Araedial... That was my name, was it not? It was, wasn't it. Yes, I remember now. It was nearly two hundred years ago, in another life - my previous , specifically. I was very young for an elf, and though the exact number of years escapes me, I could not have been more than twenty years of age.
Like all elves, I possessed magic, mine in particular being that of life and of healing which allowed me to access the memories and emotions and to know the immediate needs of all living things; though out of respect, I was taught to stay out of the memories of all but plant life. While I was still very inexperienced in magic and before I had to strength of energy to complete even the most basic of spells, something had gone awry in my life. The details of what caused my panic are unclear to me, but I found the need to hide something.
They're coming for me... I remember thinking. Though I remember little, I can still feel the fear that coursed through me at the time. So I went to the safest place I could think of: beneath the roots of a young tree. And so I ran, coming to what I hoped to be a safe haven for the small object.
While digging, I accidentally pulled up one of the fragile sapling's roots. Fearing that I had hurt it, I poured all my magic into the tree and its earth-clad limb, in hopes to heal it. However, magic is as much a life force for elves as air and water are for every other creature of the world, and giving up so much of one's magic can have deathly consequences. The effort of healing the tree nearly exhausted me entirely, and I would have died me if I did not have the good fortune that a dragon happen to see my deed. It was her forest after all, and whether she felt pity for my state, or gratitude that I cared for the trees in her forest so much, she decided to give me half her magic, saving my life. Her name was Kii.
Both she and I were still extremely weary afterwards, though neither of us were close to death. She took me from the tree on her back, but where I do not know, for I well asleep on the way. When we both awoke, we came to find something that neither of us anticipated: her gift had transferred some of her own life essence into my own being, bonding us spiritually from then on.
I remember little else of that life, before or after that day, but I do know that Kii and I's bonding followed me into the next life - this life - and she is a part of my spirit which has always been there, though I didn't always know it.
I went nearly fifteen years without knowing she was there. When I was a very young child, if someone had said, there is a dragon spirit in you, or told me any of the story which you have just read, I would have thought them crazy. At about sixth grade, my interest began to change, when I saw a book that drew me in so suddenly. It was called Book of the Dragon. I took it upon myself to read every word in this book, and any other I could find. My love of dragons, and later on elves, only grew as I did. It was at this time that if someone had told me of Kii or of my past life I would have enjoyed the notion, but would have also dismissed it as just that - a notion, and nothing more.
When I was fourteen, I was talking with my friend, Cassy, and she mentioned someone named Lyla several times. Eventually I asked who this person was, and she told me she was her cat - her spirit cat. At first I believed it to be her method of coping with a difficult life, but soon I saw the truth in the matter. These spirits held a mind of their own, emotions which often differed from Cassy's, opinions that did not always coincide. They were entities unto themselves. I always talked to her about her spirits, the cat Lyla, her fairy, Sophia, and her own personal demon who I shall not speak of. I was quite interested in the concept but had not considered myself.
One day during some free time in class, I was working on a short story about dragons, and I could not stop talking about the creatures. Cassy began to giggle.
"What's so funny?" I asked her.
"Lyla's laughing, going 'Don't tell her! Don't tell her!'" she informed me. Lyla was always mischievous like that.
"Tell me what?" I pressed. She looked around for a moment, then leaned in close to me.
"We think you might be a dragon spirit," she smiled. I couldn't help but to smile. The idea seemed to fit, like the tone of it settled well in my mind. She pulled me to the back of the class so we could have privacy, and she told me how I could see my spirit. By the end of school, I could see her, I knew her name, and had watched her play on the branches of the tree outside my sixth period window. Later that day, I spoke with her boyfriend, Logan, who also had a dragon spirit. His dragon's name was Kieran.
Kieran and Kii talked, and I and Logan talked about whatever we could think of about dragons, including the longing we and our dragons shared to fly. It's rather difficult for dragons to fly in a human body, and we can feel their wish to taste the skies again, as though it was our own desire. Since we cannot give them this, we settle for being as high up as we can get, to get as close to the sky as possible. Before the end of the conversation, we had all decided that the next day after school he, Cassy and I would walk to the park to climb trees and achieve just that.
A school day had never felt so long. It seemed ages before the final bell, but when it finally came I could hardly contain my excitement. I ran to find Logan and Cassy, hurried to stuff my bags away in my locker, and then we walked to the park - a walk that suddenly seemed too far - with an elated spring in our steps.
When finally the park came in sight, I was inexplicably drawn to a perfectly shaped tree. Though not very tall like the others in the park, it had wide, numerous branches which created a perfect ladder all the way to the top. I ran to the beautiful tree and stopped at its roots to take in every detail my eyes could comprehend. Just atop the shallow, sprawling roots, the trunk split into four sections, one of those branching again just above it to a long outward branch, the other side continuing the ladder up to the leaves at its crown. There was something strange about the being that stood before me, but strange in a good way. It emanated a soft comfort, sweetly luring me to its arms, like that of a mother.
I could not hold myself back. By some instinct in the back of my mind, I quickly pulled off my shoes, then sprung directly to the middle of the fork at the base of the tree, and placed my hands on the branch in front of me. An incredible wave of happiness rushed through my body and mind, and all else faded away save the gentle breeze with flowed likewise through the leaves and my hair. In that moment I regained my ability to empathize with the trees, but also my gifts of life and of healing. For this was the same tree I tried to save two hundred years ere this life. This was the same tree which I had poured my magic into at the risk of my own life. Long since fully healed, it returned to me my magic in thanks.
After two hundred years, the tree was glad, and so was I.
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So there, a story I was told and I'm quite fond of :)
Yes, It was meant to be short. I'm already in the middle of what will hopefully turn out to be a novel but I wanted to get a good ways into it so as to avoid past mistakes of writing myself into a corner and having to discontinue the story a few chapters in.
So in the mean time, for the few people who are actually subscribed to me for my writing, here is something for you to read so you know I'm not dead XD I'm still active and what not.
Also, for anyone reading this as the first thing they've read that I wrote, I write how I like to read: about fantasy and such. The story I'm working on is also about elves and dragons, but it's a much longer plot, more characters, all that good stuff. So if you like this style and genre, subscribe! ~(^-^)~ Give me an incentive to write faster! WOO!~~
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed :)
