Of Sun and Moon

Chapter Nine: Training

After breakfast of sweet bread and berries for us and fish for Midnight, we got dressed for the day with our invisibility cloaks in the pockets of our clothes. We quickly did the dishes when we came back to the kitchen. Edana-Ava grabbed a basket and we all went out the door.

Before we reached where the non-magikan live, we put on our invisibility cloak with the hoods up. We all made it safely through their town and when we got farther past the tree line, we took off our cloaks. Once we stowed away the cloaks in our pockets, we walked out of the tree line. There are a lot of stalls selling different wares from food to artisan crafts.

“This is our market place. It is located over here since there are other villages like our own, but specializes mainly in livestock,” said Edana-Ava.

“This is really neat,” I replied. We mostly went to the meat and vegetation stalls since we depleted her stock. There are a lot of people are out and about. Some I never seen before and the rest smiled and waved at us. We waved back to them. Though, some of the ones I know seem to be looking at me and whispering amongst themselves. I brushed it off, but I will mention it to Edana-Ava about it later. Once we got our supplies, Edana-Ava let us walk to the artisan booths. There are booths for cloth, tapestries, and stain glass designs similar to the ones we saw at the festival. One of the tapestries my mother would have like for it is an owl perching on a crescent moon. At the booth with jewelry, we stopped at my request. Mother gave me money to spend. I found a charm bracelet with moons and suns on it. The owner noticed me looking at it and told me the price. I gave him the coins and he gave me the bracelet. I thanked him, clasped the bracelet around my wrist, and we are on our way. When we reached the tree line, we put on our invisibility cloaks with the hood up. Once we were in the clear, we took them off and put them into the pockets. Now was a good time as any to breach the subject that was on my mind.

“Edana-Ava, why were some people looking at me the way they did?” I asked.

“There are not many light element witches. It is why people are shocked to see one. I am guessing that is another reason why your mother wants you to have a normal life. Also, it is the fact that you look like your mother.”

“Oh, I see.” Then, we were home. We put away everything that we bought at the market. Ken-Farris and I are playing with Midnight while Edana-Ava is making lunch. She then called us over to the table for lunch. I made sure that Midnight has food and water before I sat down. There is bread, vegetation, and rabbit chunks. I cleared the plates and brought over more bread and a berry sauce that she made for dessert. After, lunch we did the dishes and one of us swept the floor. Edana-Ava asked us to get any dirty clothes to put in a basket. When all that is done, we went outside with a basket, and soup.

Edana-Ava tasked Ken-Farris with laundry chore. He then was off to the river. That left us girls to work on more of my abilities. The only things that I have not learned is to make objects fall and shadow making. Edana-Ava placed a flat rock on a low hanging branch nearby. She told me to concentrate on the pull of gravity. I remember what Ken-Farris told me a long time ago about the feather visualization. This time I need to visualize the feather falling for that is what I want the rock to do. I took a deep breath, focused on the rock on the branch, and on the exhale, the rock came down from the branch. She was pleased with the results. The rock got moved a little higher from the tree. I managed to move the rock from that height as well. Edana-Ava explained that if an object like an apple is dangling, you will need more force since the apple does not want to come down the tree just yet. Since we are under an oak tree with acorns still attached to the branches, she told me to make one fall. She was right, it took me a little bit longer to make the acorn fall. I finally did it though. Edana-Ava then made it a little more challenging. I have to bring down two acorns. Then, two acorns from different lengths apart did fall from the tree. We gathered up the acorns to add to our dinner.

We went back inside to wash the acorns and to prepare dinner. Ken-Farris came back with clean clothes. We each put the clothes away. I played with Midnight for a while. Just then out of the window of the sitting area of the cottage, I saw a man about my age rushing by. We all stopped what we were doing and went out the door.

By the looks of where he was running, he is heading to the elder’s house. We reached him as he knocked on the door. The door opened and the elder said,

“What can I do for you?”

He gasped, “I need…your help. Can you… assemble the villagers?”

“I will do that for you. Edna-Ava will give you a cup of water. They will lead you to the main square once you are refreshed.”

“Thank you, sir.” Elder Eldridge-Alistair went on his way to gather the villagers. Edana-Ava told him to take a seat as she went into the house.

She came out with a cup of water. She handed it the man in green and he sipped the water. Once he was done drinking, he handed the cup to Edana-Ava. She went back inside the house and when she came out again, we are on our way to the center of town.

In the center of the town where the stage is, everyone is seated or standing. The Elder is already on the stage waiting for us. The man looked at the crowd and then said,

“My cousin did not make it to my house. He was supposed to be there late this morning. I fear he has been taken by the non-magikan.”

“Not my son,” gasped the women I recognized from the Festival of Elements.

The others moaned. The elder held up his hand for silence and then everyone went quiet. I tapped his shoulder; he looked at me, and said,

“Go ahead and speak your mind daughter of the light.” It was like when Edana-Ava was about to ask if we could perform at the festival. I look toward and address the crowd,

“My name is Elena-Irene. You might know that my father was killed by the non-magikans.” They all nodded their heads, except for the one from the other village. I took a deep breath, let out, and continued by saying,

“I know what it feels like to lose someone in your life. This is why I have a plan to get him back. I do not need everyone to come. This will be dangerous but, I will need two volunteers besides Ken-Farris and one invisibility cloak. We will meet at Edana-Ava's cottage. You do not need to decide now. Thanks for your time.”

“Thank you Elena-Irene.” Everyone left to go back to their cottages. I pulled aside the one who lost her son with the cousin.

“I am sure Edana-Ava would not mind if you both come for dinner.”

“I thank you Elena-Irene,” the woman replied. We all went our separate ways. The five of us went back to Edana-Ava’s cottage.

Back inside, Edana-Ava put the acorns into a caldron along with herbs, water, and squirrel meat. As she was getting the stew cooking over the hearth, I brought out the table wear, bowls, and cups. I set the table and realized it will be a little tight around it. I am sure it will be fine. I brought the bowls over to Edana-Ava to ladle the stew. I placed one for Midnight on the ground and the others on the table. Ken-Farris filled the cups with water, and we all sat down to eat. After our dinner, I helped with the dishes. Our guests thanked us and went to their own cottage. Ken-Farris and I played with Midnight, while Edana-Ava sat down to read. We did not stay up too late since we all have a busy day ahead of us. We said our good nights and got ready for bed. I picked up Midnight, went to my room, and fell asleep on the bed.

I had a precognitive vision of Elena-Irene. She was in danger in the non-magikan’s town. I stopped what I was doing and quickly left.

After breakfast of berries, and bread, we did the dishes. We then went our separate ways to get dressed for our training.

In my room, I got out a yellow dress and got out of my night gown. After I put on the dress, I made sure I put my invisibility cloak in my pocket. It is only fitting to wear the yellow dress Edana-Ava gave me since the volunteers will be wearing their colors of their ability.

When I got back to the kitchen, there was a knock at the door. Edana-Ava opened the door, and a woman in a light gray dress and a man in a green tunic came in. She led to the kitchen table and we all sat down. She then said,

“Thank you all for coming. We will train until lunch and then for a little bit more. After a quick dinner, you will rest until it is time for you to go.”

I continued with, “I know I mentioned that I have a plan at the meeting yesterday, so this is it. This is a two phase rescue mission. The first part is the diversion and the second is the rescue. Do you have any questions for us?” They shook their heads no. “With that, let us get started.” We all got up and went outside.

Outside, Edana-Ava split us up into two groups. I am with the female and Ken-Farris is with the male. She instructed each group before going back inside. Edana-Ava wants me to levitate a rock and then for my partner to use the wind to send it in a direction. This way we can have a distraction as well as being part one of the plans I came up with. At the corner of my eye, as I raise a rock from the ground, I saw a wall being erected from the ground. It is a start for what we need to be able to succeed. My partner then, whisked the rock away with her wind. It landed a ways away from here with a thud. We tried again with an even bigger rock and it made a bigger thud when it landed. Luckily Edana-Ava called us in for lunch.

Inside, I got the table set and the placed a meal for Midnight on the ground. Edana-Ava brought supplies out for salad, fish she cooked while we practiced, and bread, and placed it on the table. Ken-Farris filled our cups water, and we all sat down to eat. While we ate, we told Edana-Ava about progress of our training. She seems to be pleased. After we cleaned up our lunch plates, we went back outside.