The Awakening: Artifact of Creation (3 page)

His grandfather turned and smiled.
“I have lived a full life Asher. That artifact is worth more than
all of our lives. Now go!”

Asher ran to his horse at the far
end of the field. He quickly untied the horse and hopped on. Behind
him he could hear shouts from the soldiers. With his feet in the
stirrups and hands on the reins, he took off at break-neck speed
toward the forest. He raced across the field of yellow grass which
lined the forest’s edge.

Asher quickly risked a glance
behind him. He saw one of the soldiers end his grandfather’s life,
with a plunge of a blade through his grandfather’s belly, his
grandfather fell to the earth, dying from the loss of blood. The
tears began to stream down Asher’s face, his heart sunk with a
sickening feeling, still he continued fast through the field and
into the forest.

After they ended his grandfather’s
life, the soldiers took chase after Asher. Technology and speed
were on their side as they rode speeders, vehicles developed by the
Federation to navigate treacherous terrain. Asher could hear the
whine of the speeder engines behind him. Another quick look behind,
revealed that the soldiers had cleared a considerable distance
between them and Asher, they were nearing the edge of the forest.
The gap between them narrowed quickly.

Asher’s horse continued at a brisk
speed, Asher whipped hard on the reins determined to put distance
between him and the soldiers. He continued swiftly through the
forest, branches and trees were just a blur in his vision. He
ducked beneath limbs of trees, careful to avoid them, then a branch
appeared in front of his face. A sharp pain radiated across his
forehead, blood trickled into his eyes, and his vision blurred and
then there was blackness.

Chapter 2

Asher awoke to
faint rays of sunlight which shimmered and shifted through the
trees of the forest. The sound of birds filled the air with life
and vitality. Wearily he glanced about, waiting for the fogginess
of sleep to disperse, so that he might think clearly. In the
faintness of the morning, he realized his horse was nowhere to be
found. Hurriedly he glanced about, searching for some sign of the
whereabouts of his horse. All he saw around him was bushes, ferns
and massive trunks of redwood trees interspersed with pine. Panic
festered inside of him. In the saddle bags that were strapped to
the horse, was a few days rations of food, skins of water, and
hunting supplies. Without them his chances of survival would
diminish greatly.

He tried to recall memories of the
previous night. He remembered his flight through the forest, with a
handful of soldiers closing in on him, there speeders clearly had
advantages over his horse. Asher had been fortunate enough to out
whit the soldiers, his familiarity of the forest gave him a
distinct edge. After he escaped the soldiers, his mind suddenly
went blank. The next thing he knew, he awoke on the forest
floor.

An aching feeling developed on the
top of his skull, it radiated with pain. He placed his hand on his
head and felt a lump, a bruise had formed that was tender to the
touch. Then he remembered. During his escape he was hit in the head
by a branch. He remembered it wasn’t a branch from a tree, rather
someone had swung the branch deliberately to knock him from his
horse. He did not see any distinguishing features of the person who
hit him, other than it was a girl.

He sat down on the ground to think
more. His fingers traced the outline of the necklace his
grandfather had given him just before his grandfather was killed.
He brought the pendant out of his tunic and fumbled the ancient
relic between his fingers. He wondered why the relic was so
important to the caped man that he killed his grandfather over it
and evaded his home. As he pondered, he watched a mysterious glow
inside of the glass sphere. It whirred about with a red aura
intermixed with black clouds. It reminded him of the great storms
that would surge upon the western seas. He heard stories from
travelers about the destructive power of these storms. The storms
would begin as spiraling mists and then crash upon the shore line
destroying everything in its wake. Perhaps, if the tiny storm
inside the relic were allowed to escape, it would destroy those who
held it. It was a thought Asher quickly dismissed. In any case,
Asher could only speculate on the importance of the relic,
obviously it was something of great power. A power his grandfather
never mentioned to him.

Asher’s hypnotic stare was
interrupted by the sound of cracking sticks behind him. Quickly he
turned about in the direction of the sound. Behind him, on a small
mound of dirt covered by ferns, a small creature stared back at him
with wide curious eyes. The creature was a mere three meters in
height and had a frail frame. Its fingers were crooked and bent.
Its knees were awkward and knobby, which protruded out of a grey
tunic that was covered with dirt and grime. The creature’s facial
features were triangular, with a droopy nose and long pointy ears.
Asher could not help but laugh to himself at the pathetic looking
creature.

Asher smiled and patted the ground
beside him, as an indication to the creature that he was a friend,
and that he meant no harm. “Hey there, are you lost?” Asher asked
the creature. The creature cowered behind the ferns. After a
moment, the creature timidly poked its head into view. “It’s ok, I
won’t hurt you.”

The creature decided it was safe
to proceed and it pensively hobbled towards Asher. Its hands were
tucked under its chin as if it were afraid to touch anything else
in the forest. The creature pointed a long finger at the necklace
around Asher’s neck.

“
Pretty...pretty thing. Makes Alby
happy.” The creature let a grin cross its face.

Asher chuckled to himself and
turned to sit ‘Indian style’ in front of the creature. “You like
it? It was a gift from my grandfather. Do you want to hold
it?”

The creature bobbed its head up
and down rapidly, overly excited to hold the necklace.

“
My grandfather says it’s an
ancient relic. Will you be careful with it?”

The creature bobbed its head once
more. Asher handed the creature the necklace. The creature cuddled
the necklace in its small hands and gazed upon it
longingly.

“
Your name is Alby? I am Asher.
You must be a forest-elf. I have heard stories about your people.”
Alby looked up from the necklace and a snicker crossed its
face.

“
Yes Alby is forest-elf, last of
my kind. Mistress protects Alby. Mistress will be very happy with
this pretty thing. Alby thanks Asher for pretty necklace.” Then in
a whir, the forest-elf spun on its heels and vanished behind the
small mound of ferns.

“
Hey wait,” Asher shouted after
the elf. “That’s not yours. Give it back!”

Asher stumbled to his feet to give
chase. He watched the forest-elf poke its head out from under
bushes and around tree trunks. The little forest-elf ran circles
around Asher, as it dashed about on all four legs. Then, Asher
realized the creature was playing games and had taken the same
series of turns. He decided to simply wait for the elf to circle
back through the same route. Finally, he cornered the elf behind
the trunk of a massive redwood tree.

“
Got you now, you little thief,”
Asher said and jumped around the tree. To his surprise, he did not
find the elf as he had expected, instead, he was staring down the
blade of a long knife. Asher hesitated. The hairs on his neck
prickled and stood on edge. A thought crossed his mind that he had
been caught by one of the soldiers from the previous night. He
traced the tip of the blade to the face of a girl. Asher let out a
sigh of relief that it wasn’t a soldier from the previous night.
She stepped forward and dug the tip of the knife into Asher’s chest
drawing a prick of blood. The forest-elf emerged on her shoulder,
handing her the necklace.

“
Get back now, don’t make this any
harder,” the girl said, jabbing a little harder with the knife.
Asher moved away slowly, careful not to stumble over any
rocks.

“
Who are you?” She
asked.

“
Miss… if you will put the knife
down...I will explain.”

His words were interrupted when
she brought the blade higher, this time under his chin. “Okay fine.
My name is Asher. That necklace was a gift from my grandfather, I
need it back.”

The girl looked at him curiously.
She pulled back strands of dark brown hair which had fallen in a
tangled mess in front of her eyes. Asher continued to stay calm,
careful to not make any sudden movements. He watched the girl
carefully, as she circled about him with the blade pointed at his
neck.

She was dressed in forest-green
traveling leathers and wore knee high boots. A bow and a quiver of
arrows was strapped to her back, along with a large traveling pack.
Clearly she was accustomed to the forest and accustomed to
robbery.

“
You don’t look like anything
special.” She said and circled back in front of him. “Why were you
being chased last night?”

Asher didn’t quite know how to
respond. “They are after that necklace your little thief of a
friend stole from me. They are dangerous men who will kill anyone
with that necklace.”

The girl sheathed the blade and
took the necklace in her hand that Alby had handed to her. “The elf
is not a thief; he is my friend.”

“
Oh you both are thieves then. And
you both happen to be friends?” Asher asked sarcastically. “How
convenient.”

“
Stupid boy,” The forest-elf
interrupted. “Alby is friends with girlie-girl. Alby no thief.” The
elf then made mocking faces at Asher. The girl giggled to herself
and patted Alby on the head.

“
Alby is right. Stealing is a
matter of perspective. Is it wrong to steal so you don’t starve?”
She asked him with an honest look. Asher couldn’t help but be
enchanted by her emerald green eyes. There was something about her
that felt different, it felt almost other worldly. He felt his
feelings slip for her. Then he realized how foolish he was. He and
his family were in danger and he did not need to be distracted by
the looks of a random girl in the forest. Especially one who robbed
him and held him at knife point. But still the feelings were
there...nevertheless. In any case, he needed the necklace
back.

“
Please just give me the necklace
and I will be on my way.”

“
You have no idea what this is do
you?” She asked. Asher shook his head ‘no’. “This is one of the
seven Artifacts of Creation.”

“
Artifacts of Creation? I have
never heard of it.” Asher said with a look of confusion on his
face.

Kayla could see the blank stare on
his face. “Oh dear, where do I start. The artifacts were created
thousands upon thousands of years ago. There are seven artifacts in
total that are scattered throughout the world. The legends say that
whomever unites all seven artifacts together, will inherit the
power of creation. Imagine the ability to create anything.
Mountains, trees, gold coin, and… even entire planets. The
possibilities are only limited by the imagination of the user. For
centuries, the artifacts have been safeguarded in various temples
by those who possess the power of the Awakening. Without their
power, the artifacts could fall into the hands of evil men and
then.... well you can imagine what would happen.”

Asher had heard legends of those
called the Awakening. He heard his grandfather speak of the
Awakened, but Asher only considered them to be fables to entertain
around a camp-fire. “I thought that the Awakened was just a
myth.”

Kayla shook her head. “I have seen
the power of the Awakening once…when I was a little girl.” Kayla
paused a moment.

“
You seem to know so much, can you
help me find the Temple Anin’Nar?” Asher asked.

Kayla studied him for a moment and
shrugged. “What’s in it for me?”

Asher debated about how much of
his situation he should reveal but decided the entire truth was
best. “Those soldiers that chased me killed my grandfather, but
before they killed him, my grandfather asked me to return the
artifact to Anin’Nar... I am not sure why…”

She debated for a few moments. “I
will take you to the temple and no further… deal?”

“
Deal.” He said.

“
My name is Kayla by the way and
you already met Alby.” She said with a warm smile. “Oh I am sorry
about your horse. I had to send it into the forest to get those
soldiers off your tail. And that bruise on your head, I have no
idea how that happened.” She snickered to herself and brushed past
Asher. “Come on its this way. It’s a day and a half’s walk to the
temple. Hurry.”

The three continued deeper into
the forest. The trees became taller and the vegetation denser as
they continued. They walked all day, drinking fresh spring water
and catching fish for food. They talked little as they journeyed.
The sun melted into the sky and the stars soon appeared. They slept
soundlessly in the stillness of the forest.