Chapter 1...The maiden discovers a world outside...
Once upon a time, in a land far away, indeed very far away...there lived a fair maiden. Dwelling under a mountain of thunder, a magnificant and aged forest kept the world at bay, her nearest neighbors known only by occassional wisps of woodsmoke. The maiden was content with the everyday affairs of living; providing for herself; keeping her little world in order. For months at a time there would be no sign of life to spark her interest and so her hours were spent with learning and magic.
As she learned the craft, left her by the elder, she began to see that there was indeed life outside the wood. Sifting through pages of time and space she caught glimpses of others, mirrored images muted in shifting color. Needing to see, needing to feel, she gathered her new found power around her and called the others into the light. A response arose to surround her. A powerful response. More than one, she found the magic hid multitudes and their hunger brought fear. She swiftly shut the magic into itself and tucked them away.
She would not call out again. She practiced by route small ungainly tasks, commending her own ability and strength of will. She went about her daily chores, trying to push it away, but the book pulled at her mind, twisting with life. She became obsessed by the thought of it. The feeling of them. When the time came that she could hold back no longer, she opened the book, tingling with excitement and fear. As her heart beat loudly in her ears, she called to the magic within.
Again the response filled her. The others reached for her, offering themselves page by page, warm touching feeling. Ideas flooded her mind and fear went the way of innocence as she reached into the deep and pulled them to her. Somewhere inside she knew the magic was not real. Not like the house she lived in nor the elder who had laughed at her childish antics. It flowed like honey, touching her once and slipping through her hands. It sang in the offing and dazzled the eye; it cloaked her in warmth, a silent seduction. The maiden embraced the depth of every line, drank it as nourishment. She reveled in the humor of some, empathized with others, drawn to those who lived in a world that did not see them. She forgot herself and gave into her feelings, no longer alone.
As days passed to weeks, she came to know others by name, a handful of friends. Lonely hours disappeared. She slept less and less with the need of it. She craved the book and its charms and would turn to it as she woke, like a lover. She felt it growing around her, weaving tightly her reality into fantasy. From deep within her heart she heard the elder, gone so long, yet still within. "Care should be taken child. The magic has a wildness that grows and tangles should it be loosed without boundary." The maiden clung to this thought, repeating it over and over in her mind, grasping at the life she had known, and as she listened it tore at her with the pain of a lost dream. It sliced through her, stopping the flow of her heart for one beat. The maiden felt herself break into a thousand pieces. Smoke on the wind. Shattered ice. She closed the book and walked slowly away.