Naterra - The Swords of the Four Elements E-Book

André Pfeifer

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 114

Beschreibung

In the fight against evil, an ancient nation created magical swords. These swords are able to unleash the powers of the four elements. But not even those weapons could prevent the nation´s downfall. Under mysterious circumstances, children dream themselves into a magical world. There is an abandoned castle. And hidden in the vaults under the castle lie the secrets of the once powerful nation, protected by a dragon. Four children, four dreams, four elements. In beautiful pictures and on magical places unfolds the story of the search for the swords, of the temptation of their powers, of hatred, friendship and love.

Leseprobe

Andre Pfeifer was born in Germany in 1968. He lives in Portugal now. On countless journeys from Alaska to Australia he discovered his love for nature and adventure and puts it in his writing.www.andre-pfeifer.de

For Maximilian and Nicole and all children who have dreams

Four Elements

Stand in the middle of the rain and feel the rain drops’ blessing.

Stand in the middle of the fire and try to love that beast.

Stand in the middle of the wind and listen to your inner child.

Stand in the stream of earth and try to be good.

Freely adapted from Wolfgang Borchert

Contents

Introduction

Map

Water

Fire

Air

Earth

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Two and a half thousand years ago, a wise man lived in Akragas, a part of ancient Greece. His name was Empedokles. He believed that our world was entirely made out of four elements.

Water, Fire, Air and Earth.

But only after adding hate and love, our world came alive.

What if our world was not the only one in this universe? What if there were several worlds besides ours. Many of them completely untouched. Mystical creatures living in harmony with mother nature.

Spirits floating in between gigantic trees and waterfalls. There are no modern humans. No one to destroy the peace.

What if we could visit these worlds in our dreams? We might be stronger, smarter and full of courage. In our dreams, we can do things and make decisions we only dare to dream. One of these worlds is called Naterra and that’s where this story begins.

Water

A girl wakes up from a deep sleep in the middle of the forest. Morning dew covers the ground. Little water drops sparkle in the light of the rising sun. But the girl is dry, not a single drop decorates her clothes. She lies on her back on soft moss, looking at the golden green tops of huge trees. The trees sway in the wind with their leaves rustling as if they had something to say to the girl.

But it’s not the trees who speak to the girl. A small wasp buzzes around her head. “Enola, come with me!”

Enola? Is that her name? She sits up and tilts her head thoughtfully. Moving her fingers through her long dark blond hair, she studies the wasp. Did this little creature really speak to her? Or did she just imagine the words?

“Enola, come on. Come with me! We need your help!” The wasp flies ahead.

Without thinking, the girl follows the wasp through a labyrinth of thick stems and ferns as high as men. There are beautiful flowers everywhere along the way. They bloom out of tree trunks and decorate them until high up in the sky. The subtle fragrance of the flowers attracts butterflies and many different species of humming and buzzing insects.

Enola would like to stay to admire the sheer beauty of the forest but the urgent words of the wasp made her curious.

Where the noise of a babbling creek blends out the sounds of the forest, she catches up to the wasp. “Whom should I help? And with what? I …”

The wasp, who was just waiting for Enola to point the way, is already flying ahead upstream. Soon, Enola loses sight of it as she jumps from stone to stone along the water’s edge. Occasionally, she pushes obtrusive ferns out of her way and climbs over moss-covered fallen trees, out of which colourful flowers grow.

She enjoys her walk and breathing the fresh-scented air whilst listening to the creek’s bubbly gurgle.

Soon, the noise of water drowns out everything. Enola quickens her pace. Suddenly, the green of the woods recedes. She finds herself on the shore of a small lake, fed by an enormous waterfall.

Reverent, she looks up to the rushing water and spots a sword. It seems to float motionless half-way up inside the waterfall. No whirl, no squirt disturbs the sword’s enchanting sight. It looks like in a dream with the water falling right through it.

Spellbound, Enola comes closer. The sword begins to glow brighter and brighter with her every step. As she reaches the waterfall’s base, the sword shines as if it was the sun itself.

The wasp flies towards Enola. “The sword. You have to get it.”

Drowned out by the gushing water, Enola can barely hear the wasp’s words. In disbelief, she watches out for the wasp through the thick mist surrounding her.

“Me? How should I get the sword?”

“Don’t you know about your connection to the water?”

Clueless, Enola glances at the wasp. “What sort of connection?”

“Water, fire, air and earth. The four elements. Every human being is connected to one of them. Go to the water and you will see!”

Carefully, Enola takes a step forward, touching the surface of the water. Her foot doesn’t go under. The water is as hard as stone. Amazed, she steps on to the lake. She can walk on water.

Enola beams. She dances around in circles and starts to laugh. What a miracle! She spots the wasp on shore and waves to her. Then she raises her view to admire the sword. How can she reach it? She could climb up the waterfall, couldn’t she?

Enola’s mouth escapes a scream when the water around her starts to move. A geyser rises from the lake, moving her higher and higher. She watches the sword coming closer and blinded by its brightness, she rises her hands to cover her face. The sword finds its way into her hands by itself and its shine fades while the geyser recedes into the lake. Enola feels like she’s falling until the water on the lake’s surface catches her softly.

Enthusiastically, she jumps on shore, pointing the sword towards the sky. It’s as light as a feather. Enola examines the sword, which is made of millions over millions of tiny water drops, magically entwined together. They sparkle like diamonds in the sunlight. Simply gorgeous.

The wasp breaks Enola’s fascination.

“Come on. We have to go, there’s no time to waste.”

Enola struggles to keep up. Again and again she is distracted by mosses, lichens and ferns, tiny little things reflecting the forest’s beauty. Unexpectedly, the forest ends and Enola passes the last trees before facing an endless desert. She’s unable to spot a tree, nor a bush or one of the smallest animals. Not even a blade of grass. Instead, sand, gravel, stones and rocks.

Wasteland. Dead land.

Undisturbed, the wasp buzzes ahead.

Enola stops. “I’m not going out there. No way.” She shakes her head.

The wasp comes back. “But you have to.

Can you see the castle in the distance?”

Enola blinks and indeed, she spots a fortress through the glimmer of the rising heat. A castle towers on a mountain top surrounded by mighty rocks.

“An evil demon dwells over there and because of him all life has vanished.”

Puzzled, Enola gazes at the wasp.

“What’s a demon?”

“A being with magic powers, strong, mighty and often very evil. But you can beat him, Enola.”

“Me? I’m just a child. How am I supposed to beat a demon?”

“You have got the magic sword.”

“The sword …” Reverent, Enola lifts it up.

She can see how it sparkles and shines in the colours of the rainbow. Still admiring the beauty and feeling the sword’s power, Enola responds. “Yes, I have got the sword.” But her confidence fades quickly. “Do you really think this is enough? Just owning the sword?”

The wasp lands on Enola’s shoulder. “Of course not. You have to know what to do when the time comes. Listen to your heart. Seek trust in nature. Even if it seems like there’s no nature out there. Now go on, Enola.”

There is no such thing as shade in the woods. No fresh air, no water, no life. Like a robot, Enola makes her way towards the castle. With her sleeve, she wipes the sweat from her forehead and glances up.

Suddenly, she stops. Through the flickering air, she can see dark shades which are coming closer and closer. Enola can make out callous faces, hidden by the shadows of the dark warriors’ hoods and unease creeps up her back when she notices dark swords, partly hidden inside their cloaks.

“Go home little girl.” The words sound harsh and contemptuous.

Enola lowers her gaze. Her breath is heavy and irregular. She can feel her heartbeat getting faster and she is unable to control her trembling hands. When she moves back, the wasp leaves her shoulder. The dark warriors try to catch the wasp.

At that very moment, Enola regains her courage. Quickly, she steps between the wasp and the fighters. “Stop it! Why are you doing this? The wasp hasn’t done anything to you.”

“She lives. We don’t like that.”

“But …” Enola is bewildered. “But life is the centrepiece of all being. What would the world be like without life? Can you see the forest behind me?” Enola looks back over her shoulder. “Every tiny plant, every spider, every bug or worm has a purpose …”

“Enough!” The darkest warrior raises his sword and attacks Enola.

She parries the first hit with her magic sword, then the next and another. Instantly, Enola finds herself in the middle of a fight. She doesn’t know where her skills are coming from. The magic sword seems to lead her. Every move or twist to parry the dark warriors’ attacks is fluent and swift. She feels what to do. Parry right, then left and duck and turn. Going down on one knee, she raises the sword above her head.

Although she is able to parry her attackers easily, Enola is desperate. Why do these warriors fight a child? “Stop. Please. We haven’t done anything to you!”

But they don’t stop. Their number increases and desperately, Enola devotes herself to the sword. It now leads her not only to parry but also to attack.

To her surprise, every enemy she destroys with the magic sword turns into grey mist. Soon, she finds herself in the middle of a huge cloud of it. All the warriors are gone.

Appalled, Enola stares at the sword in her hand. She loses grip and it drops to the ground. Through a veil of tears, she watches its fall. She doesn’t want it any-more. She doesn’t want to fight ever again. Not like this. She feels like the sword possessed her. It changed her mind, turned her into a warrior, so she was able to defeat her enemies by herself. However, this fighting didn’t help the dry land on which she stands. Silently, Enola weeps to herself.

Meanwhile, the fog becomes darker.

Enola looks up. In the distance, a dark shade appears. Rapidly, it comes closer and closer.

“The demon, Enola. Pick up the sword!

You have to pick it back up.” The wasp circles above the magic sword in excitement.

Enola steps back, tears in her eyes. Without saying anything, she shakes her head.

“Please, Enola, only with that sword you can defeat the demon and save our homeland. If you really want to help us then pick up the sword.” For a moment the wasp hesitates. “I know you’re afraid of its power. But you can overcome it. I feel you can and you know that, too.”

Enola looks up. With the demon only a few meters away, she can hardly make out the wasp through the almost black fog around her.

“You destroyed my army and now, I will make you pay for it!” The demon raises a black sword. It is also a magic sword. A sword, which absorbs all light around them. A sword filled with hatred. Hatred against mankind, plants and animals. Hatred against the whole world.

In a threatening way, the demon approaches Enola. To her confusion, he is neither a monster nor a ghost. Hidden under the hood is a boy. This realization catches Enola off guard. She doesn’t understand why the boy has turned into a demon. She doesn’t understand why he has become evil and wants to turn the world into a wasteland. And she doesn’t know how to defeat him. In despair, Enola watches him come closer.

Unexpectedly, the magic sword lightens up more and more. Astonished, Enola lowers her gaze. It sparkles as if stars on a blue sky are reflected in the sword. But those aren’t stars, they’re water drops. Millions over millions of water drops, caught inside the sword. This sword is made of water. Water is life. Water is what this land needs. Instantly, Enola knows what to do.

Quicker than lightning, she kneels down and seizes the sword. She holds it tightly and jumps up, collecting her thoughts about the sword in her hand. She feels the power it gives her. She feels the water that it holds. Just as the demon stands in front of her, she reaches back and throws her sword into the sky.

War and weapons bring nothing but sorrow. Except for this sword, it brings rain.

High up in the sky, it gets torn apart by the water from inside. Countless water drops are released.

At this moment, the demon is very close. Enola feels his hatred, his thorn. She can see his sword racing towards her and raises her arms to protect her head. She shuts her eyes and wakes up back at home. It was only a dream.

*

Whilst breathing quickly, she sits up in her bed. She is soaked in sweat and needs a little time to recognise that she’s at home. Her stuffed animals, her crayons on the desk beside her flute, her books on the shelf, a picture of a wasp above her bed. Outside her window, trees sway in the morning wind and raindrops fall against the window in her room.