Evangeline hovered down towards the forest. Ravaen’s question echoed in her head as she floated over a stream not far away from the temple.
Small pink and maroon glowing orbs suddenly appeared around her body, encircling her. She played with it to get her mind off things.
How could he even know? She thought. Her hair danced like she was underwater as she played with her orbs. Her body glimmered shades of red as the water beneath her slowly rose and wrapped her. The wind blew lightly and she closed her eyes. She remembered all of her studies back when she was only a child. She recalled the stories her father told her about how they ended up in this world, about how they discovered Unibeltrasia.
Evangeline remembered the story of her people quite clearly.
“My daughter, never tell of anyone of this. For this might bring us troubles,” her father’s voice echoed in her head. “This secret is shared with the Elves and the Trasidars alone, and it must be kept hidden from the world.”
She was still above the water, gazing at the darkened sky. The moon and stars shined in the night’s black blanket, giving light to all things ominous. She thought of the task ahead and the challenges it would bring. She slowly turned to go back to the temple when she suddenly saw Glaivel. His stare was uncomforting. Evangeline jumped off the stream, passed Glaivel and headed towards the temple.
Glaivel pulled an apple from his pocket and followed her. Evangeline could hear Glaivel’s loud voice as they entered the forest.
“Did you tell him?” Glaivel suddenly asked. Evangeline stopped midair and turned to Glaivel. “Why look so shocked?”
Evangeline descended gently on the ground, her eyes focused on Glaivel.
“Don’t stare at me like that, your highness.” He took one last bite and threw the rest. “We are friends after all. You can talk to me,” he said smiling.
Evangeline could feel his sincerity and sat beside Glaivel.
“What is it that bothers the mind of the Princess?” Glaivel asked.
She sighed and looked up at the same sky she saw earlier and Glaivel followed her gaze.
“It was just that, how did he know about the secret? There aren’t any legends or myths that even speak of it yet he knew,” she said to the empty space in front of them.
He stared at her as she did the same. Their eyes met for moments then both looked away. Glaivel scratched his head and whistled. Evangeline felt a little uneasy.
“The sky is so beautiful, even when it’s dark. Am I right, Princess?” Glaivel suddenly said as he held up his gaze to the stars again. Evangeline looked at it and slowly smiled.
“You’re right. It does,” Evangeline answered as she began to calm down completely. “What was it like?” Glaivel asked.
“What does?” she asked back, confused of his question.
“The world you came from,” he answered. “What was it like?”
“I never really knew about it,” she answered with a smile. “I was born here, in this world. So I never really knew what the other world was like,” Evangeline said. “But my father told me stories about it,” she added.
“Tell me.”
“Well, my father said that it was also beautiful. He said that the other one also had a moon, but much smaller than this one,” she said, pointing to the moon, half covered by clouds.
“Wait, your moon is much smaller than ours?” he said.
Evangeline only beamed at him. “Hard to believe, but yes,” she answered.
Still a little bewildered, he kept asking, “Okay then, continue with your, uhm un-worldly stories.” He chuckled and so did she.
“When it snows there, he said, it covered up the whole land. Unlike here, only two kingdoms have the pleasure of experiencing it,” she continued.
Evangeline kept telling her stories that amused the Viris Prince. A world without magic. A world where only one God ruled the lands. A world where one God was powerful and almighty. Stories that were similar to the other yet so different.
They kept on talking until midnight. Evangeline felt secured and just went on with the stories her father told her. Evangeline laughed and so did Glaivel.
“And lastly,” she said and with it her smile faded and stared blankly in front of her, “a world where peace was impossible. Where war was everywhere.” Her face was stricken of sadness and cold despair. Glaivel only looked and quietly listened as he became uneasy with the Princess’s sudden change of tone.
“A place where sadness ruled despite a loving God. Where every family was fragmented by meaningless battles,” she continued as her eyes began to tear up, “battles for land, for the King’s selfish greed. Battles that were of total nonsense.” Glaivel only looked at Evangeline as she wiped the tears that ran down her face. “That’s the world where we came from, a world where we were chased like animals. A world where we were chased like pigs.”
Her voice started to crack. Glaivel stepped back as her hair burned bright pink.
“Calm down,” Glaivel said as he held her hand tightly. Evangeline quickly snapped back and realized that she was about to explode. She held his head with her hands and tried to calm down as fast she could.
Glaivel patted her softly at the back as he tried to help her calm down, “It will never happen here, don’t worry.” he said.
Evangeline leaned her head towards Glaivel as he comforted her. Evangeline began to calm down and slowly gained control of her power by taking several deep breaths.
“I’m sorry. I almost lost control again.” Evangeline said.
“It’s okay,” Glaivel said calmly and both let the moment pass. They continued their stargazing when Glaivel suddenly said, “Hey Evangeline, can I ask you one more question?”
“Sure, what is it?” she said.
“If magic is forbidden in the other world, how did they find out what you and your people were capable off?” he asked as he was confused about this little of a detail.
Evangeline stopped waving her feet and paused. “My father told me that the very first Grand Sage of our people had a twin. They were both granted title Grand Sage, but the older brother, whose name was lost in our archives, was the stronger one. He was loved by all. Then the twin brother got jealous,” she said.
“Okay, go on,” Glaivel said when she scratched her right leg and her fingers continued to twitch.
“So the younger twin betrayed them and told the ruling royals of their abilities. He told them about my people and assembled an army large enough exterminate us.” She again cleared her throat and continued, “So you already know what will happen next. But because the older twin brother was cunning, they prepared a colonizer fleet and fled the main land and somehow ended up in this world.” She clapped her hand once as she finished it. Evangeline looked at Glaivel who was satisfied about that little detail.
“Oh, so no wonder you guys are too cautious.” He joked at Evangeline, she patted him on his right arm and they both laughed.
“Yeah, said the one that is not too cautious,” she said kindly. But Evangeline somehow remembered something that she was supposed to do this afternoon so she looked at Glaivel, “Hey, I’m sorry for knocking you out the other day.”
“Uhm, can we just forget about that?” he said.
“Okay, but can I ask for your forgiveness?”
“Is it that important to you, Evangeline?” Glaivel asked.
“Yes, I’m a Princess and I was taught to ask for forgiveness if I had done something wrong towards other people. So?” she was about to ask him again but Glaivel already stood.
“Okay, okay. You are forgiven,” he said as he extended his arm to her.
She smiled and hugged Glaivel so tight that she unknowingly lifted him up.
“Uhm, Evangeline. I think we should go back to the temple now.”
“Oh, yeah okay.”
“Can you also put me down? I’m really not used to being lifted by girls,” he said Evangeline suddenly dropped him to the ground.
Glaivel fixed his suit u
p. They continued on as they went back to the temple and Glaivel started to tell stories of his own.
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At the borders of the Trasidar and Middle kingdom, Graveloth was on his way towards the temple. He was tired from running through the kingdoms for days with just water and a couple of packed biscuits in his backpack.
He decided to just walk the remaining stretch and tried to enjoy the scenery that night. He was astounded by the large moon and the starry sky. The mountains were lit by the glowing moon and the breeze of the air blew coldly through the land.
This was the first time he set foot on unfamiliar lands. The only land he knew was the home he grew up in, Mathron, the frozen metal city that sat on a cliff. The skies always burst of destructive light streaks and the sounds were only the explosions of thunder in the sky and the non-stop clanging of hammers in the workshops.
Graveloth was not used to this peaceful environment. As he now found the marker on the map, he blew air from his mouth out of exasperation. It was a crossroad. To his left only was a pathless forest and to his right he saw a far away town that was dimly lit by the distance.
He looked up to see the enormous moon that was crawling a little away from the middle of the night shrouded sky. He noticed a star, a very familiar star. It was the star he had been following all this time.
He looked at it more closely and the star suddenly twinkled, and one of its arms somehow pointed to the left, just like what the marker clearly indicated. His eyebrows rose and he stared in its direction for moments. He swallowed and went to the path on his left. He was fairly certain that he was on the right path. He followed it and began the final stretch of his journey.
Graveloth entered the forest and his path started to darken as the sky disappeared beyond the branches. He kept running and running until he stopped to drink some water from his bag. He wiped his mouth and looked around. There were only trees, behind more enormous trees. He put the water back in his bag and continued running.
After couple of minutes, Graveloth decided to walk and he saw a little break of lunar light not too far from him. He smirked and hastened his steps. He kept walking and walking until he exited the dark entrance and was in awe to see a more beautiful part of the forest.
The area was better lit than the rest of the forest. The trees looked livelier even at night. The wind breezed but not as cold as before. He took a deep breath and he could have sworn that it was the freshest air he took in his entire lifetime.
He took small steps to see more of what he considered the most beautiful place he had ever seen. He indulged in its breathtaking scenery. He was astonished even more to see the mountains that now glowed and glittered even brighter. The stars were much clearer and the moon seemed to emit rays of light blue in the sky. It was like the sun of the night. It was a beautiful sight indeed, like sweets for the soul, and this was the sweetest of them all.
He continued towards the temple to finish his journey, hoping for a pleasant and worthy rest.
He came across an unusual tree with lots of fruits. He approached it and climbed to get some for him to eat along the way. He deployed his sword gauntlets to help him climb up. Graveloth slowly climbed and reached the branch of the tree.
He reached to his right and left and grabbed two of its fruits. He took a bite of one and enjoyed its unique taste. Graveloth finished, he jumped down and landed on the ground, with one last fruit in his mouth. And again, he kept walking towards the temple.
Out on the horizon of the trees, the temple slowly rose up in his view. Graveloth was amazed as it slowly revealed its elegance, its secret beauty. The Eldemensters Temple, in his mind, was one of the most elegant and well-kept temple despite being hidden from the maps of the world.
He continued to follow the slowly revealing path when he suddenly heard some movement from the bushes. He kept walking, walking forward while minding the mysterious bush. He kept his stride as his eyes constantly swung left and right and his arms firm and ready to strike.
He felt an awfully weary sensation. He heard the same noise again. But this time, it was louder. He held his stand and deployed his blades slowly from his armlets, scratching a faint hiss as it positioned. It reached full length and the hushed hiss finally stopped.
He held his stance for moments, as he could sense his fellow’s unwanted presence. A presence that made him feel more tense and unsure. A feeling that was dangerous for anything that surrounded him. From his forehead, a drop of sweat slid down, as it hit the ground, he quickly turned to his foe.
To his surprise and awe, it was the largest boar he had ever seen, with its tusks twice as long as his arms. Its eyes glowed of dark red because of the lunar light. Its nose let out a foggy breath and its hair grew from its head to its long puffed tail.
It looked directly in his eyes as the boar looked eager to attack. Waiting for his next move, the boar growled quietly, a sign that the enormous boar was hungry – very, very hungry. He lowered his back slowly as he prepared for an impending tackle. He spread his right foot and he accidentally steps on a twig, cracking it in half and breaking his focus. He quickly snapped back his sights to the boar which was already charging towards him with its tusks. The earth shook and he prepared to dodge. In the nick of time, he rolled to his side and he escaped the deadly tackle from the boar.
The boar quickly got back to its feet and struggled to turn his sights back on Graveloth. With his left knee glued to the ground and his right sword stuck to the ground, he looked at the aggressive boar. The boar breathed and spread its front legs, preparing to charge again. Graveloth stood up and walked toward the raging boar while it looked and locked its sights to the slowly approaching Graveloth.
It showed its razor sharp tusks and charged once more. He suddenly stopped and then quickly charged head on towards the raging boar. Graveloth held his arms towards his back and leaned his head forward.
In Graveloth’s vision, the boar’s galloping slowed, catching every moment in the scene. He moved his arms towards its tusks and grabbed it, pulled himself up, and pushed the boar’s head with full force, avoiding the deadly attack.
He jumped on top of the boar and he leaped again, landing behind it in a spin. The boar crashed to the ground as it made a wave of dust and leaves.
Graveloth prepared himself for another attack as the boar tried to stand up. It struggled, knees shaking. Graveloth locked on to a part of its body as the giant boar regained its balance and momentum. Its razor sharp tusks leaned forward, ready to launch one final charge. Graveloth set himself to one last battle stance. They both stared into each other’s eyes, gauging their enemy’s last bits of strength. Graveloth redeployed his left sword and crossed both his arms against his chest.
The dawn was nearing its wake, the sun just peeking over the horizon. Sweat ran down from his forehead as he waited for the boar’s attack. Eager to end it quick so he could have his long awaited rest (and maybe a lot of meat for him to feast).
With a powerful roar, the boar surged at Graveloth. Graveloth put one step back, braced to subdue the boar.
The ground shook with the boar’s raging steps. The boar tackled Graveloth and was able to pin him to the ground under its enormous weight. The dust settled and the boar did not move with Graveloth still beneath it.
From under its belly, Graveloth was breathing and still alive. He struggled to push the boar away. Between them was the hilt of his sword that slid in the boar’s belly just moments before it came tumbling on to him. With all his force, he managed to put the dead boar aside and its body limped to his right.
He retracted his blood stained swords, still catching his breath.
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Sevidon was cleaning his sword making sure it was in good shape. He was satisfied to see his own reflection on it. He smiled and slid it back to its scabbard. He gazed back to the ever lightening view when the wind blew strongly. He smelled something, something that only him, and a few Viris and Venis, could smell. He
caught a whiff of air again and made sure that he smelled it right. He stood up and walked on to the ledge. “We have another visitor,” he said to himself. He jumped down to the ground and made his way towards the forest.
End of chapter XIII
XIV: BLADES & FEATHERS
IT WAS EARLY MORNING AND the birds sang merrily to the morning light. Evangeline, Ravaen, Glaivel, Kaira were still asleep, each one staying in their own corner of the temple. Kaira was accompanied by Ravaen who fell asleep on the wall near her. Glaivel rested on the side of a pillar and Evangeline was in her own floating orb. Sevidon was outside on the roof, leaning on a wall as he slowly woke up to the sunlight. He opened his eyes and glanced at the morning sky, his sight caught by birds that flew with the flowing wind.
He yawned for a moment. He rubbed his eyes. He stretched his arms and did several other stretches then walked towards the edge of the roof. He could clearly see the forest. He jumped off the roof and walked inside the temple.
He saw his slumbering companions as they savored the good night’s rest they earned. He smiled and walked towards the fruits and took an apple. His view landed on Kaira as he continued to chew on his fresh apple.
He stared at her with great fascination. He examined her from head to toe and noticed the well-built and sculpted body she had. He stopped chewing and walked towards her and pulled the sheet from her knee to cover her fully when she suddenly moved and changed her position facing his side. He walked towards Glaivel and kicked him gently.
“I’m tired! Wake me up when its midday!” Glaivel whined as he turned away from him.
Sevidon kicked him harder, pushing Glaivel to the floor, waking him up.
“Ouch! That hurt you know!” he shouted as he rubbed his head. “What did you do that for?” Sevidon slowly crouched and held him by the neck.
“You left me freezing outside when it was supposed to be your turn for look out,” he said, looking straight at him.
He threw Glaivel back to the floor with a thud that woke up the others. Sevidon walked out of the temple to cool his head outside and Ravaen followed him.
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