The Ways of Magic

It is the fourth day of the month of Dawning. I am the last of my kind. The last of a great people who lived for this world…we were a peaceful sheltered people but one day our ways of life were shatter. It started with simple things. Things we should have noticed but didn’t. We had grown uncaring to the place that gave us life. The flowers of our eternal garden grew old and withered. The elders became exhausted often and showed themselves less. We should have known but we didn’t. We ignored the signs. My people could not ignore the facts when one of the eldest died. It sent a wave of concern through every being in the colony. We are all connected and yet we were losing our connection. The eldest could not die. They were tied to the magick of the land. My people became scared and that is why I survived the horror that happened next. Out of fear my mother sent me away to a village. She disguised me as one of the village commoners. I only learned later what happened to my people but that can wait until later. First I must explain what happened to me in that village for it changed the kind of person I would be.

I was no more than five when my mother snuck me into that village. It had been a dark night that prevented her from being seen. She had not counted on the fact that I would not be seen as well. I was asleep when I felt the first stabs of pain. They were so great that they jarred me from my sleep. It felt as though spears were being jabbed into my heart. I gave way to the pain and cried out praying for help. My prayers were answered by an unlikely fellow. He was rather large in height and girth. At the time I could not see through the tears that burned my eyes and the pain that racked my body. I felt him more than saw him when he picked me up. I wasn’t sure where he was taking me but I didn’t truly care. I wanted the pain to end. As he walked I felt consciousness slipping away from me and I welcomed it hoping the pain would disappear with it. The pain followed me even in darkness.

The sunlight blinded my sensitive eyes causing me to blink repeatedly in order to adjust. The room I was in was small but spacious. The bed I laid in was soft and smelled of lavender and jasmine. I stood wobbling on my legs which protested me waking. Slowly I gathered what I could from my surroundings before heading down the narrow steps that led down to the first floor. I had to assume at the time that the stairs led to the gathering room. I found that I was quite accurate. In the chair facing the stair was the man that had found me the night before. Now that I could see him he appeared to be a gentle soul but so did many of the bitter children of my home. His eyes were large almonds of blue. His eyes surprised me. The blue matched that of the lakes I had played in many a time. His hair was a tousled mass of dirty blonde and brown. I knew I should have been wary of him but his aura radiated goodness and light. I tried to speak but I couldn’t. He took the advantage to introduce himself.

“‘Ello lass. Me name is Caleb. Caleb O’ Conner, pleasure to meet you,” He smiled warmly at me and I received the distinct feeling that I could trust the giant of a man. Raising his hand that at the time resembled a bear’s paw to me. I quietly sat in the chair as he had motioned for me to do. In the chair I felt like that of the fairies that had lived in my home. Should the man, Caleb, wanted he could have broken me in a moment. We just sat there in silence learning what we could of each other without words. I wasn’t quite sure how long it was but I found my voice eventually even if it was quiet and unsure.

“I am Calaka,” He seemed surprised by my name or maybe it was that I had opened myself enough to tell him my name. I doubt I would ever tell him what I was or where I lived. It would put my people in danger and that was something I could never do. He stared at me a moment and then flashed a smile.

“Well t’at is a lovely name for lovely girl. Would you mind if I question your reasons for being out at t’at time of night?” He wasn’t really expecting me to answer. I could tell. It wasn’t as though I knew. I was a child. I knew the feelings but not what they meant. That was a dangerous thing for me. I sat quietly for a few moments. I couldn’t tell him about me but I had to tell him something. A knock on the door broke the odd silence that had fallen over us as he waited for my answer. With a tired smile he stood and made his way to the wooden door. Behind it was a tall man but far from being the size of the other. The man only came to Caleb’s shoulder. The stranger was bony and his face was long. His eyes were squinted and reflected black.

“’ello Sir Cardon. W’at can ah be doing for you?” Caleb seemed tense. Whoever the man was he was important. Sir Cardon shook his head disapprovingly.

“O’ Conner you’re late on your taxes. Nothing short of adopting a child would save you,” I didn’t know what came over me once I thought of what I had done. Though there wouldn’t be any other options for either of us. I ran up next to Caleb. Then I did something I never thought I would do.

“Sir. He’s adopting me,” My silver eyes opened wide when I realized what I had said. Caleb looked down at me curiously but only smiled again. Cardon seemed rather perturbed when he heard that.

“Is this true? Well it doesn’t matter even if it was a ploy to get me away. The orphanage would need to check up on both of you,” Cardon sneered and turned to walk away. Over his shoulder he through the warning that sealed the fate of both Caleb and I. “Just remember, Caleb, the adoption agency closes at sunset for three weeks. I’ll be back.”

That was the start of a long and hard struggle. That night we went to the adoption building. They were more than happy to not have to have me stay there for the three weeks of closing. I had become Calaka O’ Conner and betrayed my people in one foul swoop.

Sir Cardon stopped by many times over the years that I stayed with Caleb. He became a true father to me. As time wore on I began to forget the pain I felt that night and the ways of my people. In the village I had been welcomed because of my friendly ways but still kept at a distance because of my looks. My golden hair shimmered like that of true gold in the bright sun light. My eyes were as silver as the moon but it wasn’t these things that kept them away. No, now that I think about it I realized that from day one they must have sensed the difference in me. I was more graceful than even the best dancer yet I could climb a tree quicker than any boy. These were the reasons the children kept away. The parents tried to spread rumors of me but Caleb quickly doused them so I wouldn’t hear the cruel words that passed the women’s lips. He never doubted that I knew of course. Things went smoothly for almost eight years but it was a week before my fourteenth birthday things took a turn for the worst.

I awoke with the sun in my eyes as I had for many years. I hadn’t changed my room much from what it had originally been. Except now it let in more of nature’s life. The walls were adorned with trees painted on. Caleb had taken time and built a one dimensional gazebo to place over the wall nearest the windows. Steps led to the no where of the wooden building. Living ivy covered the ceiling and crawled down the walls. The pots in the corners where it had started were hardly visible under the ivy that also spread over the edges of the floor. I had brought life into the room and given nature a place to live. One of the many song birds that took shelter in my room sang happily. I got ready for the day ahead putting on my best dress. I was to go into the market that day and buy the things we needed for the Mid-summer festival.

I ran down stairs singing a tune that I did not remember. I had heard it in one of my dreams and it stuck in my head. Caleb was setting the table with breakfast. Normally he would have set out porridge but that day he had set out eggs and bacon fresh from the store. That’s when I realized that he had already taken the trip to the market.

“Good morning papa,” I said kissing his cheek and tucking in for a bit of breakfast.

“Morning Calaka. ‘How did ya sleep?” He sat down across from me so we could talk with ease. He seemed a little tense that day. I figured that it was because Sir Cardon would be checking up on us again. The truth was not even a thought I could have stumbled upon.

“I slept well. I had another dream but nothing out of the ordinary. And you?” He seemed startled out of a deep thought but regained his smiling face quickly enough.

“Ah slept fine. So are you lookin’ forward to tonight?” He was making petty talk and I knew it but I could play that game too. If he wouldn’t tell me what was wrong then I wouldn’t ask. It was just the way it was. He never pressed an issue so neither would I.

“Oh yes. The town’s people say they found herbs that will change the fire’s flame from red and orange to different shades of green. It should be extremely interesting to see,” He nodded in the way he did when something was bothering him. Those were the times I left him to himself. So knowing that it was best to do I excused myself and went off toward the meadows in the south. They were said to belong to no one other than the plants that grew there. It had always been a peaceful place, a place of sanctuary. The cattails grew almost as high as I was. Animals roamed free and never seemed to mind my company. Many would come up to me and ‘ask’ me for a gentle scratch.

“Looks like I will be spending quite some time here doesn’t it?” I asked the plants that surrounded me when I fell into the soft moss. The cool air always seemed to calm my nerves. It was like nature herself wanted me to relax and sent the most fragrant winds to sooth me. Cherry blossom petals floated in the wind making a truly beautiful scene around me. I couldn’t help but watch the birds fly over and note something was off. Normally at that time of morning the darkly covered birds gave way to the yellow and blue birds but now they flew freely. The song birds stayed in their trees. It was as if the instincts of the creatures had been reversed. I sat up and looked around. None of the animals other than those black birds were out. Normally at least one deer would be out grazing with his or her doe. The meadow was just too quiet and it frightened me. I was not use to the change in nature. Now that I had thought of it, neither my ivy nor I had been feeling all that well recently. My ivy seemed to becoming less green and I was getting tired much too quickly. My mind raced suddenly. Did Caleb know something was wrong? Was that why he had been so nervous? I had to know. I stood and raced back to the village. Something in my stomach was warning me of something terrible that would happen soon. I could only pray that it was just my stomach and not the truth.
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