Kingdom of Light 

Extra Short Story

- Cradle in love

 

The hour was close to twilight, and the vaguely warm hues of the afternoon were fading to colder blues and purples, Angelica leant to the large tree, swept her emerald eyes throughout the ended battlefield with an ambiguous expression. Before her laid grotesque, torn mass of corpses, their armour piecemeal, their bodies broken, the stench unimaginable. Just this morning, many of them still had stood in front of her, waiting for command or shouting desperate cheer.

 

“War...” - She murmured that word as if to press down all the visions she terribly wanted to erase them all. That she could not do anything to prevent this no matter what or how she tried - she, at last, had to move forward and the war was still raging on. Life in this era was nothing more than the thin smoke afar from her spot, once been evaporated, it was gone forever. They said, you must remember your fallen comrades, so that they could live forever. Angelica’s lips curved to an ironic smile.

 

“Hypocrite” - She cursed under her breath.

 

This is war, if you kept so many memories inside your tiny brain, soon you would suffer from insanity. No doubt. People came and gone, even before you could know their name... but sometimes, in middle of the night, they crawled back to haunt your dream without any particular reason. And most of the time, you woke up, bathed in sweat, wondered why badly before coming to a conclusion that you was falling into hell.

 

Angie was ready for her leaving tomorrow to get back CrystalMoon after almost a year lived far from it, her home. Deep down her heart, those troubles Valar usually caused while she was away was not important than Valar’s own life. Her adopted mother always whining about necromancy had changed her personality, indeed, but not by negative way. Through death, she perceived the living and all of these was prepared for Valar’s demise. 

 

Long time ago, Valar once said blankly that she would come to an end when she met a purple eye. To many other, perhaps, it was a nonsense but Angie was different. 18 years together helped her to develop a sense to identify her mother’s babbles from serious stuffs. Valar always worried about her expiration and in order to fight against it, she chose to fool around, lived her life the the fullest. And necromancy seemed to be Angie’s only choice to approach the world beyond in the most efficient way. However, living with immortal people could give her no support and beside, their cemetery was too old and too sacred to practice dark art. That’s why Angie must departed to human world, where wars were still surging and of course, she would have more than enough materials for polishing her skills.

 

She, Angelica Skywalker, loved Valar so much. 

 

“Oh, Lady Skywalker. You’re here.” - The necromancer’s head snapped up as the voice of her comrade, Candice, rang through the air. Her slim figure was approaching gracefully closer from the darkening wood behind. The girl’s priestess robe was stained by the dark red shade of dried blood, some from her, some from people she had healed hour ago. 

 

“The commander wanna see you in his tent.” - The priestess said once she stood in front of Angie. Her breaths were still laboured from the finding, since Angie had always been vanished from their sight after every hard fights. 

 

The necromancer gave her an appreciated nod before turning her heels to the general’s place, then Candice’s loud voice halted her sweeping - “I heard from him that you will say farewell tomorrow. Is it true?”  

 

But without further useless words, Angie resumed her steps, left no gesture for an answer.

 

The sunset was fading gradually as her frame was blended inside that night colour. From the beginning, Lady Skywalker was always beyond everybody’s comprehension, she talked to no one and never be found in the camp after the sunlight was dead. 

 

.

..

…

 

“General Hammer, I’m here.” - Angie said loud enough to inform the man inside his tent.

 

“Please, come in.” - General Hammer or Evan Hammer’s warm voice leaked through the thick fabric of the tent to her hear. Though was still a young man in early 30s, but through bloodshed, that man had grown up into a very tough guy, suitable for his role in this tired war against green skins - orc, goblin, troll…

 

Angie lifted up the veil to enter his confine space. Inside the tent, there were nothing much to mention except one place to sleep, a small table now its surface had ceased to be invisible underneath a large map, along with reports, missives, orders... on top of it. All of them were related to the long and brutal war over orc and the rest. 

 

“Can you stay here any longer? We need you!” - The man averted his eyes from the map to the beautiful girl before his eyes and instantly let her know his suggestion with her leaving. Angie was the most powerful necromancer he had ever met in his life, also the most pretty lady. Admittedly, he really liked her, disregarded her strange manner toward everyone.    

 

Angie’s lips was still intact while her head gently shook. 

 

“Did you find the things you were seeking?” - He asked, his brown eyes were still on her emerald eyes. Angie always infused the feeling that she was not real in others’ mind whenever they had the intention to be around her side. 

 

No sound escape from her lips since that the inquiry did not need to be answered in her view. Angie had a habit of letting silence be her word for superfluous questions. Sometimes he thought the cat got her tongue because Angie’s main respond for most of the questions was simply nod or shake her head. 

 

“Do you remember the first time you came here to offer your help to my army?” - Evan redirected his eyes to the map while his question was already hanging in the air. Though Angie’s beauty was undoubted, her gaze somehow shaped an uneasy feeling if someone tried to penetrate the veil in her eyes, he was not exception either.

 

As if the lifeless papers injected enough courage for him, General Evan lifted up his head again to hasten his look on the necromancer’s delicate figure. - “I help you. Now it’s time for you to repay it.”

 

Angie narrowed her eyes, a gesture that naturally Evan deciphered it as a “What?” and out of expect, in 30 long days, he got a chance to hear her voice again. A good fortune if he called it so, Angie rarely state her suggestion with his strategies, just in cases they could not offer enough materials afterward. It meant nothing more than created as much bloodshed as possible, mainly for their enemy… 

 

“I don’t know I should call you brilliant or what. You put your own interests more than anything else. Is this necromancy way? Cold-blood, ruthless… love to hang out with rotten corpses more than livings?” - Evan asked with his most sarcastic voice after Angie pointed out his flaw in the next campaign. His tactic wasted too much time to bring down the whole enemy’s outspot and it would cost more resources but Evan wanted to secure his men’s life as his own. He understood that resources were very important, the longer they fought, the greater chance for losing. Her way, very effective but minor sacrifice was undeniable.

 

In replying for his mocking question, the young necromancer just hastened her eyes on him and coldly dropped out every words - “Win or lose, you choose.”

 

“You knew it would not work.” - Her sudden speaking led him back to present. It really felt like years to hear her voice once again. Angie had a great voice, as fragile as herself. It was hard to believe that such an angelic voice could belong to a dark art practitioner, especially a impressive one like this young lady. 

 

Evan contemplated Angie for a short moment then let out a heavy sigh. Yes, she was right, nothing to argue with and he was totally failed in this conversation since the tactic was inappropriate from the first sentence. It perhaps would be better if he just earnestly let her know the truth, running around and tried to push her into the pitfall was the worst thing that had ever come into his mind.

 

“2 days later, as my scout informed, the green skins will perform a big assault here to wipe us out. We need your undead army or this place will be covered our man’s corpses.” - He spoke, no spiral words, as if he was pleading for her help. 

 

“I will leave right after that… win or lose.” - Her words, though sounded without compassion but he still wanted to insist that under that emotionless beautiful frame, she did care for everyone.

 

“You have my word.” - He said, relief swirling inside his pupils.

 

 

2.

 

“I must be faster!!!”

 

Valar was on her mount - a ghost wolf - gift from Angie when she first summoned it from Netherworld through a legendary artefact that Valar snatched it from Allerya long long time ago. They named it Aidan, meant “little flame” in elven tongue because wherever Angie or Valar was, this blue flame would lead one of them to the other’s side. The poison odour of alor’el, or “lover’s leaf” was invading her consciousness and gradually, many flashbacks broke her mind with the deepest fears. Aidan had looked very nervous right before the Telmiirkara Neshyrr, The Rite of Transformation, which at first, Valar had thought her wolf was just overreacted because of the noise from their ceremony. But no, desperate howling before fullmoon was absolutely against his natural habit; subtly in that depressing sound, the boy felt something. This alarming dread was like a giant python, round and round circled around Valar’s heart, strong enough for her to abandon everything to come to her little girl’s place. 

 

“Are you crazy Valar? It’s your place here as The High Priestess.” 

 

 “Not all bonds are in blood, Sunstriker.” Her last sentence to the Regent when he had demanded her staying. 

 

“Indeed.” - Valar shook her head to purify many unreasonable phantasms that were rooting inside and kicked Aidan into a full run. Though a hundred year was just a blink with an elf but tonight, time became her most luxury item.

 

Adofaer Vandor or Peaceful Magic Wood was not as lovely as its name during full moon night due to the polluted air was emitted from many strange plants, mainly from alor’el, that Valar had discarded carelessly several decades ago. These perfume-like smells had ability to form illusions and so put its victim into a delusional labyrinth, forever be trapped in here until the moon was embraced by the next dawn’s light. 

 

Far above them, the clouds began to shift, and a thin silver of moonlight illuminated the whole forest. Alor’el’s tiny buds started to gleam dimly in the dark, every fragile petals gently twisted and from the centre, a shivery glitter stream was dancing out in silence in marvellous pinky hue. The whole forest once beset with calm night colour at this moment was glowing by many flimsy pink threads and those alor’el flowers were like a swamp of fireflies from hell. So beautiful yet deadly.

 

Was it merely fortune or everything was deliberated from the start that Angie had chosen a spirited mount instead other glamorous like unicorn or frost saber? This spirited wolf did not need air to live, thus the final destination could not be secured in her hands.

 

“Please, Aidan! We must go faster!!! Angie can’t wait for us!!!” - The Firstborn patted her mount gently on one side his neck… and their silhouettes evaporated into the darker zone ahead swiftly.

 

 

3.

 

The afternoon wound down into evening after the swollen sun had retreated from a long day of burning itself harshly. Angie was walking among the last battlefield with a small lantern to collect more suitable materials for her final summoning - The Flesh Golem. At the time being, one Flesh Golem was no big deal but tomorrow’s defense asking for more force. In 2000 years, only Egna - The First Necromancer could conjure 3 Golems at once and Lance - the legendary human necromancer volunteered his own flesh to call forth the second golem. Angie did not want to use such a dire method to achieve it, let alone her final goal was not power. However, seem the Creator was not with her this time, 3 hours wandering among hundreds starting to be rotten corpses was not fruitful.

 

Her gaze suddenly locked on one corpse, a young man who just 2 days ago had given her a wild flower. She crouched down and wiped the mud from his face - the limbs were twisted at sickening angles and the wound had been drained bloodless - due to the heavy rain last night. The brown eyes were still open, staring up into the velvet sky.

 

“I must survive. No matter what…”

 

Angie whispered soft prayers for the moon goddess to guide his spirit to Netherworld while sliding her hand over his face… In a turbulent era like this, nothing could be warded…

 

Exhaustedly, the young lady rose and walked slowly back to the wood behind, all ready to cast some vigorous hexes along the forest entrance with hope these could give them a little upper hand for tomorrow fight.

 

“Valar… I’m coming home.”

 

.

..

…

 

The hour was close to sunrise, and the vaguely warm hues of morning were chasing away the last colder purple of night colour from the sky. Evan Hammer and his army had firmly stood behind the forest entrance roughly one kilometer where his hunters had set traps and notedly, Angie’s array of hexes and curses. He stole a covert glance at the rear of the wood to make sure his secret weapon - the powerful necromancer was caught in his sight. Without her undead army, they stood no chance for crawling back alive today. 

 

Not too long from the last messenger of his scout, the very earth seemed to tremble beneath so many marching to the thrumming sounds of war drums - the unmistakeable sounds were carrying far in all directions in the autumn’s cool breezes. Then other joyful sounds were blended into the battle shrieks, signaled that their enemy had fallen into their pitfalls.

 

“FORWARD! ATTACK!” - Evan ordered his riders plunge ahead, while he had kicked his horse for a full run. A glint of contentment flashed in his eyes when an army of undead was risen from their enemy’s fresh fallen fleshes was already inside battlefield. - “Excellent job, Angie!” 

 

More sound from the fight became audibles as he approached - shouts from the battleguards, the dull boom of artily, and the distinctive splintering crack that metal weapon made against nerubian chitin - spider-like pets of trolls. Evan readied his sword, his heartbeat quickening with anticipation. Bloodshed was awful but it was a must in any battle, it was that stench smell boiled the soldiers’s blood for victory.

 

Angie stood in the middle of the battlefield, bathed in green aura with one dagger on her right hand and one focus as her off-hand weapon. Both were gifted from Valar - the dagger BloodyCrescent and the focus Phoenix’s Cry - weapons which Valar had forged with her own blood and essence specially for her daughter. Despite of being a caster, Angie was quite agile with melee attacks, just in a blink, one orc’s throat was spliced by the red dagger in her hand, offering a stream of blood for her next creature - Flesh Golem, the young lady grinned. 

 

The air in front of her shimmered, gleaming greenish - the unmistakable mark of necromancy was emitting from the cut on this throat and the spot between his forehead where BloodyCrescent had buried its blade deep inside. A short moment later, that orc’s body was distorted in various violent way, the green skin was ripped to reveal the red muscles under, bones tore through his flesh to create its spiky horns on both shoulders and forehead while the size was doubled just in some seconds, the first Flesh Golem was born. The monster was a hulking monstrosity. It’s body was like those of creatures that existed deep inside the most gruesome nightmares. The young necromancer smiled satisfactorily with her work before patted its back gently, urged it into the fight in front of her eyes.   

 

From afar, General Hammer could not help but locked his eyes on the new born beast when it started to dove into the bunch of its ex comrades, mercilessly tore their body with its giant claws. Unfortunately, Angie was on his side!

 

“PRESS ON!” - Evan’s new rally injected renewed fervor into the defenders, and they surged forward, a chorus of “Forward!” on their lips in response. Angie turned her head to Evan’s direction since she was well aware that his eyes fell on her back in the whole process quickly before resuming her unfinished work. The troll’s face was just inches from her face, deep in physical anguish while his life force was vastly absorbed by his enemy.

 

“Thank you.” - Angie whispered in his ears then plugged out her dagger from the board chest, transferred all the life stream to her minions, strengthen them more. It was just she did not realized, far from her where she was standing now, the whole scene was caught in her enemy’s general’s eyes. The big orc motioned one of his rogues to her direction and the slim troll vanished into thin air...

 

Surround Angie at this time was 2 orcs and 1 goblin, all male. Most necromancer favored long staff, Angie’s weapons of choice for the battle were instead a dagger and a focus, yeah, for these kinds of situation. As the three charged her, thinking to enclosed her in a circle, the necromancer smirked with glee. “My mother is legendary rogue, guys.” she said softly, crouching and grinning. The she exploded into motion, moving much faster than the enemy had expected. BloodyCrescent became a blur, glittering slice of death. Before the he could even realize that was happening, the hapless goblin’s throat was nearly detached with his body. Angie did not slow down, whirling around and Phoenix’s Cry dipped inside the cut, emitted a brighter aura of green. Just a fraction of heartbeat, from the cut, flew out a swamp of black bug toward two orcs. They crumpled back because of the pain was delivering by the young girl’s dark art. Angie turned, eyes darting back to the goblin’s contorted corpse, when her hand withdrew from it, her lips curved into a crescent while watching its tiny body corrupting into a larger bone minion.   

 

Suddenly the necromancer slowed down, calming her breathing then lifted her hands and uttered an ancient spell. 2 yards around her feet was glimmering a circle of green with many black sickening hands rose up inside.

 

“Caught you.” - Angie grinned when the troll rogue was detected by her spell. 

 

But... accidents ambushed the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love. Angie tried to to keep her eyes fixed on the rogue but the overwhelming hurt from the arrow was now sunken deep inside her left chest prevented her to do so. Then Angie found herself falling... falling down... and a flash of recollection reappeared in front of her emerald eyes...

 

“You should not come back.” - Valar said blankly behind Angie’s back.

 

Without turned around to hide the falling tears, Angie bluntly said - “No, I will” then walked out of the chamber... 

  

Angie just did not know when her shadow was replaced by another shape of nothing, Valar patted Aidan’s head gently, mumbled to it, but perhaps for herself - “You know those mortals can give her a family with romantic love and beautiful children... the true happiness that I can’t, right, Aidan?” 

 

And in the last moment of consciousness, Angie just wanna asked one question - “Valar, have you ever think of me as your daughter?”

 

.

..

...

 

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” - Evan screamed when the image of wounded Angie was shown in his eyes. His feet unconsciously kick the horse to run to her place with hope that he would be there before the blade in the troll rogue steeped into her body. But in front of his astonishing gaze, a flash of blue suddenly flared from nowhere and in the next moment, the rogue’s head was one the hard earth.

 

All around him, the air was full of sound: the crackle of bone cracking, the singing of the arrows being loosed, and over and around it all, the cries of both human and green skins fighting, killing, and dying... but one of these could distract him from the magnificent scene before him now. A ghost wolf and an elf were at Angie’s place. The female elf commanded something to her ghost wolf before diving into chaotic battle that was raging on. Undaunted, she started to clear away an opening with many furious strikes from her daggers.

 

It was a blur of motion and almost too quick for the eye to follow, but most amazingly of all, after the elf left Angie’s place, the enemies inside the radius of 4 yards were empty. She wielded am almost blindingly two radiant daggers and moved so swiftly but not with the high speed as he once witnessed by some impressive rogue. This young woman, she disappeared and reappeared here and there in every blink of an eye... Evan knew this was Shadow Step - the highest skill... A long pale sunlight braid whipped around, looking almost like a golden serpent. A dozen of bodies were already at her feet.  

 

That elf was uncannily unbelievable, white attire was on one enemy’s head in one second then vanished the next into thin air, left back a little smoke of reddish stream as if just for a beautiful scene. Every time she reappeared, a burning arrow was loosed from her bloody red bow, the bow seemed to be woven by many strange red wine with many shimmering fairy dust constantly falling out from inside.  

 

The blood from her kills had already soaked her moonlight clothes and stained her porcelain face but the smile had never left her lips... General Hammer’s eyes widen in awe. He had seen acrobats from the distant land years ago. They flipped and tumbled, somersaulted and cartwheeled, with an ease that was nothing short of incredible. But in compare to this woman, all of those were child’s play. Evan gasped for air when he caught the glimpse of the shimmering in her red eyes... red emotionless eyes with sparkles... pale sunlight hair... white skin... graceful battle style... red weird bow... shining blood daggers... Consciousness struck him like thunderclap!

 

Blood Elf in legend... The Banshee Queen... Valar Skywalker... killing was her instinct.

 

“Why is she here?” - Evan murmured.

 

The Banshee Queen was dancing her own melody of death with her bow and daggers, in normal eyes, it seemed she was drunken in bloodlust but in the eyes of an experienced general, Evan could recognize the elf was clearing the radius around Angie while moving forward to the enemy’s general. Arrows had been fired on her but none could even hit her attire, only the thin smoke of red hue was hit. That Blood Elf was not fighting, she was enjoying. With one leap up to the sky, the bow had been steady on her back while her hands was pulling out the daggers and swirling them in a chilling dance. An array of ghostly daggers were created around her body like flower’s deadly petals then they left their calyx, shot out below, sinking deep inside the green skins’ skull. Her long braid shone under the sunlight when her feet set on the ground, blood peppered with swirling wind around her but before it could paint her face, that glamorous frame evaporated, so breathtakingly. The blood sang in her vein; the fervor of battle burned in her chest. It would never occur to her to consider the irony that she felt most alive when meting out death.

 

Four red arrows pined deeply inside the guardians’s eyes beside the orc general and just with a blink, they all saw the orc’s head was in her hand. How could she shadow step in such a long distance? Legend did not tell lie.

 

The battle ended with unexpected way. Evan casted his eyes on the withering battlefield to Angie’s place... just as he thought, Valar was there, even before the speed of his eyes. This lady was a god.

 

.

..

...

 

Valar knelt down to Angie. She could have been asleep. The girl’s features were perfectly relaxed except for , which frowned slightly as though her dreams were not pleasant ones. 

 

The Firstborn pressed her left hand on the wound while the right hand was pulling out that filthy arrow out her girl’s body. The first time in 500 years, Valar felt fear.  

 

A sob caught in as she lifted the young necromancer on her arms. She began to pray, scarcely able to form the words in her grief. “My Lord Father, grant me this, if nothing else. Spare her, please... she is my daughter. She is the beacon of my tired life, she saved my soul again and again. My life would be empty without her in it.” Tears streamed down her cheek, glittering like the trails of stars. 

 

But no matter how she tried to heal, the wound was still bleeding... 

 

“What can I do? What can I do? Think! Think!” - Valar scolded herself panically, unknowing  thet her fist was clenched tightly.

 

“Oh, no, this stupid girl attuned herself with dark magic!!!” - The Firstborn frantically search for any way to her her daughter but nothing came out... until her eyes fell on the Bloody Crescent... yes... there was indeed one way to save Angie. Despite the horrific predicament for her, Valar couldn’t help but notice how everything around her appeared distant as if nothing was important than the girl lying in front her right now.

 

As Evan walked slowly to their place, he saw Valar was using the dagger to carve something on her palm, then Angie’s palm before attaching them together. He did not know her doing but there was one thing was very crystal-like here. The Banshee Queen was saving Angie.

 

.

..

...

 

Angie saw herself back in Crystal Moon 13 years ago. That was a warm day of summer and her tiny hand was holding in the most angelic lady of the world, walking around the kingdom. Valar looked very happy every time she showed little Angie to her people.

 

“Beautiful and lovely, right?” - Valar asked with many sparkles was reflected in her eyes, waiting for a yes.

 

Angie thought she was the most lucky girl in this world.

 

The dream trailed to 5 years later...

 

Angie was standing among 5 elven kids, biting her tongue against a flood of retorts and cried. They were laughing while telling her...

 

“Stupid human thinks Valar loves her. My mother said Valar doesn’t wanna raise an animal pet so she picked you as her personal puppy. Human nonetheless is still better than animal by far....   

 

The dreams turned white...

 

Valar watched her daughter for a long moment, barely breathing. The Angie’s eyelashes fluttered and she opened her eyes drowsily. Rolling her head slightly to the side, she tried to focus on the shapes hovering before her - shape of person she loved. - “Min’da?” - she asked blearily, her brow knitted in confusion.

 

“No, I don’t have offspring, I just have beautiful pet.” - Valar sullenly said.

 

“You cried.” - Angie said, could not help but smiled.

 

“Sure. Don’t you know how hard to raise a stubborn pet in 18 years?” - The rogue said softly.

 

“Why don’t you shout out like usual?” - Angie narrowed her eyes due to her mother’s strangeness. Often, Valar would said with the top of her lung to harass Angie’s ears, and because of the hurt, Angie could do anything but stop the fight and turned away. Victory as  Valar used to call it.

 

“Hey, I’ve just finished a battle for you.” - Valar poured her lips.

 

“May I help you, my ladies?” - Evan knelt down to offer his help. Though the elf was saying nonsense but her pale face and the way she breathed denounced her status. She unequivocally was trying to keep her cool, against her true exhausting.

 

“Sure.” - Valar lifted up her face and for the first time in General Hammer’s life, he was watching the most gorgeous beauty.

 

“Please take care of Angie.” - Valar said, smily.

 

“Sure.” - He said

 

“Min’da, don’t you stay with me?” -  Angie hastily asked her mother though she was well aware of the reason. 

 

“Aidan will guide you to me later. Rest well.” - Valar put a little emphasis the the sentence to let Angie know that she was firm with the decision. 

 

 

4.

 

It had been 2 days since the day Angie could stay awake during the day without stumbled into random blackness because of the pain from the wound on her left chest. Candice visited her everyday to change the bandage and told her about what was happing outside the tent. Seemed Valar was still Valar, she tossed the whole camp into messy troubles every night.

 

The first night, she painted all the tents into rainbow colors.

The second night, all the horses’ tail were turned into golden hue

The third night, she lured bugs into the camp, except Angie’s tent

The fourth night, people were waken up by the direct sunlight because all of the tents were removed to somewhere. Again, except Angie’s

... and so on. Today was the sixth day.

 

“You know, they said these are your elven friend’s messes.” - Candice commented while helping Angie’s to change the bandage.

 

“I know. She is telling me that she’s fine.” - The young necromancer could not hold a warm smile in her eyes. Whatever it was, Valar was having fun and nothing else matter.

 

“Oh, and by the way, do you by any chance know these runes?” - Angie showed her palm to candice. She had been contemplating them in around two days but perhaps her knowledge about priest’s stuffs were not enough to understand their meaning. Candice was not a strong priest but in the end, she was still the one.

 

Candice postponed her doing to observe the runes on Angie’s palm but these ancient symbols were beyond her grasp indeed. 

 

“I don’t know. Look like an old spell about healing but they’re complicated.” - The priestess shook her head then got back to her unfinished task. - “But your wound is healing faster than I thought. With such a fatal shot, I really don’t believe you can snatch back your life from hell this fast.” - She continued and by the time her sentence was completed, she also was done with the treating.

 

Candice rose and walked to the tent’s entrance but suddenly she turned around and smiled - “Well, this is the first time you talk to me. Your voice is nice. You should talk more.” 

 

The smile on her face soon faded when Angie seemed lost into her own palm. Like this world existed in another dimension, nothing could stand between her and those ancient runes. The priestess heard some whispers were escaped Angie’s mouth but they were too low to understand the meaning. By the time Candice decided to get back to her comrade, Angie suddenly shouted out - “Aidan!!!”

 

The ghost wolf stood up instantly and rushed to her place. From her point of view, that mount was trying to carry its master to somewhere outside.

 

“No. You can’t. Your condition is not good enough to move.” - Candice stopped both of them when Angie was holding her pain to climb up on the wolf.

 

“I must, Candice. I must!” - Angie’s voice cracked in the end since her wound was still opened and the other girl knew how terrible it was right now. 

 

“Why?” - Candice exclaimed

 

“Min’da is in danger. Now get away!” - Angie said briefly before their frame lost after the tent’s entrance; left behind a human girl who did not know what was happening.

 

.

..

...

 

Valar was sleeping under the biggest tree in the wood where she could absorb essences from surround. It was rosy since the Firstborn did not really need food to drag their life through centuries but now Valar needed more energy than usual; she was very tired. Some tiny wood fairies were dancing on her beautiful long hair and covered her streaks with many glittering sparkles while others were sitting on her legs and trading their stories about the forgotten time. From afar, Valar looked like she was surround by a thousand fireflies, just one difference, these lights were persistent.

 

Aidan dropped Angie right next to where Valar was still deep in her dreams. These little fairies halted their playing to look at the stranger, though none of them showed the intention of leaving this elf. 

 

Angie enclosed her mother’s hand in her hands, tears were flowing like streams on her cheeks. Valar was still in her bloodsoak attire. God, she must be very tired to find a clean one to change. Her Min’da was afraid of nothing but nastiness.

 

“Valar...” - The young human girl put her mother’s palm against her cheek... then Valar slowly back to real world...

 

“Hey... why are you here?” - Valar asked, her voice weary

 

“You’re stupid.” - Angie said through her sobbing

 

“Huh? - Thanks to the light from these fairies, the girl could see Valar was narrowing her big eyes, she was caught in huge surprise with the younger’s comment.

 

“You thought messing around would make me think you’re enjoying yourself here, that you’re healthy. You’re stupid.” - Angie almost exclaimed  - “These runes...” - She showed her palm toward Valar before insisting on - “... is life giving spell. You are giving your life force to me! You’re stupid! Am I just your intelligent pet?” 

 

Her voice was finally cracked into many loud sobbing by the end of the sentence but most of all, by the fact of this whole event, about the affection Valar was giving her...

 

“Hey, hey... You called me stupid three times already. Yes, you are my pet, but I carelessly gave you my last name. So... if you die, I’ll live in shame for the rest of my life... See, I can’t help!”

 

“YOU ARE STUPID!!!!” - Angie shattered.

 

“Shhhh... come here!” - Valar opened her arms and before Angie realized it, they gathered her inside. They closed about her, warm and peaceful, and she pressed her cheek against Valar’s s and sobbed. Angie knew two things: Valar’s heart beating steadily and her voice soft and low... singing.

 

“So don't cry for your love. Cry tears of joy.
Cos you're alive, cradled in love.” 

• Cradle in love by Poets of the fall

 

 

5.

 

Angie was waken up by the loud thumbing on her chamber’s door. They were back here 4 weeks, thank God, Valar had not intrigued any scene since then, perhaps because Angie really needed time to heal.

 

The young girl crawled out of her bed and walked to the door. In front of her eyes was their familiar elf, who ran errands around the kingdom for Valar lately. Sometimes Angie could not understand why they always quit their job under 2 months but the waiting line just lengthen out of her imagination. Valar truly had a gift directly from the Creator such as others had not: create trouble.

 

“The Regent is here.” - The elf said. Angie could not help but have to calm the girl down for her face was completely pale at this moment.

 

“He’s looking for master.” - She pressed on.

 

Angie started to feel headache when the last word was escaped.

 

“And..?”

 

“Last night, master put a ton of alor’el inside his palace.”

 

“Last night, is it full moon?”

 

The young elf lowered her head... silence was all Angie could hear... no answer could be more transparent. 

 

“Why don’t you find her?” - Angie asked while rubbing her temple.

 

“Lady, this is for you.” - She reluctantly showed Angie a beautiful letter with fresh morning green, such a nice smell but the human girl knew nothing would be still calm after this letter was read. Whenever Valar vanished into thin air with a letter as her tail, it meant trouble.

 

“Dear my smart Angie,

 

You are my savior. So please, turn the new scene that I made into crystal, will ya? Love you, I believe in you.

 

Good luck and have fun.

 

Valar.”

 

And approximate 5 minutes later, the whole Crystal Moon could hear her scream of “VALAR” in that morning!

 

.

..

...

 

Somewhere in the wood...

 

*Sneeze*

 

“Hmm.. I though alor’el is safe in the sunlight” - A beautiful elf said softly to the heart shape leaf in her hand before closing her eyes and walked into her emerald dream...

  

 

Notes for Firefly:

 

- CrystalMoon: Tên toà lâu đài Valar ở.

• Ghost wolf: Loại sinh vật trong suốt màu xanh có hình dạng sói. Đại loại như ảnh bên dưới ^^: 
• Hex/Curse: Một dạng kỹ năng khác của necromancer dùng để làm suy yếu đối phương.
• Flesh Golem: Đây là loại undead cấp cao nhất mà một necromancer có thể gọi lên. Một necromancer có thể triệu hồi một số undead không có trí lực, gọi là minion từ các xác chết gần đó. Thông thường vì Flesh golem quá mạnh nên chỉ có thể gọi 1 lúc 1 con.
• Focus weapon: Một dạng vũ khí cầm bên tay trái. Chúng có nhiều hình dạng khác nhau tuỳ vào người luyện nên. Khả năng chính của Focus là tăng sức mạnh cho người cầm nó.
• Caster: Ý chỉ những người dùng phép thuật như phù thuỷ, pháp sư... thay vì chiến đấu bằng các loại vũ khí như chiến binh hay sát thủ...
• Min’da: Mẹ trong tiếng Elf.