Chasing A Myth

Once upon a time, there were Six Provinces in the land and were divided amongst everyone. One was given to the Elves to rule, one to the Centaurs, and four for Men. Quickly, one of the Kingdoms of Men became overrun by pirates and is still their land to this day leaving only three official Kingdoms. For a while, everyone lived in harmony until the Men decided to take over the other Kingdoms. This led to five hundred years of continuous war that lingers on today and brought about the fall of magic. Now, the only good prince of The Kingdoms waits, hoping in the legend of the all powerful Elven Enchantress Avendrelle to return to his aid as the stories say.

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As the young prince walked through the halls of the palace, he became immersed into the story the tapestries told. In each wall hanging, was a battle or an important part of The War. As he walked through the halls, he saw the fall of the Centaurs, the Elves, the good wizard Oslimote, the evil sorcerer Hevindare, the elusive Princess Avendrelle, and the victory of Men. Vincent gazed upon the tapestries as he strolled at a steady pace, trying to learn something new about the War. He had studied it countless times and could not find anything that would help him. He hoped that by looking at them, something would come to him, something that would help end the fighting. Every time he thought about it, all he would come to was the fact that Men were as evil as he already knew. The old wizard Oslimote had died in the War, therefore he was of no use and Avendrelle was but a myth.

When Vincent thought of the Elven Princess, he wondered if she had ever existed. If she had and if she had been so powerful, why was she sent away? Why didn’t she destroy Hevindare during his reign?

“What is it now?” Came the voice of his pirate friend, Eugene.

Following him, the two walked at a steady pace down the hall. The sound of their boots on the wooden floor echoed through the long, empty corridor.

“This new phase of war is more than I or the kingdom can endure. Yomitear has invaded Komeatar more times then I would like to know and Tormindar can not keep taking the hits we have been for any longer. It has gotten out of hand. No one in the kingdom can go to sleep at night without a sword under their pillow and a hideout prepared for their families. With my father in his state, I have basically taken over his position. There has to be a way to end this, Eugene. What we have been doing for so long isn’t working. We can not continue to fight the way we have been. There has to be another way. What that is, I do not know.”

Eugene stopped and looked up at the tapestry. It was the one of Avendrelle on the day that she was sent away. On the tapestry it showed Oslimote, the good old wizard casting a spell that would send her away. In the background was the Elven queen, wiping away her tears on account of her daughter leaving her.

“You know, that is a story that never gets old and is a favorite amongst the pirates. Too bad it isn’t real.” Eugene laughed. “That would be the answer to your problems, my friend.”

As if lightning had stuck, something went off in Vincent’s mind that he hadn’t thought of before. Perhaps it was because of his undeniable state of desperation. He turned to the pirate with a hint of hope in his dark eyes.

“But what if it was? Real, I mean. What if it wasn’t just an old tale from the War, but something that really happened. Oslimote, the Elves, Hevindare, they all existed so why not the princess? What if Oslimote really did send her to a realm where she would be preserved and there she is now, waiting for the right time to come back. What if that time is now?”

Eugene looked at Vincent, wishing that what his friend was saying was true, but he just couldn’t believe it. It seemed fantastic, too good to be true. “I don’t know. I think it’s just a story. I’d love to believe it, but come now, how can you? If Oslimote could send Avendrelle to a dream realm, why did he not just send himself?”

Vincent hadn’t thought about this yet and pondered on the question. There were, of course, things about the story that didn’t make sense. Obviously the fact that the princess ever existed was, at this point, just a story. There were no records of her and she was never mentioned except in the tales of the War. But if she was real and if he could somehow call upon her, then perhaps his problems would be solved.

“Eugene, don’t you want this to be real? I mean, what is the point of adding such a character to a story if it really was just a story?” Vincent pleaded with the pirate.

“She was supposed to represent hope in the War and a symbol to continue to remind the people that there is hope.” Eugene told the prince. “The problem is that it's just a tale. A myth. My friend, if she was real, don’t you think she would have come back by now? Don’t you think someone would have already tried to call on her and use her as their ultimate weapon?”

Everything that Eugene said seemed true, but there was a little spark in Vincent that wouldn’t get put out. Something in him said that her story was true and that she was waiting to return. He hoped that that time was now.

“You are most likely right. However, I am going to try to find something about her. If it is only just a pinch worth of information, it could be helpful. There has got to be some way to prove one way or the other that she existed or not.”

Eugene could see how determined his friend was to find anything that could be of use to end the war. A thought flashed into his mind and he let it known to the prince. “Well, I can help you with where to start. There is an old man that sits in the back of my favorite pub, the Salty Mermaid that is, and he claims to have known the Elves. Or at least that his ancestors did. Apparently, he knows everything about them. He’s always telling stories in the pub and everyone loves to listen. He’s an old coot, that’s for certain, but he may be able to help you. You know, in every story there is truth. You just have to sift the sands of myth through truth and you will find what you need.”

However crazy it might sound, Vincent had no other ideas on how to locate information about the Elven Princess. This old pirate who told unbelievable tales, may be his only chance. He had no choice but to run with it.

With determination and a plea for hope in his eyes, the prince turned to the pirate and said, “Take me to this man.”

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The prince did not have time to ride his beloved horse these days and was grateful for the opportunity to do so. Just being on the back of the brilliant, chocolatey brown horse, gave him a freeing feeling. The troubles that were always resting on his shoulders seemed to get caught in the breeze and leave him for the ride. On a white horse in front of him was Eugene, leading the way into the Pirate Lands.

When the men came to a place in the forest that was only a short walk away from the Pirate Village, Eugene stopped his horse and dismounted. He took the reins on his horse and fastened them to a tall, sturdy oak tree.

“You’ll want to leave your horse here. You leave him alone in the village and he’ll be gone in three seconds.” Eugene told the prince.

Not questioning the pirate, Vincent dismounted and did as Eugene directed, tying up his horse to the same tree.

The forest was fairly thick, but Vincent had always liked running through the forests as a boy trying to find old, buried artifacts of the Elves. He has spent countless hours hoping to find something of the old days of magic. He had even tried to use an old call that would supposedly bring the nymphs out of the trees singing. Sadly, that had never worked, for it was said that all of the nymphs died during the Fall of Magic.

Having always been fascinated by the old days, he treasured everything he found. He still had all of the artifacts spread out throughout his room. Most of them, like the broken Elven ones, he had no idea what they once were. He had spent a lot of time in his youth trying to figure it out, but could never identify all of them. One particular was a sort of crescent shaped band. It was made of thin wires intertwined with a diamond or two. Someday, he thought, he would figure it out.

As they neared the Pirate Lands, Vincent hoped that this old man would be able to give him some insight on the mythical princess. It was time for the war that had lasted five hundred years to finally end. He may be the only one that thought it even remotely possible. He knew though, that there had to be a way. The kingdoms were surely not doomed to a forever war, were they? He hoped that the princess was real and that if and when she came, she would be more powerful than any wizard had ever been.

As they got nearer to the Pirate Lands, Vincent’s mind switched from thinking about the war and the hope the princess could provide, to pirates. The Pirate Lands were a place that was never ventured upon by the ordinary man. It was not a nice place to be with the piracy and crime, as you could imagine, rose higher than the moon. Of course, as long as you were not caught, there was no harm done. However, if you were caught stealing from another pirate or some other form of illegal activity (illegal to what we know it as to some extent) you were as good as dead. If the pirate you wronged didn’t ring you through with his sword, then you would be taken to the captain where he would do much worse than make you walk the plank, though he did get a kick out of that from time to time.

As they walked through the streets pirates yelled at both of them. Some were welcoming shouts to Eugene; he is the son of the Captain. And some were not so warm greetings to the prince.

“Ah, there ye Prince! He ne'er been' er' before! Give ‘em the pirate welcome!” Shouted one man with only one foot.

“Look a’ em’! He’s a purty one!” Laughed one woman sitting on a barrel with a large mug of beer in her hand.

Keeping a keen eye on all the pirates, Eugene whispered to Vincent. “Pay no attention to them. They’re all either drunk, mad, or just dirty pirates.” Eugene said, smiling and waving to the onlookers.

“And don’t” Eugene added, “try to come here without me. Without a pirate’s escort, these scum won't have a problem stripping you in hopes of making a quick penny.”

The hollering continued as they approached The Salty Mermaid. It was by far the biggest and most well kept building in the town. Above the tall wooden doors was a sign with the name of the establishment and a rather interesting carving of a mermaid. When Eugene opened the doors, the smell of alcohol and the loud sound of pirates almost knocked the prince over. Though he was incredibly used to battles and death, this was different. Not worse, no nothing was worse than the sounds and smells of battle, but it was very strange and extremely overpowering. The place was packed full of pirates. Some sat on the tables or the bar. Some stood around in the middle. Some on the stairs and others who knows where! There seemed to be pirates everywhere. It truly was a mystery how all of those pirates fit into one place.

The bar was stuffed full with them, shouting and demanding more drinks. There were a lot of pirates, men and women, sitting at the tables playing cards and gambling. But near the back in a corner were a few older pirates swapping stories and complaining about the others. Eugene pulled up a couple of chairs beside the old men and he and Vincent took a seat. There were three aged pirates, all incredibly wrinkled. One was missing an eye, one wore a hood that covered most of his face, and the other was missing all his teeth but one, a precious golden tooth.

The one with the missing eye talked first. “Well if it ain’t Eugene, back from his ‘ventures! Got any good stories for us, boy’o?”

Eugene smirked. “More than I have time to tell, but don’t worry, I’ll get to them. As you can see, I’ve brought a friend.”

The old men looked suspiciously at the prince, wondering what someone like him would be doing all the way out here in Pirate Land. Again, the one with the missing eye spoke.

“Ah yes, the pretty boy. A prince from the looks of em’. What is he wantin’ from us?”

Vincent leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Information. I want to know anything you have to say about the legend of the Elven Princess Avendrelle.”

The old men became quiet for a moment, for that was not a topic that was often spoken of, especially by the younger generations. The silence hung over the group for just a moment as the old men looked at each other. Then the one with the hood over his face began to speak to the prince about what he wanted to hear.

“Ah, an ancient story is what you want to hear?” Vincent nodded and the old man continued. “Well then get comfortable as I tell the story of the princess.”

When the hooded pirate spoke it was different from the others. He spoke so much better than the others. Though that wasn’t hard to do, Vincent was glad since it was hard to understand what some of the pirates were saying.

“Somewhere around five hundred years ago now, a princess was born to the Elven King and Queen. At birth, the old wizard Oslimote bestowed upon her the gift of magic. His brother, Hevindare, who at the time was just learning to be a wizard and kinder than anyone, gave the princess the gift of power. Ha! He would regret that later! Anyway, she was beautiful beyond comparison to human girls and grew up to be more beautiful than even any magical being. And powerful too. But the princess never had a chance to use her powers to save her kingdom. When she was only about fifteen years of age, her kingdom was all but destroyed in the War of Men. When only herself, her mother, a small army of Elven warriors, and Oslimote were left, the wizard conceived a plan to end the war. But it was unlike anything that they had expected. Knowing that the hearts of the kings were corrupted and that his brother was now more powerful than him, he knew he could not defeat Men.”

“Now this is where it gets interesting. It is told that Oslimote used the last of his power to send the princess to a dream realm where she would be safe, unaging until it was time for her to return. As you know, the wizard, the queen, and the last of the Elves were soon thereafter killed and the Fall of Magic began as well as the continuous War of the Kingdoms. Apparently, when Oslimote sent Avendrelle away, he gave her the gift to travel into the dreams of the royals so that she would know when it was time for her to return. When the descendent of the kings is ready to end The War, all he has to do is call to Avendrelle in his dream and she will come to him and defeat the kingdoms.”

Vincent reclined back in his chair, overwhelmed by the story the old pirate told him. With everything he had, he hoped that the story was true. He hoped that he was the prince, the one that with everything wanted to end the war, that she would come to his aid. But how? How could that all really be true? How was he supposed to call out to her in his dream?

“Do you think it is true? The story?” Vincent asked the pirate.

“Aye, every word of it.” From underneath the hood, you could see a smile on the old pirate’s face.

“How can it be?” Vincent wondered.

“Magic, my boy, old magic.”

“But if it were true, why has she not yet returned?” The prince continued to question the old man.

“I said so already, boy! Listen! There hasn’t been a good king since The War! She is only to return when there is one!” Then the pirate understood. He became quiet for a moment and then slowly began again. “Ah, ya think you are the good prince, aye?”

“I want to find out.” Vincent said, determined.