Harsh whispers called to the Moon Elf from over yonder. He spun around to find the culprit. Nothing– only the breezy beech trees calling him to come get lost in Dream Forest. It was strange. The forest was no doubt beautiful but past the backdrop of that beauty, an eeriness lay in wait. Jaival trusted his gut. He backed up in hopes to avoid the place and move onward to Eira Citadel with an about face turn, only to find an engulfing white light on the verge of exploding.
“You’ve got to be jok–” The blast knocked him on his backside.
Jaival had no idea what to expect. He’d fought prince and outlaw, cheated death and met with a demigoddess already. What now? The moon elf got back to his feet, waiting for the smoke to clear. Out of dust, something strange came out. No – something completely unexpected. It couldn’t have been more than the size of a child’s palm with glittering wings and a small, feminine body illuminated by pure light. A fairy.
“What the stars,” Jaival gazed at the little creature, confused by its sudden appearance. “A fairy?”
“Surprised to see me?” a familiar voice called.
I know that voice, he furrowed his eyebrows.
“Sorata?” Jaival quizzed.
“Shhh! You are not to use that name while I am in this form.” she squeaked.
“Hahahahaha!” Jaival erupted with laughter. He couldn’t help it. Her voice was so cute. It was the same as Sorata’s but high pitched. It was as if she were squealing to gather her words. If Sorata were to be in her human form she’d certainly be turning red.
“Hush, boy! This is the only way I can aid you on your quest and by the stars above, you will need my aid.” she huffed.
“Okay, okay.” It was hard not to laugh at her. The angrier she got, the cuter it seemed. “Then what do I call you? And how is it you’ve come to acquire such a fragile form?”
Sorata blasted a beam of energy at Jaival. It floored him once more.
“Hey!” he protested.
“Make no mistake – this form is limited but it’s enough to deal with you.”
“Fair enough.” Jaival looked away hoping no one else saw that as he got back to his feet.
“You will call me Alexa while I reside in this form. It is not me as you’d think. This form is a manifestation of my consciousness. I cannot physically be there in Star World with you. Not in my body. I must use this manifestation until the time is right.”
“I think the manifestation suits you well.” Jaival smirked and crossed his arms.
“Very funny, we’ll see who has the last laugh.” Alexa squealed.
A loud, bestial roar wailed across the air. Jaival trembled. He looked in the direction where it came from – the forest.
“Sor-” he stopped himself. “Alexa? What was that?”
“That would be your training.” a deviant smile coiled on the little fairy’s lips.
“My training?!” Jaival glanced at her.
A loud stomp shook the ground, followed by another and another – each one getting louder. The trees shook. An ominous presence was approaching. It moved the very earth with it.
“Alexa,” Jaival backed away from the trees. “Give me a weapon!”
“No.” she said cold.
What do you mean no?! Aren’t you supposed to help me?
A reptilian giant stomped out of the forest and peered down at Jaival and his fairy, saliva dripping from its mouth. It was as tall as ten grown men with four, muscular long arms and a tail even longer than its overgrown body. Its eyes were red like blood with a cat’s slit in the middle. Instead of skin it bore spiked, armored scales. The creature reared its monstrous, dragon-like head and roared so loud Jaival was certain he’d gone deaf. The force of the roar pushed him and Alexa back a few feet. This was a creature of folklore. So rare, so powerful – most thought it didn’t exist. They called it Linnorm, The Wingless Serpent.
“Alexa, give me a weapon!” Jaival yelled.
Alexa hissed. “Think, kid! What good would a blade do against an armored serpent?”
Jaival glared at the feisty fairy. She may have been right. Linnorm raised its spiky fists high to squash the moon elf and his companion. Jaival rolled right, barely dodging the attack. The miss infuriated The Wingless Serpent while the moon elf reached for some stones on the floor and pelted at Linnorm’s eye. It snarled from the minor irritation. All that succeeded in doing was pissing it off more.
Jaival did what anyone else would do in his shoes. He ran. Alexa flew to his side while the two made haste to flee from the rampaging monster. Linnorm tore the earth apart as it chased them, roaring wild for all to hear. Jaival weighed his options. If they continued running in open field, then it was only a matter of time before Linnorm would catch them. He had no choice. He had to cut into the fabled Dream Forest.
Alongside his fairy companion, they led their monstrous pursuer into the mystical woods. Though the atmosphere was clearly different; from the thick of the air to the uneasy quiet, and barricades of endless trees in every direction blocking out the sunlight, none of it made a difference when a relentless beast was right on your tail. Linnorm stomped through the forest, tearing down tree after tree in hot pursuit. The serpent wanted its prey.
Jaival and Alexa scuttled to the left to avoid an overhead swipe, making Linnorm stumble onto a tree. Seeing the monster down, they made haste to get away as far as possible. Linnorm, however, was not prepared to give up. It smashed the ground using all its fists, sending a seismic shockwave in all directions. The impact floored Jaival and his fairy, giving the monster a chance to catch up.
Alexa buzzed around his face. “The bracelet! Use the bracelet!”
The bracelet? Ah, that thing! Jaival pulled it out of his pocket. He remembered the strange magic emanating from it. He wondered if it’d help them when he looked straight ahead and saw the crazed serpent charging toward them. He slapped the band on his wrist and writhed in pain. Streams of white and black energies encircled him as he cried out.
“Jaival!” Alexa cried out.
Linnorm struck again with a fist plummeting to smash them into the ground. Jaival dove forward to avoid the attack, Alexa whisking behind him. They ran underneath the monster – causing the beast confusion. Jaival wasn’t certain of the bracelet’s power, so together with Alexa, they kept running. Linnorm swung its tail at them and smacked the moon elf like a ragdoll into one of the nearby trees. Alexa wailed when she saw Jaival flung so lifelessly. She twisted her face with anger and shot beams of light at Linnorm. While it did well to keep Linnorm distracted, forcing it to swipe fruitlessly at the little fairy, Alexa knew her efforts would not be enough.
Linnorm may have been a wild creature but it was still intelligent. It wanted flesh and bone, not fairy meat. Jaival slowly opened his dazed eyes to see the creature coming for him. This was it. He’d cheated death before – it didn’t look like that would happen again. But something boiled in Jaival, refusing to yield.
The moon elf stretched his hands at the creature and drew on a hidden, inner power. The bracelet lit up with light and shadow energies, and sent a stream of explosive twilight magic at Linnorm – forcing the creature to stumble backwards. Alexa froze airborne. When she saw Jaival went limp, she was certain she’d played a dangerous game and it came back to bite her. Now that she saw Jaival using twilight energy, it had her speechless. She knew well of twilight magic, probably more than anyone else.
Jaival fired another stream at Linnorm. The creature stumbled again, this time, falling into a tree. It cried aloud, terrified by the energy Jaival was harnessing. The serpent wailed once more and staggered away, smashing through tree after tree as it fled. Jaival looked at his hands.
What is this power?
“Well done.” Alexa swooped down, glad the moon elf had passed her test.
Jaival shot a cold gaze at her. “Is this Twilight magic?”
Alexa knew it was not the time to be coy. She’d almost lost him due to her intentional vagueness, though she debated if it paid off.
“That is correct.” The fairy kept it short.
Jaival clenched his jaw and reached for the fairy, grabbing her by the neck. He knew she was up to something, but whatever it was, in that moment, he did not care.
“You have some explaining to do Sorata!” his grip tightened. “What is this?! How am I now able to wield Twilight magic?!”
Alexa shoved him off using a blast of light energies.
“You’ve always been able to wield it,” she coughed, regaining her breath from his grip. “The armband only brought it out in you.”
Jaival looked at his hands again.
If Void magic was feared and outlawed, Twilight magic was the hidden spell school no one was allowed to even know of. Jaival had only discovered vague hints of the magic through books in the Shadow Temple’s library, though those books had many missing pages. There was not much known of the spell art in general and much of it was airbrushed and censored. What was known however, was that Twilight magic wielded both light and shadow energies to create a harmonized balance. It was known that wielders of the spell school had to have an understanding of every other school of magic, but Jaival knew nothing of the others. How did this happen?
“That bracelet is an amplifier. It brings out what is in the wielder’s inner realm.” Alexa continued.
Jaival quizzed. He remembered feeling the light and shadow energies on the bracelet before.
“You,” he looked at Alexa cautiously. “You are a Twilight user!”
A thin smile came to the fairy’s lips.
“And it looks like you might be on your way to be one too.” she added.
“How is this possible?” Jaival shook his head.
“That mark we share is the Mark of Twilight. That is why they say whoever carries it must face a great destiny,” Alexa’s eyes met the floor as she thought of her past. “A great responsibility.”
“I see.” Jaival didn’t know what to think. For some reason, Julith came to his mind.
It devolved his mood.
“…shall we press on to Eira Citadel?” he suggested.
Alexa tilted her head. “You do not want to know more of the Twilight?”
“No,” Jaival flatly stated. “There will be a time when I know you’ll have no choice but to tell me.”
Alexa closed her eyes and smiled. Perhaps she had chosen her successor right.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Arrival at Eira
JAIVAL AND ALEXA REACHED THE GATES of Eira underneath the setting suns. The pair had been travelling for days. Jaival grew worried the closer they moved to the tall gates of the capital. He was certain he’d be denied access to the city, despite having grown up in there during his teenage years. It left him with a perplexed feeling. In a way, he was sort of returning home.
“I’m not sure of this. They might not let us in.” he muttered to his fairy beside him.
“Relax, I’ve got it kid.” Alexa gleamed.
The two halted in front of the fortified gates. Jaival dropped his head back to see how tall the gates truly were. It made him nervous. An outer layer of water surrounded the capital of Eira, allowing the archers to have a field day if anyone dared approach their domain. The Gate Guardians noticed Jaival and his fairy. They were quick to take heed of them, so in standard procedure, the armored juggernauts called out to the duo.
“You there! What business have you in the capital?” One of the seven asked.
Jaival tensed. He was not afraid of them. He was afraid of rejection.
“I’ve come to–”
Alexa buzzed in his face. “Be quiet, let me speak.”
“Be my guest.” he shrugged.
Alexa flew in front of the guards, buzzing around them with starlight twinkles.
“What’s this? A fairy?” The guards quizzed.
“Ahem,” she cleared her throat. “Let us in.”
They started laughing. “Sure, little one. Just show us your papers of recognition and, or, trade.”
Alexa sighed. She focused on the guards, her eyes as fierce as a cat, her body illuminated with light. The guards at first had no clue what the fairy was up to. They thought she was on the brink of unleashing a catastrophic spell – so they drew their weapons. But their aggression quickly changed. They became pacified, possessed by some kind of arcane magic.
“Let’s try this again,” Alexa smiled. “You will let us in the city and you will bother us no more.”
The guards blinked and repeated. “We will let you in and we will bother you no more.”
The tall gates began shifting aside and the bridge was let down for access. Jaival’s eyes widened.
Just what is the extent of this demigoddess’ power?
“Your superiors will be proud.” Alexa continued, waving her hand at Jaival to get a move on.
“Our superiors will be proud.” They said hypnotized.
“And you will be rewarded for your service.” she said as Jaival walked by, looking at the ironclad knights bow to the little fairy.
“We will be rewarded for our service.” They continued.
Alexa flew next to Jaival, poking him to move forward through the gates.
“What was that? Some sort of mind trick?” he asked on their way in.
“I sprouted hallucinations in their mind.” Alexa seemed uninterested in the conversation.
“That seems very deceptive.” Jaival said under his breath.
“Call it what you want. It was necessary.”
***
The pair entered the streets of the city, gazing over all its beauty, wonder and madness. There were statues all over – some of heroes of old, including Mikael, which the pair stopped to study. Beautiful manmade waterfalls were a common sight. Scores of tightly packed homes stretched beside the streets. Jaival remembered it well, though the years had brought much change in different ways. As a boy, he didn’t have the time to reflect on it. It only occurred to him after he left.
People moved through the streets on various agendas – some for work, others to convene. Children played outside with laughter and cheer. Couples danced carelessly and the yells of marketplace auctions could be heard from afar. It was no place to trifle or be trifled with. Guards were on every corner, their watchful eyes paying close attention to everything that moved. Jaival felt momentarily overwhelmed from all the commotion.
“How do we find Mikael in this madness?” The moon elf asked as they made way deeper into the city, doing their best not to bump into the crowd.
“When there’s a will, there’s always a way.” Alexa twinkled.
A loud horn sounded across the air. Denizens of Eira Citadel halted their routines when they heard it. They knew well what that horn was and what it meant. It was the horn of the officials and if you were to hear it, you were to stop whatever you were doing and pay attention. Open-aired carriages entered the main courtyard, pulled by horses with ironclad guards as their riders. The people gave way for them.
“Greetings citizens.” Helios, the Eira Citadel’s Commander announced in one of the carriages. There were three carriages – each carrying important members of Eira Citadel’s Knight Academy – from captains to officers. The most prominent figure, and the goal of Jaival’s quest, Mikael, was also there. He allowed the commander to speak on his behalf.
“When there’s a will there’s a way, huh?” Jaival whispered to his fairy while peering at Mikael.
“Mhmm.” Alexa sealed her lips to contain an inner excitement.
“We are in search of able-bodied men to carry out their duty for your nation. Later this day, around the hour of five, a tournament will be hosted for the participants. This is not regular soldier duty, only a few will be chosen to train as a Phoenix Knight under the special tutelage of Grand Guardian, Mikael.” Helios, the fair elf with red hair who was armored to the teeth, matched eyes with all the curious.
Many eager men found it difficult not to be excited. It was a common dream for them to become a Phoenix Knight; a defend
er of mankind. Especially after Baldr, the once great hero, who was a Guardian himself. Such a title was widely respected and feared since it was known only few Phoenix Knights remained active. They were tiers above the average soldier and legend had it that their skills and training came from The Ancient Titan himself.
“This may be our chance.” Alexa whispered.
“For those who are interested, we will be having a sign up here.” Helios' voice became nothing but a distant noise, echoing in Jaival’s head. Something else caught his attention. It stopped time around him. In the distance, past the backdrop of city buildings, atop one of the many Citadel balconies, Jaival saw someone he simply could not take his eyes off. Forget the fact that she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen – there was a magnetism about her that called to him. It was Arya, Princess of Eira.
For some reason, he remembered what he’d said to Julith while he stared at The Princess.
It brings me closer to the thing that’s been missing in my life all these years.
“Jaival?” Alexa noticed the moon elf’s wandering focus. He couldn’t look away. She peered in his direction to identify what in the stars had possessed him. “Oh,” Alexa fluttered her eyes once she saw the princess, gazing over the crowd with a concerned look. “Oh, oh, oh – I see. Yes, I do indeed. Eyeing the fair maiden, are we?”
“Who is that girl?” Jaival was dumbstruck looking at Arya.
A strange solace came over him. Seeing her made him forget about revenge.
“Rather silly question for a lad who spent time here. That is Princess Arya – heir to Eira’s throne.” Alexa replied.
Arya’s eyes wandered over the crowd, looking at the potential Phoenix Knights, then her eyes met Jaival’s. Both gazed at one another, forgetting the whole world around them. He was just as magnetic to her as she was to him. It was as if they’d said a thousand words without moving their lips.
Who is that young man? She wondered.
Cyrus came to her side, interrupting the moment to tell Arya something private. Whatever it was, it needed her immediate attention, so she began walking away with her bodyguard, but not before taking one last glimpse at Jaival.
Xenosaber: Fury of the Stars Page 4