C I R E N A Somewhere in the wild outskirt of Eflie, an isolated cave that rested far off the caves of Eflie was basking underneath the moonlight. A quiet night in an indeed lonely region. A place where humans dreaded to be. No one in his or her right senses would ever settle in a place beyond the grassland. It was an outrageous idea, and only one with a supernatural ability can think of such a space as a home.The witches. . .Only a witch, or one who have had an equivalent power in the past would have had such authority and guts to step into a region as deadly as this one. * * * *“Lydia!” “Sister, the time has come. The moon has taken the last turn. The very one we have been waiting for,” Dria shouted as her hand swept the piece of rag that was hanging over the entrance of the cave. It was thick enough to serve it's purpose, keeping out the intense cold that persisted. The voice of Dria shook Lydia from her sleep back to consciousness. She had been sleeping through
Those who possessed such great powers given to them by nature itself, the witches of Ivádia.Ivádia was one of the four regions of the world where humans could survive. The other three regions were Landiá, Vocí and Piliá.Only about a hundred women from Ivádia were blessed with these powers. This tribe of witches is mainly called "the daughters of nature", because since the beginning of time they could only give birth to female, so no man ever emerged from this gender.Originally, these powers were used to heal others.Over time, they realized how deeply ingrained their powers were. They realized that they could do more with their powers than save lives. They saw how much people without powers depended on them, and they thought highly of themselves.The rule of the witches crept out of Ivádia and spread across all four regions, dominating and enslaving others.People without this gift were called Mandrins, a name given to them by the witches, meaning powerless. Mandrins were generally
The sun shone over their weary heads, bringing beads of sweat to their foreheads as they crossed the bridge of Ivádia. Not even the smallest young man is spared, neither women nor children. Everyone had his share of the work so long they were Mandrins. The hot, coarse grains of sand that had basked in the intense light of the sun were like hot coals from a furnace to their bare feet. Only the wind from the west gave them hope that the moon would soon defeat the sun and reclaim the sky. Isaias looked up at the sky, and the fading sunlight consumed his face and left him with no sight. He took a deep breath, and before he could think to pause, he heard a strong female voice behind him shout, "Go on, you fool!" He was startled by the trembling voice of the old witch who watched over all the mandrins crossing the bridge.He glanced at her face, and the grim expression on it made him move on against his will. His knee was almost to the point of collapsing. He had travelled such a long dis
"Where. . . Where did you get that?" She stammered, visibly confused by what she was seeing."My father found it," Isaias said, and she became even more curious."You should not be in possession of such a thing. Take whatever you find to the castle and maybe you'll be rewarded. I'll take care of it," she said as she moved toward Isaias, trying to get to the gem as quickly as possible."No! Do not... Do not touch it? He found it," Isaias said, and she giggled. "Look around, you are not in a position to tell me what to do. I'll take it to my sisters and we will decide what to do with it," she said.She moved forward. Somehow she was careful with her movements. It was more like she could not just walk up, take it and go. Her facial expression revealed that she was not aware of the consequences of touching it. "So it exists, our sisters will be proud of us for finding it," she said to the younger girl."You did not find it, my father did," Isaias shouted, and she ignored him."Take it!"
The young woman in the maroon robe strode through the dimly lit corridor on the second floor of the castle. "Nika, sister," Amaia called to her from the doorway, just before she could take the turn that would lead her to her room. "Yes! Amaia, do you have news about my mother yet?" she asked, turning to speak to Amaia."I am afraid not, sister, your mother has asked for the cloak to be cast. The creatures, I hate to say it... but one of them is still out there and so we can not look for her," she said to Nika and she remained silent. She had last seen her mother at noon and since Lucia had come with a report about the Callibra and the Mandrins that had found it, she had not seen her again. She knew she was out there, somewhere, but she could not tell if she was all right."Where are the rest of them?" asked Nika, breaking the silence. She wanted to know where the other dragons had gone, because Amaia had confirmed to her that there was only one dragon out there. "I think they are
TOWER OF IVÁDIANika immediately got up from the chair when she saw her mother's reflection and tried to embrace her, but she backed away."Mother, you scared me. Where have you been all this time? We were all waiting for you," she said to her and she did not say a word. She looked down at Isidora's face and her eyes met the blood stains on her chest from the puncture in her neck. She covered her mouth with both hands and tears rolled down her eyes."Mother, what happened to you?" She could only speak through her tears. She tried to reach for her hand and she moved backward again. "No, no, mother, you are dead, you died out there!" she screamed loudly and Amaia ran into the room after hearing her scream. "Sister Isidora!" said Amaia. Stunned, she does not let herself say another word. "Mother, talk to me!" She shouted and Isidora smiled."I will not be here too much longer, I am hanging on so I can pass my spirit on to you. Find me!" She said as she walked towards them and disappe
It was indeed a long night, but they were no longer humans. They no longer needed to light torches to go to a place as dark as this. Even though the moon was no longer visible in the sky, their eyes were now like natural torches that never burn out. They emitted green light, just like the gem Isaias held between his hind claws. The gem that the witches called "CALLIBRA". They could see the caves ahead of them. They were close and knew they would soon reach it. The closer they got to the cave, the more echoes they created with their wing beats. In the middle of the caves they descended and the sand under their wings pulled apart as the winds caught under their descending wings pushed them away. "Behold, the caves of Eflie," Dalmatius said, and silence flooded their midst as they tried to explore the caves and see if they were indeed safe. "We should go see them! We can not swear they have been empty all these years, because no one's been here in decades," Atticus suggested. There
CASTLE OF VOCÍTamara was standing at the window in her mother's room. Far off, deep in the night clouds her eyes caught a pigeon...moving so fast through the clouds in a way that made her conclude it was amplified by magic. "A messenger is approaching the tower," she said to her mother, who was sitting on her bed, studying a spell from the book that lay on her palms."A messenger?" She seemed as shocked as Tamara. She walked up to her and sat down next to her. "Do you think something might have gone wrong in Ivádia?" said Tamara anxiously. They had not seen a messenger from Ivádia in the last 365 days."Ivádia?" "Yes, Mother, Ivádia." "We have not heard from them in 365 days, could something be wrong?" said Grindila to her daughter. "Go. Daughter, tell our sisters to gather in the message room and wait for me," Grindila instructed her and she left the room.She walked out of the room and went straight to the bell. She struck it three times and heard the footsteps of her sisters
C I R E N A Somewhere in the wild outskirt of Eflie, an isolated cave that rested far off the caves of Eflie was basking underneath the moonlight. A quiet night in an indeed lonely region. A place where humans dreaded to be. No one in his or her right senses would ever settle in a place beyond the grassland. It was an outrageous idea, and only one with a supernatural ability can think of such a space as a home.The witches. . .Only a witch, or one who have had an equivalent power in the past would have had such authority and guts to step into a region as deadly as this one. * * * *“Lydia!” “Sister, the time has come. The moon has taken the last turn. The very one we have been waiting for,” Dria shouted as her hand swept the piece of rag that was hanging over the entrance of the cave. It was thick enough to serve it's purpose, keeping out the intense cold that persisted. The voice of Dria shook Lydia from her sleep back to consciousness. She had been sleeping through
IASIAS' POVI rush out of the falling castle with my hands tied to Nika’s. We pass the back door as Nika suggested and we arrive at the compound. Varia runs to us and hugs Nika. “I need to get my friends out of the dungeon,” I say to Nika, placing my hand on her cheek and she nods. Just before I take a step, she calls to me, “be careful!” And I nod with a grin. I reach the dungeon and I break through the metal door of the dungeon. The building is already falling apart, as crumbles of sands fall off the cracks on the wall. They are startled as they can't see who it is. I punch a hole into the ceiling and light floods the entire room. I'm half transformed, but they all recognize me.“How are you—” “How is this possible?” “How—”All three of them asks, shocked to see that I'm still a dragon, not even the type we last were, but a different species.“I will answers all your questions, I promise. First, we have to get out of here before it collapse,” I say to them and they completely
NIKA'S POVI'm sobbing, my life has been miserable ever since I got back to Livádia. The choices I made lead to Iasias being captured. I'm ashamed of myself for everything I have been part of, what I have believed in, what I have fought for. It all was backed by selfishness. I won't be able to live with myself if Iasias is executed. After considering everything, my eyes dart to the long, thick rope in my hand and I sigh. My eyes move slowly from the rope and I glance upwards to the ceiling, causing my eyes to meet the metal hock hanging out of my ceiling. ELVIO’S POV The sounds of people fighting wakes and so did it for Domminick and Dalmatius. We three were locked in the same dungeon, and we still doesn't know anything about Iasias or his whereabouts. We heard he was going to be executed and then we heard nothing more. “What is going on out there?” I hear Domminick sat to Dalmatius.“I don't know. What do you think it might be?” Dalmatius asks Domminick and he sighs. We all c
IASIAS' POVI'm on my way to Livádia, I've been traveling with Berin by my side since the night we met Gastrus. He insists we travel by foot so we do not attract the eyes of the dwellers of the east or the witches and their instruments.We have exhausted a morning and a night after the night we met Gastrus, and it is morning now. We hope to get to Livádia before the dwellers of the east reaches them. Berin has tied a rope to the bag holding the Callibra and he hangs it over his neck. It has been a journey through seas and oceans, lands, mountain and forests.“I believe we are near,” Berin shouts to me as I stop to drink from my jar. VARIA'S POVI roll out of my bed, tired. I spent last night sitting by Nika’s door hoping the spell would wear off a bit to give me a chance to speak to Nika, but instead I found out that the spell has being enhanced even more than it was earlier. Last night, I couldn't even see her through the boundary clearly, I could only see her in a blur. I slip my
TOWER OF LIVÁDIAKATERINA'S POV I'm restless. I have long returned back to the castle with Althea after failing to find the slave who escaped. The figans returned back long ago, and he could not be found anywhere near the castle. I keep pacing all over my room until I hear the knock on my door."Who is it? Come in!" I shout to whoever is at the door and the door handle turns. Sister Althea walks in and sigh."Any news about the him?" I ask and she shakes her head."What are we to do about this?" I ask and she exhales. "I don't know what else to do," she says to me and I sigh. "Send out the figans again, we must find him," I Instruct her and she leaves. It is night, and so I know I have to get some sleep. If not for me, for the one I'm carrying.ISLE OF AGARIASIAS' POV We've been walking around the Island. We left Berin's house since morning and now the moon has risen over our heads. Just when I'm about to give up walking, and probably ask him to take me back if it was going t
ISLE OF AGAR The smell of alcohol is what brought me back to consciousness. I open my eyes and I smack my head to resist the headache. Sunlight smites my eyes and I quickly shield them from from its intensity. I try to get up but I can't, instead I roll down the tiny bed I found myself lying on. I groan as I drop heavily to the floor. I lie on my back and my eyes wander the whole room. It is small, there's a red carpet at its center, a rocking chair backing the wall opposite me, several cloaks hanging on an iron rod, a mahogany stool and a ragged curtain at its door. I manage to get up and I trudge towards the door cautiously. My hand sweeps the curtain and I step out of the room. There's an old man by the fire just in front of the room. There's a black pot hanging above the the fire, I peep and I see that there's a liquid bubbling in the pot, the smell of alcohol is strongest in this region so I believe the liquid in the pot is the source of the smell
TOWER OF LIVÁDIAKATERINA’S POV It's morning, I just got up from bed and I haven't even looked into the mirror. I haven't been taken care of myself lately as a woman bearing a child in her stomach should. I stand with my loose garment in front of the mirror and I place my hand gently on my stomach and I sigh. I reach for the wooden cup which contains water from last night, resting on the table and I gulp down the water in it. The cup slips off my hand as the door flings open and I'm startled. It is Varia. She has a fierce look on her face and she seem like she has a lot in her heart to pour out. She has not spoken a word ever since she entered, she has only been glaring at me. “You know, there is a door before a room for a reason,” I say to her, turning back to the mirror —still placing my hand on my stomach. “That wouldn't be your door if Nika was here. Why are you taking everything away from her?” She asks.“That was harsh young lady. Me taking over Nika’s r
ISLE OF AZARIASIAS’ POVMy eyes meet the moon. I takes me moments before realizing that the can't be a moon in a dungeon. The realization of this makes me realize that I'm no longer in the dungeon. I recall the argument I had with Varia. I recall the part where I began to lose my consciousness. I'm weak, it seems like the spell Varia cast on me has side effects. I can't even move my legs without yawning, as though I had been working on the fields. The dungeon is not the only place I'm no longer in, I'm also no longer in Livádia.The ground surrounding me is wet, I don't think the wetness is caused by rain. Its moisture makes it stick to my body. I smell something, I smell a Blosae: A flower which can only grow on an island. I have not been on an island before, but I have seen it before when my mother used to work for the witches in the garden. They had only one of it, and it took them years of nursing it before it grew successful as the climate was not
DWELLERS OF THE EASTDAHLIA’S POVWe watch a red fog rise to the moon. This is a sign. A sign that shows that the fall is near now more than ever. “It is time. Time to journey across the lands to seize our birthrights from the witches of Livádia. The fall has almost come, we rise!” Elena declares.“Let the air that fills my long be not poison, let the breaths of the trees which raised us be our torch,” we all declare, and we move. Livádia is far north of the grasslands, and it will take us at least to nights to reach. .We begin our journey even though it is night. Neither the wild beasts nor the shadows can cross our paths. TOWER OF LIVÁDIAIASIAS’ POV I'm still sitting in the dungeon with Varia sitting beside me. Both leaning on the wall behind us. My knees are raised, her legs are straightened. We can't seem to find a way to tell each other about everything that has happened in our lives in one night. We clearly don't know anything a