Nobody Epic

Search where you hear the song of fireflies
Search the stone where the golden pasture lies

Heart of steel
Crown of blue
Hearken to the winds, they are calling you

We are coming home this day
Lost, but now we found our way

Heart of steel
Crown of blue
Hearken to the winds, they are calling you."


Athera scrunched up her face in thought. "Fireflies don't sing! It makes no sense!"

Her father laughed. "It's just an old song, dear child. Who knows what it means, anyway. None of it makes sense. Pastures are fields of green grass. Crowns are silver metal, not blue."

"Blue like me!"

He laughed and tugged playfully on her silken hair, an unusual shade.

"Honestly, what kind of child of the moon has blue hair, anyway?!" He teased her.

Athera grinned slyly. "You made me this way!"

"Ohh no, that's not from me! I used to tell your mother that she ate one too many blue clecia berries while she carried you inside her."

His voice caught for a moment at the memory; his eyes became distant.

He quickly smiled and kissed Athera's forehead. "Enough songs for tonight; we have a big day tomorrow. Get some rest."



--------------------


Athera hummed to herself softly as she gazed at the stars. She smiled at the memory from so long ago. Rarely did she revisit old memories, but time had healed some of the pain.

Her eyes cast out from where she sat on the bluff, at the vast expanse below her. The Great Nothing lived up to its name. Her father had come through here on his journey, of that she was certain. But why? She had traveled far and seen so much, but she still had learned so little.

Her companions called out to her from below, just returned from scouting. She took one last longing look at the stars before starting her descent, carefully tracing her way down the steep cliff to rejoin them.

She could make out Rook's dark shape in the starlight. His tail swished impatiently; she knew that meant he was excited to reveal something.

"What have you found?" She called to them as she approached. "It better not just be another den of grelwe rodents, like last time..."

Rook's face spread into a wide grin, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

"Something special. You have to come see!"

Athera smiled in spite of herself. Rook gets excited about everything, she thought. Still, she loved her friend and was happy to humor him.

"It's not far! Hurry, hurry!" Rook called out, already trotting ahead.

Following her companions, she climbed a small foothill at the far end of the Fool's Teeth mountains. As they turned the edge of a hill, she heard a soft sound rising from below.

"It sounds like.. voices!" Athera was puzzled.

Rook looked over his shoulder, smiling. "Wait until you see!"

They made their way down a crevice. The voices grew louder. Suddenly, the valley below came into view.

Thousands of tiny points of light floated near the ground; bright white, with iridescent trails following them. They swirled slowly, playfully around each other, each giving off a sound, like a gentle, high-pitched moan. Together, their voices formed a chorus. Their light flickered slowly on and off, as did the voices.

"Aren't they fantastic!" Rook exclaimed, pouncing up and down in excitement. "We don't know what they are; but the way they flicker, they look sort of like-"

"Fireflies." Athera finished his sentence. She felt the hair on her neck stand on end. Her heart pounded in her chest. At once, the realization came over her. She finally knew.

"Here." She said loudly, firmly. "We start our search here."

By : Nicci