“Mmmm,” I stretch my limbs and release a yawn. Opening my eyes, I see Faraine laying not too far from me, still asleep. I scan the rest of the pillow-bed as I wipe my eyes. Where’s Revus? I quietly stand up and walk over to the edge of the pillow. Glancing around the perimeter of it, I fail to find him. I look at Faraine’s sprawled out, snoring figure. I could ask her, but she’s probably still very tired. I smile. I’ll let her sleep. Revus probably went to make breakfast or something.

As I examine the interior of the dark closet, my eyes are drawn to the light shining in from beyond the slightly-open door. It’s too bad I can’t fly, but… I glance over to the motionless fairy. …I don’t want to wake her up just to carry me. I inhale sharply, look over my shoulder, and manifest my wings. The silvery, translucent forms of my upper wings are still damaged at their tips. I look to where my lower wings should be, and sigh.

My gaze drifts back to the shimmering opening. I could try to fly. Worst case, I glide down to the floor. I take a deep breath. I want to stop being so reliant on everyone else, so let’s give it a shot. Flapping my wings, I haphazardly rise into the air.

“Woah…” I whisper. It’s not easy balancing without my lower wings, but… I grin widely. …I’m staying in the air. I drop back down to the wooden surface, walk back to the far edge of the dresser, and turn around to face the opening. Here goes. I run forward and, as I reach ledge, jump into the air, flapping my wings.

With the extra speed, I soar forward, gliding to the best of my ability through the gap, thus escaping the closet. The bright, spacious room blinds me momentarily as my eyes adjust. Good. Now where to go? I continue flying awkwardly away from the closet as I scan the room. My gaze, once again, is drawn to the light radiating from the window. I smile and lean slightly to alter my flight path.

I make my way to the window sill and land atop it. “Phew…” I exhale, dissipating my wings. “That was tiring, but,” a large grin spreads across my face, “I did it. I flew.” I look back at the distance I covered. It wasn’t pretty and it didn’t last long, but I did it.

Walking over to the transparent glass, I place my hand against its smooth, cold surface. Beyond the invisible barrier, a bright blue sky gently cradles the sun. Blazing, red-orange flames idle atop the trees, creating a veritable sea of fire. I sit down, gazing out the window, watching the whimsical flames flutter in the breeze. My eyes drift to a single road that leads away from the house, and toward a town that rests on the horizon.

How nice it must be to live out here. Far enough away from town to enjoy the beauty of the forest, but close enough to never feel isolated. I look up at the sky as a bird soars far in the distance, before returning my focus to the buildings below. I wonder what it’ll be like. I giggle. It’s nothing like Svelta. The buildings don’t look like they’re built atop one another. And, unless there's a large hole, then the town won’t be up and down. I smile as I lean forward, placing my other hand on the glass. I can’t wait to see it.

A faint, dark figure moves in the corner of my vision. What was that? Looking in its direction, I scan the woodland in front of the house. Where’d it go? It was just- there… I tilt my head and furrow my brows. What is that? A translucent, black figure, about the size of Rhys and the other elves, roams around outside. There are no distinguishable limbs, and its head connects directly to its body, lacking any form of a neck. Two deep, void-like, blue eyes are engraved near the figure’s would-be head. That’s… not an enōōfen, right?

It shifts about randomly, changing the direction it is moving every few seconds. It drifts in and out from behind trees, disappearing for a few seconds at a time. I continue to observe the entity for several minutes.

I see Rhys appear in front of the house, walking straight toward the town. I jump at the glass as the figure slowly drifts out from within the forest, approaching the elven man. “Rhys!” I shout, “Be careful.” Rhys does not react even with the black entity standing right beside him. Does he not see it? The figure stands motionless next to Rhys, its eyes following him.

I sigh heavily, feeling the sudden stress leave my body. Thankfully nothing happened, but what’s going on? I watch as Rhys gradually grows smaller as he approaches the nearby town. The black figure however, returns to its previous, random movements. It seemed to clearly see Rhys, but it didn’t do anything. And Rhys definitely didn’t see it.

“Evetta?” Faraine softly calls from behind me.

Turning around, I see her flying toward me, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

“Morning,” I say, then quickly ask, “Hey what’s that?” pointing at the black entity in front of the house.

“Good morning,” she replies as she lands. I turn my focus to the figure outside as she walks up to the glass, saying “That’s a vagrant spirit.”

“And that is?”

Faraine yawns, sits down next to me, and answers, “Vagrant spirits are the spirits born from the death of an enōōfen.”

“Oh… I see,” I mumble, “So that was once a person?”

“Yes.”

A spirit… Hang on. Recalling how it interacted with Rhys, I ask, “Aren’t we technically spirits too?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then… Earlier, Rhys walked by it but it didn’t seem like he saw it, but he can see us.”

“That’s because vagrants haven’t been reborn as true spirits,” Faraine states. Which means true spirits are the only ones that are visible?

I pause, then look over at the drowsy, blue-haired woman. “Sorry for asking so many questions right when you woke up.”

“That’s fine,” Faraine smiles sleepily, “I was just surprised you weren’t in bed.” She looks around the quiet, empty room and asks, “How’d you get over here?”

“I flew,” I grin.

Faraine gives me a skeptical look.

“Really,” I declare, closing my eyes and raising my chin, “It wasn’t pretty, but I did it on my own.” I peek through squinted eyes and add, “I didn’t want to wake you, so I figured I’d try. Sorry, if I scared you.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Faraine takes a breath, exhales, and says, “It’s fine.”

I look back outside at the vagrant spirit roaming about. “So… why’s it acting like that?”

“It doesn’t know what to do,” she answers.

“What do you mean?”

“Vagrants lose all form of identity. They lose their body, their heart becomes disconnected, and their mind becomes inactive. All that remains is their soul that carries the remnants of their heart and mind,” Faraine explains, “They wander the realms until a shepherd finds them and guides them to the spectral realm.”

“And there’s a lot of them?”

“One for each enōōfen that’s died,” she somberly replies.

I face Faraine and inquire, “Does that mean we were once vagrant spirits?”

Faraine summons her blue, red, and black wings. “Yes… At least I was,” she claims as she looks back at her own wings, “You see the black on my wings?”

“Yeah.”

She focuses on the vagrant beyond the window. “The black on our wings corresponds to the amount of time we were vagrants.”

My gaze bounces from Faraine, to the vagrant. So… I manifest my still-healing wings. “Are you saying that I might not have been a vagrant because I have no black?”

“Who knows?” she shrugs, “As far as I know, every enōōfen becomes a vagrant before being reborn as a spirit.” Faraine continues, “But I do know that the longer a vagrant walks the realms, the more of itself it loses. Its memories fade, emotions wane, and the soul withers. Until nothing is left.”

We both sit there silently, my gaze locked on the black spirit.

“What about Revus?”

“Black fairies like Revus were never vagrants,” Faraine states, “They had no previous life. No previous identity. That’s why his wings are completely black, and his lack of memories.”

“I see…” I quietly murmur, lowering my head.

“Speaking of, where is Revus?” Faraine asks.

Glancing up at her, I shrug, “I don’t know. He wasn’t here when I woke up.” I look over at the massive door leading to the rest of the house, “I assume he went to make breakfast, but I haven’t seen him.”

“Hmm…” Faraine ponders for a moment, “Alright.”

I look back at the innocently wandering spirit. Was I also like that at one point in time? Maybe there is something wrong with me? I sigh. And what about you? You were alive, and now… “You said that a shepherd will guide it to the spectral realm. Is a shepherd another spirit?”

“Yes. It’s a type of geist, which is one of the three major spirits in the spectral realm.”

“Fairies… geists… and what’s the other one?”

“Aethereals,” Faraine answers.

“What makes them different?”

“Fairies manage the elements,” she starts to explain, “Aethereals are small in number, but manage major parts of the world. While geists are abundant, and are in charge of basically everything else.”

“Care to elaborate a bit more?” I question, looking at her.

“The aethereals protect the spring of renewal and manage the balance between the realms,” she clarifies, “Geists on the other hand, manage the lesser spirits, guide the vagrants, clean the spectral realm, and so on.”

“And we’re in charge of the elements?” I furrow my brows, “Seems like we’ve got the easiest job?”

“You say that, but the seasons of all the realms, how fast or slow, how strong or weak, all of it depends on us keeping up with the elementals,” Faraine expands, “Massive storms, droughts, terrible natural disasters, almost always fall back onto us for something happening in the spectral realm.”

“I see…” I look out at the town in the distance, “And I assume there are a bunch of different enōōfen too aside from humans and elves.”

“Yes. Most of which aren’t a problem, but…” Faraine pauses. I turn to look at her and notice her hands trembling slightly as she wraps them around her arms.

“You okay?”

“Uh, yeah… Just remembering…” Faraine gazes out at the vagrant, going silent.

I follow her gaze, look back at her and ask, “Does it have to do with who you were before you, you know…”

“Yea… There are enōōfen that are corrupted and become terrible monsters,” Faraine growls, her fingers digging into her arms, “Heartless creatures that live solely for themselves, attacking everything that crosses its path.”

“Sounds scary.”

“They are.”

“Did they…” I tilt my head, leaning toward Faraine a bit.

“Yeah,” Faraine answers, her bangs partially covering her red eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize.

“It’s okay. It’s in the past… and it doesn’t matter now,” she replies, “I don’t remember my previous name, nor am I the same person anymore.”

“It does matter though. Even if you can’t remember your name, you still remember your friends and family, and your experiences,” I boldly declare, “Those things do matter. They help make us who we are now.”

Faraine smiles gently, “Thanks.”

“Of course,” I remark, looking outside once more. Huh? Where’d it go? I scan the flaming forest, but fail to find the vagrant spirit.

“Looks like it's gone.”

“Yeah… Guess so.”

I hear Faraine stand up. I continue to scan the scene beyond the glass, my eyes passing by the rising sun. Today’s the last day of summer. I sigh. That means tomorrow… I place my hands against the cool glass. …I’ll start feeling cold again.

“Do you think my condition will get worse tomorrow?”

“Do you want me to be honest?” Faraine asks.

“Yes please,” I chuckle.

“Then…” she exhales, “I think there’s a good possibility that it’ll be worse than it was this week.”

I tighten my lips, nodding slightly, “That’s what I thought… Do you think there’s anything we can do to stop it?

“If it’s in your soul then unfortunately I don’t think there’s much I or Revus can do,” Faraine notes, “But, because it’s in your soul, then if you can grace your soul again, you might be able to do something yourself.”

“Ha,” I laugh, “I don’t even know how I graced my soul last time.”

“Well, if you can grace your soul, and figure out what it is that’s causing the problem, then we can try to formulate a plan.”

“So what? I just sit here and try to grace my soul?” I inquire looking up at Faraine.

“Hmmm…” she muses to herself, then shoots, “What were you doing the first time you graced it?”

“Wasn’t I frozen in ice?” I irritably retort, looking away, “Great let's just freeze me again so I can grace my soul. Great plan.”

“Was that all?” Faraine questions, “Maybe it wasn’t being frozen in ice, but just being really cold? Or…”

“Or what?” I snap at her.

“I don’t know,” Faraine sighs, “but if we can figure out what the trigger is, then gracing your soul will be a lot easier going forward.” A moment of silence passes before she continues, “Have you tried gracing your soul since then?”

“No,” I answer, “It hasn’t seemed important, but if you think it might help us figure out what’s wrong with me then…” I sigh. “I guess I can try gracing my soul again.”

“It’s okay,” Faraine comments, “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah.”

“Now, stay here,” she states, “I’m going to go talk to Revus and Rhys and see how things are going downstairs.”

“Oh, Rhys just left so you’ll have to talk to Sana,” I inform.

Faraine flies off, leaving me alone on the window sill. While she is gone I start trying to grace my soul. Repeatedly, I fail. With each attempt, I adjust my sitting posture. I change where or how my hands are positioned, and even attempt to grace my soul standing up.

As usual, nothing’s working. I glance at the open door. And where’s Faraine and Revus? They’ve been gone for a long time now. I place my hands over my stomach as it rumbles in hunger. I sigh. I hope they come back soon.

Shortly thereafter, Faraine returns with breakfast and, as she lands, says, “Sorry it took so long, it took some time to prepare breakfast.”

“Revus wasn’t there?”

“No. It looks like he’s already left. My guess…” she nods toward the window, “...he’s already in town.”

I face the window, focusing on the enōōfen buildings in the distance. Jerk. Didn’t even say anything. I turn to Faraine, take the food, and reply, “Thanks.”

Faraine and I sit there on the window sill talking as the hours go by and the sun overhead gradually works its way across the sky. With each passing hour, anxiety grows within me over Revus’ continued absence. Nightfall arrives and I stare out at the slightly glowing town on the horizon. The vigor of the flames on the Valnian trees starts to wane as the night starts to swallow them. The dark hours seem to drag on as my energy fades and sleep starts to call me.

“Do you… think he’ll be back soon?” I inquire through a yawn.

“Of course,” Faraine replies, “He probably found out something important and he’ll be back shortly.”

“But he’s never been gone for this long before,” I whine, “He always comes back to update me about how long he’ll be gone.”

“Well, the town is filled with enōōfen so he’s probably just being careful to avoid being spotted.”

“But-”

“Alright,” Faraine cuts in, placing her hands on my shoulders, “Let’s just go lay down and try to get some sleep.”

“But, can’t I at least wait until he comes back?”

“Evetta, you and I both know he’ll be mad if you’re still awake this late,” Faraine states, “And if he’s mad at you, he’ll then be mad at me for letting you stay up, so let’s just go to sleep. Once you wake up, he’ll be here. Then we can both get mad at him for worrying us.”

I look out at the dark sky, the sea of flames below drowning out the stars. “Okay,” I mumble.

“Good,” Faraine says as she picks me up and flies us back into the closet. I do not have the energy to protest.

She sets me down on the pillow and I crawl over to my usual spot. I adjust it, and lie down. Looking up at the dark ceiling, I yawn. Closing my eyes, I mutter, “Good night Faraine. Good night Revus. See you in the morning.” Swiftly, sleep overtakes me.