Guardians of the Zalir Caves

Part I
Magic
Chapter #1-Apprentice

I woke to the morning sun, and patted Avalon’s head.
“Good morning to you too.” He said groggily, and then rolled back over.
“Avalon, get up! We need to go to the high school for my Tamers test!”
As we entered the class Ms. Pet came running up to me.
“Oh Telira, I can’t wait to see your taming skills!”
“I can’t wait to see my grade.” I said, smiling.
“Okay, let’s begin!” Ms. Pet yelled to the small class. “Telira, Show this class how to tame! I want you to tame a Xarian Serpent!” She said as a small serpent slithered in, it fangs gleaming. A cage surrounded the others, and the serpent charged. I leaped and grabbed the ribbon strips of skin that came from above its eyes. It tossed its head and slammed me into the rocky wall. There was a huge cloud of dust, and the class couldn’t see.
Meanwhile, I ached, I was still holding on but I was bleeding. The serpent, realizing that I was alive, tossed its head again. But I had climbed to its head, still holding onto the ribbons.
“Azenti su eul Illrean!” I yelled to the serpent as I jumped to the ground. The serpent hissed, poised to strike. As its head came down I leapt onto its ribbons of skin and quickly climbed up on the head, still holding myself tightly, the dust cleared. The class saw the serpent emerge, me on its head. The serpent hissed and tossed its head continually, trying to get me off. I was slipping, and then I had an idea. If I can jump down on the biggest toss, maybe it will accidentally throw itself into the wall and calm down a bit. And there will be another cloud of dust. I thought happily. As the serpent tossed its head again, I leapt off, landing in front of the wall as another cloud of dust covered us.
The serpent was on the ground, exhausted. As I crept over the serpent hissed, and bared its fangs.
“Vala Gail, Illrean, ona su rin sun.” The serpent let me come near, its head was bleeding, and I went blind for a moment, but I wondered why I saw blue instead of the blackness of blindness, and I felt a strange power flowing into me, as it flowed out my vision cleared but everything was blue, and I could see and feel that I was healing the serpent. The serpent got up, gratefully lowered its head and I climbed on as the dust cleared, though I heard the shouts and cheers of the class, I wasn’t paying any attention to them. How did I do that? I wondered as I prepared to leap down.
Magic, my Subconscious mind whispered.
Impossible! My Conscious mind argued.
“Why, Telira! You’re hurt!”
“I’m fine Ms. Pet, That’s the danger of pet taming, and that’s why you teach it.” I said jumping down from its head. I took a deep breath; it hurt to breathe deeply, probably a fractured rib.
“Telira, go to the nurse, I want to know what happened while your being checked out. As the nurse prodded me I told Ms. Pet what happened while they couldn’t see, at least most of it.
“She’s got a fractured rib Ms. Pet.” The nurse told her.
“That’s probably because she was slammed into the taming wall.”
“And that’s why the architects are here? Repairing the wall?”
“Most likely,”
“May I go back to class now Ms. Pet? I want to work with that serpent, it needs training.” I asked.
“You just got slammed into the wall by that serpent, and you want to go back!? I think you should go home and rest.”
“I’m training that serpent now; it’s been trying to get in since you brought me here.” I said, pointing at the door where a long serpentine snout was through it, its tongue flickering.
“Fine Telira, you win. Ka ulia suna Illrean!”
As I lead the serpent into the class I became aware of how tired I was.
Maybe I should go home. I thought. I can ride the serpent bareback; I’ll work with it more tomorrow. I led the serpent out of the school and climbed on. “You’re hurt.” Avalon came swimming into view. “I know Avalon, and I’m tired.” Then everything faded into darkness. “Telira!!!” Avalon screamed in my mind.


* * *

I was in a beautiful cave, the cool water surrounding me; all around me were Zalirian Symbols. They Read:
Yui Kallayal iy Elirion
Yui makil ni Elirion uial yina A galla tilo ju yui reanl ja hann.
Yui Paul iy Zalir gol Yui Paelannal Vaelli uial Raen jahallai gol leei Pollallis ju Elirion, olakki a Havi maki, gol titl yuita lakala ju yui Galla Ola.

The Prophecy of Elirion
The mages in Elirion will play a great part in the Times to come.
The Marks of Zalir and midsummer flower will join together and seek knowledge in Elirion, battle a dark mage, and merge their powers in the Great War.

The Prophecy of Elirion? What or where is Elirion? What does this have to do with me? The Questions ran through my head. It has everything to do with you, my Subconscious mind preened.
I became conscious, aware that Avalon was curled up on me, and the serpent was watching me intensely.
“Avalon, please get off of me,” I thought to him.
“Telira, you’re Awake!” Avalon replied happily jumping off of my chest.
“Where are we?” I wondered as I looked around a cave.
“It’s where I used to live and it was closest to where you became unconscious.” I was shocked, the serpent thought to me!
“How can I understand you?” I asked it.
“After you healed me, you somehow were connected to my mind, and now you can hear my thoughts to you, but unlike Avalon, you can’t hear or read my other thoughts.” It replied.
But how did I heal it? I wondered.
“Do you have a name?”
“Yes, my name is Xethr.” It replied proudly.
I hopped onto the serpent and guided him to the beginning of a hidden tunnel in an underwater Mesa.
“Thanks, if you want to go back, you may, Xethr.” I told him.
“I’m staying.” He said calmly.
“Good, I like you. Follow me so you’ll know where to sleep.” I told him.
* * * * *
After I had Xethr settled I went and lay on my bed. I remembered the cave. What is the mark of Zalir? Is it the one on my shoulder? What and where is Elirion? I wondered. The one on you’re shoulder, yes, and in a different world, my subconscious mind replied. How do I get there? I argued. A Portal. It said easily. ‘Special this one is.’ It said mockingly. I was shocked. No one ever mentioned Onakar, a water-mage who I had known as a kid.
A water-mage walked into their cave, and looked at Telira. “Special this one is.” He said his blue eyes soft and kind. He had given her a silver medallion which had a star sapphire with the star shaped like the mark on her shoulder, surrounded by turquoise that had a flowery pattern on them. I looked at the medallion and put it around my neck. Onakar was there when she found Avalon. (Or he found her.) Then one day he left, saying he had to explore this world and others. I remembered it clearly. “It’s decided, I’m a Water-Mage.

* * *
I went to the library, trying to avoid contact with anyone except the librarian. My friend, Tarinaira was trying to find me and my teacher Ms. Pet trying to praise me but I was busy. Busy reading about mages: Water-Mages in particular. The librarian, Ms. Books as they called her had some special books about mages that she let me have. The strange thing was, Ms. Books had moved her hand and a current of water opened a secret compartment. As she did it I had a blue flash in my mind, I later read that mages, if another uses magic nearby will have flashes in their mind, blue for water, red for fire, green for earth, silver for air, black for dark, gold for light, purple for draconic, and white for crystal. My librarian was a Water-Mage!
“Telira, please come here.” Ms. Books called. I went up to her, making sure I was alone.
“I didn’t know you’re a Water-Mage!” I whispered.
“Jui, I ha,” She said. “But you were not suspected either. But either that is a fake skin you’re wearing on your shoulder or you have really bad skin.” I tore off the patch on my arm: The mark on it shown boldly.
“Yui palul iy Zalir!” My teacher said. “We have to get you to a mentor!” Ms. Books said hurriedly.
“You could mentor me!” I said matter-of-factly.
“No, I couldn’t. Onakar can though!”
“Onakar, you know him?” I asked a current swirling around me. Ms. Books grabbed my arm and we were lifted away by a current, a blue flash in my mind.

* * *

When the current stopped, I looked around, all around me were books. I looked to the right. Onakar’s familiars, Jarhanl, Ilrekaln! The Dragon fish and the Serpent were in the corner, staring at Avalon intensely. I took the medallion off my neck, showing it to them. They came up to me happily.
“What?” I heard a voice from a room in the back of the grotto. Onakar came out a wondering look on his face. I held up the medallion. “Telira?” Onakar looked at me. “Avalon?” he looked at Avalon.
“Yes Onakar, it is us,” I said laughing in my mind.
“Telira, it is him and his familiars!” Avalon yipped happily, running up to Jarhanl and Ilrekaln. Onakar looked the same, around twenty-five, sandy brown hair, and blue eyes, Australian accent.
“Telira, will you follow me?” Onakar asked as he went into another room. I walked into the room, Inside there was a large desk made out of seashells, and two especially large conch shells, on which on each was a giant clam shell, one of which Onakar sat in. I sat down in the other. Onakar took a large book from his desk.
I looked at it. “Yui kallayal iy Elirion!” Onakar looked at me, surprised. I explained my dream.
“We must start immediately.” Onakar said hurriedly.
Throughout the next few days Onakar explained the importance of Lytanzyr, a ritual where you ask things if you may use them, take only what you need, and thank them. I realized it was natural when I first tried it. I learned more of the water-language, and a little of all the others, so that she could ask trees, and other things. Onakar seemed to push me in the water and earth-speech. Onakar and I seemed to have a game, whoever could trick the other one the most won. We often tied.
Onakar set a trap, when I opened my book sand would be thrown in my face. Little did he know that I had already set one. As he opened my book to set it, a leech jumped on him, along with alot of sand. Laughter echoed around the grotto. He pulled the leech off his leg and looked up, his face covered in sand. I was on a ledge, about to fall off from laughing so hard.
“Leech: blood, sand: Moisture, The look on your face: Priceless!” I laughed as I jumped down. “I believe I win.” I said grinning.
“You have learned well Telira.” He said scrubbing the sand on his face off into the water.
“That was good Telira, Even his familiars laughed.” Avalon said, exhausted from laughing so hard.
* * *

No one was safe in bed that night, When two Water-Mages are in the same home, be dressed for war, for that’s what it was; Telira: 100, Onakar: 90. If an apprentice can beat her mentor in a week, she could be incredibly devious and dangerously mischievous later on in life.
I put my head on my pillow, having checked it first, I lifted it upside down, as a sand bomb and three miniature snapping turtles came spilling out. I herded the turtles to water, and gently picked up the sand bomb. I put in Onakar’s pillow, carefully storing some rocks, and one leech in it. I jumped into her bed, as I heard the sand bomb explode. I looked out; there was Onakar sand all over his face, rocks buried in the sand, the leech on his leg. I snickered, walking out of my room.
“That’s my version of a sand bomb and snapping turtles.” I told him.
“The war starts again next week, tomorrow we rest, O.K?” Onakar asked.
“I’ll still be watching my back.” I said smiling back.
“And so shall I.” Onakar replied.