Out of the Hallow

Chapter 1 Hilltop

"Hilda?"She thought she heard a familiar voice. She stopped, her hand resting on the mouth of the cave. "Hilda!" Again, that same voice called out. She looked forward, squinting. Hilda could see the sun glowing bright, shining from out of the darkness. Outside, tall grass danced, blowing in the cool midday breeze. A few inches away from the entrance, she saw a group of men walking. She stepped out a little." Hilda!" the calling echoed like a sea Siren to her ears. It was hypnotic. She felt both cool and warm. "Hilda!" The voice repeated.

Her heart was calm. She felt a rush of loving comfort. Hilda tried to turn back and run into the cave, but she couldn't move. She found herself drawn back into the Hallow. The darkness called her in an echoing tone.

"ENDUR! ENDUR SAMUEL!"

Hilda knew better and planted her feet, knowing the cave wasn't for her at this point. She felt hands grasping her...

Hands of the Elves and their magic came to help her. "Come. Follow us." Hilda felt the Elve's arms were invisible. Mystical hands clasped her shoulders and led her out of the cave.

"Don't look back or you'll turn to stone, becoming one with the Hallow"The elvish whispers were distant. Their touch was there yet it wasn't. Hilda followed the Elven spirits out of the Hallow to safety."Anaya-Hym. Thank you." Hilda said to the group she had seen outside the cave earlier. Elve's magic was powerful, leaving your body even more so. It wasn't an easy task and was tiresome. It was a separation of not only the body, mind, and heart but the soul.

Hilda'shair was blowing in the cool breeze behind her. The Clan Elves of the Red Forest Magi stood. The Hallow was a mystical place, beautiful and mysterious yet not one to enter without care. Weeping darkness lived within, like mesmerizing singers caught in the wind.

Eddipushad left for Clan Master Dante to find what path lay before him. He needed to find what cure awaited the blessed tree. The magi saw that, knew that. They had no inkling of Eddipus and Hilda's torrid secret. They only knew that she had led him to the cave to bless the warrior with a safe journey. The head clan magi, a high Elve, bearded, and donned in a long robe approached Hilda from the clan. "Will you be coming back?" A voice echoed around the group. It was Thehead clan magi whose mental powers were beyond comprehension and he was wise beyond his years. The Telepathic speech came easy to him. Hilda nodded and looked around at the magic gathering around her.

"I must go to Sister Lisa. It is my duty. I made a promise to the warrior Eddipus."

"...andwe must take you to Sister Lisa, Priestess Hilda of the High Groves."

No mountain Elve or even forest one had ever broken an ancient statute, for love, devotion, or lust. The red were perfectionist people. Each magi had different gifts. One had the ability to bless sentient beings. Another saw blessings within others. 

"Clasp hands with us so we may traverse to the Hilltop village." One shorter Elvenmagi said and they all gathered, hand in hand. In a moaned chant, they began to use a kind of travel magic or Portal speech. Darkness flowed like a funnel in the sky. Hilda felt the familiar pull. It was the portal to their beautiful Hilltop village. The darkness had engulfed them, but only for a split second, a blink and they were safe at Hilltop. Safe, but what of Eddipus? That was all Hilda could think of other than Sister Lisa.

The magi dispersed and she wandered toward a small hut, Sister Lisa'shome. Her thoughts were still with Eddipus. Was he safe? Did he make it to Clan Master, Dante?