Chapter 6

Milton handed her a cup of tea, "Now drink this. It will help heal your body faster."

Ayla took the cup, smelled the tea, drank, closed her eyes, and said, "Embelia and white eclipta. Embelia for healing and white eclipta to help me sleep well."

"You are good with plants, aren't you?"

Ayla shrugged, drank some more, and replied, "My mother used to say that the royal garden bloomed with all kinds of flowers and plants on the day I was born. Even to this day, I don't know if she was joking or telling the truth. Besides, I only know the healing plants used by the Water Mages."

Milton laughed, "There is no such thing as healing plants used by the Water Mages. Fire Mages, Water Mages or Dark Mages use the same plants for healing."

"But Drax told me that Water Mages use different plants than the Fire Mages."

"I have no idea who this Drax is, but he doesn't sound like he knows much about magical healing and alchemy."

"Well, you see, Drax is a Water Mage novice. He is, was, my only friend."

Milton shook with laughter, "I think your friend Drax failed his Herbology Class."

When the Fire Mage finally stopped laughing, he asked Ayla, "Do you know why all Mages use the same plants?"

When Ayla shook her head, Milton continued, "Because healing wasn't a gift from Adanoss or Inoss and most certainly not a gift from Beliar. It was the last gift of Aylarra to Inoss."

Ayla narrowed her eyes, "Aylarra is the name of our planet. And it was Inoss that created it."

Milton pointed at her amulet, "I thought you knew since you are wearing an aquamarine. It is the stone of the goddess Aylarra."

"I never heard of a goddess Aylarra," Ayla said.

"That's because we don't talk about her too often. When the Void created the gods from his emptiness, he created four gods, not three. First was Inoss, the Fire, then Beliar, the Darkness, followed by Adanoss, the Equilibrium. Aylarra, the Peace, was the last of the gods and the only female. Inoss loved his brothers very much, but Aylarra was his favorite. Even the Void and Adanoss loved the gentle Aylarra with all their souls. Beliar didn't love his sister and was jealous of her. One day, filled with rage and hatred, Beliar killed the goddess. When Inoss found the dead body of Aylarra, he wept, and the first planets and stars were born from his tears. And because he loved her so much, Inoss made our world from her body. In the beginning, the planet was bare, but when the Fire god stepped on it, it was filled with flowers. Do you know why?"

Ayla was so captivated by the story that she almost missed Milton's question.

"No," she answered.

"Because Inoss used to call his sister Ayla which means flower in the language of the gods."

"So my name means flower," Ayla said.

Milton nodded," And from her last gift to Inoss, Mages and herbalists make all sorts of potions and remedies. There are women that worship her, even if she is no more. After all, Inoss created the woman from the image of Aylarra. The women that worship Aylarra usually have an amulet with an aquamarine."

"In Myrthana, we worship Adanoss. This amulet belonged to my mother. And before that, it had belonged to her mother, my grandmother, and so on for many generations. But I never heard them talk about Aylarra. Thank you for telling me about her, even if her ending is sad."

Milton gave her a sad smile, "You know, there is a bit of the goddess in each man and woman from this planet."

"How so?"

"Because Inoss created the humans from the soil."

Milton looked out the window, "It is growing late, and I should let you rest."

"Thank you for talking with me and taking care of me," Ayla said.

"Just doing my duty. And if you ever need to talk to someone, I would be happy to listen to you."

Before he left, Milton added a few logs into the fireplace, helped Ayla settle for the night, and retreated to his tower.

That night Ayla dreamed of flowers and snow. When she woke up, she tried to remember something about her dream, but no matter how hard she tried, Ayla could not remember. In the end, she let it go.

While she got up from bed, Kerra, in her battle form, tracked all her movements. Ayla went to look in the mirror that was in the room. She frowned when she saw how she looked – she lost weight, the undergarment she was wearing hung loose on her body, her black hair lost all its shiness, her blue eyes looked haunted, and the dark circles under her eyes made her look more tired than she felt.

When she finished studying herself in the mirror, Ayla decided to inspect her new room. Given that this was her new room. It was simple but beautiful. Feminine. Apart from the bed with its two typical nightstands, the table, and the mirror, two chairs, a wardrobe, a desk with an armchair, and some empty shelves completed the room's furniture. Soft rugs made from animal furs covered the stone floor.

On the table, Ayla spotted some books, a bouquet of flowers, and a basket with fruits. She had never seen flowers like these before, they were small, white, delicate, and the petals formed a bell. She picked the bouquet up and smelled them – the scent wasn't familiar to her, but she loved it.

After that, she decided to look at the books. There were five in total, three of them about medicinal plants and flowers from all over the continent, and the other two about stories and myths about the gods.

"Oh, Milton! Thank you!" Ayla said.

A door closed behind her, and when she looked to see if someone had entered the room, there was no one there. Ayla frowned, but she turned her attention back to the books. She picked up one, took a fruit from the basket, went to the bed, sat on it, rested her head on Kerra's belly, and started reading.