Eternal Forest: Eternal Forest Saga - Prequel

Chapter 1

She'd always loved the water. Standing on the shore of the lake and watching its crystal surface reflect the sky above reminded her just how big the world was. It was like standing between worlds, with a sky below as well as above, and seeing it on a clear night with the stars shining was the best of all. It was a special part of her and had been ever since she was a child. She would often sneak out after dark and hurry through the trees of Moon-hollow to the shores of the lake. Her parents would scold her for it when the sun came up each time, they discovered her missing, but she made these secret journeys far more often than she got caught.

Like all elven youths when they came of age, she was given the opportunity to change the name her parents had given her at birth to one of her choosing. It was a rite of passage where an elf became their own person instead of the ward of their parents. She loved her parents and had enjoyed the name she'd grown up being called, but she knew from an early age that, when the time finally came, she would go by the name of Shimmer.

The ceremony had taken place earlier that year, and she still lived in the tiny hut of sticks and leaves with her parents on the edge of the village, but her child-like wonder for the water still consumed her. Even now, as she joined her fellow elves at the edge of Sky Lake for the celebration of the harvest, she remained as close to the shore as possible, her gaze constantly stolen away by the reflections of moonlight dancing on the water's surface.

The shores of the lake constituted the largest clearing in all the elven territory and were always used for gatherings such as this: grand celebrations to accommodate attendance by the entire territory. Anywhere else would require the elves to congregate amongst the trees, which stretched on forever in all directions. Though the ground was rocky and uneven, all the elves of Moon-hollow were packed tightly between the shore and the tree line as they talked, laughed, and danced to the music played by the finest musicians in the territory.

Shimmer's feet were sore from stomping against the uneven stones by the water, but she was too full of joy to care. The spectacle of the evening was too enchanting to be dampened by anything. She was having fun, dancing with her friends as the pulse of steady beats from the animal-skin drums coursed through her body. High above her head, a brilliant display of fireworks lit up the sky, mirroring their performance on the surface of the lake. The whole scene was magical, and she never wanted it to end.

"Twig!" shouted a young woman from behind her.

Shimmer whipped around to face her. The wavy curls of her fiery red hair flew past her colorful eyes, the left being blue and the right being green. Shimmer's mother had always said the Lady used every color she could when she made her. "That's not my name anymore!" she shouted playfully.

The girl laughed as she lightly slapped her left palm against her forehead. "Sorry, Shimmer," she responded. "I'm never going to get used to that."

"I'm still getting used to hearing it myself," Shimmer replied. Her naming ceremony had only happened a few months before. At the age of eighteen, she was now considered an adult in elven society. Of course, full recognition of adulthood wouldn't come until she was married and out of her parent's home. That was another reason this night was so important. This was her first big gathering as an adult where she could legally be courted by eligible men.

Her mother had spent hours getting her ready. Her hair was washed and brushed with two small braids from the top of her head joining together at the back of her neck and traveling down to her lower back. Her fair skin had been delicately powdered, making it seem to glow in the moonlight. Her makeup was perfect, she was wearing the nicest silver dress she'd ever owned, and her head was adorned with a crown of pink flowers. She had never seen herself so beautiful in all her life, and no night of her life up until now had been this important.