Endless Rain
Untold Stories
Divine Stories 3: Young Magical Lady
© Acrocat

The Valley of Hope thrived under the combined reign of Afrain and Kyrlian. New children were born to continue the work of their elders. Afrain and Kyrlian’s first child was a girl whom they named Lana. Lana had her father’s dark hair, but her eyes were as black as the night. Soon afterwards a son was born, who could have been his father’s twin by appearance. They named him Baku and had high hopes for him. His sister, Mikomi, was born soon after him and was an exact copy of her mother. Their next child was son whom they named Sendo. Sendo was a big blonde baby with soft blue eyes. Even after having four children, Kyrlian’s belly soon began to swell once more to bring the little girl, Chi, to this world. Chi was an exact copy of her father, though she had her mother’s fierce golden eyes. Twenty years after Afrain and his followers had settled into this valley, his family was made complete with the birth of their last child, a small boy with dark purple hair and black eyes whom they named Tiko.
Lana had always been a difficult child. When she was still small a lot of her parent’s attention was focussed on her ever-pregnant mother and her younger siblings. She grew distant and was frequently gone for most of the day. Her biggest failing however, was her growing interest for the world outside of the valley, and the Demons that lived there.
Baku was a calm and responsible boy, always ready to help and support his mother during the later stages of her pregnancy. He also took upon him the task of watching his younger siblings while their parents were gone.
Mikomi was the light of their family. If she wasn’t smiling, she was smiling. Everybody loved her, and she had quite a few friends. She was also favoured by her parents and her siblings. She was particularly close to her brother Baku, while she often received looks of hate from her sister Lana, who basically stood in her shadow. She was often playful, sometimes driving the people around her to the point of irritation, but when that happened she would simply put on a sad face and everybody loved her again.
Sendo grew up to be large and bulky. He was strong, even as a child, and filled his days by wrecking his toys and that of others and provoking fights. He was the village’s bully and at times, though rarely, he could be seen with his sister Lana. Usually those meetings resulted in mischief caused by Sendo, which he would be punished for, while it was Lana who’d made him do it.
Chi was small, but very fierce. She loved to train with her trusty bow and arrow. At times people would make the mistake by treating Chi like a little girl, mostly because of her size, but those incidents were usually settled by a small demonstration of her archery skills. She wanted everybody to know she could take good care of herself. She had a temper, and sometimes aspired to be like her sister Mikomi, but her parents made it very clear to her that everybody was beautiful in their own way.
Like Chi, Tiko was also quite small. Quite often he was the target for Sendo’s bullying. Tiko became very shy and silent over the years. He was cute when he was a small boy and his mother cuddled him perhaps a little bit too often, even in public. Very often Tiko blushed about that, but didn’t dare to say anything about it. His father would sometimes berate his mother over it, but that didn’t make the cuddling any less.
It is clear that the children of Lord Afrain and Lady Kyrlian grew up like any young child, each with their own life and personality. They did have a certain status and prestige, but during their early childhood they were like any youngster. It was when their magical powers began to awaken, when they started to realise that they were different from most of the other children. Lana and Sendo tended to abuse their powers, often causing trouble for their parents. Baku was often the one to try to hold the peace, but Lana was very slick and slipped away from her brother’s watchful eye. Though the family was far from being perfect, the valley continued to thrive, and as the children of Afrain and Kyrlian grew older, the tensions between them seemed to reduce; seemed, because it held no truth.
Causing trouble in the village eventually grew to be tiresome to Lana, and she devoted more of her time to the study of Demons. When the people left under the guidance of Afrain, they brought all kinds of important stuff with them, like important scrolls holding the history of the world; much like this one will serve that same purpose in the future. Lana had found a nice spot in the nearby forest where she could spend hours reading the manuscripts. Eating became the only reason for her to slip out of her hiding place to return to her house.
Her time to return became increasingly suspended as the years went by. Lana was nearing her eighteenth birthday when she suddenly didn’t come home for supper anymore. The people thoroughly searched the valley, but did not find her. It was perhaps two weeks later when she returned to the village. Her mother ran to embrace her, but Lana did not hug her mother in return.
“Where have you been?” Her father asked her sternly when Kyrlian finally let go of the eldest daughter.
“Outside.” Lana replied.
“Outside? Outside where?”
Lana looked at him as if she was looking at a complete idiot, “Outside the valley of course, where else?”
“Are you crazy?!” He bellowed, “Without my permission?! It’s dangerous out there!”
Lana shrugged, “I’ve read enough about Demons to know how to handle them father. There was no real danger, I was just checking up on things out there.”
“We were worried sick about you! Those old texts do not compare to the real thing!”
Lana pursed her lips, “Affection father? It’s a little late for that don’t you think, besides, the Demons are not that bad. I wanted to do some field study to add to what I’ve already read about them.”
Lana’s seeming carelessness made Afrain white hot with fury. What was this young lady thinking?! Anyway, he needed some time to cool down, “Go to your room.” He commanded, “I’ll deal with you later.”
There hadn’t been many occasions in which Lana had listened to her parents, but this was one of them. She even smiled slyly as she proudly walked towards her house and went to her room. Later that night Kyrlian and Afrain sat down to discuss their daughter’s behaviour.
“What do you think Kyrlian? How will we deal with Lana?” Afrain asked his wife.
“I think it’s beyond our capabilities to deal with her right now dear.” She replied, “In just a few more days she’s a woman.”
“Woman or no, she’s my daughter!” He bellowed.
“Dear calm down. Did it ever occur to you that she was trying to please you for once?”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s never received much attention from us, and when she got it, it was mostly negative. Perhaps she sought out the Demons to help you protect us.”
“But it was so foolish of her.” He balled his fist, “She didn’t need to prove herself like that. Why did she always have to be so difficult?”
“It’s not just her fault, but ours as well dearest. Perhaps all she really wants is a bit of love.” She thought for a while and then snapped her fingers, “Why don’t we find a suitable husband for her?”
“What do you mean dear?”
“Think with me here Afrain. She does not accept our love anymore, but perhaps if we find a nice young man for here, she’ll settle down. Like I said before, she’s almost a woman now and it might be beyond our capabilities to deal with her because of that. Why don’t we let someone else continue her education? A husband will be equal to her, and is allowed to scold her for her misdoings.”
“And who do we dislike so much to saddle up with this task?”
Kyrlian glared at him, “Now that was just cruel Afrain.”
“True though.” He said seriously, “Lana has caused many problems and the people know that. I don’t think there’s anyone who’d volunteer to marry her, especially with the prospect of ‘continuing her education’ as you phrase it.”
“I’ll find someone.”
“ Then I’ll make sure she will show up at her own wedding.”
Afrain left the village immediately afterwards, moving towards Hiyou Lake directly in the centre of the valley. It should be known that the lake was not always as large as it has been right now. Endless rain does tend to fill up a body of water. During Afrain’s time it was hardly more than a puddle near a big rock and the Fairies had made their villages along its outer edge. As he approached, one of the Fairies fluttered towards him to greet him.
“Greetings Lord Afrain.“ He said as he bowed while fluttering in front of Afrain’s face, “For what reason have you approached our humble homes?”
“I’m here to see Master Silver. Is he near?”
“He’s at the underground village my Lord. I will take you to him.”
The Fairy fluttered off towards the big rock next to the lake. The Fairies had used their magic to create a cave inside the rock. From there they went underground. The cavern below was huge, even by Human standards. It housed a large quantity of Fairies, who’s made their homes in the walls. Fairies were able to reproduce very fast Afrain noticed. The corridors were large enough for Afrain to walk through, and soon he and his guide entered a large room where a Human-size building stood build against the wall. They entered and soon a silver-haired Fairy came fluttering to them.
“Greetings my Lord Afrain.” He greeted, “How are things going with your family?”
“Greetings Master Silver. They are well, though I’m troubled about my eldest.”
“Ah yes Lana. I’ve heard she’s come back. How is she?”
“Fine I think. Though a little bit out of her head. Would you actually believe that she went to visit the Demons?”
The small Fairy gave a startled gasp, “How could she! They’re dangerous!”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her.” Afrain sighed, “Anyway, my wife wants to marry her off to try to prevent any future excursions. I expect that she won’t take the news lightly, so I need someone to keep an eye on her, someone inconspicuous.”
“You’ve come to the right person my friend.” The Fairy smiled, “I’ll send one of my best men to watch her.”
“That would be great. I’ll see you at the wedding?”
“I’d be honoured my Lord.”

The next day Lana heard the verdict, “Marry me!” She screeched, “That’s absurd! I don’t want to be married!”
“You don’t have anything to say in this young lady. I’m still your father, and you’re not an adult yet so you’ll have to abide by my decision. You’ll marry whomever your mother and I will tell you to marry.”
Lana growled and ran out the door. She did not know that a small creature fluttered right after her. Lana wasn’t going to escape this time.

To be continued...