The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry

The collected power in the golden orb hit the gigantic beast killing it instantly. It began to plummet to the ground through the trees as The Kind One stood transfixed, seemingly unable to move, and in danger of being crushed.

She was pulled out from under the falling monster at the last moment by a girl with fiery-red hair. Shocked and confused by the encounter with the ghostly faerie , the Kind One demanded an  explanation. Undaunted by the harsh words from one who’s life she had just saved, the new comer introduced herself as Ember Innocenzi.

Satisfied that Ember was indeed another human, The Kind One invited her new friend to sit with her and wait for dawn before continuing on the path through the forest, explaining that there were other, more dangerous creatures lurking in the dark.

The Kind One dozed off. When she opened her eyes she found that they were hanging by their feet in the tops of the trees. The Dryads had pulled them to safety and were sheltering them from the hordes of Shahinian below.

~~~~~~~~

Dawn cut through the upper branches of the forest canopy in streaks of hazy sunlight, pooling on the ground in bright splashes of yellow where the beams hit the damp, mossy ground. Funny how the menacing shadows of the forest at night dissolve in the sparkling light of day. Ember had only been gone for a few minutes and  I missed her already. Still, the sadness I felt about her departure on the elegant dragon Illustratia, paled by comparison to the joy I felt having  Arial with me again.

“Arial, where were you? I knew as soon as the woods had closed in around me that I had made a terrible mistake. I thought hard, hoping  that you would find me and come to me, but for some reason it didn’t work. Why?” Arial had chosen to walk with me in her elven form and looked down on me as she answered.

“An energy field fell between us when your friend entered the realm. It disrupted our telepathy and we couldn’t see you in our minds or hear your thoughts. However we were picking up some very unusual vibrations through the walls of the palace. It sounded like when you sit at your writing machine to make words. Click, clicktyclick, clickty, clickty, clickclickclick, click…like that. The sound was hollow and far off. Orlaith has not been able to intuit what it was. Then it just… stopped…it was all very strange.”

I nodded as I remembered what Ember had told me about being from another realm. “The two different realms must have collided causing a riff in reality. Arial, there was a ghostly faerie in a mist that seemed to have a life all its own, with tendrils that wrapped around everything. I thought she was sent from you, that’s what she had me believe anyway.” I shivered as the spectral being took shape in my memory. “She said that if I came with her she would get me safely out of the woods.” I clamped my eyes closed, trying to shut out the cold emptiness of the dark eyes that reached into my very soul.

I was immediately surrounded by Sunny, Ferne, and about a dozen other faeries, their eyes full of sympathy and their wings flapping with anxiety. Arial placed two fingers on the temples at both sides of my head and whispered, “shi eir vaeli.” The words, “be at peace” and the feeling came to me at precisely the same moment and the shivering subsided. The visions of the beast evaporated from my mind. “Thanks. I wish I could do that thing you do…what ever it is.”

Arial smiled. “You can, you just don’t know how yet. No worries though, you will learn.” Her smile faded. What you saw was a shape-shifter, one of the Shahinian. There are many tribes but they all have the same need, to feel alive by stealing the souls of others. When it became clear that we couldn’t penetrate the forest canopy we sent the Trilia in to find you.”

“What is the Trilia?” Or should I say who.”

She turned to me, a thoughtful look on her face. Taping her long thin fingers together she explained. “The Trilia are a sub race of the air-elementals, they would appear to you as small glowing dots. It would look like a mass of fireflies. If they touch you they can look into your heart, sense your intentions.”

“Arial! That’s exactly what happened! I saw these lights coming toward me, they swarmed all around me, my arm and shoulders. I remember, it made me warm and it tickled, and I knew that they were good.” I saw the scene play out again in my mind. “Oh, but Arial, they can do things…” I was there again, seeing the bright ball of fire blast into the creature’s leathery chest, hearing it’s angry screams… falling. The memory made my head spin and I found myself flat on the ground. Arial was bending over me with Sunny and Ferne on either side.

They were all smiling. Not exactly what I would suspect after relating my life threatening adventure. Arial helped me stand up and I brushed the twigs off of my tattered skirt. “Fine, smile if you have to, but I was scared.” Then I thought about the Dryads. “Did you send the Dryads as well?”

Ferne was hanging, mid-air, just behind Arial. She was all smiles. “In a way. We still could not find you, we had no idea the Trilia had accomplished their mission. It wasn’t until this strange little fellow with owl eyes found Ferne that we knew you were OK and that you had company. Orlaith figured out the rest. She had Ferne talk to the Dryads, you know how Ferne loves the trees! They spread the word through the forest and picked you up just before the Shahinian got to you.” Arial paused while Ferne whispered in her ear. ” Ferne tells me his name is Perhluna. He is a hyper little guy but seriously devoted to his human. It was Ferne that led him to the shadeberries.”

“The shadeberries?”

“Yes, these berries are only found growing by the Castle of Umbra, two valleys past the elven-wood. Elendain keeps some in her herbal stash, but he needed to pick some fresh so that your thought transference would be strong.”

“Well, all I can say is, thank goodness for Perh. Hey, is the effect of eating those berries permanent?”

Arial tilted her head and gave me a searching look. “Try to hear my thoughts. Calm your mind, focus. Do you hear anything?”

“Give me a minute! Good grief Arial, a little patience, I can’t hear anything with you asking questions.” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and concentrated. At first all I heard was the wind in the branches, then slowly I began to hear voices, a lot of voices, they were whispering to each other, praising the sunshine. Then I heard Arial’s voice. “Those are the Dryads you hear Kind One. To the Mundane ear it is just the wind in the trees, but to those with faerie blood, it is the voices of the spirit leaves.”

I jumped a little when I realized that Arial’s musical voice had mixed with those of  the Dryads in my thoughts. “I can hear you Arial! I can hear you!” I grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. “This is great! I twirled around and around and the faeries joined in the dance.

Arial stood to one side and watched with delight, knowing that soon enough I would have to return to the ivy hedge and more serious matters that waited on the other side.

© Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009-2010

Be sure to read these related posts: “What lurks in the Dark Wood”,   “Never Hitchhike with a Ghostly Faerie”, and, “Ember in Faerie Land”

To find out how Ember ended up in Arial’s Misty world you can visit:  “Ember in Whirlogonzia, Episode 7″

Night was quickly closing in around me and the path leading down to the little town of Willowmeer was becoming harder to see. If it weren’t for the kindness of the monk I met on the road I would have been lost for sure. I rubbed my eyes and glanced quickly around me. The deepening shadows must have been playing tricks because it seemed as if he materialized out of thin air.

With a humble nod, he greeted me silently,  palms pressed together in front of the Celtic cross that hung  around his neck. His tunic and cowl were dark gray. He wore the hood up, covering his head and obscuring his face.

“Brother, thank goodness you’re here. I had to park on the side of the road a ways back.”  I turned to point back the way I had come and continued. “There was sign posted saying that Willowmeer was a kilometer down this path. I had no idea a kilometer was so far or I would have waited until morning to make the hike. Could you tell me how much farther it is to the town?”

This mysterious friar moved closer, sending a chill breeze before him. It looked more like he glided than walked, then he stopped suddenly, close enough that I could hear his rasping breath. He gestured down the path, indicating with his fingers that it was only a short distance around the curve. I found it curious that he he wouldn’t speak, then remembered that certain monks take a vow of silence.  That must be it. I felt a little embarrassed that it took me so long to understand and said, “Please excuse me for my ignorance Brother, I understand, you’ve taken a vow of silence.”

He smiled. It was a sad smile. I could see his face a little better since he moved closer and there were deep lines of sorrow etched around his hazel eyes. With his hands stuck inside the large cuffs of his robes, he bowed, then started up the path that I had just come down. I held up my hand to stop him and touched the sleeve of his tunic. When he turned, it felt like my hand passed through his arm and  a shiver ran down my spine. I shook off the chill that had come over me, telling myself that there was nothing to fear from this mild monk. “It’s getting very dark, will I be into town before I lose my light completely?” He nodded and reached into a pouch that swung from the rope tied around his waist. When his hand emerged, he was holding a small lantern with a white candle. He brought the lantern close to his mouth and blew on the candle. I am not joking when I say that every hair on my head stood out as I watched the candle burst into flame.

I stood, frozen, looking at the monk for what seemed to be a eternity, then hesitantly took a step forward to take the glowing beacon he offered. He nodded at me and smiled that same sad smile, then turned again to make his way up the path. When I looked up from the light, he was gone, it was like he turned to smoke and vanished into the murkey forest.

The sun was low on the top of the hills that surrounded the little valley and the deepening shadows seemed to slither through the pines like ghostly wraiths.  A grassy meadow sloped down from the path and opened into a wide stretch of farmland dotted with small houses that had thatched roofs. As the shadows grew longer, a mist reached up from the ground with thin curling fingers and crawled through the glen, swallowing barns and fields, creeping closer to where I stood. I was startled from my thoughts by the quick, sharp hooting of an owl.

Holding the lantern out in front of me, I hurried down the path and around the bend. Looking back I thought I saw the form of the monk , hood up, arms tucked inside the sleeves of his robes, wavering on the edge of the trees.

© Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009.

I sat up and struggled to pull myself out of a large  mass of white flowers that were threatening  to smother me.  Opening my eyes, I shoved and pushed the giant blooms, only to find that the large white flowers were only big fluffy pillows that had been placed all around me on a large downy bed.

Bright morning sunlight filtered down through the forest canopy and pooled on the floor beside me. A pillow had slid off the bed and was now moving across the floor, seemingly by its own power. I reached up and twirled a strand of my hair between two fingers.“Where am I, and how did I get here?” The thought floated in my mind like a leaf on a pond. I rubbed my eyes and watched as the pillow ran into the wall. A moment later, a pointed green hat burst out  from under the pillow.

Odette followed the hat, her hair all disheveled. She shoved the pillow off of her and scurried across the floor. “Oh missus! Oh, your awake! Saints be praised, your awake.” She climbed the mountain of pillows that were scattered around the bed then pulled herself up my arm and hugged my ear. “I waited right by yer side missus, I never left ya, not for a moment, no sir, not for a moment.”

She was quivering with excitement and relief. I wiped a tiny gnome sized tear from my ear lobe and plucked her off my shoulder, then cradled her in my hands. “Odette! I thought I had lost you. I was floating on a leaf in the middle of a huge pond and I almost sank when a storm came, but you weren’t there and I couldn’t see the shore.” I held Odette, rocking back and forth and she hugged my thumb.

“T’was the light from the crystal that saved us missus. It glowed so bright the the elves saw it and came for us. they’ed been told to watch fer us just like I told ya, an none to soon, the goblins were wantin us fer their dinner I think.”

Odette gave my thumb a long squeeze then waded across the mattress, sinking in up to her chin with every step. She wrapped her fingers around a delicate chain that was attached to the clapper of a silver bell and tugged. The chime echoed through the forest.

Suddenly, the trees came to life. Eleven folk were everywhere. Spirals of wispy smoke began to curl out of chimney tops scattered throughout the trees. I pulled my gaze back from the activity in the tree tops. “Odette, your an elf alarm clock!” She turned and smiled at me, making her way back to my lap. “We’ll be havin company soon.”

The curtain across the entry was pulled back just as Odette finished tucking the last of her curls up under her cap. Elendain moved through the entrance and came forward with her hands outstretched. “My dear, you have no idea how relieved the faerie court will be to know that you are safe. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Elendain, Mistress of the Elvenwood. We are honored to have you with us.” She glanced at Odette. “And your little friend too. She is a true and faithful companion, she showed incredible grace under pressure.” I noticed Odette blushing at such lavish praise.

“Queen Alina has been notified that you are with us and will be sending an escort for you. The faerie, Cythia, has been remanded to the flower faeries winter realm and will no longer be a problem. I would love to take you on a tour of Elvenwood while we wait for your escort, that is if your knee will allow it.”

© Tami Ruesch, The Misty World of Arial Hollyberry, 2009.