“You have not seen the last of me. You hear me, Auron!” Ember yelled.
“It will be another opportunity for me to kill you,” Auron remarked.
“Umbra slumbre,” Ember hissed. She shot a blast of darkness towards King Darmang. Unable to defend himself in time, the king was struck by shadows and collapsed. Ember then disappeared, casting a cloud of smoke.
Auron and his friends huddled around the king. Genie cradled the king’s head. Darmang’s heart was still beating. Genie tried to wake him up using illumancy to break the dark magic. It was futile.
“He seems to have fallen into a deep slumber,” Genie concluded.
Auron eyeballed his surroundings and saw blood on the cobbled path of the castle. There were severed body parts and injured citizens around the castle area. Some trees were on fire and his king was cursed by his nemesis.
“Everyone. We can’t go home yet. I need you all to watch over the king until we can break his curse.” Auron then gazed skyward. “And I have to go get answers from my old master.” Akielas, what in Odealeous is happening? Auron thought. I feel the worst is yet to come.
Willow
Water glittered from the beam of light coming from above. The lake was warm and still, a sky-blue color with turquoise gems on its depths. The underwater lake was tranquil, silent, and its water was pure. Untouched by outsiders. Only the rarest fishes known to men swam in this hidden lake. These pure waters were used for cleansing and healing. Willow respected the wishes of the ones who guarded the hidden lake. As a healer, she understood the importance of being pure and cleansed of sin. She was baptized in this underground lake when she was born. At least that is what her Greamos mother had told her.
Willow loved the tranquility of the lake. The solitude and silence. The sun light beaming from the gape of the craggy walls. At night, she would come here alone to see the turquoise gems glowing from the bottom of the lake. She collected the stones and made necklaces and ornaments with aquamarines, white opals, and blue aragonites. They all glowed with water maju.
She walked from the bank of the lake and stepped on the water barefooted. Her feet did not sink. Her maju kept her above water. After long days of practicing, she finally mastered the spell. She giggled and almost lost balance. Her heart pounded with excitement. It was fun, and it felt like walking on soft pillows.
She craned her neck as if to look down a hill and saw her reflection on the water. She smiled at herself and fixed her blonde hair behind her ears with a lady bug pin that her mother made. Her hair was long, cascading down her shoulders and as yellow as a canary. Her eyes were blue as aquamarine.
She looked over her shoulder and saw her friend Lannie rippling the water with his fingers by the bank. He was an Elf of the western forest of Verday, and brother of her beloved.
“Are you bored?” she asked.
“Not as long as I have my flute-rod,” said the Elf and waved his rod. “Whenever you are ready, my dear canary.” Lannie brought the shaft of the rod horizontally to his lips and placed his fingers on the air holes. The top of the rod was a hoop bedecked with jade stones. Lannie blew air into the lip plate of his rod and released a sweet melody like the whistling of forest birds.
Willow closed her eyes and listened to the sweet melody of the flute. She moved and swayed her arms. She coiled her body and swung her hips ever so slowly with weaved leaves hanging from the ends of her green skirt. As she danced, she spread her maju, and water began to rise around her. Aquatic spheres levitated. As more water rose from the lake in many shapes and forms, Willow swung her arms and spun, creating a ring of water surrounding her body.
Lannie played faster as Willow controlled the water. She danced on the water and whirled, creating long aquatic cylinders that rose to the ceiling almost touching the stalactites. She made water come to life using it as art.
Lannie changed the melody and played faster notes. At this point, Willow began to spin wildly and waved her arms as if swimming under water with an in and out motion. Her body twirled over the lake and the aquatics hovered towards her, setting her in a large prism of water, and still she continued to dance. She twirled faster inside the sphere and then started to change.
Blue fish scales appeared on her skin from her feet to her waist. Her magic melted her skirt and the scales ran all the way to her shoulders. When she released the water prism, revealing her transformation, she was half-fish, half-human. A mermaid covered in blue scales. Her feet turned to fins, and her breasts were covered by sea shells.
“Yes, I did it,” she triumphed, only to lose focus and fall in the water.
“You turned into a mermaid. That is rare water magic. Absolutely incredible, Willow.” Lannie gazed at Willow with awe. He, too, knew hydromancy, but he had never seen a mage transform into another creature.
“You are a master mage, Willow,” Lannie praised and got to his feet.
Willow’s body jumped out of the lake, revealing her transformation, a mermaid with blue scales. Her hair had not changed. She swam back to the bank of the lake and sat on gravel next to Lannie.
“I am so proud of myself,” she said and felt her legs that morphed into a scaly fish tail.
“And as beautiful as ever,” Lannie complemented.
“I just wish Eckxio was here to see.” Willow smiled at her own beauty. Her mind wandered, and she stared up at the sun light beaming from the gape in the wall. Nothing excites me more than the thought of marrying you, Eckxio, she thought about her beloved. I can’t wait to become your bride.
Willow dived back into the lake. She swam to the bottom and spun, releasing maju. Her mermaid form melted underwater, and her green skirt with woven leaves with her green top reappeared. She swam back, and when she reached the surface, on her very first breath, she saw her mother. “Mama!” She almost choked and swallowed water.
Her mother stood on the bank of the lake. A Greamos woman. An insect humanoid. Her skin was yellow with camel spots. Her insect shells were green and glossy. She stood on two legs, and her transparent wings buzzed behind her like a bee. Her face was similar to a human with a small nose, two antennas on her forehead, and her head covered by a glossy shell like a knight’s helmet.
“I told you we were leaving early,” her mother said.
“Early for what, Mama?” Willow asked, her head above the surface.
“You forgot?” Lannie asked. “I was wondering why you were just killing time.” Lannie stood up and left the area walking towards an alley. “I will leave you two alone. I have things I have to finish up before my brother gets here. Be good, Willow.”
“Even Lannie remembers,” her mother said, wings fluttering. Her wings flapped as fast as a hummingbird. She hovered over the water and stared at Willow with eyes of disappointment.
“How could you forget your own wedding, my dear?” her mother asked.
Willow gasped once she remembered and swam to the bank of the lake. When she trudged out of the water, she quickly used hydromancy to dry herself.
“Aquara rematos,” she chanted with both hands together. All the liquid trailed down to her bare feet. She shuddered and turned to her mother.
“Moyeed, but Eckxio is not here yet,” Willow said.
“Which is exactly why you must be ready,” Moyeed replied. “We have to fix your hair and oh, the dress that I made for you. My dear, you are going to look so beautiful.” Moyeed folded her insect wings, and she landed on gravel. She walked with Willow back to the village of her people. They held hands, walking through a rocky narrow alley and up a trail with vines covering the walls.
“Moyeed, do you know where Eckxio is?” Willow asked. She tirelessly thought of him and the things they would do together. She was twenty-four and her beloved was twenty-eight years of age. Their marriage would bring the Elves and Greamos together.
“He has not been in Mouah Cross in seven days, but you should not worry,” Moyeed said. “He will be here in time for the wedding with the Elves of the west forest. It seemed l
ike a dream come true. For the first time in centuries, the Elves and the Greamos will become allies, once more, thanks to your marriage. Eckxio knows that. So, do not worry, my little canary.”
“I love you, Moyeed.” Willow pulled her mother in for a kiss on the cheek. Moyeed was just five inches taller than Willow.
“Please, my love. Call me Mother.”
Although Moyeed was not Willow’s birth mother, they loved each other with fire in their hearts. Moyeed had raised Willow, a human girl, after her birth mother decided to give her away at just two months of age.
They went through a tunnel that was illuminated by glowing gemstones. After a few minutes in the tunnel, they reached Mouah Cross, the underground city of the Greamos. Willow loved the city and had been staying here for fourteen days, ever since her beloved proposed to her. Here in Mouah Cross, bridges connected to an immense reverse tree like cobwebs. The trees were upside down. The branches grew towards the glowing lake below that illuminated the entire village. The Greamos made homes inside those trees and flew from one level to the other with their dragonfly wings.
The trees grew from the ceiling above and bloomed downwards towards the great light below. One incredibly large trunk, the size of a whale, snaked all the way into the glowing lake. It was like the great arm of a titan pierced through the ceiling and plunged into the lake. Mouah Cross was like a bee hive, and the Greamos were its worker bees. The queen waited for Willow inside the grand tree trunk.
“I will wait for you in the grand tree, my love.” Moyeed kissed her daughter on the cheek and fluttered her wings like a dragonfly. She ascended and flew, following a bridge to the grand tree. Willow walked over the wooden bridge. Looking down at the bright lake, it seemed as though she could fall. The handrail was up to her neck so she felt safe. The architecture of the wooden bridges was strong, made to last long. Willow passed a four-way intersection of bridges and went through a tree with an archway. Willow loved the beauty of Mouah Cross, although her home was in the west forest of her beloved; she was here for her wedding, her mother, new friends she had made, and to be in the presence of beauty.
A mob of Greamos flew above and waved at her. Children ran passed her, using water magic. A tall Greamos man stopped in front of her and saluted. “Lady Willow Underoak, it is a pleasure to meet you,” he said.
“You, as well.” Willow gave a curtsy.
“We are anticipating the wedding. It is as expected that the child of the Emerald Cosmo Jewel would be the one to convince the Greamos and the Elves to end their grudges.” The tall Graemos bowed, and his antennas wobbled.
“Oh, it is not a big deal,” Willow said blushing.
“Oh, but it is,” the Greamos man continued. “It took the love of a human girl and a brave Elf to bring us together.” He bowed again and smiled. “I will take no more of your time, Lady Willow. It was a pleasure meeting you.” He walked away and turned at an intersection of the bridge. Willow thought about what he said for a moment. It happened five years ago, when the Elves and the Greamos fought for the last time. A war that was kindled by her birth mother, Queen Veronica, the monarch of Verday.
“It seemed like just yesterday a rift almost tore two races apart. Everything is so different now,” Willow whispered to herself.
She ran down the bridge, and the grand tree zoomed in on her vision. Around her, thousands of reversed trees formed a great kingdom. When she stared down at the glowing lake through the gaps of the wooden bridges, branches and leaves shielded the light.
Above, she saw many Greamos flying into the grand tree through an arc window. The bridge that led her to the grand tree ended at an arched entry. Inside the tree, the wooden floor was carved, illustrating an incredible mandarak. The magic circle for herbomancy that was a branch of earth magic. Two tree branches coiled up to higher floors with carved stairs. Willow ran up, and her bare feet almost slipped on the glossy oak wood. She quickly got up and made it to the third floor, where the queen of Greamos sat on her verdant throne.
The third floor was bedecked with green gemstones and vines blooming with all sorts of colorful flowers, roses, lilies, and trumpet flowers. It was lit up by fireflies inside paper bulbs. A tree grew behind the queen’s throne, dividing into multiple large branches. Red, white, and pink flowers grew from the tree, and the seat spread with large white petals as if it were a gown. Two guards with bladed staffs stood before the queen’s throne. Moyeed was speaking with the queen. They were giggling and chit chatting. The queen’s face wrinkled when she smiled, showing her age.
“Willow my dear, there you are?” The queen noticed her. “Only a day left. Come over here my dear.”
Willow ran to the queen for a tight embrace. She pressed her face on the queen’s breast. The Greamos’ skin was smooth in the front and leathery on the back. Ganoless’ eyes were as large as eggs. They were like pearls, dark and polished.
“Sorry, I am so oblivious, my queen. The days flew by so quickly. I did not know it was time already,” Willow apologized. In Mouah Cross, there was no such thing as time for her. She always lived in the present moment.
“Worry not, my dear,” said the queen and caressed Willow’s golden hair. “My little canary, the world seemed so different five years ago before you came here. The day you and that Elfin boy stopped the war brought a sense of peace that our race had not experienced for centuries, since my great grandfather committed genocide on the Elves. You have helped us wash away our sins.”
“You are too much, my queen. I really don’t need all this praise,” Willow said and blushed. She was never accustomed to so much attention and so much praise. However, a part of her loved it. She was a girl raised in the western forest alone with Moyeed, who was once exiled. She had never lived in a community with so many people. She had never lived with other humans. Her whole life was with the Elves, and now, the Greamos have become part of her family.
“But it is true,” the queen persisted. “For so long, our people thought that the Emerald Cosmo Jewel would choose a Greamos child that would inherit its incredible maju. That child was a human girl raised in the forest by the very woman that our people exiled.” The queen gazed at Moyeed for a moment. Willow could feel the cold memories crawling in. There was no grief or pain between them, only images of a lonely past. Moyeed placed her hand on the queen’s shoulder and shed a tear. Willow wiped her mother’s tears and stared into her eyes. She kissed her mother’s small nose and pulled away.
“Now then, Willow, have you received any response from Queen Veronica?” Ganoless quickly changed the subject.
“Not yet,” Willow said and frowned. “I feel as though she has been ignoring me. After the wedding, I will visit her again. She has not yet agreed to our peace treaty.”
“Humans are difficult creatures,” the queen said, clutching the arms of her throne with her bony fingers. “She’d rather hold grudges and keep fighting. We try to make peace with humans, but their selfish desires are…”
“My queen,” Willow interrupted and held Ganoless’s hand. Her eyes were pleading for the queen’s attention. “Please, I ask that you be patient. I was able to change your mind, and I believe I can change Veronica’s mind, as well. With time, there will be peace, my queen.”
“My dear, you carry such a burden. However, I will not let you do this alone,” Ganoless smiled at Willow, and the girl beamed with a tall posture.
A Greamos soldier suddenly flew in unexpectedly. He fell through the arc window and landed before the throne, startling the queen. The Greamos was lacerated, and purple blood gushed from his broken insect shells. The soldiers beside the queen quickly helped the injured Greamos and cradled him. Willow kneeled next to the lacerated Greamos, clapped her hangs together, chanted a spell, and began to rub his wounds.
“What in Terramus happened?” the queen asked the wounded soldier. “Who did this to you?”
“My queen.” The soldier coughed purple blood. His skin was sallow and his antennas torn. “There were too many. My m
agic was not enough….they killed many of us in the forest…I ran from the black creatures….and…that masked woman.”
“Black creatures?” Ganoless asked the abyss. She said it as if it had happened before and shuddered like winter cold. “Fiends?” She concluded. “Fiends are coming! Fiends are coming!” she yelled with fear as if to panic.
“Your majesty, are you so sure?” Moyeed asked, with sudden terror pounding at her heart.
“Soldiers! Sound the alarm and prepare our warriors and mages!” the queen commanded.
“At once, your majesty!” the two soldiers pounded their yellow chest, carried the lacerated Greamos, and flew out the arc window fluttering their wings, buzzing like bees.
Willow did not hesitate. She raced outside the grand tree and down the bridge from which she came. Greamos soldiers exited the tree, lining up with bladed staffs. They flew up towards the entrance of their hidden village. “Hey you!” Willow yelled at one of the soldiers. He jerked his head at Willow and looked at her.
“Take me up to the entrance; this is a command from the queen,” she told the soldier.
“As you wish,” he replied and grabbed her by her axillas. He ascended so rapidly that Willow quickly saw the network of bridges forming a cobweb. The soldier dropped her on the plateau of the entrance. She landed roughly on her feet and hands like a cat. She heard her mother, “Willow, you forgot your Dragontooth!” Moyeed shouted and tossed Willow’s weapon.
She saw Moyeed flying among the swarm of Greamos, like bees around their hive. Her weapon fell from above. A one-edge sword spinning in the air. It landed on the plateau. Willow clutched the hilt and pulled the blade from the ground. It curved inwardly, like a fang to pull in enemies. The dragontooth, she called it. To bite her opponents and forever leave a scar.
The soldiers gathered around her, thumping as they landed, wings ceased their buzzing, and they all wielded spears. Insect humanoids ready to defend their village from terror. The leader of the soldiers approached Willow as she stood in the phalanx.
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