1: The Aspiring Playwright

“You idiots can’t just kick me out of here! At least listen to what I have to say first!”

The church’s massive door slammed shut as Ellmeria delivered it a forceful kick; totally defeated, she stumbled away with slumped shoulders and a dejected scowl.

Gosh, what type of church leaves a beautiful young woman like me out in the rain?

Since arriving in the city of Celta Ciara two days prior, Ellmeria experienced several comparable discussions with the church’s door. It was an unwelcome, although predictable turn of events considering this church’s renown. Teallarch operated as the central church of its Duilleacht religion, and it received any who were poor or hungry and offered shelter and food. However, it appeared this kindness did not extend to nosy outsiders with questions on their mind.

“Miz miz!,” the furry ball in her arms pouted.

Holding the creature close to her, she prepared herself for another lengthy hike back to her dirty inn room without any info pertaining to the flower or even a simple greeting, but a sudden shout interrupted her plod.

“Wait!”

Ellmeria spun to meet a panting young man with beige-blonde hair wearing plain clothes and a slight smile. His flawless skin, long bangs partially obscuring his right eye, and medium-length hair which traveled down into a light strand on the left and a braid on the right of his face, all contributed to the effortless flair oozing from him. And the dagger buckled at his waist complimented and completed this elan.

His body relaxed, “Are thou seeking demon flowers?”

Ellmeria paused, “Uh, well a particular demon flower, yes.”

“Prithee, may we chat fair lady? I feel my tidings may be of service—a mutually beneficial service… but we should leave this rain behind us.”

He snapped his fingers together and a slab of ice materialized over both of their heads. Cascades dribbled from the ice and plopped to the stone below, and the pink-haired woman momentarily stared at the scene.

“Never bore witness to spirit magic before?”

“No, no, I’m a user myself, but how do you say it in this language…? I’m not from here and I don’t know the customs. Do you know how close I’ve come to being jailed for harmless public spellcasting? Not worth the risk, not at all.”

The male let out a short laugh, “It’s nothing to worry yourself over; rudimentary Celian is puzzling even to linguists and my ears understand you well enough. Also, us Celtans have an aphorism: fledglings never fly without failure.”

While conferring, the two approached the city’s centre filled with parklets and at the very centre, a sculpture. A vast ring-shaped glass dome also lived above them, with a hole that allowed the statue to escape into the open-air above. Letting the glass handle the rain, the man dispelled his icy umbrella.

“That’s to honor the great hero. He who slayed the Earth and Void wyrms and brought peace to the world. Humanity and the Wyrms were once in a great war, but with a single cut, he felled both the king and queen wyrms. But I’m sure you're familiar with the tale.”

Ellmeria fell silent observing the image of the hero and the wyrm in a vicious brawl.

“Lady, is the statue troublesome to you?”

“No, but let’s move along; it was never my intention to dawdle.”

Through the centre, the blonde man led Ellmeria past alleys with balconies high and doors low and into a peculiar eatery decorated by claustrophobic furnishings, candle-smoke fog, and the nidor of marinated meats. The establishments patronage was high, at least in this moment, and the prohibitively expensive menu prices shocked Ellmeria.

“You have money then?”

“Perchance.”

Ellmeria’s expression urged elaboration.

“It’s but leftovers from my theatre career, and it’s where I’d like to return promptly—not just to act, but to become a playwright who is able to move the masses. And that’s where you come into play, I have a matter of the utmost importance that needs settl—”

Ellmeria interrupted, “Before you continue, I would prefer to know your name. We’ve been talking for hours and you have neglected to mention it.”

“They call me Shay, Shay Raghnall. And may I have your name?”

“Ellmeria… just Ellmeria.”

“Secretive with your last name are you? Well, it’s no business of mine as long as you are of aid. Have a gander at these!”

Shay revealed a handful of seeds with an ominous plum coloring and smoky odor that overpowered even the meat and smoke.

“Those are demon seeds aren’t they?”

“Yes, and they are a spawn of my dearest darling.”

Ellmeria launched herself forward and pushed her hands against the table, “Your ‘dearest darling’ is the source of these demon flowers?”

“Hold on a moment, it’s not what you’d first think. She’s suffering from some sort of malediction; it’s not of her own free will that she spreads these seeds, that I can assure you. All I desire is for her to be returned to me. I surmised you would as I overheard you mention the demon flowers to those at the church.”

Shay’s pale face and sapphire eyes illuminated in the candle flickers.

The pinkish-haired girl sat unenthused, “I’m looking for the Lightbranch specifically, not just any demon flower. Your case sounds intriguing, but is it related to mine at all? You don’t seem to have any “tidings” or information beyond this curse they placed on your lover.”

Shay tittered, “Well, she’s not my lover. Let’s say, she’s my long-time crush.”

“It’s really no different to me, but I suppose I’ll help. I’m not convinced there’s a connection. I’ve seen plenty of strange cases involving demon flowers before, but your sob story worked on me and I don’t have any other leads.”

The man let out an uplifting smile, “Speaking of leads, did you also travel to the church after hearing that the exorcists had found a flower-like demon?”

“Yes, that’s about right. I traveled across the Cerulean Skybridge to this country, but then the church wouldn’t even speak with me.”

Ellmeria reached for her bag while complaining and obtained a short bottle from it.

Shay eyed the vial, “What’s that?”

“Medicine for Mizmin! Oh, I forgot to introduce him earlier. This little guy here is Mizmin! I call him that because he says, ‘miz miz,’ often and he’s mini!”

“Interesting, is he perhaps suffering from some sort of sickne—”

Before he could finish speaking the walls of the establishment blasted open. Stones fell to the ground and a graying man bursted into the narrow space and pointed his fists towards Shay. Screams echoed all over but the man himself was quiet.

Shay shouted, “Run!”

Opposing his request, Ellmeria raised her hand and raised branches from the ground by deploying a magic spell; the wood spears restricted around the graying man’s neck restricting his movement lest he puncture himself. Even after being surrounded, he still showed no sign of panic in a somewhat terrifying fashion.

Ellmeria then agreed, “Maybe, we should run!”

The man smirked, grabbed two of the wood spears while freeing himself, and launched them back at his enemies who were stumbling out of the restaurant. Both slightly missed their mark booming through the thin walls of the building; hearing the horrifying impact, Ellmeria and Shay hastened their sprint through the street almost tumbling over themselves from their sudden increase in speed.

And as they bolted, Ellmeria gasped, “I can easily defeat this man… I just need my staff. I left it at the inn.”

“You left something as expensive as that in an inn room!?”

“Well, excuse me, I didn’t expect to be attacked today! Who do you think this guy is anyway? Is he with the exorcists? Are they suspicious because we pestered the church?"

“No. The exorcists wouldn’t conduct affairs like this even if they were chasing hardened criminals.”

They were again interrupted by the graying man pursuing them. Their hunter crashed into the ground before them causing a jolt in Ellmeria, and this time they were confronted in an empty street. Shay twirled around and unfastened his dagger; a crest appeared in his left eye and from thin air a beautiful maiden cloaked in glacial white and long azure hair materialized. He steadied his dagger against the gray assailant and readied himself.