Hello everyone and welcome to the first chapter of The Guardian of Animals: Road to Chaos. This is going to be the first book out of two, possibly three.
PLEASE NOTE: I began this story long before the Trickster series. Therefore, Numair and Daine have no children. And in this story Alanna's children are pretty much unheard of. Just keep that in mind! :D
Also, when you're reading there may be a lot of mistakes and just plain bad writing until around chapter 20. Hopefully this doesn't dissuade you from continuing your reading of this epic tale. I am in the process of re-editing this very moment. I started this story in middle school you see... haha.
Disclaimer: let's keep it simple. No I do not own anything in the TP series.
Chapter One: The Baby
The God's prophesy
Two countries will take a turn. One knows It. One has It. It has the meaning of life, power, magic and jewel. Lands will collide. Blood will spread. All for It.
A man and a woman were walking down a dark street that had a faint glow from the moon overhead. The woman's smoky brown curls bounced lightly to the relaxed pace that she walked. Her cloud blue eyes were fixed on the road ahead of her. She was very attractive for her age, which was around her late thirties. Her delicate nose and full lips brought out her stubborn chin. She wore a simple blue cotton shirt and a pair of gray breeches that brought out her already capturing eyes.
The man beside her was very tall and fit for his age. His long, stubborn black hair was slicked back into a long ponytail that rested just below his broad shoulders. His powerful dark eyes took in anyone who gazed at him. His nose and mouth were soft with a few shallow lines around them. He wore a dark green cloak covering his black breeches and forest green shirt.
They were on their way to one of their suite in palace, when they heard a faint cry in the distance. The women, without any effort, changed her ears magically to those of a bat's. Her ears wiggled until she caught the cries.
"What is it, Love?"
"It's a baby, Numair," said the woman slightly astonished. Her bat ears slowly changed back to their natural human shape as the couple walked towards the sound.
The baby was lying in the middle of a darkened alley. When the couple inched closer, they were perplexed by what they saw.
The baby couldn't have been more then a month old. When Daine picked it up and removed part of the blanket that covered its body, she could tell it was a girl. The girl's face wasn't the thing that surprised them though. The baby's hair was a pale color of emerald green, with a few strands that shimmered like glitter. Her eyes, they thought, were a darker emerald green. But it soon changed to an ocean blue. In fact, the baby's eyes never stayed the same for more then a few seconds. It would switch between these two shades continuously. Both the man and the women were trapped in her gaze until the baby looked away. Numair found himself utterly puzzled.
"Daine?" Numair questioned uncertainly.
"Let's take her home and feed her before we jump to conclusions," Daine suggested trying to look confident. She fingered a silver claw that was wrapped around her neck. Inside, she was just as amazed as her husband.
The next morning, after the baby was fed, bathed, and had a nice sleep without any complaints or interruptions, Daine and Numair decided to take a closer look. Daine fingered her claw for a few moments of thinking, then she closed her eyes.
When she opened them, it took a moment to comprehend what she saw. Finally she whispered, "Great Merciful Goddess."
"What is it Daine?"
"She's poured with Wild Magic! That not all. She's got the Gift too. There are also green fibers, tons of them. She must have some type of power over plants. There's also a lot of gold. I don't know what that one is. But Numair, there's barely a red human fiber! It's all copper! More then me!"
Daine, as a wild mage, had copper fibers threading through her due to her father Weiryn, the hunting god. Daine's Wild Magic gave her the ability to talk to animals, enter animal's minds, heal animals, and even transform into them.
Numair Salmalin took a deeper look into the already mysterious baby. He searched her Gift for the strength of her power and what she could do. He never did expect much Gift from anyone. Strong powers were a rare phenomenon to come by. This time he was wrong.
After around a minute of searching he concluded that she had the Gift of light, healing and, physical. He had the Gift of a little light and physical, but didn't have a hint of healing.
Numair was the strongest mage in Tortall, until the baby came. Numair, formerly Arram Draper, studied at the university in Carthak. But he was driven out by his former friend the late Emperor Ozorne.
"This baby has a pitless Gift," pointed out Numair. He trembled in astonishment. Sweaty hands made him wipe them on his robe.
"A what?"
"A pitless Gift was a myth told by the ancient Tortallans. It said that some could be born of a Gift that never drains because their will is made from the Gods."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I wish I knew."
"Well one things for sure, your brain is never ending. Seriously Numair, don't you get head aches?" Daine joked.
"That's what meditations for, Love."
Daine gave Numair a look that could peel wallpaper. He smiled at her innocently.
After a few moments silence, the baby started to whimper. Daine, relieved she had something to do, tended to the baby while Numair sat in a trance of thinking.
Later that night, Daine and Numair's ten year-old daughter came home from one of the palace's multiple balls. Their daughter's name was Laloria, and she was very mature for her age. Though she had a small dose of Wild Magic, her looks encompassed her father's. She had shapely eyebrows and dark eyes. Her straight nose was the only fault in her beauty, which went out a smidgen too far. Her wavy, long black hair was fought to be put in a pin. The extra hair flowed out like a fountain. Her dress was light lavender with a high neckline and hem that went down to her black boots.
"Mother, father." She bowed mockingly to each of them, "Who is this?" She asked, her voice filled with curiosity.
"This is a baby we found in the street. And stop acting like a court girl you're scaring me," Daine added when the girl started battering her eyelashes. "She isn't normal. Her eyes change color about every five seconds. Her hair is green, too. She doesn't even have a name."
Laloria looked over the infant, her fingers lightly brushing the soft green tresses sprouting on her head. "A peculiar hair color," Laloria stated as she admired the child smartly.
"The best guess I have concerning her origin is that she is from the lands south of Carthak. Though honestly it's just a hunch. Do you think George would know?" Numair suggested. George, formerly the King of Thieves was now the back up spymaster. Considering both of his occupations, he was a genius when it came to cultures, legends, and secrets. His wife was Alanna of Pirates Swoop and Olau, known as the Lioness and King's Champion.
"Well I am a little homesick," Daine confessed. They lived only a couple days ride from Pirate's Swoop anyway.
"So are we going to adopt her?" Asked Laloria, eager for a little sister, even one with green hair.
"Why not?" Numair asked. "And if we are to adopt her, we should name her as well."
Laloria thought for a few minutes, thinking of a perfect name for her sister.
"Romeli. The Old Thak word for Emerald."
And so the baby began her first steps to finding who, or what, she really was as Romeli. The girl of Emerald. But things don't always go as planned.
Well. Even as I have re-edited it, I still don't like this first chapter very much, so don't judge my story on it. It's more of an epilogue actually. Well please continue on, for if you don't you are really missing out on a lot.