Legends of Belariath

Zoey deMare

Zoey's Storm

Zoey was born in a small happy colony of water fae. The small lived on a harsh outcrop of rock that rose in the middle of the Belarian Sea. They had no name for the place they lived In the middle of the small circular island lay a small crystal clear pond that collected freshwater rains and helped to sustain the beautiful water faes. A few trees seemed to surround the small pond, their straggling roots clinging to the craggy rocks that rose steeply from the pond sides. Along these same high lifting steep walls, caves were scattered here and there and this is where the fae made there homes. Each family decorating there homes with colorful kelpin wove mats and soft pillows made from the molted feathers of birds that also inhabited the bed seemed to flourish in each of the small but comfortable caves.

Zoey's cave was decorated in the commonly bright blues and greens that seemed rather abundant among the colonies of fae. Most of her younger years were spent traversing the treacherous rocky path that led to a small beach on the western coast of the Island, though her parents had forbidden her to leave the realm, knowing she would not be protected once she left the ridge of the rock encircling the sacred pond. But nothing could deter her, her own curiosity and her love of the animals she had met there kept her going there despite the dangers.

One of these trips began as usual, Zoey yelling at her mother that she would be fine there and that she need not worry so much about her as she was grown now and could take care of herself. She grabbed a few of the small bricks of pebble bread. Made from the small berries that grew from the enchanted trees and looking like small pebbles, the bread was a constant of the fae, along with the berries themselves. She places them in a small cloth and tosses it into her knapsack, also filling a skin with water and adding it to the pouch before strapping it to her back, kissing her mom once and opening the fold to their cave and leaving her home. She hummed a sweet tune her father had taught her as she left the cave and looked up, starting to climb the steep and rocky path, her blue and green wings fluttering softly behind her. She had often thought of trying to fly to the other side but knew the strong breezes might destroy the delicate membranes that were her wings and carry her out to the dangerous sea.

She made it to the top, panting only slightly as she was very well used to this kind of exertion as she traveled this path almost daily, only the rather violent sea storms leaving her to waste in extreme boredom of her family's cave. She turned and looked back at the speck that was the pond, not knowing this would be the last time she looked upon the place she called home. She then smiled as she crossed the shimmering wave that bordered the entire bowl shaped valley of rock, escaping the realm that had protected her people from outside influence and harm. She looked down to the great sea, not know it had a name, only knowing that it held a mystery she hoped one day to discover. She climbed slowly down the steep descent, catching her breath once as a few loose rocks broke from the path and she stumbled a bit before grabbing a small outcrop od rock and pulling herself up. She shook herself and continued down the path, smiling as she finally reached the small beach on the western side, laughing as her friends snorted, sending a puff of water from their blowholes on the top of the large heads. She ran into the water, reaching to stroke one of the dolphins along his back fin, grabbing it as the dolphin started swimming and pulling her along, a symphonic ringing of laughter rose from her soft blue lips as she kicked her legs and let him lead her through the waves and the dark blue-green seawater.

She played with the group of dolphins for most of the day, losing track of time and the rather nasty looking black clouds that suddenly appeared. One of the dolphins clicked and flung its head towards the sky, lifting high in the water and making a loud noise. She looked to the sky, a sense of fear and dread coming over her as she swam to the beach. She looked up to the storm, hoping there was time to get back to the valley. Scurrying to grab her pouch and flimsy clothing, she didn?t stop as she headed back up the rocky path. Soon a rather hard rain began to fall and the fae began to slip and slide along the already dangerous route home, she heard a rather loud roar from behind her and looked back only to be smashed against the rocky wall by a giant waves. She cried out, swallowing the blue-water, trying desperately to spit it from her mouth to breathe until she felt the hard smack of the rock against her body, her light being pulled out to the giant sea. She was picked up by a current and carried along the great seas surface, her tiny form floating along the surface. She awoke some time later, her entire body ached and she could feel the stinging the salt water caused from the slashes along her back. She heard some clicking faintly and tried to right herself in the water, seeing no signs of land in either direction, she called out to the dolphins.

As the friends approached she grabbed onto the larger ones dorsal fin and let him drag her weary body along the waves until he brought her to a rather large beach far away from her own small island home. The place was called Belariath, though she knew this not. She made a small camp on the beach that night and gathered driftwood to make a small fire, casting a small firebolt onto the rather dry timber. She slept under the stars that night for the first time in her life. And as she stared up at the bright lights in the unreachable sky, she cried for she knew she would never see her home again. She watched with awe as she saw one of the bright lights shooting across the dark heavens and she made a wish that she would make the most of this and that she might be protected, learning from any fortune, good or bad, that came her way. She sang softly into the night as she curled into a small ball, her shimmering irridescent wings wrapping about her lithe form and keeping her warm. In the morning, she gathered some strange looking fruit and ate some before placing a few pieces in the ragged pouch that was now her napsac. She then headed into the unknown new world, leaving the beach upon a small path that led through the forest.

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