The Eye of The Storm

Chapter 1

Dusk, Uncharted Territory    I   Year: 1378

There was silence everywhere. Aella had never known the early call of birds or the sound of insects humming on a deep summer night. She was sitting in the tent, perfectly still, awaiting the return of her mother and father. As she stared at the thick brown material of the make-shift tent she tried to think of nothing at all. Aella knew that she could sit outside and enjoy the fresh air tinged with the scent of lilacs and smoke from the fire. Even though the tent was surrounded by the remaining soldiers of the royal fleet who were standing guard, they would let Aella roam freely as long as it was not out of their sight. She was not a prisoner here, but rules had to be obeyed. Despite this, she preferred to stare at the brown lining of the tent over going outside. The sky would only remind her of why things were the way they were. The thick walled clouds would remind her of the years of pain and waiting. It would give her yearning for a life that fate would never make possible.

If she saw the sky it would make her anxious that this time, her mother and father would not return.

She had only recently come to enjoy the company of one of the younger soldiers, who would stray from the emotionless stares of his fellows, to remain with Aella inside the tent as she waited for her parents. This was yet another reason why Aella preferred the tent over the outside. Rarely would the soldiers speak to her, and it made her eerily uncomfortable. The situation was only allowed as the soldier himself was the son of the general, who was in good stead with Aella's father and was a trustworthy man. Likewise, his son was also kindhearted and dedicated to serving King Thaumas. It was only because of the royal family that him and his father had been lucky enough to survive the storm when it first ravaged Thrace many years before when he was still a small child.

He found Aella strikingly beautiful and bearing in close resemblance to her mother, Queen Electra. Conversation was sparse between the two, and usually followed the same general outline of the young soldier attempting to reassure her that her parents would return in a matter of minutes, safe and with good news. When he did speak he was suffocatingly polite, for fear that Aella would find some offence in his words and he would no longer be allowed to visit her- or worse. Aella had a reputation among the soldiers for being fierce and temperamental.

After he had reassured her and some time had passed, he would exit the tent and return promptly saying, "Thaumas and Electra make their arrival" to which Aella would give a slight nod, so as not to seem too relieved. In that event, it would show she had been scared that they would not return, and Aella did not like for people to think that she was weak willed. Despite this facade, the young soldier knew that Aella was scared and this was why it did not bother him to stay with her, despite the fact that her stern expression might frighten the other soldiers from doing so.

On this night, the young soldier was not keeping Aella company inside the tent and she found herself more distressed than usual. This in itself also made her upset, as she did not like that she was becoming attached to the meer habitance of the soldier within the tent.

Her moodiness could likely be explained by the fact that the storm itself had been still for many days. This happened very often; it was not unusual that the storm could remain still for days or weeks and then have the winds pick up in seconds. The eye of the storm which kept Aella and her family safe would then begin to move rapidly and put them in imminent danger. This was why it was necessary that someone monitor the front of the storm- her father and mother had taken over this role after her older brother had passed. Because of this, Aella knew very well the danger of the storm.

It was both a natural phenomenon and one tainted with supernatural power. This much she knew because the storm didn't follow any law of logic (nor it is noted, any documented weather patterns). It moved on its own and when it felt like it, and when it did the tents would quickly be packed up, the fires stomped out, and they would ride on horseback to stay within the eye. The uprooting itself did not bother Aella, as she became quickly bored with the surroundings she was scarcely allowed to fully explore.