The Founding of Firefly Falls

Firefly Falls is an island, about 300 miles off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. The only way to access the large spacious hidden island is to travel by boat from Hawaii, although flight is an option there is no landing strip or helicopter pad on the island. This causes the atmosphere of the island to remain calm, safe, and protected. It thrived for centuries untouched by human hands, allowing the animals to rule and reign as the sole inheritors of the land. There has always been something strange about it here…because there was magic. Similar to the way California sits on a fault line, Firefly Falls sits on a ley line-a magical spring of sorts that hangs in the cosmos. Because of the ley line, magic is stronger in Firefly Fields.

As centuries passed and the Hawaiian tribes began to expand, they sought to explore the island. However, realizing the strength of the magic here-they knew they had to stay and protect it. And thus, the tribe lands were claimed by the wandering tribe, and they began to harness the magic and protect it. It was through there working with magic that the bonding ritual was created, as some of the animals still seemed to manage to escape the magical influence of the island. As ships began to explore the seas, they knew they had to do more, creating the mask that lay over the forest, and hid the magical beings from greedy eyes. Humans just saw a tiny island not worth claiming, but would leave their animals behind sometimes not wanting to deal with carting them back across the seas. Other animals came to the land via shipwreck, though this was not as common.

It was tales of this magic though that brought Lord Charles Louis Alder and Lady Marie Elizabeth Alder, a husband and wife both wealthy in riches and held a high ranking in England to claim the land as their home. They were drawn to the magic of the island because they themselves were shifters; Lord Charles a falcon shifter and Lady Elizabeth a unicorn shifter. They wished to safe guard the magical island from any foreign invaders that might seek to exploit the magic, and worked with the tribe. The tribe agreed to move to a specified reservation, though not without some fighting over it. Lord Charles wished to build an academy like no other; one that appeared completely normal but was a safe haven for all the magical beings alike. The academy was built in the late nineteenth century; a grandiose castle like building. Soon the town of Firefly Falls followed, though the academy remained the only building for several years besides those created by the Hawaiian tribe. However, as the student population began to grow, and the whispers of what purpose the academy served grew, the town began to form around it. The town developed with one idea in mind. That was to protect the wildlife. All the animals on the island are protected under this law.

Quasar Academy itself was set up to be Charles’ idea of a perfect school. The electives of riding were the main focus, and still are. While the classes are geared toward education and do not exploit or expose any of the magical talents of the students, most if not all the staff is immersed in some way within the magical community; either by being magic themselves or by dabbling with it. The academy does accept regular students, but generally not without some sort of proof that they know nothing of the magic. The academy is the epitome of the bonding ritual; as no one is ever seen unless they want to be, by a regular human. Those with powers can take special electives to learn to control or harness them, or they can choose to have a regular education. If ever a need arises though, they can always seek the assistance of the staff.

The academy and the town grew for a time, but as the Alder couple grew older and less promotion of the school was done, the numbers to the academy began to dwindle. When the great world wars game and the pacific became a battle ground, more time was spent helping wounded that were found on the shore than was spent teaching the students. The Alders, as their last act of kindness to the world, offered up their home to be a hospital for wounded pacific soldiers. In doing so, it forced the tribe into further hiding, not wanting to be involved. They thus became known as the forgotten tribe. For a time, the town began to pick up again as the new people were invited in, and it was there that the Alder’s eldest son, Charlie (clearly named for his father), met with the girl of his dreams, a nurse in one of the hospitals. They were married soon after and started a family of their own.

After the great wars though, the town began to dwindle again. Several of the more prominent members of the town left, missing life on the mainland or to seek business ventures elsewhere. When the elderly couple passed, they left the house to the eldest of their five children, Charlie. He and his beloved wife had two beautiful daughters, and they continued to live on, happy in the peace of the island. Once his daughters were old enough to attend the academy, Charlie worked to remodel it. The building itself is completely remodeled inside with the exterior still remaining the old castle. Many of the halls were disconnected from the castle to develop small dorms and the stables, each on apposing sides of the building.

It was through the school that the eldest daughter met her high school sweetheart, a simple boy named Damion Parker. They wed after graduation, and began to start their family soon after. But Damion Parker was not quite the simple boy she thought he was. Again the number of students dwindled, and seeing the academy failing and not sure what else to do, they stayed there, in the quiet hallways.

And it was into this house, that the children of Martha and Damion Parker were born. The oldest a daughter, that they named Kara. The second a son, of which they named Leslie; then came two more sons-Cameron and Ashley. And finally, the daughter, the prodigal daughter...Abigail. In this house, these five children were raised; and in this house the depression affected all of the family; the mother and the father most of all...the father, as he sat there in his castle and counted all his crowns, slowly succumbed to alcoholism. And he was not a very nice drunk. Scars on the boys could attest to that; long lashes from the belt and scars from the buckle. And the mother, she barely spoke if not spoken to; afraid to say something he wouldn't like. And when she wasn't enough, he would go to Kara's room. And amongst all of this, Abigail's abilities flourished. Amongst the fear, amongst it all, the empathic little psychic flourished, because she was mostly ignored and forgotten. Cameron turned to thievery to get what he wanted, Ashley turned to raping women for the thrill of it, and Leslie...well, that would come in a moment. Kara, to deal with the pain, turned to drugs. Abigail's first imaginary friend wasn't imaginary at all-she was the ghost of one of the Hawaiian tribe girls, who had died at a young age from an unknown disease. She taught Abigail about her people, about her culture. And then it happened.

Leslie caught his father in the act of beating Cameron for having said something about what he was doing to Kara. And a switch flipped in Leslie's mind, not unlike the electric chair. And he took the belt that his father was beating Cameron with, and he wrapped it tight around his father's neck, and he held it there-and held it there, and he took a knife and stabbed him repeatedly, because it wasn't going quickly enough. And little Abigail, hiding in her play space of the empty cupboard, heard, and saw, it all. Mommy dearest walked in, and saw the scene. And she looked to Leslie, and kissed him sweetly on the forehead, taking the knife from his hand and wiping it clean on her shirt, before grasping it herself and taking a stab. And with tears in her eyes, she ordered Leslie to go take a shower; and marched up to her room, and hung herself from the rafter there.

Having no family to turn them over to, the caretakers of the property adopted the children, but little Abigail could not unsee what she had seen, and silence fell upon her. Her imaginary friend disappeared as other more sinister beings haunted her dreams. And she stopped speaking, for a year not a word crossed her lips, and she lost herself in reading and coping down poetry; far to dark for the mind of a five year old child. And when finally she did speak again; it was in such riddles and rhymes that no one could understand her. Kara left, running away to Vegas and ending up taking over a drug cartel at the age of eighteen. A murderer at thirteen, Leslie loved the thrill of watching the blood flow, and made a game of it. Cameron stole for the pleasure of it now, cause he had nothing in his life to be happy about. And Ashley, well, what was poor little Ashley to do with no one to teach him how it all worked?

Ten years went by, as the other children grew into crooks and criminals, and Abigail was a darkness to extinguish the light. The nightmares surrounded her, followed her around. She wore black to try to blend in with the darkness she felt she was consumed by. But it was never enough. And finally, finally, perhaps, the world smiled upon her-for one fateful day on the beach, a wind tore her black hat from her head and she had to chase it, running into a knight in shining armor...Leabhar Fior. And he was dazzling, and he was amazing in every way-and he was hers in a moment. He didn't know how young she was, how could he have? And they had their secret meetings...and one day, made love.

And Cameron, always protective of his youngest sister-found out, and planned to tell Leslie to kill him. And Kara found out, and returned, and stole her baby sister away and told Lee to run...not realizing that Abigail was pregnant. Eight months of running, and a car accident occurred that nearly made Kara lose both Abigail and her unborn child. Rushed to the hospital, an emergency c-section, and having to put Abigail into a drug induced coma for a week, the child and Abigail survived. But when Abigail awoke, she had no memory of the past year of her life. No meeting Lee, no being pregnant, no memory of running. And Kara, blessed Kara, thought it was time to take her position as the older sister-and got the whole hospital on point with her, as she was always the persuasive one, and Abigail thought the baby was Kara's. Kaylen Sierra Fior. For three years, they moved a lot, so the brothers could not find them. And finally Lee found them, he had been looking all along too. And in a rush of vertigo, Abigail began to remember...

But it was all too soon, and the brothers were upon them. They left in the night, leaving but a love note to Lee. Whisked away into the wilderness, where they never thought they'd be found. Fast forward two years: Kara joined the army, and Lee found them all again. And in the wilderness they lived. And in the wilderness, they realized Kaylen seemed far more fond of animals than of people...and discovered what the magic behind her daughter was; being able to communicate with the wilds. Their daughter left the nest at 16, having completed high school early, and left for college. She came out six years later with a master's degree in both agriculture and education. By then, over a decade and a half had passed since it had all began; and the family had settled down finally. Wanting nothing to do with their past except to leave it behind them, they told Kaylen about the island that belonged to them, the history of the castle, and what was there. Told her about how powerful the magic was there. Fast forward another three years, and she had a PhD in Psychology to add.

It was time to return to her roots, and make the best of the past. Armed with her sister's persuasion and her mother's sweet looks, she managed to travel to the far away island. Upon arriving the beautiful castle was the first thing that stood out. The bricks seemed to look just as clean and new as when it first was built, like a protective sheet was placed over it. This sparked Kaylen to rebuild the forgotten island, to make it once again home to many like her.

It just wasn't about making the best of the past anymore, it was about making the academy flourish again. It was about providing a safe place for all; the gifted and the not, the broken and the forgotten. And it wasn't about learning academics, but learning love and the pursuit of happiness...