Promise of the World [Canaan, Book 1]

Chapter Two || Illumination

Back on the ground, Essairyn contemplated her circumstances. She was currently in an enormous forest with strange animals that could possibly attack her and strange plants that may or may not be edible or poisonous. Somehow she would have to learn which plants or animals were innocuous and find or make shelter for when it got dark. Although, she could just sleep in the ancient tree, it might be cold at night, and she could possibly roll off and fall to her hapless death.

As that thought about night crossed her mind, Essairyn suddenly realized that she hadn't seen any sun when she was in the treetops. Light definitely existed here, but where exactly did the outside light come from if not a sun? Looking up at the forest ceiling, there were barely any openings for sunlight to come through.

However, the forest was as illuminated as a room lit by electricity, but there were no sources of external light under the treetops. It was like the air itself was illuminating the space it presided. Even so, it was clearly brighter above the canopy than below. Pondering this newfound discovery, Essairyn decided to visit the treetops once more.

"Ah, seriously though, why couldn't I think of this earlier when I was already up there?" Shaking her head, she chuckled at her wasted effort. "Still.. there has to be an easier way, right?" She peered up at the ancient tree and wondered if she could defy gravity completely.

After a few experiments jumping around on the ground, she discovered that unless her body continually moved through the air, she would gradually sink. And the more she practiced moving through the air, the longer she was able to stay afloat in one place. Just like first learning how to walk, flying and hovering were movements that had to be practiced before they became natural. While she enjoyed the feeling of walking through air, it was definitely a slow, time-consuming process and steep learning curve. So Essairyn racked her brain for another idea.

Remembering how effortlessly the magic ball floated and could be controlled, she conjectured that other flying objects could be made. Positivity flowed into her, and Essairyn slowly waved her hand in a large circle, creating a hovering, lilac colored disk. This flying disk was common in the fantasy and sci-fi stories she had read, so the idea came easily. She flicked her finger down, and the disk followed, moving to a stair-step height before her. She placed a foot expectantly on the disk, and to her satisfaction, she felt a solid surface. Essairyn regarded the disk with cheerfulness as she stepped up on it, but as soon as both of her feet landed on the surface, it emanated a bright light that reached up to her knees.

"What the f—" She cursed while reflexively squinting and holding up her arms to block the light. It gradually faded away, and in the place of a solid colored disk, a transparent disk with two lavender outlined circles and triangles floated in its place. The four shapes were centered on the disk with the triangles forming a star inside the two circles. Strange letters revolved in between the two circles.

A magic circle?! The ludicrous thought echoed in Essairyn's mind and enchanted her. Humongous trees, spirit deers, grassy wolves, miniature dragons, bear demons, and now magic circles? This surely was a fantasy world. Now, only elves or dwarves or fairies or sorcerers were left. Although, Essairyn supposed she was sort of the sorcerer here even if she didn't know how to cast spells like a wizard.

However, looking at the foreign lettering on the circle, she wondered if she had somehow unknowingly casted a spell; even though, she hadn't thought of any particular command at the moment she stepped. She tried deciphering the revolving letters but forgone after a minute. The only partially recognizable letters were A, E, and N; everything else was obscure. She sighed; if this was the native language, it would be a challenge adapting to this new world.

Setting aside that concern, Essairyn continued her plan before the luminescent display occurred. Focusing her mind, she willed the magic circle to move upwards. The circle glowed briefly before rising swiftly but steadily into the treetops. A smile played across Essairyn's face as she adeptly maneuvered the disk through the branches. She might've not been able fly on her own easily, but with the help of the magic circle, she was able to soar through the air effortlessly. In a matter of seconds, she spanned several tens of stories high.