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Chapter 2.
The entire Noordan community was abuzz with the news that Annabel's quest would begin tomorrow morning. An epochal event, this quest would be Noordan's first in more than two hundred years. Even so, not everyone was pleased by the news and debates were being waged throughout the normally serene community. Advocates for Annabel going on the quest pointed out that she had passed her final exam. "That," they said, "was the final bit of proof she is capable of surviving a week on her own. Why, her magic is the most formidable we have ever known. It will insure she returns with her skills only strengthened by the quest's rigorous demands." Those who opposed her going correctly argued that none of the last five Noordan sent on quests ever returned; and, that no one knew what their fates had been. "They might have died, been enslaved, been injured, or had any number of other mishaps occur. Remember," they said, "that was the reason that quests were suspended two centuries ago. Because we don't know what happened to those five, it's foolish to send our most magically gifted citizen away and risk having her suffer a similar fate." One additional, unvoiced fear also existed. It was that other countries might once again become aware of Noordan's existence. A millennia ago, when elves still lived in Noordan, other countries had plotted to invade Noordan and enslave its people. Those countries wanted the elves' magic for themselves. The elves had learned of those plots and then thwarted them by implementing a two-part plan of their own. They first spread rumors that Noordan had been destroyed in a great catastrophe. Then they placed wards around the country's borders. Those wards prevented non-magic people from seeing the land as it truly was. Instead, they saw an impassable wasteland that brought death to all who entered. The plan was successful. No outsider has ever ventured within Noordan's borders since that time. While the debates continued throughout the country, Annabel was with her family enjoying a pleasant evening at home. Their decision about the quest had been made months earlier: If Annabel passed all prescribed tests, she would go. Though duly concerned for their daughter, her parents would stand by their agreement. Annabel had successfully met every previous challenge. They knew she would meet this one, too. HISTORICAL NOTE
At one time, a quest had been an integral part of every young Noordan's rite of passage to adulthood. Though quests were often considered difficult, they had never been considered unduly dangerous. That changed two hundred years ago when the last five Noordan to go on quests never returned. The Elders of that time convened to determine why quests had become so dangerous. Their findings pointed to a decline in magical abilities among Noordan families. Head Elder Cynthya Dohrlan issued the following mandate:
The Elders then ordered their historians to research each family's files in the official archives and determine when the magical abilities had begun to decline. What they learned was not encouraging. The records showed that the elves, prior to departing Noordan seven hundred years earlier, believed that magic would increase with each generation. It had, for almost two hundred years. Then the trend reversed, and the magic in most families started to decline. Eventually, only a few families still had magic as strong as when the elves lived in Noordan. Of those, the strongest magic resided in the Tooke family. END OF NOTE
The full strength of Annabel's magic is not known, but she is the first Noordan to successfully pass, without the use of a wand, the prescribed tests set down two hundred years earlier. It is this ability that led to her intensive training since childhood and the Elders' authorization to go on her quest. Tomorrow, the amphitheater will overflow with supporters wanting to see her off. |
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