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Composer : Oscar-Go Title : "Ambush" Time : 1:32 Formation : Eight |
Alise was an adolescent of some 14 years, much like any other living in Ripewood. In fact, the only thing that set her apart from the others was her grandfather, for he was none other than Pantal the Great, Druid-Magician-healer, as he never tired of reminding people. Sadly for him, the villagers did not see things quite this way, taking him in fact for nothing more than a charlatan. His problem stemmed from the fact that he had lost his family ( all except Alise ) in an ambush some years previously. He blamed himself for not having been there to save them. The villagers had found the dismembered bodies some hours later surrounded by troll tracks and spore. Everyone held it against him that he had not foreseen the disaster, perhaps because it was obvious that he himself was devastated by the fact that he had not done so. Afterwards he fell into a deep depression. At first he was so ashamed that he could not even bear to see his granddaughter, Alise. This situation lasted for more than a year.
The poor child, who had been taken in by one of the other families in the village, often went to see her grandfather, simply watching him for hours on end without speaking a word. He ordered her to leave him be. At night he wept alone in his house, tortured by his conscience. Then , as the days went past, little by little Alise began to speak to him. Finally he came to realise that she loved him deeply, after all, he was the only member of her family still alive. Thereafter Alise went to live with him and nothing in the world could have forced them apart. But the neighbours remained reticent and never evoked the past in their presence.
Alise possessed one other quality which set her apart from the others, her elven beauty. It was true that her father ( Pantal's son ) had for a time frequented the elves but nevertheless, though it was but a small step from that to saying that Alise's mother was an elf, it was a step that no one dared to take. Pantal alone knew the truth of the situation. His daughter in law had been barren and so, having a loving heart, she had accepted that her husband should frequent an elven woman, one whom he had loved in his younger days. And it was she who, 10 months later ( elves carry their children for 10 months, perhaps explaining why they are less numerous than humans) gave birth to a beautiful baby girl whom she entrusted to the human couple.
Now; two years previously, the elves had become aware of the tragedy which had befallen Alise and asked Pantal to return the child to them. He , however, could not bring himself to part with her. Therefore, with good grace, they had allowed him to keep her , asking only that she should be reunited with her mother and that she spend half of each year with them in the forest. Pantal immediately accepted their generous offer. And so they both paid regular visits to the elven village where he availed himself of the elves hospitality and knowledge, while she discovered the loving tenderness of a new mother.
At fourteen years of age, Alise's beauty , grace and vivacity left no one indifferent. She was like a fairy creature. Her gentleness and fleetness allowed her to become one with nature. When she sang it was like birdsong, her words were like the bubbling of a brook and but to see her was to know happiness. Above all, her capacity for learning marked her out as a potential magician the likes of which had not been see for generations.
But now the Spring Festival was drawing near and soon Alise would be running with her friends the elves through the streets of Ripewood.
At the same time :
