The Legend of Ajira
By Madame Ergoth
Chapter 4: The Prophecy
Ajira woke the next morning quite uncomfortably. The ropes of the hammock were rough and had made her back painfully sore. Her head was throbbing from the heat of the morning sun, and her paws ached like the devil.
Rubbing her head, Ajira got up from her hammock walked to her parents' beds. They were already empty, so Ajira figured that they must already be awake, either out getting some breakfast (she didn't know quite what they had agreed on in terms of food). She stepped out the door and into the baking morning sun. She had to shield her eyes with her paw because the glare from the sun was shining right on her face. In a particularly large yurt, smoke billowed from a hole in the top and Ajira assumed they must be having a communal breakfast.
She walked into the yurt and seated beside several other Dark Elves, who gave her a menacing look as she sat down. A crackling fire was in the center, and a cast iron pot was hung over it. A pleasant aroma that smelled of crab meat wafted throughout the tent, flirting with the nostrils of the hungry Ashlanders. A loud GONG! was heard, reverberating off the walls and filling the hall with sound. "Breakfast is served," a voice called out in a deep accent.
Globs of food flew out of the cauldron and plopped themselves on the newly appeared plates before them. Ajira could only stare in awe. Her mother was quite skilled at magic, but she had never seen anything like this. Nonetheless, she picked up the food, which turned out to be fresh crab, sniffed it a bit, and started to eat. It was delicious, wholesome, and filling. The plate seemed to know when she was full, because just when she thought she couldn't eat another bite, the plate and the food dissolved with a hiss into the floor.
Ajira thought again about her parents, and where they might be. She sighed glumly, wishing her parents were around to enjoy this excellent meal with her. Ajira was used to taking care of herself, however. Oftentimes both Estella and Darq would be out, Stella usually with the Mages Guild, and Darq usually off hunting, so Ajira was quite used to staying by herself, and had learned to trust in that they would always come back, wherever they were. She just wished she knew what they were doing. Nearly the whole tribe, (or so it looked), had come to breakfast, and her parents had just...disappeared.
Ajira sighed again. It was becoming quite regular. She missed her hut, and she missed her family. Sadly, slowly, she walked back to her hut, opened the door and stepped inside.
Hours flew by, but Ajira didn't seem to care. She rocked back and forth in her hammock, incredibly bored. She rocked and stared at the roof, rocked and stared, rocked and stared. After when seemed an eternity, Ajira heard muffled voices outside her door. She crept closer to see if she could hear.
"--she's not old enough to know yet. By not telling her, we are protecting her..."
"No, you're all wrong! She may be young, but she needs to know her destiny--"
"That would ruin her childhood for her, bearing the burden of something like that. You...haven't told her about the prophecy, have you?"
"No, but only because the Ashkhan wishes to keep this hushed up. If it was my choice, I would tell her the moment she got here. Just think how you'd feel! She's been taken away from her home! She's being held hostage here! And for what? Nothing, since we can't even tell her what's going on! She's just staying here, and has no idea why we took her, or why she needs to stay with us!--"
"Arthyn--"
The sound of heavy stomping footsteps went to the right of her and she heard some more indistinguishable curses. Ajira Swhen moaned softly, leaned against the wall of the tent, and wept.