Chapter 2: The People of The Forest

The Kiri know the forest; what would be a hazardous journey for others is an everyday walk for them. Emilia and Joen begin their walk home by swinging from vines to get over cliffs, walking alongside the river, avoiding dangerous animals, and running through the trees. Their voices can be heard throughout this part of the forest. So much so that every small animal in the area would stop and take notice.

Joen, gentle yet straightforward, does not beat around the bush. “They're right, you know. You showed no pride as a warrior back there.”

Having had this argument several times before, Emilia prepares herself to get her point across once more. “Is pride worth a war?”

Joen indulges her by replying with his own question. “Is it not a warrior's job to fight in wars?”

The two begin to go back and forth, questioning the other's ideology and actions. Continuing the trend, Emilia replies with yet another question. “I thought a warrior's job was to end wars?”

“You are missing the point here. There are differences at play here. You can not treat them as one of us.”

“Are differences meant to be avoided? Or accepted?”

Joen lets out a slight chuckle at Emilia's antics. “Are you going to continue to answer my questions with your own?” Emilia smiles as the tension in the air begins to disappear.

She continues to play her little game. “I don't know. Am I?” As the two draw closer to home, Emilia stops in front of a lone tree and turns to look at Joen. Shifting her playful tone, she speaks earnestly. “Can we truly not co-exist with the Kingdom?”

Joen smiles a little bit, knowing her words are coming from a good place; he lets her down easily. “Naive child, the world does not work according to your ideals.”

Emilia takes advantage of this and begins to desperately drive her argument home, speaking faster with each sentence. “That's why people must. If the world denies us what we want, we fight for it.” Joen’s smile turns into a blank expression. Emilia continues: “We show the people of Dresil all the good the forest can bring.” Joen’s blank expression is now an obvious frown; Emilia, caught up in her rabbling, continues without noticing. “Is it not Brahara's teaching of co-existence that brought us to the forest in the first place?” Joen is now visibly angry. “Why can't the same rules apply here?”

Unable to hear anymore, he interrupts her. “Enough!” Emilia falls silent.

“Those men have taken more from us than you know. We cannot just turn a blind eye to it all. We co-exist with the forest, its creatures, and nothing more. Understood?”

Thinking there could possibly be more room for discussion, Emilia tries to state her counterargument, but Joen refuses to hear it.

“But…”

“Understood?!”

Understanding the discussion has no room to continue, Emilia replies the same as any Kiri would: “Yes, Chief.”

Composing himself, Joen takes a deep breath. “Good. Now go get ready for the festival. It's a big day for you, is it not?” Turning the corner, Joen walks into the Kiri village, and Emilia follows shortly after.

Within the village, every house is built with wood from the forest. Festival decorations built from a variety of assorted colored leaves fill the streets everywhere. The townsfolk are starting their day by decorating each building. Children are tossing a ball back and forth using only their heads. People are practicing archery with bows and arrows made out of light. Shop vendors are stationed on the side of the street, calling out to anyone who walks by. People can be seen attending to the different magical creatures, from fairies to large furry deer-like animals called the Noeh.

However, Lira is the only cat around, resting on Emilia’s shoulders as she walks down a somewhat busy road by herself, still feeling down over her talk with the chief. Suddenly, a hooded figure bumps into her, getting her attention.

Top, 17, wears the same outfit as Emilia and the rest of the warriors, with the only difference being that only nine of his fingers have circle tattoos around them, while all ten of Emilia’s have been tattooed.

Seeing the slight discomfort on Emilia’s face, Top tries to make light of a heavy situation in order to change the mood. “Hey Lia! Saw you talking with my old man. He yell at you about the knights again? I told you to stay out of this one.”

Emilia, catching on to what her friend is doing, replies sarcastically. “Did anyone ever tell you that you're good at comforting people?”

“Award-winning therapist. Why?”

Emilia chuckles a little bit. “So they just hand awards out to anyone?”

Happy that the mood has successfully shifted, Top replies in kind. “Well, since I’m the only one in the village, so…”

The two begin to laugh at Top’s joke for a good minute. As if the lecture had never happened, Emilia’s mood has completely changed. Top, happy to see his friend smiling again, changes the topic.

“Anyway, you excited for today?”

Determination fills Emilia's eyes. “I'm ready.”, she states confidently, looking straight ahead.

Top walks in front of her, walking backwards as the two walk through the streets of the village. “You can't just be ready! You have to get pumped! You just earned your tenth circle. Beat Hara today, and you get your first marking!”

Emilia giggles, “You seem more excited than me.”

Top stops walking backwards and starts walking next to her again. “I'm just being supportive because I know you're going to win.”

“Thanks, Top, means a lot.”

Emilia smiles at Top. Top looks away in embarrassment. “Cut it out with the old nicknames. I'm a man now. The name is Tai”.

Refusing the chance to tease her friend, Emilia quickly changes her tone, as if she were talking to a little kid. “Aw! But Top is such a cute name. I like it.”

Stuttering along his words out of embarrassment, Top decides to give Emilia some leeway. “Well, I guess if it's...just you calling me that, then it's not a problem.”

“See, I knew you liked it.”

“I didn't say that!”

At the same moment, the two best friends were teasing each other; unbeknownst to them, fate had already begun to turn its wheel. Within the upper part of the forest, closer to Dresil’s wall, a silhouette was spotted by the animals running from the knights; Darius had found his target.

The silhouette runs deeper into the forest; several arrows are fired at the figure, but they are soon deflected by a broken sword. One arrow manages to hit the figure in the arm, causing the figure to fall off a nearby cliff into a river. Seeing this, Darius gets anxious, as if his intent was not to kill but only to injure. Darius and his men run up to the cliff’s edge and look down it, seeing nothing but water. Darius looks to his men. “Find out where this river leads. Now!”

The knights nod and run off. Darius is left looking down the cliff, his red eyes glaring at the water.

Later in the afternoon, the Kiri gather in a mini colosseum. The vendors are lined up outside, welcoming in the guests while trying to make a sale. The stands are filled, with almost no seats left empty. In the center of the colosseum, there is a large circular stage. From warriors to medics, and even children, all the Kiri have gathered in one place.

On the left side of the arena, Hara, 19, a young muscular boy with long braided hair, sits on one side of the arena. He resembles a younger Joen. His friend, Riya, who has nine circles tattooed around his fingers, sits next to him along with Joen and Top. Hara unsheaths his twin swords, checking their sharpness.

Joen, proud of his son’s attention to detail, compliments his composure. “You look focused.”

Hara replies in kind, thanking his father for training him. “I was trained well.”

Joen smiles. “Well, make sure to give us a good show. I'll be off now.”

Hara bows to his father as he walks off. “Thank you, Father.”

Once Joen can’t hear the boys, Riya begins to speak more casually to Hara. “You got this, man. This girl will be a walk in the park for you.”

Top rolls his eyes, believing Riya’s statement to be naive at best; however, he gives his brother words of encouragement regardless. “Good luck out there.”

Hara, reading his younger brother's expression, calls him out on it. “Spare me. We all know you're rooting for your girlfriend.”

Knowing nothing gets past his brother, Top smiles and drops the act. “She's not my girlfriend. Full warning, though; Emilia's good.”

“Thanks for the warning, but I think I'll be fine.” Hara and Riya begin to laugh.

Top doubles down. “Underestimate the enemy, and you'll regret it. That was the first lesson father taught us.”

Hara stands up; he is taller than both Top and Riya. “And what do you think you’re doing right now? I've been doing this longer than both you and your girlfriend. Watch and learn, little brother.”

As Hara walks towards the edge of the stage, Top looks on. “Looking forward to it.”

On the right side of the arena, Emilia is sitting by herself, with her hood up. Lira, now a baby tiger, rests on her lap. Emilia pets him, and he purrs. “Looks like it's just me and you, Lira. Wish me luck.”

Joen walks over to Emilia. Trying to break the tension from earlier, she mimics Top’s way of making light of a tough situation. “Conflicted about who to root for? Don't worry, I'll give you a pass this time because he's your son.”

Ignoring Emilia’s childish antics, Joen looks at her with pride. She is home with the Kiri, and this couldn’t make him happier. “Your parents would be proud, Emilia.” Emilia looks up at him as if she were about to cry. Joen smiles and walks off without saying another word.

The young Kiri breathes in, clenches her fist, and readies herself as Joen enters the center of the stage. Joen raises his hand as the colosseum becomes silent. Elevating his voice with his head held high, the chief speaks to his people. “Welcome, my brethren, to the festival of Brahara!”

The Kiri reply in kind, cheering for their chief. A festival like this, that only comes once a year, is something all Kiri look forward to. Joen continues to increase the excitement of the crowd.

“To begin today's celebration, we will be hosting an expedition match to determine which young warrior will receive their markings and join the elite!” The cheers get even louder. “Both have recently received their tenth ring, but only one can become an elite today!”

Emilia and Hara both step onto the stage. Joen turns towards his son, filled with pride. Since Hara is older, it is customary to always address him first. “Hara! My son. The pride of our clan and the next chief!”

Hara smiles at his father and looks to the crowd as they cheer even louder. Joen faces Emilia with the same level of pride. Impressed that someone her age managed to get on this stage early compared to the rest of her peers. He couldn’t be happier to see the warrior she has become. “And Emilia, the youngest Kiri to ever compete in the Festival of Brahara!”

The crowd claps but doesn't nearly cheer as loudly. Emilia, slightly bothered by the difference, whispers to herself. “No need to make it so obvious.” However, with the quietness of the crowd, Emilia’s support system can be heard better. Top claps the loudest, and Lira roars, transforming into a tiger. Emilia smiles, looking at her two friends supporting her.

With the formalities out of the way, Joen instructs the two young warriors. “Hands in!” The two shake hands in the center. “This is to be a fair fight. No killing is allowed. You win the match when your opponent is either unable to fight or gives in. Any weapons or items that land outside the arena stage can not be used again. Understood?”

Hara replies with confidence, “Understood!”

Emilia replies with the same level of confidence, “Yup!”

Knowing both of them understand the rules, Joen gives them one last message. “Good. Give us a good show, you two, and good luck.” Joen walks off of the arena, taking his seat in the audience. Emilia and Hara back away from one another. Both draw their twin swords.

Speaking as if Emilia is a naive child, Hara lets out his first warning. “Don't take it personally, Lia, but I'm favored to win today.”

Emilia giggles as she was expecting nothing less from the boy who has probably never said a nice word to her since they’ve met. “And you don't take it personally if I cut off a few locks.”

Hara takes his hair off his shoulders, throwing it behind him out of concern. The arena goes quiet. From the stands, Joen ignites the start of the match. “Begin!”

The two rush at each other in full force, colliding swords. Emilia goes to trip Hara. Dodging her foot, Hara quickly replies by knocking the sword in Emilia's left hand out of her hand and onto the other side of the arena.

Like a magnet, Emilia flies towards the sword. Hara throws one of his blades toward Emilia. Emilia dodges, and like a magnet, Hara flies to retrieve the sword that he just threw at her. The cheering in the crowd begins to pick up as the two proceed to clash in such a manner.

Top sits down next to his father. Seeing the look on Joen’s face, he knows it’s only a matter of time before Joen starts to analyze the match out loud. And then…”Both of them have made blood packs with their weapons, I see.”

Top laughs to himself that his prediction came true. “Of course, everyone's doing it now.”

Surprised by how the times have changed, Joen looks even more invested in the fight. “Really? Back in my day, it was an unpopular form of combat.”

“It used to be for us too, but after everyone saw how those two fought, they all started to copy.”

Joen's pride in the two on stage grows larger, knowing that they are the ones inspiring the next generation of Kiri. “I see. Times are changing, I guess.”

The crowd continues to cheer as the battle goes on. Hara throws his blade up in the air, following after it like a magnet. He is now airborne. Hara's twin blades are then covered with a magical light, turning them into a bow and arrow. He fires at Emilia.

Emilia barely dodges, the shot grazing her face. Hara's arrow transforms back into a sword, and he follows it back to the stage, picking it back up.

Trying to avoid a game of cat and mouse, Hara questions Emilia’s abilities in hopes of getting her to reveal her hand. “Don't tell me you didn't learn any transformations?”

Catching on to his game, Emilia responds honestly. “Archaic fighting styles were never really my thing.”

Hara laughs, knowing he has one ability that “the youngest Kiri to ever compete in the festival of Brahara” does not. “Some chosen one, huh?”

He rushes at Emilia once more. They clash. The light surrounds his swords again, turning his blades into various weapons. One blade turns into an axe; Emilia barely dodges. The next blade turns into a whip, wrapping around Emilia’s arm and swinging her in the opposite direction. Emilia hits the ground hard but quickly gets back up, breathing heavily. She continues to receive small scratches from Hara's strikes.

Knowing she is hiding something, Hara baits Emilia again. “Can't keep running forever!”

“I'm really fast, you know!”

“Let's see about that!”

Still analyzing their every move, Joen leans forward. “She's losing ground.”

Top whispers under his breath. “Come on, Lia. Come on.”

Emilia is getting closer and closer to the edge of the arena. The audience cheers louder. Hara continues swinging his blades at her while her feet are slowly being pushed off the edge.

Just before Emilia is pushed off, Hara throws his sword back into the air, following after it. His twin blades turn into a bow and arrow, the arrow larger than the last one; he readies his shot, whispering to himself, “My win.”

Top, breaking his fake silence, stands up from his seat and screams. “Emilia, dodge it!”

Hara fires; Lira growls, and Emilia throws the sword in her right hand towards Hara, pulling herself in the same direction and dodging the arrow. Hara smiles confidently and uses his remaining sword to knock down Emilia's incoming blade. She attacks Hara with her other sword. Hara blocks it.

They clash in the air. Emilia holds out her right hand. The sword that was knocked down comes flying towards Emilia.

Hara, surprised that the sword came to her and not the other way around- an ability that he does not possess with his blood pack- is knocked off balance by Emilia, causing both of them to fall back down to the stage, creating a huge dust cloud. When the dust clears, both of Hara's weapons are out of the arena, and Emilia has a sword to his neck. Emilia has won the duel.

The crowd falls silent. One audience member screams out. “Cheater!”

Another follows, “Yeah, she must have cheated! There's no way she could beat Hara!” A good portion, but not all, of the audience begins to chant "cheater" over and over again. Emilia looks up at her people as they scream at her, discouraged in her win.

“SHUT UP!!!” Hara yells at the top of his lungs.

The crowd goes silent. Hara picks himself up and walks over to Emilia, looking her in the eye. Emilia can see the anger in Hara's eyes. Hara can see that Emilia has let the crowd get to her. But he refuses to let the one who defeated him feel shame for it. “Wins and a win.”

Hara walks off, leaving Emilia and the crowd stunned. Joen and Top both smile, knowing that Hara handled the defeat with pride. Seeing that the fight is settled, the crowd begins to head out, slowly clearing the colosseum. Emilia is left on stage, a stage where she doesn’t feel victorious at all. Noticing the look in her eyes, Top tries to approach her but misses his chance as she throws her hood back on her head and quickly walks off stage, blending into the crowd.

Making her way through the crowd, Emilia is walking faster than usual. Lira turns into a small kitten and slides his way through the sea of legs with ease, catching up to Emilia and climbing up her shoulder. Top, however, has no such luck. “Hey! Wait up!” he calls out.

Emilia keeps walking, unable to hear him. Top continues to follow her until he is stopped by two of his good friends, Nova and Ray. Like Top, they both have nine of their fingers tattooed. Unaware that Top was trying to reach someone, Ray holds up a ball. “Hey man, now that the fight is over, we were just about to go play some shoto with the others.”

Top tries to look past Ray as Emilia fades into the crowd. Just as oblivious as her friend, Nova follows up. “You coming?”

Top tries his best to look past them, but he has already lost sight of Emilia. “I don't know…”

The sun falls from the sky, and the moon shines brightly, illuminating the night sky. On the west side of the village, a giant bonfire is lit in the middle of what looks like a small stage. People are circled around it; most of them are couples. Emilia sits alone with Lira, now a small kitten, sleeping on her lap. Emilia stares into the fire, trying her best to clear her mind.

An old couple walks up next to Emilia. Migi, age unknown, is an old woman who uses a staff to help her walk, and Seiko, age also unknown, is an old man and Migi's husband. He squints his eyes so much that it looks like they are always shut. Both are covered in tattoos. Migi, with what she would describe as the eyesight of a woman in her prime, notices Emilia. “Well, if it isn't little Emilia.

Emilia turns to face the couple as they sit down. She takes off her hood, as it is disrespectful to wear your hood in the presence of a Kiri Elder. To hide one's face in the presence of an elder is to be ashamed of the life their generation has given yours. However, unusual to Kiri customs, Emilia speaks rather casually with these two as if they were her own grandparents. “Migi? Seiko? Should you guys be out right now?”

Migi immediately shoots down her concerns. “We're old, not dying. Fresh air never killed anyone. Besides…” She points to Seiko. “This old good-for-nothing wanted to be a part of the festivals.”

Seiko is rolling a large wagon filled with all types of sugary snacks. From moonstar pastries to maple candy drops, these sweets are extremely popular with the children of the Kiri village. As he rolls his wagon near his seat, Seiko recites his excuse to Emilia. “Brahara would be pleased to see us interacting with the youth.”

Seiko begins to eat his first moonstar, chuckling at the effectiveness of this obvious lie. “Yes, we have to spread our knowledge, alright.”

Migi slightly nudges his head with her staff. “Brahara would be pleased if you cared about your high blood pressure, old man!”

In between bites, Seiko argues with his wife. “You're old too!”

“Well, at least I act like it.”

Emilia sits there awkwardly watching the old couple argue; her worries have left her head. Lira wakes up hearing their voices and pounces onto Migi's lap, snuggling against her.

Migi notices the feline immediately. “Ah, Lira! It's been a while, hasn't it?” Lira purrs as Migi hugs him.

Moving his food away from Lira out of habit, Seiko annoyingly addresses Lira. “That cat still around? I thought we gave him away already?”

Migi, still petting Lira, talks in a low, baby-like voice. “We did, but he will always know who his parents are. Isn't that right, Lira?”

Seiko scoffs at the two. “Yeah, whatever.”

Migi continues in her baby voice. “Ignore him, Lira. You know Daddy loves you.”

Lira purrs and jumps to Seiko's lap, snuggling up against him. Seiko quickly holds his moonstar up, making it hard for Lira to reach it. “Off, you dumb cat!”

Lira continues to lie there, ignoring the food but comfortable on Seiko’s lap. Seiko gives in to Lira’s cuteness. “Ah, whatever.”

Migi and Emilia smile at the adorable scene. Seeing that Lira is in good health, Migi turns to Emilia. “It seems you've been taking good care of him.”

Still smiling at Seiko and Lira, Emilia lets out a small giggle. “Yeah, but I think he misses you two a little.”

Sensing Emilia’s loneliness, Migi reassures her. “Lira is loyal. He will stay by your side no matter what. He did choose you, after all.”

Migi’s words remind Emilia of when she first met Lira. She was only eight years old, and yet she stared into the eyes of a large panther. The panther started to walk toward her. An unknown Kiri man rushed to help Emilia, but a younger Migi stopped him.

The panther stood in front of Emilia and looked her in the eyes. Emilia smiled at the panther. Lira then licked her, turned into a small kitten, and jumped into Emilia's arms.

Emilia smiles while she reminisces.

Interrupting Emilia’s internal flashback with her all-too-common sly remarks. Migi scolds Emilia and Lira. “And if Lira misses us that much, then maybe you should come by and visit!”

Thrown back in the present, Emilia replies quickly. “Yeah, sorry. I'll stop by more often.”

“Mhmmmm.”

Now finished his moonstar, Seiko peels Lira off of him and hands the cat back to Migi. “Anyway, Emilia, I heard you won your match. Congratulations on becoming an elite. Beating Hara is nothing to sneeze at.”

Hearing her first words of congratulations, Emilia smiles. “Thanks.”

Migi continues, her curiosity getting the better of her. “So, which marking appeared for a new elite?”

“Take a look for yourself.” Emilia pulls out her arm, revealing a flame mark in the middle. Migi and Seiko are taken aback by the marking.

Seiko looks over to Migi. “I see. So it was the year of the flame, then?”

Migi, still staring at the marking, smiles at Emilia. “Fitting, Emilia would be the one to win.”

Surprised by their reaction, Emilia begins to question the two elders. “What do you mean by that?”

Like a teacher who was just asked their favorite question, Migi rushes to reply. “There's a story behind that marking, you know?”

Seiko dangles his moonstar over Lira, moving it when Lira pounces to eat it. Getting comfortable with this game, as if the entire bonfire is in for a long story. “Migi, don't bore the girl with your old fairy tales.”

Not realizing that Migi was going to tell the story regardless, Emilia urges her on. “No, I want to hear about it. What story?

Happy that someone so young is taking interest, Migi gloats to her husband as she stands up. “See? Someone appreciates my stories.”

Seiko rolls his eyes. “Here we go.”

Migi walks to the center of the bonfire, raising her voice as she gets closer to the flames. “But you shouldn't be the only one to hear this tale. No. This should be heard by all of the Kiri.”

The nearby bystanders start to take notice of their elder. Her voice radiates through their souls, giving everyone who heard it that day an odd yet familiar sense of nostalgia.

“Listen up. For I will not repeat myself. What I'm about to say is no myth, for my mother witnessed it with her own eyes.”

More villagers begin to gather around, hearing Migi's voice calling to them as magic dust slips out of her body. Riya and Hara are among them.

Riya sits down, excited for the tale. “The old lady is telling her stories again. This should be good.”

Hara grits his teeth, still processing the fight; he barely replies. “Whatever.”

The magic dust increases in volume, combining with the air around them, as Migi begins her story.

“It was back in the day before Brahara had left the 'Originals,' when the Kiri was nothing but a small group of believers.”

Migi waves her staff as the dirt around her starts to form into miniature people reenacting the story.

“Three believers were very special to our people. There was Brahara himself, Rayeth, a master of the magical arts, and my very own mother, Ava.”

The three miniature people stand side by side. The villagers watch in awe, knowing that this was the closest they would get to seeing what these three looked like.

“Now, you see, my mother wasn't known for her philosophy or magic like Brahara and Rayeth. No, she was known for her adventures. My mother had traveled to many lands. She had seen many things.”

The dirt begins to form into many different magical creatures. The first, a beast with large eyes; the second, a tall creature standing on two legs, holding a spear; and lastly, a fat and small creature. The creatures circle Rayeth, Brahara, and Ava.

“And as you know, Brahara believed that we should co-exist with the creatures of the forest. So while Rayeth was teaching our people the art of magic, my mother took Brahara to see the creatures he would one day live with.”

The dirt transforms into Brahara and Ava petting Lira as a giant panther. Lira stares at the dirt as the story unfolds, remembering old times.

“But one day, the pair saw something rather odd. Flames had engulfed a part of the forest, yet nothing had burned down, nor was the fire spreading. The flames were just sitting on top of the trees as if they belonged there.”

Migi waves her staff in the fire, moving it around the dirt figures. Brahara and Ava look confused.

“The two concluded that it must have been a new magical creature. One neither of them had heard of. But when they went to investigate, they found not a creature, but a man, drenched in the fire.”

The flames surrounding Brahara and Ava turned into a man made out of the fire. The flames turned into water, then lightning, light, then back to flames. He stood before them.

“Eager to find out more, Brahara asked the man who he was. The man claimed that he was a king from a distant land and that he wished no harm to them or the forest; thus his flames did not burn.”

The flames spread around Brahara, turning into the other elements each time they moved.

“Brahara asked the King what he was doing in this land. The King kindly replied that he only wished to understand how others lived to better his people. It was there that the King and Brahara talked for what seemed like days.”

The King and Brahara both sat down and began to have a conversation as Ava watched. The elements surround all three of them.

“The two discussed many things, the most important being Brahara's last question. He asked the King how he manages to coexist with such destructive elements.”

The King smiles and holds out his hand. His flames form the same marking that is on Emilia's arm, along with other markings representing each element. Emilia stares at the flames intensely. Her heart races as if her entire sense of self is reacting to the marking.

“The King replied, ‘Fire does bring destruction, but it also breathes life as well. As do my other elements. To find the balance between both good and bad is what it means to truly co-exist."

Migi looks Emilia in the eyes directly, speaking to her.

“Brahara took these words with him, receiving markings from several other creatures of the forest.”

The dirt begins to form into different markings, all surrounding Brahara.

“And although he never saw the King again, Brahara never forgot the man that taught him how to live amongst the beasts.”

With a wave of her staff, everything turns back to normal. The crowd begins to cheer. As the crowd cheers, Hara scoffs at Migi's story. “Hm. The lightning marking is the best one.”

Hara walks away. Riya, engrossed in Migi’s story, barely notices, almost missing his chance to follow. Little children surround Migi, asking her questions about the story. Elias, the most excited one of the bunch, asks the most questions.

“Migi!? Migi!? Migi!? What was the flame man like? Was he tall? What was his favorite food? How did he poop? Was he farting giant balls of fire?”

Excited that she got more of the youth invested in her stories, Migi tries to quell their excitement to answer the questions properly while simultaneously enjoying every minute. “Easy now. One question at a time.”

Elias speaks first. “Is it true that Rayeth still lives in the forest somewhere?”

Seiko approaches his wife carrying Lira. “Only if you believe in fairy tales, young lad.”

Migi smiles at her husband, unable to hide her joy. “Come now, don't ruin the boy's sense of adventure.”

Forever the cynical, Seiko tells Elias his truth. “There is nothing in the forest but an old blacksmith.”

Elias questions further, the young boy too excited to drop the topic. “Could the old blacksmith be Rayeth?”

Seiko stands his ground. “Impossible, Rayeth is long dead. Don't believe such rumors.”

Migi pouts at her husband for being a cynic. “Hey! Stop ruining my story!”

Emilia smiles, seeing the old couple argue again. She gets up and walks away. Lira hops out of Seiko’s arms and follows.

As she walks away, the old couple takes notice. With Emilia too far to hear them now, Seiko speaks earnestly. “Seems that did the trick. She looks happier now.”

A wave of nostalgia hits Migi as she watches Emilia fade into the distance. “Her father always loved that story. Like father, like daughter, I guess.”

Still a cynic, but a cynic for good reason. Seiko watches as well. “Still not sure if that's a good thing.”

Emilia approaches the river on the far west side of the village. She sits on the edge, takes off her sandals, and puts her feet in the water. Lira remains behind her as far from the water as possible. Emilia laughs, turning to look at Lira.

“Come on, Lira, the water won't bite.”

Lira hisses at Emilia.

“Fine, have it your way.”

Emilia looks into the water. She remembers a man in her reflection. This man looks like Emilia; he has the same long white hair, brown skin, and green eyes. This man has no tattoos on his body, for Emilia’s father, Aski, was not a warrior.

Emilia recalls a time when she was only seven years old, sitting in this exact spot with her father. Kicking up the water with her feet, the young Emilia questions Aski. “Why does old man Joen always yell at you?”

Aski, thinking to himself that Joen is only thirty-four at this time, corrects his daughter. “Old? Emilia, that's disrespectful.”

“But he is old. I'm just telling the truth.”

Aski laughs at Emilia’s youthful nature. “The Chief and I just see things differently, that's all.”

“Because you like the bad people, right?”

Aski’s expression quickly changes. Concerned that his own daughter has bought into the village narrative, he questions her. “Bad people? Where did you hear that from?”

Unable to pick up on her father’s change in tone, Emilia continues to innocently play in the water. “The other kids in training. They said their parents told them to stay away from the bad people in armor. That Brahara would not approve.”

“And what do you think?”

“I don't know Brahara. He seems like a nice guy, though.”

Once again laughing at her innocence, Aski clears up the confusion. “No, I mean about the bad people”.

“Oh. I don't know; they can't be all that bad if you like them.” Emilia smiles at her father.

Aski smiles back and waves to her. “Emilia, come here.”

Emilia stands out of the water and faces her father. Aski puts his hands on her face and kneels to match her height. “Listen, Emilia, Kiri or not, people are just people.”

“So the bad people are good? You're confusing me.”

Looking her in the eye, Aski answers her question. “That's for you to decide one day.”

To this day, Emilia still remembers the look in her father’s eyes. As she sits along the river now, she leans forward, slamming her head into her knees. She lets out a huge sigh and then sits up slowly, whispering to herself. “You never said it would be so hard.”

Emilia continues to stare into the water. In the corner of her eye, she sees a bright light. The light floats down the river towards her, too bright to make out its shape. Startled, she backs up from the water. Emilia's marking suddenly glows the same bright gold color as the light.

“What the...?!”

Seeing Emilia in trouble, Lira gets up and runs towards her. The marking gets brighter as the light gets closer. Emilia falls back as both lights illuminate the entire area.

Back at the bonfire, Top runs up, seeing Migi and Seiko still being questioned by Elias and the other children. “So what about Brahara's farts? Were they philosophic or whatever?”

Realizing a pattern, Migi questions the boy: “Is that all you care about?”

Top calls out to Migi. “Migi?!”

Seeing a chance to dodge Elias’ questions, Migi shifts the conversation. “Ah, young Tai, looking for Emilia, I suppose?”

“Yeah, have you seen her?!”

Seiko interjects, also realizing a pattern. “She left a while ago. You should loosen up. Can't follow that girl around forever.”

“So she's not here.” Ignoring Seiko, Top leaves to continue his search.

Watching him leave, Seiko rolls his eyes. “Didn't listen to a word I said.”

Avoiding Elias’ question again, Migi replies to her husband. “He's in love. What do you expect? You were the same way when we were young.”

“True, but I chased after a beautiful young woman and ended up with an old hag. Boy should stop while he's ahead.”

Migi nudges Seiko in the head with her staff.

Only a brief moment has passed since the light covered Emilia. Seeing the light is now gone, Lira meows in Emilia's ear. Emilia opens her eyes and gets up, slowly regaining her vision. “Lira, are you okay? Wait, am I okay?”

Emilia looks at her arm; the marking seems to be back to normal. “What was that? Joen never said anything about our markings shining.”

Lira meows to get Emilia's attention. Looking over, she sees Lira standing in front of an unconscious man washed up by the edge of the river. A young boy who looks around her age with blonde hair, torn robes with broken armor; and although he is unconscious, he clutches tightly to a broken sword.

Emilia, taken aback by the boy’s sudden appearance, walks toward him slowly. She picks up a stick and begins to poke the boy from afar, whispering to Lira. “Lira, back away. Slowly.”

Emilia continues to poke him. Lira stands his ground unafraid. He meows, then licks the boy on the face. Panicking that the stranger will wake Emilia yells at Lira as loudly as her whispering voice will let her. “Lira!!!”

As Lira licks his face, the boy begins to regain consciousness. He opens his eyes and looks at Emilia.

“Ah!” Startled by the stranger waking up, Emilia takes her sheathed sword and hits him in the head, knocking him back out. Lira looks toward Emilia and meows.

“Oh, shut up! It's your fault for waking him up.”

Lira meows again. Emilia approaches the boy and crouches down. She checks to see if he is still breathing. He is. Emilia examines his robes and armor by poking them with her stick. “Armor, huh? He must be from Dresil.”

Next is the broken sword. “Was it you that was shining?”

Emilia touches the sword. The sword begins to shine a little, as if it’s sending light through her body. Suddenly, Emilia hears a voice in the distance.

Joen calls out, “Emilia! Emilia, where are you?”

Noticing Emilia’s scream and the strange light in the distance, Top rushed to go get his father. “I could have sworn I heard her scream. I'm worried. She shouldn't be out this late by herself.”

“Don't forget she's an elite now. She can take care of herself.” Joen reassures him.

“I know, but…”

Cutting him off to prevent more panic, Joen rushes Top. “Let's just hurry and find her.”

Emilia, hearing Joen and Top's voices, quickly rushes to get away before she is seen. “Crap! I didn't realize it was so late!”

Lira meows at Emilia, staying next to the unconscious boy. Emilia looks back at the trouble-making feline. “He's not my problem.”

Lira meows again.

“I know, but…”

Lira meows again.

“Yes, I do want us to get along with Dresil, but if Joen sees me now…”

Lira meows again. Emilia stares at Lira. Lira stares back, then meows

“Fine! You win.” Emilia runs towards the man and picks him up. “Let's go, Lira!”

Lira meows and turns into a tiger. Emilia places the boy on Lira's back, and the three take off. Soon after they leave, Top and Joen enter the river area. Top looks around but sees no sign of Emilia. “She's not here either.”

Top continues to look around. Joen looks at the ground; he sees paw prints leading towards the village. Joen smiles, knowing she’s safe. “Let's head back, son.”

“But what about Lia?”

“She's fine, trust me.”

Joen points to the paw tracks on the ground. Top looks down and sighs. As the two walk away, Joen stops and looks toward the river. Questioning his father’s change in movement, Top turns to see Joen's right hand on his sword. “What's wrong?”

Looking both directions and seeing nothing but flowing water, Joen releases his grip. “Nothing, must be imagining things. Let's go.”

The two proceed to head back. On the other side of the river, Henry, one of the knights from Dresil, hides behind a tree. He leaves after Joen and Top are out of sight.

Emilia and Lira burst through the front door of her home. Emilia shuts the door behind her. Emilia's house is a small, one-story house on a hill. Just like all Kiri homes, it is entirely made of wood. It is located on the far west-hand side of the village, not too far from the river. There is a fireplace in the middle of the floor with a small futon towards the wall. There is also a small pile of blankets next to her futon for Lira. A hammock hangs from the ceiling right in front of the only window, where she can view the entirety of the Kiri Village.

Emilia sets the boy on her futon. Lira turns into a small kitten and curls up in his blankets.

“Ugh, you're heavy.”

Emilia opens up a small box in the corner of her house. She pulls out bandages and healing ointment. “And you're taking my bed too. You better be super grateful when you wake up.”

Emilia looks at the broken sword. She proceeds to bandage the boy, ignoring the strange blade for now.