Searching - Strange Sights

Section 2

Searching

Part 2

Strange Sights

Robyn flew fast, but Aria had always been an agile flyer, so she was able to follow close behind. The biggest problem was that she kept getting distracted by all the amazing things she’d never seen before! She was quickly learning that her previous trip to the city had only shown her a tiny glimpse of what to expect, and really hadn’t prepared her for her quest as well as she thought.

Aria felt a little overwhelmed as they wove through all the different buildings. She was used to the only tall objects in the sky being trees or mountains.  These looked nothing like that. There were some that reached for the sky, just like a tree, but much taller. Others we’re shorter, almost squat, like the foot hills around a mountain.

Before long they reached a grouping of buildings that was even stranger than what she had seen so far.  The main building wasn’t very tall compared to some of the others, but it seemed to go on forever! Plus there were those metal things that humans like to ride in, they looked so confining compared to flight, and they seemed to surround the building.

Aria was surprised to realize that Robyn was flying straight towards this strange building. She had to follow even closer as he swooped down, through strange glass doors, and wove in among the people. Aria nearly lost Robyn as he darted this way and that, everything was so overwhelming!

Finally the swooped through one last set of doors and came to a place where there were no humans, only fairies and other magical beings.  It was almost a relief after all the strange sights Aria had just witnessed, but there were still so many strange things in this large room!

There were monstrous shelves everywhere, and items of fabric were piled high as far as the eye could see.  Looking closer Aria realized that even the magical beings looked far different from what she was used to. She didn’t know much about other magical beings, but she knew enough to know that they weren’t dressed at all like what she’d expect. The fairies were the strangest of all. Instead of the dark woodland colors that she was used to, they wore bright outfits, often in colors that would be found nowhere in nature.

What had she gotten herself into?

Aria's Quest: Section 1: Part 5: Traveling

Section 1
The Beginning
Part 5
Traveling

Aria woke the next morning with Eiowinn’s words still ringing in her head, but she soon forgot them as she realized that it was time for her to leave!  Trembling with excitement she washed her face, combed her hair, and grabbed her pack. Her older brother Daffyd had helped her prioritize and maximize the space in her pack earlier that week.  It was a little heavy, but in her excitement she really didn’t care!

Breakfast was a teary-eyed, but simple, affair. The whole family had gathered back at the house, even the older one’s who had their own homes and families now, and everyone wanted to give Aria one last hug. It would have been easy for breakfast to drag on all morning, but they all knew that she had a long enough journey ahead of her and no one wanted to delay her.

Even though Aria was a fast flyer, the trip into the city would take her around three days.  She’d been there once before, on a trip when she was still a student, but this was her first time going there on her own! It was comforting that she had some idea what to expect, but it was also a little overwhelming.

She remembered the city being big, and strange. There were trees, but they were small and spaced out and surrounded by concrete. Some of the buildings were taller than any tree in the forest.  She couldn’t really understand why humans wanted to live in those cold, impersonal, buildings, but they were everywhere.

As she flew Aria’s mind soon turned to thinking through her quest. She needed to find a human in the city and somehow help them improve their life. It sounded easy enough, but she had heard enough stories to know that it could be much more challenging than it sounded. Human’s are stubborn creatures, set in their ways, and slow to change. Many times they’d rather continue doing something that was bad for them than go through the effort to change.

There were really no rules about how you went about your quest. Some fairies chose to work secretly, never revealing themselves to the person they were helping, while others made friends with “their” humans.  The fairies who chose to work in secret would say that it was easier than finding a person who needed help and was wiling to accept the existence of fairies, but Aria couldn’t imagine operating that way.  She figured that you were handicapping yourself if you never interacted with the human you were helping. The power of persuasion is strong, and if you can’t talk to them, how can you use it?

That meant she’d have to locate a true believer, someone who would acknowledge her existence, and for that she figured she’d look for an Irish pub. She knew there were a few in the city, and after all, the Irish were known for believing in the wee folk! Hopefully that part of her quest wouldn’t be that hard, although with Eiowinn’s warning that her quest would be harder than normal, who knew?

The Beginning - Saying Goodbye

Section 1

The Beginning

Part 4

Saying Goodbye

Smoothing her hair into place one last time, Aria took a deep breathe, and walked out into the clearing.  For a moment all she could do was stare.  This wasn’t the first leave-taking party she’d attended, but this was the first time the party had ever been for her! Normally she loved the atmosphere, the crowd of fairies flying around, and all the beautiful decorations. Today it made her feel a little sick.

This was the moment she’d been waiting for, seeking for, and yet the reality of it was overwhelming.  She knew these parties had two purposes. Everyone said it was to wish the quest-taker good luck, but they also all knew this could be the last time they saw her. She might never come back.

With a shake of her head Aria banished the dreary and frightening thoughts from her head. This was her party and she was going to enjoy it!

The rest of the party passed in a blur. Since completing your quest was a requirement to being accepted as an adult in the woodland fairy community, many of the fairies were reminiscing about their quests, and of course they just had to tell her their stories! Fortunately Aria loved listening to tales, but after awhile they all started to blend together. Of course that also could have been a result of the honeyed wine that was flowing freely.  All this attention was a heady feeling, and Aria wisely switched to drinking a fruit punch. She was used to being well liked and having friends, but popular was never a word that would have been applied to her.

The sky drew dark as night approached, but the party was no where near over! All fairies love a chance to celebrate, and Aria’s woodland tribe was no different.  As the sky darkened they turned on brightly colored lights, and the musicians brought out their instruments. If Aria had been feeling a little light-headed before from the honeyed wine, she now was even more so from been twirled about! As the quest-taker she was the center of attention, and every fairy wanted a chance to dance with her.

Finally, as the hour truly grew late, the fairies began to take their leave. Each one came by to briefly embrace Aria, or give her a kiss on the cheek, or even both. More than once Aria’s eyes overflowed with tears as her closest friends said their good-byes. It would be months, maybe even years, before she saw them again!

Aria had just finished drying her eyes yet again when she saw Eiowinn approaching her. She stood up a little straighter and greeted Eiowinn with a smile and a slight bow.

“None of that child, soon we shall be equals, adults both of us.” Eiowinn said with a gentle smile.

“I may soon be counted as an adult Eiowinn, but I have years to go before I can be said to even approach your learning and wisdom.” Aria responded, in awe that the great Eiowinn would use the word “equals” when talking to her!

“Thank you my dear.  You show great promise Aria. Never doubt yourself, or your ability to think. The task ahead of you will be hard, I think harder for you than for most, but don’t give up. You’re being tested for a reason, and the rewards will be great.”

“Tested? What do you mean?” Aria looked at Eiowinn with searching eyes. “I don’t understand.”

“That’s all I can say m’dear. As you know, I can only see into the future dimly. I know that your quest will be challenging, and I know you have great potential. Do not give up, and I look forward to your return.” With this Eiowinn gave Aria a kiss on the cheek and departed.

Aria talked to many more fairies before the night was over, but it was Eiowinn’s words that stuck in her head as she fell asleep that night. Tested? What was she facing?

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!