Adventures in Elibe: A New Age
By The Mythical Red Lugia
Chapter 1: Adventures and Adversaries
A young girl named Leah was asleep in her bed. She was having a very strange dream. In her dream, she was standing in a forest clearing in front of a white altar. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light. Then, she was sitting down in the clearing. A young boy who seemed vaguely familiar was kneeling beside her, asking if she were okay.
She woke with a start. Sweating, she looked at the clock. It read 1:30am. Great, she thought. Now I'll never go to sleep. She got up and crept downstairs to the kitchen. She grabbed an apple and crunched into it. Munching thoughtfully, she remembered that she hadn't been able to practice her archery in a week. Scowling, she remembered that her stepfather had locked her bow and arrows in the upstairs closet.
She hated her stepfather. He did strange things for stupid reasons. In fact, he had locked her bow and arrows in the closet on the grounds of the possibility of them becoming 'Murder or suicide weapons.'
Leah scoffed at this. She had never even wanted to kill anything, and how the heck could you commit suicide with a bow and arrows? Thinking on this for a while, she got an idea.
Throwing the core of the apple away, she crept back upstairs, into her room, and over to her desk. She dug around the papers piled up there until she found a paper clip. She unwound the end of it until there was a straight part and a bent part. Then, creeping out of her room and down the hall to the closet, she bent down and examined the keyhole carefully. Then, she inserted the straight part of the paper clip into the hole and jiggled it around a bit. Soon, she heard a miniscule 'click'.
She stopped and listened carefully. She could hear a light snoring in the general direction of her parent's room, followed by a louder snore. She smiled to herself and tried the doorknob. It turned, and the closet door swung open.
Sitting there gleaming darkly in the moonlight was her bow and her quiver of arrows. She picked up the bow and slung it over her right shoulder. Then she took the quiver of arrows and slung it over her left shoulder. Then she crept downstairs, through the kitchen, and out the back door.
She walked across the backyard and jumped over the fence into the empty corral. Then she jumped over the opposite fence and into the pasture. In the pasture were several horses that were either grazing silently or sleeping. Some of them raised their heads and watched her as she walked by.
She came to the edge of the forest and stopped. Standing there was a great oak tree with a bull's-eye carved into its bark. She pulled out an arrow and knocked it to the bow. Pulling the string taut, she aimed and let it loose. The arrow flew through the air and hit the target's center. Smiling, she pulled out a few more and fired them, in turn, at the oak tree. Soon she was out of arrows.
She walked up to the tree and started to pull them out. Suddenly, she was drawn to the forest. She stopped and stared. Something white hiding in the trees caught her attention. She pulled the last of the arrows out and put them back into her quiver. Then she jumped over the low barbed wire fence and walked deep into the forest.
Soon, she came to a clearing. Standing in the middle of it was a large stone altar. Standing in the center of the altar was a beautiful sword. Its blade was bright silver with golden insets in the middle. The hilt was gold and shaped like wings. There was a single ruby set into the middle of the hilt.
She was drawn to this sword. It was so beautiful. She reached out with her left hand to touch it. As soon as she did, a sudden blast of heat startled her. She pulled her hand back quickly and stepped fearfully away from the altar. Her eyes widened as she noticed that the ruby in the center of the hilt was glowing. She took a few more steps away from the altar, then turned and ran all the way back home.
The next morning, Leah's mother came to wake her up. Leah's mother was a tall, thin woman with dark blue hair and blue eyes. Recently, however, she had dyed her hair black. Leah couldn't see how she could be her daughter. How could a girl with red hair and blue eyes come from someone with blue hair and blue eyes?
Leah's mother came into her room to wake her up. She walked over to the bed and shook her daughter gently on her shoulder.
"Leah? Leah, it's time to get up. You've got school today." She said.
"Aww, Mom," said Leah. "Can I stay home today? I don't feel good."
Leah's mother came and felt her forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever," she said.
"Where's my stepdad?" asked Leah.
"He went to the high school. He's starting his new job today."
"May I ask you something?"
"What is it, dearest daughter?"
"Have you ever seen an...altar...in the forest?"
Leah's mother stopped. A strange expression came over her face. "An...An altar?"
"Yeah,'' said Leah. "It's made of white marble."
"Was there a sword standing in it?"
"Yeah...wait, how did you know that?!"
Leah's mother sighed. "My daughter...There is something that I never told you. Please forgive me..." Leah could only watch and listen in silence.
"Listen to me. Your father...Is still alive."
Leah gasped.
"One more thing. We came from where he lives now, and that altar is the key. Just pull the sword out. I will give you permission to go. Just promise me one thing." At this, Leah's mother put her hand on Leah's shoulder. "If you ever meet the Marquess of Pherae or his son, do not tell them where you are from." Then she stood up and began to leave, then stopped in the doorway.
"By the way...Your friend Lance is here to visit you." Then she turned and went downstairs.
Leah stared after her for a while, then quickly got up and got dressed. Then, she grabbed her bow and arrows and ran downstairs. Standing there in the kitchen was her friend, Lance.
He was about as tall as she was, with short, light brown hair and brown eyes. He was nice with a very good sense of humor.
"Morning, Leah!" he said when she appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. Then he noticed the bow and arrows. "What're those for?" he asked.
"Has my mother left yet?" she asked.
"Yeah, a few seconds after you came in."
"Come." She told him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the back door. "I'll explain when we get there. Come on!" she pulled him along faster.
"Whoa! W—wait a minute, Leah! Where are we going!?" he yelled.
"Quiet! I'll explain when we get there!" she said. They jumped over the low barbed wire fence at the edge of the forest and ran all the way to the clearing where the altar was. Lance gasped.
"There. That's why I dragged you here. I want you to come with me."
"Where?" he asked.
"You'll see. Take my hand, and hold on tight!"
At this, she reached up and grabbed hold of the sword. Pulling with all her might, she pulled the sword loose. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light. Leah, Lance, and the sword all disappeared.