LAY

Another wounded kirin…unforgivable! They were magnificent animals that provide healing and even transportation to the people of Elyxo and yet, some people were just too barbaric to treat them harshly. It’s already atrocious that people were breeding them for transportation purposes and yet, they weren’t satisfied with it. Now who should be called animals? I bent down to tend to the animal. I still didn’t know the extent of its injury. It was quite bothering to hear its pained cries across the forest while I was taking my afternoon walk.

I just couldn’t stand it any longer to be in the mansion. Everyone was stressing about the prophecy. I should be, too, but I refused to be bothered by it. The more I thought about it, the more my healing abilities are reversing into the opposite. I dreamt about the day when it was read to us and the moment I woke up, I’ve noticed that the camellias I’ve placed in the vase on my nightstand just the previous night were wilted, squeezed dry of its life. I had that tendency whenever I was worried about something. I felt the pressure weighing down on everyone since the day we came to know of our task. It seemed impossible.

Lu Han, the wisest among us six, didn’t even have any clue where to start. The prophecy was baffling. It spoke of a maiden that would make Elyxo a whole nation again, but her whereabouts was unknown. Did Fu actually have any idea how vast a land Elyxo was and even Meropia for that matter? I had doubts as she had been on one spot, rooted to the earth just by the great river for as long as she had existed. No one knew where the prophesied maiden was and we had less than a year to fulfill the prophecy.

Yi Fan had pointed out that if the maiden was on either side of the river, she would have to cross it to get to the other kingdom as she had to meet the Element Nobles, all of us, including the Korinths. That made sense as one of us from Meropia and one from Korinthia should try to win her heart in every sense of the thought. It’s just too problematic for words. The more we all considered the facts that surrounded the cryptic words of the seventh oracle, the more possibilities presented themselves and that included uncertainties that made the fulfillment of the prophecy seem unattainable. It was only the beginning and yet we were losing hope.

I left the others to ponder about it. I wasn’t about to spend another minute feeling their dark disposition. Sometimes, I wish I wasn’t a Healing Noble. It’s hard for me feeling everyone’s emotions all at once. It was a good thing that the people that surround me at a regular basis were level-headed, well, except for Xiu Min who was always hyperactive. It didn’t bother me in the least, except recently.

I shrugged the thought off, gently lifting the leg of the kirin which was injured. Its hind leg was lacerated and it’s clear, glimmering blood oozed out nonstop. It’s a saddening thought that healing properties ran through its veins, but couldn’t heal itself. The poor, defenseless animal, especially the wild ones, were being hunted by a few who knew that its blood was of great value.

I sighed. In a few moments, I would be able to end its agony, however, my blood, boiling with anger, wouldn’t be eased. I must have those hunters captured. I gently touched the wound and soon, the kirin stood on its legs and ran along with its companions. I watched as the fleet ran across the forest. I felt happy seeing them free.

I continued walking eastward, nearing the badlands at the edge of the forest when I heard the strangest sound I’ve ever heard. I heard a woman’s voice, singing in ancient Elyxian. I figured that it was the forest nymphs so I ignored it, but then, I found myself drawn to it as it transformed into something else. It was singing of the prophecy! Enthralled by it, I followed the sound and it led me directly to where I was headed. The sound disappeared when I got there, replaced by the sound of crunching twigs and light footfalls. I walked a few more paces into the line of trees that separated the forest from the desert and I saw a girl standing by a tree, her back to me.

I surmised that she was about to enter the forest as she stopped dead on her tracks when she saw the fleet of kirins pass by in front of her. I bent sideways to see her face. She looked distraught, her cheeks glistening with drying tears, but fascination dominated her expressions as she watched the creatures disappear into the forest.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” I said, making her turn around to face me. The action must have been too abrupt for her as she nearly stumbled upon glancing at me. I must’ve startled her. I quickly stepped to her side and took her by the ar