Arrana - Prologue

         :Where to begin?: Arrana asked. :I have lived a great many years and have seen more things than you could have ever thought of seeing... Even in you’re wildest imaginings.:

         “I would say start from the beginning,” laughed Branimir. “But I am afraid we would be here for ten years and not hear it all.”

         The small group gave an appreciative laugh and then quieted down to hear Arrana’s story, for hers was the last, the final piece to the puzzle of their union. She looked around at the small group of newly formed friends: Branimir, the peace-loving mage; Tamrhys, the ever-cheery Alor’wien; and Nightfyr, the dark and serious Flare. All brought together by circumstance and hardships, and bound together by loyalty and trust. Trust. That wasn’t a word that came readily to her mind. It was funny to realize that she did indeed trust them, with her life...even Nightfyr.

         Arrana smiled at her musings then addressed the group once more. :Yes, I suppose the beginning would be rather long to tell. I think I could best describe it as, I was born, I grew up, and then I was sent to the temple. That is where my story truly begins.:

         Nightfyr winced a little at the sound of Arrana’s voice. Though it was as soft as a whisper and smooth as silk, his poor brain wasn’t quite used to the telepathic way Elemental Dragons spoke. He decided that he would have to teach this girl to speak vocally, for Branimir and Rhys of course.

         Arrana thought back to earlier years and her first days of entering into the temple’s service. Barely a hundred years old, still quite young for an elemental dragon, and she was being sent off to the service of Kintarra’s Temple, leaving behind all she knew and loved, to become a warrior priestess for a Goddess she knew nil to none about.

Chapter 1

         :Do I have to go, Father?: Arrana asked in her prettiest voice, and smiled. :I can be of oh so much more use here helping you.:

         :Oh no you don’t, Arrana, don’t try that innocent pleading act with me. You are the first-born and as such you are the one that must go.: Torrin said firmly.

         :Exactly Father. I am the first-born, and as such I should be here to help you keep our boarders safe from any kind of invasion, and I know that the Lyoa Clan is edging closer and closer to us every day. Besides, I thought that temple was just a myth, a story told to entertain children.:

         Try as he might to hide the oncoming invasion, Torrin had only succeeded in hiding it from the general public and most of his family. Most. Arrana had somehow found out. She was too smart for her own good.

         Ever since she was a small child, Arrana never did bother to learn or do what was proper or expected of a powerful clan’s princess. Not that it was uncommon for the females of their race to fight. In fact, they were some of the fiercest worriers, but it was just too dangerous to risk her in any battle. He felt he had only one choice in this matter, and that was to send her somewhere safe, somewhere hidden. That place was the Temple of Kintarra. There, and only there, would she be truly safe.

         Torrin sighed; arguing with her was almost pointless. There was hardly a time that he would win or that she would listen at all. He began to pace the room. This time was different; she would have to listen to him.

         :No, child, it is not just a myth. If it were, why would we even be having this conversation? It is, however, very secret and must be kept that way. It is not just any temple that any dragon may attend whenever they are feeling a little less than worthy. It is a safe haven, a sanctuary.: Torrin stopped his pacing and turned to look at his daughter. He could see that she would argue further if he let her. :Arrana, you are going.:

         With that, he began to leave the room. However, Arrana was not done with her father. She would make him hear her. She caught up to Torrin and followed closely behind him.

         :Father, I am much better suited to be here where I am needed instead of going of to be some priestess. I know nothing about that life and quite frankly, it sounds awfully boring!: Arrana looked at her father; she wasn’t about to give up just yet. If she could just make him see the practicality of her staying, if only she could show him. :If you could just let me go out into the field with you, I could show you...:

         :Nissstarranamelehosss!: Torrin abruptly stopped and turned to face Arrana. His voice was a low growl and his face was set in determination. With just that one word, he had ended the discussion.

         Arrana stumbled and almost ran into her father, she wasn’t expecting that. He never used her full name unless he was serious or she was in trouble. Arrana had a feeling it was verging on both, he was already serious and she was very close to being in trouble. She knew that it would be fruitless to argue any further, so she straightened her shoulders, stretched her wings higher and lifted her chin a notch, her pride covered her disappointment.

         :Very well, Father, I’ll go ready my things.:

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         “Um, sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt, but who is this Goddess Kintarra?” asked Branimir, with a laugh. “Tam here is just dying to know! She’s practically dancing with curiosity!”

         “Branimir! I didn’t say a thing!” said Tamrhys, nudging him. “I was going to wait.”

         Arrana chuckled and Nightfyr was trying hard not to show too much amusement. Arrana smiled at Tamrhys. There had been a time when her own curiosity matched that of Tam’s.

         :She is a warrior, protector of our people. Some say she was the very first elemental dragon...mother to us all. There are those that believe she is still alive, waiting for the day when we will need her, others believe just her spirit remains to watch over us.:

         “Oh...OK, you can continue now,” nodded Tam, seemingly satisfied with the answer for now. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked back and forth, biting her lower lip.

         Arrana watched Tam closely, then laughed, not something she did often. Being here with them made her feel lighter somehow, more able to laugh and smile. By now she had been with them long enough to know when Tam was dying to ask something and was trying her best to say nothing more.

         :Yes, Tamrhys? You have another question?: chuckled Arrana.

         Tam fidgeted a moment and smiled nervously, then she flashed a wide toothy grin. “Okay, one more quick one, what do you believe?”

         Arrana thought about that for a minute before answering. :I don’t really know Tam. I was there over a hundred years and I still haven’t decided what to believe. I‘ll let you know when I figure it out though.:

         With that, her mind drifted back to the temple and her own small, but life-changing adventure there...

Kentara's Temple

         Arrana watched the scenery pass on her way to the temple. She was trying very hard to memorize the path they were taking so that she could return to help her father once she was sure she could get away. That thought was easier said than done.

         No matter how hard she concentrated, she had no idea of where they were. It felt as if she were going through some kind of labyrinth, where each new turn looked eerily like the last. She was hopelessly lost and before she had any chance to think out any kind of direction, they stopped moving.

         Arrana frowned in frustration. She was sure if she had just a little more time, she could have figured out some form of a recognizable path. She looked up and her eyes grew wide at the site before her. There standing in front of her loomed a glorious crystalline palace. She looked at the rising towers, elegant arches and steadfast columns. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

         They were at a temple, one that was surely resurrected from some dream, or childhood fantasy for it was far too beautiful to be real. She had the feeling that if she touched the shimmering crystal; it would shatter into a million glittering pieces. They had arrived at the Temple of Kintarra.

         Torrin watched his daughter take in the site she saw before her, the crystalline temple, the priestesses in their light flowing robes, the vast gardens stretching lazily in front of the temple and the deep forest surrounding it that seemed to caress the temple with it‘s outstretching limbs. For the first time in ages, he found Arrana speechless.

         :Beautiful, yes?: Torrin asked, his voice startling Arrana out of her trance-like state of shock.

         :Huh? W-what? Beautiful? Yes. Very beautiful,: she stammered. :Who are all those women Father?: she asked, her eyes still wide with wonder.

         :Priestesses.:

         Arrana looked at Torrin, :But they are human, why are they here?:

         :They are not human, daughter, they are elemental dragons, just as you and I. They are merely in human form. You too will learn to transform and will spend much of your time here in that for.: he replied.

         :Why?:

         :All will be explained in due time, child. Now, let’s get you settled.:

         Arrana watched as her father went and talked to a young priestess, one who looked no older than a child of ten. After a few brief words she turned and went into the temple. Arrana tried to look into the temple, to see past its crystal walls but she had no luck. She couldn‘t see any further into the temple than the crystal itself, not even vague images of what lay in it’s fragile looking walls.

         A few moments later, the child priestess came out of the temple, following behind a beautiful woman. Arrana looked at the two carefully. Other than a delicate circlet upon her head and a more elaborate sterling silver armband, the woman’s robes and look were much like all the other priestesses.

         Torrin walked ahead of Arrana to meet the priestesses halfway. Once he had reached them, the child priestess made a graceful curtsy and went on with what she had been doing earlier. Arrana watched as her father and the other priestess greeted each other with the familiarity of life-long friends. After they spoke to each other for a moment, they walked over to where she stood waiting.

         :Welcome, Arrana, to the Temple of Kintarra. I am the High Priestess Laorian. We have been expecting you.:

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         Arrana looked Laorian over. By any standard she was beautiful. She had flowing locks that looked to be made from the earth’s own fire and her skin was made gold by the sun. Her very presence was elegant and graceful. Arrana hoped that once she learned to change that she too would look as lovely.

         After Arrana had said her good-byes to her father, was given the grand tour, and introduced to many other priestesses she was led to her chambers to rest. She looked around at the room that was to be hers for a very long time. It was not a very big room with elaborate decor, it was more the opposite. Her room was one of a modest size and was simply furnished with a bed, a desk and a small end table.

         She did have double glass doors that led out onto a balcony that overlooked the entire grounds. She looked around for a dresser to store her robes and noticed that there was a closet built right into the walls of her room. Though the room was smaller than she was used to, it thankfully was on the top floor and had a vaulted ceiling so that she could at least stand at her full height and stretch her wings.

         She looked dubiously at her small, simple bed. How in the world was she going to fit onto something no bigger than her head and part of her neck? She decided she would worry about that later as she moved to her closet once again. The size of this room, besides being big enough to fit an elemental dragon, was proportioned in size for that of a human. She ran a gentle claw over the light robes that were already placed in her closet. It looked as if she where going to be learning to shift rather quickly.

         Arrana was left to explore the temple on her own for a while. She thought it was simply amazing. Surely it had a magic of its own. From within the walls you could see everything outside with the clarity of looking through glass. She had stepped in and out of the temple a number of times to make sure that you could not see in as you could so clearly see out. Yet, no matter how often she looked, the view never changed.

         She returned from her wondering to her chambers. There on her desk was a note addressed to her. She smiled to think that only she had only been here for a few hours and she already had mail. She chuckled to herself and opened the letter. It read:

         Dear Newling,
                   Welcome to Kintarra’s Temple.
         Orientation will begin in exactly one hour.
         Please bring yourself and a robe of your
         choice to the Main Hall for further instructions.
         Promptness is of utmost importance. See you soon.
                   Sincerely,
                   High Priestess Laorian

         Arrana reread her note. So much for polite conversation and niceties, she thought. This sounded more like a school than a temple. She sighed, all hopes of having an actual good time here, effectively erased by that little note. It was right down to business it seems.

         She went to her closet and rummaged through the robes hanging there. She chose a light blue and purple one. As she held this tiny material she realized that the only reason that she would need to bring such as this was if they were going to show them how to shift today! Arrana grew very excited and hurriedly went down to the Main Hall. She thought of all the new things she could learn and master. Maybe staying here wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

         She raced down the stairs, feeling excited and nervous all at the same time. She arrived in the Main Hall early, and was surprised to see a number of other elemental dragons there. She was apparently not the only “newling”.

         Arrana looked around and was pleased that she saw that the other newlings were of a variety of ages and that they weren’t all female. This answered her question of if this was an all female temple or not. That made her nerves feel a little better, she had always gotten along with the male sex better than her own.

         Laorian walked into the room at the head of the hall and all the murmurs fell silent. She looked around and smiled at all of the newcomers. She wore almost exactly what she had been wearing earlier except for now upon her head was a glorious headdress made of intertwining gold and silver.

         Arrana figured that she must only wear it for announcements and special occasions. Laorian raised her hands, signaling that she was about to speak. All eyes turned to her and waited patiently for their official welcome.

         :Welcome all to the Temple of Kintarra. Here you will learn a great many things that will help you through life. The first and most important is how to shift from our dragon form to the form that resembles humans. This is a defense for us, as well as a guise that allows us to wander freely into their Lands. Also,: she smiled. :One would not look for creatures our size to be contained in a small fragile body.:

         The whole hall began a low murmur with the newlings discussing what they had just heard amongst themselves. Laorian raised her hand once more, quieting the hall again.

         :Your human body will start out as a small child, and will grow into adulthood the longer you are in that form. You will not, however, be able to control what you look like as a human, just as you cannot control what you look like now. Some of you will age quickly and some of you will not. But no matter the appearance, human form is how you shall stay in this temple. It is our safeguard and those who cannot master this change quickly, will be sent elsewhere.:

         Laorian watched the expressions of her pupils. This was a lively bunch. She had a feeling that some of them would indeed be sent off and some of them would achieve much rather quickly. Her eyes caught that of Arrana, her own daughter. How she had missed her. She wondered what she was like now, only knowing a father. What had Torrin told Arrana? Did Arrana think her dead or merely missing? She had so much to catch up on, but now wasn’t the time. She gave her head a small shake and looked over the crowd.

         :You will each be assigned a teacher to help you with this transformation. It is a very intimate process so you will have private lessons until you can handle it.:

         At her last words, priestesses and priests began ushering away newlings. Each knew beforehand who they would be teaching. Arrana waited for hers to come for her and started getting anxious. She wanted to start as quickly as she could. The hall cleared and she was left without a teacher. Doubts started to flow into her mind about whether she was meant to be here when Laorian came to her.

         :Hello Arrana,: she smiled warmly, :for this, I will be your guide.: