Ethanaor

Chapter 2: Rumor Has It

The next day, Seren and Anderson were deep in discussion, pouring over maps and books, trying to pinpoint possible locations where the elusive flower might grow. They had been at it for hours, the sun setting outside the window, casting a soft orange light over the room. The room was filled with the faint scent of soil mixed with the musty smell of old books. The only sound was the occasional shuffling of pages and the soft scratching of pens on paper as Dr. Anderson and Seren continued their research. The air was thick with concentration and the weight of the task at hand. As they looked at maps and charts, the silence was eventually broken by Seren's voice. "I think I may have found a promising location," she said, pointing at a section on the map. "This area is known for its diverse flora and rugged terrain. It's remote enough to conceal something rare and elusive." Anderson leaned in to take a closer look. "You could be right," he said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "But we'll need to be careful. If this flower is as valuable as we believe, there is a good chance we won't be the only ones looking for it."  his expression turning slightly skeptical. "We'll have to watch out for treasure hunters and opportunists" he said. "But I'm more concerned about the terrain and the remoteness of the location. This isn't a casual hike in the park. We'll need to be prepared for rough terrain, potentially hostile wildlife, and the possibility of getting lost." "agreed.." Seren was lost in thought quite a bit.  A little while later, Anderson had begun packng his things up for the day but left behind a small book that had gotten trapped beneath the couch cushions, no one noticed really. "Ill see you tommorow yeah?" Anderson asked, "Tommorow." she replied, he nodded shuffling away and out the door.

As Dr. Anderson left, Seren slumped back in her seat, exhaustion beginning to set in. She glanced down at the books and maps strewn across the table, Just as she was about to start cleaning up, she noticed a small book , half-hidden under one of the couches. Curiously, she leaned down and picked up the book, noticing it had gotten caught beneath the couch cushions. As she turned it over in her hands, she realized it belonged to Dr. Anderson. Perhaps he had accidentally left it behind. She opened the book and started flipping through the pages lazily, expecting to find nothing remarkable. But to her surprise, a page towards the back of the book caught her eye "oh?" There was a detailed illustration of a flower she had never seen before. Its petals shimmered with an iridescent quality, and its stem was wrapped in intricate, thorn-like tendrils. The image seemed to radiate an almost otherworldly aura, unlike any flower she had ever come across. why was he hiding this from me?  she shook her head and continued off, thinking that is was a possible form the flower took , or the Doctor is just very imginative. Seren quickly grabbed her phone and took a picture of the illustration in the book, wanting to study the flower further. The image on the phone screen captured the flower's glowing petals vividly, a faint memory surfaced in her mind. She recalled reading about a legendary flower known as the Celeste flower in one of her old fairytale books. The book had described it as a rare and elusive bloom.  Seren began to remember more details about the book she had read. If she could remember correctly, it was a book by an Australian author who had suddenly disappeared, their whereabouts unknown. The author had written a story about it, and had set the story in a fantastical land called Ethanaor, a realm full of magic, wonder, and mythical creatures. Part of her mind laughed at the thought that Anderson couldve read the same book and had been researching a fictitional plant, but her other part.. strayed to the thoughts of "Could this be a real place?"  Seren's thoughts were conflicted, tugged in two different directions. Part of her mind found the idea of Anderson searching for a fictional plant to be ridiculous , but Could Ethanaor be real? she realized that if it was indeed a real place, she would need a way to get there. But how? The only information she had about it was from that old book, and she didn't know how to access an unknown, possibly fictional universe. As Seren's mind swirled with thoughts, she suddenly realized that perhaps the key to finding Ethanaor lies in locating the author of the book. The author had written about the mysterious world in detail, so they must have had some knowledge about it. But where could the author be?