Legends of Calmere - The Tale of Tanim Amura

By day, Tanim Amura, or ‘Nim’, as she was more commonly known, was a shepherdess in the Calmerian forests. By night, the young fairy would take one of her flock to the heights of Mount Lorkin and wait for the stars to fall, because aside from being a lowly Glist-herder, Nim was also an apprentice Star-Catcher.

*

The Glist was a remarkable bird, the largest and swiftest in all the land, which made it ideal for star-catching. Nim had a large flock which she tended to daily and sold at the market, but Farron was her prized flier; she had nurtured him from a chick and had been taking him out with her since her very first night on star duty. He was a magnificent creature, with feathers the colour of the darkest night’s sky, thus helpfully camouflaging him as they sped through the air, across the mountains and hill tops, in search of falling stars.

Stars were extremely sought after by wizards and warlocks and even fairies, though mainly the wickedest kinds of these beings, as their powers were so great that the magical possibilities of them could, in the wrong hands, cause terrible damage. That, along with the ultimate consequence of falling stars leading to a starless sky, meant that the Great Mage Alversicus had required an apprentice to aide him in his nightly duties. After seeing Nim race Farron at the annual Sky Race one year, he had appointed her immediately, and by that same night her work as a star-catcher had begun.

*

Nim climbed upon Farron’s back and ascended Mount Lorkin, arriving at its peak in a heart beat, the cold night air whistling around them as they sat upon it in silence, watching the sky.

During her time as an apprentice she had become an expert at spotting stars which were ready to fall. To her, the night sky was like a huge stretch of sticky black glue and the stars were like jewels stuck into it; where the sky began to loose its tackiness a star would appear to slightly wiggle and slide, and Nim’s eyes would quickly pin-point the wayward star as it were coming unfastened and she and Farron would race towards it with her star-sack and catch it before it had time to fall to the ground.

On some nights her sack would be overflowing with blinding orbs, which she would then take back to Alversicus’ tower for him to re-stick into the skies another night. Some nights, there would be only a few of the sparkling things in there, buzzing about at the bottom like frightened fireflies.

This night seemed different to Nim for a reason she couldn’t quite put her finger on. The air was as cold as it usually was, and as clear as it usually was, but there was something strange about the sky tonight, something just wasn’t right.

She and Farron sat for a long time observing the stars, trying to spot loose ones. But not a single one moved, and as much as that should’ve been a comfort to her, it wasn’t. It made her feel anxious and unsettled; the sky wasn’t normally like this, it was never, well, never this sticky.

After a few hours Nim had grown increasingly restless and worried. Farron had taken to chewing his claws with his beak in frustration; his eyes darting from one place to the next, as if searching for the stars himself. When she could stand it no longer, Nim climbed upon Farron’s back and gently pulled on his wings, instructing him to fly. She didn’t know what was going on, but she did know somebody who might.

*

Terwin McAllafry’s bookshop sat on a busy street in the neighbouring kingdom of Lamonna. It had been left to him by his aunt many years earlier, and since then he had done an admirable job of taking on her role in the community as both keeper and dispenser of knowledge. It was said throughout the whole land that Terwin’s bookshop always had a book on its shelves that could tell you whatever it was you wanted to know about anything. And so, with this in mind, Nim rode Farron away from the enchanted forests of Calmere and into the grandeur and breath-taking beauty of Lamonna Bay.

As it was the dead of night, the whole harbour village was deserted, the inhabitants of the land safely tucked up in their beds. Nim landed Farron atop of the bookshop, climbed down from the roof and knocked on the back door.

Through the small square of glass she could see a figure emerge from the shadows, carrying a stub of a candle and muttering something she couldn’t quite hear. But as the door opened and Terwin saw who his visitor was, his expression changed from that of annoyance to one of delight.

“Ah! Little Nim, my fairy-friend!” he exclaimed, taking his glasses off his squashy red face and rubbing his eyes.
“How glad I am that it is you who has disturbed my sleep; I expected it to be some drunken fool seeking a map to lead them home!”

He chuckled and patted Nim on her shoulder, beckoning her inside.

“Come in, little Nim, let me fix us both a warm drink. And then maybe you can explain to me why you and your wing-ed friend have come to see me at such an unearthly hour!”

They sat amidst the chaos and comfort of Terwin’s treasure trove of books; he on a rickety old stool and Nim on a rather wobbly table, their warm drinks cupped in their hands as they spoke in hushed tones by candlelight. Nim told her friend of her predicament and he listened intently, nodding his head here, shaking it there. Once she had finished, the old man looked at her with a very solemn look upon his usually cheery face.

“Tell me, Nim, have you had any unusual traders at market recently? Has anyone unfamiliar to you bought one of your Glist in the past few days?” Nim thought for a while, quickly searching her mind for a memory of a strange buyer. Her search turned up a result.

“Oh dear!” she exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock and realisation.
“There was a peculiar fellow who came to see me not long ago, a cloaked character who paid double for a reserved flier; I was due to sell him to one of the local elves, but he persuaded me to sell the bird to him instead”

Terwin nodded his head.

“Vildoth. It was most certainly Vildoth who bought your Glist, little Nim, and it is even more certainly he who is fiddling with the night sky”.

With her mouth hung open in confusion and guilt, Terwin could see that the young fairy had never heard of Vildoth before. He gave her a reassuring smile and proceeded to explain.

“Do not worry, Nim, you were not to know. Alversicus chooses not to speak of him; he banished him to the exile islands a long time ago, for what he did was indescribable.
You see, Vildoth was once, just like you, Alversicus’ apprentice star-catcher. He betrayed Alversicus; he began stealing falling stars for his own ill-doing, and left the magician no other choice than to dispel him from the land. I am surprised he has had the courage to return, if I’m honest. He must be replacing falling stars with false stars, yes, he must, and you should hurry and find Vildoth before he steals all the stars and uses them for whatever he has planned. He is a devious fellow and the possibilities of his mischief are not to be underestimated"

Terwin rose to his feet.

"Now," he said, urging Tanim to rise to her feet also,
"take Farron and fly back to Calmere as quickly as you can, for the night only has a few hours left before daybreak, and if he is not stopped before then, well…it doesn’t bear thinking about”.

Nim gave her friend a thankful hug as she left the bookshop and climbed up to its rooftop and to her loyal Glist. She had no idea how she, a humble shepherdess and novice star-catcher, was going to foil the plans of such a tricky character. Her heart pounded as she flew away from the peaceful harbour and back towards the thick forests of her homeland, all the time her mind racing with thoughts of the arduous task that lay ahead of her.

No sooner had she landed on Mount Lorkin’s peak, Nim began scouring the skies with a greater urgency than ever before, only this time, she was not looking for falling stars; she was looking for Vildoth. She knew he was flying Rowva, the Glist she had sold him, and that just like her, he was probably wearing a dark cloak to disguise himself. Her only advantage was that she knew Rowva was not as swift as Farron, for of course, she had chosen the best flier for her own. But Rowva was still a very speedy bird, and spotting him would be extremely difficult.

She slowly scanned the horizon. She was looking for a shadow across the stars, a ‘blinking’ of the sky; the tell-tale sign that there was something travelling through the atmosphere that shouldn’t be. Just then she spotted it; it was so quick a movement that had she not been trained in sky-watching she would have easily missed it, but she did, and immediately set off in its direction. “Now, Farron…” she whispered to her flier as they ascended at great pace, “…I need you to fly like you have never flown before!”

Whizzing over the treetops so fast that her knuckles were white from clinging onto Farron’s feathers with all her strength, Nim flew through the air towards the spot where Vildoth was busy plucking stars from the sky and swapping them with false ones. When she was merely a few lengths behind him, she had Farron slow his pace a little, so as to sneak up to her target without announcement.

Her plan was to creep beside him and snatch the sack of stars from his grasp before he had time to become aware of her existence. Farron appeared to almost tip-toe through the air, if ever a bird could. They were a hand’s-breadth away now, and Nim saw her chance and leant out to grab the sack.

Suddenly, Vildoth spun around and threw a bolt of lightening into Nim’s chest. He had been aware of her all along; in fact, he had detected her presence the instant she had left the mountain, and had simply been biding his time. The force of the lightening was so strong that Nim lost her grip of Farron and fell from his back, plummeting towards the ground and her death. She was badly burnt, looking just like a falling star as she dropped from the sky, whilst Vildoth watched on with merriment and roared with thunderous laughter.

As the icy air rushed around her, Nim closed her eyes and prepared herself for the end. She landed with a soft thud, though not in the forest or the mountains as she had anticipated. She had landed right into Alversicus’ lap, and almost wept with delight when she saw his welcoming face looking down onto hers.

“Well, Tanim Amura” he said, gently lifting her onto Farron’s awaiting back.
“It seems Terwin was right; Vildoth has returned. I think it’s time we got rid of this rotten soul for good, don’t you?”

The look on Vildoth’s face as Alversicus rose up from the clouds was one of shock and distaste.

“Alversicus!” he snapped, darting a short distance away, the sack gripped firmly in his hands.
“Do not come any closer! I will take the stars from my sack and cast you into oblivion if you step a breath closer to me! It is I who has the power tonight, old Master! Tonight you are the apprentice, and I am going to teach you a lesson!”

Before he had chance to speak a word further, Alversicus raised his staff above his head and brought it down with an almighty crash, sending his foe tumbling from the skies.

“Now, Tanim!” he yelled, to which Nim flew Farron towards the falling sack and snatched it with trembling hands.
“Grab an orb and throw it at him! Quickly!”

Nim reached deep into the sack and gripped a star, hurling it through the air.

“Allamon, derion, garra te vorr!” Alversicus bellowed as the orb span through the sky, striking Vildoth and splintering him into a thousand glistening pieces, which fell to the ground like a shower of falling stars.

“Oh, Alversicus!” Nim said as they watched the ashes of Vildoth fade,
“you saved my life!”

The mage smiled and shook his head.

“No, Tanim Amura. You saved my life and the lives of many others too”.

They were flying back toward Mount Lorkin now, and the sun was starting to rise.

“But…” Nim began.

“Hush now, young Tanim. You have proved to be an extraordinary apprentice. Now, get some sleep, for tomorrow night, your adventures begin again!”