We Reach The Twilight Forest

I stretched my back, almost losing my balance while riding the horse Yumii summoned for us. It had been days since we left the Sacred Lands, and were now following the coast north to get to where the parchment had the X marked. Snow covered mountains blocked the horizon to our left while the deep, cold ocean reached far beyond the edge of the world to our right.

"Are you okay? You've been unusually quiet."

Yumii didn't answer, staring in the distance as we rode along the stone cliffs shore, sea clashing against the rocks below.

"Yumii?"

I looked back.

The faery had locked her eyes onto a small goat path that followed the cliff. Without a word, she jumped off and got onto the trail. I cursed, jumping off the horse myself, hitting its butt to set it free. The animal bolted back the way we came.

"Can't even get a 'Hey, I'm about to jump off our ride, see ya,' damn!"

I sighed as I saw how tiny the path was before it fell straight down into the rocks below. I hate cliffs.

"Yumii, where are you?!"

I carefully advanced on the path, pieces of rocks shifting under my weight.

"This way! Just follow the path," she yelled back from further ahead.

What path?! It’s just random rocks here! I kept going, walking in a straight line on the rocks, eventually coming to a dead end by a crevice.

"Yumii? You in there?"

I leaned forward, looking into the dark tunnel. An eye appeared in front of me.

"AHH!" I stepped back by reflex, losing my balance and falling backwards towards the sea below.

A hand reached out of the hole, grabbing my leather armour.

"Careful, dummy!"

"Don't scare me like that! By Ilyah!!"

My heart rate settled back into normal pace as I held onto the rocks.

"Come through here, we're almost there!" The excited faery ran off again into the dark.

"Almost where?"

A nasty desire to snap at the woman grew in my chest. Just take the time to explain, please!

I took a deep breath and pushed myself through the gap, feeling like I would stay stuck any time. I made it through and arrived in a sparkling tunnel, with glowing plants and vines. I couldn’t take my eyes off the beauty of the place. This is just like the Refuge.

"Come on, Zoe!"

"Coming!"

And now she's back to normal. I walked out of the tunnel, eyes widening upon seeing the jungle sprawling before me. Colourful plants with layers of yellow, purple and blue hung off thick trees covered in purple and pink moss. Birds and insects chirped all over the place, in rhythms and tonalities varying and mixing sounds. A constant soft blue glow from the twilight shone through the leaves. For a moment, the weight in my mind eased, replaced by a bittersweet longing for home. This is gorgeous, I smiled faintly. I don't even know if there will be a Refuge by the time I come back. I shook my head to clear my unpleasant thoughts.

A vine wrapped itself around my arm, then another around my leg, and lifted me up in the air.

"Ahh! Stupid plants! Can't I have a moment for myself!!"

My shadow sword emerged, freezing the vines around my arms. I broke them off easily and landed on my feet, greeted by a dozen pairs of glowing arms, arcane circles pointing straight at my face.

"Woah!" I let go of the sword, which dissipated on the ground, pointing at myself, "Easy! Friend!"

One of the figures stepped into the light, revealing her pink skin and fiery red-tipped black hair. 

"Friend you say? Why are you here?"

"I was following my friend, Yumii. She’s ran off-”

The arcane circles around the faeries' arms reinforced with another layer, glowing brighter. Okay, clearly not the right thing to say.

"Please, Yumii can vouch for me, just-"

"Yumii hasn't been around these parts in a hundred years… and I doubt she would bring a human along, she knows our ways."

I raised a finger in the air.

"Here’s a problem: I don't think she remembers these parts, like at all."

The other faeries quieted down, sharing looks. The leader opened her mouth, probably to tell them to blast me to oblivion, when someone burst out of the tree line, panting.

"Ah, thank the gods," I sighed, "Yums, could you please expl-"

"Get away from my friend!" screamed the paranoid faery, her arms cackling with electricity. Damn, easy girl!

The local faeries panicked, uncertain if they should keep aiming at me or at their once-friend. The leader lowered her arm, the rest of the faeries disengaging their arcane.

"Yumii,” I reached my hand out to her, “It’s okay. They're faeries, like you…"

"Really?!" sparkled the woman, lowering her lethal weapons, "About time! I've been searching for our people for years!"

One of them stepped closer a bit, hurt in his eyes.

"Do you not remember any of us, Yumii?"

The woman quieted down, staring at them all carefully, before she shook her head, biting her lips.

"Oh… Sorry, I don't think I've ever met any one of you before."

The troop visibly deflated, whispering to each other.

"Right… Perhaps we can explain the reason for our presence to your leaders?"

"...Sure. We'll take you there."

"But, Emira-!"

The leader stared down her subordinate, an intense frown on her face. The man looked away, gritting his teeth silently.

We followed Emira through the thick jungle. I squeezed Yumii's shoulder, as the woman seemed saddened at the thought that she was supposed to know them all.

"Go speak to them, and learn their names again.”

"What's the point? I'll forget anyways."

Yumii brushed me off and walked faster away.

I looked at my own hand, still hanging in the air, my brain feeling like it just short-circuited. What just happened…?

We reached the main village, which was merged with giant multicolour-dotted mushrooms. Faeries and their strange pets looked at us both. A child pulled on their parent's sleeve, pointing at the faery. Well, Yumii gets the admiration at least. The looks I received were much closer to what I was used to as a mercenary. Lots of frowns. 

Could carve smiles in their faces. That’s not… whatever, you’re crazy.

The houses the faeries lived in were merged with the nature around them, in a way that made the buildings difficult to spot. Like chameleons and other camouflage species. A frown grew on my face. If so powerful, why do they hide?

We arrived at a twisting thick tree, I couldn't see how high it went as its trunk was hidden by the other trees' leaves and glowing vines. Armored guards, wearing colourful tissue on top of the metal, opened the wooden gate for us. I took a look as I walked. It had carvings depicting scenes of battle, a circle of people chanting around a pile of dead arcane beasts, light sprawling out while dying soldiers surrounded them, protecting them from hordes of twisting multi-limbed monsters. I didn't have to see the rest before we moved into the main hall. They battled these things before?! Hope ignited in my heart. Maybe, just maybe, there's a way…

The hall was a circular room, following the tree trunk's borders, with many swirling wood pillars that were just uncut parts of the original tree. A shapeshifting glass chandelier lit up the entire room in waves of rainbow colours, sometimes turning back into white. It morphed into schooling fish, then flying phoenixes, and kept on taking different shapes, even that of falling snowflakes. In front of us stood a huge circular table with multiple older-looking faeries. They all stood up upon seeing us, whispers going through their ranks. Yes, I know, there's a human here. I rolled my eyes.

"Yumii!" called out a middle-aged woman, practically running around the table and attacking the younger faery in a big hug. Huh?

The jewel-covered lady grabbed my friend by the shoulders.

"Where have you been?! How I've missed you! What has happened to you? You look young! Did you manage to find out about…"

Yumii let the blue-haired woman shake her around, confusedly staring at her in the eyes. Emira stepped up and whispered to the woman, who sighed heavily upon hearing the news.

"My apologies, dear," A faded smile appeared on her face, tears forming in her eyes. "I shouldn't have startled you."

"It's okay," whispered Yumii, shrinking and grabbing her arms like a hurt child. "Do... did we know each other well?"

She stood on her own in front of the large table while I dropped back to let the other faeries gather around their lost friend.

"Oh hun… Yes, we did."

I ignored how the council gasped once the information that Yumii lost her memories was communicated, irritation and impatience growing in my chest.

Pathetic. How many memories do you wish you could've forgotten?

"Can you just shut up already?" I mumbled to myself, fists clenching, crushing my temples.

Would they let me leave, if I stepped out right now? I glanced at the guards standing by the door, holding long steel spears with leaf-shaped tips. I need air.

You should slay them all. And how does that help me, dumbasses?! Stop backseating my every thought! Gods, you've grown noisier lately.

I ignored my demons and refocused on my environment once the conversation was over. Everyone in the room was staring at me. My blood rushed to my head. Did I miss something?

"Sorry? Did you say something to me?" I danced on my feet.

"The council asked you the reason for your presence here, mercenary," one of the faeries that had arrested us spat.

My head leaned to the side, stepping up to the table, squinting my eyes.

"My name is Echis Storm Cleaver, I'm not just any mercenary, and I bear warnings that your kingdom is about to be wiped out of existence."

Gasps, offended cries rose from the crowd, yells started to take over the room, their voices mixing together in layers because of the acoustics of the hall. Yumii shrank next to me, her hands fiddling with her tunic, staring at her feet. What's up with her?

"Quiet!" bellowed the blue-haired woman. The room went quiet, the council members sitting back down, looking nervously at their leader. She feels familiar.

"What proof do you have of this?"

I grabbed the parchment at my hip and handed it to the woman, catching a glimpse of her intense green eyes. I moved back to my position, hands shaking, all blood having dropped from my brain. My mind was so fuzzy it barely registered the questions that came my way.

I answered mindlessly, revealing what I could about the entity, the continent-wide destruction and emergence of monsters. I stumbled on my words as I got to the part where I fought the creature that looked like Elyah. I could only stare into the blue-haired woman's eyes. Why do I have to keep being reminded of her?

"You've given us much to consider," spoke one of the faeries, "Emira, dear, please show our guests around."

Emira nodded and dismissed her subordinates, signalling Yumii and me to follow her. I looked back at the council as I exited the room, my gaze lingering on the tall figure leading the room. Should I tell her that her daughter died? How would I anyways?