Eldur

Chapter 1: Fearing the Flame

The leaves crunched under her body as Eldur turned in her sleep. The pile of leaves she had been using as a pillow had blown away, and her head now lay on the cool ground. The frigidness of the forest floor tingled as her skin, causing her to wake up. Eldur sat up as she pulled leaves out of her auburn hair. She hadn't had it cut since she lived in Kuldiana. Her hair was now past her waist, and a pain to take care of. As she pulled the leaves out of her hair they sank to the ground, joining the rest of the fallen Autumn leaves. She stood up, and burried her toes into the grass. It tickled her feet as she walked over to help herself to some breakfast.

When she had first taken shelter here in the summer, there was a plethora of wild strawberries growing in the grass. To Eldur's surprise, they were tastier than the ones grown inside of Kuldiana. Although smaller, they were much sweeter. Eldur preferred the sweeter ones. For the first few days, she dined on the little fruits. As it grew colder however, the berries started to perish. Now mid-November, the weight of the leaves had crushed any remaining berries. Without the supply of strawberries, Eldur struggled to find food.

As Eldur approached her bag, she realized it had been torn. She swore under her breath. The little remaining food she had had been stolen by what seemed like a small bear. Eldur picked up a large rock and threw it in anger. As the rock hit the ground, Eldur heard something scurry off. She looked into the direction of the noise and saw a deer prancing through the trees. Without hesitation, Eldur grabbed her bow and arrows and creeped in the direction of the deer. She followed it for what seemed like an hour, but she knew it couldn't be more than five minutes. The deer finally stopped at the edge of the forest. Otherwise known as the start of Kuldiana. Eldur knew it would be risky to go into Kuldiana, but the deer could satisfy her hunger for at least a week. Even thinking of the possible food, her stomach growled. She gripped her bow tightly, and drew out an arrow. It fitted perfectly between her boney fingers for she had done this many times before. Her mother taught her how to shoot a bow when she was eight. She soon outgrew her first bow, so it was a tradition that she would get a new one each year on her birthday. On her fifteenth birthday, she had gotten one made of spruce wood and carved with tribal markings of the fire-handlers. She loved that bow, but she knew that if she was spotted holding it, she would be killed by the Kuldi immediately. They hated all elementals. From fire to earth handlers, they sought out to kill every last one of them.

She traced her fingers over the markings, feeling the indentations in the wood. Eldur was very hesitant when using her powers. She did not want to risk being seen by anyone. She usually ate her food raw, too scared to start a fire if it wasn't needed. In the beginning, her stomach rejected the uncooked meat, but over time she got used to eating it. Her stomach growled again, louder than before.

Pulling back her bow, she turned to where the deer had been. It lay in the grass already dead, laying in a pool of its own blood. Beside it, crouched a dark hooded figure. They were hunched over poking the deer with their fingers. She stepped back in surprise, causing a branch to snap. The figure bounced up and stared at her. She froze. She hadn't seen another human in over four months. The figure started to back away from the deer, and ran back into the woods. Eldur stood in disbelief. As she approached the dead deer, she saw large marks deeply imbedded in its body. The dark figure must have had a dagger on them. Without needing to think, she picked the deer up and put it over her shoulder with ease. She turned back to the depths of the forest. The darkness consumed her with ever step she took, a trail of blood behind her.