Shadows

Eleanor gazed down from the hill.

The friendly village of Joyvalley painted a picturesque view all around the foot of the miniature mountain. Birds chirped and twittered cheerfully in the clear blue sky, telling tales of the peaceful village and contented villagers below. At the time, it seemed like nothing could disrupt the peace and day-to-day activities of the villagers.

But everybody knew, darkness was creeping into their world, bit by bit every day. An evil force was waking in the north, from the very depths of the earth.

Eleanor's thoughtful blue eyes surveyed the land as she mulled things over in her mind. A gentle gust blew her shoulder-length hair about. It looked like a shimmering raven-black waterfall from a distance. She was pretty, but she seldom thought about her looks. In fact, she enjoyed being on the go and chattering about hunting, swordfighting and bows and arrows much more than admiring her features in front of a mirror.

The shadows were lengthening as the sun slipped ever lower behind the faraway mountains. Eleanor breathed in one more gulp of the fresh air before making her way to the bottom of the hill.

Half an hour later...

"I'm home!"

Eleanor's father glanced up from the top of his daily newspaper. "Well, it's time you were back, my girl," he grunted. Eleanor grinned. Despite his gruff tone, she could see his hazel-brown eyes smiling as she kicked off her boots at the door.

"How's your back, Dad? Does it ache much?" Eleanor asked him in concern. Nowadays, her father, Degon, frequently complained about a sore backache.

"Nah! It only gives a twinge or two once in a while. Do you think I'm too weak and old to bear that or what?" Fifty-nine year old Degon had completely forgotten about his increasing grumbles about backaches.

Eleanor was used to her father's curious ways. Her mother had passed into the void when she was only three years old, so her father took up the full responsibility of raising their only child. Eleanor could barely remember a trace of her mother, except a pair of startlingly blue eyes so very similar to her own.