Lost Spirits

The Dream Garden

Nicole was walking down a long corridor. Everywhere she looked was white marble. The whole place felt sterile, like no one had ever lived there.

The further she walked, the longer the hallway seemed to get. She started to feel frantic. Was this all that was out there, just the blank walls and the blank floors and never a speck of color save the occasional bit of black? There was a glow of light coming from the wall in front of her. She rushed towards it eagerly.

Nicole almost had to shield her eyes from the onslaught of color. It was some kind of garden filled with beautiful flowers in every color under the sun. After all the white walls she had seen on the way here, it felt strange to see so many colors in one place. Was it even possible? Nicole bent down to take a closer look at one of the flowers. It was red in the center but eventually turned violet at the edges, passing through every color of the rainbow.

"Do you like that one?" A voice asked. Nicole turned in shock to face another woman. She seemed several years older and had caramel-blond hair. She was wearing a lilac dress with light gold accents around her neckline and wrists as well as around her waist. But what stood out the most to Nicole was a set of pale blue wings that emanated from her mid-back. "It's a tuar ceatha flower. Only grows in Asteria."

"Asteria?" Nicole asked, standing up straight.

"Yes." The woman smiled. "It's the home of the fairies. And the Fae too, I guess."

"Fairies... Fae? Isn't that stuff just make-believe."

"Ah. So I see you're still in denial." She replied. "Look over your shoulder and tell me what you see."

Nicole obliged. Sure enough, the wings that she saw as a curse were in plain view. "That doesn't mean anything." Nicole protested. "I mean, me, a fairy? I'm just a normal person living a normal life... Or at least, I was..."

"I suggest you get used to the idea. Draíocht responds to feelings and emotions, after all. The longer you deny it, the more out of control you'll be. You may even endanger the people around you."

Nicole bit her lip. She didn't want to hurt anyone. "So let's say I accept that I'm a fairy and whatnot. Then what?"

The woman didn't answer. "You never did answer my question earlier. Do you like the tuar ceatha?"

Nicole had completely forgotten about that. "The flower? Yeah, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. Is this your garden?"

"I'm glad you like it." she said. "And it isn't mine, but it was a place dear to my brother."

"Was?"

"He died. Sixteen years ago." The woman's violet eyes hardened. It seemed like that was a tough subject.

"I'm sorry." Nicole apologized.

The woman seemed to realize that the mood had changed. "No, I shouldn't have brought it up. That isn't a topic for polite conversation." She shook her head. "These are tough times for everyone. Asteria is out of balance and the chaos is slowly leaking into your world."

"You mean, you know what happened to my parents!?" Nicole asked desperately. "Please, tell me what you can."

"There isn't much to tell. No one quite knows the nature of the problem, only that it is related to the irasma."

"Irasma?"

"Yes. I believe the closest word in your tongue would be relic. Years ago, one of the irasma disappeared from Asteria, leaving an imbalance with the other five. No one quite knows how to fix it." The woman answered.

Nicole thought it over. "Which irasma is missing? Do you know where it could be?"

"No, no one does. If they did, someone could retrieve the Spirit irasma and bring it back to Asteria."

"Spirit irasma?"

"Each of the irasma is tied to a physical element. Fire, water, earth, air, light, and spirit. Spirit power involves life itself and is widely regarded as the most powerful affinity. In fact, both you and I share that power."

"How do you know that?" Not only did she have some weird power, but it was strong too. Nicole wished it was all a dream.

"Through my own power. Spirit users can have a strong inclination towards one avenue of life. I can influence consciousness. That is how I am able to appear to you now. Through the touching of my consciousness to yours, I can sense your most likely affinity. You are strong."

"I don't wanna be strong." Nicole blurted. "I just want to live a normal life, growing up like a normal person without all the extra craziness. You said that bringing the Spirit irasma back to Asteria would help, right? Well, what if I found it and brought it here? Would that help?"

"You'd never find it... unless..." The other woman pursed her lips in thought. "If you collected the irasma from across Asteria and gathered them in one place, it could summon the Spirit irasma. Then everything would return to normal. Who knows, with that amount of power, maybe there would be enough draíocht to grant the wish of whoever gathered them."

"Really?" Nicole asked. If she managed to gather all the irasma, could she get some sort of wish? "What if I wished to go back to my normal life, with my parents safe and sound?"

"I'm sure that's possible. But that would be difficult. The irasma are spread all over Asteria, and you can't get here without a geata."

"Then I'll find one. Or you can help me. Please. I just want to go home, grow up, go to college and get a job. I don't want to deal with any of this fairy nonsense" Nicole pleaded, looking away from the woman. She knew this was a lot to ask.

"All right." The woman answered. "I know there is a geata in what the humans call Wind Cave. It connects to the Gnome territory and the Earth irasma. However, there are dangerous warriors guarding the irasma. As you are, you wouldn't last two seconds."

"Then how can I...?"

"Learn how to harness your draíocht. That's all you can do."

The woman started to go fuzzy around the edges. "It seems like my time is up. You are waking up now. Until next time..."

"Wait!" Nicole said. "What's your name?"

The woman seemed taken aback. "Of course. Where are my manners? My name is Caerina."

"I'm Nicole." She could feel herself waking up in earnest now.

"Nicole...?" a shocked voice said.