Celestia Et Terra, First story under new forum topic, yay!

[Refugnic]

A few words ahead. This story is influenced by...no even based on a drawing that Kaze made. Yes, our Kaze. At the appropiate time this picture will be shown in the context. By the time of writing this story, the picture is still somewhat unfinished. It will be updated every now and then and once it's finished let's hope the story still fits with the picture. If anyone else got pictures/characters etc. they'd like stories to be written, be sure to give me a call. But I can't guarantee anything.

Well, well let's get started then. Once upon a time in a land far away, two children were born from an elven mother and a human father. While the magic inside the first child, which was named Celestia, was as strong as the magic of her mother the second child, going by the name of Terra inherited only little magical power. They were like two sides of the same medal...and that they knew. While Terra was being bullied by other elves Celestia enjoyed high prestige among them. That was because of the difference in magical power. The worth of an elf was determined by the magic they possess. In spite of that Celestia never let her sister down, well knowing that it may as well have been the other way around. Several years passed...many at that. Their father passed away during their childhood at the age of 86 in his home land. Celestia and Terra were around 50 by then...or 14 elven years. They didn't cry. For they knew that humans can't live closely as long as elves or half elves. But one of those days...they just had turned 100 human years...they were given a reason to cry. For the world they knew for the past century was about to end. But let us not jump right into misery. Let us start a little before. About...two weeks before their 100th birthday...or their 18th elven year (elvens grow slower with each passing year...at least they do here) Celestia and Terra were conducting a field study on the flora of the forest they lived in.
Celestia called over to Terra: "Hey, what are those flowers called again?!" Terra called back: "What does it look like?!" "Well, it's fairly large and blue and..." Terra stepped over behind Celestia: "That's a man-eater plant. If you touch it you may loose your finger. The human name is: Lilius Carnivorus. And you asked about that flower yesterday already." "What, really?" Celestia scratched her head. Terra bowed down and carefully picked the flower. "Hey, what are you DOING?!" Celestia enraged herself. "I'm picking a flower." "But!" "Listen. We'll be adults when the next two weeks are over. We've waited for this moment a long time. And if you don't learn for the trial of adulthood it'll be like this flower. It took the flower a lifetime...basically an eternity for her standard...to grow. And I ripped her out in a matter of seconds. If you aren't prepared for the world of the adults, you'll be ripped out by it like I just did with this flower. And then no magic of the world can help you. What good is all the magic of the world, if you don't know how to use it?" Celestia seemed a little annoyed: "Hey, I'm a much better magician than you are!" she said. "Ah really? Prove it then. Here is the flower. Make it...let's say into a common daisy and make it live again." "What?! That's high class magic!" "So what? You just said you were a great magician. So what's a little higher class spell compared to your power?" Celestia blushed a little and then said: "What was the spell again?" Terra recited a few words, pressed the flower on the ground and when she lifted her hand again it had become a daisy in full bloom. Terra then said: "Life is precious. As is knowledge. I'd have never ripped out that flower if I didn't know the spell to bring it back. You've got a head on those shoulders of yours. Use it." She then turned around to resume her own studies. "Why are you being so mean to me, Terra?" "You've been protecting me with your power ever since we were small. Now it's my turn to protect you with mine. And besides the brains I inherited from father I've got nothing to help you." Terra simply said. And Celestia knew she was right. From early on Terra didn't have it easy. She studied books instead of playing with other elves. Not that she didn't want to play...only the other elves didn't want to play with her. The day passed while they were studying. Celestia called for help a few more times and Terra helped her as good as she could. Just a few minutes before night fell Celestia suddenly was startled. Terra went over and asked: "What is it? Something wrong?" "Shh..." Terra understood. From the two Celestia had the far better senses. Even if something was marching through the forest a mile away she was able to hear it. Terra remained silent waiting for Celestia to speak. After a while Celestia whispered: "There's an intruder in the forest. We need to get home quickly!" "An intruder? In our forest? Is it a human?" "...I don't know for sure...I just know that it's neither an animal nor an elf..." "Then it's gotta be a human. It must have been ages since I saw the last one..." "You aren't thinking what I think you are thinking, are you?" "You bet I am. Come on, we'll check this human out!"
"Are you insane?! What if he spots us?" "Humans are dumb. If we don't walk out into the open he'll never notice us. Furthermore it is our duty to chase all intruders out of the forest if they seek to do it harm. And if not to hunt animals, why would a human enter our forest?" Celestia moaned: "Hunt elves maybe?" "Hey. Except for father there hasn't been a single human in this forest for the past century. And if father had told other humans about us they'd not have waited that long to search for us." "...this human logic is terrible." "Just admit that I'm right and come." Terra jumped up and ran into the forest. Her steps were light and swift. 'She really got the cross-country run covered...' Celestia thought and took up the trail. Her steps were supported by magic and hence less technical and yet silent as leaves falling to the ground. After a while Celestia found Terra sitting in the crown of a tree. She whispered: "You really are insane, aren't you? You can't even bewitch anyone, how do you want to expell anyone like that?" "I don't have to, that's what I've got you for." Terra answered. In the close distance something was nearing the clearing. "How did you know where you need to go to anyway?" Celestia asked. "What, do you never talk to the spirits?" 'I would, but they won't talk to me...' Celestia thought. Now a rustling followed by a shadow jumping from the bushes occured. Terra curiously bowed over to see what had entered their forest. But then she ducked down full of fear. "What? What is it?" Celestia asked. Terra didn't say anything but only pointed downwards. Celestia bowed over a little, cautious not to make any noise. And when she looked down her blood started to freeze. An entity emitting an aura of pure evil was standing on the clearing they monitored. Celestia pulled her head back when the entity started to turn it's head towards their position. Through a shield of leaves they were able to see eyes glowing like burning pieces of coal stare at them. Then it turned around and vanished into the bushes again. Terra was the first one to move a limb again: "I suggest we get outta here as fast as we can..." Celestia agreed with her. Using Celestia's magic they teleported back to the elven village. Celestia asked: "Okay Terra...just what was that?" "Whatever it was, I don't want to ever see it again..." Terra replied. They were in somewhat a shock state. When they slowly unfroze Celestia started: "We got to report this to the Elder!" "Are you stupid?! If we do that they reinforce the spell circle around the village and we're stuck here for the next decade!" "But..." "Listen, we'll need to find out what that thing was first. Then we can do something about it if it is needed. Until then not a single word to any of the elders." Terra told to Celestia. "So..." "Whatever you do, don't tell mother about this thing. We meet tomorrow morning in the magical library. "...man, why us? Why can't that happen to someone of the adults? They'd know what to do..." "Don't give me that. The adults are never leaving the village. And why would they. The spell circle protects them and they can obtain everything they need in here. Face it: If we told them what we saw, we'd trigger a panic."
Celestia meant to say something when their mother called them: "Celestia! Terra! Come home for Dinner!" "Not a single word, got it?" Terra repeated. Then they ran over to their house. At the table: "How were your field studies?" the mother asked. "Oh, nothing extraordinary. Celestia only forgot the basics again." Terra quickly said before Celestia could say a single word. "Well, we can't all be book worms." "But we can all know the dangerous plants of the forest. It isn't THAT large." "Yeah, whatever." By that the topic was off the table. Their days usually were uneventful. And therefore their conversations were as short as that. After they ate up the mother said: "Ah yes, the Elder came by today." Celestia flashed for a second and then she asked: "W-what did the elder want?" "Is something wrong? Are you feeling okay?" Celestia turned around with the brightest smile she was capable of at the moment and said: "It's nothing, really. I'm just a little nervous...with the trial so close and all." "Ah, I see. Well, I was nervous too when my trial came to pass. But don't worry, it isn't that bad. You can do it." Terra picked up the question and asked again: "So...why did the Elder come by now?"
"Ah yes...well, she only wanted to know if you are preparing. She would never admit it, but she is worried about you two. After all..." Terra cut off her word: "Don't say it. I know we are not like them. And that children like us usually are not allowed to live inside the village. And that I am only allowed to, because Celestia has such strong powers and they didn't want to seperate us. I know that!"
"...okay, I won't say it. Instead I'll tell you something I haven't told you in a while: 'No matter whose children you are. As long as you stay true to yourself and your teachings there's nothing that makes the full-breeds any better than you.' And now go and get some sleep. After all you don't want the dark beast to come and get you, right?" "Mom...we're not that small..." Terra mourned. The dark beast as Celestia remembered was an ancient fairy tale that was told to elven children every time they didn't want to obey the rules or didn't want to go to bed. No one actually believes in it and if it wasn't for the encounter in the forest neither one would have wasted a thought about it. "Funny thing that you mention that old thing..." Celestia started. Terra meant to stop her, but couldn't think of any way to do so without making their mother suspect anything. "Yes, what about it?" "What is the dark beast like anyway? You kept telling us the story, but I never understood where it came from or what it is. I mean...I gotta know if I ever want to tell my own children, right?" Terra wanted to let out a sigh of relief but instead she said: "Well, I'm not going to have children any time soon...so I'm going ahead. Don't spend the whole night talking, alright?" On the top floor Terra let herself fall on her bed and started thinking: 'The dark beast...nah, no way. And we didn't commit any grave sins to summon it anyway. And if it wasn't us, no one was.'
Terra remembered the literature she had read about fairy tales. A whole book was dedicated to this old fairy tale. According to this book the dark beast was summoned from the abyss of darkness, once a being of magic commits a grave sin. The grave sins that would summon it were: High Treason on life and a pact with the darkness. And Terra took it as granted, that none of the cowards in the village would ever dare to do anything close to that. After a while Celestia came up as well. "So...did mother tell you the whole story?" "What she knew about it." "Give me the short version." "Some dark elf created the abomination of the abyss and the elder Seraphim sealed it into the abyss it was born from. And now it is summoned on the day when a dark elf is born." "Dark elf? That wasn't in the book." "Mother also said, that Dark Elvens are not a natural race, but actually elvens that succumbed to darkness." "...so if that thing WAS the dark beast...just what ill elven mind would become a dark elf?" "I don't know. But...you don't really think..." "We'll check that up in the library tomorrow. If that thing was a magical being it's bound to be illustrated somewhere in our magical library. And now sleep. We've got a long way to go." "What do you mean?" "Call it...a hunch." Terra started sleeping as well as Celestia...or at least they tried. A thousand thoughts raced through their minds...but in the end the night took it's toll and both fell asleep. In their dreams they both were running over a large meadow they had never seen before. Behind them a dark cloud was racking up and chased after them. Whereever the shadow fell all life faded away. They were running and breathing heavily. Then Celestia stumbled and fell to the ground. Terra stopped and wanted her to get up again but before her eyes the shadow swallowed Celestia and a dark and evil laughter filled the air. Then they both woke up at the same time. Celestia was sweating and Terra was breathing very heavy. Terra asked: "Did you dream what I think you've been dreaming?" "Black cloud, large meadow, evil laughter?"
"Bingo." "What does it mean?" "I don't know...but I have a really bad feeling about this." "Me too...when was the last time we shared one dream?" "That was shortly before father died...the dream with the strange gates and all that light." "When we told father he said, that we've seen the place where he is going to go to soon..." "I think he called it...heaven or something..." They remained silent for a while and then Terra said: "...I can't sleep any more this night...I'm going to the library right now. Before I don't know what that thing was I won't have a single quiet minute."
"Me neither, I'm coming too." They both got up, threw over their robes and silently walked down the stairs. But in the living room their mother already was awaiting them with a sorrowful face. Celestia asked: "M-Mother, what are you doing here at this hour?" "...there was a reason you asked for the Dark Beast, wasn't there? You've been behaving strange ever since you came back...what did you see out there?" "How..." Terra started. "I've been mother for the past century and I've been living for the last millenium. You may have fooled others...but not me." Terra sighed and then told what happened in the forest. The mother listened to her with a face like stone. Terra ended with: "...and I'm really sorry that we...no...I didn't obey what you told us." Now a faint smile hushed over here: "My dear Terra...my dear Celestia...my beloved children...it lies in your nature to check out the unknown. It is called curiousity, a most human trait. You got it from your father. It is one of the many things I loved him for." "But..." "What you have seen was not the dark beast the tale tells about. It is something different." "You know it? What is it?!" Terra was getting very exicted while Celestia's fear increased even more.
"It is a magical being the humans made for war. Seeing it in this forest probably means that the master of it either died or went nuts...most likely the second for the magic needed to sustain it is quite high." "But..." Celestia started "...humans don't have magic..." Their mother's smile got a little brighter. "That's a typically elven view of things Celestia. Humans may not have the kind of magic we do...but they got their mind and their beliefs. And with just that they can work wonders... sometimes even better than we can do. Their lifes are short, but their potential is huge. And you two...carry this potential within you. Make use of it."
"What is going to happen?" Celestia asked. "I don't know...but I've had a very disturbing dream as of late...the past two days...the Elder came to see me because of these as well. "What were they about?" Terra asked, although she basically knew the answer already. "The shadow of destruction laid waste to our world. And...it came from this village." Terra shouted "WHAT?! But WHY?!" "I'm an elf and a mother...not a seer. It may just be the expression of fear resting within me. Although we can foresee certain events sometimes, most of our dreams mean nothing. Another thing we share with humans." "What are you saying? What do elves have..." "Many elves believe, that they are better than humans, because we can live in unity with nature and they can't even seem to live with each other. But if you ask me...humans sometimes are better off than us. They only have short lives but they can live it to the fullest. We on the other hand do live for almost an eternity...and are bound by our traditions and customs. Your trial of adulthood is only two weeks away...then you either will be expelled from the elven community or you will be fully integrated into it." Celestia raised her voice: "Wait! You just said we could be expelled...but why?" "Because this was the promise I had to make the elder to keep you in the village. You either became respectable elven adults on the first attempt...or leave the village forever." Terra said: "You never told us that..." "What would it have done? Only make you even more nervous. Worry about the future more than necessary. That's why I never told you...I didn't even tell your father. The elder and I were the only ones who knew about this." "But...why?" "You know the answer..." "...the reason why there are no other half-elves in the village...not because no were born..." Celestia started. "...but because all other half-elves were expelled...together with their families." "The last ones to go were our neighbors." their mother finished. "We were only allowed to stay, because me and the elder were childhood friends." she then added. A silence of great sadness filled the room. When Terra couldn't stand it any more she picked up the original topic again: "So you think this...being we saw..." "It won't do any damage. The spell circle is much too strong to let any regular being inside. It would take a really strong magician to overcome our barrier...and a minor magical being stands no chance at all." "But that sensation..." Celestia started again. "I said 'Do not worry about it'! And now up to your room and get some sleep. If you want to stay here you've got to study. Understood?!" Startled by the sudden energic tone of their mother Celestia and Terra hurried up the stairs to their room again. Without any further delay they went to bed and to sleep. In the upcoming two weeks they studied like mad to be able to pass the trial. Celestia didn't waste another thought about the being in the forest. She was much too busy getting close to the knowledge level Terra had been building up ever since she was young. On the other hand Terra remained curious and checked through the library as often as she was able to. Around 2 days before their birthday and the trial she came over to Celestia with a very old book. "What is it?" Celestia asked, looking up from her own book over elven customs. "Look, I found it!" Terra said excited. "You found what? And lower your voice, you know how the librarian is." "Yeah, yeah. And now look." Terra laid the book she was holding over the book Celestia was reading. A picture with the being they had seen two weeks ago was on it. "That is...!" Celestia started unintentionally loud and earned a devastating look from the librarian. She then lowered her voice again: "Come on, what is that thing?" Terra started explaining: "That thing is called a Golem. A magical being of Clay. Usually they stop working once the magician creating them dies of exhaustion. But according to this book there once was a race of humans, that were able to create Golems that could live on for centuries. They used some sort of...I think they call it 'Generator'"
"Generator? What is that?" "It's a device those humans developed generating any desired kind of energy. Magical Energy, Natural Energy...even Energy we don't know from nature." "They could make lightning with that?" "If I read that right, those humans actually utilized the power of lightning in their first generators."
"Amazing...to think they could do that." "I guess that's the potential mother was talking about..." "But not all humans can do that, right?" "Appearantly the race that was able to do all that was wiped out by their neighbours quite a while ago. A few millenia or something. The history of humans is full of those incidents...I guess they weren't ready for that kind of power yet." "Wait, in another book I read..." They kept discussing the pro's and contra's of the human race (a lot of contra's, a few pro's) until night fell again. In their room at the evening Terra said: "You've learned a lot recently." "If we are to be expelled due to lacking knowledge I don't want to be the one failing there." Celestia replied. "Do you really think you can match up 90 years of learning? In two weeks?" "Well, what was the spell for disguise?" They kept challenging each other for half of the night. After all, only one full day was left for them to get prepared...the next morning they had riddled themselves to sleep. Their mother didn't wake them. Against noon they woke up by themselves. "...Morning..." Terra yawned. "Morning? Look at the sun! It's noon!" Celestia said after throwing a glimpse through the window. "You kidding me?" Terra asked and rushed to the window. But Celestia didn't kid her. The sun was standing high. They both rumbled down the stairs, almost stumbled and almost outside the door when Terra stopped and held Celestia back. "What is it! We don't have the time to dawdle!" "The librarian kicks us out if we show up like this." "...oops." Well...Celestia used her magic to get her dress for the outside on, while Terra rushed up the stairs, got dressed, jumped out of the window, held on the branch of the tree, swung against the trunk of it, jumped again against the wall and to the ground. Then she shouted towards the door: "You coming or not?" Celestia shouted back: "Hey, WAIT!" On the plaza of the village their mother heard them. Another elf, also washing clothes said: "They sure take it easy..." "It's far better than taking it all serious. Learning with fun is much more effective than learning by force." "Another human wisdom?" "You should try some of these. Some are really useful." "...half-bred scum..." the other elf mumbled. But their mother didn't react at first. She then looked up and looked right into the face of the other elf. "What...did you just say?" "Oh, come on. I see that you had a weak moment giving in to a filthy..." The Elf could not say a single word more...because their Mother hit the other elf so hard right into the face, that he flew back a few meters. "Listen up dude! Those two are MY children. If you insult them, you insult me and all I believe in. I believe that elves and humans can live in coexistance and peace. Maybe not now. But we'll be around long enough to see that day coming. And you know...it's not only the humans...that need to change." She then turned around, took her clothing with her and walked away.
"You never learn, do you?" another elf said to the one on the ground. "Why do I keep forgetting that she got the hardest punch in the whole village?" he coughed.
"Are you still being jealous? You say humans are scum and yet you take in one of their traits? A human poet once said: 'Elvens are perfect as they are...they are so perfect, humans can only surpass them. Because they are too proud to learn.'" "Where did you hear that shit?" "It's written in the library. Only to prove that poet, that we ARE able to learn." "How did he know about us..." "Appearantly there once was a time where Elves and Humans DID live together...long time ago."
"Yeah...whatever..." Time passed...and the great day came. Dressed in their finest garments Celestia and Terra stood before the Elder. Their mother stood behind them. Outside were many elves. Unfortunately many only came to see them fail.
Celestia whispered over to Terra: "Nervous?" Terra whispered back: "You bet I am..." "Don't worry. If we aren't prepared, just who is?" Terra nodded then they focused on the elder. The Elder said: "Daughters of this tribe and man." In the back they could hear their mother hem. The Elder began a new: "Ahem: Daughters of this tribe. You have come to stand before me on this day to prove your readiness to become fully fledged members of the Elven community."
The ceremonial part of the whole thing began. Terra and Celestia repeated the formulas as they were taught. When they were done the Elder seemed to be satisfied. She said: "You certainly learned your stuff. Word by word as they are written in the books." Terra said: "Thank you Elder. We are doing our best."
"Loosen up." Celestia looked a little puzzled and Terra asked: "Pardon?"
"Currently you aren't the same children that have been defending themselves against a mob of other elves. You are not the same children that played joyfully although nobody wanted to play with them. I know you had a hard past. And the future isn't going to be easy either. If you pass the trial, you'll be the first half-elves that ever are integrated into the community of this village. That would be a huge step towards the opening of the borders. You know...I've been waiting for this very day a long time. Your father was a fine man as you may still remember. An example of kindness amongst the humans and a fierce fighter when it came to the ones he loved. I'm sure I'm telling you nothing new, but he once saved this village." But Terra and Celestia heard this the first time. Terra said: "...father saved the village? When? How?" She turned around and directed the question towards their mother. The Elder asked: "Oh, you didn't tell them? ...sorry, I didn't mean to cleave open old wounds." "...no, it's okay. I'll tell you once this ceremony is over." "But if father was a hero, why does everyone hate him?" Celestia asked. But only silence was the answer she got. Then the Elder said: "Anyway...we have to continue with the ceremony. Are you ready?" "As ready as we can be." Terra said. Celestia focused again and nodded. A series of knowledge questions followed. Then magical mastery was tested. One would think Terra would have a hard time at this, but actually she was doing a bit better than Celestia. When Celestia was about to blow one of her spells due to a little mistake Terra merged her own spell with Celestia's and brought both to fruition as they were supposed to. Celestia threw a silent 'Thanks' over to Terra. She replied with a 'No big deal'-Look. After about 30 more minutes the tests and thereby the trial was concluded.
The Elder said: "Well...that's it. Now it's up to the spirits to judge on you. But I personally think you've been two of the best aspirants we've had so far." She then began chanting a summon formula to the wall behind them. A row of lights began appearing forming a pulsing stream running up to the ceiling. "Is that good or is that bad?" Celestia asked. "No clue...the actual trial wasn't described in any book." Terra replied. The Mother said: "Of course not. The course of the trial is conveyed from one elder to the next." "But what if one Elder dies before he can convey it?" Terra asked. Their mother laughed faintly: "That'd need to be a mass death. Every Elder has one disciple that will follow him. Right from the start. And the ritual of adulthood is the first thing to be taught. And now watch." They directed their attention towards the lights again. The flashing became more frequent and the light became stronger. The chanting continued. Then the Elder stopped. And everything went dark. Not just the lights on the wall but the whole room. Nothing was to be seen any more. "What's going on here?! Where did the light go?" Celestia screamed. "...I guess that means we blew it, huh?" Terra said. From somewhere the voice of the Elder came: "No, that means that something is very, VERY wrong here...something has taken the power of light from this house."
Their mother walked over to their children and took their hands. "We better get out of here...before whatever went for the light energy comes for ours."
"Agreed." the Elder said. All four went towards the exit, a faintly illuminated rectancle in the darkness. Terra and Celestia had already feared something like this but to see it was much worse. When they got outside the sun had vanished...and all life with it. In the center of the town a large ball of black energy sparkled. "This sensation..." Celestia started. "It's the same as back in the forest..." Terra ended. They could do nothing but stare at the ball. Suddenly various beings of darkness formed under the ball and started moving towards the four. "Oh Sh..." the Elder said before their Mother shouted: "RUN!" And they did. All four of them. And a shadow just like in the dream began expanding from the ball into all directions. And it was moving fast. Soon it had caught up to the running group and was now threatening to swallow them. Their mother stopped and shouted: "Oh no, you DON'T!" She chanted a spell and errected a wall of light, stopping the shadow at least temporary. Celestia wanted to stop but Terra dragged her further towards the border. Shortly before they reached the border the wall of light their mother had errected broke down and she vanished into the shadows. Fueled by the energy of their mother the shadow expanded into the direction of the remaining three. The Elder stopped and started chanting. When Terra and Celestia looked back she finished her spell and said after them: "Live." right before a powerful blow threw Terra and Celestia over the border of the spell circle. Right after, the Circle collapsed...as the Elder supporting it vanished into the shadows. When Terra and Celestia opened their eyes again they were lying on the clearing they had seen the Golem on. They were all alone. Also the shadow was nowhere to be seen. And they could do nothing more but cry. Cry for they had lost everything they've known. Their home. Their mother. Everything. After around 10 minutes a noise disturbed their sobbing. It was the barking of a dog. And then a foreign voice said to that dog: "Yeah, I heard it too. Sounds like someone has trouble...better check it out." Again the dog yapped. Terra pulled herself together and shook Celestia on her shoulders: "Someone's coming! We have to get away here quick!" Celestia sobbed: "What for? There's nothing left to return to anyway." Terra shook her head and said: "And that's exactly why we have to get away from here. Mother and the Elder covered our escape. If we were to die by the hands of a human now, what did they die for then?!" Celestia slowly got up, still shaky. Terra dragged her over to the tree from two weeks ago and climbed up on it by jumping between two trunks. She then reached her hand down to help Celestia to get up. But before she could reach her a young man with a dog at his side already broke through the bushes. Terra pulled up her hand and hid in the crown of the tree while Celestia fell into the bushes and scratched herself on the thorns inside. They both remained as silent as they could. The young man scratched his head: "I could have sworn it came from this clearing." The dog barked again and ran over to a print on the ground. "What did you find?" the man asked and walked over. He examined the footprint and then said with a sorrowful voice: "So it came this far already? Honestly, if we don't do something about this jerk soon, there's no telling what may happen to our world..." Suddenly the dog turned around and barked at the bushes. Celestia itched and thereby caused a rustling. The man turned around and shouted: "Hello? Is someone there? Don't worry, the Golem is gone now! The danger is over. You can come out now." Terra bit on her lips, sincerely hoping that he'd give up on the rustling...because she knew that Celestia couldn't cast spells well if under extreme pressure. She tried to remember the camouflage spell to cloak her sister but she couldn't quite grasp it. Left alone cast it without blowing her own cover. The man went over to the bushes. Full of fear Terra monitored him coming closer to the bushes, a bow with arrows over his shoulder. 'If he finds her he's gonna kill her!' she screamed inside of her. He then examined the bushes...and then said to his dog: "Hmm...maybe it was a squirrel." Terra already meant to loosen up a little, when the man picked up something: "...what in the world is this?" Terra sheeled down and recognized a piece of cloth of Celestia's garment. "Hmm...I've never seen this kind of fabric before...it must belong to a traveller that got hung up in these bushes...anyway, there's no reason to let it lie around here...I'll show it at home if anyone knows what is it made of. Or what do you say my friend?" The dog barked again and the man made off towards the direction they came from. Next to Terra Celestia suddenly said: "That sure was close..." "You can say that again...what spell did you use?" "No spell. I made off as fast as I could when I knew he had noticed me and then returned over the tree crowns." Heh...smart girl." "But he got a piece of my clothing..." "As long as he didn't get you, it's no problem." "...his eyes." "What?" "His eyes were nothing like the eyes of that thing back then...that Golem thing. They were a lot like the eyes of father." "Well obviously. They both originated from the same race after all." "Did you see how he talked to the animal that was with him? I'm pretty sure he didn't understand a single word it said and yet he treated him much like an equal." Terra raised one of her eyebrows: "You surely analyzed him, huh?" "Feh, go away." Celestia faintly jabbed Terra. But when they suddenly heard steps coming closer Terra failed to balance out the jab and suddenly fell down from the tree right into the bushes below. And before she could even attempt to get into cover again the same man ran on the clearing and said: "I KNEW I was hearing someone." Terra could do nothing more than stutter: "Err...Hi." The man took a little closer look, compared it to the piece of cloth he had found and then shouted: "I know that there's another one around. Come on out. You've got nothing to fear." Terra hissed at him: "Easy for YOU to say." The man was puzzled for a moment, then smiled and took the bow from his shoulder. "You mean this? Don't worry, I only use it to defend myself. See? I'm putting it down. And now I suggest you get out of that poison ivy." "That's Elven Grass, amateur." Terra muttered when she slowly got up. She didn't intend to give away Celestia and slowly walked on the clearing. "There's no one else here. And it is best that you leave right away too, if you know what is good for you. Leave and forget that you've seen me." Terra began preparing an attack but the man simply sat down and looked at her with mild amusement. "You think you are an elf or something? Doing the protector of the forest and all?" he laughed. That was one word too much. Terra yelled at him: "If WE don't protect the forest, WHO will?! Most certainly NOT the humans!" "...you really think you are an elf, huh?" "Well, what am I supposed to be?! See? Long and pointy ears, magical powers, garment made out of the presents of the forest! Just WHAT am I supposed to be?!" "You're a half-elf at best." Terra was baffled like she was just struck by lightning. She stumbled back two steps and stammered: "H-how?" "A real elf would have never come this close to me. He'd have hidden somewhere far away...like that tree over there..." the man pointed to a tree farther away. "...and casted some sort of spell over me. To startle me and make me run like the devil was after me. You on the other hand...and presumably another half-elf...came really close to my position. You wanted to check on me, before you do anything against me. You're not as high strung as your relatives." "And how do you want to know there is another one around?!" Terra was getting really angry that this human had learned so much about her, just because she fell from the tree. "Oh, that's simple. I found this." he held the cloth to his front. "It's made from a cloth I don't know. It might have been a fabric from a foreign land. And now you stand before me, dressed in a garment that looks a lot like it is made from the same cloth and yet you do not wear anything this cloth may come from. So it must belong to another one of your kind." "Well, what if I lost it another day?" Terra tried to score at least one point against this intruder that was so much more cunning than she was. But to no avail. The man shook his head and said: "No matter what kinda cloth it is, if you had lost it days ago, it could never been as warm as it was when I found it. But..." "But?" Terra slowly started to understand that there was no threat going out from that foreigner and sat down. "What I don't understand: What are you doing here? Especially with a golem around. If he was to spot you, he'd hunt and destroy you, you know? Golems are very dangerous...especially to your kind since they are immune to the magic of deceit." "...the golem passed here two weeks ago." Terra said. "What, another one? No, the Golem I mean passed here recently. See this footprint?" The man stood up and walked over to the footprint he had found. Terra stood up and went as close as she had to to see clearly. "I'm not biting you know?" the man laughed. "I can see just fine from here." Terra exclaimed. "So what about it?" "What do you see?" "A footprint. So what?" "The Golem I'm talking about leaves a trail of death behind him. So whereever it steps all life is drained. He sustains himself by this procedure. On the other hand he's easy to follow due to that. See? The grass in this footprint is not just bruised but totally dead. But you see...life is a wondrous thing. Even if it is banished from a place, as soon as the influence of death is gone it starts growing in this patch again." The man walked over to another footprint which was much fainter. It had the same format...but grass was growing in this one. "This is the trail of the Golem you saw. See? The life already returned to this place." "How comes you know so much about it?" The man sighed: "The one who made the Golem was my uncle...everyone despises him for that. But I don't want to judge him...yet. I want to know why he is doing the things he is doing. That's why I'm following the trails of the Golems to find out just what he is up to." "...if you know who does this, why don't you STOP this desecration of life then?!" Terra yelled. "Many tried. No one came back. As long as I don't know what he plans to do, what can I do to foil it? Try to kill him? His dark arts would make his slave before I could even think of shooting an arrow at him."
Suddenly a dark and cold wind rushed through the forest, making Celestia and Terra freeze. The man jumped over, grabbed his bow from the ground and got ready to shoot at any direction a threat might come from. He then said: "Listen half-elf. You and your companion should go back to whereever you came from. This isn't your war. It's enough if human lifes go to waste." Now Celestia slowly came down the tree and walked over to Terra. She wanted her to run away with her, but Terra didn't move. She whispered: "What are you doing? See? He already got his weapon ready!" The man heard Celestia but he didn't turn around. His dog barked at the bushes the man was aiming at. "You know...I think we should help him." "WHAT?!" "Our tribe has been hiding in this forest over many generations. And you've seen where it lead us. The affairs of humans do not just affect them. They affect our lives as well. And if we want to save anything at all...we'll have to find out just what hit our village and how we can fight it, if it should come again."
"But..." The man suddenly said: "What, are you still here? I told you to get lost, didn't I? This isn't your battle!" Terra said loud: "Human, this may sound strange to you, but I want to help you. Because you are wrong. Your problems are your problems, that's right. But as soon as your battle affects us, it's our battle as well."
"...what happened to you?" Celestia shook her head and said: "That has time until later. It is coming." Suddenly a black shadow jumped out of the bushes, whizzed past the man throwing him to the ground and taking an aimed charge at Celestia. Celestia jumped to the side and Terra gave it a good kick on the height of the face sending it flying. When it hit the ground it dispersed in a cloud of black steam.
With her leg still up Terra asked: "Ok, just what did I hit right now?" She took her leg down again. "That was an evil spirit." the man said when he shouldered his bow again. "A what?" "Well, you should know that better than I do...say are your names Terra and Celestia by any chance?" "Are you some sort of seer or something?" Terra asked, helping Celestia to get up. "No, but I found this." the man said and threw over a scroll with runes inscribed on it. 'Terra et Celestia' was written on it. "It is protected by a powerful seal so I couldn't open it." The man said. When Terra caught it the scroll popped open without any further action.
Terra took on end of the scroll, while Celestia held the other end. They both read what was written on it...and when they were done the scroll dropped to the ground and both sat down. The man walked over and said: "I hope you don't mind if I do." He then started reading the inscription. 'My dear daughters. If you read these lines I will be no more. I hid this scroll and sealed it within the forest and only if I should fade away, you should be able to find it. It was written shortly after you two were born. I wrote it to tell you the story that I could never tell you myself. Many years ago...a dark elf was born and the dark beast once again roamed the forest in search of energy to sustain it's stay. This dark elf...was me. Not that I wanted to become one or anything...but one day an evil spirit intruded into our realm and infected me. First I didn't pay any mind to the incident. But one day I felt a calling. A surge drawing me closer to the dark side. With each passing day it became harder for me to prevent the inevitable. In the end I had no choice but to leave the village to prevent the worst. The dark power eventually overwhelmed me and I became a dark elf...and laid waste to countless human settlements, the dark beast at my side. All were full of fear before me. But one man stood against me and the dark beast. He and his little group of fearless warriors took up arms and fought the dark beast. They fought bravely and somehow managed to overcome it. They defeated the dark beast and the evil spirit within me. This man, who fought so courageously to bring back the light to me was your father. The Elder and I agreed to erase the memory of all who were affected by the dark beast. Only me and her were allowed to keep our memories...so we could one day tell you. Terra and Celestia...we chose these names because you were born between light and darkness. The power of the elves and the potential of the humans. They both rest withing you. And if the world should one fall into peril, it will be you two, who will have the best chances to resolve everything to good. Celestia and Terra. These are not only your names, but also the expression of hope me, your father and the elder laid into you...if you read this something terrible most likely happened...let me give you one final advice: Live. For all of us.'
"Wow...that's some pretty heavy stuff..." the man said when he finished reading.
In the mean time Terra had recovered from the shock and started thinking again. "...my name is Terra. This is Celestia. And who might you be?"
"Oh, how rude of me. My name is Siegfried." "Nothing more?" "You need anything else?" "No." "Anyway. It's nice to meet you." Siegfried reached his hand out to the two, but they didn't quite know what to do with it. "Pardon?" "It's a greeting. We humans shake hands to greet each other. See? Like this." Siegfried took Terra's hand and shook it firmly and yet careful not to hurt her. He then repeated the process with Celestia. "See? Didn't hurt, did it?" Siegfried smiled brightly. "Just to make one thing clear from the start..." Terra started. "Just because we work together, that doesn't mean we are friends. Understood?" "Yes Ma'am...anyway we can't achieve anything if we stay here. I suggest we go to the town just outside the forest. There we can plan what we'll do next." "But..." "You're afraid that other humans may hurt you if they see that you're different, eh?" "Well...yes..." Terra lowered her eyes a little ashamed that he had guessed her thought again. "No need to be afraid or anything. In the town we are going to many half-elves live. In fact the town was founded by half-elves that were expelled from the forest." Celestia looked up: "Honestly?" "Honestly. In fact it's more dangerous to be a human around there than it is being a half-elf. So I'm glad that I met you. If you are around me, the half-elves in the town won't hate me as much as they do."
"Why would they hate you?" Celestia asked. "No clue. Why do you hate humans?" Terra started: "Well, that is because you..." But looking at the smiling face of Siegfried not a single reason why humans are bad came to her mind. After a while Siegfried said: "See? We aren't all as bad as the rumors said. Many humans believe Elves are shrewd and dangerous. That they keep to each other and negate all other influence. But you see...the world is larger than your forest. And in the end you are living in the same world as we do. Judging from your reaction, the mess my uncle caused already affected your life...majorly." Terra got angry again: "If YOUR Uncle really IS responsible for the hell we went through, he'll better have more than one guardian spirit." "Now calm down...Terra was it?" "Yes." "How about we make our way towards the town and you tell me, just what happened to you?" Celestia said: "Sounds good. I don't want to stay here."
Siegfried added: "Ah, one more thing. The evil spirit back there charged right at you...Celestia, be careful, alright? If you are infected by darkness, there's no telling what happens." "Thanks...I'll try to be careful." "And even if you aren't, I'm still there!" Terra laughed. The group of three, led by Siegfried and his dog, made their way towards the town. The adventure was about to start. The adventure of...

Celestia et Terra © Refugnic

They moved quickly towards the town. On the way Celestia and Terra told Siegfried what happened in the village. When they were done the outskirts of the town were already visible through the leaves. Siegfried said: "Seems like you went through quite a bit..." "Do you have any idea what happened there?" "I'm afraid I don't know anything about the phenomenon you described. But I know someone who may know." "Really? Who is it?" "..." "Don't tell me it's your Uncle." "Well, he may know...but I was talking about his wife." "His WIFE?! You mean such a creep is actually married?" "You don't know his wife..." "Can it be even worse than a master of the dark arts?" Terra asked. "Yeah. A dark arts masters dragon." "...dragon?" Celestia wondered. "It's word we use for very aggressive wifes. Those we call dragons." "Aren't dragons..." "Yeah, that's where we took the word from. Dragons are said to be violent, dominating and really bad to have around. Just like certain wifes." "But..." Celestia started. "...Dragons are intelligent, benevolent and gentle beings..." Siegfried said: "Well...I've never met a dragon in my whole life. So I go by my motto: There's no race that's purely evil...except lawyers maybe." "What is a lawyer?" Celestia asked. "It was a joke Celestia. I know you went through terrible things, but there's a good saying: 'A day without laughing...'" Terra concluded the saying: "...is a lost day. Mother kept telling us this when we were down." "She was right." Siegfried said and then added: "Well...we're almost there...by the way, you maybe should get something different to wear. Nothing against your style...but I think it's a little hard to move in." Terra laughed slightly and said: "Yeah, you're right there." Just when they were about to leave the last trees behind and step out into the sun Celestia and Terra suddenly stopped. Siegfried took a few more steps into the sun and then turned around. "Is something the matter?" "What is that light?" Celestia asked. "Light? ...Oh, you've actually never seen the sun? Don't worry, that's the same light that's been shining through the leaves of the trees in your forest." "But...it is so...bright." Terra said. "Yeah, that's because there are not as many trees out here as there are in there 'eating' the sunlight. Come on out. Feel the sun. If you never felt the sun, you'll never know what you missed. Celestia and Terra slowly walked out of the forest shadow. The heat of the sun hit them like a hammer. Their blood circulation didn't know how to deal with the sudden heat and the two of them wanked around dizzy. "Hey, are you okay? It isn't that hot, you know..." After a few more seconds Terra and Celestia had gotten used to the sun and their bodies stabilized again. Terra said: "Well, I don't know about you...but I liked it better inside the forest..." "Oh, you've seen nothing at all. Your forest is one world. Now you're going to enter another one." "Will we really be okay?" Celestia asked. "Even if anyone wants to do you harm, I won't let it happen. After all I am the reason you are here." "No you're not. The darkness is." Terra mumbled. "Excuse me, did you say anything Lady Terra?" "Cut the 'Lady'-Crap. I never became an adult so it's just Terra." "Ah...yes, you told me that the assault took place during your ceremony. But how does a ceremony determine if you're adult? If I look at you two, you look pretty adult to me." Celestia said: "Why do I get the feeling that you just said something dirty..." "Well, over four corners you could consider that statement dirty..." "Let's say around one corner and it's right there." Terra corrected him. "Is it possible that you don't like me?" Siegfried said with a joyful face. But he remained silent when he saw Terra's sorrowful face. He mumbled for himself: "Uh-Oh...thin ice..." "You have to understand...if you were to loose everything..." Celestia tried to defend Terra.
"Before I can loose anything I'd need to have something first." he replied. He then sped up towards the town. "Did I hit a nerve?" Celestia wondered. "It seems humans are having hard times too sometimes." Terra said. "Is the world really this bad?" "I think we had one of the best parts of the world for us..." "At least one of the most quiet places..." While walking Siegfried shouted back: "Hey! You coming now or are you turning back?" His dog had already went ahead to the village. "Are we going?" Terra asked. "We've already left the forest...there's no point in going back." Celestia answered. They then got going again. After Siegfried.
A little while later they reached the outskirts of the village. A half-elf at the gate of the village said: "What, you again? When do you humans finally learn that this is..." Then the guard noticed Terra and Celestia behind him. "Oh. So you actually found someone to join you on your crazy quest? Half-Elfs at that?" Siegfried asked: "May I come in now?" "Your stupid dog whizzed by anyway. Watch your bag when you go in. I can't guarantee anything." The guard made place and let Siegfried pass. When Celestia and Terra meant to pass the half-elf said: "You're new in these parts. You should watch yourself too. A human as bodyguard isn't too reliable." His tone while talking with them was significantly softer than it was when he talked with Siegfried. They entered the village. "What did he mean?" Celestia asked. "This village is well-known as a den of thieves, assassins and plain murderers. It's dangerous to be careless here." "Don't they have an elder to protect the order here?" "Elder? You mean something like a mayor and a police? They've never known anything like that here. But not all of them are bad people...it's just the bad people that leave the strongest impression." Terra said: "So you went to the forest to find something to get into the village?" "Well, sort of. Any problem with that?" "...didn't you say that you wanted to check on the Golem?" "Well, that was my original plan to get into the village. If I had found the golem, I could have used it's core to disguise me as an half elf. And then I ran into you. You saved me from a lot of trouble there." "And you really think they'd have let you in if you'd have some magic core?" "Magic is a currency in this place. A magic core would have been enough to bribe any guard...besides the one we took. That's one of the few honest guards here." "Why did we take him?" "Because of you. If you've got something to hide you don't take him. If you got something to show you take him. As simple as that." Terra remarked: "So we are a currency to you now? This is getting better by the minute." "Oh, you aren't a currency." Celestia asked: "Why did you want to come in here anyway?" "Because this is the only place with a magic smithy. I need some sort of magic weapon if I want to stand a chance against my uncle." Terra asked: "You've got no magic...so how do you intend to pay for a magic weapon? Steal it?" "Erm...well...my first plan..." "You didn't have the slightest idea, right?" "...actually I wanted to wait until some half-elf tries to rob me. Then I could have followed him...take him down..."
"And collect the loot you can find?" "Err...no...something less...human." Terra said: "Cut off the ears of the half-elf or something else and thereby trade in his magic for a weapon." "...you'd make a terrifying detective, you know?" "You'd actually do something like that?" Celestia seemed shocked. "The greed of humans has no limits...for that they'd even kill." "No no no! I didn't want to kill anyone!" Siegfried defended himself. "So how?" "Hit him K.O. and drain his magic with an artifact I'd rather not get out right here...elves and half-elves despise this kind of artifact." "A magic drainage sphere then?" "You know it?" Siegfried seemed surprised. Celestia explained: "Terra has been living in books ever since she was young..." "She doesn't look to old if you ask me..." Terra cut in: "Flattering won't bring you anywhere. A magic drainage sphere is the result of long research of human magicians on the elven magic and how to utilize it. They are pretty rare and only Masters of Light Magic can create them." Siegfried was baffled. "Why a Light Magic master? That sounds like something a dark master would do." Celestia asked. "The elves possess light magic, the dark elves possess dark magic...figures. A dark master can create something to control the dark energy. A white master can create something to control the elven power. Logical, isn't it?"
"But...why'd a white Master do something like that?" This time Siegfried said: "Because dark isn't evil and light isn't good. The dark power is destructive, that's right. The light power is constructive, that's also right. But both can be used for evil or good." "Very right. I see you learnt something after all." Terra said. Celestia said: "But...aren't the dark elves the bad guys?" "Many may be...but not because they are dark elves. Simply because they are lost in their power." Terra concluded. "Aaaanyway..." Siegfried started to lighten the mood. "You can't go on any adventure the way you are now. If we follow this road we should come to a bazar and then to the smithy. I suggest we get something new to wear for you and a new weapon for me to fight with." "And what about the payment?" "...I guess I'll give the sphere as a payment. After all it's a powerful magical artifact. After all I can't go around doing as if I was the king as long as I got you with me." Of course Celestia asked: "Why?" "Because we'd kick his butt if he did and if he tried to take us down, he'd loose his only allies in the battle against his uncle. He can't afford to piss us off." Terra answered her. Siegfried led the two girls to the bazar. Celestia asked: "You said you've never been here before. How comes you know how the village looks like?" "Oh, all the villages look the same. Furthermore I received a pretty detailed description where the smithy is from a friend of mine."
"A half-elf?" "No, a human magician." Terra asked: "What affiliation?" "His prime Element?" "No, Light or darkness?" "Neither one. He is an elemental magician who learned both white and black magic. He's a good guy though." Before Terra could say another word Celestia suddenly was standing on one of the bazaars shops. "Look at that Terra! It's so pretty!" The shop clerk said: "Ah, the young lady has a good eye. That is one of the finest garments we have here." Terra walked over and examined the wares. "If that's the finest you've got here, you haven't got the best provider. That decoration is of low quality and poor material. This garment is made of cloth that snaps at the slightest stress..." Terra went on going for a little while longer until the clerk was totally on the ground. Siegfried said: "Wow...your sister is one difficult customer..." "She always knew her stuff." Celestia simply said. "Shouldn't we help?" "Whom?" "The clerk." "...that may be a good idea." Celestia walked over to Terra and laid her hand on her shoulder.

[Refugnic]

"What?" Terra asked. "It's alright. I think he understood it now." "But I'm not even halfway done!" Terra complained. "It still is enough. Come on, there's got to be a good shop here." Slowly the clerk got up behind his counter and whispered: "My clothes are for the casual wear...if you want some fine garments, you should try the shop over there." He pointed over to another shop which was significantly larger. "Well, why didn't you say so before?!" Terra yelled at him. "You could have saved us a lot of time if you had told her before, you know?" Celestia added. She then said: "I'd still like to have that. As a little compensation for what my sister has done to you." Celestia had picked a little armlet made of metal. "How much is that?" "It...it's a present. Just please...go away." "Well...thank you." When they left the shop the clerk put up a sign: 'Closed'. Siegfried said: "Well, that's another way to do business..." "I was only telling the truth." Terra said. "You know...I led you here so you could get something for the travels...not to degrade the clerk to a worm." "I didn't want the most beautiful garments. I just wanted an acceptable quality. Something you don't have to replace right after wearing it one or two days." Siegfried mumbled: "If you want something to be done, do it yourself." "If you have a few weeks to spare I can make us a set of clothing. Out of the plants of the forest like generations of..." Siegfried cut her word off by sealing her mouth with the hand. He then whispered: "There's only one thing the people here despise more than humans. And that's the elves that banished them from the forest. If they found out, that you were raised by the elves, we're in for a lot of trouble, so don't take the word 'Elf' into your mouth when you're speaking loud. Understood?"
Terra nodded, significantly startled. When Siegfried took his hand away the first thing he got was a slap in the face. "Don't you DARE to touch me like that again!"
"I just stopped her from talking, something wrong about that?" "An old custom." Celestia said. "I'll tell you later...but you better listen to her." "Alright..."
After Terra chose the finest garments they had there that still suited their needs she said to the clerk: "Alright, we'll take these. How much is that?" The clerk replied after looking down on Terra: "I'm afraid you can't pay as much as these garments are worth. They are made after ancient elven customs and it took years to reach such perfection...unless of course...you'd do me some favors..." Siegfried cut in: "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop it right there! You're not suggesting anything like that as long I'm protecting these two." "Well...so you're going to pay the bill then?" "First I'd need to know how much you want for it." "Well as I said...a few hours with the exquisite ladies over there would be worth as much." "Terra?"
"Yes?" "He's all yours." "Thanks." Siegfried turned around and walked a few steps back. He then said to Celestia: "I suggest you cover your ears. This isn't going to be pretty." Celestia meant to say something but Siegfried couldn't hear it since Terra had already started to make down the perverted clerk. A strong breeze came up as Terra got into rage. Compared to the storm this clerk now had to face the other one had a friendly breeze. About 10 minutes of rapid speaking the clerk was blown against the back of his store and still being pressed against the wall. On the outside Siegfried asked: "Do you think he had enough?" Celestia thought for a second and then said: "If we try to stop her now, we'll get a good smacking from her. I suggest we wait a little longer." After another two minutes they heard a dumb noise, a scream and then a cracking noise. Then Terra came out with a somewhat joyful face and the garments over her shoulder. "I was able to convince him to give them to us for free." Siegfried's jaw fell down. Celestia said calmly.
"As you said. Another way to do business." "You don't seem to be surprised..." "Well, that's Terra for you. Whoever pisses her off get's to taste her fury." "Ah...so it's normal then?" "She inherited her temper from mother." "So you got the power and she got the temper?" "Well...it's better to be calm if you have the power. Terra never had the power needed...so she needed to find something different to make herself count something. She found it in fury and brains."
"You done chatting yet?" Terra asked. She reached Celestia her garments. "Alright...is there somewhere we can change..." Siegfried thought for a moment and then said: "I think it's better if we wait until we're out of town before you change clothes. Somewhere in the bushes. We just need to visit the smithy and we're done here. And this time please...PLEASE let me do the bargaining."
"What does he mean?" Terra asked. "I think he wants to pay for himself at least once." Siegfried mumbled: "And I thought I'd cause an uproar here..." Celestia said: "You can't foresee the future. There'll always be something not going as you planned it." "What the...you heard me?!" Siegfried asked. This time Terra answered: "Celestia has great perceptional abilities. She can hear a flea sneeze when it's 2 miles away...and don't think I exaggerate, she already did that."
Siegfried thought: 'Just what kinda girls did I pick up there?!' They didn't talk much while they were searching for the smithy. After 5 minutes they had found it. Siegfried looked around and picked a sword decorated with runes. He just meant to offer his sphere in exchange for the sword when Terra cut in. "I wouldn't do that if I was you..." Siegfried mumbled: "Oh no...not again..." He then said loud: "What's wrong with this sword if I may ask?" "Well, it only takes one look to see that those runes engraved are plain nonsense. They look a bit magical, but all they can do is make an enemy sneeze...at best. If you want a sword for magic defense..." Terra looked around the selection a bit and then took a curved sword from the shelf: "I'd recommend that one. It has a weak protection spell on it defending against a variety of low-class magic. But against a master you stand no chance with that one." The clerk interrupted Terra: "Excuse me young lady, but are you experienced in the lore of runes?" "I've studied a lot of magic. Magical runes is just one of the many fields I've studied." "Wow...so you've been to the academy in the capital?" "Actually no. I've had a private teacher." Siegfried let out a relieved sigh. "Anyway...Celestia?" Terra said. "Yes?" "If this gentleman here allows us to, we can bestow a fitting spell on a blade in the smithy."
The clerk replied: "No, I'm afraid I cannot allow this. The magical smithy is proud of it's quality. But to stay alone with this quality we need to keep our working methods a secret." Terra sighed: "I had so hoped to avoid this..." Siegfried's eyes became large and he searched for cover. But the storm stayed out. Terra said with a calm but determined voice: "If you just let us use your smithy and supply us with a little material we can make the sword ourselves. Of course you'd get paid the same amount you'd get paid for a sword we'd buy." "What? You want to tell me, you know how to forge a sword?! Hah! Don't make me laugh! Master, you gotta see this!" Now a small old man...likely a dwarf came to the front. Terra leaned down and looked right into the face of the little one. "So...you want to use my smithy?" "That's right." "What makes you think I let you?" "Because I don't see even the slightest reason you should deny this easy request."
"Do you have any experience in this sector?" "No practical, but there's a first to everything. I won't break your enchanted hammer, don't worry." The dwarf remained silent for a few seconds...and then said: "The only people allowed in a smithy are masters and apprentices. No exceptions." He then turned around and vanished into the smithy again. "...you heard the master." Terra got up again. "You seem awfully friendly all of a sudden..." she stated. "The master likes you. And I'm not going up against his friends." Siegfried asked: "...if he likes her, how does he treat people he doesn't like?" "He doesn't talk to them at all." the clerk replied. "...those swords are all pretty well crafted..." "He is the master after all." "But why are all the spells on them so...weak?" The Clerk lowered his voice and said: "The master may be a masterful craftsman...but he's a poor sorcerer. I'm not skilled enough to become his apprentice...so all the spells on the equipment here are pretty low level." Terra also lowered her voice and asked: "So the true reason he lets no one into the smithy...is to avoid being outclassed by stronger magicians?" "Many half-elves only judge a magical item by the magical power it possesses. The Master fears, that if another smithy crafting magical items would open up here all would buy there...that's not just bad for the business...it's also bad for the customers. What good does it do, if a sword has the power to split a mountain...if it breaks once it touches the stone?" "I see what you mean..." The clerk then resumed with a louder voice: "All the weapons you see here are of top-quality and will protect you from any dangers in the wilderness." Terra waved off and Siegfried played his part: "Nah...I don't like the prices here. I think I'll go with a plain sword." Then the clerk said: "Very well Sir. A human is best off with a human sword after all." "Thanks for your time." They then got going again. In a safe distance Siegfried asked: "Okay, why did I just go without buying anything?" "You want that sword to work against your uncle, right?" "Right." "Well, then those swords are definitively not good enough for you. The protection on them is way too weak. There are bound to be more smithies in this world. We'll find one where we can make you a sword." "...so I basically...came into this town for nothing?" "Well, you got new clothes for us. So it wasn't for nothing." Terra said. "Furthermore you got to know us a bit better." Celestia added. "...yeah...what a gain..." Siegfried said. "It is. If you don't know your allies, how do you want to know if you can trust them?" Celestia asked.

Eventually they left the site again. Siegfried had shown them a map of the country
and they were planning out their route now. "Okay...if I'm not mistaken we'll need about 2 days from here to the next settlement." Siegfried said while he checked the supplies. "We can take up water from this river..." he said while pointing to a river mark. "Also there's a traveller station about here..." he pointed on a house mark. "There we'll take up food and shelter." Terra asked: "Where is your uncle located?" "The last I know is that he resides here. He built himself a tower in the desert of death." "Charming name." Terra remarked. "Typical for the dark masters. They have a long range of working their magic. So they settle in distant places where those affected by his magic can't reach him easily." "...makes sense...I wouldn't like it either if a ravaging mob lived next to me." Terra said. "Seems like quite a way..." Celestia said. "It is. It should take us about a month to get there...if all goes well that is." "And you really came all this way, just to get an enchanted sword?" Terra asked. "Well, partially. I was trailing one of those golems when I came into the vincinity. And when I heard from the magician that they forge magical swords here, I started to devise a plan to get one...to increase my chances of survival a bit...and then I met you." After stocking up their supplies in the nearby forest (cheap and healthy), the group started moving towards their next goal. They didn't talk too much...just idle chatter and of course some questions about the past. But neither Siegfried nor Terra and Celestia wanted to talk too much about their past. Then they came upon a small river, so small that it wasn't even marked on the map. It was protected by a small forest.
Celestia said: "That reminds me...we still didn't change our clothes." Terra scratched her head and said: "You know, you're right..." "There's a small forest over there. Ideal for you changing." Terra raised an eyebrow and then said: "Celestia, you go changing. I keep an eye on Mr. Siegfried here."
"What, you think I'd go peeping?" "You're a man. A human at that." "So?"
"Remember what I did to that other pervert?" "Yeah?" "Imagine what I'd do to you if I'd catch you doing something like that." Celestia had made off in the meantime to go changing. When she came back she had a question: "Say, what happened to your dog anyway? I haven't seen it ever since we entered the village." "Huh? My dog? Oh...no, that wasn't my dog. It came to me around the village. Maybe a stray." "Ah well...not that I'm gonna miss that four-legged fleabed." Terra said as she made off. She turned around one last time and said to Celestia: "Don't you dare let him out of your eyes even one second!" "I don't think he'll try anything like that. I think he values his life." After a while Terra came back. I could describe how the change of clothes looked like...but instead I'll show you. (That's Kaze's drawing that initiated that story)

© by Kaze

Siegfried let out a whistling noise while examining the two girls. "You look good, that's for sure." he then said. "Stop those looks if you value your health." Terra said while turning around. "...say Celestia...what was that about that old custom you mentioned?" Siegfried asked to change the topic. Celestia started explaining: "Hmm...where should I start. Ah yes. In times immemorial there was a dark elf wreaking havoc in our woods with it's spells. A high elf...the elder of that time...used a powerful ritual spell to banish the evil in the dark elf. This ritual required a physical connection of the caster and the target. And since the dark elf was already chanting again..." Siegfried ended the sentence: "...your elder covered it's mouth with his...or her hand...and thereby established the physical contact...so what happened then?" "Let me think...I don't know the details but I think the dark elf and the Elder got married. And ever since then, if a man covers the mouth of a woman, it is considered an act of affection. Sort of like a declaration of love. That's why Terra got pissed that much." "Oh...sh...err Terra, sorry about that, I...I didn't know that." "Of course you didn't know that...I'm sorry for getting that angry as well...it was just...so sudden." "Never mind...just don't roast me if I violate any of your customs by accident." "Mr. Siegfried?" Celestia suddenly started. "Cut the Mr. It's just Siegfried. What is it?" "You've been acting strange when the clerk mentioned an academy. Why?"
"There is no academy of magic in the capital. It is a common trick among Half-elves. They ask magic users if they've been to 'The Academy'. If Terra would've said 'Yes'..." "They'd have known we've got no idea of the outside world..." Terra completed the sentence." And Siegfried added: "And the only place where one could grow as old as you are WITHOUT knowing about the not-existing Academy... is the Elven village in the forest...and you know...although you're half-elves you still won't find any friends there if they'd have known that." "...enough of the chatter. We're ready for travel and we should get going before the sun sets." Terra said stemming her hands against her hips. "Do we have enough supplies?" Celestia asked. "And even if we run out of food, we'll just hunt something. We've got enough water and that's what's most important now." Siegfried asked: "Why are you in such a hurry, Terra? Celestia is right. If we go into the wilderness and aren't prepared properly, we run danger to loose to circumstance. And we can't afford taking this risk. So...how much do you eat?" "What kinda question..." Terra started but calmed down right after. She then said: "We can hold out a few days without food. Usually we eat about 5 bread slices with honey though...just to name a quantity." Celestia nodded. Suddenly tears ran down her cheeks. "Sh...I shouldn't have said that." "...what's with her?" "...Bread slices with honey were the favorite food of mother..." Siegfried remained silent for a few seconds and then said: "It may sound rude, but you have to leave behind your past now if you want to go into a brighter future. I don't know much about magic and all that stuff to be honest. But as long as I don't see the dead corpse of someone, I tend to believe that the person is still alive. I mean...those were the High Elves. No matter how powerful my uncle is. I don't think he was able to kill them this easily. So if we defeat my uncle, they may return." "Honestly?" Celestia said weepy-eyed. "Well, I can't promise anything, but it's possible. Don't let your hopes down." "Siegfried is right Celestia. We just saw them be engulfed by darkness. We never saw them die." Terra said. A spark of hope glimmed up in her eyes. Siegfried had stated something she had forgotten in her despair. They never actually saw the elves die. "But...what do we do now?" Celestia asked. "We go according to plan. We make our way along the route we planned out. If all goes smoothly we'll reach the traveller station by tommorow morning if we walk through the night." "What, we aren't sleeping?!" Terra asked. "We can't afford to sleep during the night in the wilderness. Or else wild animals...or even magical monsters...are bound to attack us..." "Shouldn't keep fire them at bay?" Celestia asked. "Maybe the animals...but the monsters aren't impressed by fire...in fact fire would attract them. Because Fire means life. And life means prey. Get what I mean?" "...and if we aren't going soon, it'll be night before we've walked even one step." Terra said and started walking. Siegfried looked after her for a few seconds and then said: "Excuse me, but west...would be that way." He pointed to a different direction. "You have no clue where you're going, right?" he added. "Do I look like a compass?" "A what?"
"Compass: A magical device using the powers of nature. It's pin always aligns north. It was used for orientation a long time ago, but when the elves settled down the compass was quickly forgotten." Terra explained herself. "...ah yes, now I remember." Celestia added. "Apparently the force used with the compass was called Magnetism. Some human scholars supposedly were able to build them...but that was long ago. The compass is the best friend of every traveler, however finding one is more of a treasure hunt." "Well, as long as we don't have such a compass we'll just have to rely on the sun. It's around noon now, so West is that way." Again Siegfried pointed into a direction and started walking. Just when Terra and Celestia meant to follow him Celestia heard something. "Wait a second please." she said as she stood still monitoring her surroundings. "What is it now?" "...somebody is shouting..." "So what's it to us?" Siegfried asked. "Just be quiet and listen. Celestia will tell us if it concerns us." A few minutes later the clerk from the smithy came running out of the village. When he reached the group he was gripping an item and breathing heavily. The group patiently waited until the clerk caught his breath. "Thank...goodness...you're still here." "...that perception is simply astonishing..." Siegfried muttered. "Why did you come after us? Is something the matter?" "Well...my master...suddenly came from his smithy...and told me...to give this...to the young lady...with the energic eyes." The Clerk reached out the package made of cloth. Terra took it, obviously puzzled. When she opened the package a really fine crafted sword became visible. A little piece of paper with elven runes on it came with it. Terra took it and started reading: 'This is the last masterpiece of my master's master. It usually is conveyed from one master to the next upon completion of training as a sign of trust. In your eyes, young lady, I've seen a power much greater than the elven magic of the village you're from. Also I saw despair and even desperation within you. This sword resembles the hopes of my master and my master's master and also my own. I hope that you will one day return this sword to me...and earn it as my apprentice. Until then...use it well.' She then took the sword out of the package, examined it and said: "This is one fine piece of craftsmanship...and the runes are on a distinctively higher level than those in the smithy. Not as high level as we'd need it...but far more suitable than anything else." "...may...I go now?" the Clerk asked. Terra led the clerk a little away from the others and said to him:
"Give your master my thanks. I shall honor his wish...and give my utmost to return this fine weapon to it's rightful owners hands." "I have no idea what you're talking about...but I'll tell him. Good fortune on your travels."
Back at the group Siegfried asked: "So...what are they talking about?" "Hm? Oh, sorry, I wasn't listening. Did you know that the crickets over at the river are currently in the wooing season?" "...fine...then not." "You have to understand. If one has a hearing as fine as I do, I have to value the privacy of people over my curiousity. If Terra leads someone away to talk in privacy she trusts me to not listen in." "Yeah...I see." After the clerk went away again Terra went back to Siegfried and Celestia. Siegfried asked: "...what was that all about? Why did he give you a sword now?" Terra remained silent for a little and then said: "Who knows...dwarves are a strange race. I guess he just felt like it." "...may I see that paper?" Siegfried asked. But the paper Terra was holding suddenly caught fire and burned to a crisp in a matter of seconds. "What paper?" Terra asked. Siegfried wondered: "...a fire spell?" Celestia answered: "Not quite. In the Elven Magic there is no fire magic. Doesn't fit with the forest magic." "So...how did she do that...if not by magic?" "There's a difference between magic and ability. Every elf has a special ability. Of course some abilities are redundant among the elves. But Terra has the 'Gift of Fire'...which is extremely rare amongst the elves. Not to say unique. On the other hand I have the 'Gift of Perception' as you may already know." "Really...that's interesting..." "The humans don't have special abilities?" Terra asked. "Not this kind of special ability, that's for sure. Some are more talented in different areas than others...but nothing like that. So you can set things on fire?" "Not really...I can induct heat by my willpower and focus this heat...but things that aren't easily flammable I can't burn. As Celestia said. It's no spell."
"...still it's handy. It's like having a burning candle with you all the time." "Heh...the elves back at home hated me for that ability. And you're praising me." Terra blushed a little bit, not that you could easily tell. The group then started walking towards the west (after Siegfried determined the direction again). Terra kept the sword with her. After a while Siegfried asked: "Don't you think it'd be better if I take the sword? After all I'm more skilled in the use of weapons. You can have my bow if you want." "...no, I don't think you should have this sword. It could be a bit hard to control for you." "...whatever you say...just don't slice my head with that thing." The group continued marching. The hours passed without any problems. They didn't encounter even one soul. "...I never thought the world outside was this..." Celestia started. Siegfried said: "Yeah...it's a big world. That's something different than your little forest." However Celestia corrected him:
"...empty. Where is everyone? Where are all the humans?" Terra said half-aware staring at the sword: "Just because there's no one here, that doesn't mean the world is empty. They just are somewhere else. Or did you run into another elf every 5 steps while we were in the forest?" "Terra is right, Celestia. The world is a big place. There aren't enough living beings to be everywhere. This area is only scarcely habitated. The Half-Elf Village is the only town in the vicinity. So of course you don't meet many people here...after all...what would humans want in a village of Half-Elves? If they don't need something magical that is." Terra said: "Good answer." The group kept walking. Every few hours they rested and each time they did Terra took out the sword and polished it with some of her old cloth. At the third rest Siegfried said: "You know...the sword won't sparkle any more, just because you keep polishing it. Why do you do that? It's clean." "Something's not right..." Terra answered while keeping the polishing up. "What is it Terra?" Celestia asked.
"The sword reflects everything...the surrounding, you, Siegfried...but it doesn't reflect me. And I have no freaking idea why." "A selective reflection? Maybe the sword doesn't like you then?" Siegfried jested. "Did you check the runes on the shaft connection yet?" Celestia asked. "Shaft connection?" Terra looked at the point where the shaft and the blade merged into each other and only then noticed a really small engraving no normal soul would ever notice if he wouldn't look very closely. Terra looked at it but after a while she shook her head: "No good. I can't read it. It's too small." "Let me have a go." Celestia said and reached out her hand to take the sword. But when she tried to take it a small spark and a stinging pain hindered her from doing so. She held her hand and said: "Oww...that sword is really picky, you know?" "Say what." Siegfried said and took a firm grip of the sword. The result was devastating...for him. His whole body was electrified and shaking and after seemingly endless 5 seconds he let go of the sword and jumped back whopping 5 meters from the sword which was sticking in the ground and sparkling. Terra said mildly amused: "Did I already mention the lightning spell engraved on the back side of the blade?" "...no...I think you forgot that..." Siegfried groaned while he made his way back. In the meantime Terra was holding the sword and Celestia was studying the runes from a distance. When Siegfried had reached them, she was leaning back and saying. "There are two sentences engraved on the shaft connection. One is a protective spell that triggers the lightning if someone tries to steal the sword. It must be given as a present or to be found after 20 years of rest." "And the other one?" Terra asked. "Hey Ladies...I'm fine, thanks." "You're the only one to blame on that matter. Why should we pity you?" Terra asked not even looking up. Siegfried opened his mouth to say something but shut it before saying anything after all. Celestia then said: "It's elven language. Pretty old at that. I can't really make all of it out...something about a 'Mirror of Truth'." "Wait...how does elven language come on a dwarven sword?" Siegfried asked. Celestia said: "Legend has it, that in times immemorial all living beings of the world lived together in peace. Many fine artifacts from this cohabitance are still existant in our world. The rune blades are an example for these artifacts. But nowadays...since the races isolated from each other...masterful artifacts and how they are made have been forgotten. Almost."
Terra smiled: "And there I thought I was the only one to listen in history class."
While the group got walking again Siegfried asked: "Do you have any idea why the races isolated from the others? I mean okay...it sometimes isn't easy to come along...but total racial isolation?" "I don't know." Terra admitted and Celestia shook her head as well. "But aren't we all the same?" Siegfried kept going. "Well, there ARE a few differences, aren't there?" "Ah really? Don't we breathe the same air? Don't we drink the same water? Don't we suffer when we're hurt?" A deep silence was the only thing that followed. Both Terra and Celestia knew that Siegfried was right. The silence persisted...until night fell. Celestia mourned: "My feet are hurting..." "I know...mine too..." Terra added. "You aren't used to long marches, are you?" Siegfried smiled in the twilight. "Usually my magic would help me moving...but outside of the forest..." "You mean to tell me, that you can only use your magic inside of the forest?" "I need to rest in a forest sanctuary to recover my magic completely...I already used it up...to come this far..." Celestia sounded tired. "Yeah...right...Celestia has never relied on her muscles. She was able to support about any of her actions with her magic. And inside of the forest the spirits restored her magic as she was using it. So she never learnt using it well dosed either..." Terra said. "Hmm..." Siegfried looked around. His eyes brightened up when he spotted a cave. "Ah. Perfect timing. See that cave over there? We can rest up in there without taking the risk of being run over immediately."
The group moved over to the cave. When they entered, Terra's eyes fell on an old camping site. "It seems as if other adventurers rested here not too long ago." Siegfried stated. "Looks like it." Terra said. Celestia asked: "Is that...a campfire?" "No, it's a camping site." Siegfried corrected her and then added: "That stone circle needs some wood so we can ignite a campfire there." "...wood?" Celestia seemed sad. "What's wrong with...oh..." Siegfried understood in the middle of the sentence after seeing Terra's face. "I'll...fetch some for us. You stay here and don't move, got it? Terra you're in charge of protection." Siegfried turned around and took his bow from his shoulder. "Hey Siegfried...you know we haven't met a single beast or human or monster in all the time we've been wandering. What's the bow for?" Terra asked. "Night is falling. And now the predators are leaving their hideouts where they sleep during the day. I just want to be on the safe side. Anyway...I'm off." Siegfried made off leaving the girls alone. Now we could go two ways...we either follow Siegfried on his journey for wood or we stay with the Girls...well, giving the title of the story the path is pretty obvious. Yup, that's right. We stay with the ladies.
After a few minutes of silence Celestia said while poking around in the ashes with a small wooden stick that was lying around: "It still seems so unreal..."
"You can say that again...I'm still waiting to wake up in my bed." Terra replied. "Yeah...if it only was just a nightmare..." "What do you think about him?" "About Siegfried?" "Yeah..." "...I don't really know...he seems so different...and yet he treats us as if we were like him." "Do you like him?" "...I don't know." Then Celestia laughed: "At least I can stand him. Unlike that nerd Gallium back at home." Terra looked dumbfounded for a moment, then she started laughing as well. They started talking about their common past. About things that went wrong. About happy memories. And in the end they ended up crying. Crying over the past that was ripped from them. While Terra stopped after about 10 minutes Celestia kept crying. And she kept crying until she fell asleep resting her head on Terra's lap. Terra took her cloth and formed a cushion from it. She then put Celestia's head carefully on that cushion and sat down leaning on a wall, holding the sword tight. She didn't know why but a certain sense of unrest was raging inside of her. After a few hours...it had become pitch black...Terra heard a slight noise from the outside. She immediately gripped the sword tight, jumped up and took up a clumsy battle stance with the sword touching the ground. Under a little cursing a rather tall creature stumbled into the cave. Terra heaved up the sword and shouted: "Who's there?!" Then a dumb noise followed by a loud screaming of pain. Terra recognized the voice and smiled taking down the sword. "What happened?" "That f... piece of wood fell on my foot!" Siegfried yelled. Now Celestia had woken up as well. She asked sleepy: "Siegfried? What's all that noise for?" Terra leaned the sword against the wall and picked up the piece of wood Siegfried had dropped in the darkness. She said: "You should be more careful. I hope you brought some dry leafs as well...or else making it burn could be a bit difficult." "I brought a piece of tree bark. Don't forget...I'm used to survive in the wilderness." "Yeah, whatever. Get the fire to burn and then let us sleep. It's getting late. And cold." Terra went back to her spot at the wall. Siegfried worked at the campfire-site and then held the bark to Terra: "Could you?" "What?" "Set it on fire of course." "Why? I thought you know how to do it." "I know how to do it, but it's a pain to do. I already collected the wood, so at least do that much." Terra smiled in the darkness while nobody could see. She then took the bark in front of her and started to exert her ability on one of the corners. After 10 seconds it began to burn. Siegfried carefully took the bark and lighted the campfire with it. After 5 more minutes the fire was burning brightly and lighting the small cave. "Alright...I'm tired..." Siegfried said. He then added: "Wake me in a few hours, ok? Then I'll take over the watch. Don't forget to throw a bit of wood into the fire before it goes out." "Err...what?" Terra asked: "You know...hold watch. So not all of us are sleeping if anything comes in this cave." "Hey...why not Celestia? Why do I have to do it?" "Because Celestia is already sleeping again and you're armed. And now let me sleep." Siegfried leaned against the opposite wall and closed his eyes leaving Terra alone. She tried one or two times to speak to him, but he didn't reply. She then shook her head and took over the watch with the words: "Next time you won't get away with it that easily."
A few hours passed but nothing worth mentioning happened. Just around midnight Terra woke up Siegfried by clanging the sword on his shoulder lightly triggering the lightning spell. You can imagine that Siegfried went to the ceiling. "Wh-wh-what?!" "Be quiet. You're up. And it's your turn to 'hold watch'. I'm tired so don't complain or else I won't be as nice as I was right now." "...there are nicer ways to wake someone up, you know?" Terra sacked the sword to the ground so the lightning enclosed flashed up briefly. She then leaned against her wall and closed her eyes, the sword gripped tight. Siegfried muttered: "I wonder if she's ever going to let go of that sword again..." Siegfried stared in the fire and then his eyes wandered over to Celestia and Terra. 'If we defeat him...will really everything be okay?' he asked himself. He then shook his head. 'It isn't like me to fret like that. Why am I worrying about the future? The next day to come is already far enough. Why care...' His eyes wandered again and stopped on the sword sparkling in the fire's glow. He stared at his own reflection. And yet it wasn't his own. A boy stared back at him. A boy of maybe 12 years. Sadness and Anger were in the eyes of this boy. Siegfried blinked for just a moment...then the reflection reverted to his own. 'Feh...I must be getting old...I'm already seeing things...' The night passed...and Siegfried stared into the fire. He avoided looking at the sword, Terra or Celestia. Afraid of the thoughts lingering inside of himself. When the sun slowly rose Terra woke up the first: "*Yawn*...morning..." "You've been awake half of the night yesterday and yet you wake up with the first ray of the sun?" Siegfried asked. "Why not? Got a problem with that?" "...no. Alright, then let's wake Cel...hey, where the heck did Celestia go?" In that moment Celestia came in from the outside of the cave with a few fruits in her hands. "Ah, finally awake? Good, then let's eat while we're on our way." "...when did you leave the cave?" "Oh, that was about...20 minutes ago or something. You've been sleeping with open eyes." Celestia giggled a little. Terra remarked: "Some watchman are you." "...honestly, I didn't see her move for even one minute. And I didn't sleep..." "And how did she get past you if not on her own two feet...unless..." Terra turned her head towards Celestia: "You didn't pull that illusion prank on him, did you?" "And what if I did?" "If you did, we'll be able to walk all day without you complaining, because you obviously regained too much magic by sleeping." Siegfried interrupted them and asked: "Excuse me but...would anyone mind to tell me what all that is about?" "One of Celestia's hobbies is to pull little pranks on others by using her magic. She makes people see things that aren't there for example. Of course one who's experienced in the lore of magic can dispell Celestia's illusions with ease... but well, you obviously aren't." Terra started smiling. "...and what does she do to people she doesn't like?" Siegfried asked. Celestia gave back: "Who ever said I liked you?" "Well, at least you don't hate me, right?" Celestia didn't reply but only threw over some of the fruits to Terra and Siegfried and then got walking again. 'What am I saying? Why is their opinion so important to me...nah, it can't be.' Terra said: "You don't look too well. Be sure to get some sleep while walking." "Yeah, right. And who is gonna tell you which direction to go to?"
The group proceeded towards their next goal, the traveller station. The journey was uneventful. When the station came into sight range they encountered other humans for the first time. "Hey...are those over there...humans?" Celestia asked. "Looks like it. Come on, we say hello." Siegfried replied and changed the direction towards the other group. When they reached Terra and Celestia kept behind Siegfried. "Yo." he said. "Ah...wait, I've seen you before, didn't I? You're Siegfried aren't you?" the leader of the other group, consisting of a swordsman, a magician and a female archer, replied. "Yeah that's right...but..." "Of course you don't remember. I got your name the last time you've been here. Did you find that 'magic' you've been looking for?" The Archer looked behind him and pointed to the girls. "Looks as if he found something even better than a magical item. Look what he brought with him." "...are those half-elves?" the magician asked. Terra gave back: "And what if we are?" "If you are, you must be quite the exceptions." the magician replied. "Why?" Celestia asked. "Because Half-Elves rarely leave their village. They're almost as bad as those elves in their forest. The only half-elves you usually see in the outside world are those that were outcast from the half-elven village as well...and since that village is already a refuge, those are rare." "And what about you? Are you...a magician?" Terra asked. "That I am. I'm still training though. Unlike you we have to study the art of magic to be able to use it." "Hey, it's not like we can use magic any way we want. We have to study it too!" "Yeah, right. You snap with your fingers and a tree grows. We have to use a ritual to make even a sapling sprout. Don't give me that, you're definitely gifted in magic." "Ah yeah?! Well for you information..." Terra pushed Siegfried to the side. Siegfried said to the others: "We better take a seat...this could take a while." In the meantime Celestia had already taken a seat on a rock. About 2 hours of discussion later...the magician and Terra were still arguing. The Swordsman asked Siegfried: "That girl's an outcast, eh?" "Let's say...she wasn't exactly the most popular girl in the half-elf village." "Ah really..." Celestia whispered over to Siegfried: "You know we're not from that village. Why do you imply that?" Siegfried whispered back: "They may seem normal and kind to you...but many humans hold a grudge against elves and their offspring. And if they find out you are such an extraordinary offspring...god knows what they'll try to do." "Why?" "Hey, what's so interesting? Speak louder if you got something to tell." the archer demanded. Siegfried said: "No, it's nothing...anyway...what are you up to at the moment?" "Yeah right...change the topic..." the archer said and turned her attention back on the argument between Terra and the magician. "Man...they never come to an end, do they?" she said. "You know how stubborn magicians can be. And from what I see we've got two magicians there." the swordsman exclaimed. A small rest followed, then the humans broke out in laughter. Celestia giggled a little, still unsure on how to feel about these humans. A whole while later...the magician was lying knocked out on the ground. When the Swordsman went over to check it out he shouted over: "Hey, would you believe it? She talked him into the ground!" "That girl keeps astonishing me." Siegfried remarked. Celestia and Siegfried helped the Swordsman to get the Magician up. It turned out, that he wasn't just knocked out...but actually burrowed into the ground a little bit and stuck there. After an exertion of united force they pulled him out. They then moved towards the house. "Looks like we'll stay another night." the swordsman laughed. "Hey, sorry for causing trouble to you." Siegfried apologized. "Nah, it's alright." the archer said. She then added: "It actually was good that we ran into you. Magus was getting cocky with his recent exploits." Siegfried looked puzzled for a second, he then laughed. "Well, let's hope I don't get cocky with my skills then. Or else Terra will ram me into the ground." The group laughed again, except for Terra and Celestia. Celestia was still standing at Terra who was standing silently at the spot where she stood while fighting. "...are you okay Terra?" she asked. Terra was breathing heavily. "Terra?" "...it's nothing. I just overdid it a little. Come on, they won't wait forever." "Actually they already went ahead..." Terra didn't say another word but moved with her head down towards the shelter. Celestia scratched her head but then followed. She was confused, but she didn't want to worry unnecessarily. After all that was Terra. Her own sister. And maybe that was just her way of handling the past events. They shared their rooms with the group from before...Siegfried went to the Swordsman and the Magician (still out) and the girls were cooped up with the Archer. The innkeeper apologized for the inconvenience, but after all a station isn't built for larger group numbers. The night went by...but just around midnight Celestia woke up because a hint of cold air tickled her feet. When she looked around she noticed the open windows and a shadow standing on the balcony, staring outside. She stood up and went over. "Can't sleep Terra?" "Sorry, did I wake you?" "Nah...the wind did." Both remained silent for a second and then both started: "You know...no, you go ahead." They looked at each other and started giggling. From behind the archer groaned: "Keep quiet...I'm trying to sleep...". Terra looked back and then nodded to the outside. Celestia agreed silently. The two packed up their light luggage and went to the outside closing the balcony behind them. They went over to a nearby tree, climbed up and leaned against the tree sitting on branches. Terra sighed. "What are you thinking?" Celestia asked. "Do you think we are doing the right thing? You know...travelling with someone we don't even know." "What else can we do? I mean...we've got nowhere to go back to, remember?"
"Yeah...how could I forget?" Terra sighed again when she suddenly noticed a faint noise. It was an irregular noise disturbing the silence of the night. Like a knocking. "Celestia, do you hear that?" Celestia remained silent and then said: "...yeah...if you mean that knocking noise...want to check it out?" Celestia heard Terra unsceath her sword (she carries it on a belt hidden under her top.) "As you said: There's nothing to loose anyway." Terra sprung up and jumped over to the balcony they stood on not too long before. She slipped away a little but was stabilized by Celestia who had followed her using magic. "Thanks." Terra whispered. "No problem." Celestia replied. After Terra had regained a stable stand Celestia ascended to the roof, following the trace of the noise. Terra followed right after, jumping up and heaving herself up to the roof. If one was to watch, he could easily tell who was using magic and who was using brawn. After Celestia had helped Terra climb up the both moved over the roof only illuminated by the moonlight...from the distance one could only see mere shadows move. At the edge they could see something move near another tree in a certain distance. Both of them went into a lying position to analyze the situation. The shadow moving was moving and jumping. Then a small projectile flew right over to the tree. Celestia and Terra watched the scene for a while. Sometimes the projectiles hit the tree, sometimes they whizzed past it by mere inches. Terra whispered: "Can you recognize who that is?" Celestia remained silent for a few moments, sunken into deep concentration. She then stood up and jumped in a transcendant manner into the tree where the projectiles were stuck. Terra could easily see, that Celestia was using Magic not only to move but also to stay hidden while in mid-air. She said to herself: "Very well Celestia. You want to test me? Well, here I come." Terra ran over to another edge of the roof, jumped down, kicked against the wall right before impacting on the ground, performed a salto and landed without any noise on the ground. She gripped the sword tighter and hid it under her garments to prevent it from sparkling in the moonlight. She then ran over to the tree, moving within the shadows, melting together with them. Right when another projectile hit the tree she climbed it with two aimed jumps, making the leafs rustle as if the wind was blowing through them. When she reached the trees crown Celestia was whispering: "What was that show for? You could've just gone over. Look? It's Siegfried practicing his shooting." "Well, you knew that." Terra replied quietly and then added: "I didn't. And since you moved carefully I did so as well." Suddenly a well aimed arrow whizzed on the height of their waists and got stuck in the tree. Siegfried then shouted up: "While you're up there, could you bring my arrow back?" Celestia however was so startled that she fell down. Siegfried dropped his bow and caught her on his arms. He let her down immediately, anticipating Terra to fall down as well. But Terra didn't fall. Instead of falling Terra pulled out the arrow and threw it down like a javelin so it burrowed into the ground right next to Siegfrieds leg. Not as strong as if shot from a bow...but still capable of hurting someone. She then jumped down and said: "The next time you're practicing, watch where you aim." "What? I didn't hit you, did I? I just meant to teach you, that it's not nice to spy on others." Celestia slowly got up, still dazzled by the events of the last minute. "What were you doing here?" she asked. Of course she knew what Siegfried has been doing up to that moment, but she wanted the time to sort her thoughts. "Well, I've been practicing. This is a dangerous world, believe it or not. I'm good with the bow, but when it comes to moving targets I suck. That's why I was jumping around and all that...to simulate the movement of the target." Siegfried dried his sweaty head with his arm. "Seems as if you've been busy, eh? And why didn't you tell us?" Terra asked. "Why? I mean...you girls need your sleep. And if I can't sleep, why should I bother you?" "Hey, listen now...like it or not, but right now we're a team." Terra started. Celestia added: "If you got any kind of problem you can always talk with us. Because that's what friends are for." Then Terra took over again: "You're right. We are just girls. But that doesn't mean, that we're made of porcellain. We're not THAT fragile. We've been through a lot lately, that's right. But we're still alive as far as I can tell. And that's why YOU, Mr. Siegfried are NOW going to tell us WHY you keep to yourself that much."
Siegfried was almost forced to the ground and then stuttered: "Err...Privacy?" But he could see in Terras eyes that he needed a better answer...and he needed it fast. Before Terra exploded again Celestia started with a calm voice: "Listen Siegfried...we didn't sleep well either and we've got our own reasons for that. Reasons you maybe wouldn't understand. And you may have reasons we maybe wouldn't understand. But what Terra meant to say...if you got any problem...you can talk it over with us. And just maybe we can help you." Now Siegfried really sat down. He felt as if he first was rolled over by Lava and then confronted with a refreshing rain. A climate shock if you want to say so. He stuttered: "Well...unless you can get me some moving targets I'm afraid you can't help me right now." Celestia smiled: "If that's all, then there's no problem. I've got just the spell for you...and it's way better than shooting at the poor tree." Terra smiled and then said: "While you go on about his shooting practice I'll try to get used to this one." Terra got out the sword again and turned around. She went over to the other side of the building and started swinging the sword around, trying to get a feel for it. In the meantime Celestia worked a spell that projected various semi-real targets into the air. First they were moving slowly. Siegfried hit every single target. Induced by the spell all projectiles moved back right into the leather quiver on Siegfrieds back. Celestia then accelerated the speed. Still, as long as the targets moved constantly Siegfried had no trouble at all to hit them. After a whole while Celestia went to rapid speed. Now the targets were also flashing and shooting small electrical discharges that burn a minor bit if you get hit by them. The targets were now moving around Siegfried. After a few hits Siegfried had taken up the speed and took down the targets before they could get another hit. Soon all the targets were 'destroyed'. Both Siegfried and Celestia were breathing heavily. "Want more?" Celestia asked. Siegfried shook his head and said: "You're already sweating yourself. How about we check on your sister and then go to bed again?" "Check on Terra? Good idea...but that 'going to bed'-bit seems a little obsolete." "Why?" "Because the next day is about to dawn in about...30 minutes." "What? It can't be that late!" "Well...we've been training for quite some time...3 hours I believe." "Honestly?!" "Shh...the people in there must still be sleeping." Celestia turned around and walked towards the front. When she reached the back side of the house she stopped. Siegfried walked up to her and asked: "What is it?" "...I hear something strange...like I heard it in the smithy...like metal hits on metal..." "But there is no other metal in the vincinity...unless..." Siegfried and Celestia looked at each other for a brief moment and then started sprinting to the front side. When they arrived at the front side Terra and the swordsman were engaged in a fierce swordfight, the rest of the group cheering for their comrade. Siegfried ran over to the magician and yelled at him: "What the hell is going on here?!" "Can't you see? It's a duel." the magician replied. The archer corrected him: "No, it's a training match. That girl's quite gifted I tell you...Seph usually doesn't agree to such matches..." "Seph?" Celestia asked. The magician replied: "Yeah. He was named after the legendary swordsman 'Sephiroth', but everyone calls him Seph. It's his dream to become as good as Sephiroth was back in his time." She didn't know why herself, but Celestia suddenly started to recite from the library: "Sephiroth. The most powerful swordsman in history. It is said that no mortal was ever able to defeat him. According to legend he was wielding a 5 feet long sword with one hand and a single strike of him was enough to wipe out an entire army. Historically it is not proven that Sephiroth the swordsman ever existed or if he was a fairy tale to start with." Now Seph shouted over: "Hey, don't you call Sephiroth a fairy tale!" Terra took up the cue and placed an aimed strike that sent the sword of Seph flying and the swordsman to the ground. She then pointed the blade's tip to his throat. "You should concentrate more...or else another remark like that will cost you your life." Siegfried thought he saw some sort of aura flash up around Terra, but it was gone before he could consciously notice it. Terra pulled back the sword and went over to the tree, where she had deposited her travelling garments. She had been fighting with just the top, the skirt and the boots on. After a few moments of Silence the swordsman got up and started applauding. Soon after the magician and the archer followed up. Siegfried sank to the ground with the words: "Man, I don't believe it...she just starts with the sword and already takes on a skilled swordsman with years of experience." Celestia kneeled next to him: "Well, that's Terra for you. She's always been one to learn fast." Siegfried turned his head towards Celestia and muttered: "That wasn't fast...that was close to godlike. Are you two some sort of goddesses and you just forgot to tell me?" Celestia made a funny face and then said: "Who knows?" She then shouted over to Terra: "Hey, did we become goddesses lately?!" Terra shouted back, putting her garments on and bringing her hair back into style: "Not that I'd know of!" Celestia smiled at Siegfried and said: "Well, I guess not then. Because when we left home we were nothing godlike." Siegfried thought for himself: 'I don't know...was that cute right now...or plain scary?' Seph walked over to Siegfried and said to him: "You better take good care of those two." "Huh?" "Well, if anything was to happen to them, I couldn't get my revanche on this Terra." He then turned towards Terra: "You better hone your sword skills. Because next time we meet, it won't be as easy."
Terra laughed: "Will do, don't worry." "Oh and...don't you dare to get yourself killed." Seph gave back and then made off towards the east. The Archer shouted: "Hey Seph! Wait for us!", packed up her stuff and ran after him. Magus looked back one last time and then hurried after the other two without saying another word. An expression of curiousity and fear was in his eyes. After the group vanished in the rising sun Siegfried said: "Man...you two certainly left an impression on those three...especially you Terra." "Well, it isn't MY fault that they started a fight with me, is it?" Siegfried meant to say: 'Actually it was you who started fighting with them.' but he bit on his lips before it came out. He knew too well how violent Terra could become, although he didn't know her for that long.
The group got walking again after they had packed up their belongings as well. As for paying the innkeeper...for some strange reason the innkeeper was not to be found anywhere. Instead Siegfried found a piece of paper: "Just don't demolish my inn, okay? If it concerns me, you've never stayed here." he read out loud. He then said scratching his head: "I have to admit...I never got around as cheap as I get with you two..." Celestia said with somewhat a sorrowfull face: "It doesn't feel right...wherever we come...the people fear us...why?" The face of Siegfried took up a serious expression. "The reason is power. You two are nothing like the things the people around here know. And humans tend to fear...what they don't know. And I believe it's even worse with elves and half-elves." A depressing silence followed. Then Siegfried tried to lighten the mood again: "Well, but don't worry. You'll get accustomed to the people soon. And then the fear of the people will subside. And not all humans are as weak as that innkeeper. I mean...think of that Swordsman Sephiroth. He didn't run when he realized your power Terra. On the contrary. He helped you train it. And when you defeated him...he promised you a rematch. You don't do that if you're afraid of someone. But if you value him...or her in your case...as a warrior and rival." "So...there are humans that aren't afraid of us?" Celestia asked. "Well...I'm a human too...at least I was the last time I checked. And I'm still with you." Terra threw in: "Because you need us maybe?"
Siegfried answered without thinking much: "That's not all there is to it, you know?" He regrettet not thinking before because Terra gave right back: "Well, what else to it is there?"

[Refugnic]

Siegfried scratched his head and blushed a little: "Well...err...you know...that is..." Celestia waved off: "It's okay...we better hurry. The world won't wait for us." Siegfried gratefully took up the cue and said: "That's right. My b...err...uncle has to be stopped." Terra raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask right now. Instead the group continued marching without any further questions.
A few minutes later though...
Siegfried got out a small piece of cloth and reached it to Terra: "To dry off yourself." "What, you realized my sweat now? Isn't that a bit late?" Terra gave back, but still took the cloth. Siegfried didn't answer but pointed over to a small spring a little ways to the left. "Well, I thought you'd like to wash yourself after that battle. That's what the towel is for." "A spring? But that wasn't on the map, was it?" "That's a topographic map of the land. Only the LARGER objects are written on that map. Like towns and rivers. The larger the map, the larger the object has to be to be written on it. I wanted to get myself a travellers map a long time ago...where all water sources and paths are inscribed in...but those are really expensive. And I don't have that kind of money. That's why I only have this map."
"And still you knew about this spring?" Celestia asked. "Actually I came across it on my way here from the capital. So it's nothing but a question of memory." Terra didn't say anything else but went over to the spring, washed her face and her arms and dried herself with the towel while Celestia and Siegfried were chatting a little bit more. She then returned to the other two and reached the towel to Siegfried: "Thanks Siegfried. I really needed that." "Ah...keep it. You never know when you need a piece of cloth." Siegfried pulled out another two towels and handed one to Celestia. "As you can see..." "Where?" Terra simply asked. "I had one large towel to begin with. I simply divided it by three." Then Siegfried went over to the spring himself and began filling up the water bottles. Celestia asked: "Our rations aren't even halfway down...why does he do that?" "You never know when you'll find Water again. That's why one should fill up on it whenever he has the chance." Terra replied. All of a sudden a strong stinging pain hit her out of the blue and Terra went to her knees, using the sword as support while her other hand cramped over the region of the pain...directly around her heart. "Terra? Terra?!" Celestia went down to support her and to see what was going on. But Terra didn't hear her. When Siegfried realized that something was wrong with Terra he dropped the bottles he was currently refilling and sprinted over. "What's going on? What's wrong with her?" he shouted. Celestia replied with a weak voice: "I...I don't know. She just broke down all of a sudden...what..." "Don't you have some kind of healing magic?!" "But..." "What?!" "Healing magic is for SMALL wounds." Siegfried gazed at Terra. She seemed like of stone, her skin turned pale like all life was slowly being drained from her. "Not good, not good, not good!" he yelled, knocked Terra over so she fell to the ground. She fell to the back her arms still in the same position as before. "Petrification? But how?!" Siegfried checked her breath. It had stopped. He felt her pulse...it was extremely faint and could stop at any moment. Siegfried got his backpack down, slammed it on the ground and began searching for something. Various things flew out and past Celestia. She had never seen most of the items. In the end he placed a small flask and a few herbs on the ground. Then his eyes fell to the bottles at the spring. He jumped up and ran over to get one. He yelled: "Put the stuff into the flask!" Celestia woke up from her paralysis and started moving her hand inserting the herbs into the flask while Siegfried ran back with the bottle full of water. Celestia just had put in the last ingredient when Siegfried ripped it out of her hands and poured the water inside, then shut the opening with his hand and started shaking like crazy. He stared at the liquid inside and yelled at it: "Come on! React!" Then the color of the liquid changed and the stuff turned into a strong purple and began fizzing. Siegfrieds hand flew off the opening as a steam cloud emerged from the flask with pressure. Siegfried jumped over to Terra whose petrification was now almost complete. He poured the liquid all over her, starting with her face and ending with her belly. The liquid disappeared to seemingly nothingness...and then...endless seconds later...Terra coughed up and began breathing again. Both Siegfried and Celestia let out a loud relieved sigh. Then Siegfried bowed over. "Here Terra...you need to drink that...it will rid you off the rests of the petrification. "I...still can't move my hands..." Terra stuttered. Siegfried smiled: "If she can crack jokes like that she will be fine. Come on, open up." Siegfried slowly poured down the rests of the liquid into Terra's mouth...it was just a sip. Terra gulped it down and about 10 minutes later she was able to sit up again. "Eww...I'm all soaked!" she said. "If you'd have preferred ending as a statue, tell me beforehand the next time." Before the two could get any more into action Celestia suddenly started laughing. Siegfried and Terras heads turned around and found Celestia on her legs and knees, her cheeks wet from tears, her clothes soiled by grass and dirt and herself laughing like there was no tomorrow. Terra crawled over, sat down and raised Celestia's head. Celestia dropped to the front and fell into Terras arms. Terra hugged her and caressed her hair and back. "Shhhh...it's alright now. Everything is alright now..." Siegfried remained at his place and waited for Celestia to calm down. He waited for about ten minutes when the sobbing slowly subsided and a constant breathing took it's place. Terra rested Celestias head on her own lap and then waved Siegfried over. "She's sleeping?" he asked. "Yeah...she overexerts herself easily with stuff like that...she will be back in about one hour." Terra replied with a lowered voice. "But how did that happen? Where did you contract the petrification?" "Where did you learn to cure it? Where did you get the herbs for that?" "Well, I..." "The herbs you got from our forest. I recognize the smell. Now the question is...how did a human get a forest recipe that was basically only known to the elves?" "From this." Siegfried took a thick book out of his backpack. "Page 249 - Cockatrice." he said when he started collecting the stuff he threw out before. Terra took the book and read the title: 'Beasts of our world.' She then opened the book and browsed through it. Countless pictures of terrifying beasts glared at her along with a name and some pretty detailed data. Some of the pages were colored in deep red, some in bright green. Page 249 was one of the red pages. Terra read out loud: "Cockatrice. Bird-chimera creature. It emits a poisonous mist that turns living organs to stone. The exact process is unknown. However from herbal lore an antidote is known. Recipe on Page 1944." Terra browsed to the given page...it was one of the last pages. It was colored in green and described the 'Anti-Petrification' Formula. "You learnt that formula by heart?" she asked. "Not quite. The formula I used was a general antidote. Last page. It works against about anything that's related to poison. At least it slows down the poison process. And somewhere I read that Elves had immense regenerative powers. They're almost impossible to kill. So..." "So you gave me that poison inhibitor and hoped that I healed myself in the time you give me?" "Look in my bag, I don't even have half of the stuff I'd need for the real antidote. But if I had told Celestia that..." "I see what you mean...thanks for being so considerate." "But just where did you get the petrification? I mean...I doubt you ever saw a cockatrice in your entire life!" "Actually...I did." "What? When?" "Just before it all went black...I saw it gazing at me in the blades reflection." Terra laid Celestias head to the ground and went over to the sword sticking in the ground and pulled it up. Again, it reflected anything...but not Terra herself. "There is a secret about this blade...one day I'll understand it." she said. "Maybe it isn't the blade with the big secret...maybe it's you? A secret not even you know about?" Siegfried suggested. "Maybe...I don't understand it...why does it reflect everything...but not me? And why did it show this gruesome creature?" "I don't know...but what I do know is, that I'll better stock up on herbs and school Celestia in herbal lore...in case such a sudden disease happens to you again." "Actually she knows a lot about herbs and stuff...remember where we grew up?" "So it was the shock?" Terra nodded. And thereby enough was said. She stood up and brushed off the dust. "Just a question...why did I wake up soaked AND lying on my back?" "Err...well...promise not to fry me, ok?" "If you don't answer me soon..." Terra heaved up the blade and let it sparkle in the sun. "In how many pieces would you like to be cut then?" "Fine! I tell ya! In that moment I obviously didn't know what was wrong, so I knocked you to your back to reanimate your heart and lungs again." "Meaning?" "It's field medics. You lay the subject to the ground and then press on the heart region in a rhythmical pattern to animate the heart to thump on it's own again. You do this, if it stopped thumping only, or else it might be actually dangerous...and as for lungs..." "Yes?" Terra was feeling why Siegfried was hesitating, yet she pressed him on. "Well, usually the lungs are revitalized by pumping air from the outside to the inside by force. The air fills up the lungs and once they're full a coughing effect should make them work...and you breath again." "And what's so bad about that?" "...just what do you think, how does the air come to the inside from the outside? If you can't breathe yourself." Terra sat down again, her face deep red. "Whoa..." "Good thing that I realized that you contracted petrification before I tried resuscitation." "If you ever try that stuff on me, YOU'LL be the one who needs revival afterwards, UNDERSTOOD?!" Terra stood up again, shouldered the sword and began walking. "Err...where are you going?" "I'm thirsty. Furthermore I want to collect a little stuff. You wait here and watch over Celestia. Got it?" "Yes ma'am." For himself Siegfried thought: 'That girl...you save her life and get yelled at...she's like the total opposite of Celestia..."
About one hour later Terra came back, her sword dripping with fresh blood, a small bundle of cloth and an enormous beast corpse dragged behind her. "I brought Dinner." she just said and sat down. Siegfried looked dumbfounded, stood up and went to examine the corpse. "...that's a shadow wolf." he said. "Yup." Terra replied, drinking a bit of water. "...shadow wolves live in the mountain forests." "Yup." "And just HOW did you get the corpse of a creature that lives over 5 day marches away from here in less than ONE hour?" "There's a forest about 30 minutes in that direction. I found it there. Tried to make dinner of me...so I brought it for Dinner." Terra said without any greater emotion as she pointed into the direction of the spring. "But...just what would a shadow wolf do so far away from home? They never leave their pack for long...so that means...oh sh..." "*Yawn* Wh-what's going on?" Celestia asked sleepy. "I think Terra got us a nice little bundle of trouble." Terra mourned: "Whatever I do, it's wrong, huh?" "Terra?" Suddenly Celestia was wide awake. "I smell blood. Terra, are you hurt?" "I'm not, but this guy here is." Terra pointed to her back. "...a shadow wolf? But...don't those live in the mountain forests?" Siegfried asked: "Say, how do you KNOW that? You've never been to the outside world, have you?!" "So? Don't you think we have books like yours in our library?" Terra asked. Siegfried said: "If you have such books at your glorious library you should know, that Shadow Wolves never come alone, but always in packs." Celestia and Terra looked at each other for a moment, then at Siegfried and then asked in Unison: "So?" "So the pack of the Wolf Terra got will follow the scent of blood and attack us!" "I highly doubt it." Celestia said. "And why is that?" "Look at the corpse closely. It's old and has many wounds. Definitely the Alpha of the Pack. And without their leader they won't come after us any time soon." "...I REALLY don't get you...but...how did you get the leader Terra? I mean, it's beyond...you didn't..." "Yes,there were some more of them. About 20 or something. But that guy was the only one that attacked me. After I sliced up his belly up to the throat the others fled." Celestia asked with a hint of concern in her voice: "Are you okay Terra? You...sound different." "Yes, I'm fine. Killing something wasn't all that hard after all." Terra said with the same monotonous voice. "Uh-Oh...Killer Instinct. What's next..." Siegfried muttered. Celestia asked: "What is a 'killer instinct' Siegfried?" Siegfried looked up, thought for a second and then started explaining: "Well, Terra killed something for the very first time, didn't she?" Celestia nodded. "If you kill something for the first time, it's a heavy burden. After all you robbed something of it's life...on purpose at that. Now there are different ways of dealing with an event like that..." Siegfried halted for a moment, then continued: "Either the one falls into a killing rage and slaughters all around him, throwing the part 'and let live' away...luckily such people are rare...or he falls into a deep depression, keeping repeating the sentence: 'What have I done?' within themselves. These are the two extremes. Then there are those that overcome their guilty conscience pretty quick, those are often found if they were only defending themselves. And then there are those who just block everything. And I believe Terra is in just that state now. Mental isolation. She'll return to normal eventually, once she realized that it is only natural to kill...in order to survive." "So...nothing we can do?" Celestia asked. "The best thing we can do is to treat her the same way as usual. To teach her: 'Life goes on, even if another one ends.' Eventually every being faces death...for some this time comes faster and by force."
As Siegfried was trying to explain just how natural the Killer Instinct...the instinct to kill in Order to survive...suddenly a loud metallic noise echoed through the silence. Siegfried and Celestia looked over and noticed that Terras sword had fallen to the ground and hit on a rock, while Terra had her head burrowed within her palms. "Terra? Terra, what's wrong?" Celestia asked. But instead of answering Terra jumped up and began running. "What the?!" Siegfried shouted. But before he could say something else Celestia had also jumped up and jetted after Terra. "...hey, wait for me!" Siegfried yelled, packed up everything in a hurry, picked the sword up with his piece of cloth and ran off after them.
After about ten minutes of fast running Siegfried caught up to Celestia who was breathing heavily. Terra was nowhere to be seen. "Celestia, where..." he gasped. Celestia just pointed into the direction she was facing. She obviously ran out of energy to run after Terra. "Meh, come on, jump up." Siegfried said and went to a kneeling stand before Celestia. "W-What?" Celestia asked a little confused. "I can't let you stand here and we can't waste any time if we want to chase after Terra. So jump up already!" Celestia nodded and with weak legs she climbed on Siegfrieds back. She held onto his shoulders and Siegfried began running again. He shouted up in the rhythm of his breath: "You...need...to...tell...me...where...to...go!" Celestia held on tight, so she felt every single muscle of Siegfried move. She thought to herself: 'I never thought I'd be travelling like this...is this the power that supports Terra? Are those...trained muscles? What am I thinking...I need to worry about Terra...not about something like this..." Celestia forced herself to focus on the impressions around her to locate Terra. And it really wasn't hard to follow her trace. She was emitting a strong wave of energy, that Celestia knew only too well...Terra emitted it every time she was angry. However this time it was different. First, it never was so strong before. Second something else was in the air...the smell of tears, mixed with the stench of blood. Without fail Celestia directed Siegfried into the right direction. After about ten more minutes of running Siegfried and Celestia whizzed past another corpse of a shadow wolf, but they paid it no further mind. When they finally reached Terra she had sunk to the ground emitting a towerlike pitch black aura, that Siegfried had spotted about 2 minutes before already. When Siegfried meant to approach Terra, Celestia suddenly fell down from his back. A few blistles showed on her face and white sparks sprung from her. 'What is going on here?!' Siegfried thought. '...whatever Terra is doing, I have to stop her...' Siegfried looked down on Celestia. '...I can't take her any closer.' Siegfried gripped the sword through the cloth closer. 'I just hope this sword protects from whatever she's doing now.' Siegfried carefully closed in on Terra. After coming into 5 meters of distance he suddenly felt a strong sensation he never knew before. It crashed against him like a powerful wave in the sea, almost throwing him to the ground. He noticed the sword of Terra pulsing in a similar manner as Terra was, however the sensation was like the total opposite of what Terra was emitting. He tried to come closer, but the energy waves hindered him from coming any closer. 'Till here and not a single step closer, eh?' Siegfried thought to himself, still clinging to the sword protecting him. 'Alright...this is better gonna work.' Siegfried gripped the sword and flung it over to Terra, so it would hit her with the handle. Right when the sword left his side a powerful wave threw Siegfried back and knocked him out. After an entire while Siegfried woke up again...but Terra was gone. Only a lot of Shadow Wolf-Corpses was lying around them. "Uuuh...what happened?" Siegfried moaned. Celestia replied with a clear voice: "...Terra is gone...now I've lost all of the people who are important to me..." Siegfried looked around. The ground around them was burned. The sword was sticking in the ground where Terra had kneeled down and Celestia was standing at the sword and wasn't moving at all. "Celestia? You ok?" Of course Siegfried knew this was a stupid question, yet he couldn't think of anything else to say. He stood up...his entire body was aching...and walked over to Celestia. To the place he thought of as Terras grave. When he stood next to Celestia he could do nothing more but stare at the sword, sparkling in the sun. Not a single trace of blood was to be seen on the blade. Unable to think of anything better Siegfried began examining the corpses lying around the site. When he had examined about three corpses he came back to Celestia and was scratching his head. "What is it Siegfried?" Celestia asked, still somewhat absent. "Those corpses were sliced. And this is the only blade around...yet there's not a trace of blood seen on this..." "What does this mean?" A little life returned to Celestia's voice. "Well, we've been knocked out for quite a while...a lot of things could have happened." Siegfried begun. "Is Terra alive?" Celestia asked. "I think she is. From how it looks she killed all those shadow wolves in a killing rage...and when they all were dead she must've polished the blade...you know how often she did that...to deal with the stress...and when it was clean...she ran away." "But why would she run away?" "For the same reason you were paralyzed just there. She thought she killed both you and me and then she also brought death to all these creatures...if you lost everything...could you stand the sight of it?" Celestia thought for a moment...then she pulled out the blade from the ground and said: "We'd better find Terra, before something really bad happens to her." Siegfried was baffled: "How comes the sword doesn't shock you?" "Cause it's my sword right now. Terra left it for me." Celestia explained. "How..." "Look on the ground." Siegfried looked and after looking really hard he realized a few elven runes being written in the ground. So small only one searching for it could ever find them...or someone like Celestia. "What does it say?" "I don't deserve this sword. Please pure mind...put it to a better use than me." "I see...if I had pulled it out..." "It would've shocked you." "Why?!" "Because you wouldn't have known it was an open sword now. Also she left it for a pure mind." "And I...okay, you're right...but please don't go crazy like Terra did, ok?" "I'll try my best. Now let's go find her." Celestia fastened the sword on her back, using a spell to create a sheath out of her cloth. "You've got a spell for most anything, don't you?" "It just changed the shape of my cloth and strenghtened it's durability a little. If one is to tear out that sword, my cloth would most likely be torn apart. So please refrain from this. I would hate it having to kill you." Siegfried jested: "And if someone else tore it down?" Celestia replied: "I'd have to kill him for tearing it down and you for allowing it." "Ookaay..." Siegfried scratched his head. He then added: "Why are you like that all of a sudden?" "As if you don't know that. My village got wiped out. And the only thing left to me went crazy and ran away! So if you don't want me to be driven crazy as well, you'll have to deal with me being serious. So...where are we going?" "We have little choice but to proceed with the original plan. If we defeat my Uncle, everything should go back to normal." "And...if not?" "If we stay here nothing will be achieved at all. Now that Terra is gone, we have to try even harder. We cannot allow ourselves to fail." "Yes...yes you're right." "Let's go then...let us take all the meat we can get from those corpses...those should give us enough to eat for the next few weeks." "Won't it rot?" "Not if we smoke it. It doesn't taste as good then, but it at least endures for a few weeks. We'll need a few ressources to smoke it, but we can find that easily."
"...can I help?" Celestia asked. "Yeah, you can. Collect a few branches. But be careful. There might still be some predators around."
Celestia nodded and went off towards the forest Terra had run to. Siegfried looked around and found the backpack he had dragged along...it's content lying all around, since he didn't have the time to really fasten the goods. 'Looks like a lot of work for me...' Siegfried thought and started collecting his belongings. After he was done he took a small bowl from his collection and prepared some portions of meat for the smoking process. After a while...
"Alright...now I just need some firewood." Siegfried said to himself and then looked around...no trace of Celestia was to be seen. He then looked at the sun. It was already beginning to set. 'Celestia should be back by now...I sure hope she didn't run into trouble...' Siegfried decided to go through his belongings to check if something was missing. After a little more time...the sun was already standing deep...Siegfried had found that he had lost nothing important on the chase...he got up. "Okay...now I'm getting worried. Just as Siegfried got his bow and quiver and wanted to go searching he saw something in the distance. A huge pile of Branches floating towards him. And below a small glowing spot. Siegfried stared at the scene and then said to himself: "Next time...I gotta define the term 'a few'..."
After Celestia had reached there and delivered the payload of branches Siegfried said: "Next time, Celestia..." Siegfried started, pointing to the load of branches "Bring only as many branches as you can carry with your own two arms."
Celestia said: "Sorry...I needed time to think...and something to do..."
Siegfried got some of the branches and prepared the fire for the smoking. Then he said: "I get what you mean. But you still shouldn't exert so much power. We'll need all the magic we can get." "Don't worry...I also used the time to recharge my magic resources." "Now that's a good thing..." Siegfried said. He smoked the meat and prepared the camp for the night. After he was done, Celestia had already fallen asleep. It was an uneasy sleep as Siegfried could easily see. He thought for himself: 'This girl is so strong...yet she doesn't even know it...'
Later on, he laid himself to sleep, his senses still on alert, in case of an attack by animals or thugs. But morning came without any incidents. When the first rays of the sun touched Celestias face, she woke up from her dreams and nightmares. She got up fairly quickly. The motions around him woke up Siegfried as well. They didn't speak anything much...not like much was to be spoken...and geared up for travel again in no time. Siegfried put a few wood branches in his backpack. Soon they got wandering again. To the west. Always towards the setting sun.

After a few days they reached a village. Siegfried said: "This village is called 'Merodo'. It is exactly half of the way between the Capital and your forest...here we can get you some proper equipment." Celestia looked down on her current clothing, which was quite torn already from the march.
"I didn't even realize..." "Your garments really looked nice, but they were never meant for travelling. And the stuff we got you in the other village...well, it was made for half-elves. This stuff here is made for humans, it is a lot sturdier than the stuff you usually wear. But on the contrary the stuff is also heavier. But from the looks of it, you're already starting to grow some muscle. And you will need each and every one of them on our travels..." Siegfried and Celestia passed through the village. Every now and then Siegfried greeted someone friendly as they passed by, but whereever they went people gazed at Celestia.
After a while Celestia asked: "What is it with those people? Why are they staring at me like that?" "Your ears and your garments." "What?" "Celestia...do you see any elves or half-elves around here?" Celestia looked around but after a while she gave up. She had not seen any. "That's right. You're the only one. After we change the way you look, the staring will subside, believe me." "Is that really all I am? A half-elf?" "Nope. You're also a girl with somewhat unusual garments. Except for the ears you can't be differed from regular humans from the outside, really. Just you look a bit too frail to be taken as adventurer. But then we could still say you're a scholar on research if someone asks." "And...my ears?" Siegfried stopped where they had reached and reached for a leather helmet with ear lashes and put it on Celestia's head. "Which ears?" he asked joyfully. The clerk of the shop: "It is unusual for an adventurer to take his girlfriend on travels. You aren't together for too long, are you?"
"My...girlfriend?" Siegfried asked. But before he could reply any more Celestia cut in: "He isn't my boyfriend. I'm a scholar on my travel back to the capital. He is the bodyguard I hired. And after we went to the frontier...where I got these garments...we stopped by this village to get me some more...suitable armor. These garments have most unfortunately proven to be...not suitable at all for the long travel to the capital and my...funds...don't suffice for a comfortable transport."
"Oh really? Did your research go well on the frontier? I've heard rumors of quite an uproar between the frontier and here. Apperantly a dark knight has appeared and delivered destruction to countless creatures. It is a good thing you didn't run into this slayer." Siegfried said: "Yeah...that'd have been bad." The shop clerk took a quick look at Celestia and then turned around. He then put a few pieces of armor that looked sturdy and stylish at the same time.
"These should be around your size. We've got a cabin over there, if you want to try them on." Celestia looked a bit puzzled, but after Siegfried nodded in confirmation she took the stuff and went into the small cabin next to shop.
"Now then..." the clerk started. "Huh?" "You know, if you wanna pull that bodyguard/scholar thing through till the capital, you gotta change a few things."
"What?" The clerk took down his own padded helmet and two elven ears became visible: "They say it takes one to recognize one. Even though I pretend to be human, I'm still a half-elf. Just like your girlfriend." "I told you she is not..."
"Listen up human." the clerk said in a sharp tone. "I want to help you here. I'm not your enemy. I'll give you a good discount on the goods, cause I like it if I see humans and elf-breeds together like you are...but anyway. Listen up, you don't treat her like a bodyguard...or any other kind of professional his client. You treat her like a good friend. Like your girlfriend actually. She's of the innocent type, so she may not have noticed it yet, but you're being awfully friendly to her."
"Well, even if she didn't notice by herself, she sure knows so now..." Siegfried said with a bit of lament. "What do you mean?" the clerk wondered. In that moment Celestia opened the door of the cabin. "Did you ever hear of the 'Gift of Perception'" she asked the clerk. "Even though you have that gift you didn't notice I was like you?" he asked back. "I...I'm not like you." Celestia answered. But the clerk didn't ask seeing the sadness in her eyes. He shook his head. "Go ahead. Take that stuff. And please take good care of yourself on your travels...I wish you all the luck in the world. I've got that feeling you'll need it." Siegfried looked at him with some sort of disbelief: "You...don't want to charge us for it?" "...you know, you look like you're on a terribly difficult mission. I've seen that sword you're carrying with you. And if that old man trusts you with his best sword..." "You know the old man?" Siegfried asked. "I tried to become his apprentice, but he sent me away. Told me, I didn't have the...'eyes' or something. That's when I saw that sword. Now...would you like anything else?" Siegfried looked around, but couldn't find anything suitable for either of them.
"I'm afraid not...it doesn't seem like you have anything else we could use." he told the clerk. "I see...well, please take good care on your travels then." The clerk put his helmet back on, Siegfried and Celestia got going again. "I kinda wonder how that...shopping tour would've went if Terra was here..." Siegfried said while walking. "I wonder...you think she's okay?" "We're still alive, I bet she is too. Haven't you noticed? Ever since we started to travel she's reached a power level that could easily take down most human magicians in no time."
"Still, that doesn't make any sense..." Celestia said and took out the sword from her 'sheath' that was behind her new armor. She stopped and stared at the reflection in the blade's steel. "What's wrong?" Siegfried asked. "Look at this..." Celestia merely said. Siegfried stood behind Celestia and looked at the reflection as well. A maiden glowing in brilliant white and a warrior with a darkened face looked back from the reflection. "What is this?" Siegfried asked. "I have no idea...let's go back to that clerk and ask if he knows something."
But when Siegfried and Celestia turned around they couldn't see the clerks shop anywhere. Where they thought it was, there was only an empty lot. "Okay...spooky." Siegfried said. Celestia turned around and asked a man who was passing by about the clerk and his shop.
The man looked at Celestia and then at her armor...and then simply pointed to a house a little ways down the road. He then walked away with a fastened pace.
Even though Siegfried and Celestia were confused they still went to the house they were 'sent' to.
Inside the house an old woman was sitting in a chair. Not much more was in the room, not even a door to another room. "Talk about simple interior..." Siegfried mumbled. The old woman looked up from her chair and then said: "So you have seen the elven merchant?" After his surprise Siegfried agreed with the statement. "Him...just like me...are remnants of a distant past." she said. "What does that mean?" Siegfried asked. Celestia answered his question: "They're ghosts...spirits bound to the plane of mortals." "What, honestly?!" "That's right, child of the elven tribe. While he appears with the sun and leaves with the shadow, I stay here to tell of the story for those who want to hear..."
"So...what made you...like that?" Siegfried asked. The face of the old woman wrinkled in a smile and said: "I can see who you are...the past truly is repeating itself...if you can just change the outcome this time...the eternity of waiting has been worth it." "Old Lady, you're talking in riddles! What happened? How is it repeating?!" "Please, tell us your story." Celestia asked the old woman.

"A long time ago..." the old woman started. "...all races of the world...humans, elves, dwarves and some other demi-humans...lived in peace and harmony."
"The golden era..." Celestia muttered.
"That's right. The golden era, where all life prospered. One day, however, a new force emerged from the land. No one knows where the force came from...but it ended the golden era abruptly. It gave birth to an entirely new race. The dark elf...elves that were filled by the new power. But it didn't only affect the elves. All of the other races were filled with the new power too...and feelings like greed and hatred came upon the land. That was the point, when the elves...who feared destruction by the new power...isolated themselves in the forests of the world. But still, the population of dark elves grew steadily. Many of elven blood succumbed to the new power and were overwhelmed by it..."
"Just wait ONE second!" Celestia shouted. The sudden change of tone made Siegfried jump. Celestia continued: "Power is neither good nor is it evil. No power can make people evil. People become evil cause they CHOOSE to be!" Celestia huffed heavily after venting her anger.
"...you really are like her..." the old woman smiled.
"Okay...what did I miss here?" Siegfried asked.
The old woman continued, disregarding Siegfrieds question:
"When crisis was about to strike, individuals of all races built two teams to avert it. One team was a combination of two elven maidens, a dark elf and a human. The other team consisted of dwarves, who were sent out to eliminate the source of that new power. Brave warriors indeed..." "Failed?" Siegfried asked. "Eradicated." was the reply. "So...what did that other team do?" Celestia asked.
"They were gathering information to find a way to revert the world to the golden era it was before. They were succesful in a sense...they managed to seal away the being that brought this world to the brink of destruction...but not all of it."
"So the reason the world is like this..."
"We live in dangerous times again. The being...that is the source of the power...is trying to break the seal. Therefor it is causing havoc and destruction all across the world, so the magical seal will break, once the last descendant of the brave party dies...the destruction of the elven village...the time of revival must be near..."
"So the reason the elves were still in hiding..."
"All of the races lived in isolation for a reason, even though the reason was forgotten a long time ago. The being can influence one being filled with it's power to do it's bidding. The isolation was meant to keep the being at bay...for if the descendants were to meet again, the being could've been able to wipe out every single one and eventually break free...bathing our world into the flames of destruction once and for all."
"So..." Siegfried started "...you say, we're the descendants of those...people?"
"In some way you are...descendants of men and elven blood." the old woman said. She then added: "I have told you my story...please go now."
Siegfried started to stutter: "Err, wait...what about that store clerk?" But Celestia gently dragged Siegfried outside, as the old woman didn't loose even one more word. When they were outside the entrance to the house vanished and only a wall remained. Siegfried asked: "Why did you drag me out? I still had questions!"
Celestia answered: "We know everything she had to tell. Or else she wouldn't have sent us away." "What about the clerk? What..." "Didn't you listen? Him and her are both spirits of the old era. While it is her task to tell of the story, it is his task to supply people good of heart with stuff they need to survive."
"And...why do they do that?" "...you aren't good at listening, are you? The awakening of the dark beast is drawing near...and if it awakenes, the world is in for some serious trouble. That's why these earthbound spirits helped us."
"Err...why?" "...you know, I thought I was dense...they trust that WE will stop it from awakening!" "You serious?!" "Well, seeing the passerby knew about the old woman and the clerk, I'm guessing we are not the only ones they appeared to."
"So you say...they're taking chances?" "It's not like they got anything to loose from telling the story and giving a few pieces of equipment, is there?"
"...I guess not." Siegfried said. He then looked towards the setting sun. "...it's too late to go on. We should stay in the village for the night..." Siegfried checked his belongings. "...and it looks like we'll stay outside...I'm totally bankrupt..." Celestia asked: "Can't we work for our stay?" "Well, we can try...but I'm terrible at washing dishes. Believe it or not, I break more than I actually clean." "Well, a bit of magic..." "No magic!" Siegfried interrupted. "Why?" "If the people here find out about your powers, they'll either try to kill you, or try to make use of them. You've got that helm now to cover who you are. Now don't you blow that cover." "But that man we asked about..." "He simply added 1+1 together. We asked about the ghost clerk and you were wearing new armor. You don't need to be a genius to find out."
"Hmm...I see..." Siegfried and Celestia started to ask around for work. But nothing was to be found. No dishwashing or anything the likes. They came across a few offers for Celestia, but Siegfried declined with the words: 'To ensure the safety of my client I must not be separated from her for an extended amount of time.' One of the people asked with a big smirk: 'So you'd follow her to the bathroom as well?' Siegfried didn't answer, but the two simply went away. After the sun had set, Siegfried and Celestia sat down in the town square.
"It's no use..." Siegfried sighed. "Why didn't you let me work for those other people? I mean...work is work, right?" Celestia asked.
Siegfried looked at Celestia's face for a few seconds, wondering if she was kidding until he realized that she really had no idea. He looked forward again and started to explain:
"Celestia, listen...did you notice that the people that offered those jobs were only men?" "Not all of them. One of them was a woman with really shiny clothes." "Oh, right...her...and you noticed that there wasn't a woman near those men, right?" "...what are you trying to say?" "These are harsh times Celestia. And a girl as good and cute as you is rare...and in high demand among the men."
"...how?" "You really have NO idea, huh?" "No?" "Okay...do you know the process of making children?" "Err...yeah, I think so. But what's that got to do with anything?" Siegfried scratched his head 'Is she that dense or doesn't she want to get it?' he thought. "Hold on...how do your people get children?" "Err...why, are there different methods?" "Well, I don't know much about elves. So yeah..." "Elves are born from the forest. That's also where they go back to when their time nears their end." "...aren't elves immortal though?" "No, that's a myth. We simply live so long, it seems like we are immortal to humans." "Well, for humans it works a bit...different. The children are born from..." "I know. That's how me and Terra were born. You must remember what we are." "Right...well, that's what those men wanted to do with you..." "And..." "The woman was probably a 'recruiter'." "A recruiter? What..." "For a brothel. That's a place where men pay for...certain favors." Celestia thought for a while and then shouted out: "Ewww!" "I see, now you've got it." Siegfried said. "Are...all...?" "No, fortunately only the minority is. But you see, this village only has little women...making most of the...less accepted men desperate." "What about you? Do you have a girlfriend?" Celestia asked. Siegfried waved off. "Nah, no time." was his reply. But Celestia didn't give up just yet. "No time?" "Yeah, with all that travelling and fighting and stuff..." "Well, you could have your girlfriend travel with you." "Yeah, right. You try to find someone who is willing to travel with you on a quest that is probably a plain out suicide mission." "Well, you found me and Terra." Celestia said. "Yeah, right...but you..." "We lost our home and everyone we love, so we've got nothing to loose. Is that what you want to say?" "Well...yeah." Celestia smiled at Siegfrieds response. She then said with a kind voice: "Even though we have lost about everything, we've still had each other. And as long as both me and Terra are alive, we will never give up. We came with you, cause you said you can help us get back what we lost. So you'd best not give up either. You understand?" Celestia looked at Siegfrieds face. And all of a sudden it was silent.
And in this silence a clapping echoed. The two turned around to the source of the clapping. It was a young man. "Quite a speech young lady. Hard to believe, seeing you're so young." "Hmm...I'm older than I may look." Celestia smiled. "Oh? How old are you, if you don't mind me asking." "I do mind though." Celestia said. "Now, by no means you're older than 20!" "What's that matter? You wanted to tell us something?" "Err..." the young man was lost for a moment. Siegfried had a hard time to supress his smile. Then the young man recovered and then resumed talking. "Yes...now I know it again. You were looking for work, yes?" "...yes?" Celestia said. "Well, I might have a job for the two of you...it is a bit dangerous, but you look like you'll be fine." Siegfried kicked in. "What is that job?"
The young man reached for his backpack and got a shining crystal out. He asked: "Do you know what this is?" Siegfried looked at it but before he could shake his head Celestia said: "It's a rare mineral. I believe it is called Millenium Crystal, because it takes exactly a thousand years for these crystals to develop from their raw form. But legend has it, that there's a particular creature that can accellerate this process tremendously from a Millenium to one Year."
The man stood there...and then started clapping again. Laughing. "Very good. Very, very good young lady. I never would've thought I'd meet someone who is this versed in the scriptures of old." "Nah, that's nothing special. It was on a test I took." "So...you're a scholar?" "No, I'm a white magician. Kinda still in training though. But yeah...beasts and creatures of our world was a subject." "A white magician? Wow...I've never heard of one as young as you." Celestia continued playing her role: "It is true that the full fledged magicians usually are about 50 years or older...cause the study of magic takes a long time of study and practice." "So you've only just started?" the young man asked. Siegfried kept quiet but ready to jump in as soon as Celestia was to say something wrong.
"I started a few years ago...my mother also was a white magician and she's taught me since I was little." "Wow...that must be harsh..." "Nah, you get used to it...but what about that job you mentioned?" "Eh...yeah. A hunter and a white magician. Perfect. Listen, this creature...do you know what it looks like?" Celestia replied: "It isn't proven that this creature really exists and all existing pictures are only faded memories of those who want to have seen it." "But it DOES exist, I assure you. This very crystal I found in a cave not far from here inside the dried leftovers of a smaller animal." Siegfried raised an eyebrow: "Huh?" Celestia started explaining: "According to legend the creature leaves behind the crystals when it eats. After it has eaten it sleeps for a year. The cycle repeats." "Exactly. Now for the job...I want you to find this creature and capture it, before it goes to sleep again." "Why don't you try to find it while it's sleeping?" Siegfried asked. Celestia said: "From what I learned about this creature, it has a very special resting place where no other mortal can reach. So if you want a shot at this creature, you have to find it within the seven days it is awake." "What? It is awake for ONE week?!" "Yeah...and I'm afraid today is day Number Seven." the young man said. "...great..." "Listen you two...I want you to try to find it. I'll pay you big time if you manage to find it. But even if you don't and bring me back another of those crystals, I'll pay you handsomely. Sounds like an idea?" "...hunting after a creature that probably doesn't even exist..." Siegfried said with low voice. But Celestia said: "We'll try. But don't expect us to bring you the creature." "I know. I know. You must be on your way now. Here, a map. The cave is marked on it! Go! Go!" the young man said throwing a piece of paper at Celestia. Siegfried grabbed it out of the air and looked at it. "Hey, I know that cave. That's not far from here."
Celestia and Siegfried made off towards the direction of the cave. "Celestia...why did you agree to take that job so fast? I mean...that creature..." "That creature probably doesn't exist and it was mere luck he found that crystal." "Then...why? I mean...that's ridiculous." "That mineral is really rare. And it only grows where there are many other minerals. The Millenium Crystal is actually a composition of many other minerals and crystals. And most of those minerals within the Millenium Crystal are excellent catalysts for magical powers. You could think of them as amplifiers needed for different major spells. What's more..." Siegfried scratched his head: "There's more?" "Yes, there is. Herbs. You see, the mineral that's totally essential for growing a Millenium Crystal radiates a special light...that light slowly turns a regular herb used for treating wounds into a much more powerful herb that can be used as ingredient for elixiers and the likes."
"...and all of that..." "That's why I took the job so fast. The Millenium Crystal itself isn't worth much for magicians...cause the purity of the minerals within is ruined then." "...err...yeah..." "These Minerals can only be found somewhat deep beneath the earth. So we'd best prepare for a longer search." "...great...but...how do you know all that stuff? I mean..." "Mythical creatures, magical minerals and the likes...about everything corresponding to magic...is in our training." "...you didn't seem like..." "Terra is much more knowledgeable about all that stuff than I am. Just our mother...kinda taught us about those Minerals and the arts of healing...and she's a really strict teacher." "I...see...I'm sorry...I had no idea..." "You couldn't have known about that. And now let's go." Celestia fastened her pace as the cave slowly came into sight and the sun slowly sank below the horizon. "Erm..." Celestia started. "What is it, Celestia?" "I know this is a bad moment to ask...but...it will be pitch black in there...and I can't see too well in the darkness." Siegfried stopped. "You...don't have a light spell or something?" "I do...but I can't control it too well...the last time I tried it was like a little sun...it totally blinded me and Terra...and then I...I totally lost control of it...the sun exploded...if not for mother our house would've been demolished then." Celestia smiled over the memory. "Your mother was a really skilled magician, wasn't she?" "She's taught us the most important lessons we've learnt. But what about that light?" "Hmm..." Siegfried looked around and then picked up a rather long stick that was laying around. He then picked up a few pieces of moss from stones and fixed a few leafs to the whole thing by glueing them with a few bits of resin he took from a tree in the surrounding. Afterwards he used two stones to light the torch he gave Celestia for holding. After the whole thing was burning he took the torch and said: "See? All you need is just around the corner." "Well, hopefully that thing keeps burning until we're done in that cave." "Ah well, in case of trouble we'll think of something new. Torches burn for a while, no worries."
Equipped with the torch Siegfried was holding they entered the cave. After a few steps Siegfried asked: "What do you think, how did the Crystal get into the remains of an animal? I mean...it hardly ate it, did it?" Celestia answered: "That really is strange. Also I don't think he went in that far...and the crystal wasn't exactly small enough to be just swallowed by a smaller animal." "So, what do you think?" "I don't really know...but it seems like something brought the crystal here." "The creature?" "Anything is possible, but only few things are likely." Celestia replied. "...that sounds like words of wisdom. Your mother?" "...yes. She's been sharing her wisdom with us throughout our childhood."
Celestia and Siegfried kept talking while wandering deeper into the darkness of the cave. Every now and then a small animal ran away, fled from the light of the torch. They had just passed a small passage when a distant rumbling made Celestia stop. "What is it?" Siegfried asked. "I heard something...a rumbling." "Rocks?" "No...no, rocks sound different. It seemed...alive. Like a stomach." "...how far? And in what direction?" "It's difficult to say how far away it is...but the direction would be that way...deeper into the cave." Siegfried gave the torch to Celestia and prepared his bow. "Better be safe than sorry." he said.
They kept walking towards the source of the rumbling, when another rumbling echoed through the silence. "Where is it?!" Siegfried shouted, looking around. Celestia laid her hand on Siegfried's shoulder, her face a little red. "Erm...I'm afraid that was me...I feel like I haven't eaten a thing in an eternity."
Siegfried scratched his head. Then he took down his bow, put his backpack on the ground and got out a little of the smoked meat from the corpses of the Shadow Wolfs. "These were supposed to be the emergency rations...but I guess you should eat some. After all you don't have as many fat reserves as I do." "...fat? Isn't that...a bad thing to have?" "No, not at all. In fact it is an important thing to have. Our body stores excess nutrients in fat cells. For bad times...well, at least for humans it does that." "So..." "So if we're running low on food our body will burn the nutrients in the fat cells instead of food. Allowing us to survive even if we can't eat. I believe Terra knew that." "...I really should've studied more as it seems..." Celestia said, lowering her head. "Eat. I'll need your strength later. For sure."
Celestia ate a few pieces of the meat and after she was done Siegfried stowed away the rest. He then helped Celestia get up again. "You look a bit pale, is everything alright?" he asked. "It's just...I...am not used to eating flesh. It...tastes awful." "But it's full of nutrients...you never ate meat at home? Come to think of it...both of you didn't eat any of the meatI got for us. You only ate the vegetables." "We always lived from the bounties of the forest surrounding us." "What did you bake your bread from then? I can hardly imagine there are wheat fields in the midst of the forest." Celestia scratched her head and then said: "You know, that's a good question. Mother always had a supply of fresh bread in our house. I have no clue where she got it from...come to think of it, when we were eating bread in the village the other children looked at us with those strange eyes...I ignored it after a while. We've always gotten strange looks...especially Terra. Now I know...they were wondering what we were eating!"
"No one ever asked?" Siegfried asked, slightly amused. "And admit they had no idea?" Celestia asked back. Siegfried broke out in laughter. After calming down a little he said: "Yeah, that's just typical. Pretending to know it all, but in the end they know nothing!" Celestia smiled a little and color returned to her face.
"So how did you like your first time eating flesh?" Siegfried asked.
Celestia waved off and said: "We don't have time for this."
"Just be sure you don't loose it again. It's too valuable for wasting it like that." Siegfried said to her.
They continued their journey deeper into the cave without any further events occuring. They chatted a little, but nothing of importance came of it. After a while they came to a dead end. They stopped.
Siegfried said: "End of the line. And I haven't seen any other paths we could have gone either...what about you, Celestia?"
Celestia signalized Siegfried to stay silent and concentrated. Siegfried took up the cue but readied his bow, just in case. Celestia went over to the wall and closely examined it. She then said: "The noise I heard before...it's coming from behind this wall."
Siegfried asked, his bow still ready to go: "How are we supposed to get there?"
Celestia checked the wall carefully. Knocked against it and then listened. She then continued towards the right of the wall, continued knocking faintly. She went past Siegfried and eventually stopped, a few steps before the dead end. She then pushed against the wall with all her weight. She said: "Help me here please."
Siegfried stood there for a little moment until he realized he was called for. He took down his bow and went over to Celestia. When he looked very close, he saw a really small opening in the wall. He laid his hands on the wall, close to Celestia's Hands. He then pushed against the wall with all his might. With a crumbling the wall fell down and Siegfried and Celestia fell down into a secret passage. Siegfried reacted just about fast enough to stop himself from falling into Celestia's back. But his face was very close to her, he could smell her fragrance and could hear her heart beat. Also her pretty heavy breath was easily noticeable for him. He got up as quick as he was able to, but still the moment seemed to last for a eternity.
After Siegfried got up, he picked up the torch that had fallen to the ground. He then helped Celestia get up as well. But she didn't look at Siegfried. In fact she was hiding her face from him.
"Erm...you okay?" Siegfried asked.
Celestia merely nodded but didn't speak a word. Siegfried gave her a few more moments and eventually Celestia raised her head again, brought her hair back to order and finally spoke up: "Sorry for the trouble."
Siegfried reached for the back of his head with one hand and said: "No, I'm sorry."
He was laughing a little. When Celestia turned around and saw him, she suddenly started giggling and eventually both were laughing. However when a growling echoed right from down the hallway the two of them shut up. Siegfried had his bow ready, Celestia took up the rear with the torch. Slowly they moved forward. After about a hundred meters they came across a larger hall. Siegfried looked up and lowered his bow.
"Wow...this is amazing..." he said loud. Celestia looked up as well. The ceiling and walls of the hall were glittering like a starry sky.
"These are all different kinds of crystals and minerals..." Celestia said, still looking around. She went over to one of them to examine it closer. After a while she shook her head.
"I can't recognize most of these...Terra would know...I'm sure..." she said.
"Do you know why it's so bright in here? It can't be the torch, right?" Siegfried asked.
Celestia said: "Some of the minerals have the ability to emit light."
"How?" Siegfried asked.
"I don't know...I think Terra..." "Stop it with Terra!" Siegfried interrupted her.
He then added: "Terra knows a lot. But she's not here. So I need YOUR knowledge now. And NOT hers."
Siegfried took Celestia at the shoulders and shook her lightly, looking directly in her eyes. "These are hard times. For you and for me. So please try to remember. Okay?"
Celestia nodded and closed her eyes. Then she started to talk, with a somewhat calm voice. "Inside those crystals there is a chemical fusion taking place, similar to the fusion in the sun. In ancient times the energy from such crystals was used as potent energy source, however the knowledge how to do that was lost."
"In that conflict the old woman mentioned, yeah?" Siegfried asked.
"Yes, most likely." Celestia said.
"That's all I need to know...anything in here we can use?"
"Hmm...no, I don't think so...I don't have any instructions on ritual spells using crystals and the likes...." Celestia said.
"That's alright, really. But it sure is pretty in here..." Siegfried said.
After a few seconds, Celestia tilted her head and asked: "Why are you staring at me like that?" "Huh?" Only now Siegfried realized that he had been gazing at Celestia's face that was being illuminated by the light of the crystals. He turned around and took up his bow again: AHEM...I believe we still have to find the source for the rumbling, isn't that right?" Now he heard a rustling behind him. He turned around and saw Celestia, trying to pull out a big crystal.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Your burning stick is going out. So we need a new one." she answered.
"Eh?" Siegfried asked and looked at the torch in his hand. In fact it was only glimming now. Due to the brightness of the crystals, he hadn't noticed before. Siegfried put the torch to the ground and extinguished the fire with his foot.
"That one is too big for carrying around. We need a smaller one. Here, I'll help you look." Siegfried went over to the wall and looked around the crystals.
Eventually he found one suitable. Just at the same time as Celestia. They both reached for the crystal, sticking out a little above Siegfrieds head.
Their hands met on the slightly pulsing crystal. Suddenly both were frozen on the spot. Celestia's fingers were shaking.
'What is this strange feeling...why is my heart pounding like that...?' she asked herself. On the other hand Siegfried was having similar thoughts: 'Why...why can't I just grab that crystal...why is my body refusing to move...and why the hell did I stare at her like that...it can't be...please god...I just can't...'

[Refugnic]

Before the situation could escalate, a loud growling echoed through the silence. And it was close. Really close. Almost frightening close. Siegfried and Celestia hurled around into the direction the growl came from. Siegfried grabbed his bow and readied an arrow, Celestia took a defensive stance behind him. But there was nothing but darkness in the direction they were facing.
"Where is that thing...?" Siegfried asked, looking around. Celestia replied:
"I'd rather like to know what that thing is...after all it's supposedly a legendary creature. I doubt you'd find a picture in any book." "Probably not...yeah, that's a good...what in the world?!" Siegfried shouted.
The sudden noise made Celestia jump. "Wh...what's wrong?" she asked.
"It can't be...but I could've sworn, I just saw that crystal over there move...on it's own. No way...is that thing invisible or something?!" Siegfried said, looking around.
The last sentence gave Celestia an idea. "Siegfried, close your eyes. And don't open them until I say so. Got it?" Siegfried thought for a moment and then said: "I sure hope you know what you're doing." He then closed his eyes.
"The reason why the creature lives in here...the reason why it cannot be found...they are the same. FIAT LUX!" Celestia released a ball of pure light into the air and made it disperse into all directions. She then closed her eyes herself. The light hit the crystals on the walls in all directions and was strayed more. Even more, it was amplified and soon the entire room was filled with light. The crystals tingled with the energy. After a little while the tingling of the crystals subsided and the blinding light subsided with it. Celestia opened her eyes and nodded. She was satisfied with the result. "You can open your eyes now, Siegfried."

Siegfried opened his eyes and immediately his sight fell on the totally irritated and confused creature that was trying to recover from the blinding light. Siegfried readied his bow, ready for defense, but Celestia lowered it again with her hand.
"What are you doing? This thing could be dangerous!" Siegfried said.
"No, it isn't. I know this little one. It's harmless." Celestia replied.
"So...what exactly is it? And where'd it come from?" Siegfried asked.
"You don't get it yet? It was here all along. It tried to scare us away, but actually it's afraid of us. This creature camouflages by using the light of the crystals to hide. So you were right. It was invisible. However when I distorted the light of the crystals, the camouflage broke down and the creature was left behind blinded. It will be a while before it will be able to recover." Celestia explained.
"So...what is it?" Siegfried repeated his question.
"It is called 'Crystal Shadow'. In ancient times these creatures were held as pets. They can digest crystals and use them for protection. However they can use remains of deceased organisms to create new crystals. But they do not kill by themselves. They only take what's there anyway. I've once read a story, that their presence actually attracts dying animals. When their time comes..."
Siegfried completed the sentence: "They come to the creature to live on as a crystal...but...why? I mean..." "Don't think it's something so noble or mystic as the soul or something. It's about scent. When animals...or humans die, they emit a scent. Few can smell it. Some call it 'The veil of death'. This creature is one of the species that can smell that scent. And in response they emit a scent themselves. One that lures the dying animal in here. Trust me, if someone dies in this cave, it is not by the hand of this creature." Celestia finished.
"...so now what? Do we...capture it?" Siegfried asked. He knew the answer already, but he wanted to hear it. From her mouth. He just didn't know why.
As expected, Celestia shook her head. "No. It is important for this creature to remain here. If we took it captive, who knows how long it may live."
"Yeah...yeah, I think so too. Come on, let's leave." Siegfried turned around. However yet again, Celestia held him back. He turned around once more. The Crystal Shadow was looking at them now. However he didn't go into hiding again. Nor did he show any hostility. He just looked at them.
"Why...is it looking at us like that?" Siegfried asked.
"I'm afraid I can't read minds. But it looks...curious." Celestia carefully stepped forward and moved towards the Crystal Shadow. It didn't move, but only looked at her. Then Celestia raised her hand and began petting the creature.
Siegfried said: "I...don't believe it..." All of a sudden Celestia raised her hand and looked at the creature full of surprise.
"What's wrong? Did it bite you or something?!" Siegfried asked. He wanted to raise his bow again, but Celestia waved off. Instead she faced the Crystal Shadow: "Could you...repeat that please? A bit louder?"
Then a whisperlike voice echoed through the cave. Siegfried was barely able to hear it, but it was definitely there. "You...are very kind...humans." it said.
"...please tell me I didn't hear that thing talking just now..." Siegfried muttered.
"But it's true. She can talk. That's plain out amazing. Say little one...who taught us our language?" "Mother...mother did. As she learned it...from her mother."
"But...how is this possible?" Siegfried asked. Celestia replied: "If I recall right, Crystal Shadows have the same organic setup concerning voice...so technically it is possible...but...wait, that's it. She must be a descendant of a crystal shadow, that was held as a pet back then. Maybe the owner taught the crystal shadow the human tongue and that one taught her children." "You keep saying 'she'...so that crystal shadow is a girl?" "We are born by the crystal. And to the crystal we return. It is an everlasting cycle. As long as crystal exists, we too will never fade. We are..." the Crystal Shadow started. And Celestia completed the sentence. "...the shadows of crystals. That's what gave your race this name." "This...sentence...is the first we are told when we come to this world...and the last we hear before going back to the crystal." Celestia resumed the petting of the Crystal Shadow. "Say, what is your name?" she asked. "My mother...always called me...Crystal..." Siegfried jested: "Now, that's a very original name!" "Mother...was also...very kind. Just like you."
Celestia stopped petting again. "Your mother...she was a human, wasn't she?" she asked. Siegfried stayed still. "Yes, of course. What else should she have been?" Crystal answered. Celestia nodded and then said: "You've been lonely for a long time, haven't you?" The expression of Crystal remained unchanged for a little while, then she turned around and went over to one of the walls. She said:"It seems...the time I've been waiting for...has finally come." She then pressed around the wall a little bit and opened a small cache inside the wall. She took something out and brought it back to Celestia. It was a ring. A ring with the piece of a millenium crystal on top of it. "What is this?" "Before mother went away...she told me to keep watch over this...until someone who deserves it comes. The calling...it has become stronger in the past years...I was almost afraid I wouldn't make it...but finally...you've come." Tears were running down the cheeks of the crystal shadow. Celestia took the ring from her hand and examined it. When she looked down again, she smiled. "You did a good job crystal. I sincerely hope you'll be able to sleep well. We'll put it to good use, okay?" "I am...sure you will." Then crystal began to fade. Siegfried remained in his position. He had decided to let Celestia handle it all...because he didn't get what was going on at all anyway. After Crystal had disappeared, Celestia turned around and walked towards the exit. When she walked past Siegfried she said: "Let's go." Siegfried didn't argue much but simply followed her. After the two of them had left the hall, the entrance shut itself with a loud rumbling. "That certainly was close, huh?" Siegfried asked. Celestia didn't say a word. They kept walking for a little longer. Then Siegfried stopped Celestia with his hand and said to her: "Okay, I think it's about time you tell me what's going on. It'd be nice if I knew that, before we go confronting our 'client'."
Celestia's face expression changed from rather emotionless to sad. And tears began to flow from her eyes. Without thinking much, Siegfried closed his arms around her and pressed her against his chest. There she kept crying. Maybe one or two minutes, but to Siegfried it seemed much longer. When Celestia was done, she freed herself from Siegfried's hug and looked up to him with still teary eyes.
"Now...it's the circle of life...all that lives must also die one day. To be reborn in a new form. You know that, don't you?" Siegfried said. Celestia merely nodded.
"Then you also know, that there's no need to cry over those who passed away, right?" Celestia regained some of her composure. She then said: "Crystal entrusted us with this ring of bonding. This is her life. We...we can't stop now. Oh and...sorry for crying...it's just...I've never been entrusted with something this precious." Celestia looked at the ring in her palm. It was radiating a mysterious light.
"Why is it shining?" Siegfried asked. "It is resonating with my elven powers." she answered. She looked at Siegfried. "...that's not really what you wanted to ask though, is it?" "...am I that easy to read? You called it the 'Ring of Bonding' or something...what did you mean by that?" he asked.
"In ancient times, people used these rings to turn make crystals come to live...create crystal shadows you could say. When the magic in the crystal fades...so does the crystals shadow." Celestia explained.
"So...the magic in that thing is gone? It's...worthless?" Siegfried asked.
Celestia didn't react right away. "Hello?" Celestia took a deep breath and then said: "I wouldn't call the life of a kind creature worthless, but the magic that brought forth Crystal has faded away, yes." Only now Siegfried realized that he had offended Celestia and hastily added to his prior statement: "I wasn't talking about Crystal at all, I was talking about the Ring. The Ring, not the Crystal Shadow!"
"The Ring and Crystal are one. If one was to infuse the magic again, Crystal...the very same Crystal with all her memories would come to life again...but I know what you meant...humans have a different mentality regarding these things."
"...I know this must sound rude...or even stupid...but...is that thing useful to us in any way? I mean...in our quest against my uncle? Maybe our search for Terra?"
Celestia shook her head. "It won't help us finding Terra...but it still is precious. I...I cannot tell you why though..." Siegfried remained silent. He then said: "I understand. We will find her. Of that I am sure. I even have an idea...but for that we need to reach the capital." Siegfried got moving again. Celestia followed him. She put the sword back into the sheath and put the ring on her own finger.
"You're going to wear it?" Siegfried asked.
"Yes. It is the best way to keep an eye on it." she replied.
The two friends left the cave without speaking much. At the entrance the young man that gave them the map was already waiting.
He said: "You're later than all the others I asked. Did you find something by chance?"
Before Celestia could even open her mouth, the young man's eye fell on the ring. And tears began running down from his eyes.
"...what's wrong?" Celestia asked.
"...finally...after all these years...finally..." the man sobbed.
"Why do I get the feeling we weren't in there to look for a millenium crystal to start with?" Siegfried asked. The man just nodded, trying to regain some composure.
"This ring...you wanted us to look for it all along, didn't you? Or to be more precise..."
The man slowly regained some of his composure. Still with tears in his eyes he started talking:
"Yes...that ring. Or more precisely the legacy left with it..."
"Crystal..." Celestia said with lowered voice.
"Yes...the Crystal Shadow...the guardian spirit of my family. More than 500 years...her mere existence bound us to this place. And now...finally...you set us free..."
"...more than 500 years? Wait..." Siegfried started. "500 years...that would be around the time the golden era came to an end...right?"
"Yes, that's right. My ancestor lived with a crystal shadow during the last years of the golden era...when the peace became unstable, she hid...Crystal...in this cave. And told her to wait until good people come...and after that...she put the obligation to watch over Crystals resting place to her children. Who passed the obligation down to their children...over the centuries...and eventually it was my duty to watch over it...many of my ancestors tried to get this ring...and escape from this obligation...but none of us were able to."
"That's because you wanted the ring for your own benefit...but why did you send us?" Celestia asked. She then added: "Without telling us the story too?"
"...another obligation. We...that is my family...was not allowed to speak to any stranger about this whole thing. And you...finally you recovered the ring...and gave my family the long awaited freedom." the man said joyfully. "So...why didn't you just...go away if you all hated that obligation? Why didn't you just abandon it? Just curious." Siegfried asked.
Celestia suddenly said: "So that was what I felt when we entered the village. A barrier. You couldn't leave, right? You were imprisoned in that village. And this ring is the key."
The man nodded. "You must be quite the magician if you were able to even detect the presence of that barrier. It only stops those of my families blood. None of the magicians and adventurers who passed through noticed anything. The barrier stretches from about 500 meters from the village to the left, up to the entrance of the cave. We cannot enter it."
"...so that's why you failed at retrieving the ring...you couldn't even get close to it." Celestia said. "Hey, what's bugging you?" Siegfried asked. He had an uneasy feeling, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Something was wrong.
"...someone went to a LOT of trouble to keep this ring safe...don't you want to tell us all there is? I mean, you ARE hiding something, that's as obvious as the nose in your face."
"...there's just no fooling you guys, huh?" the man asked. Siegfried pointed to Celestia:
"There's certainly no fooling her. You take a hasty breather and she knows."
"Heh...to be expected of someone like you, young elven lady." the man said. His tone had changed significantly. The man who seemed so relieved that he would take off in a second, had become a man with a serious expression. And there was also something else. Sadness.
"So...who do you think I am?" the man asked. Siegfried remained silent, since the direction was clearly directed at Celestia. However his senses were set to high alert.
"You are no ordinary human, that's for sure..." Celestia started. She then took off the padded helmet. "Or else you wouldn't have known that I am of elven blood. Humans cannot tell, without seeing my ears." The man nodded. "That is true. I am not an ordinary human. Go on."
"You are a summoned guardian, aren't you?" Celestia said calmly. The man merely nodded.
"Hooold on." Siegfried spoke up. "What the heck is a summoned guardian?!" he asked.
"The summoned guardian is a relic of the war. They are creatures given the form of men, meant to be sentries who watch over things of high value. They have superb battle power and a life span of multiple 100 years. However in the end, they are just spirits caged into flesh. That's why they're somewhat vulnerable to the forbidden magic of soul...cause it tears apart the very essence of things." "Over 500 years I have been guarding this cave from people who were after treasure. But when you two came along...I tried to fulfill my contract with my master." "By passing on Crystal to 'good people', isn't that it?" Celestia asked.
"Not quite. Master summoned me in the early years of the dark age that followed the golden era. She said: 'Watch over Crystal's sleep. Until the day you see those, who brought upon us the golden era wander these lands again. To them you shall entrust my dearest Crystal.'"
"Okay...but we didn't bring about any golden era. In case you didn't notice, I'm human. There's no way I'm over...500 years old." Celestia corrected him: "About 1500 years. The golden era lasted one millenium and the dark age is lasting for about 500 years now."
"Huh? Err...whatever. So..." After Siegfried finished talking silence filled the air. The guardian looked at Celestia with pity in his eyes. Celestia simply twitched her shoulders.
"Hey, don't give me that: 'Why is a girl like you with a dense guy like that?'-Look!'" Siegfried exclaimed. "Well, at least he can read body signs." the guardian said calmly.
"Why, you...!" Siegfried shouted, but before he could enrage himself any more, Celestia grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to herself.
"He may be dense and undereducated, but I wouldn't want to travel these lands with anyone but him. He's very reliable, good at heart and a great fighter. Just what I need." she said.
Siegfried was baffled. The entire rage that had built up in him just melted away like a pile of snow in the summer sun. 'Wait, she can't mean...' he thought. But then he remembered: 'Oh right...if I pick a fight with this Super-Warrior I'm dead meat before dawn...so she's actually protecting me...from myself at that...who'd have thought.'
"Hm...very well...I will no longer delay your travels. Now that my contract is fulfilled I can go to rest. I wish you the best of luck on the path you will travel."
"Please rest well. You have done well in protecting Crystal's sleep for so long." Celestia said.
The guardian spirit turned to Siegfried. "Be a good guardian for your companion. Be vigilant and true. Only then, your true power may show." Then he turned around. Siegfried said: "Err...bye...I guess?" After that the guardian spirit vanished.
"You never talked to someone like that before, did you?" Celestia asked.
"Not even once in my life...but you seemed to know your way around. How comes?"
"Siegfried...do you have any idea how old I am? Don't worry, I won't take any offense."
"Err..." Siegfried said and started thinking. He kept looking at Celestia, trying to judge her age. He came to the conclusion: 'No way older than 20...but she's a half-elf...' Finally he said: "Okay, I give up. But...why?" "Heh...you seem to be more considerate than you pretend to be after all." Celestia said. "...what the heck are you talking about?" Siegfried asked.
"You took into consideration the way I look. Like a young woman. You also took into consideration my race, or else you'd have said...something around 20 is my guess. But since you don't know how we age you didn't want to shoot out some high number, because you didn't want to offend me, even though I said I'd take no offense."
"...okaaay...so...what's that got to do with the initial question?" Siegfried asked.
"..." Celestia blinked a few times. She then said: "Ah right. I almost forgot about that. Anyway, the people of the forest grow up with the spirits and learn how to handle them pretty much right from the start. We're also taught about history...the elven view obviously."
"...I'm almost afraid to ask...the 'elven view'?
"I'll explain it on the way. We should get back to the village and get some rest. After all we've been through quite a bit." Celestia said. Siegfried nodded in agreement and they got walking again. After they were walking for about a minute, Celestia started talking.
"History has always been a matter of view. There isn't such a thing as an objective fact. Everything...the way people experience things...is subjective." Celestia kept talking and soon they reached the outskirts of the village. Before they went in, Siegfried said: "So I got that right...what I've been taught about history is a giant fake, made up by some people?"
Celestia replied: "No, that's not quite right. Historians DO pursue the truth. But there are always different angles from which you can look at it. See...let's assume you've got two countries at war. Then there's a big battle. When you look at the historybooks later, the ones from the winning country will talk about a brilliant military campaign, the ones from the losing country may talk about a treacherous scheme that weakened the own forces. Both say who won and who lost the battle. But for one the battle is full of glory..." "...yeah, I think I get it...but they are basically saying the same, aren't they?" Siegfried said.
"Yeah, in this example. But you see...everyone sees the truth differently. Do you know of Alchemists?" "Those wackos with the flasks and the smoke? What about them?"
"Do you know what they do?" "The last time I heard of one, he blew himself up. Probably tinkered with some newfangled magic he couldn't control. Why?"
Celestia smiled. "That's what I thought. You said magic. You think they're using magic."
"...how, except for magic, can they create those explosions and smoke and stuff? In an instant at that. I mean...that sounds pretty much like magic to me."
"Magic is the lore of energy. When we invoke magic, we use the energies of the world, to manipulate it the way we want it. Magic is all about energy and the will that controls it. Alchemy on the other hand is all about matter. You see...our world is subject to certain natural laws. For example it is one of those laws that we cannot fly. That our feet stick to solid ground. It is one of those laws that we cannot breathe under water and drown. It is one..."
"Enough please...so what about those alchemists...?"
"I wanted to give you an example how your 'truth' can be different from the real truth. You know what you are told. That's just the way it is." Celestia concluded.
"I...see...allow me if I'm curious...what do Alchemists do?"
Celestias smile got wider and her eyes began to shine. Siegfried scratched his cheek: "Did I say something weird?" Celestia shook her head. She then said: "No, on the contrary. You've taken interest in the world. Curiousity is something you never should let go."
"...you certainly seem happy..." "That's because I..." Suddenly Celestia became silent. She lowered her head a little to cover that she was blushing. "Something wrong?" Siegfried asked. Again Celestia shook her head. After she regained her composure she raised her head again. The sparkle in her eyes had gone away for the biggest part, but she was still smiling.
"Sorry for making you worry. Anyway, Alchemists..." Celestia began explaining about how Alchemists were trying to find out how the world is working and how to use that knowledge. Siegfried listened carefully. But in the back of his mind he thought: 'I wonder what she wanted to say before she suddenly became silent...'
They went to a pension in the village. To their surprise, the innkeeper told them their stay was already taken care of. However...
"...you're kidding, right? ONE room?" Siegfried said to the innkeeper.
"I'm not kidding I'm afraid. The room has been prepared for two persons. Furthermore all other rooms in the inn are already taken...not like we have many anyway." the innkeeper replied.
"...don't worry Siegfried. We were sleeping together before. Out on the field. Remember?" Celestia tried to calm Siegfried down. And Siegfried did become silent...almost calm.
"Celestia...you do know that it's a different story in an inn, right? When you're out on the field, you have a lot of ground as your bed. However here...hold on, how many beds are in there?"
"...you two are...not together?" the innkeeper asked carefully.
"So just one big bed, huh?" Siegfried asked. "I'm afraid so...and this is the only inn..."
"Siegfried...?" Celestia said with a somewhat low voice.
"What is it?" "Don't give the man any more trouble. I'll just find somewhere else to sleep."
"...out of the question. Hey, you've at least got an extra blanket? I'm taking the floor." he said after a short pause. The innkeeper went away and came back with a few blankets.
"I'm truly sorry this is all I can offer you." "Ah, don't sweat it...it's better than outside."

Celestia and Siegfried went up to their room. After Siegfried had closed the door after him, Celestia asked: "Why was it 'out of the question'?"
"Because you would've found yourself some tree and made that your bed. And as long as you're traveling with me, you won't live like some animal." Siegfried said. He then picked himself one of the corners and tried to make himself comfortable by using the blankets to soften the floor. "Good night Celestia." he said over to Celestia who was sitting on the bed. If he had looked closer, he would have seen the sadness in her eyes. But he didn't notice and so he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. Celestia also went to bed. A silent tear ran down her cheek.

The next morning Siegfried woke up. He sat up and looked around.
'...what am I doing in the bed?' he asked himself after getting his head clear again.
He looked around some more and found Celestia floating on some sort of Mattress in the corner where Siegfried had laid down the evening before.
'That girl...honestly, she's one of a kind.' Siegfried slowly got up. From her position Celestia greeted him with a bit of a sleepy 'Good morning.' "Oh, did I wake you?" Siegfried asked.
"No, the rays of the sun did...oh and thanks again." Celestia answered as she slowly got up.
"...for what?" Siegfried asked, even though he already saw the answer coming.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to heave someone of your stature from the floor into that bed and then summon the air bed when you're already tired?" Celestia replied.
'Knew it...' Siegfried thought. Then he said: "Why'd you do that anyway? I mean...pick me up from the floor and everything. I never asked you to, did I? If I did I'm sorry."
"...you didn't ask me, that's right. But as you said: It was out of the question. That I would sleep comfortable and you cramp yourself into some corner on the floor."
"...you know, if I had known you could use magic to call your own bed, the whole thing would've gone differently...why didn't you tell me?" "That's because I..." But again Celestia stopped. After a little pause she said: "That's because I thought you knew. That I can do about everything with magic. Summoning an air bed is no big deal."
'Again...there's something she wants to tell me but can't...I wonder why...' Siegfried thought. He then asked: "How comes you never used it while we were in the field then?"
"The problem is the wind. As I said, this is an air bed. So if there's wind.."
"That thing is blown away?" "Exactly. And I go right with it." "And you expect me to believe that?" "Huh?" "Celestia...you're a lousy liar." Siegfried went over to the bed and leaned himself against it. But the bed didn't move at all. "So what's the deal?" Celestia blushed a little. "Actually...it's a promise I made to Terra a long time ago. You see...I can't summon more than one air bed at a time...my magic isn't strong enough for that. So I promised..."
"That you won't sleep any more comfortable than anyone you care about?" Siegfried guessed.
Celestia's head shot up, her face bright red: "How did you..." 'Bullseye...wait...' Siegfried thought. He decided to probe his theory. "But you gave that promise to Terra. And she's not around. So how do you know if she's sleeping less comfortable than you do?" "But you..."
"I'm not Terra. You didn't promise me a thing. So why?" "I...guess I didn't think that far."
'And there she goes again...evading the real question. Ah well...' Siegfried nodded. He then said: "Next time you've got an idea how to make it easier for the two of us, please say something. Ok?" Celestia nodded. But her face was still pretty red.
'She's been blushing a whole lot as of late...I wonder...nah, can't be...' Siegfried thought. He then packed his things up and said: "I think it's best if we get going. It's still a long way to the capital." "Yes. Let's go." Celestia replied and collected her few belongings.