~Following Elora Collmary~
In the year 1987, Elora Collmary was born in a small town populated by a small non magical community, plus a few Druids. Her family are generations upon generations of farmers. Elora's mother fell in love with a horse trainer who worked in the stables. Their love for one another was true to anyone that set eyes on the couple. Elora grew up and developed a passion for cooking, she even wanted to open a cafe in town. With the continuous teachings of her friends who were studying herbs and Botany, allowed Elora to expand her arsenal of knowledge of the culinary arts. With this knowledge, the food she made had always been of the highest quality, both in taste and in presentation. She learned how to use food in a way that not only tasted good but could also help a person's health improve. Because… just because don't question it.
~
Elora is in the middle of checking her pantry, searching for her favourite ingredient. After a few minutes of wrecking the order of the cabinet, Elora comes to the horrible conclusion that they're out. 'Why today of all days! The one day someone actually asks me to cook specifically with this ingredient is the day it's gone. What even is my life!?'. It's an early day for the 11 year old Elora,she has no patience for today and comes to a reckless decision. 'It's fine, I can just go looking in the forest, nothing bad ever happens to defenceless children going into a mysterious environment without any adult supervision… right?' Elora shrugs off the brief hesitation she feels and heads out to find the ingredients. The kind of grass' medicinal value only occurs after it rains and It just happened to have rained the night before, Elora could still remember the thunder from outside her room.
The young girl trudges through the muddy terrain as she normally would, straying off the path that led the whole way through the forest to the other side. 'It should take about an hour if I'm lucky'' is what Elora estimates as she passes over the river bank on a conveniently placed log.
'Always follow the river', Elora remembers one of her books telling her this, so following the river bank to the bigger bodies of water is her best option. Elora follows the river until something catches her eye, a little bit further away from the river just hidden in the bushes. She stops walking and hears what sounds almost like growling coming from the bushes. 'Is it a wolf? There hasn't been a pack of wolves in the forest since her dad was a child. They were all chased out by hunters and the farmers because they kept killing the cattle.'
The brunette carefully backs away from the river, she's ready to start into a sprint but then another sound, a cry. 'That sounds almost human? Was there someone hurt? Did the wolf attack them and leave?' That's what she hopes as she carefully starts to cross the stream of water, trying to make as little noise as she can. When Elora gets to the other side she crouches, placing herself behind a bush to see through them.
'What the frick!?' Elora's mind screeches to a halt, the creature before her driving all thoughts from her young brain.
A dragon…Dragon! is lying right before her eyes, its mint scales caked with blood and mud slowly rise and fall as the large creature breaths.
Elora covers her mouth just in time, preventing a screech from exiting her mouth. She's never seen anything like this, sure she's heard the odd story here and there, but even after magic was reintroduced into their world dragons and other mythical creatures are all said to not exist. Elora never thought she would see a dragon. She's in the presence of a dragon!
She tries to stop her thoughts and get a grip on herself to try and figure out what she should do. But of course nothing is ever easy for Elora, this is proven when her foot slips through the bushes. The creature is quick to react, it tries to push itself up from its lying position, the oversized lizard lets out a groan. Elora slowly moves the rest of her body away from the bushes and puts her hands in the air in a peaceful gesture, hoping to show she did not have any weapons on her so she doesn't get incinerated.
The dragon is still trying to stand, looking at the child with visible suspicion in its eyes. "Please don't kill me, I can help, only if you want of course" Elora says softly, trying to sound as nonthreatening as she could be. The dragon focuses its gaze on Elora's youthful brown eyes and silence fills the humid air. Elora can almost feel the dragon watching her every movement, waiting for her to react.
A drop of water falls onto Elora's face, making her snort in surprise. The dragon relaxes as they watch her. looking up at the sky where raindrop came from, Elora completely forgets about the situation she's in.
The rain heavy's, this distraction causes Elora to panic. Now she's worrying about how the weather took such a drastic turn for the worst. "Hey Dragon thingy, it's raining really bad and you look kinda sick. if I help you get better in some form of cover nearby will you let me live?" Elora says, focusing her attention back on the dragon, extending her small hand. The creature in question looks more relaxed than before and it even nods, giving some form of agreement.
The rain starts to pour even harder, this triggers the dragon and the supporting body of Elora as they limp towards a cave where the giant reptilian had most likely been resting. There they sit in the cold. Elora, getting bored, reaches into her bag of ingredients that she takes everywhere for literally no reason and starts pulling them out of her bag.
"I've been learning how to use magic infused recipes to treat injuries. All I would really need now is a little bit of time" Elora says this as she shows the spirit the items she's collected. With a tired look at Elora, the dragon sits down to sleep, only giving a relaxed snort in response.
Elora realises that the rain will not relent, the sound of thunder tips her off as it crackles in the sky. This gives them both a fright, they both look to the cave's ceiling, as if it will open and allow some lightning to come in at any moment. Elora takes a second to calm before turning to the dragon, she sees the dragon's signs of fear of the rain and starts "You know, whenever I feel scared my mum and I bake something to take our minds off of it. wanna try?".
The dragon looks at Elora and nods its large head as a sign of agreement."Okay, first thing I will need is something that isn't wet for the fireplace" Elora says, eyes sparkling with glee.
The dragon nods again and turns to the pile of leaves and wood that Elora crafted as a sitting place. "Perfect!" Elora exclaims, walking over to the pile of leaves and begins grabbing anything that felt dry enough and putting them into a pile.
"Next a fire source- Ah!?" Elora shrieks as the spirit lifts her onto their head and breathes a green flame. "Th-that's one way to do it" Elora stutters out, repositioning herself on the creature's head. The fires crackling soothe both the girl and the dragon, the overgrown reptilian tail wraps around the fire, placing Elora next to the fire the creature wraps her up as well.
"Luckily, I brought a pot for collecting huh?" Elora says as the pot boils, water with a mixture of ferns and berries stew in it. The sound of the rain and the crackle of the fire creates a peaceful atmosphere as they both sit in silence. The bubbles on the water burst as the food boils. "It smells pretty good huh?" Elora says, turning her head to the dragon as they lay next to her.
The dragon's snout twitches as it sniffs the food, a low rumble of agreement comes from them. Thunder claps again and lightning strikes, lighting up the entire entrance of the cave making them both jump. "You know I think I know why you dislike the weather hehe" Elora says nervously as she pats the creature.
"The food's ready!" Elora smiles, she pulls a bowl out of her bag and displays it in front of herself. "How do I have a bowl you may ask?" Elora continues as she pulls a spoon out of her bag. "My friend gave me this bag that can fit almost anything in it, she's been taken as an apprentice to a famous witch and has learned all sorts of enchantments. I actually really wanted to learn magic too, I mean anyone can become a sorcerer but… nevermind, go on have a taste" Elora explains as she lays the bowl of soup on the floor in front of the Giant reptile.
The creature hesitates for a second, then they lap their tongue across the soup's surface. They lap it up a couple of times and pause, what can only be bewilderment runs over their face. "What is it? Do you not like it?" Elora says, worry clear on her face. The spirit opens its huge mouth and swallows it whole, luckily, it's nice enough to spit its bowl back up. "Oh so you like it? Do you want more?" Elora questions with excitement. The dragon smiles happily as they take another serving of soup.
Later when the rain stops, Elora is fast asleep on her substitute bed as the dragon keeps watch. The supposed to be mythical creature looks at Elora then back at the entrance. Thoughts echo through their head 'This child saved my life, stranger than that, the child's cooking I can actually eat?' the spirit thoughts were interrupted by the movement of said child. 'Maybe I could…? No no, she's still young, let her live a little… but eh, what's an old spirit got to lose'. The spirit looks at the child. They move towards the child slowly so as to not wake them.
'Long ago in times of war, spirits would form contracts with humans to keep their domains safe. With these contracts, humans and spirits could communicate and had a bond, a bond that let people use the spirits' connection to magical energy for themselves. These contracts were a rare sight in these ages as spirits distance themselves from humans and others. The only reason a spirit would be seen is if it's protecting their domain.'
'Spirits could always feel the intentions of those that enter their domain. Elora is just a child who wants to collect some ingredients. If they were to give her that. The existence of spirits wasn't revived as the new era of magic started so it is not known in the present day. But that makes it all the more strange that they were able to eat Elora's cooking. Us spirits should be incapable of eating anything made by mortal hands. But for some odd reason, Elora's cooking changed its makeup so that they could physically eat it'. 'Should they at least try?' The dragon looks at Elora again. 'This child was the first person to make me an edible meal in centuries'.
The Spirit speaks "Me to ónomá mou kai ti foní tou dásous aftó to paidí eínai i sýntrofós mou". As they speak, an array of colours burst around the sleeping child.
The glow shimmers as it disappears around the child's arm leaving a mark. 'It's only right I give something in return' thought Ane as they walked out the cave.
Elora stirs from her sleep as she feels a gentle breeze flow over her. She wakes up, pushing herself from the ground, and she is met with an empty cave. "Did the Dragon leave? Or did I dream it all?" Elora says, looking around the cave.
The spot where it should've been was left with no one insight, only Elora's bag next to her reminds her of what she was there to do.
Elora in the end packs up her things and heads back to the village before her family could be more worried then they most likely were.
As Elora walks back up the path she used before finding the spirit, she finds a lump of ingredients lying there with some apples next to them. Elora smiles and yells "THANK YOU DRAGON!" The wind blows in her direction, messing with her hair as if it was saying thank you back.
Elora makes it back to the village where her mother is by the porch waiting for her. "Mom you won't believe the day I had, there was this giant dragon a-and " Elora starts. "Okay slow down, how about you tell me over dinner" Her mother says, lightly pushing her back to go inside.Over dinner she tells her mom and dad about the dragon and how she helped them.
Her parents look horrified at the experience. They then told the story to their town's expert Druid. Her father nearly faints when he sees the strange mark on her arm. They then asked the Druid what the mark was and what it meant. The Druid took them into an empty tea house before explaining the myths behind spirits and contractors and what exactly it's supposed to mean for the young girl.
Elora none the wiser doesn't understand the gravity of the role she now plays until she is older. She now has a contract with a spirit and not just any spirit, a head elemental spirit.
She, over the next few minutes, is told to never tell anyone about the marking or the experience for her own safety. And mostly it would be possible to hide it, but as Elora grows so does her connection with the spirit.
~2 years later~
13 year old Elora is standing atop a small mountain, ready to jump off. "Ready!" she yells. The reckless teen jumps off and begins plummeting towards a pancake death, when a flash of green catches her. "Elora you should really stop doing that" ανεμο says as their feet meet the ground.
"oh please Ane, where's the fun in that?" Elora laughs as she slips off the spirit's shiny mint scales. The spirit turns to Elora. "I was thinking, I have a friend who would love you to go to their school" Ane says, looking at the sky.
"Really? Who would you know in this century if you're like a million years old?" Elora says, her voice a sarcastic drawl. "Miss Elora Collmary that there is no way to speak to your teacher" the Spirit sighs, exasperated by the girl.
"Fine, I'll go to their school. What is it?" Elora says, staring up at the spirit. "Xekinímata. Her school is called Xekinímata. It's located in western Australia, more specifically Perth" Ane says, meeting Elora's incredulous gaze.
"Did you just say Xekinímata? FRICKEN Xekinímata!?" Elora exclaims, looking at the spirit in utter horror. Ane has one of the biggest shit eating grins, exposing their many rows of sharp teeth.
"THAT SCHOOL IS OOBER RICH, AKA, NOT FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME" Elora screeches as she points to herself. "I mean, despite the lack of money, my use of elemental magic is super bad. You'd think because of our bond, I'd be super talented or something but I barely have any control of it" Elora rambles.
"Elora, think. You'll be fine, they'll just go under the assumption that you're a normal elemental" Ane says to the panicking teen.
"If you say so, but if this backfires it's your fault " Elora says, leaning on the spirit for support. She looks up to the evening sky, so much has changed in the 2 years since she met Ane. After that night at dinner with her parents, she would meet with the spirit almost any time she could.
When her parents first met them they were in shock. It was very amusing watching them sputter at the sight of a dragon. Now she has to learn how to control her new magic. Ane explained that the reason why she developed these elemental abilities is because of their bond, and how their natural element is air manipulation of the 'atmosphere' category.
She cooks for other spirits that cross into the forest to visit Ane. They are all surprised by how they could eat her cooking. That is how she found out that it was not normal. Life has changed more than she could ever imagine and now she's going to an academy, and not just any academy, one of the most well known ones for magic users.
~
"No not in a million years" Elora's mother says as she puts a dish on the drying rack. A loud clack comes from the dish as she does so. "Mom, just hear me out," Elora says, grabbing the dish from the rack, drying it with a cloth then stacking it to the side. "If I go to this school, I could understand my magic better. Plus, I'd be learning magic no matter what school I go to, so why not send me to one of the best." Elora continues, taking another dish from the rack slowly drying it, seeing herself in the reflection. "Ever since that summer in the forest with Ane I've wanted to know more about my magic'' Elora looks up from the plate to her mother.
Her mother looks at her with an expression that screams heartache. Elora is her only child, and she can't imagine losing her. Elora has always been adventurous, ever since she learned how to crawl, she would always find trouble. She was off in the forest next to the small town, always bringing back new herbs and ingredients to add to her recipes. Letting go of Elora now and letting her leave the nest is what she is supposed to do, she has to try and do it.
Letting her daughter explore and go where she wants was always her dream for her child, when she was Elora's age the ideal future told her to get married and have kids. Looking at her child now all grown up wanting to go and live her life, who was she to tell her no? With a smile on her face, she answers her child. "Elora, I love you and trust you to make the right decision. but if you were to go that means doing your own laundry and you have to call me every night on the house line and if they don't have one you go up to that school board and tell them you'll need one".
"Mom, I know" Elora hugs her mother tightly, then with a huff she looks at her mother and says, "And mom you shouldn't have to worry, Ane will be able to sense me no matter how far away I am. we'll still be bonded to talk so if you feel worried just ask them to send a message from you".
"Enough of that, go and take a bath, you smell like the rotten cabbage the pigs eat" Her mother says, pinching her nose cheekily. "Okay okay" Elora says as she starts heading towards the stairs.
That night Elora calls her dad over the phone and tells him about how everything was going. Elora's father had been given the opportunity to train horses at one of the ranches in Florida not wanting his family to leave their little village he went on his own; the only request he made was for them to call him every night. At the news he almost faints being the drama queen he is. He cries over the phone about how proud he is of his daughter for being accepted into a school of that calibre and that he wishes for her to have the best time.
"So does that mean that you're starting the school year in January rather than September?" Her dad's voice rang over the home line. "Yea, the tickets have not been sent yet but I'll be leaving about three days before the school year starts so the twenty sixth or the twenty seventh of January. But it's all still a little uncertain" Elora says, twirling the home line cord around her finger.
"That's in three months. At Least you'll be spending Christmas with us. I'll be off on break from the 13th of December to the end of January so at least I'll get some time with you." Her father sighs, hopefully they would enjoy their time together.
After that night Elora starts spending her last few months with her friends and family. Her friends go crazy when she tells them about her going to a school overseas. They have never even left the state, they were determined to make sure that Elora sent them postcards and gifts.
The head of the village puts an enchantment on Elora's arm, concealing the marking. They tell her that it will disappear when she falls asleep as the bond's natural reflex is to protect the person when they are asleep or in a weak state.
Right now, she is laying down in the forest. A clear blue sky met her eyes up above while soft green grass met her eye on the ground. Ane lies next to her as a support, sleeping and enjoying the sun. it almost felt like a dream to her sleeping in such a wondrous place, but her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Ane "Elora I have to tell you something about your spell casting abilities" They say, looking at her. "Yes? Is there a problem with it?" Elora asks, confused. "No nothing wrong with it, I just forgot to tell you. Because most magic users form a magical core of some kind in early childhood, like sorcerers and warlocks, and some have a fully developed core from birth" The spirit says, making sure Elora is following what they're saying.
"Sure?" Elora says, pushing herself up from her sitting position.
"Because you don't have magic of your own, the more magical energy you use, the more harmful this could be for you. So be careful and don't strain yourself" Ane says, worry filling the creature.
"Thanks Ane" Elora says, hugging the spirit nuzzling the soft fur.
"It's the least I could do, now aren't you supposed to be packing your bags instead of hanging around me?" Ane jokes.
"I already packed everything silly, I'm actually here because mom doesn't want me in the house, probably making a big surprise for saying goodbye tomorrow," Elora says, heaving herself into the spirit's shining scales.
"Well, I think you've had enough time with me. You could always try summoning me if you need to," Ane says.
A muffled sigh is all they hear before Elora hugs them harder and says "Promise you'll answer my summon".
"Of course, I will!" Ane says, snuggling Elora.
"Then I'll see ya later" Elora says, pushing herself off of them and walking in the direction of her house.
"And Elora, be sure to not-" their sentence is interrupted by Elora.
"Show my mark I know, bye Ane" she says, waving to the spirit.
Elora makes it back home to the predictable surprise her mother and father had indeed set up for her. Her neighbours celebrate her final night in their village.
They're laughs last until the late night where most went to bed and Elora ends up with a gift from her druid friend.
"It's a book filled with all types of herbs," her friends explain. Apparently, it was a joint effort to give her the widest knowledge of herbs before she went. Elora hugs her friends with no words to say, only crying a little as she fully realises that she was going to the other side of the world.
The morning sun rises over the horizon, at its first rays Elora's smile meets her parents as a bus arrived at their local bus stop.
"Now remember to get this number right okay" Her mother says, writing the number down on a piece of paper.
"Okay mom I love you too I'll remember it" Elora says lovingly, taking the paper from her mother's hands.
"Did you pack your passport?" her dad asks with concern in his tone.
"Yes, dad it's on my carry on" Elora says, reassuring her father.
"Mom, Dad I'll be fine" Elora says to both her parents while bringing them into a hug. The moment could last an eternity but would be gone in the blink of an eye.
"We love you too now go before you piss off the bus driver" Her mother says, patting Elora's back.
Elora let go of her parents and slowly got on the bus. Sitting next to the window, the bus engine roars. The bus starts driving away causing the smiling faces of her parents to slowly disappear as it moved. She watches the hills and roads that have been her home all her life fades out of sight.