The Narrative Gardener

Tag: #fantasywriter

  • The Great Collection of the Elemental Families of Huphaea, anid 1830 #4

    Hello all, Elements be! Hard to believe it’s been two weeks since I was here last, I hope the situations in your corner of the world are improving. Or that you are managing it as best you can 🙂. Let’s head back to Huphaea now, continue the adventure and forget about restrictions and pandemics for a bit. Ready?

    We left off with the Bluebird troupe making their way toward Cragbend, and Elahna discovering she was in the company of Elves! They wanted to take her to an Orderly, and she wasn’t so sure about that…

    leaving Venrood Forest behind…*

    I spent the rest of the ride to Cragbend observing my new companions and surroundings. The Bluebird troupe numbered twenty and included four musicians, a bard (Fife), three singers (including Poet), two storytellers, a puppeteer, three players (Raga), and six children. They were not family per se, though some were related. My desire to know begged to ask a thousand questions, but I restrained them to whatever the topic at hand was.

    Fife returned with a loose linen shirt in bright kelly green and gray leggings obviously made of a plant fiber, but as durable as doeskin. I was thrilled to discard my hot, waterproof hikers for soft but sturdy leather sandals adorned with colored metal rivets and hoops.

    Winter to summer, boots to sandals all in one day?—if you know me, you know I was in heaven!

    After the wardrobe change, I found it much easier to unwind. Just feeling like I was part of, instead of an outsider, even if it was only temporary, quelled my anxiety for a time. Raga explained that when we arrived at the Cleft Barrel, the troupe would see to the horses, arrange the wagons, and erect the sleeping pavilions first, before going in.

    “I’d be happy to help wherever I can.”

    “My thanks. We’ll work you in. Ah, there’s the town, there in the valley. Another erdur or so til we arrive.”

    “Did you say ‘erdur’? Do you mean hour?”

    “Oww-horr. What is that to you?”

    The way he rolled the word ‘hour’ made me laugh and then stop, afraid of being rude, but he was laughing as well.

    “It’s a unit of time, a larger unit. It’s made up of sixty smaller units.” Would he even know what sixty was?

    “Yes, I think an erdur would be like an oww-horr.”

    We continued our discussion about time, and even numbers, which thankfully we did share, but not the names of them. With the help of Tango, who was learning his numbers too, Raga and I established that decca equaled ten, so I could go from there in a Latin-esque fashion. Phew.

    *

    The caravan left the forest behind during that exchange and we traveled through long, sedate hills of farmsteads.

    farmsteads on the way to Cragbend*

    Well off to the left, a long arm of the forest curled around and ended in a massive stand of trees. Those trees stood tens of feet above any others; they reminded me of the faux cellphone tower trees along the highways. But I was pretty sure these were not artificial. Smoke trails puffed from the stand in three dark ribbons.

    “Is that forest on fire?” I pointed, getting a bit nervous.

    “What? Oh, no. That’s Rosewood, the Arborea Seat. See how the trees are so much larger? The Arborea scion has tree magic, and their Seat shows their capabilities. It’s one of my favorite Seats to visit in all of Huphaea. Wait til you see it!” Raga’s enthusiasm was palpable, and Tango started clapping again. Poet joined us on the bench.

    “I’ll be glad to get out of this wagon, for sure.” she said. “I agree. Rosewood is spectacular. They say the building was built long ago like any other, but Arboreans have infused the wood and the trees with so much of their vitae over the generations that the two are indistinguishable. They live IN the trees. And it’s always changing. It’s never the same as when we were here last.”

    “What do you mean by vitae? I mean, I know a word like that, but what does it mean here?”

    My heart started beating a bit faster- portals, elves and now magic tree houses?

    vitae streams*

    “Vitae is the energy that flows through Huphaea, and in the Elemental Families, it gives them their abilities. Well, and us Madrigals, too.”

    “And the dragons and the other First Ones.” Raga added.

    I know my face fell—he did just say dragons. Both Poet and Raga laughed, and Tango joined in. “Dragons? Like how big? Dragons?” I stammered.

    Fife reined back at all the noise, reaching for Tango as he drew alongside. “What’s all the crac about back here? Are they havin’ a go at you, fla?” Tango stood on the saddle swell, encircled in one of Fife’s huge arms, grinning like he owned the world.

    “They just said there are dragons here. Is that true?”

    “Ha Ha! Of course it is! We don’t generally see them up close, unless you go seek one out, and you’d better have a consarned good reason to do that. But there’re plenty here. You don’t have dragons, I’m guessing?” His amusement was only a bit less restrained than the other two.

    “Only in books. They’re a really popular subject. A lot of people think it would be cool to have one.”

    “Have one? Oh, fla, you don’t HAVE a dragon. Dragons have Riders, they are about the only ones the Great Ones allow around them. You can seek them for a piece of knowledge, if you’re desperate, or for the Scholar’s Final Telling, but they are best left to themselves. They find us when the Balance needs us.”

    “Oh. I see.” I had to let that sink in. Dragons.

    Yeah, dragons! You can imagine my mind was pretty much on overload at this point. I just sat back and watched the landscape pass for a while. Cragbend was visible up ahead and I still had a night to get through. What else would I encounter in this day?

    I’ll leave off here for now, before we make it into Cragbend. That will be next time. See you then!~

    What would you be thinking now if you were in Elahna’s place? Drop a comment below for Eleanorah, let us know!~

    If you’d like exclusive snips from Eleanorah’s story, subscribe to Collata, The Collection of Huphaea newsletter. The current issue will have an introduction to the Known Trees of Huphaea. Don’t miss it! Become a Nightingale!~

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    *Photo credits to pxhere, Unsplash, and Canva.

    Copyright © 2020 Eleanorah Starr and Quill & Orb Press, All Rights Reserved

  • The Great Collection of the Elemental Families of Huphaea, anid 1830 #3

    Hi Folks, welcome back! I hope you are all staying safe and making the best of the twists and turns the world is throwing at us. I’m glad you came by here briefly to hear the story about my time in Huphaea. I’m happy to help bring a little smile to your day 😊, I hope.

    When we last left Elahna, she had just met a group of travelers in a forest, on the way to a town called Cragbend…

    the road through Venrood Forest…

    “Cragbend?”

    “Sure, the town’s up ahead, that’s where we’re headed. You’re in the Venrood Forest, where did you think you were?”

    “I have no idea. I’m not from here.” (Oh shit, probably shouldn’t have said that). “I mean, I just don’t know where I am.”

    He was peering at me more closely now, no doubt noticing my strange clothing. “As you said. Well, hey— Raga! Hold a moment! We’ll take this one into town with us. She’s had a long go of it, by the looks.” One of the wagons slowed at his call and the driver turned in his seat. “I’m Fife, donjar of the Bluebird troupe you see here. We can at least get you to town, so you can start finding your folk.” He smiled and waved toward the stopped wagon. “Just hop up there aside Raga, he won’t bite, though Poet might! Ha ha!”

    Fife’s easy jocularity put me at ease, and Raga was no different. I climbed up onto the driving seat, stuffing my bundle of long underwear and coat underneath.

    Raga raised his left hand, palm out, and said “Elements be, well met. I’m Raga, as you know. Poet is in back there with her and my son Tango. Did someone leave you out here?” I noted the humor in Raga’s tone, perhaps this was a common occurrence.

    “Ah, no. I just…”

    Fife reined in alongside the wagon as we started to move again, clearly interested in what I had to say. Being eye level now, I got a better look at him. His pleasant broad face reflected curiosity, but his marbled blue and green eyes were intent and observant. Long, dark hair was bound at his neck and a leather thong held a large, cerulean blue, teardrop-shaped pendant just below his throat.

    “It’s gonna sound really stupid, but I arrived here somehow. I don’t know how. Please, what state are we in, or what country?”

    “Hmmm, well now, I’m not sure what a ‘state’ is, but the country is Eflary. These are House Gaiist lands, and we are headed to Cragbend, the Seat of the Arborea scion. What’s your name, Fla?”

    I didn’t know what ‘Fla’ was, but Fife made it sound nice, and not threatening.

    “Elahna. Elahna Starr.” I made a last second decision to shorten my first name. If I was in a new place, why not have a new name? I had always wanted a nickname, and Elahna was easier to say. They all seemed to have short names, so it made sense in that moment. I didn’t regret the choice.

    “Oh, Starr! Are you from Astros, Solarelle or Lunad lands, then?” Fife leaned forward a bit to look at the side of my head, at my ear, maybe? ”Or maybe Zenidd or Fairmoon is a better guess?”

    That was when I noticed his ears formed a graceful point at the top. Woah! No way, an elf?

    I know my eyes widened, though I tried to keep them steady.

    He recoiled a bit, thinking I was offended, and held up his palm, “I’m sorry, Helican, then? Though Starr would certainly have one think Fairmoon, but you see all kinds.” He chuckled trying to recover. “Do you know what lands you hail from, at least?”

    I took a quick look at Raga, and there too! Poking out from his wavy russet hair, his ears were pointed, though not as sharply as Fife’s. His eyes were an ochre brown and his face was finer in structure, but still smiling. He quirked the side of his mouth a bit more at me, and I turned away, embarrassed. This was getting crazy, now I was in the company of elves?

    “It’s fine, Fla, you don’t need to tell us if you don’t want to. Do you have the coin to get yourself back home, though? The Zenidd lands are several days ride from here, at least.” Fife’s voice held some concern, while my angst continued to grow.

    “No, I, –I only have my clothes and this bundle of heavier clothes. I, –what am I gonna do when we get to town? I fell through some kind of portal and ended up in a stone chamber back there in the woods. I tried to go back through, but nothing happened. So I have no way to pay for anything… and nowhere to go.” The words tumbled out in a flood and I noticed the din of conversation around us had died, most likely in response to the rising pitch of my voice. Reality settled around me like a cloak.

    But still, was this real?

    A firm, but gentle hand rested on my forearm. I turned and was met by a stunning, heart-shaped face framed by white-blonde hair. The intermittent lavender braids made her blue and green eyes stand out all the more. They were the same eyes as Fife’s.

    “Don’t worry, Fla. You can stay among us for the night, and tomorrow we can figure out what to do. We have most of the day before we are due at Rosewood to perform in the evening.” She smiled, but I was entranced by her melodic voice. Poet. That was the only word for her.

    “I’m Poet. Fife won’t leave you berift, will you, Donjar? You can see our show tonight at the Cleft Barrel. The food is excellent and it’s always a right show.” She squeezed my arm a bit, and the small, ruddy-cheeked boy in her lap clapped his hands and laughed. He had hair more coppery than Raga but with the same rounder face, finely pointed ears that almost curled back into themselves at the tips, and dark blue eyes marbled with amber instead. He grinned at me, never taking his eyes from my face. This child was NOT shy.

    “Of course you will stay with us.” Fife’s deep voice broke my wordless exchange with Tango. “We have plenty of room, no one will know you aren’t part of the troupe. Well, except for those clothes… Let me see if some of the other girls have extras you can borrow ’til tomorrow. There’s more to you than Poet. Maybe we can find an Orderly as well, sort you out straight.” He touched his horse’s neck and they moved on ahead toward the other members of the troupe.

    I sat a bit more upright. An Orderly? That didn’t sound so good to me, though he spoke as if it was nothing. “What’s an Orderly?”

    But I didn’t get an answer.

    God, yes! My mind WAS freaking out. But all of the troupe members were so unconcerned and jovial, I couldn’t help but relax also. It’s hard to be uptight when everyone around you is laughing and talking.

    This is a great place to break for today, next time we will make it into Cragbend, and see if Elahna meets an Orderly… Thank you for stopping by, I will see you soon!

    Don’t forget to leave a comment about the story so far, how would you feel being in a strange land?

    Remember to subscribe to Collata, Eleanorah Starr’s newsletter about The Collection of Huphaea. You will get exclusive outtakes and info about the adventure, become a Nightingale!

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