Anelia was snapping pictures of buffalo in the State Park that was home to elk, buffalo and plenty of deer and wild turkeys. The park also included a nearby bird sanctuary. It was a drive through park, there were a few spots outside of the buffalo area that had picnic tables and allowed people to get out of their vehicles, but it was warned against to leave your vehicle in the buffalo section. Anelia however did not care, it was almost impossible to get good shots from out of the car window. The buffalo were calm and docile, they did not mind large noisy vehicles rolling through their area, they barely noticed Anelia who kept her distance and respected the large beasts space.

Anelia was a modern day druid, she had come from a long line of devout druids, and was of Welsh descent. Anelia knew all about druids, they specialized in divination, and performed their rituals in isolated forests, in the past they had often used human sacrifices in their rituals. She of course did not agree with the human sacrifices bit, and she was not particularly interested in divination. The world was a sad place, full of crime, war, stupidity, and a carelessness for nature and it all was taking it’s toll on earth, she had no desire to launch her inner sight into the future and see what was to become of the world.

Instead Anelia had learned the healing magic, she wanted to be a Park Ranger, in a park like the one she was in now, and healing magic would come in handy if an animal under her care was wounded or sick. Anelia also loved photography because it gave her a reason to go out into nature and watch animals. Anelia often came in contact with people who claimed to be a ‘wiccan’, these people annoyed her. They had no magic skills, they did not even practice their supposed religion, they just used it as a title for themselves. It was something to get them attention, make them feel special, and Anelia was sick of all the different ways the human race clamored to get attention and be seen as different and special. Anelia did not advertise that she was a druid, because as she believed, anyone who truly has a belief should not use it as a means to look pious or good. A religion or belief was something personal, therefore it should remain on a personal level.

When Anelia had taken quite a few pictures she looked down at the plasma screen on the back of her camera and scrolled back through all the pictures she had taken, most of them were quite nice. She couldn’t stay as long as she would like because she was supposed to be attending a tail gate party with several friends of hers in a place they all loved. It was a place Anelia had found on accident when scouting out a Greenways bike trail, she had seen a forest with a trail marked by two old marble pillars, of course that had got her interest and she had went in.

In the forest she had discovered several chimneys standing on their own, further on there were several old remnants of buildings. There was also an old pool, with what must have been shower rooms next to it. There was also a cave in the area, you couldn’t go very far into it, Anelia and her friends had tried, but it was still neat. The place had been a great photo opp and after doing some research Anelia discovered the place had once been a lodge but it had burned down, apparently the chimneys were all that remained of that lodge.

Anelia was asked to bring some drinkage and snacks for the party, so she had bought several six backs of bottled soda, including Sunkist, her favorite. She had bought two bags of chips, Sun Chips, her favorite, and Sour Cream and Cheddar Ruffles. She had also thrown together her famous No-Bake Cookies, all of this was in the backseat of her plum PT Cruiser which she was turning toward now to put her camera away. She looked behind her PT Cruiser to see if there were any shots of elk or deer she needed to get, but there were no elk or deer, though she was awestruck by what she saw.

There was an enormous hill, a bit like a Missouri mountain, and on the hill was a castle of some sort. It was not a grand castle with lots of towers and spiraling stair cases and balconies, but even from this distance she could see the glint of the gold on the door of the place. Set beneath the castle were several homes, they looked sturdy, possibly made of granite. A great fence surrounded the base of the Missouri Mountain….at least, it must be a Missouri mountain…she was still in Missouri, right? And a gate would allow people in…if the guards deemed them worthy.

Anelia was sure this was not in this park, she had been in this park many times and had never seen this, was she dreaming, or seeing things? She turned, now facing in the direction where the buffalo had been grazing, she had just taken pictures of them, but they were not there…there were no buffalo at all, and this was not the park either. Vast grasslands sprawled out before her as far as she could see.

She turned back around hoping the hill bearing the castle had been a mirage of some sort, but no, it was still there. She held her camera up and snapped a few shots of it, then let go of her camera, letting it hang against her, supported by the strap around her neck. She hurriedly opened the back door to her PT Cruiser and reached for her purse which was setting on the console between the two front seats. She dug through it until she found her cell phone which she pulled out and began dialing a number. But when she put the phone to her ear it did not ring, there was no signal at all. She pulled the phone away from her ear and glared at it, then looked back up at the village and castle on the hill, she shook her head and tried dialing again, another number this time.

Still, no signal, she thrust the cell phone back into her purse and climbed back into the backseat of her PT Cruiser, this time retrieving her lap top which was in it’s case behind the driver’s seat. She unzipped the carrying case and yanked out her new Dell Inspirion laptop, she pulled it open and hit the on button, hurriedly she typed in her password when it was asked for and the computer finished logging in. Immediately she tried to access the internet. She couldn’t call anyone, she’d try to instant message someone, surely one or two of her friends would be on their computers now.

Eowyn rushed into the Feasting Hall where her brother Eomer and her cousin Prince Theodred sat having a cool drink and talking in a jovial manner. Both men looked up at her as she entered and paused to catch her breath. “What is it cousin?” Theodred asked before he took another drink. “There’s this….big purple….thing. It just appeared out of nowhere!” She exclaimed confusedly. This put a smile on both men’s faces. “A big…purple…thing.” Eomer teased his sister, she sighed heavily and gave him a ‘be serious’ look. “Also…there’s a person by this…thing. It appears to be a woman.” Eowyn went on, Theodred nodded. “A big purple thing and a woman, this bears some looking into.” Theodred stated as she stood up and set his mug down on the table with a thump. Eomer shrugged and followed as Theodred and Eowyn left the Feasting Hall to go and have a look.