As Anemone sat outside, lying against a cherry blossom tree, her blonde, waist-long hair got caught in the bark of the tree. The wind whistling in the distance, the grass blowing in waves, was a sight to behold. Then her friend Father Hatheway stepped outside of the small wooden cottage they were staying in. He was a practitioner of the water and healing arts of magic, quite skilled, Anemone might say. They were on their way to the Capital of the empire, known as Cryon, called Vun. It had a large population and was diverse with people of elven descent, orcs, humans, dwarves, druids, and many other species. It was full of mysteries and a secret world that they were trying to uncover. It also had one of the most booming Red-Light districts in the world, known as the Globe of Love.
"Hey Father, what exactly are we looking for in Vun?" Anemone asked curiously, all he had told her was that it was an object that people living near the world tree needed desperately.
"A seedling. Every one thousand years, the World Tree begins to go into a state of dormancy, where it takes in a lot fewer nutrients. For that reason, the elves require a seedling from a long-lasting tree."
"Why does it have to be a long-lasting tree? And why doesn't it need to be a World Tree seed? And why can't it be any t-"
"So many questions, slow down, young one."
He reached out as Anemone grasped his hand, standing up and pulling her hair out of the bark after wincing.
"The World Tree is not some special species. The soil of the elves is very nutritious and can support almost any species of life; for that reason, they just ask for a tree with a long life span for the worst-case scenario of the World Tree withering during the state of dormancy. And in that case, they will plant it, deify it, and worship it like the current one."
Anemone straightened out her red dress, designed with roses, getting the dirt off, and let go of his hand.
"Why can't they wait for The World Tree Seed? That would be better! Why would they deify just any tree?"
Hatheway looked up to gauge the time left in the day and then grabbed his golden ring with a green magic topaz engraved into it.
"So, for every question I may answer, another two pop up? You are like a hydra."
"Hydras don't exist, I'm not stupid!" Anemone retorted.
"We still have a day's ride to Vun. Get up, get ready, go get your things, I will go untie the horse to draw the carriage."
As he went to draw the carriage, Anemone entered the shabby wooden cabin. Stepping inside, the floor croaked beneath her like a frog, gently caving into her weight. She walked to the wooden table in the center of the room, picked up her small leather pouch, filled with a small wooden wand, made of Maple, at the tip a white topaz embedded as the wood arched around it to secure it. Besides that were two rings, one a family heirloom, gold with the word "Live" engraved into it. The other was her personal ring with red jasper; it was supposed to enhance her fire magic, but Anemone had yet to use fire magic since she was 9, when a tragedy struck.
She decided while waiting, she might as well practice, so she exited the front door with her bag in one hand, her wand in the other. Looking at the red and white target near the dirt path, Anemone shouted.
"Wind arrow!"
A loud whistle began to cut into the sound of the breeze, and the surrounding air folded onto itself, beginning to spin with incredible velocity. Whoosh! A barely noticeable tail of wind trailed behind the arrow. Then suddenly the target was pierced, a clean hole, no splintering, no extra wood pieces, obliterated.
'2 seconds, from start to finish, it's too long. That can be the difference between life and death,' Anemone thought.
"Hurry up!" A voice suddenly filled her brain, filling her previous thoughts of worry with excitement.
'Impatient old man. Finally, to Vun we go!' she thought.
Anemone put her leather pouch over her neck and put her wand inside. She then walked over to Father Hatheway and saw a beautiful stallion with pure white skin, a blonde coat covering its spine with a white tail that turned to grey at the end. The hooves seemed to be bigger than her palm.
'I do have small hands,' she thought.
She looked at the large, covered wagon, with a white cloth covering the top, with a one-man seat in the front to handle the horse.
"You said you were ready!" Anemone said angrily, as she could have practiced more.
"No, I said to hurry up. I know you unconsciously get lost when practicing. Now, please start loading the carriage."
He seemed to be in a bad mood from his first few words, but Anemone knew he was still the kind old man she knew him to be. She went to the back and saw a few oak crates with metal banding wrapped around, one filled with apples, around 6 kilograms of apples, crates filled with grapes, fine white bread, dried herbs ranging from cheap ones like garlic to a very small amount of ginger. Then, two tightly sealed crates that she was curious about, luckily enough, there was the name of what was inside written on top. Milk was in one, and then in the other were dried meats. They also had two clay pots of extremely rare Moonwine, gifted to them by the elves. It was a pale blue shimmering drink that seemed to sparkle like the stars that filled the night sky. The very last thing Anemone knew she must check for, their rights to set up a shop.
'We can't just set up a random shop; we don't even know who has this seedling, so we must get information one way or another,' she thought.
"Hey Father, are you ready or are you still readying the horse?" Anemone looked at him through the open area joining the front of the carriage to the storage area of the carriage.
"Yes, I am ready."
He slowly got up and entered the seat, and Anemone pulled up the wooden tailgate to ensure no cargo would slip off. She then took her seat and leaned against the wood separating her from him.
"So, how long is the journey?" Anemone asked curiously.
"One day, we have about four hours of daylight left, so be on the lookout three hours from now, it would be the perfect time for predators or thieves to attack. After all, the way we are traveling is west, the sun will fall directly in front of our eyes and may be hard to see for a while."
"Yes, sir! And what about camp? Is there another cottage somewhere? Or maybe an actual house with heat."
"You can control fire, make your own heat. Plus, we will have to camp out anyway, take a nap for now, it may be bumpy, but it's because you will have to stay up overnight to look out for at least four hours, I will take the last four."
"But why me? Why do I have to look out first?" Anemone began to pout and hit the wood as he whipped the horse to get going.
"Do you want to control the horse? No? Didn't think so."
"Okay, you mean old man!"
Anemone decided to lie down flat on the carriage, grabbing the single sleeping bag they had and then rolling it up for a makeshift pillow, pushing it against the floor, knowing the second she let go, it may unravel.
"Thank you for being you," Anemone said, knowing that over time, her calling him a mean old man might get to him.
"Sleep well, young one," he said in a calm, gentle, almost parental voice.
***
As Anemone woke up, rattled from all the shaking, she looked up at the sky, filled with bright and dim stars, yellow and white.
'I wish life were always this peaceful...' she thought.
"Oh, look, the Big Dipper!" Anemone yelled and pointed, then suddenly. Whack!
"Be quiet, unless you want to draw the attention of the surrounding wildlife."
"Owww! That hurt! ...meanie," she said.
Anemone rubbed her forehead where he had smacked her, and it had already heated up and turned pink. She then sat up completely and leaned over the wood again to look ahead; they were going up the hill, then suddenly a bustling city filled the view, lights everywhere, buildings as tall as a mountain, a city lit with bright white lights. In one particular section, there seemed to be a vast amount of red to pink lights.
"So prettyyyy..." Anemone said.
"Yes, it is. Yes, it is..."
"Are you sure it's still a full day away?"
"Yes, young one. It takes about three hours to travel to the horizon, that's on flat ground. We are on a large hill, so that will probably take about five to six hours, but we are not traveling at night unless we have a skilled adventurer."
"I'm skill-" Anemone began.
"Not you, you have slept three hours in the past twenty hours. You will barely be able to stay awake for another four, let alone another six, so let us make camp. I rest for four hours, then you can sleep for a few."
They then trailed off into the surrounding forest, fireflies lighting up in rhythmic patterns, leaves crunching beneath them as they found an open area. It was perfect, circular, not too far off the trail, flat, and had both dirt and gravel.
"Gravel holds heat well, so go grab some wood and begin to build a fire on top of it."
"Yes, sir!" Anemone replied.
She began to look around at the surrounding forest, mesmerized by owl noises, the singing of the crickets, and the flickering lights of the fireflies. Anemone then stumbled into the woods looking for branches, sticks, and logs that could potentially be used for firewood. She grabbed the trusty, yet rusty, axe they had used for splitting wood, then began to chop some dead and old trees. It was hard yet rewarding work. Knowing the heat they would have tonight had come from her own work. Anemone grabbed the large yet light log and lugged it to the campsite. She then began to break it down into firewood.
***
An hour later, they had enough firewood for a full night. Anemone began to stack the wood in a crisscross pattern, stacking it to her chin.
'Now to light it,' she thought.
"It's one time. You got this," Anemone said to herself while reflecting on her past. "It won't happen again."
As she began to doubt herself, she saw Father Hatheway walk towards her from the carriage, tying the horse to a nearby tree.
"I can use water magic if anything gets out of hand, do not worry."
"You're right... Thank you!" Anemone said.
She then began to imagine a small flame that could be snuffed out with a single breath, the flame originating beneath the wood, starting small and slowly growing larger.
"Spark of fire."
Suddenly, a small ember appeared, then a flame engulfed the entire stack of wood, igniting it with blazing heat radiating from it. A bright orange light filled the surrounding area as smoke rose into the air.
"Good job, young one, I'm proud of you."
'Good job, darling, I am proud of you, my youngest daughter,' Anemone recalled.
Suddenly, a trauma-inducing image of a beautiful woman with peach skin, eyes that were as blue and as captivating as the sea, and long, beautiful white hair down to her waist filled her brain. Flames swallowed her, and screams rang in her ear. Then what seemed like horns appeared above her head, and the flames seemed to grow larger.
'Mom...' Anemone thought.
Tears streamed down Anemone's face; her eyes turned red, and self-loathing filled her heart.
"You didn't cause this, YOU are not at fault, so wake up and look at me, it is okay!"
A voice shook Anemone out of this daydream, strong yet gentle hands gripped her shoulders to wake her, and her eyes refocused on the man in front of her, who seemed kinder than ever. Anemone then suddenly hugged him, wrapping her arms around him tightly like a daughter would do to her parents.
"I'm okay now, you can go rest, I will keep lookout."
Anemone then released her arms from his body and went to sit down in front of a tree as he set up the sleeping bag a few feet from the fire.
"Goodnight, Father!" she said.
"Goodnight."
Anemone stared up at the captivating stars as she watched the surrounding area, ensuring their safety.
'This will be a long 4 hours,' she thought.