“(It’s been a while.)” [Ava]
Having been called back to Faywood, Ava was riding alone inside a carriage that was surrounded by guards. They were there to make sure that she was safely brought to her intended destination. If someone tried to kidnap her or if she tried to run off somewhere, they would stop the attempt, whether it’d be a kidnapper or her. The inside of the carriage was dim because the windows were covered by black curtains to prevent those outside from seeing her. As such, she was watching the scenery from a small gap.
The streets were lined with buildings made of solid rock. On the smooth surfaces, designs of flowers and vines were engraved, giving them an artistic touch. They went from the bottom all the way to the roof, crawling on the surfaces like real plants. Through the window, Ava could see a canal with clear sparkling water flowing through it. Several of these were present and they all went straight from the center of the city to the outer perimeter. Some elves were near the canal, either admiring the view or making water float with their ability.
All of the people she saw had long pointy ears. She was back in elven lands, so it was normal. Some stopped what they were doing and watched the row of carriages along with the guards go through the wide street. A few kids here and there pointed at her carriage, though they couldn’t really see her. It was a good thing that she had curtains on her windows. If they saw her and her black hair, their curious gazes would change into hostile ones.
Eventually, the ride was over and they arrived at the Luceran clan’s residence which was a huge mansion. It was located near the center, where the castle stood. The lands around it were reserved to those from the seven clans. As such, the castle was surrounded by seven mansions with soldiers patrolling the area.
Walking in the middle of a group of guards, Ava was escorted inside the Luceran mansion much like a prisoner.
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“*Sigh* … What a mess.” [Nylian]
Sitting at his desk in his office, Nylian sighed heavily. After being brought back to Faywood, the elven kingdom, Ava was scolded for acting against orders and locked in her room. Nylian made sure to give her an earful, a slap to the face and no meals for the day as punishment. Still, although he was angry and the situation wasn’t the best because of how she used her ability in public, it was about time that they called her back. In truth, the half-breed should have been ostracized by the other students in school.
The reports he received certainly mentioned that she was isolated from her class and had been harassed on multiple occasions, but for some reason, she made two friends. The ideal situation him and the six other clan heads wanted was for her to be rejected by all of the students and to be completely alone. She would then realize how harsh the world outside her room was towards her kind and as such, depend on her “benefactors”. They hoped she would become more docile, obedient and that she would follow their orders to the letter.
However, a human and a harpy hung around her, she kept getting into trouble and now everyone saw her power during the recent attack on Sanctuary Academy. Who knew how other countries that were informed of her ability and aware of its potential use would react? Some might want the half-breed for themselves while others could consider her too dangerous to be kept in elven hands. That was why, for now, they would keep her confined in her room.
“Lord Nylian.” [Orist]
Nylian looked up and saw Orist, his faithful servant, standing in front of his desk.
“How is she?” [Nylian]
“There are no problems. She is obediently staying in her room.” [Orist]
“I see. The other clan heads have asked for an urgent meeting. Keep an eye on her while I’m gone.” [Nylian]
“Understood.” [Orist]
Orist turned around and exited the room, leaving Nylian by himself to ponder on what has happened so far and what he should do in the future.
“… We should tell her.” [Nylian]
He muttered softly, having come up with a possible idea to scare the half-breed into being more obedient. Even though she was docile, she did nothing but go against orders and raise trouble. So, for now, he would bring up his suggestion during the meeting and see if the others would agree with him.
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“It hasn’t changed.” [Ava]
Ava said to no one in particular as she examined her room. It was where she had grown up and spent most of her life. Nothing had changed since she left two years ago, though it did feel smaller because her body grew bigger. She sat down at the table. Her hands left imprints on the surface because of the thin layer of dust that accumulated. It would seem that no one had entered the room since she left or cleaned it.
“Ok.” [Ava]
Ignoring the dust floating around, Ava took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The door was closed, the guards outside were on standby and there was no one to bring her meals. She would probably be alone for the day. So, she visualized her powers manifesting on her hands: a vortex of light swirling around her right hand and a dark cloud of smoke covering her left hand. There was a small warm feeling deep inside of her, like a spark in the darkness. She focused on it, repeating the process, lighting the spark until it started a fire. Right after, her powers manifested.
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Ava opened her eyes and shot a ball of black smoke from her left hand. It imploded and took the form of an elven soldier. When he appeared, she felt a sudden fatigue washed over her as if she had just ran for a while, or a weight was put on her shoulders. Still, although she certainly felt tired, she wasn’t exhausted. So, she summoned another elven soldier and her stamina was reduced once again. While she was alone in her room, she wanted to experiment with her abilities.
The black smoke coming from her left hand was unknown to all but her, which meant that it was her hidden weapon. To use it properly, she needed to first know everything that it could do, what the limits were and what conditions had to be respected. She already had a general idea, but this time, she was going to thoroughly investigate it. As such, the tests began. Inside that room, Ava was once more discovering her powers. That was how she spent her time on her first day back in Faywood without resting, except when she lost consciousness from exhaustion.
The next day, Orist came in with several maids in tow. They brought her breakfast which was her first meal since yesterday. It wasn’t a relaxing mood since two guards were also present and they kept their eyes trained on her, vigilant and ready for a fight. While she was eating under their watch, the maids were swiftly moving about, cleaning the place up and filling her wardrobe with white dresses that fit her size. Once they were done, they retreated right away.
“You will stay here until we call for you. Your lessons will begin again, so the tutor will be coming shortly.” [Orist]
“Understood.” [Ava]
Ava nodded and voiced her understanding in an emotionless voice. Orist then left the room, followed by the guards who closed and locked the door behind them. Alone again, she began experimenting with her powers once more. The tutor, who was a blonde-haired woman, came by later and strictly taught her. She was tough, cold and unfriendly, but she didn’t use a tome to hit her nor did she look like she was planning on selling her off.
Because of the tutor’s lessons and the maid’s visits, Ava couldn’t freely cast her elven magic until she collapsed anymore. She needed to wait until nightfall where no one came by. Besides her physical training which was quite tough in the confined space of her room, she was testing her powers every day. That had become her routine for the past few days since her return to the elven kingdom. Gradually, she became less tired after each use and learned a few new things.
“Ok, let’s try again.” [Ava]
Ava released a ball of black smoke that formed an elven soldier which she dubbed “shadow puppet” for convenience’s sake. Then, she summoned another elven soldier right after.
“Good. It’s getting less and less tiring. Now…” [Ava]
She lightly clenched her right fist in front of her face as she murmured to herself before giving out her order to her first shadow puppet.
“Kill him.” [Ava]
Obeying her command, the first elven soldier stabbed the second one in the neck, making him dissolve into smoke. Once that was done, she visualized the same shadow puppet that was just killed and tried to summon him again. However, what appeared was a different elven soldier. She cancelled his manifestation, making him disappear and then summoned him again. This time, the same elf appeared.
“Alright.” [Ava]
Ava nodded to herself and sat down, observing both soldiers before her.
“(When a shadow puppet is killed, I can’t summon him again. I’ll probably have to find the same guy it was copied off of and shoot a light bullet at him to get it back. I also only have one shadow puppet for the person that I used my light magic on.)” [Ava]
Sitting at the table, she organized and reviewed the information she learned on her discoveries.
“(Emotionless, expressionless, mindless, soulless. They won’t disappear unless they’re fatally wounded like getting stabbed in the heart or through the head. But, they will still fight even after losing an arm, though they’ll die after a while as if they bled to death, even if there’s no blood. They don’t talk, but they seem to feel pain as injuries slow them down. They can build up exhaustion, but they don’t need to eat or sleep and keeping them around doesn’t tire me out. Only summoning them does. It’s like having robots around, or puppets.)” [Ava]
She chuckled softly.
“Soulless puppets designed for war. Born from the shadows… Shadow puppet’s a really good name… Almost as good as War Puppet.” [Ava]
She said out loud in a mocking tone.
“Now then…” [Ava]
Having finished with this part of her tests, Ava moved on to the next step, to her next discovery. She first waved her hand and by her will, the two elven soldiers disappeared. Afterwards, she shot a bullet of light at herself, which didn’t do anything to her at all. It was already confirmed when she first manifested her powers. However, this time, she raised her left hand and shot out a dark ball of smoke. This time, it was harder. Summoning shadow puppets came easily to her, but this particular one didn’t. She needed to focus hard and really visualize it in her head or nothing would happen.
What appeared from the smoke as it took shape was Ava. In the room, there were now two black-haired elves, one sitting and one standing.
“Not bad…” [Ava]
The real one put her hand to her chin and examined the shadow puppet that looked exactly like her. Unlike the other ones, this copy of her didn’t have a dark tinge to her body and wasn’t strengthened either. Moreover, it was capable of speech and expressions. Instead of a puppet, it was more fitting to call it a clone.
“Say ‘Ava’.” [Ava]
“Ava.” [Shadow Ava]
“Say ‘apple’.” [Ava]
“Apple.” [Shadow Ava]
“Smile, jump, glare and complain about hunger.” [Ava]
By Ava’s command, the shadow puppet showed a dazzling smile, lightly jumped in place and finally glared angrily.
“I’m hungry. When’s lunch ready?” [Shadow Ava]
It voiced its hunger with a sleepy expression while rubbing its stomach. No matter what, it looked and sounded like a real person, unlike the other shadow puppets that had no light in their eyes. However, it still didn’t have a will of its own. If it didn’t receive any instructions, it would just idly stand around in place. But, when it mimicked Ava’s behavior, it looked just like the real thing. If someone saw the two together, he would believe that they were twins and not a puppeteer with her puppet.
“I’ve got myself a good body double.” [Ava]
Ava said with a small smirk on her face. The shadow puppet smirked as well before dissolving into smoke.
From then on, the half-elf’s confined lifestyle consisted of staying in shape, studying and casting magic until she exhausted herself to sleep.