Skûlvlakhia

Chapter 1 - Bitter-sweet Parting

To explain this particular story with accuracy, I'll have to take you back you a time where the impossible was not only possible, but very much alive.

His true name - no one knew. We had another name for him though - Aeolus.

He lived in a hollowed out tree, which stood in the middle of a forest clearing where the trees grew tall and dense, so that only the smallest ray of sunshine could find its way through the branches. A ring of Thûlac flowers grew around the base. In shape; they looked much like the Lily. Cerulean spines grew along the stem. Gold vines covered the bowl of the flower. Crimson stars covered the petals in intricate patterns.

He was only a babe when he was discovered. He was brought to me by my mate, Estrella. I had seen humans before but not in our part of the forest. I was curious. Was he lost? Or was he placed there on purpose? I leaned in, towards his little face and inhaled deeply.

Not a human. But definitely breathing.

My instinct was telling me he was dangerous, but I have been wrong before. Perhaps this one woud be different? Estrella lay down on a pile of leaves and pulled the child in close. He opened his eyes slowly and reached out to grab hold of her, giggling as he did so.

Slowly the trees shed a few leaves at a time, making a spiral shape as they fell. The wind picked up a gentle breeze and blew the leaves into his face. One landed on his nose and he looked at it, going cross-eyed in the process. What a strange creature! Did he not understand that he would hurt his eyes doing that?

We laughed as he tried to snatch it from his face, instead creating a draft which caused the leaf to fall onto the ground. I was puzzled. Did he cause the draft? I shook my head in disbelief and put it to the back of my mind. Human or not, man cannot cause the winds to change.

When he was 5 he had learnt to string a bow and kill fish with spears. By the time he was 10 years old he had learnt to shoot a bow and make traps. When he was 15 years old, he had discovered a new technique for crafting arrows that made them quicker and lighter.

The boy grew quickly over the next few years, learning the way of the forest, and of the spirits. When he came of age, we held an initiation ceremony, much as the humans did for their kind. He was told to go into the forest and secure a Yarrow flower.

The boy, now a young man, took up his bow and quiver and set out, his keen eyes searching for the ill-fated plant ready to be plucked from the ground to take back to the Blessing.

He went deep into the heart of the forest, stopping here and there to take a break but never wavering from his purpose. One of the elders had become ill and the herb was needed to produce an adequate amount of healing ointment.

When he arrived at the specific set of trees the elder mentioned, he took out a small pair of hedge clippers that he had made and a small vial and knelt down by the trees for a closer look.

The search went in for half an hour before he sat down for a sip of water. He grew more and more concerned as he scanned the area. Perhaps the elder had meant a different set of trees?

As he sat with his head in his hands he went over the elders' instructions in his head...this was the correct clearing, and this set of trees was located in the middle of the field of poppies.

The flowers he was looking for were Yarrows. Since the Poppies were deep red in color it should have been easy to spot them, but even keeping that in mind - his eyes seemed to be dysfunctional.

He looked around him in caution, then, when he decided that the coast was clear - he stood up, inhaled deeply, drew his hands up to his face and exhaled, lowering his hands as he did so. When he looked around this time he wasn't seeing in colors and shades, he was seeing in patterns and movements.