“Are you sure you know where we are going half-elf”

“For the last time, my name is Rhea,”

“I’m well aware of your name, I just see no reason to use it”

Rhea abruptly stops, turning around to see the petty nymphite trailing behind her.

“Are you really going to be this trivial?” She sighs, causing Liae to return with a single hmph of annoyance. The half-elf sighs once again in defeat, and carries on walking. However, it doesn’t take much time for Liae to ask yet another question.

“So, where exactly are we heading?”

“It’s not far”

Liae groans in frustration. “You’ve been saying that for ages” she whines.

Rhea’s eyebrow twitches. she can sense the irritation bubbling up inside of her, akin to a volcano ready to explode. Plastering a fake smile on her face, she turns to Liae.

“I promise you it’s not much longer until we reach the border of Mirime Kingdom”.

Liae furrows her brow but remains silent. Why did I take her with me? I knew she was just going to be a nuisance.

The pair continue to walk in awkward silence with only the slight whispering of the wind in their ears. This is the furthest Rhea had been away from Rein since she was first adopted by her dads. Her mind sinks into a distant memory that took place far away from the water region known as Aquione and instead across the Aquetsir Ocean connecting to Ignisire - the fire region.

It was the year of 1423 in the Kingdom of Oretia and a young half-elf girl with fiery red hair was sitting on a ledge next to a window gazing hopefully out of it.

“Rhea, get down from there! You’re going to scare the potential customers,” a shrill voice sent shivers down Rheas' spine.

“Yes, Auntie Esme” the young girl replied solemnly, slowly lowering herself down and walking towards the other children who were all gathered in a circle. She was nearing the age of seven, when arcana completes its bonds with a child, and thus the orphanage had no more use for her. She was excited to leave of course, nobody wants to stay in that horrific environment. However, she was hesitant to abandon the other, much younger children. Who knew what they would do to them here without her to protect them? The day dragged on forever. It seemed like Rhea would never leave, which was fine in her mind. Maybe she could find some way to free the other children if given enough time. But then came the chime of the bell on the door and two big, burly men walked into the orphanage.

“Hello, hello” Auntie Esme rushed over and greeted them with a smile.

Rhea fixed her gaze upon the two men, studying them intently. The man on the right was clad in dark brown trousers stained by mud and a long-sleeved white shirt with which he had bunched the sleeves up out of the way. He had short, almost white blonde hair with soft grey eyes and a short black beard. In comparison to this, the other man was in a simple white tank top and some faded black trousers. He had long golden locks plaited beneath his back, with which the style had been replicated onto his beard, coupled with blue eyes more bright than any gemstone Rhea had ever laid eyes on.

“Come along children, get in line!” Auntie Esme claps her hands, causing the children to all line up next to each-other as if they were prized products to be sold at the market. The other children lined up with Rhea were all soon turning seven as well, so Auntie Esme was making it quite clear to the two men that they could take as many as they wanted. The two men laughed awkwardly before walking over to the lined up group. She watched them speak to each child before looking at each-other and moving onto the next one. Then it was Rheas' turn. She looked at the man with pale-blonde hair who had crouched down to her height suspiciously.

“What’s your name?” He asked her softly. It was clear that she was afraid.

“Rhea”

“I like your hair Rhea” he complimented her, catching Rhea off guard. She looked into his eyes, trying to find any hint of ill intent or deceit, but she found nothing but his kind, soft eyes staring back at her.

“Thank you, sir” she politely responded. She didn’t want to step out of line and be scolded for it later.

The man laughed. “You don’t have to be so polite Rhea, my name is Freid,” he then gestured to the man with golden hair behind him “and this is my husband Rhemis”

“Nice to meet you, you have very pretty eyes” Rhea responded without thinking, catching Rhemis by surprise to which he replied with a loud chortle.

“Thank you Rhea” He said as he crouched beside his husband. They both gave each-other a look as if they knew what the other was thinking before making their way over to Auntie Esme to make their decision. It wasn’t long before they came back over to her and crouched down to her level once again.

“How would you like to come home with us?” Freid asked her and the answer was already obvious in her mind. She liked these two.

Rhea smiles warmly, basking in the memory of when her life changed forever and now she couldn’t imagine a world where she had never lived with Rhemis or Freid. As far as she is concerned, they are her parents. Liae, after not hearing from her companion in quite a while, taps Rhea on the shoulder, causing her to jump back to reality.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Hey, I don’t know where you went off to for so long, but we should probably set up camp somewhere soon, unless you want to deal with the deumans”.

Rhea looks up at the sky, which is rapidly getting darker with each second. It won’t be long before nightfall and though she hates to admit it, Liae is right. They should set up camp soon and fast. Nightfall doesn’t wait for anyone.

“Will here do?” Rhea asks, pointing to a spot on the ground.

Liae places the furry feline onto the ground whilst she raises her eyebrows as if to signal condescension, causing Rhea to take that as a yes and start setting up the tent. The only problem is Rhea only has one bed roll. She looks over at the nymphite who is frantically darting her eyes around the trees, confirming that their camp spot is indeed safe before she lightly closes her eyelids in relief and relaxes her body.

“I only have one bed roll so you can have it” Rhea calls to her companion, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

“Don’t be idiotic. You need sleep. I don’t” Liae responds as she starts stacking up twigs in a pile of dirt which Rhea assumes is in order to make a campfire. Rhea walks over and sits beside her ready to set the twigs alight. Holding her palms out facing towards the not-yet-lit campfire she feels the strong familiar tingling in her hands, trickling down from her fingertips and gathering into her palm before shooting the flame onto the twigs causing a dancing blaze to appear before Liae’s eyes, she’d never seen fire arcana up close before and by Aine is it beautiful.

“What do you mean you don’t need sleep?” Rhea questions, puzzled as she sits down beside her. She believed that all beings needed sleep.

Liae’s lips curl upwards in a faint smile, but Rhea can see the sadness behind her eyes

“I guess we really were forgotten,” she mumbles. A long-forgotten aching appears in Rhea's heart. She knew that feeling all too well. Not knowing what else to do Rhea gingerly rests her head on her companion's shoulder as they stare at the blaze that illuminates the shadows surrounding them. And for one empty night, they sat there in silence with only each other's comfort to rely on.

Rays of sunlight beamed onto Rhea's face forcing her eyes open. She rubs her eye with one fist, letting out a yawn.

“Oh Rhea, you’re awake”

Rhea climbs out of the bedroll, still half asleep. She equips her armour before sitting beside the campfire. She looks around, noticing that they are surrounded by trees with only one path in front of them. That should be the way to the village. She reaches into her backpack and grabs the poster, but she realises that the village name is not mentioned. Well, we need to find a village, this might not be the village we want, but it would be nice to sleep in a bed. Dusting off her clothes, Rhea looks around for the furry creature worth more than her parents' house.

“Fuck. Where's the cat?” She darts her eyes over to Liae who is just as shocked as her.

The whistling of the surrounding wind suddenly transforms into a much more powerful gust, silencing the pair before either of the women have a chance to utter a word. Rhea’s stomach drops and the thumping in her chest gets louder and louder. Without thinking, she grasps Liae’s hand and dashes behind a tree.

“Wait, Rhea-” Liae begins to speak but is abruptly cut off by Rhea with a hush. The pair crouch behind the tree, both terrified to make a sound. All of a sudden, the wind calms and along with it a loud thud shocks Rhea. If this is what she thinks it is, they might be done for. She turns her head and what meets her is none-other than a dragon.

Ebony black scales shimmer in the distant sunlight. Its thick, long, horns were much more terrifying in person. Its underbelly coated in rich purple, wings with the power of a thousand men lay at its side and its grey-ish claws cling to the ground. It huffs the air, clearly looking for something before laying eyes on its prey. Rhea grips the handle of her blade as she meets the eyes of the majestic yet deadly creature that stands before them. Steadying her hand, her right foot backs into the ground ready to go at any moment. Without thinking, her legs move on their own and before she knows it, she’s charging straight for the dragon.

“RHEA WAIT” Liae runs in front of her with her arms stretched outward, preventing the half-elf from going any further.

“Move Liae. That thing’s dangerous” Rhea spits, cursing the dreaded creature before them.

Liae shakes her head in defiant response. “No, I will not let you harm a creature of nymphite”

Rhea pauses. “What do you mean a creature of nymphite?”

Liae smiles at her, this time a genuine warm smile. “Don’t you see? Look into its eyes”

Reluctantly, Rhea meets the scaly creature's eyes but what she senses isn’t malice, no. It's fear? She sheaths her blade before walking over to the dragon who has not moved an inch. Suddenly she hears a voice, though nobody is speaking.

“You shouldn’t just start charging at someone with a blade, it could be seen as rude”

“Who are you?” Rhea retorts, the voice is coming from her head “what kind of arcana is this”

“I’m right in front of you” She looks at the dragon who returns with a nod, signalling that this dragon is indeed the one who is talking.

“How are you doing this?”

“Honestly, I’m not quite sure, usually us dragons cannot communicate with humanoids. We can only communicate with beings made of the same element”.

“What do you mean ‘usually’?”

“Those humanoids who can communicate with dragons are known as Breathers”

“Breathers?”

“Yes, if a humanoid and dragon are of the same element, there is a chance their arcana may manifest and create a bond, allowing communication between them.”

“But- I’m a fire arcani!”

“Yes. this is strange. Even your nymphite friend here can’t communicate with me, though she can sense my intent and my emotions”

“How did you know that she was a nymphite?” Rhea hears the dragon chuckle in response inside her brain.

“My child, I’ve been with you since you found her”

“But that’s impossible. We would have noticed if a big black dragon was following us!”

That’s when Rhea noticed the familiar look of the dragon, ebony black scales, a purple underbelly. No, it couldn't be.

“You’re the cat?!”

“Indeed I am. My name is Sephaeston. I am what you call a ‘Darkness Cragon’ though we are formally known as ‘Shapeshifting Nightwings”.