Chronicles of the Red Sovereign

At the mention of the ore beneath the old alchemy building my body went rigid.

-Thomas, Kai and Fan never said anything about that?

But then I realized that Fan wouldn’t be sticking around for long and if they asked Freya, not Fan, then she would not know anything. So why did Kai and Thomas not say anything?

“Uhm… about that…”

“That energy ore they were keeping under there is a very powerful item, thus it’s very dangerous.” Aunt Zaira said which me nervous even more. “But your friends said that maybe it got destroyed when the entire building structure collapsed. Not to mention there were witness accounts of a pillar of light emerging from the location of the building. There was no residual energy that lingered in the area either so maybe it really got destroyed.”

I released a sigh of relief at her statement but still refused to meet her eye.

-Was that what they said?

“Uhm… It’s true that there was an explosion of light in the middle of our fight, but I already passed out at that point.”

To be honest, I was a bit uneasy lying to her. She was after all the person who took care of me. Aunt Zaira was my benefactor.

“All of you did, even Vyfal. When Prince Leo retrieved you from there, everything was chaotic.” she sighed. “Well, everything checks out. Just try to keep your mouth shut about what I just told you to the others other than your friends. I advise you not to tell them everything though, only what they needed to know. Also rest up you still look very pale. You’ll be heading home tomorrow by the way. All of you. It’s already winter break.”

“Okay Aunt Zaira.”

I released a high sigh of relief once Aunt Zaira was out the door and I sensed that she was already some distance away. After that, I suddenly felt tired and sleepy.

-Talking with her really kept me up my toes. Now that she’s gone, I feel relaxed and tired. I should get more sleep.

Minutes later, I fell into a dreamless slumber.

I woke up in the middle of the night because of some scuffling inside the room I was in. I cautiously sat up and scanned the room and was very surprised to see a pair of people at the foot of my bed. There wasn’t much light since it was night time, but their eyes were glowing. One was a pair of eyes as blue as the sky and the other was silver like the moon.

“She’s awake.” said a feminine voice.

I heard a snap and the room was suddenly bright and I could see my mysterious guests clearly. One of the pair was a boy who looked a few years older than me with golden blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a simple white shirt, a black coat and black pants, but he did not look like a regular person especially with the bow on his hand, quiver filled with arrows on his back and most importantly there was a faint golden light around him.

The girl had red hair, but hers was a darker shade than mine, and sported a pair of silver eyes. She looked about twelve or thirteen years old and was dressed in a simple silver tunic. A silver crescent moon pendant was on her forehead which matched her eyes. She too had a bow on her hand and a quiver full of arrows. Unlike the boy, she had a faint silver aura around her and an eye-catching silver mark was on her shoulder, just above her elbow.

“So this is her?” asked the taller male. “She feels familiar.”

“I know.”

Of course, the two were familiar to me but they did not know that. At least not yet. I met them before, back when I was still a fox goddess. I wouldn’t say we were close but we went hunting a couple of times together.

The pair that was visiting me were the foreign twin gods Apollo and Artemis. Back in their world, they were Greek divinities with immense power. Apollo was the god of the sun, archery music, poetry, healing and a lot of other things. Meanwhile Artemis was the goddess of the moon, archery, hunting and childbirth, and was the patron of children. They were some of the few foreign gods who crossed over to Afasia in search of refuge from their destroyed world.

-Should I tell them who I am?

We were acquaintances and they used to visit my home, Liada, but I couldn’t just trust anyone connected to the Celestial Realm.

“Who…”

“Oh, do not be scared mortal. My name is Apollo and this is my twin sister, Artemis. We are here to meet you and bring you some news.” said Apollo.

-Right, which one was older again?

“You called me mortal… And from what I can see, you don't seem humans either. You’re gods aren’t you?” I asked. I noticed the two of them stiffen.

-I guess they’re not comfortable with mortals who can easily recognize them.

“What makes you think that?” asked Artemis, her voice edgy and low.

“You’re both glowing and I’m pretty sure the Imperial Academy is put on high alert because of the recent events and has a tight security. No mere human can just waltz inside without being seen or captured.” I answered. “Plus, I did not hear the door open and the windows are closed. My familiar is also sleeping just below the window of this room and she would’ve gone into action once she detected intruders.”

“Good job at guessing that.” Artemis said and her bow suddenly vanished. Apollo’s also vanished and they sat at the empty chairs on my bedside. “I would love to recruit you into the ranks of my hunters, but unfortunately, you have a destiny to fulfil, so you’re off limits.”

“Destiny?”

“Yes.” Apollo inserted and smiled really wide. His teeth were blinding I thought I was going to go blind. That was sarcasm by the way, but he had a set of perfect pearly white teeth anyone would be envy of.

“Right…”

“I am some sort of a seer and I own an oracle. To make the story short, you Luna Hysi, is going to shoulder the hope and salvation of humanity against some really bad events in the near future. You with me so far?”

I couldn’t help but scoff.

-So it’s the usual then?

“We cannot get involved with such events directly since we are bound by some ancient laws, but we must warn you of the incoming troubles that will be coming your way. Always remember to become stronger, be always prepared, don’t ever let your guard down and never lose hope.” Artemis also said.

“And most importantly, never lose faith.” Apollo nodded.

-So Luna does have some sort of heavy responsibilities on her shoulders.

“What makes you think it’s me?” I asked, a little suspicious about their words.

“I told you, I’m a seer.” Apollo responded. “And I can see the future.”

“But the future is not set in stone.” I argued. “What if I’m not the person you’re looking, or even hoping, for?”

“You’ll realize it in the future.” Artemis replied. “It is already in motion. We have to leave now, the local gods will not be happy if we continue meddling with mortals.”

The two suddenly stood up.

“You don’t have to be the hero immediately, but just always be prepared, okay?” Apollo reminded me and flashed a smile again.

Seriously, he should put a label on his teeth that said; ‘DO NOT STARE, BLINDNESS MAY OCCUR.’

“In the future, you will seek us, so here.” Artemis held out her hand and gave me a simple silver ring band engraved with a spiral that formed a hexagon. “Once you wear that, it will never come off. But I must remind you that that ring is the key to my home, so keep it well.”

I took the ring gingerly and put it on my right hand’s index finger. I hissed when I suddenly felt a sting at the base of my finger. My eyes widened when the lines that made spiral hexagon became red, blood red.

“It has recognized you as its owner so it cannot be used by anyone else.” Artemis said. “At some point, it has a special function which you will find out if you’re ever in a very dangerous situation. And by that I mean a life-and-death situation, okay?”

“Okay. Uhm… thank you?”

“Good. We must go now. Fair well, Luna Hysi.” Artemis said and she vanished.

“See you soon Luna Hysi!” Apollo winked and he vanished as well.

The room became silent and dark again. I was even contemplating if it was all just a dream, but the ring on my finger was real so I was really visited by a pair of foreign gods.

-And it’s the Greeks no less. At least it’s the most sociable pantheon among the foreign gods.

I stared at the ring under the moonlight.

-Luna was born with a big destiny ahead of her. And the fact that those two visited just to warn her and even gave me a special ring which is classed as a divine item, whatever her destiny is must be a big deal to the residents of all realms of Afasia.

I then wondered; what if I did not inhabit Luna’s body? Would I be one of the gods that would watch her fulfil her destiny?

Well my questions were unanswered and I just decided to return to sleep.