MYRLLEN

BAM! The house shuttered as Myrllen slammed his hands on the table. However, when two of the old table's legs broke, he panicked and caught the table as it tried to fall. The male Stellan released a sigh as he kneeled and began to use his magic to repair the table. "Mamaa, that offer is fake! You can't accept it!"

Morgan silenced her oldest with a hand. "I have reason to believe they are honest, and that ship is The White Phantom."

Myrllen's forehead creased as he deeply frowned. "It's any old white ship, not a ship of legend!" He completed his temporary repairs and stood back on his feet. "Mamaa, they could easily put us into slavery! I don't want my siblings to grow up as slaves, and you shouldn't even think about risking putting your children in that situation!" He clenched his jaw.

"Myrllen! I'm doing everything for you, Camille, and Orion!" The Stellan mother released an exasperated sigh. "Myrllen, even with the money they gave us, we'll lose the farm before the end of the year." She buried her face in her arms on the table. "One way or another, we won't be able to stay here."

Myrllen froze as his mother began to cry, then guiltily frowned and rubbed her back. "Mamaa..."

"I'm ok," she assured as she sniffled. "If we can get out now... if we can start over in a safe environment..."

Myrllen sighed and glanced at his younger siblings as they peeked into the room from outside. He hesitated. "Whatever you choose, I'll support you."

The woman blinked in surprise and looked up at her son. "You're growing up so fast." She lovingly smiled as she reached under Myrellen's hood and briefly scuffed his hair before he pulled away.

"Mamaaaaaaa!" Myrllen wined as he stepped away. He frantically fixed his pale orange hair, then adjusted his hood as his mom lovingly chuckled.

Mrs. Estell looked to her other two children as they watched from the doorway. "Camille, Orion, Myrllen, start packing everything you can; we're moving to Draconia in two days." She looked to her oldest son, "Myrllen, you're in charge. I'm going to go tell as many people as I can about this opportunity."

Myrllen tried to withhold his frown as he nodded. "Yes, Mamaa." He looked to his younger siblings and weakly displayed a confident front. "You heard her; let's start packing. I'll start making extra crates."

Myrllen watched as his siblings entered the one-room house and started gathering the few personal items they kept near the worn, rolled-up sleeping mats stored in the corner. I still don't know about this. He withheld a sigh as he pried a few loose boards and planks off of the walls and neatly stacked them. Once he had a decent stack, he grabbed a hammer and began to nail the wood together, using a bit of magic to strengthen the newly-made crate.

The three Stellans packed everything worth keeping into the wooden boxes and any other container they could find, even the kettle. They finished after a few hours; their belongings only filled four small crates and the kettle.

"What now?" Camille looked up to her older brother with her lavender eyes nervously wavering.

"We'll wait for Mamaa to come back and double-check our work, and she'll decide what to do next." Myrllen smiled in weak encouragement. "We'll probably all move onto the ship and sleep there tonight."

"I don't want to sleep in a strange boat." Orion pulled his burlap cloak tightly around his thin form.

"I think I can convince Mamaa to let us stay here until the ship is due to leave." Myrllen weakly smiled as he lovingly hugged his little brother. "Why don't you two go to bed? I'll wait up for Mamaa."

His younger siblings hesitated, then pulled out their sleeping mats from the crates and rolled them out by the warmth of the fireplace. Myrllen watched them with a weak smile, but once they laid down, he grabbed a lit candle by its metal holder and stepped outside.

The cool night air greeted him as it ferried the scent of the ocean with a gentle breeze. The wooden steps creaked in protest as he stepped down the stairs. Myrllen looked up to the stars as he sat down on the bottom step, then quietly gasped as the wood cracked beneath him. Though he was now stuck, thankfully, the Stellan managed to control the candle and not light himself on fire.

"By the stars..." Myrllen set the candle down, then managed to free himself. "Why are you silent?!" He weakly called to the stars, careful to keep his low so his siblings wouldn't hear through the thin walls of their tattered home. "Your magic could easily save us! Please!"

Much to his dismay, none of the stars came down to answer his call. Neither did any of the constellations.

"Euquis?" Myrllen called to the horse constellation as it confidently blazed a path across the night sky, "Ae—Aevos?" Myrllen's voice cracked as the eagle constellation watched the world with the bright stars in its eyes.

No one answered.

Myrllen wanted to scream at the stars, begging them for answers on why they abandoned Majaki. What am I doing? No one has heard from the stars in years, generations even. What did we do to deserve this?

With a sigh, Myrllen sat on the ground and held his head in his hands. He thought about fixing the step but decided he wasn't up for it. It's not like we'll be living here much longer.

He thought back to the white ship, then paused as he remembered the silver sea serpent saying one of her captains was a Stellan. He nearly glared at the silent stars. "Hey! Whatever-your-name-is! Paradragon's or whatever-her-name-was's captain! If you're up there, I'd appreciate it if you and the other stars would do something! You're supposed to be our guidance! Don't just sit up there and look pretty!"

Myrllen waited with perked ears; his half-glaring face focused on the stars. For several moments, deafening silence.

Myrllen blinked as a star in the corner of his eye seemed to move, but before he could look at it, a strong breeze ripped his hood off of his head and extinguished the candle flame so thoroughly not even smoke rose from the blackened wick.

...Lad...

The voice graced his ears softer than a whisper, as silent as a feather in the breeze. Myrllen strained his hearing and feared pulling his hood back up; the fabric could potentially block the celestial words.

...Paragon is trustworthy...

Myrllen held his breath as he stood in darkness, the only light from the stars and the silver moon. His sensitive ears barely received each word from the voice that was rough like an old sailor but as gentle as the twinkling of a star.

...a gift from Lihania...

The unfamiliar word hung in his heart, yet, somehow familiar. Lihania... Instinctively, he associated the name with a sense of kindness and peace. Why does that word make me feel that way? Is Lihania so powerful its name rings with magic?

Myrllen broke out of his stupor and refocused on the stars. "Wait! Why speak now!? What can't you help us!?"

"Another's story."

Myrllen froze at the new voice that reached his ears like the whisper of a loving mother as her child fell asleep. Though still like a breath of wind, the two words reverberated in his head.

"What kind of answer is that!?" Myrllen raised his voice at the stars and spread his arms as he looked up to the glittering night sky.

"Myrllen?" A physical voice dragged Myrllen's voice back down to earth. "Sweetie, what are you doing?"

Myrllen instantly became aware of the crisp night breeze and pulled his hood up as the wind stung his ears. "Mamaa?" He picked up the extinguished candle and lit it with a small fire spell as he stood. The pinhead flame illuminated just enough of the night that the young Stellan could make out his mother's hooded face in the orange light.

"Myrllen, what are you doing out here in the dark with your hood down? You could get an ear infection." Mamaa frowned as she approached. "I know the stars have been silent, but you shouldn't yell at them. Let's go inside and warm up a bit by the fire. If your ears start hurting, please tell me so I can look at them."

I don't know if she'll believe me if I tell her... "I'm fine," Myrllen promised with a smile. "I was only talking with the stars; a breeze blew my hood off. It was only off for a few moments." The stars spoke to me... even I am struggling to believe it. Myrllen managed to smile at his mother. "Oh, the bottom step broke, so be careful." He offered a hand and helped her up the stairs and up to the door.

As his mother opened the door, Myrllen looked at her. "Mamaa, I think everything is going to be ok. I trust your judgment," and the stars. 

Author Notes!

I really like this chapter! It has both world building and character development! Its a two-for-one special for Myrllen! 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!