@Lucille @Flederfalle

So...I may or may not have made up a short story after someone *cough* LUCY *coughcough* commented in June's avatar contest on Flederfalle's entry, saying she felt like there was a fun story behind it. Here's the avatar in general:



My writing juices started flowing and here's the result! (Please forgive any and all grammar mistakes, I'm great with spelling but not as good with punctuation.)

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT CANON FOR THE SITE, THE AVATAR DESIGN BELONGS TO FLEDERFALLE, I DO NOT CLAIM THE LEGENDS OR ELDHIN. This is just a fun, short story I thought up on a whim and decided to share it with all of you, If there are any inaccuracies with the Canon Faenaria lore, I sincerely apologize.

Jared cursed as he stooped to clean the bottom half of the silver trident, his arm aching from the continuous scrubbing. After straightening, he wiped his forehead with one teal arm that reflected the deeper parts of the ocean, and sighed out loud. His long, white hair had been partially tamed by a tie that at least kept it out of his face. The other half of it stirred softly in the breeze as it blew over him. He'd been at this for hours and still hadn't even completed half of his chore; more weapons to be cleaned were piled up, leaning against one of the nearby boulders that littered the shore . Off in the distance he could see the castle where he was employed and grumbled.

"Sure, send the lowest of the low to humiliate himself even more and clean up the decorative weapons so you can have all your subjects and same social status people 'ooh' and 'aaah' at your pretty shinies. Sure, send him outside because 'the salt filled air is good for making the metal more reflective!' instead of having me dust and wipe them down like any normal Duchess." His voice was full of annoyance. For the most part, Jared wasn't able to blow off steam around his higher ups so he used his solitary time to spew out complaints. Sometimes he even copied the shrill voice of the Duchess Estranya. "Do this, do that! I'm such a prude I send servants outside to clean my decorations until I can see my face in them! They must look absolutely perfect for all the people in my same social standing! Heaven forgive if I ever find something that isn't to my liking, I'm so desperate for attention and recognition!" He could mimic the middle aged woman quite well if he did say so himself.

As he continued to work, he noticed the local wildlife stare out from behind larger rocks or peek their heads out from under the sand. The elf made sure to not disturb the ones buried in sand. He enjoyed their company. Behind him a bold crab began to scuttle sideways, leaving a trail of lines behind it. As it continued, it unearthed a few shells and picked them up in its large claw, inspecting them before tossing the white shells into the waves where they quickly disappeared. Jared turned to look at the little thing and smiled. "Trying to find a new treasure for your collection?" He asked. His voice startled the crab and it ran away as fast as its legs could carry it to where a collection of boulders emerged out from the ocean, forming a circular area. Shrugging, the elf began to turn back to his scrubbing but right then a bright flash of green invaded his eyes, coming from the direction of the open waters. Instantly the sky turned a sickly, poisonous hue and Jared held a hand up in front of his face, backing away from the shore. His wide, surprised eyes darted around the area as everything began to take on that same green color. He was so distracted by the sudden change he didn't notice the dark, looming shape floating towards the rocks until he heard a groan of wood as the object scraped against their sharp edges. It settled slowly into the small bay they made with a sigh as if it was relieved to finally rest. Slowly he lowered his arm and squinted, his eyes making out what looked like a ship...but this ship was falling apart and he knew without a doubt that if it hadn't made its way to the shore, it would have surely sunk with the next storm that raced across the sea. Even now it was floating low in the small amount of water near the sand. The jutting rocks effectively contained it and he knew it wouldn't be going back out into open water any time soon.

Cautiously he approached the ship, the trident held in front of him ready to stab anything that emerged from the darkness inside, noticing the wood was so waterlogged it was rotting away. A few pieces had broken off the sides as it ran into the rocks and were now floating in the water, taken away by the waves out deeper. The sail hung sadly, so drenched it barely moved in the saltwater breeze that blew across the shore. The green color had even changed the water, reflecting off the hull and Jared hesitated placing a foot into it, wondering what the deal was with the sudden change of atmosphere. Everything was silent now except a soft howl of the wind as it blew through holes the waves eroded into the rocks. For some reason Jared felt a sense of...waiting, as if something was about to happen. He himself stood still; the ship seemed..sad. He wasn't sure why, but every time he stared at the rotting thing, he felt despair and sorrow wash over him.

Softly, a light began to shine from inside the ship, so dim he almost didn't make it out. But then multiple points of light started showing up, floating back and forth along the deck or peeking out from the one of the holes in the wood. Jared didn't sense any malice from them and he vaguely recalled his grandmother telling him a legend about sailors lost at sea appearing as wisps until they were laid to rest, be it having someone complete a task for them or telling their fate to a loved one who waited in vain for their return. He wondered if this was the same thing. Deciding to take a chance, the elf lowered the trident and laid it down on the sand. Swallowing his fear, he picked up a net he'd used to carry all the weapons out and threw it, barely catching the prow of the ship. It was a rather large thing, but with a lot of effort and straining, Jared managed to pull it close enough he could climb onto the deck himself. Instantly the lights froze and he could sense something akin to eyes staring at him curiously.

"U-Umm...hello..." He stammered nervously. How did one speak to a ghost if that's what these were? Sorry to see you're dead, please go towards the bright light? "You all seem to be stuck in this world instead of continuing on...I..I'm not much of a person with connections, but if there's anything I can do for you..I guess...I can try to help?" He shut his mouth, realizing how silly he sounded and looked around, noticing the wisps who had been inside were now emerging into the open. The wood below him groaned as if in agony and he knew if he moved too much the deck would cave in under him. Thankfully he hadn't traveled too far from the side.

One of the wisps floated over until it stopped in front of his face. He felt a voice sound inside his mind, a deep, gruff one with an accent he couldn't quite place. "We've been travelling along the ocean for so long, we never thought we'd see a living soul...but it seems as if the sea has taken pity on us and brought us ta shore...we need yer help young'un, where are we?" The voice asked.

"You're in Faenaria." Jared answered automatically. A collective sigh coursed through the wisps and he heard..or rather, felt the voice breath out in his head. "Good...good, we need ta warn them...their old enemy is returning, he's close ta discovering their location! The world is trying ta keep him away but its strength is waning...I can feel it. His relentless battering against its defenses is breaking it away piece by piece. Our ship was caught in the midst of one of his attacks and we lost our lives. Our souls were prevented from crossing over completely because we are the only ones who know about this. Please, take us ta Sha'miara!"

Jared didn't know what the heck the wisp was talking about. "Sha'...miara?" He asked, confused. It sounded familiar to him but he couldn't quite place where he'd heard it.

"Yes, the Tree....ya...do know it don't ya?" The tone carried a hint of disbelief in it. "Please tell me yer history didn't ferget it."

"Oh...oh! Wait, the Tree of Origins?" That one he'd heard, and now that he thought hard about it, his grandmother had told him the Tree was originally called Sha'miara by the Eldhin who had created the elven race. He assumed they were all just legends...but with how this sailor was speaking, he was talking as if all these things were...real...could it be? "As far as the myth says, the water Eldhin....oh, what was her name....Thasara....Thisona....Thasana! Yeah, her. She created a barrier around the tree after the elven race waged a war against their creators." These sailors acted as if they weren't natives of Faenaria. He raised a confused eyebrow at this but didn't comment on it.

"Yes, yes..the Tree! We need ta get ta it and warn them before he catches them by surprise! He knows they're on this world, but not where." The wisp's voice became urgent. "Please, young'un, guide us there."

Jared gave the wisp a hopeless look and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know where the Tree is...when Thasana placed that barrier, she also made it disappear so it couldn't be found by the elves either....since then, the tales of the Eldhin and the Tree have turned into myth and legends...I would have thought you were stark raving mad talking about something that wasn't real to me, but judging by how you're acting, it can't be anything else but."

There was a collective murmur of voices inside his head and Jared realized the wisps were conversing amongst themselves, trying to figure out what they could do. Hesitantly he began to speak again. "I believe my employer has a rather large library with some very old books and scrolls...I might be able to go through them and see if there are any hints as to where the Tree might be hiding....but that means you guys are going to need to stay here while I look."

"That's..not acceptable." The wisp sent to him, followed by agreements from the others. "We need ta leave the ship..... Time is of the essence and others not as friendly as ya are probably already looking for us ta snuff us out before we can warn the Eldhin. But before we leave, ya need ta grab the ship's log ta bring with ya. It gives an account of everything that has happened on our voyage." Each of the lights gathered around Jared then began to urgently herd him in the direction of the door that led to the captain's quarters. Getting the hint, he pulled on the handle with some difficulty. The wood had swollen from the amount of water it soaked up, but after a few grunts and curses, it popped open with a loud sucking groan. The wisps traveled inside, illuminating the room so Jared could see. With a start, he noticed a collection of skeletons gathered against the left side of the room, their mouths open in a silent scream of horror. He shuddered, unable to imagine the fear they would have had as they got caught in 'his' horrific attack against the world...whoever 'he' was. Turning his head away from the grisly scene, he noticed a wisp begin to float up and down on top of an old chest in the opposite back corner. Cautiously Jared followed, making sure each step was on top of one of the more solid pieces of wood, then opened the chest. Inside was a telescope, a few collections of paper, quills, a captain's hat...and something wrapped in a thick piece of dark cloth. Surprisingly everything in there was dry..unlike the rest of the ship. Now that he thought about it, this ship looked like it had been abandoned for some time.

As he picked up the wrapped book, Jared spoke. "How long have you all been on here? Do you remember when you were attacked?" The wisps turned towards each other..or, at least Jared thought they did, and their confused thoughts filled his mind once again.

"I...I think just a few months." One wisp said, its voice much younger than the one the elf had been conversing with. Jared pointed towards the skeletons and frowned. "Your bodies say otherwise. It's probably been years and judging by the state of your ship, I'm more confident of that guess. We might have less time to find the Tree than you think if whoever this guy is you've been talking about, has been attacking our world since you all died."

"We dare not say his name." The wisp replied. "But he used to be good...then he became corrupted somehow and pitted the Eldhin against each other until they were forced to flee their home world."

"Oh! I remember the tales about that, yeah." Jared replied, biting his lip. He also remembered his grandmother speaking the name in hushed whispers every time she had to say it..but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was...it would probably come to him like Thasana's had.

Tucking the cloth wrapped book under his arm, the elf moved back outside and climbed down the side of the ship. By now, the sky and water had returned to their normal colors but he still looked nervously down at his wave-covered feet, half expecting them to suddenly sprout warts or something. But his skin remained normal as he reached the sand. Turning towards the half cleaned weapons, Jared grimaced and shrugged. He lifted the net at the ship's prow with some difficulty then placed it on the sand. Quickly he gathered the weapons back up, points of light following after him almost like they were ducklings and he was the mother duck. He lifted the net with one hand, kept the book tucked tightly under the other, then headed back towards the castle in the distance, his thoughts already on trying to figure out how he, a servant, could sneak into the library that night. If he'd looked back to the ship he would have noticed a dark shape detach itself from the rocks before disappearing into the nearby brush that littered the edge of the shore.

Lucille

I love it! I'm also super stoked we have our first bit of fan fiction! I kinda hope you continue the story so I can read more about Jared and the Sailors!

I did make the ending open to have that option, if Flederfalle allows, I may continue ^.^ and thank you for the comment!

I want to know what happens next!

Flederfalle

I want to know what happens next!

Haha, I'll see if I can think up a new post this week ^.^