"Taehyung will likely miss Captain for a few days, so we will just do our best to take care of him until he is able to -"
"Take m-me to the archery t-target." Taehyung's voice interrupts Seojoon and the other's conversation.
"Of course! We will all take you, but Yeajin is the best archer out of the three of us. She'll be the one teaching you." Seojoon answers and shoves Minho out of the lodge to prepare Achlys for the day.
When everyone is ready to go, Taehyung and Achlys speed off to the archery field before the others can say anything. I will be strong when you come back. I don't know exactly what happened, but I know that I didn't protect you from the curse when you were weak. This time, I will protect you. I promise.
By the time Taehyung reaches the archery field, the others are far in the distance. Taehyung is light, and Achlys is powerful. As they ride past one of the targets, Taehyung pulls out Aella and takes aim.
The moment Aella is in his hands, Taehyung feels alive. With his eyes closed, Taehyung takes in his surroundings. He listens to the wind rustle every blade of grass. The sounds surrounding him are amplified. The second he snaps his eyes open, he sends the arrow flying straight for the heart of the target. As the arrow strikes through the target, the face of the prince from his visions flashes before his eyes covered in blood.
As Taehyung pants and recovers from the vision, Seojoon and the others ride up next to him. They quietly watch the boy as he stares off into the distance.
"His posture is like that of the elders from the Sky archers when he shoots. How can someone who is maybe 18 and spent most of his life in shackles be able to shoot as if he's been training for his entire life with the best archers?" Yeajin whispers to the two others as he watches him string up another arrow.
"What if he's like Captain?" Minho asks quietly.
"Maybe." Seojoon mumbles as he watches Taehyung in awe. Seeing someone with his grace and strength fire a bow is rare because there are very few Sky archers, and they practice alone.
As Taehyung continues to shoot Aella, the three others quietly refill his quiver. They stay quiet because there is a coldness about him as he shoots over and over and over. By the time that Taehyung decides to stop, his hands are bleeding. He smirks as he looks down at his bloody hands. Then he turns and watches the sun set on the first day.
"How come there is a swordsman with every archer?" Taehyung asks as he looks at those practicing in the field.
"Because archers and swordsmen come in pairs." Seojoon explains as he cleans off Taehyung's hands.
"Out of the three of you there is one archer and two swordsmen." Taehyung points out.
"Technically you are Captain's archer, but while he is not here, I am your swordsman. My archer joined his ship to keep the balance. Don't worry though, my archer is not taking your place as Captain's archer while he is gone. Captain has never accepted another archer because he has always told everyone that he has an archer. The best archer." Seojoon softly explains.
"He should take an archer when I'm not with him. Stupid." Taehyung sniffles and stares at the sunset.
As the group turns to head back to their lodge, the elder stands in front of them with the leaders of the clan families and the chief. "Come with us." The elder smiles and turns to leave.
Taehyung turns and looks at Seojoon, so Seojoon nods to let him know that it is ok. As they ride through the clan, Taehyung sees archer and swordsman pairs goofing around. Taehyung realizes that the pairs are from different families in the clan because of the symbols on their clothing.
When they ride up to the chief's lodge, Taehyung stops Achlys and looks at Seojoon again. Seojoon nods and rides up next to Taehyung. Taehyung and Seojoon dismount together then walk in together. Minho and Yeajin dismount and follow behind.
Once they are inside the lodge, all of the Sky archers are lined up with their swordsmen protectively standing behind them. A lump forms in Taehyung's throat because he feels the emptiness left vacant by Jungkook's absence.
"Taehyung, welcome to the clan of Ildris. We would normally do this ceremony with your swordsman by your side, but under the circumstances, we will have to do this without your swordsman." The elder explains as she takes the bowl of blood from the chief.
"What ceremony?" Taehyung asks as he watches her dip her fingers into the blood.
"Anointing you as a Sky archer." She softly tells Taehyung.
"I apologize, but I cannot accept this. I am not trained enough to accept this honor." Taehyung apologizes as he politely bows.
Seojoon, Minho, and Yeajin smile at him with so much pride. Captain, you would be so proud of Taehyung.
"Once you are anointed as a Sky archer, you will be trained by them. Do not worry about the level of skill you are currently at." The elder smiles at the sweet boy.
"Thank you for this honor, but I already have a trainer." Taehyung explains and motions towards Yeajin.
"This ceremony will anoint all four of you. Yeajin will also join the rank of the Sky archers and the two swordsmen will join the ranks of Sea Demons. You will all train together." The elder explains as she admires the determination of the boy in front of her.
Taehyung looks at the other three for their thoughts, and they all nod encouragingly to him. So, he bows and lowers to his knees to accept the anointing while taking off his shirt. As the four are anointed, the elder and the leaders of the clan's chant hums through the air and reverberates against the walls.
As the blood is trailed from Taehyung's forehead, down his chin, and to his belly, he closes his eyes and sees Iseult bowing next to him. When Taehyung's eyes flash open, they flash a lightning blue and a gust of wind slams open the door and gushes into the room. The elder gasps in shock as she stares into Illya's shining blue eyes. The elder and the clan leaders instantly bow to the ground as those blue eyes examine them.
"I will protect this clan because only the blood of the innocent remains." Illya mutters as he observes the heads of the families.
When Illya stands up, he walks past each family leader and touches the tops of their heads. As he touches them, he mutters a blessing and his eyes flash. By the time each blessing is finished, a blue star glows on their foreheads.
After blessing the leaders, Illya turns to the three staring at him in awe. He slowly walks towards them then mutters a different blessing. As he blesses them, a red star burns over their hearts. Once he has finished, he walks back to where Taehyung was bowing and kneels into the same position then bows his head.
❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊
"Illya!" Iseult gasps as his eyes flash red and the wind of a hurricane swirls around him.
❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊 ❄️ 🌊
When Taeyhyung lifts his head, his warm brown eyes look around the lodge. He quietly waits as everyone regains their composure. The Sky archers and their swordsmen all quietly observe him because if this is Illya, he is written down in their history as a famed archer. Growing up, they all dreamed of becoming like him. They would always joke and call the best out of them 'Illya'.
Once the ceremony for the four of them finishes, they head back to their lodge. The ride to the lodge is quiet as they all digest what happened. They all quietly eat their dinner because they don't know what to say to Taehyung until Minho can't keep his mouth shut anymore.
"You don't stutter anymore. Did you notice that?" Minho asks as he looks up from his food.
"I did." Taehyung mumbles as he looks at Minho.
"I had a stutter too. Mine went away when I no longer felt afraid." Yeajin smiles at Taehyung.
"I'm still scared though." Taehyung mutters.
"But you now know that you can protect yourself and the one who is most important to you." Yeajin softly explains to Taehyung.
"I will get stronger." Taehyung sighs and looks at his food.
"We all will." Seojoon says with confidence.
"Remember, we are new to the units, so they will most likely work us really hard and may even pick on us." Minho says as he looks at his three companions.
"Don't worry. We'll show them that we aren't weak." Yeajin says as she goofily flexes her arms.
"We'll make them shiver." Taehyung smirks and makes the others laugh.
That night, the four sleep peacefully. When they wake up, they quickly prepare for the day because they know that today is going to be a long day. Once they arrive at the special training grounds, the rest are there waiting for them.
"This is the largest group to be anointed at one time." The leader of the archers says as she walks up to them.
"Are we late?" Taehyung asks as he confronts her.
"No." She quickly says because those honey brown eyes are not soft.
"Good. What do you want us to do?" Taehyung responds as he looks down at them from sitting on Achlys.
"First we need to work on your physical strength and endurance." A swordswoman says as she walks up to him.
Taehyung looks at her confused because he recognizes her. "Oh! The dancer!" Taehyung smiles when he recognizes the woman Jungkook couldn't recognize.
"I'm Ida." She smiles up at the smiling boy on the horse.
The rest of the day is filled with the group of thirty archers and swordsmen train the newcomers. Ida is tasked with the training of Taehyung.
"Can I shoot a couple of arrows?" Taehyung asks after they finish.
"Definitely." Ida smiles as she stands up.
As Taehyung mounts Achlys, the others gather around. They had heard the praises from the other archers. Taehyung and Achlys ride to the targets. As they grow closer to the targets, Taehyung closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he draws Aella, he feels the wind brushing through his hair then snaps his eyes open and sends the arrow flying.
Everyone watching gasps as the arrow flies through the center of the target. Taehyung smiles as he looks at the hole his arrow made in the center of the target. Before anyone can say anything, Taehyung sends arrow after arrow through the exact same hole. The Sky archers all understand who they all aspired to be growing up.
"Taehyung, stop it." Seojoon softly says as he walks up to Taehyung and gently reaches up and grabs Taehyung's bleeding hand.
Taehyung winces when he realizes that his hands are bleeding, so he stops and looks down at Seojoon. When he looks at the others, he realizes they are all staring at him in awe. Taehyung is confused because he doesn't realize why they are looking at him like that.
"He is Illya." One of the archers whispers as he looks at Taehyung.
When he hears the name on the pendant, Taehyung gently wraps his fingers around the pendant that is hanging around his neck. The archers all turn their attention to the pendant around Taehyung's neck and smile. The pendant confirms that Taehyung is Illya.
"Seojoon, I'm hungry." Taehyung quietly tells Seojoon as Seojoon re-bandages his hands.
"Do you guys want to eat with the clan tonight?" Ida asks when she hears Taehyung.
"Sure." Seojoon answers because it will be good for Taehyung to get to know the clan.
"Don't worry. Seojoon will make you the honey porridge." Yeajin smiles as she rides next to Taehyung to the clan.
"I want to try other food too, but I would like a little bit of the porridge." Taehyung tells Yeajin.
"That's a good idea."
When they walk into the lodge where the entire clan is eating, Taehyung moves closer to Seojoon. It is loud and there are a lot of people. Taehyung watches in awe as several people dance and sing and others sing and drink. The lodge is filled with laughter and joy as the people enjoy their peaceful life.
As the Sky and Sea sit at their end of the lodge, people try to look at them and see the boy rumored to be Illya. However, Seojoon and Minho make sure to hide Taehyung to keep him from being nervous.
"So, what's the story of each archer having a swordsman?" Taehyung asks as they eat.
"It's a tradition that goes way back; however, it has changed over time. In the past, the archers were ranked right after the royal family who ruled the clans of all of the surrounding islands. Ildris has always had the highest ranking archers which are us, the Sky archers. However, unlike nowadays, swordsmen were of a very low rank. They were trained to risk their lives to protect the archers. Ironically, the highest ranking archers' swordsmen were the lowest rank in the whole kingdom. This rank of swordsmen is called the Sea Demons. They called them demons because of their brute strength and battle prowess. They always shed the most blood on the battlefield, so they were seen as lower than others. It was also because of the brutality of killing a person with a sword. Archers kill with one shot while swordsmen slash their kill to pieces. But, this ranking no longer exists. The swordsmen are now the same rank as their archer." Ida explains as she smiles at her archer.
"Oh ok." Taehyung quietly responds as he thinks about Illya and Iseult.
Once dinner is finished, Taehyung and the other three go back to their lodge. Taehyung stays quiet for the rest of the night as he continues to think about what may have happened in the past. He only has some of his memories, so he is not sure what exactly happened, but now he knows a detail that helps some things make sense. These people do not care about gender, but they were against Illya and Iseult being together.
Several months of training goes by as Taehyung grows in size, confidence, and strength. Even though Taehyung can now properly mount Achlys, Achlys still lowers himself to the ground for Taehyung.
One night at dinner, Taehyung hears the clan singing about Illya and Iseult. He doesn't know what they are singing, but he hears their names floating through the air in the sad tune. Taehyung feels his heart clench and a lump form in his throat as he listens to the clan's sorrowful voices. By the end of the song, Taehyung is crying and holding on to the pendant around his neck.
Ida softly smiles as she watches the boy turning into a man cry over a pain he stills feels from so long ago. When she closes her eyes, she is drawn back in time. She remembers the swirl of emotions that revolved around that day. The clan fought to make sure that day never happens again. I will continue to fight so that this never happens again. The Sky kisses the Sea. Nothing separates the Sea from the Sky, so neither should the gods or the people. I will fight the gods to the bitter end.
The next day, Ida finds Taehyung sitting on the cliff overlooking the ocean. She gently sits next to him as the wind blows through their hair.
"Do you want to know the story?" She asks as she looks at Taehyung.
"Yes. I want to know what happened." Taehyung answers and traces his fingers over the names carved into the pendant.
"First, I will tell you who I am so that you understand how I know so much. Is that ok?" She asks as she watches him.
"Mhm." Taehyung nods then turns his attention to her.
"I was alive all those years ago. My archer and I are the oldest in this clan."
Taehyung stares at her in shock because she has no wrinkles and looks to be the same age as Jungkook.
"I know. I don't look it. Neither does she. This is because we were the first to join the Sea King's crew. We did the same ceremony that you watched Captain do before he left. This ceremony binds the crew to him. We sailed with him for over three hundred years while amassing a large crew. We were there every time you appeared and died. No matter what he tried to do, you always died because of the curse. He tried everything. The last thing he tried was to make you a part of his crew. You gladly agreed to it. However, unlike every other time the ceremony was performed, black lightning fell from the sky and struck you which killed you right in front of him. This tore him to pieces. He couldn't live with what he had done, so he disappeared. We couldn't follow him either because we didn't know where he went. So, the curse erased us from his memory. When his crew cannot fulfill their promise and follow him, he forgets them any time he ever sees them. He knows about us, but he doesn't know us. We didn't see him for another one hundred years. When he reappeared, he had a new name and brought with him a new crew in need of the ceremony. However, this crew was different. They were made of slaves whom he had freed. Namjoon was one of them. They looked at him differently than we did. We looked at him with pity and fear, but they looked at him with eyes filled with friendship and respect. I knew this was better for him. After that day, he would show up randomly with more freed slaves. Some stayed on the island as soldiers and others joined his crew." Ida explains as she gently runs her fingers over her sword.
"So, the ceremony keeps you from aging?" Taehyung asks as he looks at her flawless skin and blonde hair.
"Mhm."
"So, you were in the clan when it all happened?" Taehyung quietly asks as he looks down at the pendant in his hand.
"I was."
-photo not mine. credit to owner. edited by Lily-Sabrina.-