the Black Forest. In that explosion, the god Tyree was born from the magic. Vanir was then betrothed to the love goddess Ishtar to have Idun, the Holly King, who planted golden apples to make the Ice World melt. Ymira move north to Iceland and her husband Tyree, god of the North Wind, had several children who are ice fairies.”

In another story, he explained his aunt was a famous sorceress who banished a rival healer to Titania across the sea. Curious, Grace asked if The Sorceress would have an herb for her son’s fits. He was cursed at birth with fits of shaking. Many magicians tried to drive the evil spirit out of him, but their cures never last. Alaric thought about it. He answered that when a dog came down with fits, his mother searched her spell books and found someone found that eating seafood and sea salts helped alleviate the fits. The spell book said that shellfish worked the best. Later on during a stop in the Blythan city Kara on the coast to obtain iron ore for his father, he heard of a mysterious stranger ceased a cursed prince of his fits into a rare occurrence and helped him get betrothed to a Princess of Ithaca. Grace, it turns out was Her Grace, The Grand Princess Athena who one day would become Empress Athena. Upon their arrival in Illium, he asserted his disc1overy and asked why she lied about who she was. She shrugged it off declaring it failed to seem important at the time. Alaric simply replied how he was glad his cure helped the Grand Prince find a wife. The travelers return to Brightsburg with ores, coins, wine, gemstones, and shell beads. Alaric longed to be a sailing merchant when he grew up and desired to sail all the way to the South Sea countries. As years go by, the apprentices learned archery, dagger fighting, sword fighting, and battle calls. They learned to fight on horses and boats. The elves helped the household and gained skill bargaining in the marketplace. They joined in the festivals celebrating the coming of spring, midsummer’s eve, the harvest, the new year, and winter solstice. Laeos’s cousin Modred never ceased his heckling of the strange elves. As hard as they tried to adapt to this human culture, they were still often viewed as outsiders. Modred led mock battles with sticks and primitive shields with his human friends only. The elf lads watched from the stable the human boys playing and wished to learn to lead armies in addition to their hunting skills. The apprentices continued their elf practices with prayer stones, songs, washing their own clothes with the women, and lavishing in food baskets from home. Mountain berries rarely made their way to the grassland humans. Once Alaric obtained a cauldron from his mother, the homesick elves cooked potions to trade at the marketplace.