For centuries children throughout the realm of Faenbel have been told fables of ancient times. They have been told these stories as something to lull them to sleep, keep them entertained, or as a warning. My name is Faera. I grew up in the hills of Azura. My mother and father owned a small farm where we raised livestock. When my mother and father would go to work, I would stay with my grandmother, and she would teach me and tell me the fables of Faenbel. One night my parents had to go away overnight, and my grandmother stayed with me for The night. We ate dinner. We laughed and joked. But then came bedtime. As I put on my nightgown and brushed my hair, I looked over to my grandmother, who looked troubled. I asked her what was wrong, but she did not answer. I think she was worried about my parents. As I lay down in my bed, my grandmother pulls my covers over me and prepares to tell me a story. “Faera.” She said, “I would like to tell you of a fable that is dear to my heart.” “It is about an evil shadow creature. Their name is NoxisVilis.” She looked out the window to make sure no one was listening. “Now Faera, these shadow creatures have been around for centuries from the beginning of Faenbel. These creatures have been wreaking havoc and destruction throughout the realm. He burned villages, used shadow magic to make armies disappear, and more. Villagers, we’re getting tired of all the damage NoxisVilis is causing. A small village hidden in the hills of Adalie made a pact to stop at nothing to end the terror of NoxisVilis.” I looked up at my grandma with concern. “What did they do about These creatures?” I asked. Well, dear Faera, they decided to Trap them. They went out early in the morning and tracked this creature. They left a magical amulet that would Lure NoxisVilis out. The villagers waited for what seemed like hours. Then he appeared. He smiled and laughed. He said how foolish of the villagers to leave this behind. At that moment, the villagers sprung into action! They use magic spells and incantation to trap NoxisVilis frozen in a tree for eternity. The villagers jumped in rejoiced because they thought his rule was over. An Oracle of Adalie came out just to see if what people were saying was true. He came small Village. He talked to the villagers, bringing him to the tree where the creature was kept. He touched the tree and went into a trance. What he saw, no one expected. He saw that we NoxisVilis well one day escape. And he will come after the ancestors of those who put him away. Villagers asked when the creatures would be released, but the oracle didn’t know. The oracle told the villagers it was best that they all went into hiding. For they did not know when their time would end. All the villagers ran. They packed all their belongings, their children, their animals and fled to The far points Of the realm. Before they left, they all made an amulet similar to what trapped the creature, for if they ever were to find each other again, they would be able to identify each other even centuries later. They all went their separate ways sadly never see each other again.” My grandmother looked sad and had tears in her eyes. I looked at her and asked her why she was telling me the story usually; her stories were uplifting and happy. My grandmother looked at me and then looked down at her dress; she pulled out an amulet. She looked at me and smiled. “Faera, and we are The descendants of the villagers that put away NoxisVilis. I looked at her in shock.” “We have been hidden in the hills of Azura for centuries. And Oracle came to your parents a week ago. Our biggest fear has come true NoxisVilis Will be released soon. The oracle foresaw NoxisVilis destroying the kingdom.” I looked at my grandmother in tears. “When will he come?” I asked my grandmother wrapped her arms around me to comfort me in quietly said, “we don’t know; it could be tomorrow, or it could be ten years from now.” Being a tough 11-year-old and trying to comfort my grandmother, I said, “I’m not afraid, grandma.” I laid my head on my pillow and closed my eyes with those words. I prayed to the spirits that everything would be OK. In the morning, my parents returned. They explained that they were meeting with all the descendants that put the creature away. An Oracle explained to them that they needed to prepare for battle at any moment. For those who didn’t want to fight to prepare to flee. For those who are willing and strong enough to fight to prepare their children for the fight of a lifetime. My mother and father discussed fleeing, but their families have lived in this Village for years, and it’s all they know, so they decided to fight. My mother thought I was too young and fragile to fight, but my father thought that if NoxisVilis appeared in my lifetime, I would need to know how to defend myself at all costs. So from then on, for years, my parents taught me how to use a sword to survive in the wilderness, make traps and use magic. They taught me everything that I needed to know to survive on my own. When I was 19, they felt that I was ready. They felt that I was ready to defeat this creature if they came to me. Oh, I felt like I was ready until the day came where NoxisVilis returned. It seemed like any other day. I went out to feed the horses when a messenger came Running through the Village yelling. The vile creature has returned. I ran to the house to tell my grandmother and parents. They were in shock, but we were prepared. They let loose all the animals so they wouldn’t have a horrible fate. They got the swords and crossbows ready. The sky turned dark, and you could hear villagers running and screaming. Houses were disappearing. The fire was appearing in the trees. My mother turned to my father, gave him one final kiss, and hugged my grandmother. My father and mother hugged me, for this might be the last they would see of me. My father looked at me with tears in his eyes. At the last moment, he decided to have me run. He gave me a small package of food and yelled at me to run. I looked at him with tears in my eyes. I said, “No, Papa, I want to fight!” He looked at me with sadness in his eyes; he told me that there was no way for us to get out of this and that I Was young and would have a better chance of fighting if I ran and met up with the Oracle. I sadly agreed. I hugged my parents. I hugged my grandmother. I grabbed the bag and ran out the back door down the hill, never returning to the place that I knew as my home. The place where I grew up and had happy memories of my family. My tears were stinging my eyes, and I was getting tired of running, but I couldn’t stop. I had to find the Oracle. I had to stop NoxisVilis! I ran for what seemed like days. All I could think about was never seeing my parents again. All I could think about was my grandmother, never hugging her or hearing her stories. I finally stopped at this lake. I needed water, and I was hungry. I sat down next to the lake and sobbed. I was grieving, never seeing my parents again. But then I remembered that my father raised me and trained me to survive. He always taught me that even though he and my mother and grandmother might not be around forever, they’ll always be in my heart, and I will see them in the Elysian forest. At that moment I opened the bag that my parents gave me it had A loaf of bread, a wedge of cheese, an amulet, a dagger and a map with some writing on the back. I looked at the map, and it showed a way to get it to a small Village in Adalie. I looked at the back of the map and saw my mother’s handwriting it said “Dear Faera, I love you with all my heart. Your father and I never expected this to happen. If you have this map, it means that we are gone. Even though we are gone, we believe in you and believe that you can bring an end to this. In this bag, we leave you the ancestral amulet. With this, you will find others like you and end the reign NoxisVilis. We love you so much, Faera. Remember us always. We shall meet you in the Elysian forest. Love mama.” I looked at this map with sadness in my heart. But I could not let it linger because I had to get to Adalie. I finished my food, Dusted off my dress, and headed to the trail closest to me. I walked into the night. I found a small cave where I decided to rest at. I built a small fire And sat there wondering how I was going to and the reign of NoxisVilis. I ended up falling asleep just as the fire went out. I woke up two screaming. Villagers were running and said the creature was near. I got my dagger out and was prepared to fight. He ran between the trees and hid. A villager ran past me, yelling for me to run because they were behind him. At that moment, I jumped out from behind a tree and froze. The sight of this creature was terrifying. They were very tall two-headed beings. They wore A long robe with hoods covering both heads. They had black lips, pale skin, and yellow teeth. Their eyes were so cold in piercing. They saw me trying to attack and smiled with this crew will look on his face. He lunged at me. But he missed. I stood there in shock! A young man used A magic amulet to freeze NoxisVilis! The young man yelled for me to run, so I did. I ran to the lake where the boat was waiting. People yelled for me to get on, and I did. Before we left, the young man caught up and got on the boat. He said that Noxisvilis was stunned, which bought us time to escape. Everyone congratulated the young man on his bravery. I walked up to him and thanked him for saving me. He looked at me and smiled. He said it was courageous of me to try to defeat the creature on my own. I noticed his amulet was very similar to mine. I showed him the amulet my parents left me, and we both realized that we both have ancestors Who were part of the original villagers that defeated NoxisVilis. I shook his hand and said, “Hello, I am Faera.” He put his long braids into a ponytail and replied, “Hello, I am Zephyr. It’s very nice to meet you, Faera.” I’m very cautiously asked him if he was heading to Adalie. He said he was and asked how I knew about that. I told him that my parents gave me this map to this Village in Adalie where I was to meet with the Oracle to help end NoxisVilis.
Kathryn McGregor
