Feldora

The Vision Bearer

"No one here seems to like dragons, why is that?" Renny asked the new boy, Alzius.

"You havn't heard?!" said Alzius in suprise. He explained all about Kersus' attack on the kingdom Alyndale. Renny's eyes widened with horror.

"Why did the rune become a dragon if it was engraved with a pegasus. All I've heard about those runes was that it gave you a mount to ride and I assumed it was always a horse with wings," enquired Renny. He felt incredibly guilty for putting Lestra through such bad memories when she'd done nothing but help him. He also missed her company as she refused to speak to both of them.

"They're called Mount Runes and they give you your spirit mount, which is the ridable creature most connected to your soul. And now Lestra knows that I have a spirit like a dragon. She'll never speak to me again!" Alzius wailed in despair.

They had moved out of the deep woods and were now trekking through the normal type of forest that Renny called home. Here the creatures were much less dangerous and the trees were mostly friendly.

"How many more runes do you have?" Alzius asked.

"Two dark runes, one for attack and the other a guardian rune. I made both of them myself so they're really weak," Renny replied, checking his bag.

"Woa, you can carve runes?! Only professionals can do that back in Alydale. You could make lots of money. Are you able to make more?" Alzius asked suddenly. Renny looked at him in puzzlement. Why would people trade runes for a few gold coins and some paper notes.

"I mean, I could make some runes but I'd need an element of magic to imbue them with," Renny said. Elements of magic were hard to find. He most commonly used Starflowers, which were extemely rare white flowers that grew on the very highest twigs of the Gloomria Trees in the deep woods.

"You could use Deathfire once we go to fight the dragons," said Alzius. The trees quivered at the words and began whispering.

Deathfire

Deathfire

Deathfire

The prophecy must be fulfilled. Save the clan.

Feldora . . .

The last word, Feldora, left shivers of adrenalin running through Renny's body and he didn't know why.

"W-w-what's Deathfire?" Renny asked nervously.

"When a dragon dies, it bursts into red flames. Many people say that the flames are all of the dragon's wrong doings poring out into the world. Deathfire can be trapped and placed in a bottle. It is one of the strongest elements of magic there is," explained Alzius.

The group kept walking for some time. The forest was lush and green and birds twittered from the trees. Up ahead,  a little blue light flew across the path. It was a wisp of anticipation. Wisps were living lights that came in many different colours. The different colours symbolised different emotions. Wisps could also bend reality.

The wisp flew up to Renny and Alzius. It flitted around their heads, its body making a crackling noise. Suddenly, another blue wisp flew from the trees. It flew over their heads and landed on Lestra's shoulder. She looked up in suprise.

Suddenly, the wisp enveloped Lestra in blue light. Then she was standing beside Renny and Alzius.

"What was that!" Lestra exclaimed fearfully.

"Its just a wisp. They can slightly alter reality and the must have just made you shift position," explained Renny. Suddenly both wisps flew in front of them. The three were incased in a cocoon of light and then everything bent to the side for a split second before it returned to normal.

The three were standing in a clearing alone. A stream bubbled along the edge of the clearing and at the side of the clearing was a row of seven strange boxes hanging from the tree. Wisps flew in and out of the boxes.

Renny turned around to see a little log cabin. Its door had a knocker carved with a dragon. Lestra caught sight of it and her eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, the door burst open. A tall figure strode out. His hair was a grey mane like that of a lion and he wore a black robe. But then Renny noticed that this wasn't a normal person.

The man had wings.

Huge, blue, scaly wings that flowed out behind him like a robe. The trio stared in shock.

"You know, its rude to stare," said the man loudly. Lestra stood up tall.

"I am Princess Lestra of Alyndale. Who are you?" Lestra barked authoritatively. Speaking with authority was the one thing Lestra had mastered in her pricess classes although each time she gave orders, she pictured Rani. Kersus will pay!

"Come in, come in. My wisps have been searching for you for a while," said the man with a twinkle in his eye. Renny nervously followed him into the house.

The interior of the house was very hectic. Piles of books towered all around the edges of the room. The centre of the entrance room had a couch with its back ripped off to make room for the man's wings. In front of the couch was a table supporting a big crystal ball. Blue, white and green flames swirled around inside the glassy ball's surface. The flames filled Renny with shivers.

"Come in quickly, I must show you something," said the man. "Gaze into this crystal ballto see what I saw," he ordered.

"Um, why are we doing this. Who even are you?" Alzius said in confusion.

"I am Hadlan. My wings mean that I am a vision-bearer. I receive visions of the future sometimes and I can only speak the truth," explained the man.

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" said Alzius. He had heard that the forest held many tricks and lies.

"No, he is a true vision bearer; there is also one called Gadlan in the castle and he can't lie," explained Lestra.

"Ah yes, Gadlan is my brother. I can't say that I miss him though now that he's gone to live in Alydale," said Hadlan with a mischievous grin.

"But this is Alydale. My father the king said that one day everything I can see from the castle windows will belong to me and more, and this forest is quite close to the castle," Lestra argued.

"Aye, these woods may lie within Alyndale's borders but the forest belongs to itself and answers to no one, especially the deep woods. These woods will remain wild, free and dangerous for the rest of time," said Hadlan. Renny agreed. The forest was its own.

"Now, are you ready to see the vision?"