“Am I though?” Lumina said doubting herself, “It was a complete accident, and I had no control on what happened.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Milli replied flatly as she finally finished off the large jar. “When it comes to war, it doesn’t matter if it was an accident or not. The conditions for victory were set, and you completed them.”

Another smile came along as Lumina’s mind started to relax. “I just can’t believe it. I mean, you’re an actual legend, and I hit you.”

“Elrin will certainly be surprised when we get back home. I wonder how he and my son are doing?”

“Eldin.” Lumina said softly, thinking back to the time she spent growing alongside her mentor’s son. “I wonder what sort of things his dad is putting him through?”

“Elrin? Probably giving some grueling test about advanced elemental control techniques or something. You had a pretty good understanding of the elements yourself too.”

Lumina shrugged her good shoulder, “I understand the elements really well, I just can’t use them.”

“Until today you mean.” Milli said as she felt the injury on her face. “Until today…” Lumina let the words fade off as she looked into the fire. “Master?” Lumina said to Milli.

“Call me Milli. You earned that tonight. You should feel proud about what you accomplished. We’ll have an epic party when we get back to Woodvale.”

“Milli. Milli.” Lumina quietly said the name a few more times. It just felt weird to her. Growing up she referred to Milli as ma’am, back when she underwent light training growing up. Then swapped to master for the last two years. “Well, Milli. I do have a question on something completely unrelated.”

“Go for it. But I may not have the answer.”

Lumina pulled her tail in front of herself inspecting it. A few patches of fur had been pulled off during her fight earlier in the day. She brushed some fur over the bare areas as she spoke, “Why is it that people can’t accept me?”

Milli took some time to think before responding. “I was told one time, by the last person in our group in the fight against Genesis. Adrok. I think I have told you about him before.”

This time Lumina thought back through all the conversations she could remember with Milli. “His name does sound familiar, why don’t you guys talk about him?”

Milli threw another chunk of wood into the fire. The impact scattered embers into the air, “There really isn’t much to say about him. Despite the many years we adventured side by side, he kept to himself mostly. But he was the most brilliant and powerful man I had ever met. His knowledge far exceeded anyone too, even Elrin paled in comparison to Adrok’s vast stores.”

Lumina couldn’t believe what Milli just said, “Smarter than uncle Elrin?”

“Yep. Even he asked Adrok questions. The two would often argue points of philosophy and what was true history versus what was proclaimed history.”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“What?” Lumina replied, confused by that last statement. “Exactly my point.” Milli said as she stood up and stretched a bit. “But to answer your question, from what I understand.

Back before the world was destroyed by the Great Cataclysm, Fereece lived alongside Humans, Scaal, Talorans, Furans, and Pyrans. Then, when the meteor collided with this planet and destroyed almost everything, each race banded together and fought one another for survival over what little resources remained.

When all was said and done, and the territories between the races were decided, the Humans and Furans got into a massive war wanting more land to claim their own. In the end, the Furans were wiped completely from our planet.

Once the Furans were gone, the Humans moved on to eradicating the Fereece to claim more land for themselves. Instead of trying to fight the Humans, the Fereece scattered. At this point, since each territory was controlled by another race, they couldn’t find a place to call home. The Pyrans would have accepted them, but Fereece are ill fitted to survive in the desert.

Add in the Fereece’s natural survival instincts and global hostility that existed back then. It was no wonder that they turned to living a nomadic life and stealing what they could to survive. Give it a few hundred years, and pretty soon everyone forgets why Fereece are hated, but still hate them solely because of what everyone forced them to become.

Milli continued to stretch after giving her answer. Lumina on the other hand was in complete shock. “Wait. If you know this, why does no one else?”

“Remember. I spent years travelling alongside a living library. You learn a few things whether you like it or not, and your mother also asked Adrok the same question. If you were able to find him, I bet he could explain what you did earlier today, and how to do it again.”

Lumina still couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard this much about Adrok before, “So how long have you known him? And what are Furans?” Milli groaned with annoyance. “I met Adrok a little over thirty years ago, as for the thing about Furans? You’ll have to ask Elrin. I don’t like explaining things.”

Lumina let out a large yawn as she finished inspecting her tail for any other damage. “I knew I was out for a while, but I still feel exhausted.” Lumina chugged down the entire bottle Milli had refilled for her, then slowly laid back using her good arm to support herself on the way down. “Hey! What did I just say about chugging the entire thing?” Milli said with an annoyed tone even though she smiled while she spoke. “You shaid ish would help with… pain.” Lumina replied before closing her eyes.”

Milli stayed awake while Lumina snored. “It’s incredible how deadly something so cute could be. And she finished two bottles of moondew.” Looking back to her large jug that was now empty; Milli’s smile became a frown. Leaning back, she began to think about all the information she and Elrin had kept from Lumina. They both knew the harsh reality of the world. They had saved it before. Despite their best intentions for raising Lumina, they had never let her leave Woodvale or travel to other towns.

> Moondew is an incredibly sweet but strong mead. It’s easily accessible, cheap, and comes in a variety of flavors. No two places will ever have the same taste. Made from collecting local berries and fermenting them under the moonlight, each town usually has its own version.

She may not have been accepted by the town due to her heritage, but there were many people in it that still cared about her and were good friends. Milli was worried whether or not she and Elrin should have exposed her to a more realistic viewpoint in the world. As far as Fereece go, Lumina had a charmed life.

Elrin had made sure that Lumina had a chance to see that there were good people in the world willing to set aside their differences. Milli on the other hand knew that she would be attacked, hunted, or even captured. Both of her adoptive parents were doing their best to prepare the girl for the harsh reality she would face.

Milli armed her with the ability to fight and think for herself. Elrin gave her advanced scholastic knowledge and a solid understanding of elemental control. As far as she could tell, Lumina would be able to fend for herself. She just couldn’t help but continue to worry about her only living pupil.

“Elrin. Did we do the right thing?” Milli wondered as she stayed up a little longer.