Circumnavigating Yggdrasil

" Class! Open your textbooks to page 37." It was boring even when it was interesting, thought Clara. She had a photographic memory, so the only subject she was not good at was math, and that was because she was too impatient to solve a problem, even though she knew the concept. It sucked, Just like her life. Clara Cyan was a 17-year-old high schooler studying in Verdale, a town so small that everyone knew everyone. She often heard from her grandma about the old days when her grandma used to roam freely in the city, which back then was just a small settlement in the woods with huts and wells, and her adventurous hunting expeditions which led her to meet her life partner, Erik Cyan. Their home was the biggest one in the town, which had two levels, and was fondly called Cyan Dorm by the locals. She shared it with an older brother, a younger sister, her mom and dad, and of course, her grandma. Her father was a local Lumberjack, and her mother used to tailor clothes for the villagers who couldn't afford to buy from retail stores, which were tens of miles away from the town. The high school was just a building with some seven or eight classes and a mediocre playground. There were sports teams in the school, but there weren't enough players to participate in varsity tournaments or other sports meets. It was just there, and she had to live through it for another two years to go out into the world and do something she loved. The guys were, well, worse than the school. They just knew how to date but were sore losers at things like treating them as individuals and respecting them. The parents of the couple were the real trouble. If they even heard a rumor about two people going out, they got down straight to business- like where should the marriage be held, what gifts would the groom's family give the bride and all the usual village traditions which were useless. Her dating life was, without a doubt, dead and rotting, and she was the girl in the middle of school groups. She was liked by some people and disliked by some, but she didn't have any real friends and just sat through school and went home to help her mother with the household chores or accompanied her father to the woods because she loved being there. It filled her with a sense of belonging and often tugged at her drive for exploring weird and distant places. Her father often used to tell her it was because their ancestors were explorers. " It is in our blood, Tora." he used to say. Her father called her Tora because he sensed she had a wild drive towards all the things she wanted to do, and her grandfather said she was a prodigy, same as Thor, the god of lightning. The sound of the school bell ringing made her snap out of her thoughts. She rushed toward her house, hoping to catch her father on the way to his job. Clark Cyan was a respected gentleman in the town. He had a small business that provided jobs to the needy and brought some money to support the local business and get on with their lives. He was going into the woods to cut a fresh batch of trees and was waiting for his daughter Clara to rush to him after school like she always did. Clara loved roaming in the woods. After a few moments, Clara appeared on the horizon, waving frantically at him. "Come now, Tora! I was just about to leave. Quickly!" "Sorry, dad! I stopped on the way to get Mia some dragon Lillies." His second daughter, about two summers younger than Clara, was a quiet thing who loved gardening and planting trees. Every time Clark went to the woods to cut trees, she would give him seeds to sow so that the woods would continue to thrive. She loved Dragon Lillies and liked to use the red color as a dye. "So how was school, Tora!" "Boring, dad! Come on, let's finish work and go to the house. Mom said she's cooking something special today." The woods stretched ten miles wide, and on its other side was another town called the Vandrel, which had the only bus stop to the city. Clara and her dad walked around into the woods, looking for places they could find somewhere they already didn't cut. They found a clearing toward the end, and Clark started chopping down an Oak tree while Clara monkeyed around the area, looking for something she hadn't discovered yet, or a treasure map. She loved quests and often wondered why there were no treasure hunters anymore. Dusk was settling when Clark finally completed cutting the tree into small parts. Together they loaded the logs into a tramp, and continued to make way towards Cyan house. The delicious scent of the roast steak was overwhelming. As soon as Clara had a whiff, she ran towards the house into the kitchen to admire the dish. Mrs. Cyan was a frail woman who had recently turned nine and thirty. Even though she was close to forty, she had the aura of a woman in her twenties, always ready to go the extra mile for someone, and helping was her second nature. She was surprised when Clara came into the kitchen, as usually her husband and Clara returned home around an hour later. "Hello, Tora. How did you both return so quickly today?" "I might've told dad you were making something special for him, and it gave him a boost." Mrs. Cyan chuckled and said, "Well, go freshen up and ask your dad to do the same. Dinner will be ready in a minute." "Where is Mia? I got her some Dragon Lillies." "She is with your brother. Be a sweetheart and call them in too, dear." " Sure, mom!" Clara made her way towards the backyard, where her brother and sister were in their treehouse. "Hey, Mia! Harry! Dinner is ready. Get down." Harry loved to tease Mia by following her around, trying to get her to be active. He couldn't get her to do anything which wasn't remotely related to plants and paints. They got down, and Clara went to Mia and gave her the Lillies. "Wow, Clara! I love these. Thank you!" "No problem. Harry, tell dad mom made dinner, will you?" "Alright, Tora. Go into grandma's room. She was looking for you earlier. Clara rushed to her grandma's room. She loved the tales her grandmother told her, all about quests and her adventures, and of course, her warrior grandfather. She entered the room, but there was no one inside. After a few minutes, her grandmother came into the room and exclaimed, "Tora! I've been looking for you!"