May 5th, 10 AM

On most nights… I’d have these strange dreams… One of a woman whose identity remains a mystery. But in that dream, I can see her figure elegantly performing sword techniques I have never seen before. Techniques far out of my own capability. Whoever she is, she has long, wavy Aubrey hair and with each movement, each swing of her sword her hair sways with her… She always looks so beautiful… But I can’t seem to understand why she appears in my dreams… Why is she trying to show me her sword techniques?

The next dream is worse… More of a nightmare that I’m not sure how to describe. I look around to see people that I have never seen before in a pool of their own blood and then… I look down to see blood on my own hands… Sometimes the location changes but it’s always the same two dreams and I can’t make any sense of it. It makes me uneasy… and scared for my future… Why am I having these dreams? What are they trying to tell me?

‘’Maybe it doesn’t mean anything’’.

That voice belonged to a stranger that spoke to another with a dismissive tone. The person stood over a glass counter of many different pastries. Jelly-filled donuts, muffins, cupcakes, and turnovers but the bakery special was a chocolate chip cookie decorated with icing in the design of a crab wearing a party hat.

Zoning back into reality, a raven-haired sixteen-year-old girl on the other side of the pastry counter knew how to respond to the customer whose words coincidentally aligned with her thoughts.

‘’It’s just supposed to represent Helonia Coast’’, she started joyfully with a welcoming smile on her face. ‘’We are mostly known for our beautiful ocean and everything that comes with it like sea creatures, sea plants, and sea myths… You name it’’.

‘’Oh, wowww’’.

A much smaller and innocent voice came from below the counter. A little boy peered into the glass of pastries but had his eyes set on the crab cookie special.

‘’Daddy, I want the crab one’’.

‘’Alrighty then, kiddo.’’ The man responded to his son and looked at the cashier as he placed four golden coins on the counter. ‘’We will take two of those, please’’.

Picking up a pair of tongs and stooping down to grip the warm soft-baked cookies, the cashier prepared them well in a white paper bag and handed it over to the father of the excited little boy. ‘’Enjoy. Come back soon.’’ She waved off her customers who left the bakery satisfied, the cashier snatched off the hair net that kept her raven hair tied back and untied her white apron from behind her. She must have been in a rush with how fast she moved. She hurriedly made sure that the area was tidy and spotless before the owner of the bakery could catch her.

‘’Wow, Ella’. A voice interrupted before the young girl could even escape.

‘’I didn’t even get downstairs yet and you’re already trying to blast out of here’’.

Ella, the young girl who seemed eager to get out of the bakery smiled at her sister who now had her arms crossed with squinted eyes.

‘’Lori’’, she started as she slid her way towards her beautiful big sister. ‘’You know I love you... But geez, you have no idea how much I hate the register’’.

Ella was sixteen years old and lived with her twenty-six-year-old sister, Lori. Below their home was a bakery that Lori owned and operated full time, with the occasional help of Ella. Seeing as their parents passed away in a village fire, the two only had each other. For the most part, they lived content lives in the region of Helonia Coast. Helonia Coast is a region with a warm climate, clear skies, a sparkling ocean, and a loving community. The town knew each other well except for a small handful of people and tourists. People knew Ella and Lori as the Sakagami sisters that owned one out of the three bakeries in town. Lori’s bakery was ranked number one.

‘’Yeah, alright, Ella. Spare me.’’ Lori responded dismissively. ‘’Where are you even going in a rush like that?’’

The young girl smiled secretly to herself as she lowered her head to her sister’s question.

‘’Nowhere…’’ She lied. She figured that by acting childish she could get away with her intended plans. Still, she should have known better than to have underestimated Lori’s ability to catch onto her ways.

That’s not very convincing’’. The older sister mumbled before realizing what was happening. It took no time at all for Ella to recognize the change in Lori’s expression as it went from cheerful to irritated, overall changing the atmosphere between them.

‘’Oh, god.’’ Lori buried her forehead in the palm of her hand. ‘’Ella, please don’t tell me you’re going out there again’’.

‘’Okay,’’ Ella said with a smile and a shrug. ‘’I’m not going out there again’’, she finished simply which only frustrated Lori even more. The teenage girl soon realized that her response did more harm than good.

‘’Ella, I keep telling you this. It’s dangerous out there.”

The younger girl averted her eyes away from her sister’s frustrated and scolding gaze as she crossed her arms and bit her lips, attempting to hold her tongue.

‘’Why is it so hard for you to just listen?’’

Silence fell through the bakery as Ella acknowledged her sister’s disappointment, but the girl was far too stubborn to have left the discussion at that.

Suddenly rushing up to her sister, Ella grabbed onto her hands with a force that frightened Lori. Ella began to squeeze Lori’s hands in her own as an idea assembled in her mind.

‘’You should come with me.’’

She suggested with begging eyes but Lori gawked at her little sister like she was insane as she tried to snatch her hands free from Ella’s grasp.

‘’Get away from me.’’ Lori nearly stumbled backward, escaping from Ella. ‘’You must be outta your mind.’’

With those words, Lori walked away from her sister, making her way behind the counter to somehow distract herself from Ella's boldness. Taking a moment to process what Lori said, Ella found herself more offended by it than she thought she’d be.

‘’I don’t want you going out there anymore and that’s all there is to it.’’

Fed up, Lori spoke strictly in a demanding tone to the hardheaded Ella. As she stood there with anger consuming her, Ella could only think negatively about her sister. Maybe she just hated her dreams and her hobbies and didn’t want her to achieve anything. All she wanted to do was scream at her. Immature as she was, Ella couldn’t leave the conversation the way it was. She either had to get the last word or strike a nerve.

‘’Just because something happened to you out there, doesn’t mean the same thing is going to happen to me’’.

Ella snapped back at her sister with spite in her voice, intentionally trying to somehow hurt Lori’s feelings. It wasn’t hard to tell that she did so successfully.

Lori had stopped what she was doing and gradually raised her head to look Ella in her eyes. ‘’What?’’, she started. ‘’Got nothing to say?’’

Although she was furious, she was mostly disappointed and disheartened by her little sister’s bitterness. Why would she intentionally hurt her that way? Did she not think of how it would affect Lori in the long run?

‘’How could you say that?’’

Lori’s voice shivered as she choked out those words. Shocked to have heard it, Ella couldn’t believe the amount of sadness she detected in that question. Ella managed to push Lori’s buttons but once she began to question just how deep she had dug into her sister’s feelings, she wasn’t sure if it was even worth it. The two typically got along, but seeing as Ella had brought up a sensitive topic for Lori in the most inconsiderate way, she feared she had soiled their decent sisterly relationship.

‘’Whatever’’, Ella let out as she turned her back dismissively and walked towards the door of the bakery.

‘’I’ll be at the beach’’. With that being said, Ella swung the door open and disappeared from Lori’s sight. With a deep exhale, along with a drop of her shoulders, Lori shook her head, feeling disappointed in her ability to tame her teenage sister.

As she recalled that time in her life, a trace of fear coursed through her. Even though it happened some time ago, to this day she was afraid that the creature that attacked her, holding a grudge, would make a return. To live a peaceful life, she struggled to maintain that fear by forcing herself not to think about it. The fact that she opened up to Ella about the situation, and had her use it against her just to hurt her, put Lori in a position that made her question just what kind of person Ella truly was. Resuming her work, all Lori could do was pray that Ella would do as she said. Go to the beach rather than the outskirts of town.

The town of Helonia Coast was peaceful yet busy all at once. The streets were active and markets were filling with Helonians along with fascinated tourists. As Ella jogged through town to make her way to her destination, she was greeted with waves and morning greets from the townspeople. Gradually, the pain and anger she felt in her heart vanished as she saw the reassuring and familiar faces of her town. She nearly forgot what made her feel so upset because at the moment it felt like just another average day. The thought of doing her favorite hobby made all her negative thoughts vanish which made a smile form on her face. Lori, however, wasn’t wrong to be against Ella’s questionable hobby. The town had two exits and entrances which lead to the open fields of Helonia Coast. Both sides were guarded by two soldiers. The older Sakagami disagreed with Ella leaving town because she already knew how dangerous it was out there. She had experience and only wanted to keep her sister safe, far away from the life-threatening dangers of those open fields. Most would say the outskirts of any region were a complete mystery. Anything could happen and Lori knew what kind of atrocities roamed those parts, which made her fear for both of their lives. The creatures of different, shapes, sizes, and behaviors on the outskirts of every region typically don’t attack unless attacked. They also never find their way into territory that is not their own. These abnormal creatures are known as wanderers.

Ella’s hobby pertained to going out on the fields and engaging in battle with them, learning her own fighting style, and developing her own sword techniques and abilities. She didn’t do it alone, however. She had a particular kind of friend just for this kind of hobby.

Arriving at the exit of the town, Ella was greeted by the two Helonian guards who were accustomed to her appearance as well as her outskirts activities.

‘’Look who’s back’’.

One of them said as she came to a stop to converse with them.

‘’Yup. It’s me. The one and only.’’

Ella posed as if she were a model, jokingly. The town knew her best for her bravery, just being able to go out there. Most found it amusing and others found it disturbing.

‘’Be careful out there. Don’t go out too far.’’

‘’Yeah, yeah. I got it.’’ Ella waved her hand around dismissively to the guard’s words and she strolled straight past them.

The very moment she set foot onto the grass, separating the town and the danger zone, Ella picked up her speed and rushed into a particular spot she knew her friend would be awaiting her arrival.

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There was an abandoned barn with an endless supply of hay and no animals to be seen. Ella crossed her arms waiting for that certain somebody to make an appearance but he was taking an unusual amount of time.

‘’Um, Serif?’’

As if he were a jack in the box, something flew out of a jumble of hay. Ella stumbled back a few steps with wide eyes, but her fists were up, ready to fight at any moment.

A burst of smooth laughter filled the air and once she realized what was happening, she smiled.

‘’Geez. You really got me there.’’

This friend of Ella’ was like no other. Certainly not your usual human being. He had the appearance of a small boy. What would be in the place of his hair, seemed to be of yellow metal, one could confuse it for blonde hair. Some distinguishing features would have to be his longish elf-like ears along with the tiny angelic wings he carried upon his lower body. He wore blue and white attire with sky blue headgear upon his head. He seemed like the energetic type and he was certainly excited to see his friend Ella once again.

‘’You should have seen your face.’’

The mystical creature continued to laugh as Ella rolled her eyes.

‘’Alright, alright. I told you already. You got me’’.

Walking toward the pile of hay, Ella dropped to her knees and began using her hands to dig through.

‘’So,’’ Ella started. ‘’I’m thinking today maybe we could start finding that eidolon you told me about.’’

She pulled out one straight sword from the bundles of hay but continued digging.

Sensing something unusual about Ella’s demeanor, Serif tilted his head to the side, questioning if he should address it.

‘’Hey’’, he flew beside her. ‘’Are you alright? I sense that something is wrong’’, Serif decided to address the matter with concern in his dark blue orbs.

Just then Ella slid out another sword resembling the first, from the pile of hay.

‘’I’m fine’’, she lied but responded nonetheless. ‘’I just had a bad morning with Lori’’.

Her eyes were distant as she answered, recalling the exchange she and her sister had before she came to meet Serif, who frowned at her words.

‘’Still against you coming out here, huh?’’

Ella closed her eyes, hoping she didn’t have to talk about it.

‘’I don’t really think that will be changing any time soon.’’ She said as she brought herself to her feet, the plain twin swords in her grasp.

‘’I don’t want to talk about that right now.’’ She smiled and asked the same unanswered question from before. ‘’What are we doing today?’’

Suddenly, Serif raised an eyebrow to his forehead in confusion. It’s not like they had plans for the day. Something special was being held in town, probably all over Gaia. An event Ella was looking forward to for two weeks now.

‘’You...Didn’t forget did you?’’

Ella stood there, glaring at him with no words to speak. Whatever the event was, she must have forgotten all about it. Especially with the conversation that took place with Lori earlier.

‘’Oh, wow’’, Serif let out with a chuckle, surprised that the once excited Ella would forget about the event she was looking forward to more than anything. ‘’You did, didn’t you?’’

He suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile on his face.

‘’Today is the envoy announcement, buddy’’.

Once Serif spoke those words, Ella’s jaw almost penetrated the world. Indeed, she completely forgot and she couldn’t believe that she let herself do so. She began to question if the morning with Lori was so intense that her mind drifted away from what she was looking forward to the most.

Slapping her forehead into the palm of her hand, Ella felt disappointed.

‘’I can’t believe it. I really did forget.’’

‘’Well,’’ Serif began. ‘’It’s not like we don’t have time. It won’t be starting any time soon’’.

With her mind still occupied with what happened in the morning with her big sister, Ella shook her head in an attempt to dismiss the memory of it all.

‘’You’re right. The letter said that everyone should be gathered in town by 3 p.m’’

‘’Great!’’ Serif exclaimed excitedly. ‘’So then if you want, we can go look for that whirlpool.’’

The two prepared themselves for their journey to search for the whirlpool that Serif once mentioned to Ella. According to this myth, there lived an eidolon in the whirlpool. The whirlpool’s location, however, was a mystery to the two. Ella placed a dull-looking belt around her waist and then inserted the slender twin swords between. She was eager to obtain this supposed eidolon if she was lucky enough.

Serif and Ella knew each other for only five months. They met in the fields one day when she was fighting an oddly powerful wanderer. He swooped in at just the right time to aid her in that battle and in that battle Serif was convinced he had stumbled upon the next envoy in line, after the late envoy Claire. He thought he was lucky to have come across someone who demonstrated extraordinary power. He believed that if she put her mind to it, Ella was capable of anything. Today would be the day that he would be able to confirm his theory and he was excited to do so. It was only a matter of time until they would find out.

‘’So, this eidolon in the whirlpool’’, Ella began, breaking the comfortable silence between them. ‘’Tell me about him’’. Curious to learn about other eidolons, Ella listened with excitement and Serif was more than happy to explain.

‘’The ‘Great Leviathan’, Nazrudin.’’ Serif started with enthusiasm, instantly catching Ella’s interest. ‘’One of the grand dragons of the sea. He is a master of water in all forms. The sight of his white, serpentine body in flight is said to be fortuitous. He’s an omen to sailors but if his wrath is awakened, he can sweep away a fleet as though they were chaff’’.

The eidolon finished his summary of the Great Leviathan and nodded his head proudly to how well he worded it. Ella was stunned just to hear how fascinating Nazrudin was and her eyes sparkled as she imagined herself coming across him, a dragon.

‘’Eidolons sure are cool… How many of you are there?’’

Ella asked Serif as curiosity consumed her. She wondered about their world and their appearances and how many she could obtain if she tried her best.

“Um…” Serif let out in uncertainty. “I’m not too sure… Do you know how many people live in Helonia Coast?”

Ella genuinely thought about an answer to the question but found herself giggling.

“No idea”.

“Well then, there are that many of us”. Serif responded with a shrug, implying that there could be even more Eidolons in the world than humans. Something that fascinated the young and adventurous Ella.

As they continued strolling through the open fields of Helonia Coast in search of Nazrudin’s whirlpool, oftentimes they would discuss different and unimportant things. Eventually, Ella figured it was the right time for Serif to give her a long-awaited explanation of something that had been in her mind for some time now.

“So, um… Serif ?”

The girl called for the small Eidolons attention hesitantly but with concern in her voice, which caught him off his guard.

“What’s up ?”

She took a moment to prepare herself for the question and answer. She wasn’t sure what she was afraid of but she asked with the first words that came to mind.

“What made you stick around with me ? I’m not an envoy or anything”.

Serif dropped his gaze to the ground as he recalled the techniques and movement that Ella displayed on the field that day. She was a beautiful raven-haired girl with ominous midnight blue eyes. He never encountered someone with a passion to fight the way she had. Even if she was out of breath, clearly exhausted, she carried on. Her originality and just watching her convinced him that he stumbled upon the next Envoy of Gaia, which was extremely exciting for an eidolon like Serif.

“You told me already that you think I’m the next envoy…” She began, slightly going on a tangent away from her question. “Which would be super amazing because you have no idea how much I idolize envoy Claire”. She smiled just thinking about the times she read newspapers or heard the town talking about everything envoy Claire and her eidolon Anastasia achieved together. “It would mean everything to me to be the next envoy after her… but…” She raised her head to look at him, her eyes wavering in fear of his response. “You haven’t really told me why you believed that”.

Serif as well raised his head. Their eyes locked together, but what surprised Ella was the smile that crept upon his face.

“Oh, well that’s because I think your Gaia energy is pretty strong.''

Ella thought about his answer but it didn’t quite make sense.

“I… don’t think you told me about Gaia energy”.

Again, Serif had to explain himself. He didn’t mind, however, because once he thought about it, there was still so much that he didn’t tell her about living this kind of lifestyle.

“Not sure how to explain it, to be honest,'' he chuckled but proceeded with a question to lead into his explanation.

“Don’t you feel completely different when you fight ?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Well, that feeling is the source of your power. It’s what makes you move the way you do. Your speed and strength all rely on Gaia energy. Without it, we would never be able to do what is impossible for ordinary humans to do.” He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “And if we train ourselves enough, we can manipulate our Gaia energy throughout our bodies”.

Ella looked at the palm of her hands with the eyes of a fascinated child.

“Wow…”, she let out with a drop of her shoulders.

“So the fact that you have Gaia energy in the first place is enough reason for me to suspect that you’re the next envoy…”

Even though he said that he hoped with all his heart that he was right. “There can’t be any other explanation.”

Satisfied with Serif’s summary, Ella turned her open hand into a fist. Just hearing him talk about Gaia energy and explain his theory about her being the next announced envoy not only boosted her confidence but made her feel powerful.

“Alright!”, she shouted heatedly which caught Serif off his guard.

“Now I really can’t wait for the announcement later!”

As anticipation grew within Ella, the two companions continued walking as their minds were occupied with the possibility of Ella being the next envoy of Gaia. A dream Ella has been yearning for ever since she was a child. The one person she idolized more than anyone in the world was envoy Claire. A girl who achieved the envoy status at birth and protected the world of Gaia from all evil. An evil that Ella never encountered compared to her sister Lori. Still, going based on the path she was heading on; it was only a matter of time until she would encounter the same evil. This is exactly why Lori always hoped that her little sister would be more careful with what she wished for… because eventually, those wishes, those dreams... Would only end up becoming nightmares.