Ascension

The morning after the attack, the Verdance Sanctuary felt hollow. A quiet sorrow blanketed the village as survivors began to gather what was left, each one carrying their own grief. Among them was Liko, his movements slow and distracted.

He wandered through the debris, his gaze falling on a small bundle of herbs lying among the wreckage—his mother’s favorite blend, one she used to carry with her everywhere. Liko’s hand trembled as he picked it up, memories of her laughter and his father’s quiet strength filling his mind. They were both gone now, taken by the hunters.

From nearby, Renjiro approached, his face lined with remorse. “Liko… I’m sorry. We tried to stop them.”

Liko clenched the bundle of herbs tightly in his hand. “If I had been stronger, I could’ve done something. They… they needed me, and I couldn’t do anything.” His voice broke, barely a whisper.

Renjiro looked down, shame tightening his throat. “We’ll get them back, Liko. I promise.”

Just then, the chief’s son approached with his father, guiding him carefully back to the chief’s quarters. The chief was frail, his breathing labored, his skin an ashen green. Renjiro and Kairro stepped aside, watching as the son helped him to bed. The chief’s son gently knelt beside him, his eyes brimming with unspoken worry.

The chief’s hand trembled as he reached out to his son, resting it on his shoulder. “You’ll make a fine leader,” he murmured, his voice barely a rasp. “Our people… they need someone strong now. Someone who remembers… what we stand for.”

The son’s jaw tightened as he held back tears. “Father, rest. I’ll make you proud. Just… don’t leave yet.”

The chief gave a weak smile, his hand falling to his side. “Remember… protect them… as I did.” His breathing slowed, each breath softer than the last.

Renjiro and Kairro exchanged a look, sensing the weight of what was left unsaid. They quietly stepped back, leaving father and son to their moments.

The night passed with a heavy silence, broken only by the whispers of the Verdance clan mourning their loss. Renjiro lay awake in his tent, replaying the attack in his mind, each moment a reminder of what he could not prevent. Kairro sat across from him, equally restless.

“We let them slip away,” Kairro muttered. “The hunters escaped with our friends… because we weren’t strong enough.”

Renjiro nodded slowly. “But we’re not giving up on them. We owe it to Liko, and to everyone they took.” He sat up, determination hardening his gaze. “Tomorrow, we’ll find any trace they might have left behind.”

By dawn, the two were already up, scouring the sanctuary grounds. A faint shimmer caught Renjiro’s eye, scattered along the trail where the carriages had fled.  Purple Powder, faintly, lined the path like breadcrumbs.

Renjiro knelt, running his fingers over it. His eyes and nose burned from the aroma of the substance. “This must’ve fallen from the carriage when I struck it with Lumina .” He looked up at Kairro, a spark of hope in his eyes. “We have a trail.”

The two hurried to the chief’s quarters, hope rising as they prepared to share their discovery. But as they entered, the air inside was thick with sorrow. The son sat by his father’s bedside, his head bowed, green Lumina tears trickling down his cheeks.

Renjiro froze. He didn’t need to ask; the grief on the son’s face told him everything.

“My father…” The son took a shaky breath, collecting himself as he looked up. “He passed early this morning.”

The Verdance Clan gathered that afternoon, cloaked in their ceremonial green robes. The chief lay on a stone platform at the center of the gathering, his face peaceful, a faint glow illuminating his still form. Renjiro, Kairro, and Liko stood among the clan, their expressions somber as they joined the community in saying goodbye.

A Verdance elder stepped forward, his voice reverent as he began the ceremony. “We gather here today to honor a great leader and a beloved friend. Though he has left us, his spirit remains, guiding us like the roots that run deep beneath the earth. As clans, we may be divided, but in the heavens, we are one.”

Renjiro listened, awed by the Verdance traditions. The elder continued, his voice solemn, “We send him now to join our ancestors, to be one with the Lumina that surrounds us all.”

At a soft cue, the clan members extended their hands, green Lumina pulsing from their palms in a final act of respect. Renjiro glanced at Kairro, who nodded, and together they joined the others, lifting their hands in reverence emitting blue lumina.

The chief’s body began to shimmer, his form slowly dissolving into delicate flickers of green Lumina. Each spark drifted upward, ascending into the sky—a final farewell to the world he had protected. Renjiro watched, feeling a quiet sense of awe as he witnessed this transformation, a reminder of the unity that bound the Verdance Clan to nature itself.

“When a Luminarian dies, they become one with the world,” Kairro murmured beside him, almost to himself. “Their spirit is forever in the Lumina that binds us all.”

Renjiro felt the weight of the moment, watching as the last flickers of Lumina rose, becoming one with the clouds above.

That evening, Renjiro and Kairro stood by the edge of the sanctuary, their minds still heavy with the day’s events. Suddenly, the new chief—the son of the man they had just honored—approached, his face somber but resolute.

“I... I want to thank you both,” he began, his voice steady despite his grief. “For honoring my father.”

Renjiro nodded. “Your father was a remarkable leader. We’re sorry for your loss.”

The new chief looked to the horizon, his expression hardening. “This sanctuary was meant to be a refuge, a place where we could live in peace. But that peace was shattered. I won’t let my father’s legacy end here.”

He took a deep breath, resolve settling into his features. “I’ll help you find the hunters who took our people—and my sister. We will bring them home.”

Renjiro and Kairro exchanged a look, a spark of determination shared between them. The new chief’s resolve gave them the ally they needed, someone who shared their mission and the weight of responsibility. Together, they would face whatever lay ahead, united by a common goal: to bring their people back and protect the future of the Verdance Clan.