a Rabbit's Night in the Woods

[twsister2361 49]

A Rabbit's Night in the Woods

The story of Kardem Vallei'ahern Puerokar's Final Trial

 

Slowly the powder began to distort the forest around her, and Kardem’s teacher faded into the swirling colors that were once the foliage. She would rub at her eyes, attempting to clear the blurriness from her vision, but it was to no avail. Kardem was once again cast into a blurry world bursting with color. She falls to her back, and takes in the world for a moment. 

The swirling colors would take on the patterns of her tapestries and totems in the Puerokar manor. Tribal rabbits chasing each other through the pale blue of the evening sky as a gradient of purple and pink began to encroach on the scene. She would giggle, reaching up to attempt to touch the visions, but her movement would cause them to scatter about the edges of her vision.

“Kardem.”

A firm, but warm voice came from all around her, and the young elfess shot up.

“Haelun.”

Puerokar would stumble to her feet, calling out to the voice of her mother, only to get no answer. The forest was difficult to navigate, her vision still blurry, but she pressed on into a random direction. In her search, Kardem would come across the coastline and in the water would be a figure kneeling in the water. The light of the setting sun would make it impossible to see the figure clearly, but there would be a chanting coming from her, as if she was praying. Kardem’s eyes welled up with tears as she attempted to get closer to the woman, but with each step she took the woman went deeper into the sea. 

“Haelun! Come back! Don’t go!” she would plead with the figure, but her childish pleading was only met with the figure disappearing into the water and appearing on the far shore.

“Vallei’ahern are of the sea Little Bunny.” The voice boomed around her, surrounding the sobbing elf with a familiar motherly warmth she had missed for so long, “Test your mantle once again, and I promise I will be here through your trial.”

The Child Winema of the Puerokar swallowed hard, forcing her tears into determination as she plunged herself into the sea. The cold water caused the young woman to gasp and panic upon her first few strokes, swirling visions of creatures below her feet making her flail in place. Fear crept in and began to absorb her. 

“Kardem,” came the voice of her mother once again, encouraging her to continue. 

She looked to the phantom on the shore, determination finding her once more. The girl was so desperate to return to her family that it drove her forward. Tribal images of dolphins followed Kardem as she fought the waves, the Vallei’ahern patron Hamatsa supporting her the rest of the way. As she crawled her way onto the shore, her mother was once again nowhere to be found.

“Haelun!” she screamed, her heart beginning to falter once more as the moon rose in the sky. The girl doubled over in the sand, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed. Before her the moonlight reflected off the waves and began to pool before her. The light, calming and faintly shining with the silver glow of the moon took the form of a rabbit before her. Kardem would stare in shock at the figure, rubbing her eyes once more as she tried to make sense of what was before her. The rabbit climbed onto her lap and reached up, placing its nose on hers before moving to hop away. It would turn back to her and stare as if waiting for her to follow. 

So she did. The forest filled with brightly colored flowers, each one bursting with orbs of light from the moon, each becoming a leverette as Kardem approached. The rabbit led the girl to the familiar lake near the city, the one with the willow she loved more than anything. From the cave beside it came another creature. A bear made of weaved willow branches, with leaves for fur and teeth of sharpened twigs. It barred the path ahead of her, standing on its hind legs and roaring. Kardem would stumble back in terror, the voice of her mother echoing in the valley. 

“The first Winema was of the Molimo Kardem. Of the Bear and Rabbit. The blessings of Bolomormaa are required to continue your path.”

The bear would roar again, taking a step closer to Kardem. She would swallow hard once again and stand, roaring back at the creature. It would step back, dropping down to all fours and roaring again. Once again Kardem would roar back, her voice carrying across the lake and through the cliffs of Elvenesse. The bear made of willow collapsed into twigs, and the Rabbit made of moonlight showed her the path forward. 

Her journey ended in the garden she grew upon her first trial, the rabbit hopping into the field of Black Cohosh and Helonia’s Root that she herself planted. Kardem entered her garden, and upon the blanket she left in the cave sat a figure. The familiar smell of her Haelun’s perfume drifted through the air as she approached the hazy figure. She sat there, along with an old owl that watched her with glowing yellow eyes.

“Kar. You have done well to get here my child. My legacy.”

The young elf would collapse onto the ground beside the woman, hugging her tightly as she cried. 

“I miss you too much Haelun.” she would sob, “Why did the Father have to take you so soon? Out of everyone else you healed, out of all of the disgusting creatures that crawl this earth, why couldn’t you have gotten to live?”

Her mother would pet her head, cooing in a soft voice, “Because it was to make you strong Little Bunny. Everything you have done, all the hardships you have endured, they have made you stronger. We do not learn by having easy lives.”

Kardem would only nod, unable to actually speak through her tears.

“Sleep now Kardem. You have been deemed worthy by our patron. You have earned your title as Winema, and you have made me more proud than I could possibly express.”

As her mothers parting words echoed through her mind, she would find herself falling fast asleep in her garden. In the morning she realized, unfortunately, it was all just a wild dream.

[RainbowRoad1234 102]

Medli Amaeden stood at the front gates of Elvenesse, her gaze narrowing toward the dense forest ahead. Her foot absentmindedly tapped against the stone, arms crossed over her chest as she patiently waited for the arrival of her beloved student.

"I've got all day, Kardem..."

[TwiSama 331]

Tahlia ap Tahorran was walking around the city with her son Emandriel, doing normal steward things, before she see's Kardem from the corner of her eye. Tahlia started to make her way to her until she had noticed Kardem was roaring like a bear and yelling for her Haelun. She'd perk a brow watching Kardem go to the direction of the Puerokar manor.

"What- what did I just see? Did Ehrendil give her shrooms or something?" 

She'd let out a deep sigh continuing her way to the Taliame'onn manor with her son at her side.