"Wall of Astrid--Prologue and Chapter 1" by Holly Knobloch

Prologue

            Back in time before the lands were ruled by kings and queens. Creatures roamed through the trees and hills. Some held powers only used for good while other’s only intention was to bring harm. They sought after humans and often killed or enslaved them. 

            Those were dark times and everyone lived in fear, happiness was a dream and power was just a word. However, one cold and murky morning, one man was born with astonishing powers protected the humans from harm people sought him for advice and he helped them out of trouble. But soon his power corrupted his mind, which led to an insane greed for even more power. He enslaved the people and captured creatures and forced them to do his bidding. He became so powerful everyone feared him. He became the ruler and no one dared to oppose him. He was known as Vesputo.  

            But one peaceful night a baby was born, named Evangeline, with more power then Vesputo could have ever dreamed of. The parents out of love hid her from him and gave her to unicorns, the purest creatures on the earth, to raise her. As she grew she became more and more powerful but the unicorns taught her to use her powers for good. And so on her fifteenth birthday she was sent away on a quest to stop the evil doings of Vesputo.

            They battled long and hard good against evil. But in the end good prevailed and she killed him trapping all the creatures behind a great wall. But before she killed Vesputo he promised, “Someday my clan will bear someone more powerful then even I and when they come they will finish my bidding and rule the world letting the creatures free again to roam and do as they please,”

            The girl smiled and replied, “Someday a girl will be born with extraordinary powers unlike any mage or elf in the world and she will again renew the wall and finish off your grandchild, she will succeed.” 

            Vesputo died laughing as the girl slit his throat. She shared his evil promise with only the elves that kept the legend through thousands of years. Waiting for the prophesied children. 

Chapter 1 one 

            The morning air was crisp and Nianna Edgewood hurried joyously to her small cottage at the top of the great hill. The spring air danced through the sky causing her long brown hair to fly around her angelic square face. Her blue eyes sparkled as she thought of what her mother, Amaya, would say when she returned from her long walk with a beautiful bouquet of wild flowers for the table. 

            She gleefully hummed the tune of the song her mother use to sing to her when she was just a babe. She couldn’t remember the words but the melody stuck with her through these long years playing in her mind whenever she roamed through the grassy hills on the land she grew up on. She loved the sound of her own voice mingling with the sounds of nature around her. Birds joined in singing delightfully in high-pitched whistles as crickets hummed along with their evening song. The fresh green grass tickled her bare feet and she began to giggle aloud to herself. She knew her mother would be furious when she found out Nia left her boots by the stream again but Nia didn’t care. She knew her mother would scold her and call her a hellion which she was but the freshly picked flowers would make up for everything and Amaya would forget. 

            “Moth-” she began to call as she pushed open the large wooden door. She froze numbly dropping the freshly picked flowers; they tumbled gracefully to the floor. Her heart stopped and time paused. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t even breathe. Tears stung her eyes as she gazed into the middle of the room where her mother stood frozen in time a look of pure terror adorned her face. A gray cast covered her skin and clothes. Everything was still; the birds stopped singing and the crickets ended their song. Nia stared coldly at her mother who was now hard as stone.

            Nia’s heart was caught in her throat a low sob escaped her lips, the sob turned to a cry and the cry to a screech. She screamed at the top of her lungs stopping only to take breaths then screaming some more, she screamed until her throat ached and tears were flying out of her eyes. She through herself onto the floor and wept uncontrollably. 

“Mama!” she wailed. She picked herself back up and waited for the dizziness to pass through her. She slowly approached the statue and searched it for any sign of life. She touched it lovingly trying to send her force of life into it so that she might transfer some of her life into the stone cold woman before her. Everything that had been touching her mother was now hard as stone. The look on her mother’s face would haunt her forever. She could almost feel the pain and fear looking into the statues eyes. Her mother’s once long beautiful golden flowing hair was now a dull gray and her once dancing green eyes matched the solid hair.

She fell to the floor crying until she hiccupped. “Mama!” she bawled. Her mother was all she had.  She had always been there for her. She couldn’t really be dead. Nia couldn’t grasp the fact that her mother was there right in front of her turned to a substance hard as rock. She’s just sleeping or this is only temporary, Nia reassured herself. She had to find answers even if it meant leaving this place and going all the way to the other side of the world.

Nia ran into her room stumbling over odds and ends of things out of place. She found an old potato sack and through some clothes and food into it. Something deep inside was telling her she had to go. It was like there was a ghost in the room whispering in her ear, “Go!”  

She couldn’t stay anyways. Not without her mother. There was no way she could survive in this place on her own. She had to a way to bring her mother back. She wouldn’t listen to the voice within herself telling her there was no hope. Her stubbornness was blocking its cry.

She didn’t know where she was going to go or how she was going to get there. All she knew was she had to leave and find out what happened and how to save her. 

She packed and prepared to leave all through the remaining hours of the day. Grabbing odds and ends and making sure the house was in order for her to leave. She didn’t want something bad to happen and destroy her house, or more specifically, her mother. She was numb with shock and didn’t even realize what she was doing as she did it. Those few hours were adjacent a forgotten dream when you’re only left with bits and pieces. 

By nightfall she was stocked up and prepared to leave. She comforted herself by thinking she would come back eventually but something inside her told her this would be her last time ever seeing her small beloved home on the hill. She turned to the statue and promised out loud, “I’ll be back.” She turned to leave but just as she did so she something caught light from the setting sun on her mother’s stiff gray hand.  

Curiosity got the best of her and she walked over to the statue and glanced at her mother’s finger. On it was a small golden ring. Nia knew this ring was the one her father had given her mother before he left. The woman never took it off. It looked so out of place on her mother’s stoned hand glimmering in the light. Something came over her and without realizing it she pulled it off the statues finger. Nia shuddered when her hand accidentally touched the cold rock. 

She gazed at the small ring she now held in her hand. A memory flooded her mind and she dwelled on something her mother had said a few days ago,

“Your father gave me this ring,” Her mother had said when Nia asked about it, “Someday when I die I want you to take it.” She instructed,

A sudden rush of anger filled her body as she thought of her father. She never met the man but he had left her and her mother just after she was born. Giving them nothing but the stupid ring and a small amount of money. Nia didn’t even know his name. Her mother had refused to tell her. 

“The timing isn’t right.” She would say whenever Nia questioned about it. All she knew of the man was how she inherited his strength, blue eyes, and stubborn attitude, one that never gave up. But now she would never know who he was or even his name, her mother had taken it with her holding it to herself like a precious jewel.  

She tried to slip the ring on but as hard as she pushed it was way to small. Her mother’s hands were small and petite while Nia inherited her father’s strong build. She has more muscle then most women and she knew many women envied her for her large curves and small waste. They were the ones who started the evil taunts and malevolent glares.

She shivered at the thought. They would gawk at her and mumble things to neighbors or friends whenever she passed them on the street. If she did something wrong people bellowed things at her like, “Dirty blood and bastard.” She would run to the fields and cry in frustration. She was just like them only her parents weren’t pledged to each other when they had her. She never mentioned her torment to her mother even though she could see in her mother’s eyes that she knew. Every time she thought of the village she would start to tremble and grow nervous. She acted like it didn’t matter but it did it was like a nightmare that went on forever the things people said haunted her.  Every night she fell asleep to images of them playing over in her mind.

“Stupid ring!” she said angrily on the bridge of tears as she pushed away her thoughts of the village. In reaction to her voice the ring began to grow in size. Slowly at first then fast as lightning until it fit her finger perfectly. She stared down at her hand in awe not knowing what to do or think, “Must have been made by a mage,” she reassured herself.

She looked out the window and realized the night was at its darkest and she knew she would have to be on her way. She lingered in the doorway and turned to her petrified mother, “Good-bye.” she whispered and sprinted out the door.