Ananiel

Swirling and swirling, I glance up to a lone star twinkling above a barron land. Pain pulses on my eyes as billows of dust stirs around me. The howling wind whispers its unidentified words. A sea of letters imprinted themselves in the darkness beyond the lonesome star.

Luclsvw tl, v’msllapun dpuk.

Ohyyvd aol mvynvaalu shuk,

zjhaaly paz bulukpun kbza.

Svza if spml,

bujlhzlk if aptl pazlsm.

H ipyao vm aol luk

Nhaoly aol lzjhwpun spnoa,

dlhcl aol bulukpun khyrulzz,

puav zwpukslz vm yltltiyhujl

Mvynla, yltltily.

Huk mvynla vujl tvyl.

Aol spul vm wlyzwljapcl,

ilfvuk aol lukslzz hifzz.

Iba dpaopu ylhjo,

vm aol ispurpun olhya.

Blinking twice, I stare at the nonsense in the sky. Lines of unending sentences worm themselves into the dark sky. Which Streamed around the lone star glinting its miniscule light. I close my eyes and inhale cold, dry air. Blinking once more, I saw my pale hands laying on a familiar cane. A voice echoed as I grabbed onto the cane.

“Forget this world”

A frigid breeze passes over me as I awoke to the smell of smoke in the air. Propping myself with my hand, I press into some snow and quickly pull my hand back. My feverish hand quickly reddened as I tucked it into my cloak. Gazing off into the treeline, I admire the shimmering layer of fresh snow glistening from the rising sun. I let out a sigh as my breath turned into smoke and glanced around the campsite. Khalid laid on the ground and slowly stirred awake as sunlight met their eyes. Yuka sat upright on the base of a tree and was sound asleep and Cecil was curled into a blanket. I smiled as my ears heard the sound of crunched snow. Lantern steps out of the treeline, arms full of wood.

“So, you're awake. Are ya alright?”

I nod and gaze off to the white landscape.

“What is that white stuff on the ground?”

Lantern looks at me with confusion and lets out a laugh,

“You can’t be serious right? Is this ya first time seeing snow?”

Closing my eyes and inhaling the frigid air, I tried my best recalling “snow”.

“It’s so strange, I recognize the texture. But I don’t recall ever seeing snow before…”

I tilt my head in confusion and violently shake off the unease. Lantern tosses the wood onto the old campfire and quickly strikes a spark. A small glint of orange light slowly encompasses the tinder. Lantern pokes at the flame with a stick and lets out a plume of air.

“You really are an odd one. How did you not see snow while traveling here?”

I keep my head low, watching the flickering shadows on the ground.

“Snow is a sign of winter. The first snowfall usually correlates to the first day of winter.”

Lantern picks up some snow off the ground and packs it into a ball.

“When I was a lad, we would toss these at each other…”

He tosses the snowball into the fire. A plume of smoke rises into the air as the campfire sputters and pops. I glance up at Lantern as he scratches his head. Moments pass as we both stare off into the fire. Eventually, Lantern takes the boiling pot of water off the flame. I reach into my bag and pull out the tea leaves.

“Can we drink some tea instead of water?”

I see lantern smile as he reaches for the tea bag and tosses some leaves in. The water started to turn a vibrant green-yellow as faint wisps of vapor dances over the brew. Going back to sit, I turn to Lantern,

“So, what was that creature about? It seems you know something about it.”

Lantern pours himself a cup of tea and stares into it.

“Theo tasked me to look after y'all. Also, I visited Dominic and got everything I needed.”

Furrowing my brows, I ask

“So why then were you alone waiting for the creature to show up?”

“That campfire was expensive. Had a certain scent to hide me. But seeing y’all attracted the creature towards me. Luckily, you guys made it in time.”

I shudder at the thought of how unprepared we were. Lantern chugs down the rest of his tea and pours another cup. Thinking for a moment, I ask,

“So, why did you pour out the fire?”

Lantern keeps his head low,

“I overestimated the party's capabilities, and underestimated the threat. At least we all made it out alive.”

He shakes his head. In this mourning silence, we both hear the other members stirring.

“It seems like they are waking up.”

A soft, irritated grumble chorused in the air. The three of them woke up covering the sunlight from their eyes.

“Good morning”

Lantern smiles at the shuffling bunch as Cecil gets up and immediately check on Khalid. Yuka groans and curls her blanket over her tightly.

“What food do we have?”

She mumbles beneath the caterpillar-like form. We all look at Lantern with concern as he pulls out a bag.

“I got some fruits I foraged.”

Raspberries, blueberries and some apples laid comfortably in his bag. Lantern went around the party as we enjoyed some fruit. The taste of sour, tart and sweet danced on our tongues. After the light, but delectable meal, we get closer to the campfire.

“So, what do we do now?”

Yuka asks as she gazes worriedly off into the distance.

“We have decided to go back to the city.”

Khalid says as he rubs his missing arm.

Nodding in agreement, we pack our things and make our way back.

Passing by the gloomy farmhouse and heading towards the city. Our peripherals admired the fields of browning corn and wheat stalks lining the lonesome path. Complex smells of rotting crops tickled our noses. Keeping our breaths thin, we quietly enter the city. Looking around, the lack of people seemed unsettling and the windows were closed on a sunny day. In the far distance, the sounds of stirring could be heard; along with faint inaudible words in the air. These sounds seemed to echo from the middle of the city.

“The people are probably preparing for the festival already…”

Yuka murmurs quietly, as she bends forwards anxiously. Keeping our heads low, we took an off road which led back to the inn. Along the way, we passed by an oddly empty housing district. With the exception of a lone man with a beaten cap sitting on the street stairs. An erhu leaned on his shoulder as the sound of music hummed in the air. The man stops playing his instrument and points off into the distance, towards the town square.

“Listen closely. To the cries of the people.”

I closed my eyes as the wind carried the faintest sounds throughout the city.

“...Do you think we can just sit around and suffer…”

The man plucks his erhu and starts playing his instrument again. We give him a passing nod and quickly move past him. After a thorough distance away, we arrived in front of the inn.

“What a strange man, playing such a sorrowful melody in an empty neighborhood.”

Khalid exclaims as we take a second to rest. Cecil taps on his side,

“Alright let's get going.”

We all give a slight nod and enter into the inn. The usual innkeeper sat with his legs resting on the counter. His stern face staring into an old weathered newspaper. Noticing our presence, his eyes darted towards us as we entered the inn.

“Welcome back to this ol’place. How can I do of service?”

The innkeeper straightens his posture and leans on the counter. Khalid walks towards him and leans forwards.

“We will like to turn in that commission”

The innkeeper lets out a surprised face, noticing the missing limb as he reaches for a pouch.

He taps on the pouch and gestures for the wolfskin.

“So, from your expressions, and injuries. It seems something bad happened out there?”

Khalid tosses the wolfskin as Cecil steps forward.

“It seems a demon is out there in the woods. We managed to deal with it, but it cost Khalid a limb.”

The innkeeper blankly stares into the distance and glances at the old newspaper.

“Demons? … That can’t be right.”

Cecil places his hand on the counter,

“The demon was about 7 feet tall, and had abnormally long claws. It was also as slender as a young tree and could hide in the darkness.”

The innkeeper presses his elbow on the counter and props his hand to his face, which was in deep thought. Noticeably, worry was plastered all over his face.

“It seems the preachers out there aren’t just speaking nonsense.”

He sighs and tosses the coin pouch to Khalid.

“Either or, good work out there.”

The innkeeper points his finger towards Yuka,

“You are Yuka Ordyl, right?”

A surprised expression plastered over her face as she gave a slight nod.

“It seems your family is leaving. They told me to tell you to go to the west gate immediately.”

Yuka keeps her head low and makes a frustrated pout and walks away. Cecil glances back and forth, eventually deciding to head over to Yuka to comfort her.

“So what was that about?”

I asked the innkeeper who was wiping away at the counter.

“She’s a noble, and the nobles are leaving today.”

Khalid steps forward, leans on the counter and sighs,

“Give me a drink, innkeeper. Anything will do.”

The innkeeper pours a cup from an expensive looking bottle and pushes it towards him.

“Here ya go. It’s some good stuff. But you need it more than me.”

After taking a sip, Khalid gestures for me to come closer.

“Clover, was it?”

I tense up and nod, still a little unfamiliar with the name.

“Care for a drink?”

I nod as He takes another sip. Khalid shakes the bag of coins and gestures for another drink. The innkeeper shrugs and pours from the same bottle.

“Don’t worry about me, I will figure something out.”

Khalid rubs his shoulder and smiles towards me. Reaching into the bag of coins, he counts 10 coins from the bag,

“Here’s your payment. Apologies for the unprepared danger we put you in. I got to leave with Yuka so I can’t stick around any longer.”

I take the coins and place them in my satchel.

“I guess this is farewell then?”

Khalid nods as I pucker from the alcoholic burn,

“If we were to meet again, I will gladly offer you a position within the Ordyl Household. Especially with your determination to hold onto life.”

He shoots down his drink and sighs as my face fills with surprise,

“Maybe one day…“

I murmur as Khalid smirks,

“Take good care of that spear, will ya?”

He reaches over for the spear and rubs the tooth marks lining the shaft. Afterwards, he gets up and walks towards Yuka.

“Let's go.”

I hear him say from across the building. Turning around, I glance to see Yuka's childish eyes glancing at me as she quickly looks away and leaves the inn.

Letting out a sigh, I shot down the drink and wobbled my way towards a chair. The inn was filled with an abundance of silence, except with the occasional clangs and clacks from the innkeeper doing chores. Occasionally, people would come and go, checking in and out of the inn. During these times, my eyes would glance up. Hoping I could acquire some recognition of each passerby. Lifting my cup for a sip, I realized there was no more alcohol. Slumping onto the table, I slowly embraced the weight of demotivation piling on my shoulders.

“Hey.”

I perk up as I hear the innkeeper walking towards my direction. He places a plate full of plain biscuits and refills my cup with more water.

“Are you alright?”

Shaking my head no, I reach for a biscuit and start nibbling on it.

“What’s wrong?”

I hear him ask as I sip on some water.

“I don’t know. There’s just this weight… this pain in my heart.”

The innkeeper reaches for a biscuit and snaps out a chunk with his teeth.

“I could only imagine. But it’s not your fault.”

Keeping my head low, the innkeeper continues,

“Is it your fault to have witnessed something so horrible as a team member losing a limb?”

He swallows the piece in his mouth and clears his throat.

“Look, the world is unfair. But we will all make do of what we got. ”

I ponder for a moment and turn towards him.

“I guess… But what am I supposed to do? I can’t restore a missing limb.”

The innkeeper pats me on the back as I continue my whining.

“What could I have done to stop Khalid’s arm from getting caught? I’m not even a proper mage.”

Finally blowing off some steam, I sat in anger as the innkeeper rested his hand on my shoulder.

“You are young. Reflect upon what has happened and grow from it.”

Holding tears of anger back, I tighten my grip on my knees

“What am I to do now?”

I sulk as The innkeeper reaches for another biscuit,

“Just do what you know you have to do. If you want the world to be safer, then get stronger.”

He gets up and snaps the biscuit between his teeth,

“Go. There’s a big world out there. No need to linger like a stray dog in my inn any longer.”

Chugging the water in my cup, I take a biscuit off the plate and walk out the door.

The crisp winter air stung my nostrils as I embraced the scent of the city air. Muttered words echoed throughout the street as I made my way towards Lily’s bookstore. Reaching the branching street, I could see the crowd of people gazing up on an enthusiastic individual.

“...Is it not time to take action? To liberate us against that demon worshiper under the guise of Cornelius?”

The crowd roared in response, releasing their nonsensical frustration. I turn away, clutching my hand and quicken my pace towards the bookstore. Lily stood outside the entrance and was sweeping away the dust with a broom. Making my way towards her, I see her eyes glare at me for a moment.

“Hey!”

I shout, as she continues her sweeping.

“What do you want?”

Lily asks with a rather snappy tone.

“I’m here to give you that book.”

I answer in a much quiet tone as she forcefully sweeps dust towards me and sighs,

“You're late…”

A forceful smile fills her face as she grabs the broom and walks back in the building.

“Come in”

I awkwardly nod and scratch my head. Heading inside, a familiar, scruffy and gray-bearded man sat in-front of a table off to the side.

“Edward?”

I spew out and notice a responsive glance. I wave my hand, trying to keep it low. He nods and continues reading his book. Lily arrives at the counter and sits down.

“Alright, show me the book.”

I take out The nature of interpreting reality. Lily takes the book from the counter,

“So, have you finished reading any of the books?”

I nod and take out Magica Fundamentals and Guidance. She reaches for the book and smiles.

“Good work, but you really are a horrible delivery man. How was the book by the way?”

Pressing my hand on my forehead, I take a deep breath.

“It.. was good. Had a lot of information and does seem like good foundations for magic.”

She props her hand on her face, nods and pulls out Awakening of the eye from before.

“Cause you finished that book. I will allow you to exchange for the book you chose”

She lightly taps on the cover as I answer.

“I think that’s fair”

She raises her posture and takes Magica Fundamentals and Guidance from the desk.

“So, did anything happen when you practiced this book?”

I think back for a moment.

“It was strange. The world seemed to slow down and my mind felt like I had sunk into mud. I think I entered a trance.”

Her eyes glinted with surprise as she straightened her posture.

“Ehm… So you entered a trance on your first attempt? Have you casted yet?”

“Probably?”

I watch her slowly brew with excitement and let out a sigh of relief . She points her finger towards me and holds her eyes like a hawk.

“First, tell me your name”

“Clover”

I answer as Lily mutters my name a few times. while gazing up at the roof. After a few seconds of pondering, she leans over the desk,

“Will you be my apprentice?”

“Do I have to pay?”

I ask as she raises he palm out

“5 silver, special discount due to circumstance.”

I take out half my earnings from my pouch and begrudgingly place it on her pale hands. She nods twice and quickly tucks away the coins in her pouch.

“Alright, get your things ready, we are leaving!”