Skies of Golodh

One day before the attack of Iolite

Lucia flew straight south, using the dark skies of Abyss as an indicator. Gloria was not just kidnapped, her home was destroyed her inventions stolen. Hilda also filled her in on the disturbances in the state of Antlia. Someone was posing as Gloria, leading a revolution in Antlia.

Gloria would never do that.

As she walked through the bustling port of Argate in Iolite, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the liveliness of the place. The sound of ships creaking and the smell of salt water filled the air. Merchants were haggling with customers over prices, sailors were unloading goods from ships, and people were rushing to and fro, eager to get to their destinations. The colorful buildings and lively chatter added to the atmosphere, making it seem like the port was alive and bustling with energy.

“I haven’t been here in a century! This place is as lively as ever!” Lucia said, smiling.

“Um, are you perhaps the Princess?” A dwarf asked timidly, but the other dwarf beside him rejected that notion.

“The princess doesn’t have black hair, you oaf! Let’s go. Sorry for bothering missy!”

She then took notice of her outfit. Even though her appearance slightly differed from usual, she was still wearing a royal outfit with a tiara on her head. Her wings, larger than a typical fairy, were a huge giveaway that she was the Princess.

“I can’t really go in like this, can I?” Lucia said, looking at her own appearance. When she was a Princess, she never really had to carry money around with her. Maybe there was something on her she could sell. She entered the nearest merchant shop she could see.

“Welcome to the Dragon’s belly! My name is Nafrud Dragonbelly. How can I–” The little dwarf’s spectacles almost fell from his nose of fright as soon as he saw the fairy.

“I’m looking for a cloak, do you sell one here?”

“P-Princess?! Wait… The princess doesn’t have black hair like this. Hmm…” The dwarf stroked his thick white beard.

“It’s alright, I get that a lot. Do you accept trade-ins?” Lucia asked, placing her golden bracelet on the counter.

“Certainly. Hm… This is such a rare quality of gold! Do you want to have a look at our enchanted cloaks?” Nafrud said, using his monocle to inspect the gold handed over to him.

“What do you have?”

“Let’s see…” The dwarf hopped off his high stool and walked toward the nearest wardrobe. Using a hook, he swung the wardrobe door wide open. There were rows of clothes lined up.

“Well, the cloaks here are all within your budget. Pick whichever you like. I’ll let you know what are the effects,” Nafrud said.

As Lucia went through the cloaks, she heard a small voice coming out from the shadows. “Take the blue one to the far right.” But Lucia was focused on the clothes and didn’t notice the source of the voice.

Lucia searched through the clothing and picked out the blue cloak, “This one? What does this do?”

Even when picking it up, Lucia felt a sense of magical aura emanating from it. The cloak was made of a rich, royal blue velvet lined with silver laces at the cuff and a hood at the back. There were large celestial buttons in the center, lining all the way to the bottom.

“Ahh… You do have a good eye, I was hoping you wouldn’t catch on to that. It’s the best seller here,” Nafrud said, chuckling.

Lucia mumbled, “Didn’t you ask me to pick this one?”

“The cloak of illusions is a rare item. Once you tug the string here, you will be able to activate a silent illusion of yourself standing still a few feet away. I assume you want commoner's clothes as well?” Nafrud asked.

Lucia nodded her head, surprised by the merchant’s hospitality.

Nafrud looked at her tiara, “If you’re planning to run away from your status, you might want to hide that tiara. This cloak also has pouches that can carry quite a lot.”

Lucia flushed slightly, “I’m not planning to run away.”

The old dwarf just chuckled, “I’m not going to report on you. Here’s the cloak, a set of commoner’s clothes, and some coin for the road.”

“Why are you helping me?” She asked.

“It’s no trouble, fairy. It’s the least I could do. We magic folks should help out whenever we can.”

“Thank you, Nafrud. I’ll treasure it.” Lucia said.

She changed in the nearby dressing room and bid the merchant farewell. Since Gloria was last seen in the town of Antlia, that’s where she will go. During her journey, two guards patrolling the area caught sight of her.

“Hey, you cloaked fairy! Antlia is strictly off limits!” One of the guards yelled out.

“Actually, fairies don’t fly that high do they?” The other guard asked.

“Maybe a spell or some sort?”

Lucia landed on her two feet. “What seemed to be a problem in Antlia?”

“There’s a fight in Antlia, commoners shouldn’t be involved. The prince went to resolve the issue there. No one is allowed entry until further notice.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The shadow beneath their feet began to dance as if it was alive on its own. Lucia's heart began to race as she noticed the unsettling movement, feeling a sense of unease creeping up her spine.

“They are not real soldiers… Beware… Beware…” The shadows said.

“Is this the power of shadows? Creepy.” Lucia asked herself, gulping. Lucia then studied the facial features of the two soldiers. A tiger beastman and a fairy. She studied the way of wielding the sword for many, many years. At the first glance, she knew that this was not how the royal guards were trained to hold the sword.

“Hey, didn’t you hear us? Go back to the port!” The guard said, pointing his sword at her.

“How did you even pass the exam? Your left is wide open.” Lucia said. In a flash, she swooped in and snatched the sword away from him.

“What are you doing? Geez…”

“Before you get hurt, you better tell me why you are posing as a royal guard and what is going on with this country,” Lucia said, pointing the sword back at them.

The beastman charged forward with his sword, while the fairy stayed at the back, providing magical support. Despite the difference in size, Lucia managed to efficiently overpower the beastman, dodging his attack while stabbing him in the shoulder.

“Start speaking or the next would be your heart,” Lucia said, withdrawing her sword.

The fairy released two bolts of arcane bolts, aiming directly at Lucia. Lucia saw the bolts of magic incoming but chose not to dodge them. Both of the bolts hit her directly in her face. As the smoke clears, Lucia could only smirk.

“You call this magic? Here, let me show you what a true arcane bolt is.”

Lucia muttered the exact incantations as the fairy did. Instead of two meatball-sized bolts, her magic took shape of two large butterflies twice the size of the fairies. It exploded right in his face.

“I might have overdone it. Anyways, where were we?” She giggled.

“Alright, alright, I’ll talk. Few years back we were paid to pose as the royal guards, that’s all. Given clothes and everythin’,” the beastman said, his wounds slowly healing back.

“I didn’t ask you how you became a royal guard, genius. I asked you why.” Lucia pinned him down, stabbing him in the right shoulder.

“Don’t know! I don’t! We ain't here for fun, we're just getting paid for this gig. Only the boss knows the big picture.”

“Where’s this boss of yours?”

“Leading the damn fight against Prince Albireo in Antlia he should be.”

With a swift motion, Lucia tossed the beastman aside like a mere toy before taking off towards Antlia. Questions raced through her mind: Why was her brother fighting a war in Antlia? How did any previous signs of conflict go unnoticed? Suddenly, her flight came to an abrupt halt as she realized something was amiss. The guards had been swapped out for imposters, and the documents were likely forged. Antlia had likely been corrupted for years without anyone noticing.

Gloria's kidnapping was likely tied to her inventions, and her brother's involvement in the war only added to the mounting concerns. Lucia herself had been inflicted with a deadly curse. Someone was targeting the royal family and wanted to take over the Iolite continent.

Lucia continued her flight, reaching Antlia in a blink of an eye. She descended and put her hood up, covering most of her features.

The town before her was not what she remembered as at all. A desolate sight of ruined houses and empty streets. The once cheerful community was now reduced to a poor, starving state. Their clothes were ragged and tattered, and their faces hollow. They walked slowly, eyes fixated on the ground, as if they were searching for something that could never be found.

She entered an alleyway, far from prying eyes, and spoke to an old woman. “I heard there was a fight going on here, what happened?”

“A fight? No, Princess Gloria came back and saved us from the wretched hands of the royal capital.” The old fairy laughed.

“What did the princess do?” Lucia asked.

“She gave us lots of food! Don’t you see? She’s the true royal out there!” The old lady laughed.

Lucia quickly scanned around the alleyway, but there was no food to be seen. Not even a grain of rice. Some moss on the ground, maybe. Confused, she turned back to the old lady and she noticed a certain brooch on her. The brooch holding a single Pieris flower.

“Where did you get the flower from?” Lucia asked, surprised.

“The princess gave it to us and then she went to kill the Prince. The country is saved!”

Lucia felt her heart stop for a second. The prince was killed? Even if Gloria had all the power in the world, she wouldn’t be able to kill her brother. She was such a kind hearted soul. No, that can’t be. The old lady must be delusional from the effects of the flower. Lucia found her tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn’t know that the people in Antlia was suffering so much. Enough to hate the royal capital.

“Little fairy, why are you crying? Here, take this brooch from an old lady. I took another one for my son, but I can’t seem to find him.” The old lady said, passing her a brooch.

“I hope that you will find what you need soon,” she answered, pulling her hood in further and walking off.

As she wandered through the desolate streets, she noticed that almost everyone was adorned with the same brooch, each one smiling vacantly at some invisible presence. It was the flower's doing, showing them visions of what they desired, but it was not enough to save them from the curse.

The further she ventured into the town, the more apparent it became that it was a place of death and destruction. The corpses of demons and royal guards littered the ground, their blood staining the air with a pungent aroma. The civilians seemed oblivious to the carnage, continuing to smile and stare into the void. In the center of it, all stood the prince, a lone figure on top of the town plaza.

“Al!” Lucia yelled, sprinting to his side. “Al, are you still with me?”

He lay motionless on the ground. Lucia inspected his wounds. A stab through the heart and a few cuts through his neck, torso, and legs. His wings were completely clipped off.

“This is cruel… Who did this to you?” Lucia sobbed, horrified by the sight. Her brother was gone. He can appear cold and cruel, but he loved her nonetheless. She hugged his bloodied chest, wishing with all her heart that he could come back. She wished to hear his voice, she wished she never argued with him.

It was when time stopped and the world had lost all its color. A shadow formed in the silhouette of her brother. She looked up, watching as the shadow took its shape. It was shorter than her brother was.

“Stop crying, that’s pitiful. I am the shadow of Albireo.” It had the exact voice and tone of her brother. This was the power of shadows? Lucia walked towards the shadow, reaching out to touch it. But it went past her hand.

“The person who killed my master was not Gloria, but a very powerful elf named Krystol. He was wearing a blue mask and a black cape.”

“Then, what happened to Gloria?”

“Your sister was held captive in the Island of Fetters. He had a grandiose idea of taking down the entire continent overnight. I don’t have the wisdom of what my master had, but I would advise you to aid the King and Queen.” The shadow replied.

“Because the King and Queen were the only royals left,” Lucia muttered.

“I will be fading soon. My master never wished for you to mourn for him for long. Be well, Princess Lucia.” The shadow muttered, dissipating in front of her with the gust of wind.

Lucia wiped the tears from her face. Her heart continued to wrench, but she had to hold it in. She could always cry later. She picked up the Eminus from her pocket.

“Hilda? I need you to command the troops to evacuate the citizens from Mensa and Fornax. Send out a notice. If you see an elf with a blue mask, report to me immediately.”