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 illuminating light of the blue eastern sun. And when it reached the peak, all nightly creatures crawled back to their holes.
He stood and faced another day with the scythe in his right hand. Inhaling the morning dew sprinkled by the white faes, a blurred shadow passed him, accompanied by a strong wind and a deep roar. Ice dragons were a common sight in the northern and eastern parts of the land. These divine creatures reeked of power and stubbornness, two things he loved the most about them. And it was also common knowledge that dragons were rare. Those only with silver blood and dragon riders had the privilege to have a dragon, whether an ice dragon or a fire dragon.
The ice dragons before her were considered babies, not by size but because these ice dragons could not breathe azure flames yet. His gaze returned to the part where he knew his home stood.
Vague chatters erupted in his hearing radius, the advantage of being an Avatar.
This was his daily life. He always stood on this branch and gazed longingly at the kingdom the whole day. Avatars were not allowed to enter the kingdom without the bell from Korendell or their master's permission. He was only allowed to watch the home he loved from afar. But everything changed during nighttime. Avatars were tools to protect the kingdom outside the great wall, for beyond this wall spoke nothing but horror passed down from generation to generation.
Sighing loudly, he jumped from the branch where he stood. His bare feet landed swiftly on the ground. His feet were numb from the coldness that seeped from the ground, covered with thick layers of snow. Dead silence welcomed him as he walked further away from his sanctuary. No creatures roamed free except the mosquito-liked insects called stellars, and small milk-haired creatures called faes.
As he walked deeper into the forest, a giant silver snake passed before him. A moment passed by, and a red-eyed reaper chased the giant snake. It's these creatures the citizens of Yigena were afraid of. But the worse had yet to come, a horror that caused his ancestors to give up their lives just to build the wall – creatures that craved flesh and the living.
He stopped walking when a very unlikely howl cracked the deafening silence within the Forest of Koor.
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
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
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
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