Volume 1 Chapter 10 the Reunion

Chapter 10 the Reunion

I

It’s midnight now, and on the grassland, Aislina was deep in their dreams. In the world of dream, she was walking in a murky forest.

All the trees in this shadowy forest were eerily tall, which cut up into the sky from underground. There were no leaves on the branches of the trees, and the whole forest had been dominated by some power of withering.

The soil in the forest was awfully black, as if it had been burnt by some kind of horrible forest fire. The temperature on the ground was rather high, even though Aislina wore shoes, the heat wave still penetrated through her shoes and scorched the bottom of her feet.

Brimming with a whacky smell of smoke, the air there was choking and the whole forest was covered by a pile of translucent mist. The mist was ghastly white, and it made Aislina unable to judge what was lurking inside the forest. Drowned in the fear of unknown, the mist not only made the forest look mysterious, but also turned it into a scene which could only appear in horror stories.

Immersed in silence, there were no sounds in the forest as though there were nothing living there at all.

Suddenly, Aislina heard someone calling her.

“ᛆᛁᛌᛚᛁᚿ …” [Aislina …] It was a creepy voice.

“ᚡᛂᛉ ᛅᚱ ᛑᚢ?” [Who are you?] demanded Aislina in Elvish.

The mist was cleared a little, and there was a gleaming figure lurking inside the awful mist, and this figure looked familiar.

“ᛌᚤᛚᚡᛆᚿᚢᛌ?” [Sylvana?] called Aislina tentatively.

The mist was fully cleared at that moment, and the figure was fully shown in front of Aislina now. She looked exactly like Sylvana who created elves and gave Yanni, Floria and Starsha those marvellous power.

However, the plants which formed her clothes had withered and became grey like cinders, as if the power of life had forsaken her or life itself had been forsaken by this world. Many parts of her skin had turned grey too.

There were scarlet lights coming out from her eyes, the saturation of which was rather low, as though it had been diluted by something. Aislina didn’t know if she was Sylvana who transformed into this state or another entity.

“ᚿᛂĬ, Ĭᛆᚵ ᛅᚱ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᛌᚤᛚᚡᛆᚿᛆ ᛚᛅᚿᚵᚱᛂ. ᛌᚤᛚᚡᛆᚿᛆ ᛡᛆᚱ ᛑᚯᛐᛐ. Ĭᛆᚵ ᛅᚱ ᛒᛚᛁᚴᚿᛂᚱᛌᚴᛆ, ᛡᛆᚿᛌ ᛉᚮᛐᛒᛁᛚᛑᛂᚿ, ᛡᛆᚿᛌ ᛌᚴᚢᚵᚵᛁᚵ ᛔᛆᚱᛐ. Ĭᛆᚵ ᛅᚱ ᚡᚱᛂᛑᛂᚿ ᛆᚡ ᛌᚴᚮᚵᛂᚿ. Ĭᛆᚵ ᚴᚮᛉᛉᛂᚱ ᛆᛐᛐ ᚠᚯᚱᚵᚯᚱᛆ ᛆᛚᛚᛐᛁᚿᚵ ᚮᚿᛆᛐᚢᚱᛚᛁᚵ ᛁ ᚡᛅᚱᛚᛑᛂᚿ. ᛉᛁᚿ ᛁᛌᛚᚴᛆ ᛌᚴᛆᛚᛚ ᚱᛂᚿᚵᚯᚱᛆ ᛑᛂᚿᚿᛆ ᛔᛆᛐᛂᛐᛁᛌᚴ Ĭᚮᚱᛑ. ᛌᚤᛚᚡᛆᚿᛆ ᚮᚱᚴᛆ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᚵᛂ ᛑᛁᚵ ᛅᚿᛑᛚᚯᛌ ᚴᚱᛆᚠᛐᛂᚿ ᛆᚡ ᚱᛆᛌᛂᚱᛁᛂᛐ ᛆᚡ ᚵᛁᛚᛑᛉᛆᚱᚴᛂᚿ, ᛉᛂᚿ Ĭᛆᚵ ᚴᛆᚿ. ᚮᛉ ᛑᚢ ᚮᛉᚠᛆᛉᚿᛆᚱ ᛉᛁᚿ ᚴᚱᛆᚠᛐᛂᚿ, ᛑᚢ ᛌᚴᛆᛚᛚ ᚮᚱᚴᛆ ᛑᛂᛁᛉᛂᚱᛆ ᚵᚱᛆᛆ ᚠᛆᛒᚱᛁᚴᛂᚿ,” [No, I’m not Sylvana anymore. Sylvana has died. I am Blightess, his opposite, his shadowy part. I am the wrath of the forest. I am going to destroy everything unnatural in this world. My anger will cleanse this pathetic earth. Sylvana is not able to give you the endless power of the rage of the wilderness, but I can. If you embrace my power, you will be able to decimate the Grey Factory soon,] answered that figure in Elvish.

“Ĭᚮ, ᚮᛉ ᛑᚢ ᚡᛁᛚᛚ ᚠᚯᚱᚵᚯᚱᛆ ᚡᛅᚱᛚᛑᛂᚿ, ᚡᛅᚱᚠᚯᚱ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᛑᚢ ᚵᚯᚱ ᛑᛂᛐ ᛌĬᛅᛚᚡ?” [Well, if you want to destroy the world, why don’t you do it yourself?] questioned Aislina.

“Ĭᛆᚵ ᛒᛂᛡᚯᚡᛂᚱ ᛉᛁᛐᛐ ᛒᛆᚱᚿ ᛆᛐᛐ ᚴᛆᚿᛆᛚᛁᛌᛂᚱᛆ ᛉᛁᚿ ᚴᚱᛆᚠᛐᛂᚿ. Ĭᛆᚵ ᛅᚱ ᛂᚿ ᛆᚿᛑᛚᛁᚵ ᚡᛆᚱᛂᛚᛌᛂ ᛌᛆᛆ Ĭᛆᚵ ᚴᛆᚿ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᚡᛆᚱᛆ ᛁ ᚡᛅᚱᛚᛑᛂᚿ ᛉᛆᛐᛂᚱᛁᛆᛚ ᚮᛉ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ Ĭᛆᚵ ᚠᛁᚿᚿᛂᚱ ᛂᛐᛐ ᛆᚿᚴᛆᚱᛂ.” [I need my children to channel my power. I am a spiritual being so I cannot be in the material world unless I find an anchor. You’re the anchor, Aislina. Receive my power, and the power will make you destroy everything that we hate,] Blightess tempted her.

“ᛡᛆᛐ ᚴᛆᚿ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᚵᚯᚱᛆ ᛑᛂᚿᚿᛆ ᚡᛅᚱᛚᛑ ᛐᛁᛚᛚ ᛂᚿ ᛒᛅᛐᛐᚱᛂ ᛔᛚᛆᛐᛌᛂᚿ,” [Hatred cannot make this world a better place,] argued Aislina.

“Ĭᛆᚵ ᛒᚱᚢᚴᛆᛑᛂ ᚡᛆᚱᛆ ᛂᚿ ᛌᚴᛆᛔᛆᚱᛂ ᛆᚡ ᛅᛚᚡᚮᚱ, ᚮᛍᛡ Ĭᛆᚵ ᛅᚱ ᛂᚿ ᛡĬᛅᚱᛐᛆ ᛆᚡ ᛌᚴᚮᚵᛂᚿ. ᚮᛉ ᛑᚢ ᛒᛂᛑᚱᛆᚱ ᛉᛁᚵ, Ĭᛆᚵ ᛌᚴᛆᛚᛚ ᛒᛂᛑᚱᛆ ᛑᛁᚿ ᛆᚿᚠᛆᛑᛂᚱ, ᛑᛁᚿ ᚱᛆᛌ, ᚮᛍᛡ ᛑᛁᛐᛐ ᛡᛂᛉᛚᛆᚿᛑ,” [I used to be the creator of the elves, and I am the heart of the forest. If you betray me, you’ll betray your ancestors, your race, and your homeland,] threatened Blightess.

“ᛑᛂᛐ ᛁᚿᚿᛂᛒᛅᚱ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᛆᛐᛐ ᛑᚢ ᛡᛆᚱ ᚱᛅᛐᛐᛂᚿ ᛆᛐᛐ ᛚᛅᚱᛆ ᛉᛁᚵ ᚡᛆᛑ Ĭᛆᚵ ᛌᚴᛆ ᚵᚯᚱᛆ. Ĭᛆᚵ ᛒᛂᛡᚯᚡᛂᚱ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᛆᛐᛐ ᛑᚢ ᚵᛂ ᛉᛁᚵ ᚴᚱᛆᚠᛐ,” [That doesn’t mean that you have the right to teach me what to do. I don’t need you to give my power,] retorted Aislina firmly.

“Ĭᚮ, ᛌᛂᛑᛆᚿ ᛑᛂᚿ, ᛑᚢ ᛅᚱ ᛂᚿ ᚠᚯᚱᚱᛅᛑᛆᚱᛂ ᛆᚡ ᛌᚴᚮᚵᛂᚿ. Ĭᛆᚵ ᛡᛆᚱ ᚴᚮᚱᚱᚢᛉᛔᛂᚱᛆᛐᛌ ᛆᚡ ᛑᛁᚿ ᛉᛆᚿᚿᛁᛌᚴᚮᚱ ᚡᛅᚿᚿᛂᚱ. ᛑᚢ ᚠᚯᚱᛐĬᛅᚿᛆᚱ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᛆᛐᛐ ᚡᛆᚱᛆ ᛂᚿ ᛅᛚᚡᛆ. ᚡᛁ ᛌᛂᛌ, ᛆᛁᛌᛚᛁᚿᛆ ᚠᚯᚱᚱᛅᛑᛆᚱᛂᚿ” [Well, since that, you’re a betrayer of the power of Life. You’re a betrayer of the forest. You have been corrupted by your human friends. You don’t deserve to be an elf. Goodbye, Aislina the betrayer,] snorted Blightess with disgust.

“Ĭᛆᚵ ᛡᛆᚱ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᛒᛂᛐᚱᛆᛐ ᛌᚴᚮᚵᛂᚿ. ᛑᛂᚿ ᛂᚿᛑᛂ ᛌᚮᛉ Ĭᛆᚵ ᛡᛆᚱ ᛒᛂᛐᚱᛆᛐ ᛅᚱ ᛑᚢ,” [I haven’t betrayed the forest. The only one I’ve betrayed is you,] sighed Aislina determinedly. As soon as her words were spoken, Blightess turned into a cloud of scarlet gases which flew into Aislina’s nose, all the way towards her lung.

Aislina screamed and woke up.

“What happened, Aislina?” inquired Yanni, awakened by her scream.

“I have a dream. I don’t know if it is real or unreal,” answered Aislina, panting in fear.

“What did you dream about?” pursued Yanni, looking at her closely.

“In my dream, I was walking in a sapless forest, and ran into Sylvana. However, she had transformed into a dark entity who called herself Blightess. She wanted to give me destructive power which will make me kill all the humans, most of whom are innocent. I refused her and she said that I had betrayed the greenness and I was a betrayer,” replied Aislina.

“That’s only a dream, Aislina, so don’t take it too seriously,” Yanni suggested and continued, “In fact, I had a nightmare tonight as well.”

“What did you dream about?” questioned Aislina.

“I dreamed about discovering the corpses of Floria and Starsha near a river,” responded Yanni with a worried look on his face.

“I’m sure they’re still alive. They’ve been blessed by the Spring of Sylvana. They won’t die so easily,” Aislina reassured him.

“I know, but I am still worrying about them. Anyway, it’s so nice to have you with me, Aislina,” murmured Yanni with a weak smile.

For a long moment, the two stared at each other. Inside the breeze of the wee hours, Aislina’s sky-blue hair was dancing slightly and her chest heaving because of the remaining fear of the nightmare earlier on.

A warmth was spreading through the whole body of Yann. His heart was thumping and obviously he couldn’t escape from his strong feelings for Aislina. His blood was burning for her.

Aislina didn’t say anything but leaned her head on Yanni’s shoulder and continued sleeping. Yanni could sense her breath as well as her pulse. Taking a deep breath, Yanni decided to stop his rosy thinking. After all, Aislina was not even a human.

“I have a strange feeling,” whispered Yanni.

“What feeling?” asked Aislina softly.

“Though we were good friends in the past, I sometimes felt that you were a stranger to me. Because we were too different. After all, you were an elf but I was a human. You lived in the forest but I lived in human society, but now, I think I have started to know your soul,” narrated Yanni affectionately.

“My soul?” giggled Aislina.

“Yes,” muttered Yanni.

He wanted to keep talking with her but he gave up finally. Both of them needed to rest. During night hours, people’s nervous system was more excited than it was during the day hours. He was just too excited and maybe when the sun rose, his feelings would disappear. With this thoughts, he fell asleep once again. This time, it was a sweet dream instead of nightmare.

The next day, Aislina and Yanni woke up in early morning. After eating some bread which Aislina stored in her Pocket Dimension as breakfast, they set off in search of human habitations where they could possibly find Floria and Starsha.

After walking for about 4 hours, some small blurry houses in the distance came into Aislina’s sight, which seemed to belong to a village. There was also a small river streaming through that village, which was perhaps the same river where Floria and Starsha had fallen into. Aislina was sure that the village wasn’t a mirage. It was real.

“Do you see that?” exclaimed Aislina, pointing at the distant village.

“Yes, I do. That’s a village, which means we’ve left no man’s land and come back to the civilized world,” sighed Yanni in relief.

II

It was noon now and the world was immersed in an aura of sleepiness because of the torrid weather.

Floria was taking a nap on a small hill and Starsha was singing a lullaby to help her sleep. Starsha’s song was really hypnotic and soon Floria fell into the world of dreams.

However, her nap was soon ruined by Starsha’s scream.

“Floria, look! Are those two Yanni and Aislina?” screamed Starsha with excitement, her fingers pointing at two blurry figures in the distance.

“Yanni and Aislina? Where?” Floria jumped to her feet and inquired.

“There!” Starsha pointed her finger at those two figures in the distance.

It was a boy and one girl, and the girl was slim and had cerulean hair. Without doubt, that girl was Aislina and the boy walking beside her was definitely Yanni.

Upon seeing their friends, Floria and Starsha jumped up and down, waving their arms and calling Yanni and Aislina’s name in order to get their attention. Soon, they were seen by Yanni and Aislina too.

Initially, Yanni and Aislina were frozen to the spot. Obviously, they couldn’t believe that it was real. They exchanged glances and knew that both of them were not dreaming. They had really reunited with their friends.

As soon as they figured out what was going on, they ran madly towards Floria and Starsha. If this story was played in an opera, there should be some ethereal music at this moment for the epic reunion.

The time seemed to have been stopped flowing when Yanni and Floria reached each other. Floria buried her beloved younger brother in her arms and stroked his hair affectionately.

“I was worried sick for you! Are you all right?” asked Floria with concern.

“Your brother is all right. I’ve protected him well,” Aislina smiled sweetly.

“Yeah, Aislina has protected me well,” agreed Yanni, scratching his hair shyly.

“Wow! It’s such a touching family reunion. I am going to write a song about it,” exclaimed Starsha.

“By the way, what happened actually? How did you two escape from Master Mortis and Sir Bellum alive?” questioned Floria.

“We ran into the cavern where we once played in the water and Yanni sealed the entrance to this cavern so Master Mortis couldn’t get inside. After that, I took him to the exit of the cavern and after a journey of nearly 20 hours, we ended up arriving here”, Aislina replied and asked, “how about you? What has happened to you two?”

“You mean Starsha and I? In fact, we fell into the river and floated here. We were saved by Mister Berg, the chief of this Starshine village. He is a good man and I’ll introduce you two to him later,” answered Floria.

“That’s a good idea. We two are awfully hungry right now. We need an epic dinner to fill our empty bellies,” Aislina stroked her stomach, which was rumbling in desire for food.

“By the way, I think I know how to destroy the Cube of Necrus now. Is the Cube of Necrus still in your possession?” inquired Floria.

Aislina closed her eyes and began to detect her Pocket Dimension. Her food had run out, but the Cube of Necrus was still there.

“Yes, it’s still in my possession. Master Mortis failed to retrieve it from me. We’ve managed to escape from him successfully,” responded Aislina.

“Well, there is a mountain called Infernal Mountain to the South of here. The temperature of the lava there was extremely high and I think that the lava might be able to decompose the Cube of Necrus,” drawled Floria with a confident look in her eyes.

III

Scuropolis lied to the south of Dream Forest and Grey Factory. It was the most developed city in Normania and its economic lifeline was controlled tightly by the Grey Factory.

This was an obvious fact since the current governor Professor Fames who was also the president of the Scholomance, a university located in this city, worked for Master Mortis.

All the buildings in the City were rather tall, composing a world of black bricks and mortars. Without any factories, the air quality of the City was not bad, but the atmosphere there was still choking, because there were people everywhere and in such an environment, it could be fairly easy for people to feel weak and small.

There were very few plants growing in the city, with only some solitary tress planted manually to generate oxygen and dirty bushes serving as toilets of pet dogs struggling to survive in a world of pollution.

A necroplane from Grey Factory arrived high over the Scuropolis, with its enormous shadow covering everything there. The residents in the city stared at necroplane curiously. To them, necroplanes were among the most amazing inventions of necrology.

It landed on the City Square, where Professor Fames was standing, welcoming his master. The door of the necroplane was opened, walking out of which was Master Mortis who was still wearing his mask.

Flying around Professor Fames was a swarm of locusts.

“Seemingly you have developed the gamma variant of necrovirus successfully,” Master Mortis pointed out, his finger pointing at the swarm.

“Yeah! It is the most beautiful thing that I have ever invented. I have injected myself with the serum of the gamma variant. Now I have mutated and been able to control the locusts,” answered Professor Fames, his voice brimming with enthusiasm.

“Can you show me how it functions?” pursued Master Mortis, his eyebrows rising slightly.

“For sure I can,” replied Professor Fames.

Professor Fames closed his eyes and with some buzzling sounds, locusts coming from everywhere started to assemble in a cloud. With a smug smile on his face, he commenced to manipulate the swarm, which fully followed his direction.

Under Professor Fames’ control, the swarm flew around, forming a shadowy yellow cloud of famine.

“This is wonderful. Since you can manipulate the locusts, we’ll never worry about the famine brought by locust infestation anymore, and by controlling the locusts, we can decimate the city of dwarves and make this dirty race go extinct,” drawled Master Mortis.

“Yes, that’s true,” agreed Professor Fames.

“Dwarves have been attacking our factories for countless times. They’re so annoying and they need to be cleansed,” growled Master Mortis.