Hello reader!

WARNING: Mature content... I think.

This Chapter is very long, around 15k words so beware if you're going to read it. :/

I'll come back to fix the errors in the text later on.

But if you see anything major that I've missed, do send me a PM and I'll fix it. :>

Enjoy.

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The Orb of Energy.

In the west in the kingdom of Yralitra lies a village. It’s stationed a couple of kilometers away from the forest of Galanimel. This village got a population of three hundred people, both old and young.

Darkness has set itself on this side of the world; the Elven Continent.

In this village everything is calm. The breeze rolls through the village and it seeps into the houses giving the people air to breathe. This village is like any other village, it has wooden fortifications that blocks off any intruders who might seek to harm this peaceful settlement.

You can see guards that still holds their posts, and watches this place in the dead of night.

The wooden walls are secured, the towers that’re standing around the village are secured… Everything is safe.

Nothing harmful other than a couple of animals that peeks out from the forest to see the torches that’re on the guard-towers, and on the guards that holds them while they protect their village.

The guards have green armor on, everything green in a rather dark color. They stand with their swords that’re lying asleep in their scabbards. Helmets, chainmail armor, and shields that’re hanging on their backs or placed down.

Everything a guard would need.

The forest that’s surrounding the village moved with the wind.

Then suddenly animals comes rushing out in full speed towards the village walls. It’s as if they’re running form something horrifying, but as the animals comes to the walls they run by the side of the fortifications trying to escape something.

The guards who sees these frantic animals just looks at the guard that’s beside them. They wondered what is going on, their hands went to their own sword hilts. They stare into the forest, but nothing, only a wind breeze.

One of the guards that stares out into the forest is in a guard-tower, he looks out to see if he can find what reason the animals are acting so panicky, but he too sees nothing.

The torches on the guard-towers burns with its golden light. The guard that’s standing in the tower notices something gleaming inside the forest, he peered at the shining object, but then it suddenly disappears.

His eyes becomes wide when he remembers what kind of creature that can make animals this frightened. But he wanted to make sure so he takes a bow n arrow that’s in his guard-tower.

The guard himself is a Half-Elf, so he drew the bow to its max and chanted a light spell that would engulf the arrow’s tip in brightness.

He fires it off into the forest and the other guards just looks at him with questionable faces, but they too stares where the arrow lands.

Terror…runs through the guards’ bodies.

The Half-Elf made a hastening move as he quickly rings on the bell that’s in his guard-tower. He rings it with desperation, and as the noise of the bell resounds, a sudden swarm comes charging out from the forest… A swarm of blackened creatures, small creatures in the sizes of children.

Then all of the other guard-towers around the village rings also with such a distress. The village people wakes up from those rings in a rather slow manner. Those bells are only supposed to be rung if there’s an attack in progress.

And an attack it is.

The swarm of the blackened creatures surrounded the whole village in the thousands.

Child-Spewer is what they’re called by the known races. The Child-Spewers are a race from a long lost era that has plagued the Elven Continent for hundreds of years, but only in the recent years have they begun to attack people.

They’re the blackest of black with their skin tone. Their black round eyes of darkness that would reflect the light, and stare into one’s terrors. Their hands have three fingers with big sharp claws that can shred its victims to pieces. Their children sized bodies which could make any soldier disturbed.

Their feet also has razor sharp claws that can cut open their dead prey. They have no nose, only eyes and a mouth… That mouth of theirs spews out yellow poisonous drool that runs down their bodies.

The mouth itself has sharp distorted teeth that points in every direction. They’re white, but with the yellow saliva made them slightly amber. They do have ears, but the ears are only two small holes on either side of their heads.

The Children runs with their thousands of small legs towards the village walls. And as they reached the fortifications that’re surrounding the whole village they starts to climb, digging their clawed hands and feet into the wooden materials.

The guards becomes terrified out of their minds. They have never seen so many Children before, and as they look over the edges of the walls they see them climb up. Hundreds of Children stares at the guards with their big round black eyes, and they squeal out with tiny disturbing sounds as they climb.

The people inside the village has woken up, but not fast enough. The village population of three-hundred people didn’t think the bell sound was something dire. They only though that it was a prank, because it had happened in the past, to see how fast people could wake up from their houses.

A prank it was not, it’s a matter of life and death. Their doom awaits them. Their kids will die, their elderly will die, and everyone will die. No one has foreseen this kind of happening…

The Child-Spewers are swarming up the walls. The guards on the fortifications aren’t ready, but they need to be ready for all of the people that hasn’t taken this seriously. Shouts runs throughout the village asking what has happened. When the people heard what kind of prank it is, both men and women runs towards the village’s armory with such haste.

Three Child-Spewers reached the top of the wall, but one of the guards did one foul swing and the bodies of the three Child-Spewers got cut in two halves. Their severed bodies falls from the rampart and down to the ground. Some of the Child-Spewers started to eat away at the corpse of their fallen comrade, not caring about the battle at hand.

The Child-Spewers swarms the walls, and the guards fought with their lives on the line. Magic spells are shot out from the Half-Elves, fireballs, icicles, slashing winds, and telekinesis that levitates objects and shoots them at their enemies.

Guards are dying left and right as they’re overcome by the thousands of Children that’re climbing over the walls. They can’t hold them, they can’t keep them at bay, and they just kept on swarming not giving them any pause.

Guards are eaten alive when they can’t keep themselves defended from the onslaught, while the guards next to them also tries to keep themselves alive. But one after the other dies. The Child-Spewers kept on moving as the guards on the fortifications lies dead with their eaten bodies.

Chimes rings, rings, and rings all over the village.

Then the bells went silent when no one is able to warn them of their impending doom that awaits their village.

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The village people has gathered in the village square and they are waiting.

Their village guards are dead, only a handful left. The village people have different kinds of weapons and hastily dressed armors. They’re standing in front of the chapel of Xerina; The Goddess of Nature. (Like the village Xivan has been to, but bigger.)

Those who can’t fight, like the children, the elderly, the wounded men and women are inside the chapel of Xerina. And the people outside are ready to defend them with their lives. The Child-Spewers are standing right in front of them…staring with their black big eyes, hundreds…no, thousands are cramping together between the houses, even on the rooftops of the households.

Screams, cries, and death echoes from all over the village as people are being eaten alive…

In the Village square right in front of the chapel of Xerina they stand. The remaining villagers, only a hundred people, men and women. Young men and women. Old men and women.

They stand there to make their last stand against these creatures that comes from the darkness. Tears are coming from the villagers, wails are coming from the villagers… All kinds of expressions shows from them.

But what can they do? They’re only a few against many… Only one dozen Half-Elves remain.

Yralitra is a kingdom where Half-Elves reign supreme because it has a population of three-hundred-thousand people, and the majority are Half-Elves. It’s the only magical kingdom on the Elven Continent, it’s led by a Half-Elf priestess that has been placed there by the Goddesses. The Priestess’s words comes from the Goddesses themselves, her word is the law in the kingdom of Yralitra.

But here in front of the village’s chapel are Humans in the majority… They have no magic that can save them. The Half-Elves who’re left seems exhausted from the battle… It has only gone thirty minutes since the Child-Spewers came over the walls. They had roamed through the entire village and picked clean of every house of its inhabitants, blood everywhere, eaten bodies everywhere.

Now there are only these villagers left… What can they do? Against thousands of Child-Spewers…

They can do nothing…against them. Will they see their own children be eaten in front of them? Will they hear their most loved ones scream to their deaths?

They’ve nowhere to run, their only choice is to stay and fight to their last man or woman. They’re armed with all kinds of weapons and armors, but they can only wait for their deaths… That sweet death which seems so tempting. Do they want to get eaten alive? Or will they commit suicide to end their upcoming suffering?

They just stand there staring at the Child-Spewers who aren’t even moving. They’re just peering at the villagers motionless. It is because the villagers have set up a huge fire, they have thrown in wooden furniture from the chapel and nearby houses.

It is protecting them from the swarm of darkness. (Child-Spewers are extremely weak to light)

But the big flame is flickering violently, as if it’s being slowly extinguished by the thousands of black gleaming eyes.

The villagers are looking at the flame that’s slowly beginning to shrink. Their only hope of survival is that fire, but if that fire disappears then their hope will be shattered. Their lives hangs on the balance… The remaining Half-Elves are trying their best to keep the flame from getting quenched by the thousands of black eyes…

The Half-Elves are showing strained faces as they continue casting their fire spells to keep it lit. The races that’re here other than the Half-Elves are Humans, Dwarves, and Halflings. It’s a mixed village of races, but doom awaits them all.

“WE CAN’T KEEP IT LIT! THEY’RE TOO STRONG!” one of the Half-Elves yelled tiredly.

And as the people heard those words, they lost their will to live… Their children will die, their lovers will die, their parents will die, everyone will die…

Being eaten by those creatures… Bones will be left… Flesh will be gnawed on, blood will be staining the ground. This village will become a screaming epidemic of death as the remaining villagers perishes…slowly from the horrifying creatures that looks at them with those black eyes of terror.

Some parents are thinking of killing their own children so they won’t suffer the pain of being eaten.

They’re a hundred villagers that awaits their upcoming deaths.

How could this have happened? How come so many Child-Spewers are here in this village?

They’ve heard of them roaming the forests while they attack travelers and kills off any prey that the hunters searched for. Why are they doing this? …Why?

The people just thought of different reasons as to why they’ve attacked their village. Is it because they’re starting to run out of food to feed their endless hordes? Or is this a deliberate attack that someone has planned out?

The villagers’ stares at the blaze of fire as it starts to shrink, shrink, and shrink. The Half-Elves can’t hold the flames up anymore… The Child-Spewers are making it burn out with their weak magical powers, but with thousands of them their weak powers becomes strong.

The villagers starts to brace themselves as they wait for the charge of small children. They’re scared, they’re crying, and they’re angry, but all they can do is wait for that last flicker of light to be quenched.

The blaze of fire dies out…

Thousands of squeals echoes throughout the entire village. The Child-Spewers charge and the villagers roars with their last fighting spirit…

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In front of the Chapel of Xerina lies dead people from all kinds of races. Bodies are being feast upon… The chapel’s door is wide open and the Child-Spewers are eating until their bellies are full… This village of three-hundred people vanished within an hour… Children, teens, adults, and elderly folk are being eaten… Their growing lives have been snuffed out…by these monsters.

No sound comes from the villagers only the clatter of bones that’re being gnawed on. The Child-Spewers wiped out the entire village…

This is only the start of something terrifying. No one will be ready for this kind of conflict.

Are Child-Spewers a race or just normal monsters? …That can only those who have fought them before answer…

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In the east by the outskirts of Galanimel forest walks a small group of people, one a Halfling, and two Humans. One of the Humans is carrying a Half-Elf on the shoulder as they travel. It’s Jack, Jenny, Diana, and Azyna.

And Jack is the one who’s carrying Azyna on his shoulder as they journey towards east. It has taken them longer than they thought, because they had left all of their equipment by the encampment, so they couldn’t climb down the steep cliff that they had come upon. (The cliff Xivan and Aynthia had levitated down from.)

When they got up from Xivan’s chamber and carried Azyna to their camp, she suddenly woke up, but as she woke up she became frenzied. She screamed out in pain as if something is missing beside her, though it just came out as a muffled scream. She tried to run to the east while she was bound with the ropes Jenny had tied around her arms and mouth.

But Jack had ran after her and then caught her before she got too far. He carried her back to their camp while she tossed around in his arms, it became really hard for him to keep her in check. She even tried to bite him with her rope covered mouth, but his plate armor was in the way.

The two dwarves, Thren and Rulma had left because they got what they needed from them… Gold. They had said their goodbyes in a rather quick way. Did they owe them something? No, they only wanted this job because the pay was a fine deal. Jack and Diana became a little saddened by their departure.

But Jenny had just scoffed them off as she thought: Damn those dwarves, how can they just leave my dear friend like this? Have they no responsibility?!

She doesn’t need people who would betray her, she’ll find a way to break this bounding spell that has been put on her friend…whatever the cost.

When the dwarves had left, Azyna kept on screaming those muffled cries. Jenny’s heart couldn’t bare it. She had tried to talk to her but to no avail. Azyna had just stared towards the east…as if she’s seeing something in the distant.

And Jack had noticed it, but what were they supposed to do? If she’ll continue to act like this, it won’t be long before her entire mind breaks apart. Even as they stood there her memories was starting to fade, slowly. Azyna panted in pain when she wasn’t screaming.

They had just looked at Azyna with pained faces… Especially Jenny, because this is all her fault. If she only had accepted the marriage, none of this would have ever happened. But could she had gone through with it in the end?

No, she would have escaped to the Elven Continent even without any help from anyone.

She doesn’t know why she’s so fixated in coming to the Elven Continent, it just felt right to search for these treasures. But she stood there regretting that she took her friend with her to this place.

Are there anyone who can help them on the Elven Continent? To help them remove the curse that has been put on Azyna? Jenny has been taught a lot over the years of schooling by the finest tutors, so she knows that there weren’t any Elves here on the Elven Continent. Jack knows that too.

When someone comes from such a family as theirs, one hears certain things about Elves. Because their family is followers of that religion of Goddesses. Though she doesn’t really believe that now when she has seen a real one in the flesh. She never was the religious type.

They contemplated on what they would do next… Should they take a boat back to the Human Continent and get help there? Or will that be too late for Azyna? What will happen to her if they let her be like that for far too long?

They don’t know.

Azyna had stared towards the east, and Jack wondered why… Then he knew the cause, or at least suspected what it was.

He came to the decision that they’ll move eastward. And that they should leave any unnecessary equipment.

He explained what he thought might be the cause for Azyna’s frenzied behavior to the other two ladies. It was rather simple. Xivan had explained to them in the chamber: That they wouldn’t be able to keep her from him even if they tried.

Jenny also remembered what he had told them…

She shouldn’t have let Xivan escape. She should have pressed him more so he would remove that curse from her friend. Even if he said it wasn’t possible… How could he leave her friend to be in this kind of state?

This heartbreaking state… She just felt hate towards that Elven man. She hasn’t really hated anyone else but her mother before, so this new feeling of loathe is making her heart burn with conviction. She’ll make him pay for making her friend like this… Making her into an animal of humiliation. He had just left her friend there and didn’t even look back.

Jack then said that they must find Xivan and get him to help Azyna.

Even if it was an accident he’s still responsible for the sarcophagus, Jack had thought. Jack also thought how heartless Elves are, but he had met Azyna’s Elven father before. Her father was a noble man, though he talked with a rather pompous voice. It had ticked Jack off a bit, but he had just kept it inside him.

They shouldn’t have let Xivan leave…but what is done, is done. No need to complain about it now.

The group of four then started to journey towards east, following the trail that Azyna’s eyes gave them.

But she became too hard to handle, so they tied a short rope and let her run free…as if she’s a pet. Jack forwarded the rope to Jenny, but she didn’t want to hold it. Then he himself took the honor of leading their frenzied companion eastward.

And now they’re moving east by the outskirts of Galanimel forest, it had taken them around two and a half days to reach here. (It’s the same time Xivan and Aynthia left Temonar Village)

The group kept on going eastward.

Azyna had become rather difficult to handle a while back, so Diana had taken out a bottle that she had in her backpack. She got help from Jack to bend Azyna forward, and as she smelled the mixture inside the container…she fell asleep.

Diana is rather experienced in alchemy, though only in the simplest things.

She has been taught to be a Healing Woman, because if Jenny would ever get hurt by anything, Diana would be right there to take care of her. But of course having a Half-Elf that could heal would have been even more useful. Azyna was awful with her healing spells, thought she had healed her hand in the chamber rather quickly.

Jack had just tossed the unconscious Azyna onto his shoulder, and then they kept on moving.

It is about to become midday, and they’ve almost run out of food.

The small group just went onwards while not even uttering a word to each other. They’re tired… Very tired. They haven’t gotten any rest for around two days… Jack has pushed them to their limit, because they need to catch up to Xivan…

But Azyna is asleep? How can they find him?

When they stood on the steep cliff they had seen a village to the east, and Jack is just moving towards that village at the moment. And they also had to search for a way down from the cliff, which took a lot of time.

Jenny looks at the unconscious Azyna with painful eyes… Why her…she keeps thinking to herself. But she holds in her expressions as they walk. She’s walking behind Jack and Diana so they can’t see her face.

And Jack is panting as he carries Azyna on his shoulder while in his full-plate armor. Moving like that must have really worn him out, because having his armor on and his shield n sword weighs a lot, plus the weight of Azyna on his shoulder.

Diana too puffs breaths here and there as she walks with her small body, but she just keeps on going without complaining.

“Sis, you alright back there?” Jack asked, as he’s too tired to turn around.

“Yes…everything is fine. I just want to find that leaf-head so he can cure her,” Jenny responded as she got a sudden angry tone.

“Dear sister, you must prepare yourself that he might not be able to cure her of this…curse,” he said as he sighs. “And if we do meet him, you mustn’t throw out blame because we’re as guilty as he is for leaving her like that.”

“Phew, talking really takes a lot from me,” Jack moaned as the weight is starting to get too heavy.

They had come upon a crossroad before as they came from the south where they had found a way down from the cliff. As they came to the crossroad they had started to move east. It has gone one hour since they had seen the crossroad.

As they keep on going eastward they notice a long bridge that’s stationed over a big river. Jack scowls as he sees an encampment on the other side of the bridge. He stops dead in his tracks and so does the other two.

“What’s the matter?” Jenny asked, but then she sees the camp on the other side. “An encampment? Brother, who do you think they are? Soldiers? Brigands?”

“Hard to say really,” Jack said as he turns his head to Jenny. “If they come upon us let me handle the talking, okay?”

Jenny looks suspiciously at her brother. Why can’t she talk? But she just gives a nod of understanding.

It will look very weird with a tied-up Half-Elf hanging on his shoulder, but he’ll come up with something as he approaches camp.

Jack starts to go towards the campsite while the ladies follows closely behind. Diana doesn’t like to meet random people, because she can never know how it’ll turn out.

As they step off the bridge they see no one, only the barricades of tents which is circling around a large tent. Though Jack can hear snores coming from the small tents.

Hmm, so they’re asleep, Jack thought.

He waves with his free hand to just keep on going and not to wake up the snoring men.

As they’re about to travel east yet again, a man in full-plate armor comes out from the big tent while yawning. And Jack notices the man, Jack frowns, but tries to keep on going.

The man is Arondoc, and he too notices the party of four trying to make their escape silently.

“Hey, you people! Why the hurry?!” Arondoc yells as he see a party moving east. “Come here, and let me talk to you!”

Jack just sighs as he turns around to the yelling man.

He whispered to Jenny, “Remember, let me do all of the talking.”

“Fine…” she replied while rolling her eyes.

They could have just kept on going and not listened to the yelling man. But Jack thought that if they just kept on going east and not answered the man, it would have just looked very suspicious.

As the small group comes upon the tents, Arondoc notices the unconscious girl on Jack’s shoulder. He looks at Jack with a questionable face while he said, “Why is that girl like that?”

“She’s sick, my good man. Very sick,” Jack said in a very polite voice. “We’re taking her east to get help. But you needn’t worry, we have everything under control.”

The other men also starts to wake up as they hear people talk. It’s a voice they don’t recognize. Some men got out of their tents and looks at the newcomers.

But then Arondoc’s eyes became wide when he notices from what family they’re from. That blond hair, those blue eyes, and that emblem of a tigress’ head.

“Forgive me, your Highness. I didn’t recognize the traits of a Temral. I beg for your forgiveness,” Arondoc said with an uneasy voice.

“MEN WAKE UP AND STAND IN LINE!” he yells out loudly and the other men who’re still asleep quickly got out of their tents.

They now stand in two lines, five in each line. Sontren and Aroner also stands in the line while Arondoc stands in front of them. The soldiers stares at the blond Human male and female. No one really cared for the Halfling though.

“At ease soldiers, we didn’t come here to evaluate you. We just happen to travel by here and you caught us as we moved past your camp,” Jack said with a calm voice. “But as I’m here, give me a report of anything unusual.”

Arondoc turns his body and looks back at his squad of soldiers. Sontren shakes his head to stop him from saying anything he shouldn’t. Sontren is like Arondoc’s advisor, he’s much smarter than Arondoc himself, so he usually asks for Sontren’s opinion before he speaks out.

Jenny gives a frown when she notices Arondoc’s and Sontren’s body language.

“Nothing major, your Highness. Only Child-Spewers roaming about in the night. We’ve lost a couple of men, but we’re doing a lot better now. We have managed to kill off a hundred of them last night. It was a gruesome battle, but we managed to beat them without any casualties.”

“And that’s everything that has happened to us, your Highness,” Arondoc said as he bows with his gray-worn plate armor.

“A hundred Child-Spewers you say..? How did you manage to kill a hundred of them without losing any of your men?” Jack asked in a surprised tone. “A hundred is a large number soldier, are you sure that you aren’t exaggerating?”

Sontren boldly cut in, “Your Highness, we stationed ourselves on the bridge and then as the Child-Spewers came from the woods in the east, we got an advantage. They came charging at us while we had two lanes. Half of the soldiers had bows or crossbows and they stood in the back, while the other half stood in the front.”

“So those who were in the front guarded the archers while they fired off their bolts n arrows in quick intervals. Then as they came upon us, the men that stood in the front killed those who got close. And because of the bolts n arrows they lost a lot of their child-power as they came closer to us. We simply needed to kill them off as they got in range of our weapons.”

Sontren finished as he said, “A simple two lane strategy, your Highness.”

Still a hundred of them… I’ve never fought them in a battle before, only seen them in cages, but… Jack thought. Are they that easy to slay?

“…” Jack just stands there wondering… And the others also stands there looking at Jack with different expressions.

The winds starts to pick up and the leaves on the trees brakes off from their twigs, one at a time. Jenny looks at Sontren in a rather suspicious way, and he notices the gaze of her. Has he done something to displease her?

“I see... Hmm,” Jack said as he starts to consider if he should ask or not, but he asks. “If you’ve nothing else to report, then that’s that. …This might sound stupid but I need to ask, you wouldn’t happen to have seen an Elven man?”

A couple of wide eyes shows on the soldiers, and he and Jenny notices those eyes of surprise.

“Nothing else to report, you liars!” Jenny yells out furiously. “You’ve seen an Elven man! Tell us everything!”

“SISTER!” Jack yelled at Jenny to make her shut up. “Remember what I said before? Keep to it, okay?”

She just lets out a *Tsk* as she turns her head in a different direction. The soldiers got startled by the sudden loud girl, but they collected themselves very quickly.

Jack puts down Azyna on the ground and lets her rest, instead of being carried.

Jenny then went to her and strokes her head while feeling saddened by her fate.

These people in front of them has seen Xivan, and she had just tried to get information out of them, but her brother stopped her. She isn’t even aware of her tone of speech. It’s normal for her to speak her mind, though she has been holding her thoughts inside of her, as of late.

“Speak soldier, when did you see this Elven man?” Jack asks with a very forward voice.

But Arondoc retorted with a question of his own, “Your Highness, why are you searching for this Elven man? If you don’t mind me asking.”

…What is Jack supposed to say? That this Elven man is a long lost Elven God? No, he can’t say that. Because if Xivan were to become a menace in the future, people would want to know who to blame for his sudden appearance.

Though there are few male Elves in the Human Continent, but are they even on par with Xivan?

“We just need to find him so he can heal our friend that’s unconscious there,” Jack said as he looks at Azyna.

“Of course! Of course that’s the reason, how foolish of me,” Arondoc said as he got relieved. “That Elven man is indeed a noble man, he healed my son from near death and he didn’t even ask for anything in return, so I’m very indebted to him. And you’ll have to forgive me for asking you in such a rather suspicious voice before, but you seemed like you had a quarrel with him or something.”

Jenny yelled out as she hears those words of gratitude, “We’re searching for him because he did this to her! Yes that Elven man did this to her! He put a curse on my friend and then just left her there to die!”

Jack face-palms as he hears his sister say those words. Diana who’s standing next to Jack gives off a face of worry too.

“A Noble man you say? Hah! He’s nothing but a selfish leaf-head! He didn’t even tell us what would happen to my friend, he only spouted out nonsense, and then he left us there in that Cham—Bmhmhm.”

Jack quickly covered her mouth with his hands so she didn’t say anything that would make things worse.

“I told you to be quiet, Jenny. Do not make me say it again, because your outbursts is something we really don’t need right now,” Jack said as he holds her mouth, but then let’s go.

“I only told the truth… He’s—.”

“No sister, nothing of what you said was the truth. I know that you’re angry because he left Azyna there without helping her, but can you blame him? We didn’t really give him much of a choice, we acted hostile towards him, so of course he wouldn’t want to stay and help,” Jack said.

He then notices the slight angry men who’re standing beside them.

“Highness or not, you should watch what you say about good people before you end up getting hurt,” Aroner said as he joined the fray. “You say curse? What kind of curse are you speaking about?”

Jack turns his head as he hears the new man, no, boy speak.

He needs to think of an answer quickly, “Well, we met the Elven man in the forest of Galanimel as we traveled through it. And our friend there touched something that she shouldn’t have, which belonged to the Elven man.

“The artifact that she touched made her…frenzied, she acts like a wild beast. That’s why we have her asleep. And now we need to find this…Elven man so he can remove the curse.”

“So what you’re saying is: That it’s your own fault that made her like this and not the Elven man’s doing,” Sontren said as he understood the situation. “I might not know the whole truth, but if you’re searching for him I would rather not give you his location, if that’s what you want.”

Though I don’t even know where he went, but there’s only one way you can go to the east, Sontren thought.

It became silent.

The soldiers just looks at these two royalties that’re in front of them. Jack, Jenny, and Diana too looks at them. Jenny with her frowning face, Jack with his troubled face, and Diana with a worried face.

But then out of nowhere.

“We don’t need your help! You’re mere soldiers from common birth! We want nothing from such people!” Jenny shouted with an arrogant tone. “Remember we’re royalties of this…country, and you’re bound to serve the royal family at all cost. If you dare deny any of my orders you will be put to death.”

Jack looks at his sister with a wide-eyed expression… How can she speak with such a vulgar mouth? It’s as if his own mother is putting the words into her mouth…

Diana too looks but with an opened mouthed expression. She is very surprised that her friend can talk to people like that while she doesn’t even know them.

“Sister you shou—.”

“NO! They should know their place in life. They’re simple pieces that can be moved by our will. If I remember correctly you take an oath of servitude when you join the Temral army. Which states! That you must follow any order a Temral gives you. If I tell you to kill an innocent, you kill it. If I tell you to kill yourself, YOU DO IT!” Jenny shouted as she told the soldiers about the rules of the Temral army. “It is as simple as that…soldiers.”

But as she finished, the soldiers just looks at her with disdain and disgust. She has gone too far with her outburst this time. Some of the soldiers even holds their sword hilts. And Jack just shakes his head as he had listened to his sister.

He is tired… So tired. He hasn’t even had any sleep in a long time, but he must stay strong.

Jenny also glares at the soldiers to not show any weakness, but she too is tired, maybe that’s why she’s so easily angered.

“What you say is completely true. We’re bound to the country when we took our oaths…” Arondoc said as he frowns. “But, I’ve no appetite to follow any orders that comes from your mouth… Little princesses.”

As he finished, Jenny got a wide-eyed expression, but it quickly turns into a stare of anger.

“Alright enough!” Jack shouted as this is going way out of hand. “I am sorry about my sister’s behaviors, but I can see that we’re not wanted here, so I think it’s time to say our goodbyes.”

“I think that would be for the best, your Excellency,” Arondoc said as he gives a sarcastic bow.

Jack picks up Azyna and puts her back on his shoulder. He gives a slight bow as he turns around, then he starts to walk towards the east with Jenny and Diana at his sides.

Jack thought as he shakes his head in worry, how can Jenny live outside the family if she’s going to act like that…

As the soldiers sees them leave they just look worried. What will happen to them if those two royalties reports this to the soldiers’ superiors? Especially that woman, she was a feisty one. She probably doesn’t forget those who angers her. But all the soldiers could do is wait and see what happens in the future.

The next squad of border patrol soldiers are soon to be here, to rotate in new people. Arondoc and his squad has been stationed here for over two months now. And there’s a reason why they’re stationed here at this bridge. Clean drinking water from the river, fish that they can fish up to eat as food. Plus they have provisions which they can use when they can’t catch any fish. Perfect for a self-sufficient squad of soldiers.

The Galanimel forest has a border of its own. The river that goes through here is stretched around the whole Galanimel forest. It’s like a water moat surrounding a castle.

The squad of soldiers just returns to their tents to sleep, because of the incoming night that will come upon them. But Sontren and Arondoc is in the big tent planning out what to do about the Child-Spewers that’ll come when the darkness covers the sky.

They had exaggerated before when they said a hundred Child-Spewers. But it was a close enough number.

“Sontren, don’t you think that they’re coming in rather large numbers nowadays?” Arondoc asked as he stands there beside Sontren.

“Yes, they’ve been increasing as of late. Just a week ago we only got small groups of them… But now it’s getting way out of hand, if we didn’t have that enchanted sword last night we would’ve most likely died,” Sontren said with a puzzling face. “Well, we’ll get the report from the squad that’ll replace us. Then we can see how the other soldiers are handling it.”

“What do you think about what those blondies said?” Arondoc asked.

“It doesn’t matter, we owe him our lives for this enchanted sword of his. They even said that it was their own faults so…” Sontren sighs. “I wonder what Navix is doing right now.”

Arondoc just replied, “Well, he must have gotten to the village a long time ago, maybe he’s still there?”

They then continued to talk...

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The sun shines with its luxurious brightness as Xivan and Aynthia continues to walk towards the east. They walk on the dirt road without saying anything, only the footsteps are heard as they continue east.

Aynthia has taken off the shawl that covered her whole head, though it still hanged around her neck. Xivan too took off his mask, and it’s actually floating in the air beside him. It’s following his movements as he keeps on walking. Aynthia had watched the levitating mask with scared eyes, because the mask itself is pure black, so she didn’t really like it.

Xivan had broken off the two wooden pieces that would be around the ear, because he didn’t need any support to hold the mask in place.

Xivan had watched the nature around him as he walked, but now he just stares straight at a crossroad that’s up ahead. As they come upon it, there’s a wooden signs.

Three wooden arrows that points to three different directions, one towards Temonar village, one to the south-east, and one to the east. But Xivan had already made up his decision; they went straight towards east…towards the haunted village which Alyssa had told him about.

Aynthia just follows beside him while she walks very close to him, she looks around the surrounding areas…always on alert. The two bags that they had gotten from the village hangs on their backs.

Aynthia had looked inside the bag before, but it only had provisions and other necessities for journeying, though she had taken out something to eat to satisfy her boredom when she wasn’t at her highest alert.

They kept on going for a couple of hours, it has now gone seven hours since they left the village and the sun will go down in a few more hours.

An eerie mist starts to show in the distance, and as they just kept on going towards east, the mist just started to get thicker and thicker. Aynthia has worry written all over her face, but Xivan has a curious look to him… This isn’t a regular mist, it’s a magic induced mist.

“My head hurts,” Aynthia said as she holds her head while she starts to wobble with misplaced steps.

Xivan quickly takes ahold of her clawed hand and pours in his magic inside her, as he fortifies her with a slight magical barrier so she wouldn’t feel the magic mist’s effect, which makes people disoriented.

“Better?” he asked, and she just nods happily as she doesn’t feel dizzy anymore. “Aynthia, be on constant alert because this mist is not natural, it’s mist that’s made out of magic.”

She quickly draws out her longswords from her scabbards and looks around more suspiciously while she enhances her own senses. Sound, smell, and perception, but she notices nothing, only this eerie mist that makes her slightly scared.

They continued to move on the dirt road going east. Xivan made the mist blow away as they walked, to get a clearer view in front of them.

He stops moving as he sees the village right in front of them, or at least the damaged gate of the haunted village. The village is like Temonar, but with aged broken fortifications surrounding the entire village.

Nature has set itself on this village, vines of vegetation riddles the broken fortifications. Moss is covering everywhere.

Xivan doesn’t like this at all, but he keeps on going. He goes through the broken gate while Aynthia follows closely behind him so she wouldn’t lag behind.

Broken down houses everywhere, vegetation everywhere…just an old village that hasn’t been taken care of in decades. Something is definitely going on here.

They continue to walk…

The eerie mist covers the sun, or is it the clouds? He couldn’t see because the mist is very thick down where they stand, though the mist isn’t around them, he has used his magic to make a barrier that pushes the mist away from them.

As they walk on the village lane they look into the windows, the opened broken doors, and the alleys that’re between the houses. No noise, only their breathing and footsteps are resounding through the village.

“?!” Xivan notices magic that’s forming straight in front of them, or no, it’s a little bit to the side, by one of the aged houses.

Aynthia starts to growl as she makes a sudden dash into the alley that’s on Xivan’s right side, she noticed something too.

Then she disappears in to the mist, but his magical barrier is still on her, because he had given her his magic to keep the barrier from fading. She won’t feel the disorientation from the magic mist.

Xivan was just about to yell out to Aynthia as he saw her vanish, but something in front of him flew towards him.

“Oh,” Xivan lets out as a magic spell got shot at him in full speed… It’s a fireball that’s coming towards him, but as it is just about to hit him, it stops right in front of him…

Now it just levitates in the air. He moves his right hand to the globe of fire and sucks in the magic into him… It just vanishes in to his endless pools.

He frowns as he got out of the sudden surprise that he had fallen into, but before he could act, Aynthia roars as she found what she’s looking for.

A woman suddenly jumps out on the village lane while looking towards the alley she jumped out from; Aynthia comes with her longswords straight after, as the woman lands on the small street.

Xivan just looks at them curiously…not even trying to interrupt.

Let’s see how Aynthia will handle her, no need for me to interrupt their battle, Xivan thought. though I do wonder why she suddenly attacked me.

The dark mask that’s levitating beside Xivan suddenly went to his face… He’s now all dark, from head to toe.

He starts to move to Aynthia and the woman while they’re fighting. The women has a spear like Alyssa’s… Though Xivan can’t see that well in this eerie mist.

“Raaaahh!” Aynthia roared as she hits the shaft of the spear, but the women just looks angrily at Aynthia while she pushes her away with her spear. She needs to get breathing room for her attacks, but Aynthia doesn’t let her get away at all. Aynthia keeps attacking her with assaults as the woman desperately tries to defend herself.

The woman jumps backwards while she thrusts her spear forward. Aynthia just quickly parries the thrust with one longsword as she strikes forwards with the other one. But Aynthia’s attacks didn’t reach, because she did that jump-backward-thrust.

The woman silently chants something in Elvish, and as she finishes in just one second, a gust of wind shot at Aynthia, but she did a quick sprint to the right to avoid the invisible slash. The spell the woman shot out made a tear in the ground where Aynthia was supposed to be.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Aynthia just follows up with even quicker movements, the women herself got surprised by the extremely fast dodge. And as she saw Aynthia come upon her again, she does her jump-backward-thrust again, but this time Aynthia has a sudden free hand because she had sheathed one of her longswords in a quick manner.

Aynthia dodges the thrusting spear and at the same time she grabs ahold of it with her free hand. The woman just lets out an even more surprised face, but then frowns as Aynthia pulls the spear into her own direction.

The sudden pull of the spear made her hand slip, so she lost her weapon to her opponent.

As her hands are absent of any weapons, she begins to chant Elvish words again, but without a weapon to guard herself from Aynthia’s deadly attacks, she desperately puts out a barrier instead as she interrupts her own chanting.

Aynthia had let go of the spear, and now it’s lying on the ground.

Aynthia strikes the woman, and she lets out a scream as her barrier wasn’t strong enough to block Aynthia’s strong attacks. And right as Aynthia is going to ruthlessly kill this woman without a second thought, Xivan stopped her with a quick hand stroke.

She became frozen right as her longsword is about to pierce the woman’s throat.

Oh dear me, she can be merciless to her opponents, Xivan thought.

He had just watched them fight, but if Aynthia had gotten into trouble, he would intervene, though she overcame her opponent by exposing her weakness of the spear. Her opponent didn’t stand a chance against this twelve year old girl.

“What’re you doing!? She attacked you!” Aynthia shouted as she’s in her frozen state. She recognizes that Xivan is the one who cast it, because she had felt this kind of magic spell before, when she had revealed her reason for following him.

Xivan comes forth from the slight mist and looms over them. The woman had fallen on her back, and Aynthia’s single longsword is a few centimeters away from the woman’s throat. The woman is also in a frozen state like Aynthia…

And Xivan himself isn’t revealing anything, only his black-clad appearance. He gazes at the woman… She’s got thin-plated armor that’s in a blue color… The country’s colors?

He goes and picks up the spear that Aynthia had dropped on the ground.

It’s the exact same spear as Alyssa has… Is she a priestess? But before Xivan could say anything, the woman said with a cracked voice, “Tell me where my baby sister is! Please before you slay me, I need to know what happened to her! I need to know her fate!”

Baby sister? Xivan thought as he frowns behind his mask.

The woman herself is a Half-Elf around her mid-twenties? Yes, she does look like an adult, but Xivan sometimes gets confused because he hasn’t really gotten to know the races that well to tell their age… Especially with beasts.

The women’s hair and eyes are in a bright brown color, her skin is tanned, like the men on the bridge. She’s got a well-trained body that brings forth her slightly large bosoms. Her lean curves are bringing out her attractiveness, though with the blue armor on, it’s hard to see her trained body.

Her face that’s now petrified with fear just looks at Xivan who’s dark-clad. Her hair is tied in a slicked ponytail while some strands of hair has been misplaced because of the battle, moments ago.

“Tell me where my sister is! I-I beg you. If you’re going to kill me anyways, please tell me what happened to her!” She yelled with a desperate voice.

He holds the spear in his hands, then he pushes the spear into the ground which makes it stand.

Xivan goes to the two frozen ladies and bends forwards. He takes Aynthia’s longsword out of her hand and puts it back into her scabbard. Aynthia just looks at him with a wondering face. Why can’t she kill her? The woman attacked first, so it’s only right to kill her, right?

Aynthia thinks as she’s frozen.

Xivan first made Aynthia unfreeze. She got up on her feet in a quick manner, but she keeps her eyes on the woman. Now the woman is the only one who’s frozen. Xivan hasn’t answered any of her questions that she put out.

“Please!” she shouted with her desperate voice. “I’m already dead! So please tell me what happened to my baby sister! Why did you kidnap her! PLEASE!”

Xivan can’t stand this pitiable woman as she shouts at him with her desperate voice. He doesn’t like it when it’s about these kinds of things, it makes his heart ache with pain.

“I’m sorry to say this, but we aren’t the ones who kidnapped your sister,” Xivan said with a slight muffled voice. “We just recently got to this haunted village. So we don’t know anything about your sister.”

The woman gets a saddened face and said in a dejected voice, “It can’t be… Her energy leads here… I tracked her to this village…”

Her body got released from her frozen state, she hit the ground lightly and she gazes up at Xivan, he’s just staring at her too. She slowly got up from her lying position. She dusts herself off and then yet again looks at Xivan.

They aren’t the ones who kidnapped my sister? She thought. Damn this mist, I can’t locate her energy.

Suddenly the mist that’s around them gets pushed outward. The woman’s eyes became surprised by this sudden occurrence. She looks at Aynthia who’s from the Beast race and then to the black-clad man.

“W-We’re from the same race? Oh I beg of you, please help me locate my baby sister. With your help we can search for her energy in a much quicker way.” She said as she wanted Xivan’s help.

Her one hand moves to her leg pocket and takes out a small glass globe that’s attached to a silver cord, which could be hanged around ones neck.

She holds it up to show Xivan and said, “This energy globe got my sisters energy, but in this mist I can’t find her. It cancels out my searching. Please with our combined power we can try to make the mist disappear.”

Well that’s practical for finding someone, Xivan thought as he chuckled inwardly. We never invented such a devise. Only our bonding spells were used for energy searching.

Xivan gives a chuckle out loud and she wondered why he laughed at her. But before she could say anything, he raises his arms into the air.

His hands is in a pale-gray skin color, she thought as she looks at his hands. Does Half-Elves even have that kind of skin?

Then her eyes becomes wide when she sees the mist starts to move in a typhoon above them, it began to swirl and swirl. The mist forms into an orb of water above the black-clad man. She just keeps on watching…

She feels his power, but he controls his energy to perfection so it wouldn’t ooze into the woman.

The mist starts being drawn into the sphere, the village’s mist moves slowly as it feels that pulling power. The outer edges of the village starts to show as the mist began to disappear into the heart of the haunted village. Xivan just draws in the eerie magical mist. He has his eyes closed as he forms the orb of magical water above him.

Aynthia also stares at Xivan with respect for her master. He’s able to do things no one else is able to do. She’s happy that she got beaten by him, and not someone else who would have used her to no end. Though she’s a little grumpy for stopping her from killing that… Half-Elf.

Aynthia’s way of thinking is simple when it comes to enemies. Enemy = Kill.

The woman hears no chant from the black-clad Half-Elf that’s in front of her… How is he able to do this? Maybe he’s a very talented man which has lived for a long time and trained to his absolute flawlessness?

They keep on looking at the orb as it starts to expand and expand as the mist goes into the sphere. The wind also starts to pick up which makes the mist starts to flow into the orb faster and faster from all sides.

The eerie mist disappeared…

The water globe of magic is above them. It’s rather big, but Xivan gives no pause, he draws out the magical power out of the orb…and as he draws it out an invisible power flows through the air, into Xivan.

Now it’s just a normal globe of water, no essence of magic is left, only water.

He then tosses it towards the village lane where they came from. The large globe of water splashes everywhere and creates small waves on the ground. But Xivan had tossed it far enough so it wouldn’t reach them.

“How did you do that?” She asked as she got out of her daze. “That is something I’ve never seen before. Please tell me—.”

She cut herself off as she remembered his pale gray hands… And now as she takes a very close look at him she notices his green hair that’s slightly showing inside his hood. But she snaps out of her suspicion because she has more urgent business to attend to.

She takes a hold of her energy globe and focuses on it. She gets a sad frown as she continues to focus…

“Why, why… I feel that she’s right here,” she said in a troubling voice.

“Mind if I try?” Xivan asked with his muffled voice.

She looks at Xivan hesitantly but she gives the glass globe of her sister’s energy to him. Xivan then also tries to search for her sister.

“She’s deep down beneath us,” Xivan simply said. “It’s such a faint energy, no wonder you couldn’t sense it.”

“Beneath us?” she said as her face lighted up with relief. “Are you use, are you really sure? Can you sense if she’s still alive?”

Xivan could sense…something but he doesn’t sense only one energy… Hundreds of them are down there deep in the ground. He couldn’t get a connection with her sister…it is strange, it’s a feeling of tranquility.

We must get down there, Xivan thought as he frowns. Something very vile is going on. There’s a lot of different energies that collides with each other… As if…

Xivan’s face grew dark… He knows this kind of feeling.

He hastily looks around where he stands. And further down the village lane stands a very old chapel in plain view now that the mist has vanished. But he calmed himself down.

“Did you sense if she’s still alive?” the woman asked with anxious wide eyes.

“I don’t know, but we must find a way down there…quickly,” Xivan said, “Come, let’s go.”

He has forgotten all about the fight between Aynthia and that woman, because he doesn’t like this feeling at all down there in the ground. Aynthia just follows behind Xivan not caring about the woman.

The woman herself is just standing there baffled… He’s helping her willingly. But she follows them after she takes her spear that has been places there standing on the ground.

The woman caught up to them and said, “Thank you for helping me find my baby sister. My name is Enora. What can I call you?”

“Navix,” Xivan simply said as he strode towards the chapel.

Why he’s going to the chapel is because there’s something magical that’s resonating inside it.

“How old is your sister?” Xivan asked as he keeps on walking, and she responded, “She will turn ten in just about a month.”

Kidnapping children? Who can be so dreadful…? Xivan thought.

Enora wants to ask more questions but she’s too worried for her sister.

“Are you a priestess?” Xivan asked out of curiosity as he remembered the spear.

“Oh… You recognized my spear… Yes I was a priestess, but my sister got kidnapped two months ago and I’ve been tracking her down even since.” Enora said with a saddened voice.

“You see, our parents died in a Child-Spewer attack a couple of years back, and I couldn’t keep up the rent of our house, so I joined the priestesses because they get paid for joining the sisterhood. Rather handsomely I might add. So I joined only because I couldn’t take care of my baby sister alone… Otherwise if I didn’t join the priestesses I would’ve needed to do…other professions.”

Paying people to join their religion? Smart move sisters, Xivan thought humorously, but then as he heard more of her story he got a frown on his face.

“But there are a lot of rules one must follow, and one rule states: That you can’t leave the premise of the city where you’re stationed. Only with permission are you allowed to leave. I petitioned to the High-Priestess, but I got declined…”

“I even told them that my sister had disappeared, been kidnapped, but they still didn’t let me go. So I just left the sanctuary, and I’ve now been searching for my sister with that energy neckless of hers,” She said as she finished.

“Oh, here you can have it back,” Xivan said as he stops and turns around. He gives her the neckless into her out stretched hand, she accepts it back happily. Enora puts on the neckless around her neck.

She looks at Aynthia, but Aynthia just gives her a frown. She’s still angry about the sudden attack against Xivan. Enora turns her head back to Xivan as she said, “I’m terribly sorry for my attack before, but I couldn’t take any risks. You might’ve been one of the kidnappers…so I’m truly sorry.”

“Oh it’s completely fine, no one got hurt, and it was a good practice for her,” Xivan said as he gazes at Aynthia. “Oh by the way, you managed fight her very well. I’ve heard that priestesses gets trained in self-defense, but you seem to be very good at what you do.”

“Yes, but you know we Half-Elves gets special treatment when we join the religion of the Goddesses. Because it’s favorable to be able to use magic. There has never been a High-Priestess that hasn’t been one from our kind,” Enora said as she still doesn’t know that Xivan is a Pure Elf.

Xivan was about to say something but they came upon the chapel. The chapel’s door has been changed out…rather new, not like the other rotten doors that they had seen around the old village.

Enora got eager and went to open chapel’s door.

It’s unlocked and inside of the chapel is old wooden long seats. No windows, only walls. And two…Elven female statues. Xivan’s eyes became wide because he recognizes them… It’s the sapphire women… Xirina and Xevinna.

“Wow, I’ve never seen the statues of the Goddess of Life, and the Goddess of Death. This is a rare find indeed,” Enora said in fascination, but then got a troubled face. “Why’re they placed here in this old village?”

Xivan just looks at the statues while he’s having mixed feelings.

He starts to walk towards the statues and as he comes up to them he senses no energy from them, they’re only lifeless statues. There’s a space between the statues, two meters in length. And there’s a pillar table in that space with a glass orb placed on top of it.

The chapel is old, but the statues, the door, the orb pillar table are all new, as if someone has maintained them.

Xivan boldly places his hand on the orb, but nothing happens. He then pours in his magic into the orb when nothing had happened… The wall that’s in front of the orb began to move. It opened up and revealed a passage.

This chapel must’ve been built on top of an Elven structure, Xivan thought.

He looks behind him to see two wondering women. They just looks at him with eyes of surprise.

“It seems we found our way down. I hope your sister is still alive. But you must also be prepared that she may not be,” Xivan said to Enora to brace herself for the incoming journey into the ground.

“Her energy is still in this neckless so she must be still alive right? …Right?” Enora asked as she got an extremely nervous expression. “Yes she’s still alive, I just feel it. I feel that she’s waiting for me to save her…”

Xivan stares with his mask on. She’s speaking in a rather desperate voice. He must find her sister, otherwise what will become of Enora?

He shakes his head to get out of his thoughts.

“…Thia, do not act without my say so, do you understand?” Xivan said as he looks at Aynthia, and she nods in affirmative. “Both of you stay close to me, and ready yourselves for the descent. Let’s go.”

Xivan is the first to walk into the opened passage which leads into a large spiral staircase. Enora is the second because she’s eager to find her baby sister. And Aynthia is the third that goes through while she’s having a troubled face.

They started to journey down the spiral staircase…

“I must thank you again, Navix. Without your help I couldn’t get this far. Even though I came from the village’s east gate, I didn’t notice anything about the chapel. I only came here recently too.” Enora said to start up a conversation. “You do look rather frightening with that mask on.”

“Hmm, it does, doesn’t it? Well, there’s really no need to keep myself hidden anymore.” Xivan said as he stops moving down the stairs. He removes his hood and made the mask float away from his face, so it levitates beside him again.

Wide female eyes of disbelief shows…

“Yes, I’m an Elven man and not the same race as you, Enora.” Xivan said as he looks at Enora with a smile. “Just treat me like you would treat anybody else, I need no special treatment.”

Enora shakes her head as if she thought this is a dream.

“So you weren’t the same race as me… Yes, I should have known, I saw the color of your hands before, and your hair I could also see through your hood,” Enora said in a rather calm voice. “But seeing one of my ancestors here in the flesh is making me rather nervous. Though with you here we can find my sister and…”

She became silent as they stand there in the spiral staircase.

“What I’m supposed to do when I find her… I won’t be able to return to the sanctuary… No, I must find her first then I can worry about that,” she said as she breathed in a deep breath. “Uuuh. Let’s go and find my baby sister.”

“Sure,” Xivan replied and started to move down the stairs again.

The spiral staircase that they’re descending from is going very deep underground. It was dark before, but Xivan had lighted it up with flick of his finger. The ball of light floats like the mask beside him… It followed him automatically as they walked down the stairs.

The staircase’s material is white marble, not pure white marble like Xivan’s chamber, but still nonetheless white marble. An old Elven temple of some sort. Their footsteps thuds on the stairs as they kept on going deeper and deeper.

There’re carvings on the walls, rather terrifying carvings with different ritual ceremonies…

Xivan frowns as he walks, because he knows what kind of place this is. Only from the carvings indicates what this place is used for. But he can’t be sure if he doesn’t see it for himself, so he just keeps his mouth shut.

After some time of descending they reach the bottom floor.

There were no other entrances when they had gone down the spiral staircase, it only reached to this floor. But now there’s a path that leads straight forwards. Torches are brightening up the corridor in front of them.

They’re not alone in this underground temple…

He made his own light sphere disappear as it isn’t useful anymore.

“Let’s be careful now, so we don’t meet up with the inhabitants of this place,” Xivan said as he put on his hood and makes the mask float to his face. “Let’s go.”

They give two nervous nods as they follow him, closely.

The corridor also got carvings and Xivan frowns again… Is this their doing? His dear Elven sisters? He’s disgusted if this chamber is what he think it is.

As they reach the end of the corridor they come out on a long balcony that’s stretching towards two sides which goes to another pair of staircases, but this time they go straight now, and not in a spiral.

And down below the balcony stands women who’re dressed in full-blue ceremonial robes. Five women. The ceremonial robes covers everything…like the white-clad priestesses from Xivan’s long lost religion. The women are standing in front of an altar… And behind that altar stands two gigantic Elven female statues.

Xirina and Xevinna…

On the altar is a big Orb of…Energy.

So it’s what he feared… He looks behind himself to see Enora standing there bewildered by the sight in front of her, but she notices his gaze through the eyeholes of the mask.

Aynthia though, stands there staring at the women in blue. She’s on her highest alert, her longswords are already drawn, and she is just awaiting for something to happen.

Xivan turns back his gaze to the women below.

Xivan, Aynthia, and Enora moves to the sides of the balcony so the light doesn’t illuminate them, so they wouldn’t be revealed. They’re now crouched down a couple of meters away from one of the stairs that leads down to the altar where the blue-clad women stands.

They just wait for the women to move… Because they’re motionless.

This whole chamber is huge, the roof of this chamber is very tall, and the lengths to the walls are long distances from each other. There’re doors that leads to different sections…

The women are sitting down in cross-legged positions, they are meditating. Four of the women sits behind one women who’s in front of them. The woman in front of them suddenly opens her closed eyes and stands up, while the other four remains unmoving.

She’s the only one that doesn’t have her head covered…

“High-Priestess! High-Priestess!” someone yelled who came from one of the other sections of this chamber… Or is it a sanctuary?

The yelling woman runs to the High-Priestess who’s standing with the other four women.

“High-Priestess, the magical mist above us has disappeared. The village is widely visible to intruders at this moment,” she said nervously.

“Is that so? When did this happen…?” The High-Priestess said with an extremely calm voice.

“Half an hour ago, High-Priestess.” She replied while bowing deeply.

“And you noticed this occurrence when?” The High-Priestess asked.

“Just moments ago. I was taking care of my other duties, so I didn’t notice until now,” she replied with an extremely troubled expression.

“Your incompetence has been noted. You’ll be disciplined at a later time,” The High-Priestess said while waving the woman away to leave. And she left through the same section where she came from, but with void of emotions.

Xivan and the other two are just sitting there crouched down. They’re watching what is going on, but nothing interesting is happening… But then as the High-Priestess goes to the altar that has the Orb of Energy, she feels something that she hasn’t felt in a long time.

“AAHH! My Goddess! What might I assist you with!” the High-Priestess yelled as if she’s talking with someone that isn’t there. “What!? An enemy has surfaced that can destroy our very faith?! My Goddess, do tell me what I can do to please you!”

“What…? I should take the energy orb for myself?!”

Xivan frowns as he made their presence disappear so they wouldn’t be noticed by the sudden… Goddess.

Who’s this Goddess that this High-Priestess is talking to? Is it Xirina or Xevinna? And that last remark: Take the energy orb for herself… He can’t let someone get that much energy to control people, but he just sits there crouched with the other two, to wait for the right opportunity.

If this is his Elven sisters’ doing then… His face grew dark with anger under his mask.

“My Goddess are you really sure? That I who’s just a lowly servant of your magnificence, take this Orb upon myself?!” She asked in a high voice.

Xivan and the others can’t see her face because she’s standing faced towards the altar and the two gigantic statues. But her eyes are glowing in a slight new blue color… She’s got sapphire eyes. It’s what Xivan did to Xerina when he saw through her. A bonding spell.

“I’ll follow your command and find this…Xivan Bithrendil. I’ll bring him to you! But my Goddess, does he need to be alive when I find him?! I see, he needs to be alive?” she said in a rather disappointed voice.

“No, nothing my Goddess. I’LL BRING HIM TO YOU ALIVE, SO YOU CAN REBUKE HIM YOURSELF!” the High-Priestess yelled to her Goddess as she gestures with her hands towards one of the statues… It’s the statue of Xirina…

Aynthia just looks with a wide-eyed expression and hastily turns her head to Xivan. He just sits there crouched, not moving. She wanted to ask him what is going on… Why is that woman saying your name? But she kept it in.

The other four priestesses has opened their eyes when they had heard their High-Priestess talk to one of their Goddesses. They stand up and walks to the High-Priestess.

Her eyes aren’t glowing anymore in that sapphire color. Her Goddess has broken off her connection to her. The High-Priestess turns around in a quick manner and starts to speak,

“My dear priestesses, I’ve been given the permission to gain this Orb of Energy. To use it for the greater good of our beliefs. A terrifying enemy has surfaced and all of the other Sanctuary’s High-Priestesses have been given the same mission as I. To bring in this enemy to our Goddesses, and make him kneel before them, to make him who’s named Xivan Bithrendil suffer for his crimes of trying to destroy our beautiful religion!”

“I shall now ready myself to take in this Orb of Energy inside me, so I can become someone powerful. Our Goddess has granted me this precious relic that we’ve been feeding for years now.”

Enora heard what she just said… Feeding? Feeding what? She hastily grabbed onto her neckless that’s around her neck, and feels her baby sister’s energy…

Tears starts to run down her face… Her sister’s energy is inside that Orb… Her face grimaces in a damaging sad expression as she looks at the Orb of Energy…

Xivan notices her pained face, but he too feels distraught by this sudden news of him being hunted… He can’t take this anymore, he stands up and walks down the stairs to the floor below them.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

The High-Priestess who’s the only one that has her body turned towards the balcony sees a black-clad man that walks down the stairs, in a rather relaxed manner.

As the other four priestesses sees the High-Priestess' expression, they too turns around to look at the black-clad man. They frown under their blue covered heads, so does the High-Priestess.

“How… How dare you soil this sanctuary with your very presence, male! Name yourself, you heathen!” the High-Priestess yelled as she’s ready to kill this black-clad man at a moment’s notice.

The other two are remained by the balcony looking down upon them, but Enora is crying silently beside Aynthia, and Aynthia is troubled because she doesn’t know what has happened to make her like that.

The priestess that disappeared into another section of the sanctuary has come back, and she too is looking at the black-clad man.

Six of them against him, but Xivan wants answers to so many questions that he has in his mind… He can just take their memories. No, he wants to hear it from their very mouths.

“Do you not know what this place is!? How dare you come into our sanctuary! I said: Name yourself, heathen!” the High-Priestess yelled out again.

They can’t see that he’s an Elven man because of his appearance.

“You…sacrifice children here?” Xivan said in anger, and the High-Priestess got surprised by the sudden question.

“So you do have a voice, male… Well of course we do. It’s saddening I know, but it’s for the greater good that we do this. It’s for our Goddesses. They need those Orbs of Energy to further our glorious faith. To rid the people of doubt, so they wouldn’t be misguided and leave our religion, our magnificent belief,” she said with a proud voice, but then she snapped out of her trance of preaching.

“You haven’t answered my question, male!” she yelled in fury.

Enora suddenly comes down the stairs and stands beside Xivan, she looks at the people in front of her with reddened eyes, and such a void expression she’s got. Her mouth opens and starts so speak in a broken voice, “Where…where is my baby sister? Why did you kidnap her? Why? Please tell me why…”

The High-Priestess looks upon this woman that has come, but she just scoffs her away with a hand wave as she said, “Oh, you’re one of the fortunate to have a member of your family be used for the faith. You should be rejoicing child. Now don’t speak to me in such a pathetic state.”

Enora scowls as she tightens her grip around her spear… And the High-Priestess notices her spear.

“Oh, you’re a priestess? Ah I see, I see. Your baby sister was it? Hmm yes, your sister got chosen because of the payment that you got from joining our glorious belief. It’s an eye for an eye. You get to live, and we get to take something in return. Such as your sister’s energy. She is used for the greater good of our Goddesses, you should be happy, and not sad my child.”

So they doesn’t give out payment just for nothing… How despicable. They kidnap their loved ones, and then makes them stay in the sanctuary, but those who aren’t such a strong believer as Enora would definitely search for her sister. And those who have a stronger belief would just pray to their Goddesses to make their loved ones return by themselves, Xivan thought.

It’s either leave the sanctuary and abandon their faith, or remain in the sanctuary and pray to their Goddesses for their safe return…

“I’M NOT HAPPY YOU WHORE! WHERE IS MY SISTER, TELL ME!” Enora yelled out as she grips onto her spear even tighter. She doesn’t want to believe that her sister’s energy is inside that orb… She doesn’t want to…

“It seems that we should end our conversation now. I’m truly sorry that you’ve come here my child, but I can’t let you escape alive,” the High-Priestess said as she got tired of these people in front of her.

“My children, KILL THEM!” she yelled out as she shot out a magic spell without even chanting anything.

Enora just stares at the spell that’s coming towards her… It’s a piercing icicle, but before it reach Enora it disintegrated into oblivion.

“I’ve heard enough of your drivel, wench,” Xivan said with a dark echoing voice that ran through everyone’s bodies. He removes his hood and mask, but this time he takes the mask off himself, and not make it float off his face.

“Oh my Goddesses,” some of the priestesses said out of disbelief.

“You sacrifice people for the greater good? You take their lives, their energy for what? To control even more people…? You’re appalling, you’re a dreadful woman, and you don’t even deserve to be alive for what you’ve done. But I’ve no real quarrel with you,” Xivan said with an angry but calm voice.

The priestesses are shaking from the sudden Elven man’s powerful aura that’s seeping out of him, Enora feels it very strong as she’s right beside him, and Aynthia who’s standing on the balcony feels that anger of his.

The High-Priestess is also surprised, but she isn’t shaking like the others, she’s just staring with hateful eyes.

“Hahaha! So you’ve come to turn yourself in…Xivan Bithrendil! Oh the Goddesses are smiling upon me! I’ll be the first to—,” she hastily grabs her throat as its being squeezed from some unknown force.

“Keep your mouth shut,” Xivan said in an arrogant voice as he kept her from speaking out her fanatical blabber.

He then let’s go of her throat from the invisible griping hands.

*Cough, cough, cough* she coughs out as he let go of her, and now she’s just looking upon him with frightful eyes… She couldn’t even react, she was powerless in his griping invisible hands.

“Where is her sister?” Xivan asked with a demanding voice.

All of the priestesses and the High-Priestess are just standing there not saying anything… What would happen if they respond to that question? To guide them to where they are…

The proud and haughty High-Priestess is now frightened by this sudden power that’s beyond hers.

Xivan’s eyes lights up in his emerald glow and looks into the High-Priestess.

He grimaces into an even angrier look as he grits his teeth at what he saw inside that woman. He turns his head towards Enora and places one of his hands on her shoulder, which made her look into his eyes. She had been in a daze from his aura, but that sudden touch on the shoulder got her out of her dream state.

“Your baby sister is long gone. She’s dead Enora, I’m truly sorry,” Xivan said as he got a saddened expression on his entire face.

“No… No, you’re wrong, YOU’RE WRONG! YOU MUST BE WRONG! SHE’S ALIVE I CAN STILL FEEL HER ENERGY!” She yelled out her desperate cry of disagreement while she held tightly around her neckless.

Xivan just closes his eyes and turns his head towards the other women. He opens his eyes again and told the one who had recently come from the other section of the Sanctuary to get her sister’s body…

The woman’s covered eyes suddenly became blank and did as she’s told, as if she didn’t have any say at all.

They stand there now, awaiting for the return of the priestess that had left to get the body of Enora’s sister.

Enora is holding tightly onto her neckless as if that’s her last hope of mental stability. Her spear had fallen to the ground when she had yelled out before, and Aynthia is still on the balcony staring down upon them.

Why have you done something so forbidden as this, my Elven sisters? Has power clouded your judgement of things? You also want to capture me? To…imprison me? Have you fallen so low to try to enhance your own powers with a mean such as this? Its blasphemy, Xivan thought as anger is taking ahold of him.

Maybe they want as much power as I have…but sadly that’s not possible… And they should know that. People have tried before, but they had died miserable deaths as the power took ahold of their bodies. Or have they come up with a new method to make themselves more powerful?

Xivan shakes his head to get out of his thoughts.

The women are just standing there, not even moving. They feel his anger, his disgust. The High-Priestess though, tries to get a connection to her Goddess as Xivan is occupied with other things, but his eyes suddenly went to her, and they glow as he stares into her eyes.

She gulps as she feels his ray of eyes.

“If you try that again I’ll suck out all of your magical powers from you, which will make you into a lifeless husk,” Xivan said with a cold tone.

Then the priestess came back while holding onto a lifeless corpse of a child’s. Enora looks slowly onto the child that the priestess is holding… She lay the child onto the white marbled floor in front of them, and then steps away a couple of meters.

Enora starts to breathe quick anxiety breaths, she’s gesturing with her body nervously… She wants to get close to that child in front of her, but her mind is telling her to stop…

“Ah, ahhh… AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!” she finally lets out a cry of suffering. “Nooo, no…noo! Noooo! Aaahhh…sister, m-my baby sister!”

She falls to her knees in a miserable way…and crawls towards her sister…while her tears are running down her face again. Hiccups can be heard as her cries are becoming more destructive. Her only remaining family member…dead, fallen prey to the cruel fate of life. The little girl has the same features as Enora have, that tanned skin, that bright brown hair and eyes… She’s a Half-Elf like her big sister.

Xivan feels her pain as he has felt his own pain before… He closes his eyes as she continues her suffering. She must cry out all of her emotions… She must feel those feelings and not run away from them. Take them in…

Aynthia walks down the stairs to stand beside Xivan, she looks saddened. She jerks at Xivan’s cloak and looks with newly teary eyes. She’s crying… She just looks at him with expectant eyes as she starts to snivel.

Memory of her mother’s death, perhaps? Xivan thought as he opened his eyes and saw Aynthia.

But she kept on jerking at his cloak as if she wanted something.

“What’s the matter, Thi—, Aynthia,” Xivan asked in a whisper as she stand next to him.

When she heard his voice, her eyes and voice became full of madness as she said, “You must kill them… Please, please kill them. I want them to die for what they’ve done... They must die… master.”

Xivan’s eyes went wide open as he heard her speak those words… What has made her act like this all of a sudden? And she even said master…

He turns his gaze away from Aynthia towards the other women who’re just standing there looking upon Enora as she cries beside her baby sister. Xivan can’t see the expressions under their blue covered heads, but he can clearly see the High-Priestess' expression.

She’s still looking with her superior face, as if she’s just seeing a bug with another bug.

The High-Priestess is a Half-Elf, but she’s very old. Xivan has felt her aging body, she’s over a hundred years. She must’ve never been talked down to before, other than when she was in her younger years.

“You people don’t deserve to live for what has transpired here…” Xivan said as he looks with glowing eyes at the High-Priestess.

He’s seeing her everything… There’re even more sanctuaries like this one in the Elven Continent…and even more in the Human Continent… Though they only take sacrifices from the poor people, like Enora and not from higher standing people, because they would be more zealous in finding their kidnapped loved ones. It’s a good tactic, who would care for simple poor people if they were to disappear?

There aren’t any more priestesses in this sanctuary other than these women in front of him. Should he slay them for their transactions? Or do they deserve a more painful suffering for killing so many innocent children, men, and women?

He sees through her memories, he has seen the piles of bodies that’re in this sanctuary… Women, men, children…but they all are Half-Elves… They lie in another section of this Sanctuary, rotting away... Enora's sister had recently been sacrificed so her body still hasn't begun it's decomposing stage.

This Energy-Sanctuary...

This is one of the smallest Energy-Sanctuaries on the Elven Continent… Smallest?

Xivan gritted his teeth in anger as he searches through her mind. And the High-Priestess notices his angry look which makes her very uneasy, but she keeps up her haughty expression.

“I see,” He finally stated as his voice grew dark. “No one else is coming here, you six are the only ones who’s taking care of this sanctuary… Good, because you won’t ever leave this place alive.”

“No one will come and save you… You’ll be imprisoned here in this sanctuary of yours… To live out your meaningless lives, in darkness.”

“I will shackle you! From using your powers! You’ll become empty of your magic…your energy! This is the only thing I can let myself do to you! I so want to destroy your bodies, but this is a far worse death than the peaceful quickness of murder.”

“I NOW SHACKLE YOU FROM YOUR VERY OWN POWERS!” Xivan yelled out as his eyes gleamed ever so brightly.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!” All of the women yelled as they look upon their wrists. He’s burning something into their flesh. Scarring runes… The runes circled around their wrists making them look like tattoos of shackles.

Their hands are shaking as the pain is burning their very flesh. Then as the burning sensation vanished, they felt something else that seeps out of them. Their magic…their energy is disappearing into the rune shackles. Only a droplet of their pools are filled to keep them alive.

“You’ll be forever bound to this disgusting place, you’ll live here, breathe here, as you slowly perishes into your own miserable deaths.” Xivan said with such scorn in his voice.

Then the orb on the altar starts to float towards Xivan…

“Nooo! That’s for me to use!” the High-Priestess yelled out in desperation, she had fallen to the ground as she had felt that burning pain. She reached out her hand to use her magic to stop the Orb from going any further… But nothing happened.

“What right do you have, to do this to us!? To me!?” the High-Priestess yelled out as she couldn’t use her own magic. “We’re only following our Goddesses’ orders!”

Xivan said nothing… He looks at Enora who sits on the floor in her sad damaging expression. The energy orb floats beside Xivan as he kneels down next to Enora.

“Come Enora, let’s go. Your precious little sister shouldn’t be in this kind of place anymore, come.” Xivan said as he picks up her deceased sister, Aynthia also helps as she gets Enora on her feet in a rather forcible way.

“Where’re you going, you heathen! You can’t just leave us like this!” the High-Priestess yelled, but she got no response… She tries to contact her Goddess, but nothing happens, only a terrifying pain plagued her as she tried.

All of the priestesses are lying down in an exhausted way… They try to stand up but they just fall again from the draining runes on their wrists…

Xivan holds the lifeless body of Enora’s little sister in his arms… Maybe if he would have moved faster he could have saved her… But if he keeps thinking like that…it’ll only pain him more, so he throws away such thoughts.

Aynthia led Enora up the stairs after Xivan, and they got to the balcony that overlooks this grand sanctuary. Those gigantic statues of Xirina…and Xevinna… That altar… Those priestesses in blue.

Xivan gives one last look towards the statues and he looks very saddened by the means of his Elven sisters. He hears the High-Priestess scream, “You can’t leave us like this! YOU CAN’T!”

He just frowns coldly as he turns his body and moves towards the spiral staircase.

He hear echoes of screams as they keep on walking down the corridor… He hears Enora cry behind him, and Aynthia just looks saddened too. Before she was ready to kill her, but now she shares her pain of losing someone dear.

As they come upon the spiral staircase Xivan turns around. The orb is still floating beside him, and so is his dark mask that he had let go off before.

Aynthia is holding onto Enora’s spear as she guides her up the spiral staircase, but she stops as she sees Xivan turn around.

A barrier is formed in the corridor, an emerald barrier. He pours in his endless pools into the barrier so it would remain there for many years to come.

He gets no joy from doing this, but it needs to be done. He can’t let these kinds of Sanctuaries be left standing.

“They’ve gone too far this time, with these kinds of methods. They’ve most likely done more despicable acts…such as these.” Xivan said as he grits his teeth.

He holds the dead body of this little girl…but it feels slightly familiar.

The barrier stands fully charged to its bursting capacity. He turns around and begins to climb the spiral staircase up towards the surface. Aynthia follows behind him with the spear in one hand, and her other arm is around Enora as she guides her up the stairs in a miserable way.

They climb, they climb, and they climb as Xivan lights up the stairs.

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Hello Readers! :D

This was a rather long chapter... And as the summer vacation is growing short, I don't know if I'll be be able to keep up with the long chapters when school starts. It might take a couple of more days for the chapters to come out.

Rather than weekly... Unfortunatly.

Maybe I should release shorter chapters? Voice your thoughts. :D

But anyhow, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this long chapter. :P

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