The Beginning - The Gem

Section 1

The Beginning

Part 3

The Gem

With a tired sigh, Aria tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. Her arms ached with the weight of the baby, but she didn’t allow that to slow her pacing. Lilith had been colicky a lot lately, and a steady walk and quiet hum was the only thing that seemed to keep her from screaming at the top of her lungs.  As tired as Aria was, the last thing she wanted was those shrill screams to resume and wake all the napping young ones.

Aria looked up with surprise when her mother quietly slipped into the room. She had thought her mother was hard at work in her studio, and hadn’t expected to see her until much later in the day. Quietly, her mother said, “Give me Lilith dear. You have visitors.”


“Visitors Mother?” Aria asked in surprise.

“Yes dear. Now smooth your hair and hurry along. Dahlia and I will be fine for the rest of the day.”

“Yes Mother.” Aria said, hurrying out of the room while fixing her hair to look as presentable as she could without a mirror. She knew any visitors would be waiting in the front room, and a little thrill of excitement ran through her as she approached the entryway, she’d never had visitors important enough for the front room before! Usually anyone who visited her would just come on back and talk to her while she took care of the kids.

Aria’s heart leaped into her throat when she entered the front room and saw the three visitors standing solemnly waiting for her. At last her turn had come! She did her best to hide her excitement as she gave a low bow and gave them the traditional greeting, “Peace, health, and joy my friends. How may I serve you?”

The man in the middle stepped forward. “Peace, health, and joy to you our friend. Today it is we who come to serve you. Please, kneel before us, not out of fear, but in the joy of receiving.” Aria knelt, head bowed, her heart thumping like a rabbit being chased by a hawk.  Slipping a thin chain over her head the man continued, “With this gem we charge you.”

Stepping forward and laying one hand on her head another man spoke, “With this gem you start your journey into adulthood.”

The last of the trio, a woman, also stepped forward and place her hand on Aria’s head. “Now you leave behind your childish ways.”

Adding his hands on top to complete the ceremony the first man spoke one again. “Go forth, seek who you will and render them aid as you can.”

Speaking in unison the trio finished. “Change the world for good, and you shall be welcome back to your people. Change the world for harm and you shall be an outcast, forever to wander alone, never to know the joy of fellowship.”

The trio stepped back, and Aria slowly raised her head. “I solemnly promise to go out, to seek the one who needs me, and to change this world for good.”

The trio bowed gently, and quietly left the room, leaving Aria on her knees, trembling. As she heard the door close she lifted the gem from her chest, and stared into its dark green depths. Her quest had begun!

The Beginning - The Counsel's Decision

Section 1

The Beginning

Part 2

The Counsel’s Decision

Eiowinn sighed softly, shifting in her chair a little to try to relieve some of the pressure on her aching bones.  Lately she’d begun to really dread these counsel meetings with their seemingly endless discussions! Ok, to be honest, she’d never really enjoyed the meetings, but the older she got the more annoying they seemed to be.   Well this one had gone on long enough; it was time for her to hurry things along a bit.


When Eiowinn raised her hand the chamber quickly fell into a hush. She was the oldest and most respected of the counsel members, and everyone knew that it was best to listen when she chose to contribute to the discussions. So mouths closed and those anxious to jump in with their point had to contain themselves.

“Friends, I don’t know why this discussion has grown so heated. I spoke with the girl, Aria, myself earlier today. She is ready and eager to go on her quest. Indeed, in many ways she has already begun to quest, she thirsts for knowledge, and asks questions at every chance she can. Yes, she is young, but we have sent fairies even younger on their quests before. Age has never been as important a consideration as preparedness.


“As to your other point, yes Dahlia is older and many think we should simply follow the birth order and present her with the gem.  Dahlia, while competent in everything she does, does not yet have the drive and fire that is necessary to complete the mission. She is too content to cook, clean, and care for children. All good things, but it is a very narrow focus. By sending out her sister before her we will cause her to question. Dahlia will try to figure out why she was passed over, and strive to convince the counsel she is worthy to go out when Aria returns. I believe this will give her the fire she needs and open her eyes. Yes, we run the risk of creating bitterness in her heart, but if we watch her closely, and subtly provide counsel, I believe that can be avoided.


“So now, my friends, I ask that we stop this endless debate and put the disbursement of this first gem to a vote right now. We still have two more gems to discuss, and the day grows long already.”

Aria's Quest - The Beginning - Running Late

Aria's Quest is a serial fiction that I started in February of 2009 and originally hosted on my blog: A Jedi's Musings. I've decided that I want it to have it's own blog for a variety of reasons. The number one reason is that I want to make it easier for people who are brand new to the story to go back and read the beginning! So I'm going to start at the beginning and post daily (or as often as my health allows) until I'm caught up! Welcome to Aria's Quest.

Section 1

The Beginning

Part 1

Running Late

Aria swooped around a tree at top speed. She couldn’t believe she’d lost track of time yet again! Her Mom was going to be so mad…if she found out that is. There was a chance that Dahlia had covered for her, but it wasn’t too likely. Dahlia had always looked down on her with distain, calling her flighty and wild. In her defense, Aria really did work hard; she just also could get caught up in other things that she found important, things that Dahlia had never understood.

Dahlia was one of those fairies that that lived for tradition and family. She was the one cooking behind the scenes when the fairies feasted, and she longed for the day that she would marry and raise her own children. Aria and Dahlia were only a couple years apart, the only unmarried girls in the family who were the right age to take care of the young ones, and with 8 younger siblings, their Mother often needed their help!

Usually Dahlia took the morning shift so Aria could go join the dance team for practice and to study afterwards. While Aria was officially out of school, she had a thirst for knowledge, so she treasured that time she got to spend amongst the dusty scrolls and books. Usually she was able to keep track of the shadows shifting so she made it back in time to help with lunch, but occasionally she’d get lost in a new find or a conversation with another fairy. Today she’d been talking with Eiowinn, one of the oldest fairies in the tribe. Getting a chance to ask Eiowinn questions was like finding a treasure trove to Aria, and so she’d lost track of time once again despite her good intentions.

Aria skidded as she landed outside their front door. She rushed down the main hallway, her wings folding away with hardly a thought, and looking around hoping not to see her Mother. Ducking into the playroom she found the young one’s sitting down and eating lunch, and Dahlia glaring at her while she fed the baby. “I’m sorry Dahlia I was talking to Eiowinn and…”

“I don’t know how often you expect me to cover for you, but I’m getting tired of it! You’re lucky I was already planning on feeding the young one’s some stew, if lunch had been any more complicated I don’t know how I would have done it without asking for help.” Dahlia grumped.

“I’m sorry; I’ll try not to let it happen again Dahlia. Just, it was Eiowinn, she knows so much!”

“How are you ever going to manage on your quest if you can’t meet your daily responsibilities?”

“How are YOU going to take care of the young one’s without me when they give me my gem to head out on my quest?” Aria replied, getting frustrated.

Dahlia snorted. “Aria, your only 17 years old, what makes you think you’ll receive your gem soon? For that matter, what makes you think you’ll go before me? I’m 19 and I haven’t gone! Darien didn’t go until he was 22.”

“Yeah, but Aeryk went on his quest when he was 18, so it could happen soon. And Daffyd received his gem before Jenna, so they don’t always go in age order!”

“Dream on Aria.”

Aria just ignored her and went to work cleaning up and helping the younger one’s as they finished with their meals. Dahlia always got her so frustrated! But she knew she was going to get her gem soon, she just felt it deep inside, Dahlia would see!