13th of Andayn, 53
"Dear Arianna!
You just don't have a good sense of humor! Grogar's jokes are hilarious! Here's another one:
"What did the man who fought an ursa major say? Nothing, he was found dead a week later!"
I laughed a lot at this one!
Oh, wow! A dragon! That's AWESOME! Then I can say I am friends with a dragon! Keep going, Arianna, I am rooting for you all the way!
Snow is melting here and creatures of all sorts are coming out after a long winter's rest. Now we are preparing to hunt them! Grogar says this hunting season will be a record-breaking one if we keep this up! I can't wait for all the new adventures that await us!
Love,
Velvet
P.S.
Number 78 on the list! Let's go!"
28th of Andayn, 53
"Dear Velvet!
This joke is even worse than the last one! Now you are just making me more anxious about you going to hunt that thing! Please stop!
The dragon transformation is extremely hard, by the way...Argus says it's because it's this big in size. Also, this is supposed to be the second-strongest air transformation there is. The only stronger one is the angel transformation Ezekiel. That transformation apparently allows you to use light magic while transformed as well! I really want to learn that one so I could do light magic just like you!
But according to the headmaster, I am not ready for it until I've at least managed to hold this one for thirty minutes. I honestly don't know if I will be able to do it this time around, because all I've managed to do so far is grow a dragon tail and turn my skin a little scaly...that's about it. But I will continue to do my best!
Stay safe,
Arianna"
17th of Madayn, 53
"Dear Arianna!
We are killing it! Quite literally! Grogar seems as happy as I've ever seen him! My training has paid off and I can do quite a few more spells now already and my air magic is getting better as well...I think. The eagle transformation you taught me is coming very in handy for spotting animals from above the canopy and we are making good use of it!
Grogar is so satisfied with my performance lately that he's even giving me some of his share of the money we get! I told him that we want to start a magic academy and he said he will be giving me more because he's in this for the thrill of the hunt more so than the money itself anyway. So far I've racked up around 1000 RGP...that's almost as much as our tuition cost over the five years! I didn't know some of these hides and animal remains were worth this much, but apparently they make potions, clothes and other useful stuff from them. Because of this, people are willing to pay A LOT of money for them! At this rate we might actually be able to buy some land and a building for our academy if I keep this up for a few years!
Don't be discouraged if the transformation takes longer than you thought to learn. Like you said, it's the second-strongest air transformation! Of course it will take longer in that case! You can do it, I am sure of it! Just don't give up and keep trying and practicing!
Love,
Velvet
P.S.
Rank 59 huntress right now! Soon I will be in the top 50!"
30th of Madayn, 53
"Dear Velvet!
I'm really glad that the eagle transformation is coming in handy! I can teach you a lot more spells and transformations when you eventually come back, because now I've pretty much read all the books on advanced air magic there is a few times. I don't think there is a single air spell I don't know exists! Of course, I still can't cast them all, but I do know them all!
Wow...that's a lot of money you made. I didn't know these materials were so valuable either! But wait...a few years?! You said you won't be gone for that long! I already miss you like crazy and it's only been nine months since we parted. It feels like I haven't seen you in forever! Will you please come visit me in summer? I can meet you half way at my mother's house if you want!
Hope to see you soon,
Arianna"
16th of Jodayn, 53
"Dear Arianna!
Sorry, but I don't think I will be able to see you this summer. Grogar says we need to keep pushing if I want to have a go at an ursa major by the end of this summer, so that is what I will be doing. I hope you won't be too sad because of this. I miss you a lot too, but I don't want to miss the chance to take down an ursa major—if we don't do it by Sokayn, it will go into hibernation and we have to wait until next year! I really don't want to wait another year...
Can I ask you for a favor? Grogar has been telling me a lot about fairies lately. Even though nobody has seen one except for him apparently and all the books I've read back at the academy came up empty as far as I can recall, he is convinced that the do in fact exist!
Could you please look through the library for any clues on them? He says it's his lifelong dream to catch one and prove their existence, but so far he's had no luck. And he's done sooo much for me since I met him that I want to repay him the favor somehow. If there are any fairies in this forest, I will find them for him! I want to help fulfil his dream! Please help!
Love,
Velvet
P.S.
I finally reached the top 50! I am the rank 47 huntress now! Go me!"
31st of Jodayn, 53
"Dear Velvet!
I'm not going to lie, I am a bit disappointed that we won't be seeing each other. I really miss you a lot, you know? But I understand that this is a great opportunity for you, so I won't hold you back from living your dream. Go get that ursa major! Just...please don't die...please...
I went through all of the books in the library on flora and fauna of Rumerra and this is what I've come up with:
- fairies have definitely existed at one point in time
- they disappeared without any trace around 1000 years ago; nobody knows why
- there are a few people who have mentioned seeing them within the Kamatayan forest, but this was mainly attributed to fear of death and the poisonous plants in there that people ate, so they were disregarded as hallucinations; there was never any conclusive evidence
- it is speculated that an apocalyptic event or an illness killed them and their race died out
Now I went further to search for any possible "apocalyptic" events that happened around that time, to see if something matches up. There are two peculiar things that I've found:
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
- the appearance of a predator called "the wing-snatcher" in the Kamatayan forest
- roughly around the same time, the city of Eldar was destroyed by the Dark Prince (I don't think this is connected in any way, but I thought it was rather odd that it happened then)
What I can gather from this is that whatever this "wing-snatcher" thing was must have weeded them out. I couldn't find any information on it, but I guess your hunter friend should know about it if he's obsessed with finding fairies. That's all I could really find on this topic.
I will include the books "Lost treasures of Rumerra" and "A fae history" in this package and send them to you along with this letter. They contain most of the information I found. Argus asks you to please return them in one piece!
Good luck,
Arianna
P.S.
I almost forgot! Since your birthday is coming up on the 23rd of the next month and my next letter probably won't reach you in time, I want to wish you a happy, happy birthday right now! I have included your gift in this package as well!"
17th of Jukayn, 53
"Dear Arianna!
Thank you for the nice wishes and the new gloves you bought me! How did you know my old ones were getting all torn up? You really have great intuition!
Also, wow, I didn't expect you to dive so deep into the fairy thing! Thank you so, so much! You're the best! Grogar says this wing-snatcher thing is pure myth and that a creature like this never existed—someone must have made it up to cover up the real reason why the fairies disappeared, he says. In all the years he's been hunting in the Kamatayan forest he has seen a fairy three times already, but not a single wing-snatcher or whatever that's supposed to be.
We will continue researching this and keep our eyes peeled if we see any fairy, but after nearly one year of hunting I must say I've never seen anything that even remotely looks like one. I really want to believe uncle Grogar, but I am starting to think maybe all the blows to his head he received over the course of his life may have taken their toll. I've interviewed a bunch of other hunters and none of them has seen anything like a fairy either and they tell me that Grogar is simply crazy. I don't know who I should believe, really. My brain tells me to believe the books and other hunters and my own eyes, but my heart tells me to believe uncle. I just don't see any reason why he would lie to me about something like this. He was always honest about everything so far with me. Time will tell, I guess.
In other news, we are totally crushing it with uncle! Other hunters are starting to view me as one of their own now and I am ranked 35th on the leaderboard! Grogar on the other hand has extended his lead from roughly 50,000 points to almost 70,000 points since we started hunting! He says this is the most points he gathered in a year and this is all purely to me helping him out so much! What can I say, we make a great team! Crowgar for the win!
Love,
Velvet"
25th of Jukayn, 53
"Dear Arianna!
I forgot to include your birthday present and say happy birthday to you in the last letter, so I am sending you this one exclusively for that reason. Happy 17th birthday Arianna!!
I think it should reach you right somewhere around the 15th, maybe a few days before. As for your gift, I couldn't really buy anything you'd like here—there's just meat and hides and fangs and other nasty stuff that I imagine you would send right back to me if I gave you. So here's 100 RGP you can buy yourself something nice with. And don't worry. This may seem like a lot of money to you, but what me and Grogar have been scoring here lately makes it seem like nothing. We are basically hogging all the hardest tasks to ourselves lately! Other hunters are starting to get pissed off at us, but there is nothing they can really do about it, hehe! Once one of them tried to fight me for a task, but I swiftly blinded him and ran off. But usually nobody even dares to lay a hand on me because they know uncle will whoop their ass if they do!
Happy celebration,
Velvet"
2nd of Aukayn, 53
"Dear Velvet!
I wish you luck on your fairy-hunt! And your...ursa major hunt. I'll be completely honest with you—I don't like this one bit. Just waking up and thinking you will run off into the Kamatayan forest to face it one of these days probably is making me feel uneasy and restless. I may have gotten a little anxious about your safety since the whole dragon incident. Speaking of that, It's been more than two years since we graduated! Can you believe that? Time sure flies, huh? It's also been a year since we've last seen each other. I miss you, Velvet.
But let's not dwell on that! I've got some good news for you! I've managed to complete the Air Dragon transformation for the first time in full—it's SO weird when you are that big, I can tell you that much! It really takes a while to get used to the size. Argus said I should take it slow and not try flying yet. Right now, I just do it every day for a minute or two, to kind of get the feel. I sure don't want to go berserk in this form—I could actually kill someone!
Please stay safe,
Arianna"
14th of Aukayn, 53
"Dear Velvet!
What the heck?! I just got your birthday present! What are you thinking sending me this much money?! "Buy yourself something nice." Are you serious?! This could buy me like twenty of the finest dresses! I'm taking a gold piece or two but the rest I am saving for the academy once we are that far. And speaking of our little academy project, I have been scouting graduates lately, but I don't really see anyone who strikes me as a good teacher. I don't imagine you had any luck down there in Talim?
Please stay safe,
Arianna"
19th of Aukayn, 53
"Dear Arianna!
Today is the day! I have taken down the ursa major task that nobody touched over the entire summer and handed it to the guildmaster to approve it! You should have seen the look on his face! He couldn't believe me and Grogar are actually going for it! We shall now pack up and leave tomorrow morning! That ursa major is going down! Don't worry, we have been preparing for this for a long time and this is not the first ursa major uncle will be taking down. He's already done it two times already on his own, so with me at his side this should be a breeze! You can rest easy, nothing can go wrong!
Wow, congratulations on your mythic transformation! I can't wait to see you in all your glory! If this task is successful I am thinking of maybe returning to the academy for a bit and taking a well-deserved break. This last year was super fun, but also super exhausting. We are basically always travelling from Talim to the forest and back, sleeping in the bushes and checking our backs the entire time so something doesn't jump on us. I don't remember the last time we've both slept at the same time—one of us is always guarding the other. We've gotten so used to this that we even do it like that when we are in the comfort of Grogar's home!
Wish us luck, oh mighty dragon! We are going to slay a beast!
Love,
Velvet
P.S.
Rank 23 huntress now! I am getting into the top 20 if we complete this task successfully!"
3rd of Sokayn, 53
"Dear Velvet!
Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! I was afraid when this day would come the entire time! Please be safe!! I know you will only receive this letter after you've returned from your trip, but I just want you to know that if something happens to you I will go crazy! You better write back to me the second you come back and open this letter, you hear me?! You better!
I hope to hear from you soon,
Arianna
P.S.
You'll be pleased to hear that I'm the newest member of the student council here at the academy! Only the best graduates are selected to be in the council and we help give teachers feedback and improve the quality of the learning process. I applied because I think it's very good experience for us eventually running our own academy."
29th of Sokayn, 53
"Dear Velvet!
I don't want to panic, because your letter could have gotten lost but since I know it takes around two weeks for my letter to get to you and two weeks for yours to get back, you surely should have received my last one now, right?! And it's been forty days since you last wrote to me! I am starting to get really worried that something might have gone wrong. Please respond to me as soon as possible or I will...I don't know what I will do, but I will do something!
Please tell me you are safe,
a worried Arianna"
5th of Ookayn, 53
"VELVET?!
Velvet please...I'm crying right now. I don't know what to do! Should I just travel down to Talim and start asking around the guild for your whereabouts? Should I form a search party and go looking for you into the forest itself? This isn't funny!
I...I don't know what to even write anymore...it's been almost two months since I received the last letter from you. It's happening again...I...I don't want to lose you...please...
Answer me...tell me you're alright...
Your desperate friend,
Arianna"
Thank you for reading this part of the story! May your day be a merry one!
What happened to Velvet and her uncle Grogar? Find out in the next chapter! [https://img.wattpad.com/4ace198b352084d24980fa6b30f8ab7310398f5f/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5076317753446a5a50516d7867513d3d2d313238353333303432332e313732363963373266373737333464633930323333343532353830322e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
What happened to Velvet and her uncle Grogar? Find out in the next chapter!