The Power of a Few

Ithilwen ~ 13

    Varion didn't wait for the group. He tromped into the forest, expecting them to follow.

   "Well," Myra said as she grabbed a sack off her horse, "I guess we should follow."

   Her father and sister picked up their own bags and followed Varion into the dense woods. He stood a few feet in, waiting.

   "Took you long enough." He said. Myra was about to say something back when Varion lifted his hands and focused his attention behind them. All three spun around, expecting danger, and a small ball of fire burst to life in her father's hand. But something else met their eyes. The light that drifted through the trees seemed to coalesce into soft streams of mist. Myra stared in wonder as the mist spread left and right, as far as she could see, covering her view of the open fields beyond the forest. Varion had created a towering wall with the mist and then he snapped his fingers. Myra gasped, and she heard Sree fall backwards in shock. Where there once were green fields, now a huge forest laid, identical to the one they were standing in.    Myra turned and saw Varion smirking at their confusion.

   "We better get going," he said, turning around, "Ithilwen is waiting."

   Myra rolled her eyes at him and walked to Sree.

   Show off.  

  She helped her sister off the ground and they continued through the forest.

   "Who is Ithilwen?" Sree asked her.

   "No idea. It's an unusual name." Myra remarked, "One of the ancient ones, if I'm not mistaken." 

  Few knew about the old names, but Myra and her sister did. According to their father's stories, after the people had dealt with the dissenting Guardians, society changed. Leaders came forward and established governments, people rebuilt towns, the Island's economics boosted, and linguistics changed. The old language had been one of beauty and reverence, but it had been cumbersome. Soon the people exchanged beauty with convenience, and they lost the names of the ancient days.

   Well... except for a few... I guess.

   They followed Varion for a few hours, passing the time with silence, as they had with most of their journey. There was just too much running through Myra's head. So many questions and information. And to be honest, she couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy. So far, everyone in her family turned out to be a Guardian. Everyone but her. She wondered if there had been some mistake? What if God had overlooked her on His "Master Check-List"? It was a stupid and silly thought, but even so it plagued her mind. She loved her father and sister, and she was happy for them, but she wondered how much more exciting it would be if she could join their ranks.

   Grow up Myra. Maybe there's something else for you to do. So stop fretting...

   If only it was that easy.

   She decided that worrying was pointless, and she tried to distract herself with the surrounding floral and fauna. Her fingers started to itch when she saw a red cardinal flutter through the trees. She froze the image in her mind and grabbed her notepad out of her sack. Soon a rough sketch laid out on the yellowing paper. She sighed and stuffed the book back in her bag, not having the desire to finish it. Sree bumped arms with her and gave her a smile. Myra smiled back and the two sisters locked arms.

   Myra almost jumped back in surprise when she felt her sister's arm. It was tense and tight, like Sree was ready to attack, or holding something in. It wasn't until that moment that Myra realized the amount of stress and pain her sister was going through. This power she received, it was almost too much for her. Myra couldn't imagine something so devastating living in someone so innocent and sweet. Myra ran circles in her head, trying to think of something encouraging to say, but came up empty. In the end she decided that she could do nothing but pray. So she prayed. While she and Sree walked arm and arm behind Varion, she muttered quietly in her soul.