Sha'ara awoke from the dream in the early morning. The sky above, somewhat blocked by various foliage, sported ribbons of white-gold-blue as the sun ascended. Her hand rose to swipe her brow while she looked at her surroundings.
It had been a week since the Dragon Claw Caves and they were presently in the country of Bri'issa, about halfway through the Druid Rock Gardens. The gnomes there were kind to Sha'ara and her friends; in fact they had constructed a house especially for the group. The forest was good cover, as it was thick and hardly visited by humans anymore.
Although she loved it here in the forest and the scenery did her soul good, Sha'ara was still very much beset by sadness and a longing for her beloved father. She soldiered on though, if not for herself, then for the group of people she had come to think of as her family. Even the gnomes seemed to sense her sadness.
The Gardens lay beautiful and alive with green. The trees were all strong; huge trunks and full canopies. The houses that the gnomes built lived high up in the branches of the aforementioned trees, and were connected by ropes and pulleys and several platforms. It was awe-inspiring. The ground had been adorned by bushes, and gardens of various flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables littered the grounds.
The gnomes mostly left the group to their own devices, but meals were shared and took place in one home or another in a roundabout fashion. While there, Shay and the others were kindly asked to share chores; tending gardens or repairing parts of the tree house system that had been failing.
No news of the Alliance had come their way. Ma'agda hadn't had any visions regarding them, so everyone had become somewhat carefree. But now, the time to leave the safety of the forest behind had come.
"Jonah," she said while nudging her brother, "wake up."
A green eye opened and stared at her in annoyance. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm sleeping?"
"We need to finish packing."
It had been the night before that they all had decided the crew would leave for the next arm of the journey in the morning.
"So wake up." She added, with a smile. It didn't escape Jonah that it never reached her eyes.
Jonah sat up, rubbed his eyes and resigned himself to organizing the last of his belongings. He turned to Sha'ara and nodded his head. Both became busy with packing and getting ready for the farewell meal with the gnomes.
After, Sha'ara and Jonah went around picking supplies of food, herbs and the like for the next few days. Shay and Bri'nna were doing the same as they all met in the herb garden far below the shelter of the trees.
"Good morning my dears," Bri'nna said in greeting while kissing Sha'ara, and Jonah, respectively, on the cheek. "Did you sleep well?"
Jonah just nodded, as he was somewhat bleary-eyed.
Sha'ara returned the kiss and smiled. "I did, but I also had a dream-vision of Serephia and Moy'rain." And there she began telling her mother, Shay and Jonah about it while the four continued to gather food. Soon after she had finished the tale, Ma'agda, Armaelie, and Ta'asha came upon, and joined them.
They hadn't come across the others in their group until the morning meal, when they all gathered at the house belonging to the chief gnome; Rocknar. There, Raphe, Cryss, and Jazael were reunited with the previously mentioned group.
After the meal and goodbyes to the gnomes, the group of ten started south, toward the coast. They had reasoned that it would be best to stay under the protection of the forest as long as possible before veering southeast.
This path would take them near the Leaf Heart Fountain, the waters of which had been rumored to hold magical properties. It was also said to be the near the site where the Wallow Unicorn made its home. It roamed the area just south of the fountain and was thought to be its guardian, although the last reported sighting was many years before.
While Sha'ara was hiking alongside Ma'agda, she experienced the feeling of being pulled into a vision. She kept walking though, as she had finally mastered the art of being somewhat present in her current surroundings. Ma'agda looked at her as they went and had seen her friend get claimed by the vision, and knew to tell the others to keep their eyes on her.
Sha'ara was transported to the Isle of Gnosis where once again, instead of simply being a witness, she was the Princess.
Serephia walked slowly off the ferry and onto the dock, looking around at the scenery that met her eyes. Sha'ara-inside-of–Serephia somehow knew that the Princess was beyond saddened, and assumed it had been because she was separated from the Prince Moy'rain. But she could also sense an excitement.
She continued walking onto the island, choosing one of the cobblestoned paths leading to the University. She was to attend classes here in order to learn about her magic. While looking around at the lush greenery and beautiful flowers, the Princess accidentally bumped into someone.
"Oh, excuse me! I am so sorry about that. I was not quite looking where I was going...too involved in the scenery." At this her head swung to indicate the gardens. "Hello, by the way. I am Serephia, what is your name?' She said while looking into the eyes of the young woman.
"Well, you should be sorry! I am not invisible you know." The girl responded. And then quite suddenly, she laughed, as if there were a funny secret. "I am Tho'ora."
Serephia looked at this girl oddly at first, wondering what had been so funny. "Nice to meet you Tho'ora, what, if I may ask, are your gifts?"
The girl smiled broadly then. "I," she began, with an air of pride, "can see the very distant future. Water is my element, and I can use it to see memories. That is my specialty, although I can do other things."
"Wow that is quite impressive! Can you see your own memories, or others'?" Serephia asked.
"Well just mine for now, that is part of why I am here." The girl then took Serephia by the arm and indicated that they continue up to the University.
It appeared that the Princess had made a friend. She began to tell the girl about herself; her own element and gifts, as well as why she had come to the island. They talked constantly as they walked arm-in-arm. Soon they were inside the main building and headed toward the auditorium to be greeted. After they had sat down and begun awaiting orientation, Sha'ara felt the familiar pull that indicated she was leaving the vision.
The thick, green of the forest came slowly back into view, while the auditorium melted away. She blinked, and looked to the right where Ma'agda had been walking beside her before the vision had taken her. She smiled at her and nodded her head to indicate she knew that Sha'ara had been in a vision.
Looking around Sha'ara realized that they had traveled quite a bit since she went into her vision, and wondered how long she had been. She turned her head to look at Ma'agda again.
"How long?" She asked.
Ma'agda smiled slightly before she answered. "For about 3 miles."
Sha'ara felt her mouth drop. She forced herself to close it and continue walking. The scenery up ahead began to thin out, which meant they were probably very close to the coastline, but then she learned from Ma'agda that they had changed direction slightly and were now going southeast a bit earlier than planned, to cut their travel time.
As they continued walking, Sha'ara revealed to Ma'agda what her vision had been about. She described how once again she was the Princess; how the University looked very much the same it had when they were there, how she had met the other Shia'din girl that could see far into the future.
It was mid-afternoon when the group came upon the edges of the forest, and Shay had suggested they rest and have a meal. Everyone, especially the boys, agreed for they had been trekking for such a long time and needed to nourish themselves.
And with that decided, they back tracked a tiny bit to make sure they were well protected, and Shay found some thick bushes to camp behind as to provide extra cover. Cryss and Jonah were instructed to gather some wood in order to build a small fire, and Armaelie and Ta'asha were asked to find what food they could in the nearby area to the west.
As they all dispersed, Sha'ara and the others set up the spot and readied various cooking utensils. When they were done, and still the others hadn't returned, they sat and waited and talked amongst themselves.
Ma'agda then slowly turned toward Sha'ara, her face alight with understanding. "What did you say the girls' name was? The one Serephia met at the University."
"Hmm?" She answered. "Oh, um...Tho'ora, I think. Why?"
"Oh my...I think I know that name."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, well...I can't quite think of where I've heard it, but yes, I believe so."
She thought for a few silent moments and then, "wait...oh...I think. I think she's a relation of mine." Her eyes looked like saucers and her face was aglow with wonder at the coincidence.
Sha'ara wondered too.
"I remember now...my mother once told me that I was named Ma'agda because Tho'ora had seen it. I suppose... she must have also seen that we would meet and become friends."
Sha'ara thought on it. "Yes, I suppose she probably had. Hey you know...maybe that is what she was laughing at..."
"How do you mean?" Ma'agda queried.
"Well, in the vision...Tho'ora said something about not being invisible after Serephia bumped into her—"
Her friend started to giggle. "Yes, I get...ha-ha...I get it now. She must have had a vision of us and how we met." Ma'agda continued to laugh, clutching at her side.
Sha'ara laughed too, in spite of herself. Laughter was too contagious. But mid-laugh something clicked.
She immediately straitened up, her eyes meeting the other girls'. "I have a suspicion that Tho'ora may have been the one Serephia gave the prophecy to."
Ma'agda ceased her giggles. "I do vaguely remember a story that she had something to do with a prophecy, but we all thought it might have been just family legend or something."
"Have I ever told you the Shia'din Prophecy of the Reborn Princess?" But then she thought again. "But then, you probably have heard it, have you not?" Sha'ara asked.
"Actually, I haven't, if you can believe that!" Ma'agda remarked while her eyebrows dipped in curiosity. "I guess it kind of got lost through time as the family descended."
Sha'ara then began to recite the prophecy to her.
✺◟(∗❛ัᴗ❛ั∗)◞✺✺◟(∗❛ัᴗ❛ั∗)◞✺✺◟(∗❛ัᴗ❛ั∗)◞✺
Hello and happy Monday to my adorable readers! I hope you are all well and that you remember to give yourselves more credit. You are stronger, braver, and smarter than you think. Every one of you hold a seed, a spark of something magical and beautiful inside; don't let the world tell you anything different! I love you.
NamjoonsPajamas xo