The Night of the Follienuer
HIs soul arrived to our world, just as the brightest star dropped from its humble home. During the night and at the right moment, his heart was the purest of all and could tame the energy of the fallen star. Hailing from the lineage of the thunder god, he bore the Rune of Light Temple on his palm. He was born a sorcerer and his destiny was subjected to great and overwhelming challenges...His name was Elvin Rizah.
Chapter One
Two centuries following the last Dark Order, the sour odor of evil seemed to fade away with each passing second, but its footprints were harder to erase. The past had been swallowed up by time; the future was left as a mystery, or probably a misery...
Lightning struck the earth roughly, the wind sweeping between trees and bending the wet branches to leave a passageway. It lifted and tossed aside every object within its reach while the rain poured heavily.
"No village nearby!" Diana screamed over the sound of the rain.
Mary pointed at a large tree far ahead and said, "Yeah, I see. But why don't we keep out of the rain first?"
They both rode towards the forest, Mary and Diana. They were seniors at the Whispfort Academy of Sorcery, in a magical and hidden land called Griffenedge. The academy was also known to the people as the hope of light because young magic users were brought in and showed a better way to use their gift before being hijacked by dark sorcerers as a weapon to achieve or accomplish their evil plans.
The girls had been sent to Parama, a very large village that lies at the bottom of Mistonea Hill, which was located at the western part of Mongred Kingdom to fetch a particular herb that grew there. Their magic broomsticks landed in a low, grassy area. They got off and ran with their drenched boots to a large tree for shelter.
Mary rested her back on a tree, feeling exhausted and cold under her wet, brown leather suit. She folded her arms together to gather her strength and keep herself from shivering.
"I'm so hungry." She moved her wet hair to the side. Mary was Dianna's best friend and one of the academy's finest sorcerers. She had round azure eyes, luxurious straight black hair, and light-colored skin and was of medium height with a slim and curvy build.
She hailed from Gilvanea Island, a place in the east that took its name from an ancient sea worshiped by people of the dead religion. She was a member of a famous family known as the Pinkreld Xe'il. They were gifted with the ability to cause pain in the body and soul of their victim within a reasonable distance, and most of the Pinkrelds were skilled in the sword. Kings and legal bodies summoned their services, mostly to torture dangerous criminals. There was a part of the Pinkreld power that has been lost for ages, that was the ability to force the soul of a human out of their body within a slow blink of an eye through severe pain. But it was so unfortunate that the island had been swept off by the mighty sea several years ago, making Mary one of the lost survivors.
Diana reached for her small, black waist bag and dug her hand in it. The leather glove she wore was made light but reasonably thick enough, making her search thoroughly till she could feel the wrapped piece of cake in it. She handed it over to Mary before closing the bag.
Dianna tapped the hill of her boot against the tree, letting her eyes wander but her ears and mind sharply opened to any strange sound. She had a sharp sense and very brilliant control of her element, water. Her tribe's people were victims of the last war in the land of Misrah, a land that had been destroyed, exploited, and left for the weak and ordinary people to dwell on. Before the war, the place was mostly dominated by the water flyr. The word flyr was from a dead language that meant "holder." The water flyr were people whose powers were connected with the water element.
Now, the pelting rain gradually began to drizzle.
"Wait a minute, don't you think we should check for our location on the map?" she asked, looking down at Mary who was already seated at the roots of the tree and busy filling her empty stomach.
Mary brought out a wide burnt-brown paper, opened it, and glanced through the marks and drawings on it. She opened her eyes widely, wiped her wet face with her bare hand, and turned the paper around in order to get a better view. As she concentrated on a particular spot on the map, she became tense, her heart beat faster and her whole body froze in fear.
While studying the environment and paying attention to every little thing that crawled, walked, and jumped around them, Diana had noticed Mary's silence and decided to ask her the question again
"Mary, where are we?" Now, her voice sounded calm but demanding.
Immediately, Mary got to her feet, blinking quickly. She took some steps forward, gazing at a mighty odd-looking tree ahead of them. The tree was of average height, with rough barks and eight obvious giant roots. It looked sacred with its transparent leaves appearing dull under the drizzling rain.
She looked Diana straight in the eyes and answered in a cracking voice, "I read it somewhere that there are three octre trees, one behind mount Sanho, the second in the eastern desert, and the third right in front of us." She swallowed hard. "We're in The Evil Forest of Nygorale."
"Evil what! Oh my..." The rest of her sentence was lost as a loud roar broke through the scene. Their hearts quaked, and they shivered as the atmosphere tensed up around them. I thought you are good with maps?
"What was that?" Mary asked nervously, ignoring Dianna's words.
"Let's take it for a thunder, or perhaps we should act like we heard nothing," suggested Diana.
"No joking, Diana. It smells like danger." Mary said. She clasped the hilt of her sword and moved forward, her eyes searching the wood thoroughly. All was still and quiet except for the drizzling rain, the hoarse sound of her breath, and the whistle of the blowing wind.
Dianna also felt the tension around. "Reveal yourself, now!" Dianna raised a stream of water from the drizzling rain and gradually turned it into a huge orb as she gestured her hands rhythmically. She paid attention to every little sound and ready to send a torrent of water to anything that popped up.
But nothing happened. Dianna took another step, then another, then....... A beast leaped out of nowhere and swiped its claws at Diana's back.
~~~~~~~~~
"Another boring day. I hate when it rains, the smell of the greens will be very strong," Elvin said to his serpent, melding his mind with the animal. He'd grown up in the Evil Forest of Nygorale. He had lived there since he was at the age of two when his parents were banished from Dollixa Kingdom because of supposedly performing dark rituals.
Rizah Ley, the father of Elvin was wrongly sentenced for an offense he knows nothing of. With so much evidence proving his innocence, King Sifar Xu, insisted on sentencing him due to the love the people showed Ley and his popularity. King Sifar Xu feared that Ley could take over and raise forces on him since the throne was a game of popularity, brilliance and strength.
Elvin, who lived and enjoyed living his life in a rough and dangerous way slept with so much comfort on the bamboo bed in his hut.
"Hmm, what pleasant weather we have. The goddess has made the rain drizzle to purify our life. May our praise be bestowed on Wailere, the spirit we serve," the serpent responded in his thoughts, crawling around the pillar next to Elvin's bed. Hayln, the serpent, was the last of his kind and had lived for centuries in the forest of Nygorale before being adopted by Elvin as a companion. He was also a creature with great magic and wisdom.
"Keep it shut," Elvin shouted at the top of his voice. He sat straight, frowning at Hayln who seemed to be intentionally frustrating him, "How many times must I warn you not to speak in rhymes?"
"Apologies...."
Elvin pushed Hayln away, feeling irritated by his presence. Again, he dropped his weight against his bed. His room had just one wide window located on the west wall and was capable of getting enough airflow in while the bed was seated against the wall opposite to the window.
Below the window was a narrow table carrying a brown box, a basket of fruits, and a set of bottles containing various liquids and concoction. Beside the table was a small shelf where he kept books of history, sorcery, and other scopes of knowledge he had managed to collect in the woods over the years and the ones left behind by his father.
Elvin stretched with his blanket pulled up to his chin. He looked at the mirror above him; he smiled seeing himself grown up, strong and more handsome. He sighed, his whole body demanding the fun being denied by the weather, but he had no other option than to lie on his bed till the sunset in. He had always wanted to go farther into the wood to search for bigger troubles, instead of just involving himself with just the wild beasts around him. He tilted his head to the side to see Hayln crawling around the pillar close to his bed.
"Now that the rain had stopped, Hayln, should....." the rest of his words were lost in a very loud scream that cut in. Elvin froze. He waited for one more noise to be sure of what was happening. Nothing came, except for the sound of the drizzling rain and his breathing, the room was still. All was quiet. He knew something wasn't right, so he gently hung his serpent on his neck and walked with light steps toward his door. He was about to step out of his hut when a loud and angry roar broke the silence. Quickly, he headed toward the direction it came from.