The End Of Endrel

Ch. 1➖The Adarna

She laughed seeing my irritation. "I love you too."

"Oh my goodness"

"Look up there! What are those?"

A crowd was forming at the center of the aisles of the market. People are in awe while looking at the sky.

"What's happening?" Anea stepped out a bit, since a canopy was blocking our view of the sky.

I followed her.

Up above, a flock of colorful birds are flying in formation. They look a bit like peacocks in the sky, but peacocks can't fly, can they? What's more amazing in their features are the specks of gold glitter that seems to sparkle around their body leaving a trail and vanishes before it touches the ground

"They are here. Oh! I never thought I'll live long enough to see them!" A voice spoke behind us.

Anea and I both looked at the old woman who was struggling to walk towards us coming from the stall we were just in. Her hands on her cane and eyes brimming with excitement.

"Granny, do you know what those are?" I asked.

"Those are Adarnas! Magical Birds coming from Endrel. Oh! This could only mean one thing, the spirits of nature have arisen! And vessels would be chosen. What fortune awaits us all!" the old vendor exclaimed enthusiastically.

"But those are just fairytales, Granny. It's impossible." I said.

With the mention of those beings, I remember the stories the elders told us when we were young.

It was said that the spirits of nature (Light, Water, Earth, Fire, and Air) would be awoken every 100 years when the star of Santhe, a blue moon and Raizon's comet would be in perfect alignment in the sky.

Each spirit would choose a human vessel that would be blessed with the power to control the element the spirit holds. The vessel would be the complete embodiment of the spirit, which means, that if the vessel dies, the spirit of nature would return to its slumber.

The vessels would be using the given power to serve as guardians, protecting the land and warding of the dark entities that plagues us.

But the last time the spirits were awoken was already a long time ago which made the epic stories, witnessed by actual spectators, turn to fairytales.

"But deary, if it's all fairytales, how would you explain the magical birds flying up above? My great grandmother witnessed the last time those birds flew in such a huge flock. And this is how she described it." the old woman countered.

Both Anea and I just stared at her in disbelief.

"Anyways children, I'm sure the town mayor would call for a gathering soon enough." she gave us a wink and returned to her stall to sit at a wooden stool, still with a smile on her face.

Anea and I both looked at each other with questioning looks.

As the birds slowly vanishes from view, murmurs and discussion of what those creatures are and what it entails grew louder and louder.

"Let's go." Anea whispered as she grabs my hand and leads us to our way home.

The way to our house from the village central is about a 30 minutes walk on a dirt pathway that passes through a lush meadow. Pass the meadows is a vast expanse of farmlands from which our income comes from.

Our Brother, Jai Consus, currently a 24 year old bachelor, was entrusted to manage the land and take care of both Anea and I at an early age of 16 due to the death of our parents.

The villagers have described him as the most handsome lad they have ever seen, however, there's no contest or proof that he is, so I beg to differ. But the villagers described him as the most cold person they have ever encountered as well. Handsome yet cold some whispers I've heard.

Then again, the coldness that he radiates towards other people, with the exception of myself and Anea, may have rooted from his experience as a young master, in which some business partners have tried to ridicule his ways of running our business and some even tried to swindle him to get our land. Thankfully, he is smart enough to save it, and those people have been long gone, cutted-off from our lives.

Even though he has that cold persona, this doesn't stop a handful of maidens to fall under his charms.

We have reached the gates of our 2-story white stone and marble villa. The villa has about 1 Master's bedroom and 10 other bedrooms. We went directly to the kitchen to unload the products we bought. After which, we decided to take our rest in the living room.

I plopped down on the sofa releasing a heavy sigh. "ugh! My feet are killing me!"

"That's why I told you to use the carriage earlier." a baritone voice spoke from behind.

"Oh Jai, I didn't notice you there." I said as Jai stood up from the chair at the corner of the room near a window and placing down the parchments he was reading earlier. "and, we already told you that you need it more than we do. The market is just a walking distance compared to the town you were going. Anyways, how was your trip?" I added.

"The trip was better than I've expected. The Ku's were already eager to sign the deal with us and they have also prepared some gifts. The matriarch heard that I have a sister so she prepared them. Well, I have already placed them in your rooms." Jai, plopped down on the other end of the sofa.

"See, thank goodness you used the carriage. How early did you arrive?" Anea inquired, as she was already settled on the seat across from the sofa.

"Oh that reminds me, the Ku's thanked you for the shawl you made for them. It was extraordinarily beautiful they said." Jai smiled at Anea earning a wide grin from the later. "I've arrived an hour earlier than you did." he added.

"So you didn't see them?" I asked.

"See who?" he inquired with confusion painted on his face.

"The birds!" I answered rather eagerly.

"What kind of birds are we talking about?" he asked still confused.

"The Adarnas!" both Anea and I exclaimed.

"The what?"

"You know the birds in one of the stories our parents told us when we were kids?" I looked at Jai to confirm if he remembered. But his brows are furrowed which I'm guessing he doesn't. "Adarnas are magical birds. They have a shiny rainbow colored tail and wing feathers. They have golden beaks. They also have a crown like that of a peacock." I continued waving my hands to emphasize the parts I'm describing.

"You mean like that?" Jai was pointing at the glass door heading to the balcony.

I looked at the direction at which he was pointing at and to my surprise, perched on one of the balcony stone railings is the subject of our discussion.

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Here we are at the end of the 1st chapter. Any comments? This would probably be the shortest chapter. Not sure yet.