Moonbeam - The Legends of Ellodar

 

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Chapter 1. Welcome!

The first rays of sunlight are just creeping over the horizon. The air is still cool and smells of night. Can you smell the wet grass? Can you feel the cool breeze on your cheeks, the slight chill that promises a new day? I love this time of day, it feels like new adventures and anything is possible.

I am walking, of course I am. I don't have wings - that would be silly - so I walk. Come along now, and please try to keep up. Humans can be so slow! Whoever thought that you lot would be faster on two legs, is a silly old ape. Believe me, I've met him. Sure, on the road you could be my equal, but as soon as the going gets a little tougher, you start moaning and groaning. Not to mention tripping and falling all the time.

Well? What are you waiting for? Come on, let's go! Giddy-up or whatever you people say.. What are you staring at? Is there something on my face? I just washed a minute ago. You look like you've never seen a talking cat before. Well maybe you haven't but what do you expect when you come here? Can't travel to a magical world without a little magic and mystery, eh? What world…? Good grief, not another one! Why do you lot come here all the time? You never know where you are or how you got here. Strange accidents, my tail!!  

Alright then my friend.. keep calm and breathe on, ok? I'll explain a thing or two. No don't sit down! We have to keep moving! I have to be in the next town before the sun sets. So do you, for that matter. So for the last time, please walk with me and try to keep up.

My name is Elder Ballador, or Ballador the Wise as some call me. Just call me Ballador, as long as you don't call me Kitty I don't care. I am a member of the Council of Elders, here in Ellodar. For that is where you are. The Great, Magickal and United Realms of Ellodar. I bid you a very warm welcome, my friend.

I suppose you have been having recurring dreams lately? Yes? Hmmm, well that is usually how you get in. Ellodar is one of those places people's minds go, when they are dreaming. A safe place for your fantasies and dreams to manifest and take shape. It's not a real dreamworld, thank the Creator, those are awful! Flying fish and noisy children and dancing unicorns and sticky sweets everywhere! Dreadful places, brrrr! No, Ellodar is a real world, we just sort of have a special connection to the human mind. Especially the creative minds, like those of children. Because they can imagine a world like this, they can get  glimpses of life in Ellodar. When they sleep, and stop thinking too much, as most people do, the mind relaxes and sometimes the mind comes here. People can spend days, weeks, months, perhaps even longer here while they are asleep. We call them Dreamers. When they wake up, little time has passed in your world and they will think they just had a vivid dream. Which brings me to you, my friend. Usually the Dreamers come here only once, spend some time and leave. They don't know they are dreaming and take this world to be real. They don't question things and generally blend in rather nicely, even if they are slow. What I am saying is that you are not supposed to be suprised by a talking animal or any other phenomenon we have here. You are supposed to be simply one of us and live your time here as if you belong here.

Lately, there have been several cases of humans crossing over to our world after having recurrent dreams. They are different from Dreamers because they seem to know Ellodar is different from your world. We don't understand how this is happening or why, but the general theory is that the borders between our worlds are thinner than they used to be. Well that is my theory anyway and I expect I'm right.

Don't be afraid. You can accompany me on my journey for a while and I'll keep you safe and maybe teach you a few things. Most would feel honoured to have such an opportunity. Just don't slow me down, because I must keep going.

As you have noticed, I am a cat. I have always been a cat and by always, I really mean always. When this world was created, the Creator asked some of the animals to appoint one of their own as Elder in the Council, to rule over Ellodar together with its other creatures. I was chosen amongst my people and have been on the Council ever since.

No, not all animals can talk; don't be ridiculous, that would just be weird. I wouldn't want the mice arguing with me; no talking lunch for me, thank you. I was granted some privileges, such as immortality and speech when I joined the Council. I am a Very Special Cat, you see.

I am on my way to a special council meeting. All members are summoned to Oscian,  to discuss some important issues concerning the future of Ellodar. No, I can't tell you what it is about, this is all very delicate and secret you know. Well, yes, hum… Since you are going to come along anyway I may as well explain the situation.

There have been some recent events that have stirred things up quite a lot in our world. Yes yes, change of power.. Change of everything.. Good change! Great change! Oh yes. So much work to be done now.. So much to discuss and debate. You understand it's extremely important to get to Oscian as fast as we can. So you just keep walking and I'll keep talking.

I must first tell you how it all began.

 

 

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Chapter 2: Luna

In your world there once lived a girl named Luna and this is her story.

Luna Durant was fifteen years old and lived with her mother, father and older sister in a medium sized town. She was at that age that makes you look awkward no matter what you wear. She was too old to really be a kid, but not yet old enough to wear heels or make up. Not that she wanted to. One thing she was old enough for, was having a sense of style and looking like a plastic doll wasn't hers. She preferred jeans and a t-shirt. She didn't have a body like one of those dolls either. She was too short and a lot more curvy than the plastic women little girls tend to look up to. Her hair was long and though her mom almost had a heart attack when she first saw it, Luna had dyed her hair black since she was thirteen. Sometimes she would dye a strand of hair red or green, but this seemed to upset her mother even more, so she mostly stuck to just black.

She didn't  wear makeup. Not even black eyeliner, like her friend Ivy. Mainly because it made her skin itch, but Luna believed people who wear makeup, are just doing so to please other people, which is just stupid. Luna wanted to be accepted the way she was.

Which caused a few problems.

Her parents really didn't understand anything about her. Luna always had the sneaking suspicion that she must have been adopted. Her parents were nice, neat and above all normal people. Her father worked as a legal advisor for some international company and her mother was a dental assistant. They loved going on holiday to France and spending time with their two daughters. They weren't very strict, but they did expect their children to behave themselves a certain way. Luna unfortunately behaved a bit different.  Her mother always complained that Luna wasn't "normal". Luna just thought her mom cared way too much about what the neighbours would think. They had endless arguments about the way Luna dressed, the way she talked, the music she listened to, her goals in life. Her mother thought that Luna should just try to behave normal and save the 'weirdness' for when she was older. "You used to do so well in school!" she would say, "Why don't you use your energy to improve your test-scores, instead of spending all that time playing games?"

But Luna didn't like school, she liked games. Especially the MMORPGs: Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. She could spend hours online, pretending that the world outside was just an illusion and that she really was a powerful mage who could obliterate her enemies in seconds, provided she had enough mana, or magical energy. It made getting out of bed easier if she had a dungeon to conquer or a list of quests to complete. Life as a mage was easier than real life and a lot more fun. This was mostly because of the friends she had online, with whom she had the most incredible adventures. Her parents had tried to encourage her to be more sociable and make more friends, but she wasn't very good at social stuff without the safety of a computer and an avatar.

She always felt out of place, like there was some manual to school, puberty or life in general and she had not had a copy. Everyone seemed to know the rules by which you should live and fit in, but Luna never understood them. For a long time she had tried to learn the rules. But she made so many mistakes and did everything slightly different - and therefore wrong - and was soon an outcast in school. Then one day, she decided to just give up. Why should she fit in, if she was clearly different from other people? That day she dyed her hair for the first time and it had felt like she conquered some level boss in her favourite game.

It did not really make her life any easier though. Being different - and proud of it - came with a price. She quickly lost what few friends she had and spent her schooldays sitting in the corner of the schoolyard by herself. Not that she minded, not really. She started reading thick volumes of fantasy novels while she was sitting in her little corner under the old tree. It became another way to escape from everything that was wrong in her life.

Unfortunately she could not escape Esther. Esther was always there and it seemed she had nothing better to do with her life than watching Luna's every move, waiting for her to do something, anything that she could use to humiliate Luna. Always there, in the background, watching and commenting. She had a special gift for picking up Luna's every insecurity and using it to strike another blow. If Luna had a spot on her chin, Esther would make some vague remark in class about how some people simply didn't know how to look after themselves. If Luna failed a test, Esther would say that the world needs dumb people too.

Luna tried not to let Esther get to her. After all, she chose this. She really did not want to try to fit in anymore. She was proud to be different. But still…

Then one day, Ivy walked into the classroom and into Luna's life. She had spent most of her life abroad and seemed to be blissfully unaware of popular culture. Her hair was blue and green and she wore black makeup. She instantly became Luna's best friend. Ivy made life at school easier and definetely a lot more inreresting.

Esther tried her tricks on Ivy of course, but Ivy didnt seem to even notice. When Esther told her her hair looked like something had exploded in the bathroom, Ivy just laughed and said she might try that technique next time. Luna thought she was amazing!

Together they spend hours talking about games and fantasy. Ivy joined Luna's game and soon they were fighting demons and werewolfs side by side. At last, Luna thought that school wouldn't be so bad anymore.

 
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Chapter 3: Powers

One night Ivy stayed over so they could complete a particularly difficult online dungeon. It took them a a few hours but together they managed to defeat the level boss and reach the next level. Tired but delighted they logged off.
"I
love being a mage! The feeling of that power, that magic, buidling up on your body.. I know it is just a character, but I feel like I am really doing it!"

Ivy yawned and sat down on Luna's bed. She looked at the computer and the laptop, on which they had spent the last few hours. She looked content but confused.

"You know.. I get the game. We have a job to do, a quest to fulfill but I really don't like killing things. Even in they are just bits and bites in some virtual reality.You like being a mage and l like being a monk. You blast things and I try to fix them. And you. All the times I saved you tonight! I just wish it would be that easy in real life.

Luna looked at Ivy. "What?"

But Ivy just rolled over and seemed to be falling asleep.

"You know," Luna said, "I have these dreams sometimes. And I am this amazing.. witch or mage or something.. I have these incredible powers and I use them all the time. People know who I am and how powerful I am and they treat me with respect."

"Hmmmm.."

"And in my dreams I am a real sorceress. Imagine if we were really that powerful Ivy! We could change our lives and change the world!"

"Hmmm.."

"Ivy! Are you sleeping?"

"No, I'm not. I just think dreaming about superpowers doesn't mean that much. How often do you have these dreams then?"

"Erm, almost every night for years.. I think.. I know it's just silly, but I really feel like I can do more, be more than other people sometimes. I keep feeling I don't belong here.. In this family, in school, you know."

"Luna, we are teenagers! Aren't we supposed to feel like this?"

"Yeah but still. This is different, I don't know why."

 
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Chapter 4: Fieldtrip

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Chapter 5: Ivy

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Chapter 6: Black

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Chapter 7: Ballador the talking cat

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Chapter 8: Waermaskar

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Chapter 9: The Lost Moon

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