Lenaria: The Party Begins CONTINUED

Until Next Time - Part 1

It's true.

No one knew where to go.

They could always teleport back to Arcadia. But Evgenia had been using that spell for long distances way too much lately. So they were stuck in Renaisse for the time being.

They couldn't pick up any side quests considering that, well, four of them were mages. Which meant they had to be careful on what they spent.

Yuri had given them enough coins to last them for a while. But in the midst of war, prices have gone up in Renaisse. They were barely even able to get half of the supplies they needed.

Evgenia sighed, climbing into the wagon. She scratched her head in irritation, annoyed at the state of the kingdom.

Renaisse... In just a couple of months became a gray scale. There was barely enough for villages since most of resources was being sent to the military. They hadn't seen what was going on in the cities and they weren't planning on doing that anytime soon.

What was worst was that many people were blaming the mages.

At first it was the whole racism against mages, accusing them of abusing their powers and becoming uncontrolled beings. But since Renaisse has become such a brazen war place, people had started to claim mages haven't been doing their job on maintaining society.

It's true that many mages helped in the community, such as keeping lands well structured and cleaning waters. Many were also in charge of businesses and hospitals that thrived. Mages, whether people wanted to admit it or not, were a main source of composure and order in society.

But now that mages have been either killed or pushed out, Renaisse had fallen into a pit. Angry mobs have blamed mages for disappearing and not taking responsibility.

They blamed the war on the mages.

If only they knew the truth.

Evgenia sighed, taking the reins with a bitter face.

Although they had that... heartfelt moment at the loss of her parents... The crew had grown a... strange tension. It must've been the atmosphere of war and being in an enemy's territory. The mood had changed among them.

It was silent, everyone lost in their own thoughts.

Bella, although not wanting to sound selfish because there were other problems, was worried about her family back at Hillridge. Were they safe? Was her home safe?

Minerva was caught in an inner turmoil. She was lost, angry at the state of her kingdom. While she was off gaining allies and having adventures, her kingdom was suffering. The knight could feel the hate and pain everwhere they went.

Momoko hadn't said a single word since they left Shinki Village. Seeing her mountain in such a depressed state... it did something to her. The spirit had never looked so defeated before. For once, Momoko felt cold.

Evgenia and Victor, although they put on strong faces for everyone, still couldn't forget their parents. It's been a couple of days since they found out about their parents' death. Victor had been an anxious mess, never had he stopped feeling haunting chills. He couldn't stop looking down. Evgenia on the other hand, was just tired.

She had been... having nightmares.

Nightmares of her parents.

As for Adva, the necromancer was just lost. There was so much death. They couldn't even begin to say a word about it. Adva honestly had never felt so trapped before. At a time like this, Adva couldn't help but think about something else as well.

Their home, their birth home.

Rune Island was exceptionally close to Arcadia. What if they were dragged into this war as well?

Everyone's mind was muddled, twisted in silent fear.

With shaking hands, Evgenia said, "We'll go to the forest. If there's nothing there then we'll go back to Arcadia."

No one objected.

No one said a word as they left.

...

Weeping tears.

Tears as hot as the burning sun.

Victor was crumpled on his knees, staring blankly at the base of a large oak tree before him and his sister. They were in a clearing in the woods near their home, with beautiful small violets in the grass and tall trees looking over them. This was Genevieve's favorite spot to have a picnic.

Although they had cremated Genevieve, her family made sure to mark her name in the tree she had always loved to picnic under, along with her parents who had sadly died which she was so young. At the foot of the oak tree were three white lily, with two spots next to the flower made for the two seeds the Wisp siblings had planted.

Two more lilies will soon grow.

Evgenia sat next to him, knowing fully well this might be the last time they come to this spot.

It had been two- no make that three, years since she's visited. It was the same with Victor.

Who knew that the next time they would visit Genevieve's grave, there would be two more they would grieve over.

Marked on the bark of the tree were the names of the siblings' lost family.

Genevieve Wisp

Joseph Wisp-Velti

Arianna Wisp

Diane Wisp-Orella

Vincent Wisp

Now, it was just Evgenia and Victor left.