(Those that wonder. I always asked myself why the SC's and other people told the MC everything they would do whenever the Mc asked them for it. I would never tell my saviour, or some kind of hero, my plans for the future and what I would do now that he had saved me. Ffs even if that was my saviour he has no right to now jack shit about what I will do. I won't write it out in the form of thoughts or speech but that's what Eirika thinks when Nilen asks what they will be doing.
Sorry for the rant, I hope you guys enjoy this rather short chapter and leave a comment down below. I will appreaciate it! Oh yeah, dont let the title fool you guys :P)
Nilen welcomed the two knights with a childish and carefree smile. Elena and Eirika on the other hand watched on with cautious eyes, even more so Eirika, the one who summoned Nilen into this world.
"I suppose some explaining is needed, right?", Nilen asked while he scratched his scraggly chin. He went behind the wood partition and pulled the chair into the provisional bedroom, at the same time he was carrying three cups of freshly brewed tea. The aroma wafted through the air and calmed to a certain degree the turmoil in the hearts of Nilen's two guests.
The sisters eyed the tea in Nilen's hands. What fool would drink from something a stranger offered them?
Nilen noticed the inner struggle about the question whether the tea was poisoned or not and he decided to go with the most typical of statements in such a situation.
"Don't worry the tea is not poisoned. If I wanted to kill you I had done so already.", Nilen said with a cracked smile and urged the two to take the tea from his hands.
"You are certainly right.", Eirika whispered and received with careful hands the porcelain cup, followed by her younger sister doing the same.
A quiet minute or two passed, the three of them sipped from their tea in silence while the rays of the afternoon sun shone through a handful of randomly scattered windows in the hut.
"How is it?", Nilen lifted his head and inquired his guests.
"Mhm... It's good. Fresh and bracing.", Eirika nodded her head and let out a low sigh. Elena nodded as well but kept her eyes on the cup and her emotions to herself.
"I am very pleased to hear that. The herbs and spices for the tea were freshly picked from the forest.", Nilen smiled warmly and began explaining. "If you want to refresh yourself there is a small stream not to far from here, but beware the wild animals.", he added with a finger raised in a threatening manner.
"Forest?", both Eirika and Elena tilted their heads.
"U-Uhu! There is a forest right here.", Nilen responded with wonder in his voice.
"Th-that can't be. The next patch of green is at least hundreds of miles apart from the Iron Plains.", Elena stated.
"The only forest I can think of would be the Biram Peak Forest west of the Biram mountain range. You!", Eirika pointed at Nilen. "How- How did you get us here? Who and what are you?", her finger trembled but she kept staring Nilen down.
Nilen held his hands up into the air and shock his head to the side with a foolish expression of: 'Who? Me?!', he stopped the act as a vein popped on Eirika's brow.
Exhaling a defeated sigh Nilen let his arms rest on the chair.
"I am but a simple wanderer, a healer and philanthropist. Nothing you two have to be wary about."
"Tch! Wanderer? Stop jesting. Don't even think I can't remember your face from the summoning spell!", the knight sister bellowed, her fury fueled by bewilderment of the current situation and her own impuissance.
"Summoning spell?", Elena chimed in and gave her sister a scrutinizing look.
Nilen harrumphed before he began to tell his side of the story.
"Yes, Elena, your dear sister has summoned me from another world, I won't gloss over it. Let's just say I am a wanderer of worlds, someone that came to help those in need and heal the scars in history. Is that enough for you?", he sported a conciliating smile.
"Hmph! I don't trust you. But... You got my gratitude for helping me.", Eirika swallowed down her pride and kowtowed on the ground. "I am truly thankful for what you have done. I-I *sob* I am truly grateful.", the memories of loss came back to her and whilst apologizing tears washed down her cheeks.
All the while Elena was more confused than ever. She had never seen her sister bow down to somebody else unless it was some kind of king, saint or prophet of 'God'. Eirika herself would not allow it to bow and even less kneel down to some average person, it was a humilation she would not be able to endure. Which in turn reasoned inside of Elena's head into the conclusion that Nilen was something special, something that even her older sister acknowledged.
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"So, what is that you want to do now?", Nilen leaned forward and asked with a serious face. He would stop the war, no matter what, and in times of peace there was hardly a need for knights, warlords and combat magicians.
"I- ,no, we will have to talk with the Church of the White Jourinas.", Eirika gripped the hand of her little sister. "For that... nevermind. We will be on our way now.", the two sisters stood up from the soft beds and made their way past Nilen, he in turn was still sitting in his crude chair.
"Are you sure you will be able to leave the forest?", Nilen asked with honest curiosity and concern. He didn't want to use the forest's bad reputation, which he didn't know about, as a means to compel them into staying with him nor did he himself want to accompany them any further. His business would certainly be dangerous for mortals of this world and Nilen's biggest fear was to entangle those people in his actions.
The two sisters stood still in front of the doorless exit.
Sheepish Eirika glanced down at the ground while Elena began fidgeting. They shared a stare before coming to the same result. They had absolutely no idea how to leave the Briam Peak Forest; and if its humongous surface area wouldn't be enough the forest was also inhabited by beasts that only a whole contingent of trained knights could handle. Even with an experienced general and magician they would be hard pressed to survive and much less leave the forest.
"Oh... I think that means you DO need my help. Hahahaha!", Nilen stood up from the chair, it keeled over as the pressure from above was lifted, and nimbly he walked between the two sisters.
"And here we are.", there was no pause in his actions, no sign of something happening. The moment Eirika and Elena blinked they literally 'blinked' to the forests outer edge. It was less than an instant, it was a shift in the landscape, a simple moment of unawarness and they were gone.
"I think my deed here us done. May we see each other again in the future.", Nilen chuckled and turned his back towards the two sisters, both slack-jawed and staggered by what had transpired a second ago.
"W-Wait How did yo-", Elena tried to call out but Nilen was already gone from sight. "Haaaaaahhhh... Sis, what have you summoned?", Eirika began to wonder out loud as she too began to trod away.
Eirika shock her head free of the pure astonishment that stirred her insides and followed up to her sister. "I have no idea...", she mumbled.
And with the forest in their backs, the sun at the horizon and a new dawn awaiting they made their way towards the human capital, Jouians.
But as fate would have it those three would eventually meet again. Nilen, *cough* I mean fate, naturally, would make sure of that. But for now it was a goodbye.
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Far, far away a dying star was fighting a lost battle against chains of black that wrapped around it. Once fierce and filled with divine providence the star was now a mere husk of its former self, a source of food for the demon that was channeling its power.
The chains rattled and cackled with visceral growls that left space tremble in its wake. Those tendrils of death moved into each other, forked around the star but all grew from the same black spot that was circling the star.
In comparison this dot, this blotch of void, of nothingness, was minuscle and seemed powerless in face of the destructive power of a star. But right now this small pinhead sized orb of black was harnessing, no, harvesting the star of its cosmic power, with greed and lust.
Unwinding like petals of a flower the orb of black shattered as though it was glass. A hand reached out into empty space, followed by a current of jetblack hair and a face of crystal. A slim body lifted itself into the vast emptiness of space but instead of fending of the laws that tried to kill it the figure only smiled a wonderful crimson crescent.
"Faaaaatheeeeer.", it moaned and the chains of doom began to crush the star into oblivion.