The following is an excerpt from chapter 1 of Child of Gaea I hope that you enjoy this morsel and continue on to read the others. If you haven't read the Prologue yet, please read it here: Child of Gaea Prologue. Please note that this writing is Copyright © 2006 by the author, Jeff Ehrmann and is subject to change without notice.

Child of Gaea, excerpt from Chapter 1: Bad News (first draft)

Indeed, Alimaye was quite beautiful. Her long, flowing blonde hair accentuated her lightly tanned skin and naturally framed her face, which was set with eyes the color of pine trees that burned with a desire for greater things. She was very intelligent and wise for her young age and even quicker with her tongue. More often than not, advances towards her were met with a sharp rebuttal, forcing the would-be suitor to walk off in shame. She was generally good-natured though and friendly with those she knew, but as her father had taught her, wary of strangers. Her slender body was of average height and though she appeared delicate to the eye, she was neither weak nor frail. Her father had made sure that she was used to hard work and kept her active in many ways. She had all the fine qualities of a budding adventurer, which is what frightened her father and Kelliam the most.

"I’d rather you turn me into a bird so that I might fly away from the potatoes, tomatoes and turnips" she laughed as she playfully tossed another tomato at the old man, hitting him square in the chest.

"Serves ya right!" called the woman cooking the stew. Alimaye looked to the older woman with an expression of pleading. "Go on, Alimaye, we’ll keep your father busy, should he come around looking fer ya."

Alimaye waved a quick thank you as she picked up her long, white dress and pranced around the table to come running at the old man to give him a hug. She stopped short however, remembering the splotch of tomato on his robes and laughed at the stain "I’ve made a mess of thee," she said, kissing him on the cheek instead.

Kell turned an eyebrow upwards at her while wiping away the tomato with cloth from his satchel, "Yes, so I see. Your father will not be pleased, once he sees ye not working." Alimaye’s father was Grimwald Mondavi, a renowned blacksmith and a member of the council that governed the community of Orindale. She was thankful that he would be gone for hours, having left the preparations with the other councilmen to discuss the order of activities during the evening’s celebration. Her father had lived here all his life working on his parents’ farm and eventually becoming a skilled blacksmith and joining the town council twelve years past. He was well respected by his peers and held great pride in helping to make Orindale what it is today.

Alimaye’s mother had died six years ago from a strange plague brought about by a stranger from another land. Being an only child, Alimaye was forced to take over her mother’s duties at an early age and on top of that burden, her father insisted that Kell, who was the most knowledgeable and scholarly man in the Dale, tutor her. Kell had become like an uncle to her over the years, teaching her reading, writing, mathematics, and unknown to her father, making her his apprentice. She cared for Kell as much as she did her father, who was as devastated as she when her mother died. She knew in her heart, that her father was only doing what he thought best for her; she just did not agree.

Kell had learned early on in her apprenticeship that Alimaye had a special way with incantations and the movements of her body. She could feel the subtle vibrations of magic in the air as plain as day, better than even he, an accomplished wizard. She was a natural, able to cast simple spells with but a movement of her finger or a whisper of her voice. In a strange way, it frightened the old man, yet he loved her as if she were his own daughter and would never carry such thoughts for long, dismissing them as paranoia caused by his old age. Still, he often wondered about her remarkable abilities. Alimaye dismissed them as easily as she did her chores, fully believing that she was as normal as any other person.

After the wizard had finished cleaning off his robes, he and Alimaye started walking away from the busy town square as they often did to discuss her studies or other important matters. As the two companions walked along the causeway that encircled the large well at the center of town, away from the smell of steaming stew, turnips, Kell turned to her with his best scholarly face, "Hast thou been practicing the new spells I taught ye?"

Alimaye smiled, "Of course, Kell. But I have little need to practice; they are easily done and even easier to remember. I wish you would teach me the good spells, the ones you use to lift stone and move water. The spells you teach me now become awfully boring and dare I say, trivial enough that a child can learn them. When can I learn the important spells, spells that’ll take me away from this place?"

"When thou art ready to handle the burden of higher magic’s will I tech thee, and no sooner!" Kell answered sternly. "Ye are not wise in the ways of the world, Alimaye, and foolish wizards who run off to make a name for themselves often end up in the fire pit of some rancid troll, or far worse! I’ll not be responsible for letting an apprentice run wild with her spells. Besides, yer father would have my head if I did so!"

Want to read more? Child of Gaea and Child of Gaea Passages

Realms of Aquilar, Child of Gaea, and Aquilar.net are Copyright © 2002-2006, Realms of Aquilar Fantasy. All rights reserved.
Site Map | Terms of Use | Contact