Mira followed Strider's directions almost perfectly. She did head north
along the North-South Road. Despite the fact that she had somewhere to go,
namely to the fork in the road, her travels were far more difficult than
she had ever imagined. When rationalizing her decision in her head, she
neglected to mention to herself that she had been traveling with Rangers –
the ultimate travelers. They knew how to go through the countryside
unnoticed; they knew how to build a fire so no smoke would reveal their
location; they knew where to find food that would not be missed by any of
the local animals; they knew exactly how far to go in one day and where to
rest so no one would discover them. Mira, on the other hand, bumbled
through her first few nights alone.
She was not used to building fires outside of a hearth, and her first fire billowed thick black smoke up to the evening sky. She did find berries and nuts, but during the night all of the squirrels, and who knows what other rodents, managed to steal it all from her. While traveling with the Rangers along the road, Mira had miraculously not encountered any other travelers. But, during her travels alone, Mira often had to dive into the bushes on either side of the road when she heard caravans of merchants and other travelers approach. The only beings she had encountered were men, though, and her dreams of meeting an elf or a dwarf had not yet come true.
On her fourth or fifth night traveling alone, Mira was dozing off staring into the dying fire, clutching her sling tightly in her right hand, resting on her side and using her left arm as a pillow, when she had her first dream. Sleep had always been difficult for her, and during the first few nights alone she couldn't manage to sleep at all. Mostly, she only experienced dreamless sleep, and once in a while she would dream of the beautiful elf lady, or of dwarves and elves, especially after her companions shared their stories. At least, Mira thought they were dreams. They were just the daydreams she had before she actually fell asleep.
She was back in Nakyere, in the tree, desperately shooting arrows at the approaching orcs.
"No, leave me alone!" she screamed.
They were clawing at the base of the tree, only a few feet under her. Panicked, she began looking around. Suddenly, she noticed that the tree went even further up. She began climbing, and climbing; she could hear them only a few feet below her.
'Get up, get away,' she kept thinking. She continued scrambling up the tree, until the sound behind her faded away. The top of the tree was still out of sight. She had climbed so far, that the sky up here was as blue as it could be, and white fluffy clouds were all around her.
Finally, she came to the top of the tree. 'What am I doing up here?' she thought to herself. 'There's nowhere to go!'
"My fair Celia, I'm so glad you could join us!"
Mira looked around, shocked to see people sitting around a large, round, oak table in high backed engraved chairs. It seemed that the clouds themselves were the ground, in a huge, ceiling-less hall. An old man, with a long, gray beard and clever, sparkling eyes was waving her over to the empty seat next to him. There were many other people around the table, too many to count, none of whom she recognized.
Reluctantly, Mira walked over and sat. She felt so inadequate with her blood stained and torn gown, among all of these kings and queens, for surely that is what they were. They were all incredibly beautiful, and they all seemed to glow. They were all looking at her and smiling.
"Now, my dear, would you like to get rid of your scar?" asked the gray man.
"Scar?" Mira had many scars, mainly from years of working.
"Yes my dear, the scar on your chest."
Mira was curious. She had never seen her entire body. But she had seen her chest, and all she had there was a birthmark. Mira undid the top of her dress, just enough to see the area of her chest in between her breasts. All she saw was her birthmark.
At the sight of it, all the people sitting around the table stopped smiling and turned to look at each other. Mira had always admired her birthmark. It was interesting and one of the two things she liked owning, the other being her necklace.
It was brownish-red, as all birthmarks usually are, and its middle point was exactly at the middle of her chest, the same distance from each of her breasts, right at the point where her ribs met. There were five lines radiating from that midpoint. The lines were not exactly straight, but almost looked as if someone had tapped her chest with a stake and the five lines were cracks caused by the pressure. Overall, it wasn't very big; she could cover the whole birthmark with her hand if she wished. Sometimes, if one tried very hard to notice the top part of the line that radiated straight upwards could be seen above the neckline of her dress, which was fairly conservative. It almost seemed as if the center of the scar was aimed directly over her heart and the five lines were protecting her heart from anything that could possibly touch it.
"This is only a birthmark," said Mira to the old man, "and my name is not Celia. It is Miradon."
"I think, my dear," the old man said with a smile, "that we know you a little bit better than you do. After all, we made you, Celia. We are a part of you, Celia. Don't leave, Celia….Celia…."
Mira woke with a start. Her hand shot to her chest and covered her birthmark and her necklace at the same time. 'What a strange dream!' she thought. 'So many strange people! They couldn't have been human! Probably elfish…but the most beautiful elves! And what did they want with my birthmark?' Mira lifted her hand and looked down on her birthmark. It was now more dark red than brown, almost blood red.
'How strange,' muttered Mira to herself, 'they called me Celia. If only they said it right, I would have been Caelia.' She laughed at the though. 'Me, a goddess? Now that surely is a dream!'
When Mira awoke the next morning she had forgotten about the dream and continued on. That evening, the same thing happened. She dozed off as she was staring into the dying fire. But, instead of being in Nakyere, she was already seated at the table on the clouds. It seemed as if they had all continued without her.
"But if she doesn't know, then there's no harm," one of the elder male elves was saying.
"If he knows, then that's all that matters. She's not going to the right place. She needs protection," objected one of the beautiful queens, "she does not know her talents. I could protect her."
"Yavanna, you know we can't show her. She must…"
"Ah! Celia! Welcome back!" interrupted the man with the gray beard.
'Not this again,' thought Mira.
"Don't worry, my dear, it won't take long," said the man with the gray beard, seemingly reading her mind. "Where are you going?"
"Nowhere," replied Mira.
"That's always a good destination," responded graybeard, as Mira was now calling him.
"Excuse me, sir."
"Yes, my dear?"
"Who are all these people and why am I here?"
"Oh, dear," mumbled someone at the other end of the table.
"We've done too good a job of protecting her. She knows nothing! She'll surely be killed!" said one of the unknown kings.
"Never mind them, dear Celia," said graybeard. "To answer your question, we are all in your dream, and these people, well, they are simply figments of your imagination. You will never see them in the flesh."
"What about you?" asked Mira, "You seem real."
"Clever child. But, alas, I am also simply someone in your mind. Look around you. Do you notice anything?"
Mira looked at everyone sitting. At first glance, they all seemed like the beautiful kings and queens, who were the sources of the brilliant light. In fact, there was one of everything. On the other side of graybeard sat four dwarfs, and beside them sat two men and two women. All of the others around the table were elves, except for four others on the other side of Mira, all of which were extremely short people with furry feet.
"Why, everyone's here!" she exclaimed.
"Yes, we are all here. But look around you."
"I just did…" started Mira but broke off when she looked behind her. Surrounding the round table was everything. Literally, anything and everything imaginable surrounded them. All different trees, plants, shrubs, weeds; every single living thing, including animals and birds she had never even seen. Curiously enough, none of the animals made the slightest noise, and there was no wind to rustle the leaves of the trees. "Wha…What's all this?"
"As I already said, Celia, we made you. We are a part of you. Whenever you need us, just speak, and we will be there. Wherever you go…we'll be there….Celia…."
She was not used to building fires outside of a hearth, and her first fire billowed thick black smoke up to the evening sky. She did find berries and nuts, but during the night all of the squirrels, and who knows what other rodents, managed to steal it all from her. While traveling with the Rangers along the road, Mira had miraculously not encountered any other travelers. But, during her travels alone, Mira often had to dive into the bushes on either side of the road when she heard caravans of merchants and other travelers approach. The only beings she had encountered were men, though, and her dreams of meeting an elf or a dwarf had not yet come true.
On her fourth or fifth night traveling alone, Mira was dozing off staring into the dying fire, clutching her sling tightly in her right hand, resting on her side and using her left arm as a pillow, when she had her first dream. Sleep had always been difficult for her, and during the first few nights alone she couldn't manage to sleep at all. Mostly, she only experienced dreamless sleep, and once in a while she would dream of the beautiful elf lady, or of dwarves and elves, especially after her companions shared their stories. At least, Mira thought they were dreams. They were just the daydreams she had before she actually fell asleep.
She was back in Nakyere, in the tree, desperately shooting arrows at the approaching orcs.
"No, leave me alone!" she screamed.
They were clawing at the base of the tree, only a few feet under her. Panicked, she began looking around. Suddenly, she noticed that the tree went even further up. She began climbing, and climbing; she could hear them only a few feet below her.
'Get up, get away,' she kept thinking. She continued scrambling up the tree, until the sound behind her faded away. The top of the tree was still out of sight. She had climbed so far, that the sky up here was as blue as it could be, and white fluffy clouds were all around her.
Finally, she came to the top of the tree. 'What am I doing up here?' she thought to herself. 'There's nowhere to go!'
"My fair Celia, I'm so glad you could join us!"
Mira looked around, shocked to see people sitting around a large, round, oak table in high backed engraved chairs. It seemed that the clouds themselves were the ground, in a huge, ceiling-less hall. An old man, with a long, gray beard and clever, sparkling eyes was waving her over to the empty seat next to him. There were many other people around the table, too many to count, none of whom she recognized.
Reluctantly, Mira walked over and sat. She felt so inadequate with her blood stained and torn gown, among all of these kings and queens, for surely that is what they were. They were all incredibly beautiful, and they all seemed to glow. They were all looking at her and smiling.
"Now, my dear, would you like to get rid of your scar?" asked the gray man.
"Scar?" Mira had many scars, mainly from years of working.
"Yes my dear, the scar on your chest."
Mira was curious. She had never seen her entire body. But she had seen her chest, and all she had there was a birthmark. Mira undid the top of her dress, just enough to see the area of her chest in between her breasts. All she saw was her birthmark.
At the sight of it, all the people sitting around the table stopped smiling and turned to look at each other. Mira had always admired her birthmark. It was interesting and one of the two things she liked owning, the other being her necklace.
It was brownish-red, as all birthmarks usually are, and its middle point was exactly at the middle of her chest, the same distance from each of her breasts, right at the point where her ribs met. There were five lines radiating from that midpoint. The lines were not exactly straight, but almost looked as if someone had tapped her chest with a stake and the five lines were cracks caused by the pressure. Overall, it wasn't very big; she could cover the whole birthmark with her hand if she wished. Sometimes, if one tried very hard to notice the top part of the line that radiated straight upwards could be seen above the neckline of her dress, which was fairly conservative. It almost seemed as if the center of the scar was aimed directly over her heart and the five lines were protecting her heart from anything that could possibly touch it.
"This is only a birthmark," said Mira to the old man, "and my name is not Celia. It is Miradon."
"I think, my dear," the old man said with a smile, "that we know you a little bit better than you do. After all, we made you, Celia. We are a part of you, Celia. Don't leave, Celia….Celia…."
Mira woke with a start. Her hand shot to her chest and covered her birthmark and her necklace at the same time. 'What a strange dream!' she thought. 'So many strange people! They couldn't have been human! Probably elfish…but the most beautiful elves! And what did they want with my birthmark?' Mira lifted her hand and looked down on her birthmark. It was now more dark red than brown, almost blood red.
'How strange,' muttered Mira to herself, 'they called me Celia. If only they said it right, I would have been Caelia.' She laughed at the though. 'Me, a goddess? Now that surely is a dream!'
When Mira awoke the next morning she had forgotten about the dream and continued on. That evening, the same thing happened. She dozed off as she was staring into the dying fire. But, instead of being in Nakyere, she was already seated at the table on the clouds. It seemed as if they had all continued without her.
"But if she doesn't know, then there's no harm," one of the elder male elves was saying.
"If he knows, then that's all that matters. She's not going to the right place. She needs protection," objected one of the beautiful queens, "she does not know her talents. I could protect her."
"Yavanna, you know we can't show her. She must…"
"Ah! Celia! Welcome back!" interrupted the man with the gray beard.
'Not this again,' thought Mira.
"Don't worry, my dear, it won't take long," said the man with the gray beard, seemingly reading her mind. "Where are you going?"
"Nowhere," replied Mira.
"That's always a good destination," responded graybeard, as Mira was now calling him.
"Excuse me, sir."
"Yes, my dear?"
"Who are all these people and why am I here?"
"Oh, dear," mumbled someone at the other end of the table.
"We've done too good a job of protecting her. She knows nothing! She'll surely be killed!" said one of the unknown kings.
"Never mind them, dear Celia," said graybeard. "To answer your question, we are all in your dream, and these people, well, they are simply figments of your imagination. You will never see them in the flesh."
"What about you?" asked Mira, "You seem real."
"Clever child. But, alas, I am also simply someone in your mind. Look around you. Do you notice anything?"
Mira looked at everyone sitting. At first glance, they all seemed like the beautiful kings and queens, who were the sources of the brilliant light. In fact, there was one of everything. On the other side of graybeard sat four dwarfs, and beside them sat two men and two women. All of the others around the table were elves, except for four others on the other side of Mira, all of which were extremely short people with furry feet.
"Why, everyone's here!" she exclaimed.
"Yes, we are all here. But look around you."
"I just did…" started Mira but broke off when she looked behind her. Surrounding the round table was everything. Literally, anything and everything imaginable surrounded them. All different trees, plants, shrubs, weeds; every single living thing, including animals and birds she had never even seen. Curiously enough, none of the animals made the slightest noise, and there was no wind to rustle the leaves of the trees. "Wha…What's all this?"
"As I already said, Celia, we made you. We are a part of you. Whenever you need us, just speak, and we will be there. Wherever you go…we'll be there….Celia…."