Ryzen and Raya were so used to a rural area that they felt overwhelmed by the drastic changes in the scenery. After passing the wall, Ryzen failed to take a glimpse of the captain of the holy knights that everyone in Raxes knew. Shrugging his disappointment, a red blood soldier gave them a pamphlet about the details of the annual coming-of-age ceremony. It said that after the bell of Korendell rang, the ceremony started, but the official selection or the main event would be held an hour before midnight.
'So we have four hours left as a free individuals before being proclaimed as a slave to some arrogant red blood noble,' he bitterly thought.
He glanced at Raya, who was happily walking beside him while she linked their arms together. Her gaze never stayed put, and it was twinkling with happiness.
'Happiness that would be gone long after midnight.'
If this was his last drop of freedom, then he might as well enjoy it. Doing what Raya was doing, he looked awed as Raxians from different races strode at the city's busy street. Street lamps lightened the whole town.
The city's mood was very festive.
Banners for the ceremony were on full display from every nook and cranny of the city. Flags were dropped freely in every corner. Merchants, who sold various goods from the smallest to the biggest things, stood proudly beside their stores' stand near the road. Ladies and lords were inside the fancy-looking food houses that could be seen from the glass walls of the food houses. Girls around Raya's were giggling when they passed on them, eyes fixated on him. Children were chasing faces and laughing freely as their parents chased after them. A variety of carriages occupied the road.
Drunks sang a sailor or merchant's song while ladies with bouncing breasts sat on the drunks' laps. The city of Elixion was nothing like her old home. This city spoke everything that the system had deprived them of. Sighing silently, he shook his head.
"Are you okay, Ryzen?" Raya's voice was laced with worry.
'So my dumb of a sister noticed my ill comfort.' He grinned, which earned him a glare from Raya.
"Seems like you're okay," she rumbled.
Ryzen smiled slightly as he messed with Raya's hair.
"Hey, watch it!" She tried to shake his hands off her hair. Ryzen could not suppress his laughter anymore as he dodged her hands and pushed his earnestness to annoy her.
'I'll miss this.'
When a chain would be connected around their necks, it was not guaranteed that they would have proximity to each other. By then, it would be a matter of luck.
Ryzen stopped making fun of Raya when his attention was taken by something. It smelled heavenly; indeed, it was not from the food house. He followed his stomach's instinct.
"Where are you going, Ryzen?" Raya asked him when he walked away from her grasp.
Hot in his heels, Raya bumped into his back when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Before them, food vendors were selling delicacies they had never seen before.
'All my life, rabbits and beavers are the only luxurious food I ever tasted, but now I want to eat those round bouncy foods.'
"Do you want that?" His sister's look showed pity, and he knew the reason why.
They could not afford it. They could not afford anything from this city at all. Their mother could only give them a small portion of their wheat stock. They did not have any Teran.
"No, just curious," he lied, but he felt Raya knew the truth. Hardening himself and not wallowing in self-pity, Ryzen strode away from the vendor's stall.
When he was about to hide deep within his heart's wall again, a pair of soft yet firm hands spun him around, stopping his intention to leave.
"Hey!" Raya's startled voice knocked his senses out as instinct kicked in.
Ryzen twisted his body and connected his elbows to the culprit's ribs.
A pained sound came out from the culprit. Very eager to look at his opponent's face, Ryzen looked up only to be greeted by a silver-haired woman. Her body was clad in armor that sensualized her curves and standing in the hierarchy.
Ryzen was left in awe.
'She is a Silver Blood!' The siblings realized.
The blue-eyed culprit knew that realization dawned on him, and Raya, who also grew silent behind him, had spoken. "Here." She softly said, handing them a pouch.
Looking down on it… it was a small pouch of Teran.
'What can I expect from the highest of the chain?' Ryzen mockingly asked himself as he glared at the small pouch of Teran in his hand.
Raya nudged his side to earn a response from him. Indeed, the people were looking at them.
A Silver Blood offering help to a red blood peasant? That was a sight to behold!
Ryzen knew he could not lash out and risk his sister. So before he might regret his action, he gave back the pouch of Teran, crossed the distance between them, and whispered, which she surely heard. "I am not asking for alms, Silver Blood."
The round arena owned by the wealthy dwarflings in the kingdom of Raxes was fully packed with teens from different races. These teens, with their parents, took a seat from the bleachers with only one thought running through their minds, the annual coming-of-age ceremony. The siblings, Ryzen and Raya, took the farthest seat from the bleacher assigned to the lowest races. The distance was not a big deal for Ryzen. First, he was not that interested, if not only for Raya. Second, using the beast's eyes would bring them trouble, and he could not risk it.The center of the stage looked extravagant. It was also there that the silver holy knights and centaurs formed a circle position tasked by the crown to protect the sacred fire of Raxes. At the center of the stage was a huge goblet where the sacred crimson fire was laid. Behind it was the thrones for the King, the Queen, and the heirs.Ryzen looked at the giant hourglass above the arena designed for this event only. It showed there would be
Ryzen swiftly captured the blue butterfly.When its wings touched his palm, the butterfly turned into golden specks of dust and vanished into thin air, thus, leaving the piece of paper on his palm. Raya was still so busy admiring the event unfolding before her that she failed to notice the real magic happening beside her. Ryzen's heart thundered with dread as he slowly unfolded the piece of yellowish paper on his palm. He did not know how he would know what was written on it. After all, the lowest races did not have the privilege of learning how to write and read.Glancing toward the stage, ten flags were raised by each centaur. Each flag seemed to be a banner representing the teens' fate in this arena. Each flag had an embroidered drawing at the center of each flag. There was a book for the scholars or mentors, a home for the housekeeping, a shield for the guards, a sword for the next generation red blood soldiers, a feather for the messengers, an aristocrat hat for the silver blood
In the southern part of Yigena there lies a kingdom ruled by the Red-haired Silver Bloods. They worshiped the fire gods, and only them. Unlike the eastern and northern kingdoms, the southern kingdom had the red sun and fire-breathing dragons. It was common knowledge that the southern kingdom was the strongest among other kingdoms and led by the most ruthless and oldest Silver Bloods.As the scorching red rays of the sun seemed to penetrate the throne room, the king who sat on his throne stared at his son before him. His queen beside him never stopped scolding their son. His squires seemed to be uncomfortable by their queen's outburst while his son seemed to be relaxed though he was not looking at them."Queen Reza, let the prince go." the king calmly said but the queen huffed."You tend to spoil your son, my dear. He should learn some humility and not use his dragon against his people. " The queen reasoned. Earlier this day, their son, the prince of the kingdom of Euria, Frex, went
The seer was gone for two hours already, and Ryzen Rozenhart was left alone in the dingy old cellar. He was treated like a prisoner, with a centaur guarding beyond the locked door and at the end of the hallway. He could tell using the beast's eyes. There was no need to hide anything anymore.He was drifting back to sleep when the rustic door flew open. Ryzen was greeted with the presence of the seer. 'Oh, she has company.'A girl, barely ten years old in her physical appearance, was with the seer. With the pointed hat she was sporting, he could tell that the seer's companion was not any ten-year-old kid. Wizards tend to be deceiving in their appearance, after all."To be a fully pledged Avatar with a new identity, you must face the initiation every Avatar went through for centuries." The seer seriously informed him; the void in her gaze penetrated Ryzen, now Raya.'An initiation?'The centaur came again and led Ryzen to the much more profound and darker part of the cellar. It reeked
The harsh winter breeze seemed like a needle in his bare arms. Everything around him ached as if a dozen of Minotaurs rough-handled him. Ryzen was very much aware that he did open his eyes, but what startled him was that he could not see anything at all. With his sensitive hearing, he could hear the breathing of three more creatures under the sheath of winter blaze. Ryzen tried to use his limbs, but he was left immobilized under the three pairs of eyes for some reason. He could not even open his mouth, even though he was not gagged.A soft hand caressed his cheeks. "You shall wear this blindfold whenever you are around other people. This is a tradition for all the Avatars. You can only take it off once you're outside the wall." A soft voice said. Her voice seemed like a melody soothing his soul. She was neither the seer nor the wizard. Who could she be?An arm snaked around his numb body before dragging him somewhere else. His three breathings decreased to one when he was nearing th
Birds sang a beautiful melody that echoed throughout the misty Forest of Koor. The humid air and the little laughter of stellars caused the male to squirm from his deep slumber. Tired from a late-night raid, two lilac orbs gazed upon the horizon. Then, he was greeted by countless looming shadows of the winged serpents. Enjoying the serenity of the place, he stayed like that for a good moment, and when he had enough, he slowly stood up with the help of his scythe wrapped securely with red satin. His torn, beaten cape hugged his slender body as his short milk hair barely moved from the winter breeze.And right before his eyes, he was greeted with a sight he'll never get tired of gazing at, the full view of the lovely kingdom of Raxes, the eastern kingdom of the land of Yigena. The tree where he was standing was the tree of the Lady of Fire; it was the tallest on the continent, and standing at the uppermost branch of it indeed had its perks. He saw how darkness was chased by the illumina
The smell of burning wood caused his nose to wrinkle. Ryzen slowly stretched his limbs, thus, kicking his blanket in the process. He wasn't able to sleep well. The thought that this day was their sixteenth birthday made him anxious about his surroundings.His birthday was the same day as the annual coming-of-age ceremony, which only took place in Raxes every ten years. Getting up slowly, he strode towards his room's window and opened it slowly. The cool blue ray of the eastern sun welcomed him—a vast green and white with no neighborhood greeted Ryzen. To his right was the frozen garden his mother stubbornly made and to his left was a waterless well, frozen since the day one of winter. ‘Of course,’ Ryzen thought."Do you plan to spend your birthday zoning out, Ryzen?" His sister, Raya, peeked her head from his slightly opened door. Closing the small wooden window, he faced his younger twin sister.They were not identical twins.While he had milk hair paired with lilac eyes, his sister
"Come quick." Their mother ushered them to wear the coat right after their mother made sure that their dyed hairs were now dry. Ryzen swiftly followed her while their father stood silently at the corner. Ryzen could tell the resemblance of the attitude he shared with their father."You must reach the capital city before the bell of Korendell rings, am I understood?" asked their mother as if they were a kid but the tremble laced upon her voice didn't go unnoticed. Ryzen understood what their mother was afraid of. Ryzen and his twin sister, Raya, only had six hours to travel and living on the outskirts of the kingdom paid no help at all. They must climb the steep mountains of Derglib and cross the frozen lake of Raws.And in their sixteen years of existence, this would be the first time they would leave the premises of the Yolke Swamp, the place for the outcasts near the outer wall. From then on, they should enter the second wall between the lake of Raws and the mountains of Derglib, w
The harsh winter breeze seemed like a needle in his bare arms. Everything around him ached as if a dozen of Minotaurs rough-handled him. Ryzen was very much aware that he did open his eyes, but what startled him was that he could not see anything at all. With his sensitive hearing, he could hear the breathing of three more creatures under the sheath of winter blaze. Ryzen tried to use his limbs, but he was left immobilized under the three pairs of eyes for some reason. He could not even open his mouth, even though he was not gagged.A soft hand caressed his cheeks. "You shall wear this blindfold whenever you are around other people. This is a tradition for all the Avatars. You can only take it off once you're outside the wall." A soft voice said. Her voice seemed like a melody soothing his soul. She was neither the seer nor the wizard. Who could she be?An arm snaked around his numb body before dragging him somewhere else. His three breathings decreased to one when he was nearing th
The seer was gone for two hours already, and Ryzen Rozenhart was left alone in the dingy old cellar. He was treated like a prisoner, with a centaur guarding beyond the locked door and at the end of the hallway. He could tell using the beast's eyes. There was no need to hide anything anymore.He was drifting back to sleep when the rustic door flew open. Ryzen was greeted with the presence of the seer. 'Oh, she has company.'A girl, barely ten years old in her physical appearance, was with the seer. With the pointed hat she was sporting, he could tell that the seer's companion was not any ten-year-old kid. Wizards tend to be deceiving in their appearance, after all."To be a fully pledged Avatar with a new identity, you must face the initiation every Avatar went through for centuries." The seer seriously informed him; the void in her gaze penetrated Ryzen, now Raya.'An initiation?'The centaur came again and led Ryzen to the much more profound and darker part of the cellar. It reeked
In the southern part of Yigena there lies a kingdom ruled by the Red-haired Silver Bloods. They worshiped the fire gods, and only them. Unlike the eastern and northern kingdoms, the southern kingdom had the red sun and fire-breathing dragons. It was common knowledge that the southern kingdom was the strongest among other kingdoms and led by the most ruthless and oldest Silver Bloods.As the scorching red rays of the sun seemed to penetrate the throne room, the king who sat on his throne stared at his son before him. His queen beside him never stopped scolding their son. His squires seemed to be uncomfortable by their queen's outburst while his son seemed to be relaxed though he was not looking at them."Queen Reza, let the prince go." the king calmly said but the queen huffed."You tend to spoil your son, my dear. He should learn some humility and not use his dragon against his people. " The queen reasoned. Earlier this day, their son, the prince of the kingdom of Euria, Frex, went
Ryzen swiftly captured the blue butterfly.When its wings touched his palm, the butterfly turned into golden specks of dust and vanished into thin air, thus, leaving the piece of paper on his palm. Raya was still so busy admiring the event unfolding before her that she failed to notice the real magic happening beside her. Ryzen's heart thundered with dread as he slowly unfolded the piece of yellowish paper on his palm. He did not know how he would know what was written on it. After all, the lowest races did not have the privilege of learning how to write and read.Glancing toward the stage, ten flags were raised by each centaur. Each flag seemed to be a banner representing the teens' fate in this arena. Each flag had an embroidered drawing at the center of each flag. There was a book for the scholars or mentors, a home for the housekeeping, a shield for the guards, a sword for the next generation red blood soldiers, a feather for the messengers, an aristocrat hat for the silver blood
The round arena owned by the wealthy dwarflings in the kingdom of Raxes was fully packed with teens from different races. These teens, with their parents, took a seat from the bleachers with only one thought running through their minds, the annual coming-of-age ceremony. The siblings, Ryzen and Raya, took the farthest seat from the bleacher assigned to the lowest races. The distance was not a big deal for Ryzen. First, he was not that interested, if not only for Raya. Second, using the beast's eyes would bring them trouble, and he could not risk it.The center of the stage looked extravagant. It was also there that the silver holy knights and centaurs formed a circle position tasked by the crown to protect the sacred fire of Raxes. At the center of the stage was a huge goblet where the sacred crimson fire was laid. Behind it was the thrones for the King, the Queen, and the heirs.Ryzen looked at the giant hourglass above the arena designed for this event only. It showed there would be
Ryzen and Raya were so used to a rural area that they felt overwhelmed by the drastic changes in the scenery. After passing the wall, Ryzen failed to take a glimpse of the captain of the holy knights that everyone in Raxes knew. Shrugging his disappointment, a red blood soldier gave them a pamphlet about the details of the annual coming-of-age ceremony. It said that after the bell of Korendell rang, the ceremony started, but the official selection or the main event would be held an hour before midnight. 'So we have four hours left as a free individuals before being proclaimed as a slave to some arrogant red blood noble,' he bitterly thought. He glanced at Raya, who was happily walking beside him while she linked their arms together. Her gaze never stayed put, and it was twinkling with happiness.'Happiness that would be gone long after midnight.'If this was his last drop of freedom, then he might as well enjoy it. Doing what Raya was doing, he looked awed as Raxians from different
Crossing the frozen lake of Raws was not an easy task. The ice covering the lake was slippery, and their weight caused a few cracks in the surface, pushing them to be faster. And when their feet touched the ground again, they dashed off to the forest, letting the beast in them take control. They were against time, and their chance for survival grew thinner and thinner with every tick of the clock. Beyond the second wall, stellars only roamed free in the cold mist of the forests, but here, various creatures roamed free. These creatures would freeze from where they stood or hid when they saw them dashing. After all, it was not a common sight here to have not just one but two hellhounds.After they went past the small forest, a dark aired forest with crows everywhere greeted them. Ryzen snarled involuntarily, sensing danger from deep within this forest. ‘What should we do?’ Raya silently asked him by nudging his arm. ‘I don’t know.’Ryzen wanted to tell Raya, but he dashed off to the
"Come quick." Their mother ushered them to wear the coat right after their mother made sure that their dyed hairs were now dry. Ryzen swiftly followed her while their father stood silently at the corner. Ryzen could tell the resemblance of the attitude he shared with their father."You must reach the capital city before the bell of Korendell rings, am I understood?" asked their mother as if they were a kid but the tremble laced upon her voice didn't go unnoticed. Ryzen understood what their mother was afraid of. Ryzen and his twin sister, Raya, only had six hours to travel and living on the outskirts of the kingdom paid no help at all. They must climb the steep mountains of Derglib and cross the frozen lake of Raws.And in their sixteen years of existence, this would be the first time they would leave the premises of the Yolke Swamp, the place for the outcasts near the outer wall. From then on, they should enter the second wall between the lake of Raws and the mountains of Derglib, w
The smell of burning wood caused his nose to wrinkle. Ryzen slowly stretched his limbs, thus, kicking his blanket in the process. He wasn't able to sleep well. The thought that this day was their sixteenth birthday made him anxious about his surroundings.His birthday was the same day as the annual coming-of-age ceremony, which only took place in Raxes every ten years. Getting up slowly, he strode towards his room's window and opened it slowly. The cool blue ray of the eastern sun welcomed him—a vast green and white with no neighborhood greeted Ryzen. To his right was the frozen garden his mother stubbornly made and to his left was a waterless well, frozen since the day one of winter. ‘Of course,’ Ryzen thought."Do you plan to spend your birthday zoning out, Ryzen?" His sister, Raya, peeked her head from his slightly opened door. Closing the small wooden window, he faced his younger twin sister.They were not identical twins.While he had milk hair paired with lilac eyes, his sister