The Exiled King

Chapter 4 - To Anhua

The forest was quiet and peaceful, making it difficult to believe that there had been a demon invasion just months prior. It was now early Frostleaf and the forest was beginning to turn from luscious green to fiery orange and the temperature had quickly cooled.

The guardian group had grown in number—Aidan had joined them for their journey, and they had quickly adapted to their situation. Aidan followed them, stating that his debt to Lirya had not been paid off yet. It was pretty obvious to the others that he followed them because he had no idea what else to do. Regardless, they were glad to have a strong ally on their perilous journey.

The uncertainty of their position and responsibilities was daunting, though the elven royals had given them as much counselling as they could.

"We do not know when nor how the demons will attack again, therefore we must prioritise gathering our own strength rather than launching a preemptive attack on them. So head west—to Anhua, and find the dragon eggs hidden in Esover. To you, perhaps they will hatch..." Lirya recalled their words.

They had small one-man tents set up close to the fire, and blankets put on the ground at the entrance of each tent so the occupant could crawl out without dirtying their knees—though it did nothing if it had rained during the night.

Aidan sat near the fire, busily cooking up their dinner. His first meals had been disastrous, but a few lessons on cooking essentials soon had him pulling his weight during dinners.

"What's on the menu, Aidan?" Lirya asked, stretching on the blankets.

Aidan smirked, "Ignu bird."

Lirya's eyes widened, "Really?"

"No. Of course not! It's the same jerky stew as yesterday, and the day before," Aidan rolled his eyes.

Lirya sighed, but chuckled, "I don't know why I even bother to ask... it's not like we've brought a whole pantry with us..."

No one among the group was a competent hunter, so the food they ate were stale rations and any plants foraged during their journey. Taryn had been the one to suggest that they boil the dry jerky with water and herbs to create something a little more palatable.

Leus wandered over to Aidan and Lirya and greeted them, peered into the pot and wrinkled his nose.

"Someone really ought to learn to hunt," He sighed and Lirya nodded.

From across the camp, Jason peered up and yelled, "I can't hunt game, but I can fish... we're already quite close to the coast, so in a few days we might be free of our jerky stew!"

"I've only tried fishing in rivers," He shrugged, "But it can't be that different..."

Altein snorted, having picked up on the conversation from where he sat, cleaning his array of weapons.

"Not that different, he says..." He muttered.

<--<< >>-->

"So, you have all awakened as guardians, am I right?" Aidan asked while stirring the stew.

The others had gathered around as Aidan had declared the stew almost ready, and they nodded, though Jason explained that Leus was newly awakened and untrained and Lirya had gained the circlet, but not the powers.

"Then... are you able to name the six guardian bloodlines?" Aidan continued, directing his question at Jason.

Jason shook his head and said, "Well, it's a bit of a give away that we know more than half of them already, but I have no idea about the last two."

Aidan smiled and said, "List the ones you know and I'll help you fill in the rest... I think it's pretty important that you at least know of the family name. You may have to recognise a fellow guardian before their awakening—that has occurred before in history."

Jason nodded.

"Firstly, Bladesworn—That's my bloodline, surprisingly," He grinned, earning a few chuckles from the others, "Then there's Throeyns—that's Lirya—and Aegivyl... represented by Taryn. And now we also have Ravenstorm, right? Since Leus awakened. We also have Altein's family, but I don't know it. Finally there should be one more, right? I'm afraid I don't know that one at all..."

Before Aidan could answer, Altein answered, "Thorvik. The Thorvik line holds the ruby powers."

Aidan grinned, "That's right, Altein Thorvik, and the Hamaia family of druids have passed down the emerald powers."

"D-druids?!"

Aidan paused, then described them, "Well, they've got really pointed ears and always wear long robes so nobody knows what they look like. Are you saying you've never seen one?"

In unison, the group shook their heads and Aidan sighed.

"What has this world come to in the few years I've been gone?"

<--<< >>-->

Just a year ago, if someone had told me I'd be camping out in a forest in Silvardor after fighting a demon invasion, I would have called them crazy, Lirya reflected.

She absentmindedly ran her fingers over the bumps and ridges of her circlet—a habit she'd developed lately.

Why am I the only one who still can't use any powers? She thought.

Leus had suddenly awakened his powers after the trial and no one had any idea why. They'd found his unconscious body right outside Ni'aad and all he could describe was a splitting headache and an echoing voice. The elven royals had concluded that it may have been the voice of the first wielder of the guardian power and chalked it up to the process of awakening. Later, Leus told the others that it had felt more threatening than anything else.

Even Leus, who was not thought to be a guardian at all, awakened some powers, Lirya thought, with a hint of jealousy.

Her fingers found the polished jewel at the centre of the circlet. It was a stunning deep onyx colour and it felt almost warm to the touch.

Amidst the light chatter of her companions and the sounds of the forest in the background, she heard something. A faint voice, serene yet exuding power, lightly chanted words incomprehensible yet beautiful...

Erv'um naid renai...

Over and over again, that sweet lullaby repeated, the sound fading out until all that remained was a faint tingling sensation and a distant echo.

And all of a sudden, it was as though nothing had happened. Lirya clutched her head, a frown forming on her face. Something felt strange, but she couldn't place it. Had she... heard something?

<--<< >>-->

And we meet the guardians again.