Chapter One: Ordon Village

Sunlight streamed down through the trees to touch the grassy floor below. Fresh dew glinted on the green grass and trees. Blossoms showed off their colors on the ground. Suddenly, the solitude of the forest parted to reveal a lone girl and horse.

Blonde highlights shone in the rays of the sun's light that spilled from above. The natural color served to accentuate the girl's brown hair. Emerald eyes fixed an attentive gaze on the foliage along the trodden path.

Soon, she spotted a blue flower with three leaves. She stopped her grey steed and dismounted. She walked to the tri-leaved flowers and knelt in front of them. She drew a finely crafted knife and neatly cut the plant and put it in a small, cloth bag full of other flowers and herbs of various kinds. Then, she sheathed the knife.

Suddenly, the woman's voice cut through the solitude, "Navi, what's next on the list Mom gave us? Isn't it dragon's scale?"

A small ball of light that glowed with a blue tint flew from its perch between the horse's ears and hovered a little to the side of the girl's right ear. A small voice uttered, "Yes, I believe so, Arya. After that, we only need to gather kingsfoil and yellowroot."

A smile lit up the girl's pretty face. A look of relief crossed her countenance as she replied, "That's good. If I remember right, dragon's scale and kingsfoil are in a patch to the west of us." The ball of light bobbed in the air as her version of an affirmative.

They moved to the west. Arya led the way on foot, leading her horse, and Navi fluttered behind the girl. Though there was no path, the group seemed at ease as they went deeper into the woods. The serenity of the forest was undisturbed as they passed through it; the birds continued their song overhead as if nothing could disrupt them.

After several minutes, they reached a small clearing where a small patch of a type of red-flowered plant bloomed and a plain green plant flourished. Arya stopped the horse at the edge of the clearing and went ahead with Navi. She knelt like before by the two plants, cut some, and put them in her bag.

They went to another place close by and she stopped to pick some yellow roots that Arya put in her bag with the other plants. Arya ran to her horse and put the bag in a secure spot by the saddle. Then, she mounted the horse and Navi settled on a spot on the girl's shoulder.

Arya had the horse walk to the dirt road and then coaxed it along until it was moving at a full gallop. Horse, rider, and fairy sped through the forest until they saw a village in the distance and the rider slowed the horse to a nice trot. She steered the horse to a house at the edge of the village near the forest.

It was an average house, but Arya had called it home for all of her fifteen years and therefore it was as grand as a mansion in her eyes. It was made of sturdy wood for the walls, stone for the foundation and chimney, and shale for the roof. It had four bedrooms, two for her and her parents, and the others for the guest and sick rooms since her mother was a healer, which was called a "Galen" in the Ordon villager's tongue, two washrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and a basement that was used for storage.

Arya stopped her horse before the house and got off him with Navi flying above her. She removed the saddle and bag and placed the saddle over a nearby fence. "There you go, Aurelius. That's a good horse. Now, go enjoy yourself and rest from the day's ordeals," Arya's tone was soothing, as if she were having a chat with an old friend.

Aurelius nickered and nuzzled her before galloping off into the fenced off grassy field before him. He galloped along the fence, mane and tail streaming behind him. Then, he came to an abrupt halt and reared up into the air. Finally, he came down and dropped his head to chomp on the juicy grass before him.

Arya watched all this with joy in her heart, glad that her friend was enjoying himself. Suddenly, she heard a deep chuckle sound off behind her and a voice say, "That horse is quite something. It's a wonder you tamed him when no one else could."

Arya spun around to find her father, Damon, behind her. His brown eyes sparkled with mirth and a smile graced his lips. He had a plain, rugged look about him that was handsome on a man. He had short brown hair streaked with grey and he wore simple clothes perfect for an Ordon villager.

Arya smiled, "Hello, Dad. How has your day been?"

Arya's father nodded. "Good. You? Did you gather everything your mother wanted?"

Arya replied, "Yes, I did. Isn't the day beautiful? I'm glad for the opportunity to ride Aurelius today."

Her father smiled, "Yes, it is. Did Navi enjoy herself? Ever since she arrived here, she's been not all that happy."

"Of course she did. Didn't you, Navi?" Arya asked. Navi gave her version of an affirmative.

Arya's father nodded; then said, "Good. Your mother wants you, Arya. She needs those herbs to make a salve for young Garen. Apparently he hurt himself while helping his father out in the fields."

Arya nodded quickly and grabbed her bag. "Bye, Dad!" She grinned when she saw her father sigh and shake his head as she rushed away.

XxXxXx

A woman knelt by a young boy of no more than ten while looking over him. His right knee and left hand were bleeding, and he moaned and groaned while being inspected on a small bed.

"Will he be alright?" a woman's soft voice uttered.

The woman looked up. One could see that her face had been beautiful once, it still was, after a fashion; however, it had been marked by many cares as a result of the passage of time. A fair trade, however, for the wisdom that shone forth from her eyes as she turned to regard the mother of the child, "I'm sure he'll be just fine after being patched and rested up. That is usually the case with injuries such as these. I hope that Arya will be here soon. She has the herbs I need for his salves."

The other woman silently nodded and her husband, a strong fellow, put a tanned arm around her thin shoulders. It was like this for a few minutes until Arya entered with the bag of herbs.

She knelt by her mother and extracted the items needed to treat the boy's injuries. They expertly made the mixture and Arya moved close to the boy.

She gently took a hold of his uninjured hand, "Don't worry, it's going to be alright, Garen." The boy turned his bright blue eyes to her and seemed to put his trust in her and her mother's care.

Arya murmured, "Now, take deep, calming breaths while my mother helps make you better. In…Out…In…Out." She continued like this until her mother gently applied the salves and bandaged him up.

Finally, the procedure was complete and the boy fell into a deep, healing sleep. The two women got up and motioned to the parents of the unfortunate child to follow them outside. After closing the door of the room, the older of the two healers gave a small leaf wrapped bundle and a roll of torn up cloths to the mother of the child.

Arya's mother instructed, "Now, he must sleep as long as possible. When he wakes up, change the bandages by first putting some of the healing salve on it, then covering it up with one of these cloths. Keep on doing this until the bleeding stops and he should be fine."

The recipient of the healing supplies tearfully replied, "Thank you, Rhia Galen. I don't know what this village would do without you. You and Arya have been a blessing in our lives since you came here seventeen years ago and especially now that your daughter has followed in your path."

The Galen humbly nodded her head. She put a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "Remember if you need to call us to help you with Garen's treatment do call upon me or Arya. We are always glad to help."

The husband to the tearful woman said with a slight drawl, "I don't suspect we will. The instructions ya gave seem easy enough."

Rhia nodded and removed her hand from the woman's shoulder and said, "Alright then. We best be going. Come, Arya. It should be time to eat soon."

Arya nodded her head and replied, "Yes, Mother." She followed her mother outside into the crisp afternoon air.

While they walked, her mother said, "So your father reached you when you got home. That's good. I take it Navi's home already?"

Arya nodded her head. "Yes, she is. She must've been tired from the ride and flying too."

"I heard something of interest from a person from the east," Rhia said.

"Really?"

"Yes. Apparently, there has been talk of a traveler who has been traveling east. Talk says that the man is unlike anything anyone's seen before."

"How so?"

Rhia frowned. "He didn't say. Well, it seems like Ordon will finally get a visitor from outside this town and the towns of Galeth, Belltona, and Cyndin."

Arya smiled, nodded her head, and said excitedly, "I've always wondered what the other people out there are like. I hope the traveler comes through here. I will like to meet him."

Her mother sighed and looked off into the distance. "So would I, my daughter. So would I." Mother and daughter stopped on a small hill and stared at the glowing sunset. Splashes of red and gold lit up their faces and danced in their eyes. Tomorrow would bring something new, of that, both appeared certain.