Lunia's Story - The Book of Mages

Prologue- Daru’s Never-ending Nightmare

Daru sat by himself on the deserted playground. Swinging…Swinging….Swinging. The young orc cried as he fell off the swing. Wood chips scraped his knee and his arm was badly bruised from trying to protect himself from the fall. The pain was everywhere; it seemed to run through his body. Soon, numbness came and he could do nothing but cry. His tears flooded his face and a single tear touched the ground. No one heard him; no one could hear his cries. His parents were a mile away and his servants lingered far. No orc child who was smart would go near the sorcerer’s son. The sorcerer, Daru’s father, was the most powerful orc man in the city. Even the king himself stayed away unless it couldn’t be avoided.

Daru sighed; he was destined to be alone. Not one person understood him in this world, not one person could cure this eternal ache. Struggling to stand up, he noticed he was not alone. Standing before him was a paled skin beast that had long flowing hair. What was she? Was it even a she? Daru panicked as he realized that what was standing here in front of him was not a beast, but a human. He ran, heading for his home, only looking back to see if the human had followed him. She had indeed followed young Daru and there was no escape. He screamed for help and to alert the townspeople of the evil temptress that had breached their inner city, but no one came to help him. They were all so much more afraid of Daru than the human; they would rather have nothing to do with the sorcerer’s son than to get rid of the human.

The young orc ran into his home, thinking that it was his sanctuary. The human did not follow him in, but rather patiently stood outside. Daru searched the three story building for his parents. It took over ten minutes to find them, but as he opened the door of the library on the third floor, he saw his parents sitting peacefully and reading spell books.

“Mother… Father…” He murmured softly by the door.

“Daru? Why are you bothering us in this important studying moment?” His mother asked, quite irritated.

“Yes, why Daru?” His father said, obviously annoyed as well.

“A human is outside…” Daru said even softer.

“What was that, Daru? You didn’t say ‘human’ did you?” His mother’s face was serious now.

“Human…outside.” Daru said a little louder this time.

Daru’s parents both got up at the same time. They walked over to the window. They gaped at what they saw. Without even a wink of hesitation, Daru’s parents ran down the stairs and out of the door. Daru only caught a glimpse of their stern faces as they proceeded out of the mansion. Soon, his parents stood face to face with the human. Daru watched from the third floor, opening the window so he could hear the conversation.

“Orc sorcerer, you have come out from your hiding place, I see.” The human female smiled slightly as she spoke to Daru’s parents.

“Leave this place. You, a human, have no right here.” Daru’s father spoke with a solemn voice.

“Do you not know who I am? Calling me a …I’m not just a human.” The female spoke again.

“Then who are you?” Daru’s mother spoke with a trembling voice.

“Hirasa. Goddess of the Healers, Queen of the Mages.” The female said in an unchanging tone. “And I was hereby ordered to assassinate the evil orc sorcerer of the other side.”

“You-“

“Goodbye, Kaynia Kostcha of the West Tribe.” Daru heard the female say a quick spell and before he realized what was happening, his mother was dead.

“Goodbye-“

“Noo!” Daru shouted from the third story building. “Father, defend yourself!”

“Your father was foolish; he did not protect himself with a magical barrier. He’s in a trance now, I’m afraid.” Harisa grinned devilishly. “You, young boy, have better behave yourself in the future. If not, I might just come for you.”

“Please! Leave my father-“

“Arisha-Good Bye Dorilen Baktca of the West Tribe.” Harisa was emotionless as she said the words for another death. Daru’s father dropped to the floor. Daru ran down the stairs filled with tears, he ran and faced the wretched human.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Daru cried. He leapt towards Harisa.

“See ya, Daru Baktca!” Harisa began her teleportation spell with her book open.

“STOP!” He reached Harisa and grabbed onto her, but it was too late, Harisa slowly faded into thin air and Daru could do nothing but wait for the nightmare to end.

The moment Harisa was fully gone, Daru collapsed to the floor tears streaming down his face. He stared angrily at the place where Harisa had been. He noticed a white book shining there with a crescent purple gleam...

“Mother…Father…I will avenge you…”

Chapter 1- Clow’s Departure

“Take care~!” 14 year old Lyra stood on the outskirts of Auroria, the capital of Agaeflower, as she waved goodbye to her lover, Dainn. Lyra sighed. Dainn wasn’t her “lover” yet, but Lyra had a plan on telling him how much she loved him when he returns. Lyra and Dainn had been best friends since they were born, there could be no other perfect for Dainn, could there? Lyra lifted her skirt and returned to the palace, pondering her thoughts.

Lyra, as the princess of Agaeflower, had no chores to do. Agaeflower was one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but that was not why it had such a beautiful name. “Agae” had been the greatest wizard to have ever lived and Agae had saved the kingdom from destruction over a century ago. Agae did not leave Agaeflower after his heroic deed; he had stayed and protected the kingdom for over seventy years. His remarkable efforts linger on as Dainn, his grandson, follows in his footsteps. Lyra smiled as she thought of Dainn.

Lyra finally reached the Auroria summer palace. The shining pink stones of the walls glimmered in the sunlight as she walked to the entrance. Wisps fluttered around her as she knocked lightly on the palace door. A servant wearing brown, ruffled robes opened the door.

Clow, Lyra’s favorite servant, bowed down as she walked in.

“Lady Lyra, Madam Sierra will arrive in 15 minutes. Shall I prepare your piano?”

“Clow, there is no need to be so formal!” Lyra laughed at Clow’s polite talk, “You’re my ‘friend.’ And yes, please get my piano ready.” Clow was only a few years older than Lyra, but he always talked politely.

Lyra sang as she danced up to her room. She had to get ready for her lessons. She washed her hands in her private bathroom and straightened her light pink skirt. She tied a red ribbon in her soft brunette hair and smiled. She looked like a ‘princess.’

Madam Sierra never cared much about Lyra’s formality or her looks, but Lyra thought she should look her best for her lessons anyways. Lyra just finished touching up when she heard a knock on the palace door. She ran down the stairs of the palace and got to the door before Clow did. Normally there would be hundreds of servants rushing to the door, but this was the ‘summer palace’ and the only ones ever in palace were Clow, Lyra, Dainn, and Eir (the healer.) Since Eir had left with Dainn, the palace was left to Clow and Lyra. This loneliness didn’t affect Lyra though. In fact, she was quite happy to be rid of that evil temptress Eir anyways; Eir always did annoy her.

Lyra smiled as she opened the door. Madam Sierra stepped in with a binder and notebook. Lyra took her hand.

“Good morning, Madam Sierra.” Lyra smiled again.

“Hello, Lyra. I told you that you didn’t have to be so formal, didn’t I?” Madam Sierra laughed.

“Okay , Madam Sierra.”

“Call me Sierra. ‘Madam’ makes me seem too old. I may be married, but I’m only 25.”

“As you-Okay…Ma-Sierra.”

“That’s more like it. Now, let’s go have that lesson of yours. “

Lyra led the way to the elegant living room. Sunlight shone through the light yellow curtains, the blackness of the piano turned a light gray, and even Lyra’s dress shone in the light.

“The D major scale first please.” Sierra got down to business fast.

Lyra played the scale beautifully and proceeded to play all of the scales Sierra asked her to. Lyra got through the sight reading nicely as well.

“And now, your songs.” Sierra smiled, “Do you remember the goal you set on our very first lesson?”

“Yes.” Lyra spoke with a soft giggle, “I remember those exact words like as if it was spoken yesterday. My goal was to play Fantasia in D K397 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.”

“Wow, what perfect memory.” Sierra joked. Sierra knew Lyra could never forget her goal. Lyra had wanted to play that song for four years now; it was about time that she did.

“Why are you asking this again, Ma-Sierra?”

“Because you might learn it today, but you have to show me that your other songs are as good as perfect.”

Lyra wasted no time; she started playing the sonata that she had practiced so much on. She hit one wrong note, but other then that, it was perfect. Sierra praised Lyra and said one wrong note isn’t that much of a deal. So Lyra continued with her other four songs.

“Bravo~! Bravo~! Lyra, that was wonderful. If you aren’t ready for the Fantasia today, I don’t know when you’ll be ready. You deserve to learn it. You really do.” Sierra gave Lyra a slight applause and took something out of her binder. “The Fantasia in D.”

“Thank you!” Lyra almost burst with happiness. This was the song that she had waited 4 years for. This was the song that Lyra swore on. Lyra and Dainn had made a promise 4 years ago when they were at the classical theatre: they swore that if Lyra ever played the song that wonderfully, Dainn would teach her magic.

“Lyra. You’ve proven yourself that you can play it. I also have another song for you.” Sierra said as she handed Lyra the other music sheets, “I want you to practice the first page of each songs. The second page too if you want.”

“Yes, Sierra. Yes~!” Lyra cried as she took the sheets and looked at them.

Sierra got up and Lyra walked with her to the door. Lyra gave Sierra a hug and they said their goodbyes for the day.

“Have fun practicing,” Sierra told Lyra even though she knew that there was no way Lyra would not enjoy practicing the song, “Oh and by the way: Your parents will be coming back to Auroria this Saturday.” Sierra winked. “Or so the citizens say.”

Lyra looked out the tinted pink glass windows as Sierra disappeared into the city. Lyra sighed. She liked her parents, but they never approved of her and Dainn. It was hard enough making friends as a princess, her parents just made it harder. Why couldn’t they understand the feelings Lyra had for Dainn?

Lyra felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around she saw Clow looking worried.

“What’s wrong?” Lyra asked the troubled Clow.

“Lyra…I’m afraid that…I will have to leave you for the rest of the summer.”

“But I can’t stay here alone.”

“My parents need help at the farm.”

“But…they could hire workers. My parents could give them the gold.”

“No! I’m sorry, my parents are sick. They got in a fight and both of them are wounded. I must care for them and manage the farm.” Clow was serious. He turned and began to walk away, “I leave tomorrow.”

Lyra felt shocked. If Clow left, she really would be alone in this isolated summer palace. How could she stay here all alone? Well, her parents would be back soon, but they wouldn’t live in the summer palace. They always lived in the main one. They would make Lyra move and worst of all: There is no piano at the main palace. If only Dainn was here, he would know what to do.

Lyra decided not to dwell on the situation; she got her orange petticoat and walked out the palace door. She paused at the palace door for a moment and smelled the lavender scent. The pink of the door looked radiant in the sunlight, and the lavender blessing the door had received lingered.

Slowly, Lyra walked away and into the humming of the city. Carriages strolled by and Lyra was brushed by the soft brown fur of horses numerous times. Everyone waved as “Princess” Lyra walked down the fair city streets. Lyra made her way to the market where everyone made way for her. She looked around at the humble citizens and smiled.

“You don’t have to make way for me. Just continue like you normally do.” She said as she passed.

At a stall of fruit, Lyra stopped. She took a gold piece from her coat and gave it to the shopkeeper. She took a bag of soft green pears and continued on her way. She decided that a nice picnic might enable her to think about her situation. But picnics were no fun alone. Lyra headed towards the wealthier side of the city and skipped along the roads. The roads here were wider and not many people passed through them. She breathed in the scent of sunflowers as she walked on the red brick road. She was about to ask for directions when she finally saw the house she was looking for.

While all the other houses were white and pink, a light blue house with an orange door stood at the end of the street. It was the most peculiar house on the block, there was no way Lyra could’ve missed it. She ran up the steps and knocked on the orange door.

A cute young girl wearing a light blue dress answered the door.

“Lyra!” The girl shouted happily.

“What? No ‘Princess’ Lyra? I’ve been the princess here for so long and you just call me Lyra?” Lyra joked, “Hello, Amy.”

“I’ve missed you. Do you know how boring archery practice is without you?” Amy whined.

“Sorry. My parents don’t approve of me learning archery,” Lyra said apologetically, “Anyways, bring your bow. Let’s go have a picnic.”

“Wait…Lyra. You look pale.”

“I’ll explain when we get to the river. Come on~!”

Amy disappeared from the doorway and a minute later she was armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows. She closed the door and we started walking towards the edge of the city.

“By the way, Amy, why wasn’t your mother home?”

“Oh, she is. She was out back teaching archery.”

“She teaches to other children now?” Lyra asked, raising her eyebrow.

“Just girls,” Amy smiled. For some reason, Amy’s mother, Olivia never taught archery to boys. “Never mind my mom, wanna race to the flag pole?”

The flag pole was our favorite racing destination, it could be seen from anywhere in the city: Even the palace was no where near its height.

“But we’re going to river; the flagpole is in the center of the city.” Lyra stared at Amy.

“Does it matter?” Amy smiled.

“Oh right. I get a head start!” Lyra sprinted forward and the race began.

Lyra’s pears weighed her down, but Amy’s bow and arrows also weighed Amy down. So it was a handicap each, there was no telling who would win. Lyra took the lead with the head start, but Amy was swift.

At last, both of them were only a few meters away from the pole. 15 meters, 10, 5, and TOUCHDOWN! Amy won, surprisingly. Lyra was the one who usually won.

“Aww…I’m the princess. Let me win.” Lyra whined.

“Don’t be- such a- sore loser.” Amy said, gasping for air.

When they finally caught their breath they started walking to the river.

“Lyra, how come you lost this time anyways?” Amy asked, “You didn’t lose on purpose or anything, did you?”

“No. I think I’m just out of practice. Maybe lack of archery has made me lose my swiftness.”

“You were always better than me at archery and running. It’s strange how a month of training can make someone better.”

“Okay. Let’s race to the river this time. I’m sure I can win. First one to touch the picnic table by the river wins!” Lyra shouted.

Amy, not wanting to be disadvantaged again, sprinted first for the head start. They were head to head when they saw the entrance to the river park.

“That table?!” Amy shouted eagerly.

“No I meant that one!” Lyra shouted, almost breaking into a laugh.

They both touched down on different tables.

“I guess it’s a tie.” Lyra giggled.

They sat down on the picnic table Lyra touched down on and spread out a blanket on top. They feasted on the pears as Lyra explained her situation.

“-and just when I began the Fantasia too.” Lyra cried as she ended her story. “Everything was going so well.” Lyra dropped her pear and tears streamed from her rosy cheeks.

Other people in the park came to help the princess, but Amy pushed them back and said it was okay. The people continued to stare, but after a shout from Amy, they turned away.

“Lyra, this really must be hard for you. Why don’t you come live at my house until Clow returns? We have a piano in the basement. It’s a little out of tune, but we could get a piano tuner to come fix it up.”

“Really? Where would I sleep though?”

“The guest room or you could sleep in my room with me.”

“Thank you, Amy.” Lyra hugged Amy and they sat there in a soft embrace for nearly 15 minutes.

Finally, they stood up and just left the blanket and pears on the table. The walked out of the park and headed towards the summer palace.

Amy spoke in a soft, comforting whisper, “Why don’t I come in and help you pack?”

“Thank you again, Amy. I love you.”

“I love you too. We’re sisters, remember? Sisters forever.”

They proceeded into the palace and up to Lyra’s room. They packed everything: her stuffed animals, her clothes, her accessories, her piano books and music sheets, her books and writing, even her bow was packed. Amy slept over that night.

The next day, the palace was empty. No life but enchanted never dying plants laid in the summer palace. Some people would even think that this magical palace was haunted by the spirit of the past: You probably should think that it was haunted for no living soul ever entered it again.

Chapter 2- Sieg to the Rescue!

Dainn sat beside Eir near the fire. They had travelled through two villages today, healing everyone and blessing the houses of the villages. Tomorrow they would reach Ramancha, a city of fishing, there they could rest and replenish their supplies. Dainn knew he was doing good deeds, but he didn’t like to. He missed Lyra, her soft hair and elegant smile, he missed her company. Eir wasn’t the same. She complained all day about the walk and tiredness, she asked for constant breaks, and she never smiled.

“Eir, why don’t you ever smile?” Dainn blurted out. He was tired of Eir’s depressive personality.

“What is there to smile about?” Eir frowned.

“Plenty of things. We’re helping people; doesn’t that make you feel good? We’re also seeing all these beautiful things, what isn’t there to smile about?” Dainn countered Eir’s comment.

“For one, the awful and dirty paths. Also, we sleep in the middle of nowhere. What if we get attacked? Another thing, you!” Eir shouted at me.
“Me?” Dainn raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“You’re too perfect. Your magic’s too good and you’re too nice. You’re a FREAK.” Eir said with disgust and turned away.

Dainn was speechless. Him, a freak? This time, Eir had gone too far. He didn’t want to have anything to do with Eir anymore. Dainn moved over to the other side of the fire and laid down the tent. He went in and drifted off to sleep silently…

“Dainn…” A girl wearing a long white dress stood in the distance.

“Lyra?” Dainn wanted to get a closer look,

“Free me, Dainn.” With these words, the girl began to fade away.

The sun shone in Dainn’s eyes as he woke. He sang a soft sunflower blessing into the air as he made breakfast. Eir woke up as she sniffed the sunflower air. Both of them spoke nothing as they ate the bread and bacon Dainn had prepared. After the silent breakfast, Dainn packed up the tent. He didn’t bother even looking at Eir as he used magic to compact the camp into a small square. He put the square into his pocket and walked back to the road.

Dainn turned around after 5 minutes and saw Eir a few meters back. Dainn sighed. Will he ever get along with Eir? After an hour of walking, Dainn could see Ramancha. He entered the village singing a blessing of lavender. The whole village was filled with purple petals as Dainn reached the village square. Behind him, Dainn could hear Eir say ‘showoff.’ Dainn pretended not to hear it and smiled at the villagers. He continued to say blessings for half an hour and a crowd gathered around him. It wasn’t until he finished that he noticed Eir beside him healing the sick.

Dainn gave one last smile to the villagers and took Eir’s hand. He dragged her until he reached the yellow wooden house he was looking for. Eir tore her hand away from Dainn as Dainn entered the house. The house had two floors and was quite big for a village house. Eir took a moment to examine the whereabouts, and then turned to Dainn.

“WHY DID YOU DRAG ME?!” Eir screamed at Dainn.

“Because I didn’t want to waste my time telling you to follow me.” Dainn replied sweetly.

“Stop acting so nice!” Eir pushed Dainn to the floor. Dainn got a scratch, but it was nothing serious.

“What’s with the noise?” A tall, old man wearing bear skin clothing walked into the room.

“It’s nothing,” Dainn smiled at the man. “My name is Dainn, grandson of Agae. Chieftain Hawk, we would like to lodge at the village hall.”

The chieftain nodded, “And who might you be?” Chieftain Hawk smiled at Eir.

“I am Eir, royal healer from Auroria.” Eir replied sternly, “I hope that we will be given suitable rooms.”

“Of course.” Chieftain Hawk laughed. “Follow me.”

Chieftain Hawk led them through a series of wooden corridors. They walked until the chieftain suddenly stopped beside a blue door and yellow door.

“For the lady.” He pointed to the blue door.

“Thank you.” Eir entered the room and unwrapped the square that held her possessions. The room was brown and cozy; it had a blue bed and wooden drawers. A nice blue carpet was laid by the doorway and there was even a mirror.

“The washroom is through the yellow door.” The chieftain said and started moving again. Dainn followed the chieftain to the end of the hallway. The chieftain showed him a blue and yellow door. Dainn opened the blue door and saw a room identical to the one Eir had.

“Thank you, chieftain. We will repay the village with our blessings. We will set up a stall in the square and give the blessings and healing there later.” Dainn shook the chieftain’s hand.

Chieftain Hawk bore a wrinkled grin on his face, “No need for thanks. We have been in need of your services for a while.”

The Chieftain left and Dainn unwrapped his square. He redecorated the room using a spell. The walls had neat cloud wallpaper and the bed was yellow, the drawer was tinted pink, and the mirror stood on top of the drawer.

“Ah…” Dainn smiled at his work. “Just like my room in the summer palace.”

He proceeded to decorate the plain washroom and then went to check on Eir. He knocked on the door. Eir came out in a nice pink dress and a pink hair band.

“Let’s stay here for a while.” Eir said as they walked out of the corridor. “This place is nice.”

They walked out of the house; people were running amok everywhere holding spears. The whole place was in chaos.

“What’s wrong?” Dainn asked a villager.

“THE ORCS ARE HERE! THEY’RE BURNING THE HOUSES!”

The orcs were dangerous things, they were green, evil and they would stop at nothing to kill the villagers. Dainn wasted no time. He spoke a protection spell over the village. It didn’t work.

“Dainn, your magic…It failed!” Eir cried.

“We will have to fight.” Dainn said and they were off.

Eir took her wand and Dainn armed his staff with magic. Orcs were everywhere. There was no way that Dainn and Eir could kill them all. They used magic, a lot of it. But they were running low on mana. If no one comes to help soon, Ramancha Village would no longer exist.

Eir shot moonbeams and healed the injured, Dainn fought them off with ice walls and fire spells. But they needed help. The orcs got stronger and stronger. Dainn was on the last of his magic when something happened. A shockwave blew the orcs all away. Dainn turned and saw a young blond swordsman who gave Dainn a wink. Together they fought off the orcs and soon they had won.

Soon, no orcs were anywhere near Ramancha. The villagers cheered and started dancing. Dainn used a repairing spell and instantly, everything was fixed. Eir finished healing the injuries received from the battle. The blond swordsman stood beside Dainn and Eir.

“Howdy wizard. Hello lady.” The swordsman approached Dainn and Eir.

“Uh. Hello. I’m Dainn, grandson of Agae.” Dainn shook hands with the swordsman.

“And I’m Sieg. Who ees the beautiful lady you have with yoo?” Sieg smiled at Eir.

Eir backed away. Who did this stranger think he was? Dainn pulled Eir back and whispered something about it being okay.

“This is Eir,” Dainn told Sieg. “She’s the princess’s healer from Auroria.”

“Ya both pretty high class.” Sieg said. “Eh royal healer with eh grand wizard.”

“How about you? What’s your rank?” Eir asked curiously.

“Oh. Meh father is Rilan, meh mother is Hirasa. I’m just eh self swordsman.”

“Really? Hirasa?” Eir exclaimed. “The great priestess Hirasa?”

“The one and only.” Sieg replied.

“Anyways, Sieg. What are you doing in Central Agaeflower?”Dainn changed the subject.

“Just passing through. Just kinda looking for eh book.” Sieg replied.

“Book?” Dainn asked seriously. “What book?”

“Deh Book of Mages. Meh mother lost eet years back.”

“The Book of Mages.” Eir thought out loud. “I read about it. It has enough power to conquer an entire country. Why are you looking for it?”

“I told ya. Meh mother lost eet.” Sieg said irritated.

“You know what?” Dainn spoke, smiling. “We’re going to help you find it.”

“WHAT??!” Eir screamed.

“Eir could use a journey like this.” Dainn smiled.

“Then eet’s decided.” Sieg and Dainn shook hands.

“We’ll have to go back to Auroria first though.” Dainn said. “We don’t want someone thinking we went missing.”

The next day, Sieg, Dainn, and Eir set out for Auroria. Each of them carried a compact square in their pocket as they walked on the red brick road back to Auroria. Dainn and Eir listened as Sieg told stories about himself. The day long journey back to Auroria seemed to last only minutes as Sieg spun his interesting tales. By sundown, they had reached the city.

They walked up to the summer palace and knocked on the soft pink doors. There was no reply. After 10 minutes, they gave up. The left the palace grounds and walked into the marketplace, asking about the princess. A man selling fruit told them that the princess had moved in with the Cornells. Dainn led the way to the blue house that the Cornells lived in. Dainn knocked on the door.

“Dainn?” Lyra gave him a big hug. “You’re back!”

“Hello, Lyra.” Dainn said politely. “Sieg, come meet Princess Lyra.”

Sieg bowed and kissed Lyra’s hand. “Eet ees en honor to meet such eh lovelee maiden.” Sieg smiled.

“You are Sieg?” Lyra asked.

“Yes. Milady.” Sieg said with perfect English. “My name is indeed Sieg.”

“Sieg!” Eir was surprised to hear Sieg speak so well.

“Who said I couldn’t speak well?” Sieg replied. “This lady has enchanted me with good language.” Sieg smiled at Lyra.

“Um...Sieg-“Lyra started to say.

“Let’s move on to business.” Dainn interrupted. “Lyra, we are going on a journey for a book.”

“Explain everything later. Right now, you should come inside.” Lyra led them to the living room and poured tea for everyone.

Dainn explained the situation and how they met Sieg.

“Milady. The evil has started again.” Sieg said. “I forgot to say before, but we aren’t getting the book just because my mother lost it. Hirasa, my mother, has felt a calamity in the karma of the future. She is afraid of the evil conquering the good. She needs the book to cure this evil fate.”

“I understand.” Lyra said as she got up. Lyra disappeared into another room and came back with a compact square. “But I’m coming with you.”

“You can’t!” Dainn shouted. “It’s too dangerous. Your parents will-“

“I can do what I want, Dainn.” Lyra countered with a smile. “My parents cannot stop me.”

“What do you mean?” Dainn stared at Lyra’s face. It had changed. Lyra had changed.

“Dainn, in one day I have learned something great. I just used it on Sieg.” Lyra spoke happily. Everyone in the room stared at her. “Dainn, Eir, Sieg, I have learned magic.”

Chapter 3- The Journey Begins

Dainn, Eir, Sieg, and Lyra sat in the room silently. No one spoke and no one moved; a bird chirping in the distance was the only noise that could be heard. Any sudden movement could break the silence. It would only require a flinch to break havoc. Seconds passed, minutes, soon an hour had passed.

They were like stone statues in the room. Dainn was both shocked and angry that Lyra had learned something that took him a year to begin, but he would not speak till someone else did. Eir was held in her anger-for now. Sieg just sat there, wondering how long they could just sit there speechless. And Lyra? Well, she felt relieved to tell them, but also so worried that she could not speak.

Who would break the silence? Who will be the one to free them from their stone state? Almost another hour passed: In a few minutes, it would be midnight. Sieg was tired of this useless freeze. He was just about to stand up when someone walked in.

“Hi Dainn, Eir!” Amy had walked in.

Dainn and Eir both exploded at the same time, but Sieg remained calm.

“LYRA!” Dainn screamed, “WHY! Why…”

“Lyra, what would your parents say?” Eir shouted. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

“Umm…” Amy was stunned at these insults, what was wrong with them? Amy turned to Lyra, she was crying. Why were Dainn and Eir making her cry?

“WHAT?” Dainn and Eir screamed in unison.

“Why are you two shouting at Lyra?” Amy turned to Sieg. “And who are you?”

“My name is Sieg.” Sieg bowed and then resumed sitting. “Pleased to meet you.”

“I’m Amy.” Amy gave Sieg a curtsy and a smile. Then she got stern. “Anyways why were you two screaming at Lyra?”

“She learned….MAGIC!” Dainn said in outrage.

“So?” Amy asked. “I told her to.”

“You WHAT?” Eir said angrily. “Why would you do that?”

“Because,” Lyra cut in. “I want to come with you guys on your journey. I’m tired of being left all alone here. It was fine when Clow was by my side, but he’s gone away now.”

“Where did Clow go?” Dainn raised an eyebrow, Clow had left somewhere?

“Amy, you tell them.” Lyra left the room. She went upstairs to the guest room and sat on the light purple velvet bed. The room was nice. This house was nice. This blue house with its yellow doors and red windows-indeed, this house was nice and neat. Even her room was ‘nice’ and fit for a princess. With the velvet bed covers, velvet curtains, the velvet covered drawers, and the velvet carpet, this place was completely made for royalty. The problem was that it had too much velvet; it was too much for Lyra. This wasn’t the summer palace; this wasn’t even the ‘palace’!

Lyra didn’t want to stay here anymore; she wanted to be with-with Dainn! She loved him, if only he knew how much she loved him. Lyra sighed. The only way to cure this ache in her heart was to journey with Dainn. With him gone for long periods of time, Lyra felt wrong, she felt incomplete. Even this room felt incomplete to Lyra. All Lyra wanted was to be with Dainn. She didn’t want palace riches or jewelry; she didn’t even want money or luxury. Lyra didn’t care if she would never see her parents again or be called ‘princess’, she only wanted to be with Dainn. She thought about him every moment of the day, but now that he’s come, it’s not working.

He should’ve been happy to know Lyra could do magic, why wasn’t he? She had done it for him, hadn’t she? Tears began to swell up in her eyes. ‘No, I can’t cry,’ she thought to herself. But the tears could be held no longer. She cried and cried until she felt a gentle hand on her arm.

“Lyra?” Dainn sat down beside her on the velvet. “I’m sorry for being so angry. Amy explained everything to me.”

Lyra did not respond. She felt embarrassed to have Dainn see her cry.

“Lyra?” Dainn took Lyra’s hand. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Lyra mutter, trying to stop the tears.

“Well, we talked. Me, Eir, and Sieg. We decided that you could come with us.” Dainn said soothingly.

“Really?” Lyra was surprised. After that shock, she had thought that they hated her.

“Yes, really.”Dainn smiled.

“You don’t hate me for learning magic?”

“No Lyra, I don’t. I blame myself for acting so rude.”

“Don’t.” Lyra hugged Dainn. “When do we leave?”

“In three days.” Dainn gave Lyra one last embrace and then left the room.

Lyra smiled. Dainn was back to normal again, she would be able to go with them. Everything seemed too good to be true. Lyra got up and went in the bathroom. She looked in the mirror. She looked like a freak. ‘A happy freak though,’ Lyra thought as she washed her smiling face. She changed and got ready for bed. She slipped into the covers of soft velvet. She couldn’t fall asleep though, she was too excited for the journeys she would undertake in a few days. Journeys…Perhaps she should keep a diary. Lyra got out of the bed and sat down on her desk. There was ink and a quill, but she needed a notebook. After digging for a few minutes in her suitcase, she found a nice pink notebook.

She opened the book and began writing:

Dear diary,

Dainn and Eir came back today with a strange young man. I decided to use my new magic on the young man. I made his English better =) Then something very sad happened, we got into an argument…

She finished up her entry with:

…but everything’s better now.

She finished writing and closed the notebook. Her eyes drooped as she slipped into the safety of her velvet bed. She closed her eyes and dreamed of Dainn. ‘Where was he now? Is he thinking about me?’…

“Lyra!”

Lyra moaned in her sleep. Someone shook her. Lyra used all her strength to stretch open her eyelids.

“LYRA!”

“I’m awake, WHAT?” Lyra saw Amy staring down at her.

“We’re going out to shop for supplies today. Are you coming or do you want to go back to sleep?”

“Fine, fine. Go away; I’ll be ready in a few minutes.” Lyra moaned.

“It better be only just a few minutes.” Amy walked out of the room and Lyra got up.

Lyra dressed herself in a nice light blue blouse and skirt and tied her hair up with a dark blue ribbon. She washed her face again and smiled. She looked nice, would Dainn notice her extra special look?

She walked out of the purple room and into the kitchen. Everyone was already seated and eating breakfast. Dainn wore his normal wizard robes and Eir looked like a normal healer. Even Sieg looked ‘plain’. No one was excited about Lyra coming with them, she was expected to act normal too.

“Lyra, you look pretty today.” Amy commented as she and Lyra sat down on the kitchen table.

“Thanks, Amy.” Lyra sat down and ate her breakfast.

No one spoke during breakfast; everyone stared intensely on their plate of egg and bacon. It was strange that no one talked, normally Lyra and Amy would blabber on and on, but this breakfast was eaten in silence. Lyra finished her breakfast swiftly and wiped her mouth. She helped Amy clear the table as the others walked out of the room like zombies.

Lyra couldn’t understand their zombie like ways, but she decided to let off asking them to talk this time. When Amy and Lyra were left alone in the kitchen, Lyra spoke.

“What is with them?” Lyra asked.

“I don’t know.” Amy replied. “Why ARE they so silent?”
“I’m concerned. Breakfast with Eir and Dainn in it has never been so silent in my whole life. We’ve always found something to talk about.” Lyra bore a worried look on her face. “Is it my fault for learning magic? Is what’s causing this abnormal behavior me?”

“Don’t worry about it. In our next meal, why don’t we bring up conversation? Won’t that make it better?”

“I hope so, Amy. I really hope so.”

Amy and Lyra walked hand in hand to see the others. They had gotten ready to go. Dainn wore his cloak and Eir wore her coat, Sieg just brought his sword. Lyra and Amy got their coats and they walked out of the door. Lyra went beside Dainn.

“Dainn?” Lyra grasped his hand. “Why are you so silent?”

“Umm… Sorry Lyra.” Dainn smiled. “I’ve just been thinking about some things.”

“Let’s walk together, kay?” Lyra smiled back.

“Sure.” Lyra and Dainn held hands as they shopped for supplies.

They visited a food stall and found fruit, crackers, bread, and canned meat.

“Uhh…WHATS THAT?” Sieg pointed at an apple.

Everyone laughed, except Eir. “It’s an apple, haven’t you ever seen an apple before?” Eir said in disgust.

“No, sorry.” Sieg was just trying to lighten the mood, but Eir obviously couldn’t take a joke.

They paid for the food and continued on their way. Amy left them to get the rest of the supplies for she had to go to an archery lesson.

“See you later!” Amy smiled as she left.

The got tools such as rope and water containers, they also got candles and tinder as well as blankets. Lyra needed a tent and it took a while for her to choose one.

“How hard is it to choose a tent?” Eir complained.

“A long time, I suppose.” Dainn shrugged.

“Eir, you must stop complaining.” Sieg said calmly. “Or no one will like you.”

“I’m sorry.” Lyra apologized. “The pink one with the bunnies on it was so cute, but the light blue one was so peaceful. I didn’t know how to choose.”

Lyra took the pink one and paid for it. After that, they were done with supplies. They walked back to the blue house and dropped everything off. They separated the supplies between the four of them and Dainn converted them into four different squares.

“What, I have a question.” Lyra said after they took the squares. “Where did you guys sleep last night? Here? There are no more rooms here…”

“We slept in the basement.” Sieg said, grinning mischievously.

“Okay…” Lyra was not amused.

“Anyways,” Dainn said loudly, “We’ll split up and just relax for the next two days. Eir, stay with Sieg and I’ll stay with Lyra.”

Lyra smiled when Dainn said that. They were finally going to be alone. Maybe, just maybe she could confess her love.

At the end of the day, everyone was tired out. They had roamed the city the whole day and it was tiring. Lyra went back to her room after dinner and began to write in her diary.

Dear diary,

Dainn and I got to spend time together today. We went swimming in the river, I nearly confessed there. Unfortunately, a ball hit me in the head and that stopped my confession. I’m sure I’ll be able to confess sometime soon. Nothing can stop me the next time. Nothing I say!

Breakfast was a little silent, but dinner and lunch got a bit livelier. At dinner, we talked about what we did during the day. It was quite interesting to hear what Eir and Sieg did. Could you believe that they had a picnic together? All alone and private? I think Sieg likes Eir, but I’m not sure about the other way around. Eir is too stern and annoying, what could a nice guy like Sieg possibly see in her?

Well, that’s enough writing for one day, see you later diary!

Lyra finished writing and undressed. She slipped into bed. Dreaming of her confession, Lyra slept soundly.

The next morning, Lyra woke up peacefully and happy. She put on a nice pink dress and wove a red ribbon around her hair. Then she went down to the basement. Everyone was sleeping soundly in their beds.

“Dainn, wakie, wakie!” Lyra sat on Dainn’s bed.

“Lyra?” Dainn moaned and sat up. “What’s up?”

“I want to go to the amusement park today, kay?” Lyra gave Dainn an innocent look.

“Sure, whatever. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” Dainn gave a half smile and got out of bed. He was wearing an adorable teddy sleep robe.

“Aww...that’s so cute!” Lyra cried, giving Dainn a hug.

“Shush…We don’t want the others to wake up being angry.” Dainn whispered.

Lyra went out of the basement and up into the kitchen. Amy was up and was about to make breakfast.

“Can I help?” Lyra asked sweetly.

“Sure, the more the merrier.”

Together they made two dozen pancakes. While Amy got the syrup and milk ready, Lyra set the table. By the time Dainn came up, breakfast was complete. Eir and Sieg came up halfway through breakfast.

“Good morning!” Lyra said cheerily.

“Yeah!” Sieg smiled.

“Whatever.” Eir gave a half smile as the others talked.

“So where are you guys going today?” Amy asked the group. “I wish I could come and have fun, but I have homework to do.”

“We aren’t exactly sure what we’re doing yet, but I’m sure it’ll be fun.” Sieg said.

“And we’re going to the amusement park.” Lyra said.

“Okay then, have fun!” Amy said as she waved goodbye to them a moment later.

They set off. Eir and Sieg came back to the house first, shrugging and smiling. They kept smiling when they ate dinner with Amy. At around 11 o’ clock Dain and Lyra came back laughing. They had gone to a nice restaurant to eat.

Lyra said her good nights to Dainn and sat down in her room. She sat down on a chair and sighed. She had the whole day today, but still couldn’t confess to Dainn. She frowned as she wrote in her notebook.

Dear diary,

Today, Dainn and I went to the amusement park. We went on numerous rides including the Ferris wheel. I got close to confessing my love there. Unfortunately by the time I got the courage, the ride was over.

We had the most romantic dinner tonight, though; we ate steak under the candlelight and everything. This dinner seemed like the best time to confess, yet something felt missing there. When will I ever confess to him? I really love him, I really do. Yet no matter how hard I try, the words won’t come out.

I’m sure the words will come to me soon. Tomorrow we leave for Ramancha. Maybe there…Just maybe I’ll be able to find those words.

Chapter 4- Dark Magic

Sieg, Eir, Dainn, and Lyra all set foot in Ramancha village the second morning of their journey. Agaeflower’s countryside was beautiful, Lyra couldn’t believe her eyes. All her life, she never ventured out of Auroria, what other beauties would she encounter?

The villagers cheered as the heroes entered in the village. They walked through the village and stopped at the village hall. They briefly paid their blessings and after that, they left the village.

“Dainn, why were they cheering when we entered?” Lyra tugged Dainn’s sleeve.

“This village was nearly over run with orcs,” Eir explained. “Dainn, Sieg and I had rescued them.”

“Oh.” Lyra hadn’t expected Eir to speak.

They didn’t speak much except for occasional small talk as they travelled on. When night came, they all opened their squares and Dainn lighted a fire.

Lyra was the first to speak, “Dainn, where are we going anyways?”
“We are going to follow the orcs,” Dainn replied smoothly, “Sieg told me that they had stolen the book from Harisa.”

“Yes. They did. The only reason I helped the village that day was because those orcs seemed to be from the tribe that stole the book.” Sieg said. “Not to seem selfish or anything, but that was my reason anyways.” Sieg added.

Sieg, Eir, and Dainn talked about battle tactics throughout the night. Lyra got a head ache from all this new information and decided to go in her tent and write instead. She snuggled inside, but landed on something hard. She felt around and found a pink diamond ring with sapphire decorations. Her ring…The mark of the princess. She had thought that she lost it a month ago. Lyra slipped on the ring and opened her pink notebook:

Dear Diary…

Her entry wound around Dainn, but she ended the entry well….

…The day has ended and everything seems so confusing.

Lyra smiled at her entry. Lying down, she covered the blanket over her. She continued to grin as she escaped the reality into a sweet, mellow dream. That night Dainn had a dream too, the girl had come back…

“Dainn…” The girl wore a cheery yellow summer dress this time. She wore a yellow ribbon band and was quite beautiful with her long red hair. This time, Dainn was sure it was not Lyra.

“Who are you?”

“My name is D-“

The dream faded and Dainn woke up. He sighed, he may never find out who that girl was. He went out of his blue tent and started frying some bacon.

Lyra woke to the smell of bacon and she crawled out of her tent. Automatically without even looking at the others, she went to the nearby stream to freshen up and change. Eir was changing by the stream too. Lyra was about to find somewhere else to change, when Eir stopped her.

“It’s okay, change here.” Eir said. “Don’t be afraid of me. I may be a little stern sometimes, but I’m not evil or mean.”

“Um…Thanks, I guess.” Lyra undressed and jumped into the cool water. The water was freezing, but Lyra needed the shower. She washed her old clothes and changed into a new yellow dress with a lot of ribbons on it. As Lyra washed her clothes, she noticed Eir doing the same. Eir’s clothing was beautiful in its own way: Her clothing was plain and elegant while Lyra’s was elaborate and decorative.
Lyra finished and spoke a few magic words to dry the clothing. Eir had finished too and Lyra walked over to her. Lyra dried Eir’s clothing as well.

“Thank you.” Eir said as they walked together back to camp.

“Um...Eir, I know this is random, but do you like Sieg?”
Eir stopped walking. She pushed Lyra behind the tents.

“Don’t ever tell anyone I said this, but I ...” Eir said. “Not as much as you and Dainn love each other, but I do like Sieg.”

Lyra blushed. “How do you know about me and Dainn? “

“Isn’t it obvious?” Eir grinned. “You two are so intimate with each other.”

Eir took Lyra’s hand and they joined Sieg and Dainn for breakfast.

“Hey, what took you girls so long?” Sieg asked.

“Something.” Eir grinned.

After a good breakfast they packed the camp into squares and walked back to the road.

“According to my calculations, the orcs went through there.” Dainn pointed north.

So they journeyed north for most of the day. Dainn led the way, around midday they stopped for lunch. They had crackers. While they ate, Lyra heard something move nearby. She took out her arrow and held it strung. 1, 2, 3, she released a cold magic blast into the air.

“Lyra!” Dainn gasped. “What did you do that for?”

“Our dinner, “Lyra pointed to an oak tree. A rabbit was dead and pinned down on the tree.

“Ly-“Eir was stunned. When did Lyra learn how to shoot like this?

“That was amazing!” Sieg clapped his hands.

They took the rabbit and put it in a square. Then they continued to walk on the trail. Soon they saw orc footprints, it was a good lead. They walked for hours and just when Dainn was about to suggest a break, the orcs attack.

“For DARU~!” The orcs attacked them with axes and spears. Luckily, the orcs were dimwitted and didn’t aim well.

“Leave this to me.” Lyra spoke calmly. She jumped up into a nearby oak tree with great swiftness.

“For the world of LUNIA~!” Lyra shouted. She shot a single cold arrow and killed two of the orcs. The orcs got frightened and ran, but Lyra would not let them leave. She spoke a trap spell and it imprisoned the orcs in an ice prison.

“Let us go, please!” The orcs pleaded.

“Dainn, should I?” Lyra was stressed; she didn’t know what to do. She could kill them if she wanted, but it wouldn’t be like her.

“I will get rid of them.” Dainn spoke a few words Lyra didn’t understand and the orcs disappeared.

“What was that?” Lyra said as she got out of the tree.

“Yes, what was that?” Eir said wide-eyed.

“Just some magic.” Dainn replied.

“Tell us, Dainn. We are all curious.” Sieg gave a slight plead in his voice.

“It was…It was dark magic.” Dainn admitted.

“Dark magic…” Eir said again, “You didn’t…”

“I’m sorry, I did.” Dainn said and he turned away. It was dark; Dainn set up his part of the camp and made a fire. He took out the rabbit. Lyra ran to his side and prepared the dinner.

“Dainn…” Lyra held Dainn’s hand as they sat by the fire cooking. “Dark magic…it’s…it’s illegal in Agaeflower.”

“I know,” Dainn replied. “I had hoped not to use it. And I didn’t really. I used a wind spell that sent them out of Agaeflower. I just had dark thoughts which changed the element of the spell.”

“So you don’t know dark magic?” Lyra asked, confused.

“I do know it, my father taught me. He said it was only for emergencies, so I don’t use it at all.” Dainn replied, “To tell you the truth, I was a little jealous of your new powers. That was probably why it turned out a bit dark.”

“Thanks for telling me the truth Dainn. It means a lot to me to see you trust me this much.” Lyra said. The rabbit was ready. Dainn took out a square with kitchen tools in it. Lyra took the rabbit and chopped it, and then she took some bread and made rabbit sandwiches.

“Mmm…what’s that fabulous smell?” Sieg said as he looked at the sandwiches.

“Rabbit sandwiches,” Lyra replied. “And please don’t be angry at Dainn. He didn’t really use dark magic. It was a wind spell with a little impurity.”

“Whatever you say.” Sieg said. Then he grew stern. “I didn’t think badly of Dainn anyways. I know that he didn’t really use dark magic. It really didn’t look like it.”
Lyra was relieved that Sieg said that. After Sieg left, Eir came and took a sandwich. She didn’t say a word and everyone just ate their dinner silently. Lyra was glad that everyone wasn’t that angry at Dainn. Still, this silence was bad. Silence is always bad.

Lyra went to the stream after dinner, she wrote there. It was nice and peaceful by the stream.

“Lyra?” Eir sat down beside Lyra. “I don’t blame Dainn for using tainted magic.”

Lyra looked surprised. “You don’t?”

“I don’t. I was also getting a little jealous of you…so…I kind of understand the jealousy Dainn undertook.” Eir said.

“Oh. Why is everyone jealous of me? I don’t even have the heart to kill a group of orcs.”
“Yes, but you showed amazing skill today.”

“Yes, I did. But…” Tears flowed down Lyra’s cheeks.

“Don’t cry.” Eir said. “I used to cry a lot in my old journeys. But ever since you and Sieg came along, I’ve changed. For the better, of course.”

Lyra wiped her tears with a hanker chief she had in her coat pocket. She washed her face and smiled. “Thank you, Eir. I used to hate you before…but now… I love and thank you with all my heart.”

“Same. Let’s start over, okay? From now on, we’ll be as tight as sisters. Let’s tell each other everything and share our inner thoughts, kay?”

“Okay.” Lyra got up at the same time Eir did. They held hands until they got by the fire. Lyra used a water spell to extinguish the fire.

“Want to sleep with me tonight?” Eir suggested.

“Why not?” Lyra smiled. “What harm could a sleepover possibly do to me?”
They entered Eir’s tent together. Lyra spoke a soft enlarging spell, making the tent a little bigger. Lyra got her blanket from her tent and she sat beside Eir.

“Good night, Eir.” Lyra whispered when they were tucked tightly under their blankets.

“Yes, it is indeed a good night.” Eir replied and they both laughed.

They held hands as they slept and the next morning they were still holding hands. They woke up before Dainn and Sieg even shifted in their sleep.

“Wanna make a romantic breakfast?” Lyra smiled as she brought up the suggestion while impersonating Eir.

“Why not…What harm could a romantic breakfast possibly do to me?” Eir smiled as she spoke in Lyra’s voice. They both burst into laughter.

Lyra cooked the eggs over a fire while Eir sliced the bread. Eir even lit the scented candles in broad daylight. When Sieg and Dainn finally dragged themselves out of their tents, the ‘romantic’ breakfast was ready.

Lyra cuddled with Dainn and Sieg sat beside Eir. The breakfast was one of laughs and talking. It was perhaps the liveliest breakfast all of them have had in their entire life. After a full-hearted breakfast, they set out again, packing everything in small squares. They had rid themselves of a few orcs, but there were more-and the leader would have the book.

The morning passed swiftly without even a glimpse of an orc. They had a decent lunch and went on their way again. It was just after lunch when they saw a pack of orcs. Lyra got her bow out and was ready to strike, but Dainn stopped her. He wanted to know where they were going; maybe, just maybe they would go to their leader and then everything would soon be over.

The orcs walked for hours and by evening they entered the Slime Forest.

“Ugh~!” Eir yelled, causing the orcs to run deep into the forest. “Disgusting vermin!” Eir had been scraped by a slime.

“A slime is a living thing??” Sieg stared at the green blob thing. It had the cutest little eyes and looked harmless. This was what Sieg thought until a yellow slime attacked him.

Lyra laughed. These adorable little things didn’t seem that evil. It wasn’t until one stabbed Dainn that Lyra got serious. She fired an arrow, killing three of the slimes at once. Dainn hadn’t just been injured, he was seriously in pain. Eir tended immediately to him while Lyra and Sieg fought off the slimes. There were too many of them, they would have to run from the forest-for now.

Sieg carried Dainn on his back as they left the forest. They set up camp for the night right outside the forest. While Eir tended Dainn’s wound carefully, Lyra made them a cracker and cheese dinner. It wasn’t very filling, but water made them full. Sieg and Eir volunteered to get more water to drink and to help Dainn, and Lyra was left alone to care for Dainn.

“Dainn…” Lyra knelt by his side. “Please be okay. I couldn’t live without you.”
“I’m…” Dainn coughed out blood. “Fine…”

“Don’t talk, just rest.” Lyra brushed her fingers through Dainn’s soft pink hair.

Eir and Sieg returned with water and Lyra gave some to Dainn. His condition was not serious, Eir said, but Lyra wanted to stay with him for the night. She moved him into her tent and she knelt by his side. Whenever he needed water or food, Lyra brought it to him. It wasn’t often, but it kept Lyra awake. After Lyra’s second trip for water, her eyes were droopy and she collapsed beside Dainn…

In the morning, everything was better. Dainn could walk and breakfast was lively. Lyra sat by Dainn always, almost as if she was afraid of something bad happening to him all of a sudden. Dainn frequently told her not to worry throughout the meal, but Lyra was nervous nonetheless.

Today, they would have to enter the forest again, but this time Lyra was prepared. She would use her abilities to her fullest, and she would defend Dainn’s weakened state at all costs. She couldn’t bear even thinking about another fatal wound. There was no avoiding the forest, but still…these slimes are stronger than they seem…

Chapter 5- Into the Slime Forest

It has been a day since they set foot in the Slime Forest. Dainn’s injuries have healed and they have not been caught off guard since that incident. Lyra stayed with Dainn constantly as they walked, she was afraid that she might lose him-forever. They didn’t talk much in the forest; they couldn’t afford enemies hearing them.

They walked through the forest, occasionally killing a few slimes and stray orcs. The day strayed on, it wasn’t until after lunch that they discovered something most unnerving.

“EEEKK~!’ Eir screamed at the terrible sight before her. It was a giant blue SLIME!

“Eir, don’t be scared, I’ll kill it.” Lyra shot a frost arrow at the giant twenty foot slime. The arrow didn’t kill the thing, but it injured it. Lyra prepared another arrow, but Dainn stopped her.

“I’ll do it.” Dainn said. “I’ll kill it. I need to see that I can do magic that’s not tainted.”

“Very well.” Lyra stepped back with the others as Dainn fought the blue monster. It took him five fire balls and six ice shards, but he did it. He used untainted magic and he killed the giant slime.

Lyra laughed as she ran to hug Dainn. The large use of magic really tired him out. Dainn fell to the ground.

“Are you okay, Dainn?” Lyra asked, she was worried again.

“I’m fine. This time I really am fine.” Dainn smiled. “The magic just tired me out, that’s all.”

“I’m glad.” Lyra replied. She was not happy, but worried. Still, she could not argue with Dainn.

Sieg helped Dainn up and they walked together. Lyra kept a watch on Dainn while walking with Eir. When they came upon a stream, Sieg suggested break to bathe. No one complained, they needed the rest.

Lyra and Eir found a place farther down in the stream and jumped in. Dainn and Sieg went the other way.

“Eir, why are you so scared of slimes and orcs? You’re a healer aren’t you; shouldn’t you be a bit more…uh…brave?” Lyra asked as they bathed the cool water.

“I’m not afraid.” Eir replied. She obviously wasn’t comfortable talking about it with Lyra.

Lyra didn’t want to push the topic so she remained silent. After the bath they washed their clothes silently.

“I won’t force you to tell me.” Lyra said suddenly. “But if you ever decide to, I’m here for you.”

Eir nodded. She had been thinking about telling Lyra, but she didn’t want her to think she was strange and fragile. After the break, they continued on their way. They didn’t speak except for complains from Eir, the forest was wearing everyone out. Who knew how long it would take before they made it out of the forest? Where did the pack of orcs go? Who is their leader? All these questions swirled around in Dainn’s head as he led the way.

They arrived at the next river at twilight, they stopped and ate. After an unusual normal dinner, they said their good nights and entered their tents. At dawn, the orcs attacked. The orcs had known that they would stop near the river, they knew they would rest. They attacked, but Sieg had already alerted the group. He had sensed the orcs half a mile away; his swordsman sense never failed him.

They were ready to fight, especially Eir. Eir had been sad and jealous at everyone else’s unique abilities today, but she was going to prove her strength no matter what.

“Everyone let me handle this, please.” Eir told everyone just when they were ready.

Eir gathered up all her magic and released it in a half protective and half attacking spell. It healed the tiredness of her companions and the orcs were all severely injured. The orcs had not been killed. Luckily, Eir had not used up ALL her magic. She had enough for a last moon blade. She summoned the blade and aimed. It was all or nothing. She fired the blade, slicing all but one of the orcs to death. Eir fell. She had used all her energy and yet, she had missed one. The orc got up and began to run away. Lyra used her already strung bow and shot down the orc, it disintegrated.

Sieg ran to help Eir. Sieg carried her back to her tent and let her rest. Eir protested, but Sieg’s physical advantage did not allow Eir much chance to stand up.

“We cannot just all sleep.” Sieg said to Dainn and Lyra. “I will keep watch for now. We will change shifts until midmorning.”

Sieg sat by the fire as Dainn and Lyra went back to their tents to sleep. Sieg sat there till the beginning of morning. Then he woke Dainn up and Dainn made breakfast and guarded the place at the same time. Eir and Lyra came out at the same time, they sat down and ate.

“Eir, you must not use that much magic at one time,” Sieg told Eir as she ate. “It could kill you.”

“I know,” Eir shuddered.

“Promise me.”

“What?” Eir ignored Sieg’s determination to make her promise.

“That you’ll never use that much magic at one time again.” Sieg said, obviously not amused.

“No.” Eir said.

After that, there was an eerie silence. No one spoke as Dainn compacted the camp into the squares. They moved like silent robots as they walked further into the forest. As usual, Dainn led the way. And as always, something weird happened.

They met an orc who seemed to be gathering berries. Lyra strung her bow, but did not shoot. This orc was old and had white hair. He looked wise and wore shaman robes with a strange symbol. It was best to question this orc than kill.

“Orc, maybe we ask some questions?” Lyra asked the orc. Everyone was surprised; Lyra was talking to an ORC?

“Yes, you may ask me. But follow me back to my home; it is not safe to talk here.” The orc began to move.

Lyra started to follow, but Dainn stopped her.

“It could be a trap.” Dainn said.

“He does not have the dark aura around him. I trust him.” Lyra said. And so did everyone else. Dainn sighed and followed the orc.

They came to a yellow straw hut. It looked quite sturdy and when they entered, it turned out to be bigger than it seemed. It had three rooms, a study, a kitchen, and a bedroom.

“There is no washroom?” Dainn inquired as he entered.

“No, the wilderness is my washroom. Do you have a washroom out here? I do not think so.” The orc replied. “Have you come to ask silly questions such as these? No, I do not believe so either. Please get to your purpose.”

The orc did not offer any tea or anything. It seemed strange from the customs Sieg was used to. He was about to speak up, but decided it would only waste more time. Dainn and Lyra asked the questions as Sieg and Eir just listened.

“Who are you?” Lyra asked the first question.

“Rak’kaymar Lakkear.” The orc replied. Lyra gapped at the name, but smiled.

“Mind if I just call you Rak?” Lyra asked.
“As you wish.”

“Which tribe do you come from?” Dainn asked next.

“The Carnivion.” The Carnivion? Dainn had never heard of such a tribe.

“Did your tribe steal The Book of Mages?

“I am not a soldier, but I can tell you this. A strong magical object has been given to our leader.”

“Who is your leader?”

“Daru.”

“How do we get to your leader?”

“You cannot. The task is nearly impossible for any human.”

“Rak, tell us how. Why is it impossible?”

“You would have to cross this Slime Forest, go through the Mushroom Forest, and defeat the impossible: The Rotem Guardian.”

“Rotem?”

“The Rotem Guardian guards the entrance to the Icelands.”
“Wait, this means that we’ll be out of Agaeflower if we were to find Daru?”

“That is correct.”

“What is in the Icelands?”

“Nothing much. A few critters and I’ve heard that there was a snow girl village there.”

“Is Daru in the Icelands?”

“No, he is far past that. Why do you wish to go after humble lord Daru?”
“Why are you telling us this?”

“You put up a good argument. I tell you this information because you are strong ones.”

“We need to get the book back from Daru.”

“Then so be it. I will not say anymore. I have pledged to Daru my life for his trust. Please leave and never return.”

Rak stood up and went into the study. They would get no more answers from him. The four travelers left the hut and walked north.

“The Icelands…” Lyra thought out loud. “They are sure to be north, we are lucky to have brought a compass along.”

“Yes.” Dainn said.

They spoke no more until they were a few miles away from the hut. Then they stopped to eat lunch. They talked about what they had heard from Rak.

“If we talk to the snow girls, perhaps we will be led the way to Daru.” Eir said.

“I agree. The best choice of action is to get through these forests and after we defeat Rotem, we can go visit the snow girls.” Dainn said.

“This stuff is way too advanced for me.” Sieg said, scratching his head.

“We head north, that is all we can do for now.” Lyra took out the compass.

They followed Lyra as she led the way. In an hour, they were out of the forest. They were in open plains at last. This would mean no more slimes, but new dangers lurked in every shadow. There would probably be orc settlements nearby, Dainn thought. There was no way Rak could survive in a forest without some kind of support nearby. Now that they were out of the forest, they would have to keep watch in shifts every night.

Still, now that they were out of the Slime Forest. This was one thing off the journey that awaited them. Though the dangers increased, they felt happy to be over a part of it. That night, dinner was like a feast and they didn’t care if the orc settlements nearby saw their fire. Let them come, let them come to their doom~!

Chapter 6- Ogre Lord

As Dainn predicted, there were orc villages in the plains. Millions of orcs lived peacefully in these large plains. Many farmed for a living because of the wet soil and good precipitation. Regardless of the quality of villages, they needed to get pass each one. The first one would probably be the hardest.

“Sieg…” Dainn whispered. They were hiding in a bush by the entrance to the village.

“Yes?” Sieg whispered back.

“You and Eir sneak around the left side of this village and meet us at the other side. Avoid killing anyone.” Dainn said a little loudly.

An orc heard Dainn, but paid no notice and thought it was just nothing. Sieg and Eir took off immediately, holding hands. Dainn grabbed Lyra’s hand.

“We’re going to go this way.” Dainn said.

“The right side?” Lyra was mystified. What was Dainn thinking? “But Sieg and Eir…”

“Come on.” Dainn said. “We’re going to meet them at the other side.”
“The left side is easier.” Lyra said.

“Yes, but- Oh just stop arguing.” Dainn said and he grabbed Lyra and started moving like a ninja around the village.

They made it to the other side without any harm. Sieg and Eir were waiting behind a tree and out of view. Dainn and Lyra joined them and they walked north together.

“Why did we walk on the right side, Dainn?” Lyra asked stubbornly.

“So that if two of us were caught, the other two would still be safe and able to rescue the other two.” Sieg said matter-of-factly. “That was very smart, Dainn.”

“Thank you, but this is just one village. More dangers lurk ahead.” Dainn said as he took out the compact squares.

They had found a place surrounded with trees, it was perfect to camp for the night. That night, Lyra couldn’t sleep. She walked out of her tent and made the fire again. She sat down frowning. She didn’t like this journey. She was risking her life every day for what? A book? Things just didn’t make sense. Why did they have to do all this? Why did she come along? Lyra almost burst into tears.

“Lyra?”

Lyra turned and saw Sieg coming out of his tent.

“What?”

“Could you...um…”

“What?”

“Change me back.”

Lyra looked at Sieg’s face. It had wrinkles that had never been there before. His blonde hair was extremely ruffled and he looked tired.

“What do you mean?”

“Give me back my voice.”

“Your old voice and your old personality?”

“Yes.”

“But you’re smarter now, why would you want to change back?”

Sieg looked worried. Lyra didn’t understand. Why would he prefer his old voice over this one? Sieg went down and sat beside her.

“Because, when you changed me I lost something important.” Sieg gave a fake smile to Lyra. “You took away my fun personality. You took away my loved ones. You took away a lot of things. When I lose my personality, some people don’t seem the same anymore. I loved Eir with my old personality- I love her now, but it’s no longer the same Eir to me. I want my life back.”

“Sieg,” Lyra bore a troubled look on her face. “I…I don’t know how to change you back.”

“What do you mean?” Sieg sounded angry.

“I only learned how to change things. I never thought I would have to reverse things. I never learned.” Lyra put her hands on her face and cried.

“HOW COULD YOU NOT LEARN SOMETHING THAT IMPORTANT?” Sieg was outraged. He slapped Lyra’s cheek and went back to his tent.

Lyra felt her cheek. It burned from Sieg’s slap. She used a water spell over the fire and went back to her tent. Her cheek began to swell, but she ignored it. She deserved it, after all it was all her fault. Crying, Lyra fell to sleep.

The next morning, Eir woke her up.

“Lyra! Your left cheek…It’s swelling up!” Eir said feeling Lyra’s cheek. “What happened?”

“It’s probably a wisp bite.” Lyra said ignoring Eir’s worried look.

“Wisps never bit you before, they…uh…love you.” Eir took Lyra’s arm when she tried to run away. “Did you fight with Dainn?”
“No.” Lyra said with an innocent voice. “No, there’s no way I would fight with Dainn. It has to be a wisp bite. It wasn’t here last night.”

“Alright then, but if it isn’t a wisp bite, you’ve got some explaining to do. I don’t want anyone hurting you.” Eir walked out of the tent and left Lyra to ponder her thoughts alone.

Knowing Eir, she would tell Sieg. Would Sieg tell the truth? Lyra shuddered at the thought of Sieg hurting Eir. Eir was out of her way-at least for a while. Lyra needed to solve this; she needed to learn how to reverse magic. Out here in the middle of nowhere, there was only one person who she could depend on-Dainn. She was sure that if she asked him, he would tell her, but there was one problem. What would he say about her swollen cheek? Would he question her wisp bite lie?

Lyra was stuck in a swollen dilemma. She sighed. Dainn would find out about the swollen cheek sooner or later, she might as well ask him how to reverse magic now. Lyra stepped out of her tent and saw Dainn all by himself by the fire eating. Lyra tried her best to hide her cheek with her hand, but Dainn had already noticed it.

“Hi, Dainn.” Lyra said nervously while she ate with one hand. “Where are Eir and Sieg?”
“They’re looking for a stream. Why is your cheek swollen?” Dainn put his arm around Lyra.

Lyra stopped hiding her cheek. “It stings; I think it must have been a wisp bite.”

“I don’t think so. The area and volume of the redness versus the pale white skin you have is too big for a wisp bite.” Dainn looked at Lyra worriedly. “Besides, wisps never harm you.”

“Why do you guys keep saying that?” Lyra frowned. “What do you mean wisps don’t harm me?”

“They just don’t.” Dainn smiled. “They would never harm you. You are the blessed child of Agaeflower.”

“Still, that doesn’t keep the orcs from harming me.” Lyra rolled her eyes.

“Yes, it doesn’t.” Dainn gave a light-hearted laugh. “So, do you know why your cheek is swollen? Are you keeping something from me?”

“No.” Lyra said solemnly.

“I trust you, but please don’t lie to me.”

“Dainn…” Lyra started to change the subject; this cheek had caused enough trouble. “Could you teach me how to reverse magic?”

“You mean you don’t know how to?” Dainn asked suspiciously.

“No.” Lyra bowed her head.

“Very well, I will teach you, but why do you want to know suddenly?”

“Because I’m afraid I might use magic accidentally and harm you or someone else. If I harmed you, then you would stay that way for a while and I wouldn’t know how to change you back.” Lyra gave a very convincing answer. “So please teach me.”

“Okay. I understand your worries for me. Well, let’s get started. You know how when you make magic occur you use words and have mental pictures in your mind?” Dainn said and Lyra nodded. “Well, to reverse the magic you need two words. One word is for reversing something on an object. One is for reversing something on a living thing. The two words are: Reversio and Callibrontus.”

“I understand.” Lyra began to get up, but Dainn stopped her.

“Wait; there is more to it than words. You must understand what you are reversing. For example, I use a spell on a flower to make it grow rate. To make it grow I increase the growth rate, the amount of carbon it is receiving, the water ratio, and the sunlight it receives. To reverse the growing process is not as simple as decreasing the growth rate with a mental picture. I would need to draw the elements I used out of it and scatter it around somewhere safe using Reversio.”

“This seems hard.” Lyra sat back down. “How can I learn to master this?”

“It took me days to just understand it.” Dainn explained. “I will teach you, beginning with the growth of a flower. Soon, you will learn.”

Lyra embraced Dainn. She no longer loved him just because of his company; she loved him because he cared for Lyra and would give anything to her. Dainn had been jealous of her, yet he was kind enough to teach her more. Lyra yearned to tell Dainn about Sieg’s request, but she could not. The shock of Sieg’s slap may be too much for today. Maybe one day soon she’ll tell him, but not today. Perhaps not ever, this was unnecessary information anyways.

Sieg and Eir soon returned with solemn faces. Dainn packed the camp into squares and they left the camp site. Lyra took Dainn’s hand and they walked side by side. They laughed and talked while Sieg and Eir followed silently. By noon they reached a valley. Orcs would probably be lurking in it, but they could find no other way to cross.

Lyra found them a safe spot to rest and eat. Dainn used his magic to scout the valley through his mind. No orcs appeared as far as he could see, but they could be hiding or they could be further on in the valley. Crossing the valley would be no easy journey; they had better cover as much foot in the day as they can. Sleeping the valley could mean their lives.

“We have to go.” Dainn said and he immediately started walking.

Lyra followed quickly while it took Sieg and Eir a few moments to catch up.

“Why must we hurry?” Lyra asked.

“This valley, it might be dangerous. We have to avoid sleeping in the valley if we can.” Dainn replied loudly so that Sieg and Eir could hear.

Sieg and Eir spoke nothing of it, so Dainn and Lyra talked in whispers while they journeyed into the valley. It was Lyra who spotted the first orc. It was alone, but looked far more powerful than the average orc. Lyra took out her arrows, but it was too late. The orc threw an axe and Lyra fell as she dodged it. Dainn wanted to go help her, but he knew it was her fight.

Lyra pranced back a league away from the orc. She was right by Sieg and Eir now. They would not help her either, since Dainn had made his point. Lyra took out two arrows. The first one she fired with an icy chill, the other she fired with hot burning flames. The ice arrow hit the orc first cause the orc to be unable to move. The fire killed the orc since it was extra effective against the ice. Lyra was out of breath after she shot the arrow. She had never put that much magic in her arrows before.

Dainn ran to Lyra’s side, examining her body for injuries. Luckily, she only got one bruise from falling. Eir spoke a gentle healing spell to heal the bruise without leaving a scar. Then they were off again.

They walked for a mile without any orc appearing. After another mile, Dainn saw the dangers he had been on the lookout for ever since he walked in the valley. They neared an orc encampment. Dainn dragged them behind a hut and they counted the orcs in the camp.

Lyra was scared. There were many powerful orcs in the camp. Could they go through it alive? Worst of all, an ogre lord lay deep in the encampment.

“An ogre lord?” Sieg asked in a whisper.

Everyone was surprised that he spoke; it seemed strange to hear his voice after a half day of silence.

“An ogre lord is a gray creature that would tear a human for mere entertainment.” Dainn explained. “They are rumored to be related to orcs, but they are far stronger and bigger.”
“We will have to hunt it down with speed. The only things that ogre lords don’t have are the swiftness of a bird and the mind of a genius.” Lyra smiled as she whispered that out. “Eir and I will handle the ogre lord. You and Dainn should kill the orcs.”

Eir took Lyra’s hand in surprise, Lyra was about to say something, but they had better get this camp over with. There could be more ogre lords in the future. Lyra readied 3 arrows and shot an icy multi-shot at the orc. Eir took the advantage of the huts, knowing that the ogre lord could not find a way to get pass the huts unless he destroyed them. Ogre lords would not be that dumb as to actually destroy the huts, so Eir had caught him in a trap.

She fired moon blades over the top of the hut, hoping it would land on the ogre lord. Lyra stood on the top of another hut and shot arrows at the ogre lord. They could do nothing but keep attacking; the ogre lord had too much energy and strength to die from a few magical arrows. All their attacks seemed to only angry the ogre lord, they needed to find his weakness.

Finally the ogre lord got angry enough to smash the hut Eir was hiding behind. Eir ran, but the ogre lord cut her and she fell. Lyra had just figured out the ogre’s weakness when she noticed Eir on the ground.

“Dainn! It’s Eir, she’s fallen!” Lyra shouted for help.

It was Sieg who came and carried Eir to safety. Lyra strung another arrow with sadness. She needed to end this now, what if someone else got hurt-what if she got hurt? She used all the magical power she had left and embedded the arrow with the magic that the ogre was afraid of-she filled it with wind. The wind arrow burst right through the ogre’s heart. Lyra had killed the ogre lord at last.

Lyra ran over to Sieg’s side and looked at Eir. Eir was unconscious and bruised in many places. Dainn had just finished killing off the rest of the orcs and had staggered over to see Eir. Dainn had been hurt as well, but it was only bruises. Eir had deep cuts on her legs and arms. Sieg had put bandages on them, but they would need healing magic. Eir had been the healer; she was the one to heal them usually. With Dainn and Lyra unable to use healing magic, who would heal the healer?

Chapter 7- Eir Is Dying? What?

Lyra, Dainn, and Sieg sat by the fire. Eir was still unconscious. Every few moments, Sieg would check on her, hoping for a sign. It had been one night and day since Eir collapsed. Lyra suggested that they find a healer back in Ramancha, but Dainn said it was impossible. Ramancha was far back there, plus they had no healer. Sieg suggested finding Rak, but Dainn demolished the idea again. They had left Rak in a bad mood; they would not gain anything from Rak anymore. The night drifted by slowly and at dawn, they were sleeping on the hard dirt.

Sieg woke first and immediately went to Eir’s side, hoping she was better. She was no better; she still lay unconscious on the ground. Lyra went to comfort Sieg, but Sieg was in a bad mood. He pushed her away, muttering something about it being her fault. Nothing was going according to plan anymore, they had to carry Eir’s body while they walked and she didn’t even seem to get better. All this pain and agony is occurring, and for what? The only good thing that happened was the fact that they were out of the valley and the slime forest.

Lyra lifted Eir’s body and left Sieg crying there. Lyra easily adjusted to Eir’s light body weight and she carried her to the nearby stream. She jumped in with Eir still in her hands. Lyra washed her body as well as hers, Eir’s scent overwhelmed Lyra. She was dying and even Dainn knew it. Sieg would not give up his hopes, but deep inside all three of them knew the inevitable. Unless Lyra did something soon, Eir was going to die.

“Omnis revivio…” Lyra began to chant.

“Lyra, STOP!” Dainn jumped in the water and separated Lyra from Eir.

“Why?” Lyra was crying. “I want to save her.”

“We will save her, but not like that.” Dainn replied as he carefully took Eir out of the stream. Then he jumped out and said, “You can’t lose half your life just because of this.”

“Dainn, I used to despise Eir, you know. Now, I love her so much that I can’t let her go just like that. I would rather lose half my life and live it with her than not have her in my life at all.” Lyra jumped out of the stream. “You can’t possibly understand how much she means to me. She’s almost as important to me as you.”

“Lyra, I don’t understand.” Dainn said. “But I believe that I would’ve if you had gone along with your spell. I could’ve lost you, Lyra. Can’t you understand that if you do this, I will be hurt as well?”

Lyra sighed as she went back to the fire to dry herself. “It’s not the same situation, Dainn.”

As Dainn joined her by the fire, Sieg was nowhere in sight. Lyra and Dainn were worried now. Where was Sieg? Dainn put Eir in Lyra’s tent and they searched for Sieg. Finally, they found him inside Eir’s tent. He was no longer crying, but he would not move when Dainn tapped him.

Lyra saw that Sieg was holding something. In his hand was a bracelet, it had diamonds and pearls on it. It was tinted pink and was the prettiest piece of jewelry Lyra had ever seen. It looked almost more expensive then her million quartz ring.

“Sieg?” Lyra saw Sieg’s teary face. “What’s that bracelet you have there?”

Sieg looked up and spoke in sniffs. “It was….my mother’s gift…I was to…give it to…the one I loved… and ask her…to marry me.”

“Oh.” Lyra replied solemnly. She had enough of this crying and sadness. She was going to go along with the spell-even if Dainn protests-tonight. Lyra left the tent and poured water over the fire. Dainn came out after her and turned everything except Eir’s tent into squares.

“Sieg come on, we’re going.” Dainn said. “I have an idea.”

“Idea?” Lyra inquired once Sieg had come out. “What is it?”

“We’re going to visit the snow girls. They are sure to have a healer.” Dainn said. “Once Eir’s better, we could ask the snow girls for directions as well. These snow girls may be our only chance.”

“The mushroom forest will be hard. What about the Rotem Guardian? He will be perhaps our greatest challenge.” Lyra protested the idea. “Dainn please let me give one tenth of my life. Just a tiny bit to keep her living, this will save her. She has her own life too, you know. I could use that and she’ll be fine again.”

“You know very well that her life is a lot smaller now. She has only about 50 years left.”

“Yes, but if I give her 10 years, her condition might improve and gain other 30 years.”

“If you must, Lyra. I love you more than her, so don’t give too much, okay?”

Sieg was shook back into reality; Lyra was going to sacrifice her own life for Eir? “Wait, I’ll do it. As a swordsman, I have more vitality and life then you guys, give her some of my life.”

“Then so be it.” Dainn ended the conversation. “But I will say the spell, not you Lyra.”

“But-“Lyra protested.

“No buts, I love you. Save your magic for the enemy. The incantation is a long one, please guard us while we do it.” Dainn said sternly.

A few moments later, Dainn had begun the incantation: “Omnis revivio…jenclnq…tuclnd…”

“Dainn, stop!” Lyra pushed Dainn away from Sieg and Eir.

“What?” Sieg stared at Lyra wide-eyed.

“You’re planning to give 5 years too aren’t you…?” Lyra interrogated Dainn. “Why would you even think about that? If anyone is giving away life, it’s Sieg and I. You have no need to do such a thing.”

“You are the princess.” Dainn silently replied.

Lyra sighed as she understood Dainn’s logic. She reached down into Dainn’s pocket and pulled out her square. She unraveled it and proceeded to enter her tent. When she returned, she was holding a gold amulet.

“You aren’t thinking…” Dainn was amazed that Lyra knew the spell.

“I will turn wealth into health.” Lyra smiled.

With Sieg’s help, Lyra started a fire and melted the gold into a pot of water. The waterish gold was then brought over to Eir. Lyra spoke a few words and the gold turned clear.

“Sieg, make sure Eir drinks all of this.” Lyra told him, “That ten carat gold amulet I melted should give Eir ten years. That amulet could’ve fed a family of 4 for ten years, so I doubt it can’t give Eir the life she needs. Dainn, come with me, we need to continue our lesson.”

Lyra took Dainn’s hand and helped him up from the ground; she walked silently with him to the fire.

“Shall we practice reversing magic?” Dainn said in a professor-like voice. “Take that piece of grass over there and make it grow.”

Lyra laughed at his voice and did what she was told. She brought a yellow piece of grass over and smiled at Dainn.

“Make it green again.” Dainn instructed.

It took Lyra two tries, but she made the piece of grass turn green.

“Hmm….” Dainn said as he touched the piece of grass. “You make it green again, you dyed it green.”

The piece of grass was till dry as it was before. Lyra sighed. If she couldn’t even get her magic right, how could she learn how to reverse it? She turned to the piece of grass and tried again. After, Dainn touched one more time to test. This time, it was a success.

“Okay, now try to reverse it with reversio.” Dainn smiled as Lyra attempted to reverse what she had done.

“Reversio!” Lyra shouted. It was her third time already, how hard was it to reverse a tiny piece of grass?

“Reversio!” Lyra chanted again. At last, the grass changed back. “Look, I did it!”

“Nothing to be proud of.” Dainn said laughing as he ruffled through Lyra’s brown hair. “You are a good student, but I expected better of you.”

“Dainn!” Lyra laughed. “I’m going to go check on Eir, stay here and guard the camp.”

“As you wish, Princess.” Dainn bowed.

Lyra smiled as she walked over to where Eir laid. She looked better, already her face had some color coming back.

“How much did you give her?’ Lyra asked Sieg as she sat down by Eir.

“About three spoonfuls.” Sieg replied. “She won’t accept anymore.”

“Leave her be then. Drinking too much of this at a time is not good anyways.” Eir said. “I’ll call Dainn to compact the water into a square for later use. It is lunchtime now; you should probably eat with us.”

“Thank you.” Sieg said softly.

“Thank you? I never did much.” Lyra said. “Sieg, I will change you back. I am learning from Sieg how to. If only Dainn could actually change you back for me. Unfortunately, only the one who did the spell can reverse it.”

“Couldn’t he just make a new spell and change me to have the old personality?”

“He could, but it wouldn’t be good. The overlap of spells could majorly affect you. It could even cause brain damage.” Lyra said. “Dainn! Come over here and turn this bucket of life into a square.

“As you wish, milady!” Dainn laughed as he came over.

After lunch, Sieg fed another spoonful of water to Eir and they started walking. Sieg carried Eir for most of the day until Dainn volunteered to take over. Dainn estimated another day until they reached the mushroom forest. Until they reach the mushroom forest, there was nothing to worry about.

Lyra spotted a stream later on and they decided to stop. Eir had rosy cheeks now and heavy breathing, but she looked much better. Sieg fed her more of the water while Lyra made dinner. Dainn suggested giving food to Eir as well, but Lyra disagreed. If Eir were to not accept the food and choke it out, the water would come out and all that work would be for nothing. They would just have to wait till Eir was all better.

After a silent dinner of fish stew, Sieg gave Eir one last spoonful of the water and moved Eir into his tent. Lyra and Dainn returned to their tents. No one was needed to keep watch, there was no way anyone or anything could ambush them now. They were in the middle of nowhere: The orcs were far behind and they were still too far away from the mushroom forest to have mushrooms harm them. For once, they could have a peaceful sleep with no ambushes or fear of enemies. Still, Eir’s health was in everyone’s minds as they slowly drifted off with the noise of owls in the background.

The next morning, Eir was better, but did not wake. Lyra prepared a breakfast silently and they ate with troubled looks.

“Maybe we should wait till Eir gets better before we get anywhere near the mushroom forest.” Lyra suggested as Sieg fed Eir more water.

“Yes, that definitely sounds like a good plan.” Dainn agreed with Lyra.

Sieg hesitated, but finally he decided too. “I agree as well.”

“Then we will rest here for the time being.” Lyra said. “Dainn, let’s go have another lesson, okay?”

“Of course.” Dainn laughed.

Lyra and Dainn practiced magic and magic reversing throughout the whole day, stopping briefly once in a while for food and water. Sieg stand from far away and watch them practice, when Lyra noticed him, he would turn away and shrug. As Lyra practiced, she was also spending time with Dainn. They would talk about the past and practice at the same time; it was almost like the old days before Dainn started travelling. If only Eir would get better, Lyra thought.

The next day, Eir was feeling better; she could speak, but not move. The day was spent practicing again, but this time Lyra did not enjoy it. Dainn kept looking worried and that troubled her. Was he hiding something? Why was he worried?

Suddenly, Dainn whispered something into Lyra’s ear. “Lyra, we have to go.”

“Go? But Eir…” What was Dainn thinking?

“Eir is dying, even with the help of your potion. I can sense it.” Dainn said. “Let’s leave for a few days and let Sieg mourn over Eir.”

Lyra didn’t know what to say, was Dainn not the person she thought he was? Abandon Eir? Never! Lyra would never do something like that to someone as close to her as Eir. Eir was her sister, and that was that.

“No!” Lyra stood up. “We will not leave Eir is such a state.”
“Why?” Dainn was mocking her. “Who’s to say that she won’t do the same to you? Think clearly, Lyra. You have no choice.”

“NO CHOICE?” Lyra was outraged. Something was wrong with Dainn, there was no way the real Dainn would abandon a friend. Unless….this wasn’t Dainn standing in front of her, but who else could it be? A magic user no doubt, but who? Lyra looked straight at the imposter. She prepared to enter his or her mind. Strong barriers guarded the mind, but Lyra was stronger. She would break through in a matter of seconds, and soon she would know.

Chapter 8- A Round Orange Thing Appears!

It took longer than Lyra expected, but she got into the person’s mind. She looked through the mind of the person, but she kept finding Dainn’s memories. Could this really be Dainn’s mind? A few minutes later, she found what she was looking for. Someone or something had possessed Dainn. The spirit was wearing a short yellow summer dress and was just floating around restlessly.

Cautiously, Lyra approached the spirit. She was right behind the spirit girl when the girl finally noticed her. The girl jumped away, her ribbon from her hair dropped as she ran. The girl did not hesitate and continued to run. Lyra decided not to go after her. She took the ribbon and said the words that would get her out of Dainn’s mind. The girl was gone, at least for now.

“Dainn!” Lyra cried as she returned to her body.

Dainn was unconscious, but not hurt at all. She went to Dainn’s side and smiled. He looked so peaceful; Lyra brushed her fingers against Dainn’s pale face. Dainn woke to Lyra’s touch and looked alarmed.

“Dainn, you’ve awaken.” Lyra spoke with calmness.

“What happened?” Dainn asked.

“What do you mean?”

“The last thing I remember is agreeing to stay here with you.”

Lyra gasped. He had been possessed since yesterday? What about the memories they shared yesterday? Was it all a blur to Dainn? Who was that girl? Who was she to tamper with Dainn? She went over behind one of the tents and picked up a piece of grass. She made it turn into a flower and gave it to Dainn.

“Huh?” Dainn looked at the flower. “What is this….”

Dainn fell to the floor. The flower wasn’t an ordinary flower, it was a winter flower. In a few moments, Dainn would have the memories he lost yesterday. Lyra smiled. This should fix things, Lyra thought. She sat by Dainn’s side until he woke. As he sat up, he smiled.

“What was that?” He asked.

“A winter flower. It’s a reagent that healers use for blessing.” Lyra replied. “Do you have your memories back from yesterday?”

“Surprisingly, no.” Dainn said. “I just feel happier for some reason, are you sure you said the right spell?”

“Positive.” Lyra lied. Actually, she was not sure at all. This was a spell she had encountered while flipping through a book; she didn’t know exactly what it would do. Whatever it did, it was sure to have side effects.

“Well, reverse it anyways.” Dainn had read her mind. “I don’t want anything changed about me.”

“Neither do I.” Lyra replied. “Callibrontus.”

It took her two tries, but she did it. Magic came seeping out of Dainn. Dainn felt relieved, but exhausted. It tended to be harder on the magic victim than the caster.

“You’ve learned well.” Dainn said at last.

“From a good teacher too.” Lyra said as she grabbed Dainn’s hand. “Thank you.”

It was late in the afternoon already, Lyra wanted to check on Eir’s condition. She got up and started walking, Dainn followed her.

“Lyra, did something important happen that I can’t remember?” Dainn said as they walked to where Eir was lying.

“Nothing that would cost a life.” Lyra said nervously. She ran to Eir’s side, not wanting Dainn to push the subject any further.

Eir was better. She could sit up properly now, but a fever still consumed her.

“One…more…day…then we will leave…” Eir wanted them to keep travelling.

“No, Eir.” Lyra told Eir firmly. “Until you are better, we cannot continue. Besides, if we get hurt and you can’t heal us, that could become quite the dilemma.”

Eir protested no more after that, Lyra’s logic had kept Eir thinking. Eir smiled at them as she went back to sleep. Lyra brought a cool towel and wiped Eir’s face. Lyra had noticed before, but in this time of sickness, Eir’s beauty really stood out. Her blonde hair was still silky and smooth and was tied loosely with a blue ribbon. Her body was slim, yet not that skinny. She bore the innocent eyes of an angel on her face and even in times like this, her dress was colorful and fashionable. Lyra could see that it was not only her personality that enchanted Sieg, but her beautiful figure.

What did Dainn see in Lyra? Even as a princess, Lyra was never the most beautiful. She could be with the powers of makeup and clothing brands, but Lyra had never cared about those things until now. She knew that Dainn wouldn’t care whether Lyra was pretty or not, but she wanted to look her best for him. As soon as they returned, she would pamper up and become a real princess for Dainn. She smiled at the thought.

The next morning, Eir could wait no longer. She stood up despite Sieg’s attempts at making her calm down. Eir found Lyra and told her she needed a bath. Lyra led Eir to the stream and sat by the stream, waiting for her to finish. The water was cold, but Eir didn’t care. Her fever had made her so warm that any coldness seemed to last only a while.

“Eir, are you sure you want to start travelling today?” Lyra asked as Eir dried herself. “This place has been a sanctuary for the past couple of days; we could stay here until you are healthy again.”

“No, I do not like to be the one holding the journey up.” Eir replied sternly. “Besides, Sieg told me something before I got hurt. He said that we only have six months left to find the book or Harisa, his mother, would die.”

“Die?” Lyra asked, Sieg had never said anything about death.

“Yes. “ Eir said. “Harisa was both a mage and a healer. Healers like me call her the Queen of Healers. Mages call her the Honored Death.”

“Honored Death…” Lyra repeated the words.

“From the day she was born, she was destined with the book. As long as she helped others with the book, The Book of Mages would grant her immortality. Unfortunately, if the book was taken away from her, she would die in ten years.” Eir explained. “Harisa did not care about her shortened life until now. She has sensed a great disturbance in the balance, a problem that must be solved. If she does not receive the book in six months, she will not be the only one to die. All of Agaeflower, or maybe even all of Lunia, would be in trouble.”

“I understand.” Lyra said. “We leave after we eat the breakfast I have prepared. Come Eir, we must convince the others to let us start moving.”

Convincing Dainn would be easy, but Sieg was stubborn. It would take some strong words to truly have him agree.

“Dainn, Sieg,” Lyra said during breakfast. “We start moving after breakfast.”

“How about Eir?” Dainn asked.

“She is the one who suggested this. I disagreed at first, but she has convinced me.” Lyra nodded to Eir.

Eir briefly explained Harisa’s story and Sieg was outraged. He had not wanted the others to know, why was Eir betraying him?

“Eir, that was-“

“I know, but they have a right to know.” Eir said. “Sieg, we are moving after breakfast whether you like it or not. So start packing after you finish.”

The rest of breakfast was quiet, but it was not eerie. Everyone was too busy thinking to notice the silence. After breakfast, they proceeded to pack their things. Lyra sung while packing hers. At last, the journey was steadying. Lyra hoped that they could continue peacefully for the rest of the journey. She packed her things into a tidy pile in her tent and waited for Dainn to turn the camp into squares. Lyra took out a hair band and wore it plainly in her hair. Hopefully she looked pretty, Lyra could not tell from her reflection in the stream. She walked to Dainn’s side as he finished sealing the camp.

They started walking north again, the plains were silent. They could not talk for there was the risk of enemies overhearing. They walked in silence until they noticed an orange object in the distance. Lyra began to approach it; the object was too small to be of a big danger. Dainn warned that it could be a creature and the pack could be nearby, so they proceeded with caution. As they neared the orange blob, they saw what it really was. A mushroom: A living, orange, mush was standing in their path and it wasn’t alone. Hundreds raced towards them, Lyra and Eir were scared, but Dainn and Sieg refused to be scared of a couple mushrooms.

The horde of mushrooms was approaching quick, they started to run, but Lyra stopped. These mushrooms had the cutest faces ever; they bore innocent eyes on their mushroom faces. Lyra didn’t get too close, in fear of the mushroom being like slimes. Still, those little eyes made Lyra wonder. These mushrooms were about one to two foot tall and they hummed a growl in the air. But Lyra could not let go of the little cute faces, she reached down to pet one.

Surprisingly, the mushrooms did not bite her. They crowded around the strange people and sung. Sieg and Dainn were slightly afraid now, they held their weapons ready. Lyra and Eir took turns singing back to the mushrooms. After an hour of playing with the mushrooms, Lyra and Eir were tired. Still, the mushrooms did not leave. They did not want to hurt the mushrooms, but it seemed that force was the only way out.

As Lyra took her bow out, the mushrooms started moving closer. Lyra jumped away, but there was nowhere to run in the open plain. Sieg, Dainn, and Eir had already begun killing the poor creatures, but Lyra could not. She would not kill the poor things, but the mushrooms were hurting her friends. They were even hurting her. The mushrooms’ pokes did not hurt much, but they were tiring her out. Sighing, she readied her bow. With a single shot, she killed ten slimes. No matter how many she killed, there were more. Using normal arrows won’t work anymore, Lyra thought.

Lyra stared desperately at the others as the mushrooms tackled her. The others were also consumed in a giant mob of mushrooms. Lyra concentrated her magic to form an arrow. She froze the arrow to form a razor sharp edge. Then she aimed. 3, 2, 1! She released the arrow with a burst of frost. The arrow turned over fifty mushrooms into ice. She shot again and the rest of them froze. In a few hours, they would melt.

Lyra went over to the others, smiling at her mushroom art. She didn’t want to kill them, so she walked cautiously, trying to avoid the frozen mushrooms. Eir had not fought; Dainn and Sieg protected her well. Dainn and Sieg, on the other hand, bore many scratches on their legs. Lyra looked at herself; she too was covered in bruises. Eir wanted to heal the wounds immediately, but the others did not allow her. This place was still too dangerous, they couldn’t afford staying here-it would be suicide.

They walked away from the plain of frozen mushrooms, occasionally shattering a few mushrooms. Before they knew it, they were at the entrance to a big forest. It had taken them an hour to get to the entrance, it was dark now. It would be more of a risk to actually enter the forest, so they decided not to. Dainn took out the camp squares and set up the camp. Lyra smiled as she headed into the forest to hunt. Dainn and Sieg followed her, so Eir was left alone doing nothing in the camp.

Eir didn’t like being alone in the camp, it felt strange and dangerous. She hoped that nothing would happen….

Chapter 9-Hello, Kurr!

Eir was terrified. A giant mushroom stood before her. It had come a few moments after the others had gone hunting. Eir ran away from it and tried to find the others, but the mushroom was swift for its size. It was twenty foot tall and about fifteen foot wide. Because of its size, it could take better steps. Eir looked at the mushrooms, it had no legs. How could it follow her so fast? She examined the mushroom. She noticed that it could hop, if it hopped high enough…-Eir shivered at the thought of the mushroom eating her alive.

She ran and screamed for the others.

“Lyra! Sieg! Dainn! ANYONE HELP!” She was running out of breath. “Please…HELP!”

She stopped. Why was she running from something so soft and cute? How much harm could it possible do to her? As she stopped, the mushroom stopped too. It started to move, but Eir could not see what it was doing. She walked closer and noticed the mushroom had tiny little hands. The hands were about three foot long and camouflaged against the mushroom. The mushroom had waved at Eir. She gasped and gave a nervous wave back. If it could wave, it probably meant that it had dealt with humans before. She opened her mouth to speak.

“Who are you?” Eir asked.

“King Pon~Pon!” Eir gasped as the mushroom spoke perfect English. “And who are you and your friends? This is my forest; I have a right to know.”

“King Pon~Pon,” Eir said bowing, but she hesitated before giving her names. She made a mental note that it would probably be okay and continued to speak. “My name is Eir. The ones travelling with me are also humans. One is a swordsman, one is a princess, and the other one is a descendant from Agae.”

“Agae? Impressive,” King Pon~Pon boomed. “I am sorry for the troubles my mushroom friends caused you. They love visitors, but they can be fierce as well. I am glad that your princess only froze them and did not kill. Tonight, you should rest in this forest peacefully. I will prepare a feast for you and your friends.” Eir raised her eyebrows as King Pon~Pon said ‘feast.’

“A feast of meat and veggies of course. Nothing we mushrooms eat.” King Pon~Pon added. “We can be skillful hunters at times.”

”I cannot accept your feast without the consent of my friends. I will bring them here will our decision.” Eir replied, half-smiling at the King. “Please do not trouble yourselves to the feast until then.”

“There is no reason to refuse.” The king smiled a mushroom grin. It looked mischievous, yet kind. The king turned and bounced lightly away. For a king that size, he was surprisingly light.

Eir returned back to the camp and found the others looking worried. They had heard Eir’s screams and were looking for her.

“Eir!” Sieg was the first to spot her. He ran over to her and gave her a hug.

“Sieg, I am fine.” Eir said. “King Pon~Pon, the mushroom king of this forest, has invited us to a feast. As I see that no meat was hunted, I think we should accept.”

“King Pon~Pon?” Lyra was amused with the name. “Is he to be trusted?”

I am sure he will not harm us.” Eir replied without a smile. She wasn’t sure, but King Pon~Pon seemed really nice. “I think you guys should meet him before turning away his offer. He could prove to be a generous friend, rather than an enemy. He even explained to me about the mushrooms and apologized. Friends, let us consider his offer.”
“If Eir says so, then I will give him a chance.” Sieg said.

“So will I.” Lyra said brightly.

Dainn hesitated slightly, but he knew this conversation was already settled. “I give my consent.” He replied.

So they went to where the king had told them to meet. They waited a few moments and the king arrived shortly.

Hello, human travelers. Eir, you and your friends are wise to consider my offer.” King Pon~Pon greeted them. “May I ask the name of your friends?”

“Sieg, Lyra, and Dainn.” Eir replied.

“What beautiful names,” The king remarked. “Please come and enjoy your feast.”

The king led them to an open area in the forest. Food was laid out, and lights glowed everywhere.

“Lights?” Lyra admired the shining lights. “Where do they come from?”

“Glowberries.” King Pon~Pon said. “They are the brightest things in the forest. They glow if you squish them.”

They awed over the variety of foods presented to them. They saw fruit that they had never seen before and meat cooked with sweet scents. The sat down on the table. They did not question the table and began eating…eating…eating…

The next morning, Lyra found herself waking up on the edge of the forest. Eir, Dainn, and Sieg were still sleeping, so Lyra explored her surroundings alone. Where were they? The last thing she remembered was eating a piece of the carrot cake. Had the food been poisoned?

Lyra walked around, they appeared to be out of the forest. They were in some kind of grassy field with a several trees occasionally popping up. As Lyra walked a few yards from the others, she spotted her rabbits. She knew that she could kill it will a single arrow, but she really didn’t feel like eating it.

Lyra returned to where the others were lying and found them stirring. She tapped each of them once on their shoulder, and they woke up.

“What happened?” Dainn asked as he sat up and walked to Lyra’s side. “I only remember eating the delicious food…the next thing I know…this.”

“It is the same with all of us.” Lyra replied. “I am guessing that King Pon~Pon wanted us out of the forest. I have a feeling that he was afraid of us. To prevent us from harming his kind, he poisoned us and took our unconscious bodies out of the forest. Since we got out without knowing the way, we would not be able to go back without getting lost.”

“That was my thought exactly.” Eir walked over to them. “Sieg, come over here too. We should speak softly when talking about our plans, who knows who might be listening.”

Sieg walked over, a little embarrassed to have to be told.

Eir continued, “Should we continue north, northwest, or northeast?”

“I would say northwest,” Dainn replied as he looked off into the horizon. “I see a forest there. I think Rotem would hide in the forest rather than be out here in the middle of an open field. We should eat first, and then we will rough it the rest of the day and stop only for dinner.”

“Very well,” Lyra said. “But what shall we have for breakfast? We have run out of crackers, bread, and eggs.”

“We shall have to hunt. I can sense a stream nearby that could provide fish.” Sieg replied to Lyra’s question. “We can also pick a few veggies from the forest.”

“I would like to hunt,” Lyra smiled as she spoke in a leader-like tone. “Sieg and I are probably the most efficient in hunting, so we shall be the ones that get the fish. Eir, since you know a lot about herbs, please get the vegetables and any medicinal herbs you think we may need-and Dainn? Help Eir carry the herbs.”

No one was surprised to hear Lyra talk so confidently. She was a princess, after all. Lyra walked with Sieg quietly to the stream Sieg had sensed. Fishing was boring, especially since Sieg did not talk much. It was after catching their third fish that Lyra remembered something. She had to change Sieg back, which was why she had trained with Dainn.

“Sieg, you want to change back still, don’t you?” Lyra asked Sieg nervously.

“Yes, if you can,” Sieg replied. “But I do not wish to be harmed. I don’t want side effects coming into the spell.”

“Don’t worry. I’m good at it now.” Lyra said calmly. “Calli-“

A big wet nose tackled Lyra down. Lyra had no time to think and screamed for Sieg. She could hear Sieg laughing faintly. Lyra looked at what was holding her down. It was a cute little bear cub. She crawled out from under the bear and smiled at it.

The bear snuggled beside Lyra and growled a noise almost like a purr.

“Are you alone, little one?” Lyra said as she pet the bear.

The bear seemed to nod its head.

“Are you a male?”

The bear nodded again and this time it tackled her again. Lyra laughed and turned to Sieg in a fake panic. Sieg took the bear off Lyra and smiled nervously.

“What is your name, little one?” Lyra asked, knowing very well that it couldn’t reply. “Mind if I name you?”

The bear licked Lyra in enthusiasm. It growled a soft purr again.

“You will be Kurr, okay?” Lyra said and Kurr nodded eagerly. “Sieg, come say hello to Kurr.”

“Um..Hi Kurr.” Sieg was obviously uncomfortable with talking to a bear. “Nice to meet you I guess.”

They caught one last fish and started walking back to camp. Kurr followed eagerly with his hazel eyes gleaming. Lyra tried to tell him to stay, but it was no use. So Lyra and Sieg walked as fast as they could as if to abandon it, but Kurr thought it was a race and ran fast. Lyra sighed; it would be nice to have a pet.

When Lyra returned to camp with Sieg, Dainn and Eir were already patiently waiting. It had been an hour: If they didn’t hurry and eat soon, they would not be able to travel far. Dainn was surprised at the sight of the bear cub and Eir was awed. She loved the cute little bear, Eir reached down to pet the cub’s honey brown fur.

“Awww…” Eir said, smiling at both the cub and Lyra. “Who is this?”

“Kurr,” Lyra replied as she picked up the cub. The cub wasn’t big and weighed light, he would be no dilemma on the journey.

“Hello, Kurr.” Eir played around with the cub’s paws. “Please, can we keep him?”

“I don’t see why not,” Dainn replied as he went over to the fire to cook the fish.

Kurr jumped out of Lyra’s arms and ran over to the raw fish. He sniffed and his mouth was drooling. Lyra went over and smiled, Kurr was hungry.

“Of course you can have the fish.” Lyra smiled as she tossed Kurr the fish.

“Let us eat quickly and get moving,” Sieg said plainly with no comment on Kurr.

Lyra and Eir laughed full heartedly as they ate their brunch beside Kurr. Every time Kurr scratched his heard, they couldn’t help but awe over his cuteness. After brunch, Lyra caught another fish for Kurr. She had tried giving a carrot to him, but he would only eat meat. They quickly filled their water containers by the stream and packed up. Today would include a lot of running and thirst, they had better be prepared.

Dainn and Sieg led the way while Eir and Lyra stayed in the back walking with Kurr. For some reason, Sieg felt unsecure around Kurr, so they had to keep Kurr away from him. They walked throughout the day without any enemies attacking. They stopped at a neat camp place. Unfortunately, there was no source of water nearby. They ate dried rabbit meat with raw carrots. It gave Lyra a stomach ache after, but at least they got something to eat. Kurr ate two rabbits raw and didn’t complain. Lyra gave Kurr a few berries after dinner and found out that he loved them. He begged for more, but Lyra had to share the berries with the others.

That night Kurr slept in Lyra’s tent with her. In her diary, Lyra wrote mostly about the discovery of Kurr. From now on, things would be different. Lyra drifted off into a nice dream where she was with Kurr. Lyra had a good dream, but things were different for Dainn. The girl appeared in his dreams again…

“Dainn…” The girl wore a red blouse and pink skirt. The red and pink matched the rosiness of her skin. Dainn saw the girl and could actually tell her age now, she was fourteen. She had looked younger at first because of the way she had dressed, but her current outfit showed her real age.

“Who are you?” Dainn asked, curious.

“It matters not, we will meet soon. The great battle-“The girl faded away again.

Lyra woke up first the next morning. She changed into fresh clothes, grabbed her petticoat, and went out of tent. A few moments later, she heard a growl. Kurr appeared beside her a few moments later. Lyra looked around the field, she felt like eating bread today. She didn’t expect to find a market in the middle of nowhere, but she was tired of eating meat.

Lyra sighed and started collecting herbs into a cute woven bark basket. She adored the design of the basket and she smiled as she remembered the one who gave the basket to her: Dainn. Lyra danced around the wheat field, occasionally picking up herbs. Kurr followed Lyra and ran around in circles eagerly. Kurr was trampling over all the wheat, but wheat-

“Wheat!” Lyra cried. “I could probably turn some of this wheat into bread with magic. I should know the words to a simple spell like this.”

Lyra bent down a plucked a stack of wheat, Kurr stopped and nuzzled her. As Lyra said the words Flourish Conversio, the wheat became bread.

“Kurr, look!” Lyra showed the bear cub the loaf of bread she had made. “This is enough for breakfast; let us toast it with a fire.”

Kurr showed no interest in the bread and just looked at Lyra with cute, innocent eyes. Lyra smiled as she remembered that Kurr was not human. She took out her bow and quickly polished it. She walked quickly and quietly and began to hunt. Unfortunately, Kurr’s running was not as swift and soft. Rabbits ran wildly to the sound of Kurr’s trampling and it took longer than needed for Lyra to kill a rabbit for Kurr.

With Kurr dragging the rabbit back to camp, Lyra returned smiling. She quickly made a fire and toasted the bread.

“If only we had butter,” Lyra sighed. There were no such luxuries here. Then again, if she could make bread, what could stop her from making butter? But what would she make it out of? Kurr nudged her as she thought, he was thirsty. Lyra took out the water container and gave a few gulps to Kurr. As Lyra saw Kurr greedily drinking, Lyra gasped. Could the elements in water be changed to make butter? It’s worth a try, Lyra thought.

Lyra chose her words wisely and spoke them on the half full bottle of water. After the spell was cast, Lyra peered into the skin bottle. It had worked. No longer was she staring at crystal clear water, but she had made butter!

Lyra walked back and saw the toast was just done. She put the pieces of bread onto a giant leaf and began spreading butter on the bread. Just as she finished, the others came out.

“What is that wonderful smell?” Eir asked as she stepped out of her tent. “It smells like toast, yet it can’t be. We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“It is toast.” Lyra replied smiling at her friends. “I made the bread out of wheat and the butter out of water. It was easy with magic.”

“Deep inside, we’re still eating wheat and water you know.” Dainn stared uneasily at the toast. “No matter how much magic you use, some elements can’t be changed.”

“I know.” Lyra replied calmly. “At least it tastes better than wheat and water.”

And with that comment, everyone dug into the toast. No one stopped eating for a second until the leaf was empty. After that they quickly discussed the day and then they left the campsite. They needed a source of water for tonight, so they decided they would stop at the next sign of water. Kurr pretended to listen intently during the conversation, but everyone knew that even if he understood, he was bored.

They walked for a few hours and by late afternoon, they reached the forest. Inside the forest, they kept hearing sounds of water. Sieg was the first to spot the water. It turned out to be a hot spring and beside it was a mini lake. It was late already and since there was a hot spring, they might as well relax. They would eat first, and then they would take turns with the hot spring. Lyra took the spring first and Kurr followed eagerly.

Lyra knew it was pointless to tell Kurr ‘no’, so she just sighed and got into the hot spring. Lyra was free to ponder her thoughts at last. The last few days were a bit hectic, so now was the time to relax. Lyra did just that until she heard the noise. It was a strong growling noise. At first, Lyra thought it was just Kurr swimming and growling, but then she knew it couldn’t be. The growl was deep, unlike Kurr’s purring growls. Lyra looked around hopelessly for some sort of help. Her bow was back at camp and everyone else had given her privacy alone here.

Lyra went over to Kurr and dragged him with her out of the water. If she was going to have to fight barehanded, she at least wanted support. The growl got louder and louder, whoever or whatever was making it was getting closer. Kurr dug his claws into the ground, ready to attack. Lyra smiled at her companion, Kurr was trying to protect her.

A giant figure appeared and Lyra could tell it was a beast. Kurr roared with anticipation. As it got closer, Lyra could tell that it was a bear. Kurr stopped growling and went over to the bear. The giant bear opened its mouth to speak:

“Hello, Waku'koxylic.” The giant bear growled down at Kurr. “Why are you consulting with humans?”

Lyra was shocked. Bears could talk? Then again, if mushrooms can talk, why not bears? Lyra walked up to Kurr’s side.

“What did you call Kurr?” Lyra spoke face to face with the giant bear.

“Kurr?” The bear grumbled with a laugh. “What kind of name is that? How dare you insult the holy Waku'koxylic.”
“Waku what?” Lyra said. Was this Kurr’s real name?
“This human is my friend.” Kurr growled. “Losary, leave before I send my clan after you.”

Losary grumbled and growled, but he did not move. Kurr growled again.

“Kurr, let’s go.” Lyra said. “I do not want to make enemies with a fellow creature.”

Neither Kurr or Losary moved.

“Kurr!” Lyra said in annoyance this time. “I know you understand me. Before I wasn’t so sure, but I know now. Kurr, listen to me! KURR!”

It was Losary who spoke first. “Blessed Waku’ of the Koxylic clan, be warned. If you and your human friends aren’t out of this forest in three days, there will be a great battle between our clans.” With that, Losary walked away.

Kurr just grunted as Losary left.

“Kurr, who was that?”

“Losary.”

“I know that her name is Losary, but who is she?”

“Her?” Kurr gave a mischievous grin to Lyra. “You actually thought someone as big and strong like Losary was a female?”

“Yes.” Lyra admitted.

“Losary, the chieftain of the Ntoz clan, is not one to be messed with. Luckily, you did not insult his name in front of him. If you had, even I would not be able to defend you.” Kurr said solemnly. “Matters of clan and warfare concern you not. Let us forget this day and venture on. I will guide you to the snow girls, I know my way around. I may look like a cub, but I am much older and wiser than you think.”

Lyra and Kurr returned back to camp and let the others bathe in the hot spring. They went into Lyra’s tent and slept. Lyra dreamt of Dainn, and Kurr dreamt of his mate. He had not come to the humans for no reason; he had come to find his lost mate. She was taken by rotem a few months ago and was probably dying; Kurr could only hope that she was still healthy and okay.

Chapter 10-Through the Forest of Rotem

3 days later, they exited the shallow forest and entered a deep canopy. Kurr told Lyra that they had reached the Rotem Forest. Kurr refused to talk to the others, but Lyra passed on the messages. They spent four days and four nights in the Rotem forest with no strong monsters attacking them. Lyra found it suspicious that only minor orcs, slimes, and mushrooms attacked them. This could only mean that the forest stretched for miles.

The next day, they finally made progress. After a silent breakfast (they didn’t bother to talk much, since they had run out of things to talk about), they encountered a large bear in their path. The bear was from Losary’s clan and it went berserk. It would not stop even to Kurr’s growls. They had no choice but to hurt it or kill it.

Kurr dug his claws into the bear’s skins, but the bear did not react to the blood streaming out of its body. This was no ordinary bear; it had been consumed by an evil aura. It took all five of them to stop the bear from moving. Kurr stopped them with a growl just as Sieg was about to make the finishing blow. If they killed the bear, the whole clan could come after them.

They left the bear lying flat on the ground and started walking. If they were lucky, they wouldn’t have to face the bear again. The rest of the day was uneventful and so they settle down at the nearest source of water. While Lyra and Kurr drank their share of the water from the lake, Lyra couldn’t help but ask Kurr about the bear they met today.

“Something was definitely wrong with her,” Kurr said. “Her aura is not of a bear, but of a…an elf! Elves are supposed to be nice, gentle, and fierce in battle. Yet this aura was evil. Elves are not typically evil, so I really don’t know what happened to that bear.”

“Could he have been corrupted?” Lyra asked eagerly, she loved hearing Kurr’s growling voice. “Perhaps an evil elf cast a spell?”

“I don’t think it is as simple as that.” Kurr replied. “To tell you the truth, I’m worried. That shebear is not the only one going berserk. Several bears from my own clan have been affected as well. Many mates, siblings, and even parents have been lost.”

Lyra sighed and asked one last thing. “How do you tell a shebear from a hebear?”

“Simple. Their scent varies. A shebear has a more distinct and sharp smell while a hebear is more dull. There is no way for a human to tell, but this is how we tell.” Kurr replied as he took one last gulp of water from the lake. “Let us return now.”

When Lyra joined the others, she explained what Kurr had told her. Kurr snuggled beside Lyra as she repeated everything they had talked about.

“Elves…” Eir frowned. “I thought they were only a legend…the…the dark elves.”

“Dark elves?” Lyra was puzzled, she had never heard of them.

“It will be a long story explaining this, so settle down.” Eir began the story, “Long, long ago, it was the elves that discovered magic. We, humans, learned everything about magic from these swift creatures. We lived in harmony until dark magic was discovered. After that, everything went wrong. The elves used humans as test subjects for their magic and a great war started. In fact, Agae was one of the ones who stopped the war. The war had raged on for over two centuries, half the elves had been killed by their own magic they had discovered. It was Agae who discovered white magic or healing magic as we call it. He used it on a group of elves and they became purified. The elves then purified all the ones who could be saved, but some elves had sunk too deep into dark magic.”

“So the good elves pushed the dark elves into the dark dimension?” Lyra asked.

“Yes, but now they have gotten out somehow. I have a feeling that this is all related to Harisa’s book.” Eir replied.

“How come we never see elves anymore?” Dainn spoke at last. “How do we know they exist?”

Eir smiled as she gave her reply. “Dainn, Dainn, Dainn. Have you never studied our past? Elves were separated from us humans after the Great War. They roam the other side of the Earth along with many other magical creatures that liked the elves more than us.”

“Oh.” Dainn was embarrassed.

“Anyways, we should sleep.” Eir said and began to walk back to her tent.

“Wait!” Lyra said loudly. “I have one more question I would like to ask.”

“Alright, what is it?” Eir sighed.

“Why can humans communicate with animals?” Lyra asked with great interest.

“Oh, that question.” Eir bore a tired look on her face. “Who says all humans can talk to animals? Only magic users can hear animals talk. If you want proof, ask Sieg if he heard anything that day with King Pon~Pon.”

“Is it true?” Lyra asked Sieg. “Did you really hear nothing?”

“Don’t tell Eir, but I did hear the mushroom talk. Just because I’m a swordsman doesn’t mean I don’t use magic.” Sieg replied and went back to his tent.

Dainn left shortly after that and Lyra was left alone by the fire with Kurr. Lyra and Kurr smiled at each other, but said nothing. Lyra took her diary from her tent and wrote in it while petting Kurr. She took her quill out, but could not write. Lyra sighed and put out the fire. She went into her tent and snuggled under her blanket. Kurr’s scent of honey and hay embraced her as she fell quickly asleep.

The next day, everyone got hurt. It happened at sunset, they had just decided camp for the night. It was then that the slimes attacked. There were three of them and they were blue and big. Lyra almost could not believe it; they seemed like three giant mountainous blobs. It took them until dawn to kill the slimes; it had not been an easy task.

It cost Lyra all her arrows that she had made with her free time and more. It was even worse for Dainn: he had collapsed from losing all his magic. Eir was doing okay since she was not allowed to fight much, but Sieg was just plain injured. Kurr did no better: because he was small, he had to jump to do much damage and that really tired him out. All of them were covered in scratches and bruises, Sieg even had a slash in his stomach-it would definitely leave a scar.

All in all, they did it. They killed the giant mountains of goo. None of them did anything but sleep the next day. It was partly because of the battle, but it was also raining outside. The first rain in a very long time, Lyra thought. Lyra woke up at evening, the rain had just stopped. She stepped outside to find Eir crying.

“Eir, what’s wrong?” Lyra went over to Eir’s side. “Did something happen?”

Eir gulped as she replied to Lyra’s question. “No, I just feel so helpless. Yesterday while all of you fought, I could only help meagerly. I barely even got hurt or tired. Seeing you guys get hurt like that really made me…useless.”

“Eir,” Lyra was worried; the look on Eir’s face was a grim one. “You are not useless. We just got hurt carelessly, and look! You’re here supporting and healing us.”

“I just feel like a burden.” Eir said as she got up and walked away from Lyra. “You guys are better off without me.”

Just as Lyra was about to follow Eir, Kurr came out of Lyra’s tent. He seemed to smile eagerly as he walked over to Lyra’s side. Lyra briefly filled Kurr in on their conversation and they walked slowly to where Eir was.

Eir had run to the stream to cry alone, Lyra felt sad just looking at her. Kurr brushed his honey brown fur against Eir to comfort her, but Eir continued to cry. Lyra put her hand on Eir’s shoulder and smiled.

“Eir?” Lyra stared into Eir’s eyes. “Give it up. You can’t cry because of this. We love you for your wonderful personality, but you really will be a burden if you cry.”

Eir stopped crying and looked down. “You guys really will be better off-“

“Eir!” Sieg had woken up as well. He came over and sat down beside Eir.

Lyra decided to leave the comforting to Sieg and went back to find Dainn. Kurr followed Lyra reluctantly; he had wanted to be one of the people to comfort Eir. When Lyra peered into Dainn’s tent, she found him sleeping peacefully. Lyra wanted someone to talk to, but she would just have to wait.

“Kurr, sit with me please.” Lyra said as she started the fire. “Even with this fire, it’s so cold without someone to talk to.”

“Grr..” Kurr sat on Lyra’s lap.

“You’ve grown-what a cute little bear you are…” Lyra slowly adjusted to Kurr’s weight. “Kurr, I’ve been wondering something ever since I saw the slimes.”

“What?” Kurr growled slightly as he spoke.

“You were fighting with us, you helped us. You are doing all this, yet I don’t even know why.” Lyra brushed her fingers through her hair. “Why have you chosen us to travel with? You, yourself, told us that you have a clan that cares much about you.”

Kurr did not reply at first, he only flinched, but then he smiled a bear grin.

“I’m traveling with you humans because I believe you guys can do something in this world.” Kurr licked his paw. Also…I want to find my mate.”

“Oh.” Lyra said, she had thought that he was tagging along because of Lyra. “Where is your mate?”

“She was taken….” Kurr replied slowly, his hazels full of sorrow. “She was destined to be a servant of Rotem. From the day she was born…”

“That cannot be true. No one knows their destiny the day they are born.” Lyra protested the answer. “How can this be so?”

“Every year, one bear cub from a certain family is given to Rotem as a peace offering. In my clan, there are five families. My mate…” Kurr tried to give a smile, but Lyra could see it was difficult for him. “She was chosen…They gave her everything she wanted to prepare her for that day…She was called the blessed one.”

“You want her back this badly, huh?” Lyra could no longer smile either. “You’re willing to degrade your rank by traveling humans just for her…”

“Yes.” Kurr gave a soft growl.

Their conversation ended and Sieg and Eir came back from the river looking gloom. Just then, Dainn also came out. He bore a grin, but the depressing aura fixed that right away.

“Why is everyone so unhappy?” Dainn asked.

“Leave us be.” Lyra said.

“Fine,” Dainn said. “Who is making dinner?”

“Leave us be.” Sieg said this time.

Dainn just shrugged and left. Lyra was about to get up and go after him, but she was too depressed to do so. Everyone went to sleep on an empty stomach that night and they barely found the strength to continue the next day. They did not eat breakfast either.

It had rained the next day as well, but they continued on nevertheless. Dinner was consisted of a few rabbits and a few slices of magic cheese. No one said a word the whole day. The next day, Lyra had enough.

“We have to speak.” Lyra said in the middle of the day. “We have to keep our spirits up. Aren’t we on this journey for the sake of the people? This is not the end of the world, this is only the beginning. We have to find the book and save our world as we know it. Please, everyone, smile!”

Kurr roared in agreement, but everyone else just turned away. No one felt like smiling and Lyra could not force them to. An hour later, they saw something that made everyone gasp.

“It’s like a minefield of giant mushrooms.” Eir was shocked at the sight.

They stood on the outskirts of a giant mushroom field. These mushrooms weren’t the kind of mushrooms they had encountered back at the mushroom forest. These mushrooms couldn’t talk or move; they only produced poisonous gas.

“We have to pass it,” Dainn said sternly and began walking through it. “Hold your breath and avoid the gas as much as possible.”

Dainn arrived on the other side first. Then Sieg. Then Eir. Then Lyra at last. Kurr was nowhere in sight and Lyra was heart-struck. Where was Kurr? She wanted to into the minefield and look for him, but Dainn would not allow her to. They waited half an hour, but there was no sign of Kurr. Lyra could not stand it anymore; she would not allow Kurr to die in such a disrespectful place such as this.

“Wait, I’ll go.” Everyone turned to who had spoken. It was Eir.

“Eir, you must not go!” Sieg shouted.

“Why? Why do you guys always get to do the heroic things and I just sit back?” Eir cried. “It is time for me to step in, Kurr is dying out there. I am a healer. I can make a barrier and bring him back. I am the only one who can heal him and prevent him from dying, I will go.”

No one protested as Eir plunged into the field full of poisonous mushrooms. Lyra wanted to go too, but Sieg and Dainn stopped her. It was for Eir’s sake, they said. Lyra sat down on the edge of the field and started praying for Eir and Kurr’s safety.

“They have to be alright!” Lyra shouted to the sky. “God, I beg you to bring them back well and healthy.”

A few moments later, they saw two figures come back. Eir and Kurr had made it. The sky had darkened, if Eir had stepped in any later, it would’ve been too late.

“Thank goodness!” Lyra ran to Kurr’s side.

Eir was coughing badly and Kurr was on the verge of dying, both of them were going to die if they didn’t receive the antidote soon.

“Antidote?” Lyra shook Eir as she asked. “How do we make one?”

“Ten mushroom caps…” Eir coughed as she talked. “Boil them in water…”

“We have no time to waste!” Sieg’s blond hair quivered in the wind as he picked Eir up and carried her as they began to move. Dainn took Kurr and they began to walk very slowly. Very soon they found a stream; they put Kurr and Eir down there.

Dainn and Sieg went to hunt down stray mushrooms while Lyra looked after the two injured friends. Their condition did not improve and Eir could no longer even speak without having a burning pain in her lungs. They had serious fevers now as well. Lyra laid a cool leaf on each of their foreheads, but their burning fever did not change. Lyra started to boil water for the antidote. All Lyra could do now was wait for the mushroom caps.

Dainn and Sieg returned in less than an hour. They had got the caps and the antidote was on its way. In minutes, Kurr and Eir received the antidote. They would be okay.

“Thank you, Eir.” Lyra brushed her fingers through Eir’s hair. “Thank you for saving Kurr for me.”

Lyra, Sieg, and Dainn were just about to fall asleep when they heard a noise. Thump, thump, thump, someone or something was approaching fast. How could they defend themselves against something while they were tired and two of them were injured? From the loudness of the thumping, Lyra could tell it was no bear. In this forest of Rotem, that thumping could only mean one thing-Rotem was coming.

Chapter 11- TwinkleStar-Snow Mong

Rotem was twenty five feet tall and was made of pure rock. It towered over Lyra as she tried to stop it from stomping her friends. She used her arrows, but they had no affect on the giant Rotem. She was about to give up when Sieg and Dainn joined her. They also could do nothing to Rotem. Things seemed hopeless….but Lyra would not willingly give up her lives without a fight.

Lyra stood up and spoke the words of dark magic. Rotem was shocked by Lyra’s forbidden words. The magic did not come out though; Lyra’s heart was too pure for her to use the magic. Rotem seemed to laugh and it lifted its foot up to smash Lyra. Lyra dropped down and accepted her fate, she would die here and now. Just as Rotem was about to smash down on Lyra, someone shouted.

“No, stop Rotem!” A bear cub ran up to the giant rock creature. “Can’t you see? My mate is with them!”

Lyra gasped as she realized who the cub was. Lyra was given an even bigger shock when she heard Rotem speak.

“Waku’koxlyic? But, the girl spoke dark magic!” The Rotem’s voice was old and gruff.

“But the magic did not work. Her heart is pure!” The bear cub protested Rotem’s actions. “At least let us wait to see what my mate has to say. If he was captured by them, then we will kill them”

“As you wish, Princess TwinkleStar.” Rotem backed away and appeared to sit down on the ground.

“Princess?” Lyra asked the cub.

“Yes, I am the princess in this forest.” TwinkleStar went over to Lyra’s side. “I protect the gateway with Rotem.”

“If you were chosen to be the princess, what about all those other bears who were taken away by Rotem?” Lyra asked curiously.

“What other bears?” TwinkleStar stared at Lyra with mysterious black eyes.

“Kurr told me that once a year, a cub is taken by Rotem to his forest.” Lyra said.

TwinkleStar laughed. “They were taken here to be tested if they were suited for the job of protecting this place. Every cub is taken here, I was chosen to stay.”

Lyra could see why. TwinkleStar was big and would be much taller than a human standing up. She has a graceful figure fit for a princess and her light brown fur glimmered in the sun. She was big and graceful for a cub and she looked like one to be feared. There was no question that she was destined to protect the forest.

“Why are you protecting this forest?” Lyra asked, she was beginning to like TwinkleStar.

“Because many evils are trying to spread to other side, “TwinkleStar smiled as she replied, “We do not want the elves or other magical creatures to suffer the evil we have caused. We guard the border to the other side because of many others things too, but mainly to protect the peace between the sides.”

“Oh.” Lyra replied as she remembered what Eir had said about dark elves.

Lyra went over to check how Kurr and Eir were doing. They had lost their fever, but they still remained unconscious. Lyra sighed. They had found Kurr’s mate, yet Kurr was lying here unconscious. She walked away, disappointed.

Lyra ate a dinner of veggies beside Dainn. She wasn’t hungry, but TwinkleStar insisted. The whole day didn’t seem real. She had thought that they would go through and kill Rotem unharmed, yet that had not been the case. She had also thought Rotem was an evil monster, yet that was not right either. Lyra frowned as she fell asleep thinking.

As Lyra woke the next morning, she felt Kurr’s wet tongue on her cheek. She gave the bear cub a soft hug and followed him to join the others who had already woken. They were sitting in a circle talking about their next actions.

“Where are ye going?” The Rotem’s voice boomed in Lyra’s ears.

“We plan to go get the Book of Mages back.” Sieg said. “We only have about four months left to do so.”

“Where is IT?” Rotem’s voice was even louder this time.

“We think Daru has it.” Eir answered this time.

“DARU? THE ORC DARU?” Rotem asked loudly.

“Yes.” Sieg said.

“If Daru really is the one who has it, I’m afraid you guys are doomed. Daru has never lost a fight.” TwinkleStar said in place of Rotem for she too was afraid of the booming voice. “It would be wise to return to where you come from.”

“No,” Lyra spoke this time. “Princess TwinkleStar, we cannot go back without the book. The Priestess Harisa has sensed great distress in the future. The only way to stop havoc from breaking out is to get the book back.”

“Harisa?” TwinkleStar stared at them, who were they to know Harisa the great one? And wasn’t she dead already? “I thought she died during the…”

“She is not,” Sieg said strongly. “She is my mother.”

“But Harisa has long dark blue hair, you are blonde.” TwinkleStar questioned Sieg’s inheritance.

“Ah, that is true. My father is blonde and I inherit most of my features from my father-including my personality and voice…which I have lost.” Sieg eyed Lyra briefly as he spoke.

“I will change you back, Sieg. I promised.” Lyra said desperately. Everyone stared at Lyra and Sieg, no one had known of Sieg’s request to be changed back.

“Um…never mind that.” Sieg started to change the subject. “We wish to continue our journey no matter the dangers. TwinkleStar, I trust that you will want Kurr to stay with you.”
“Of course, if he doesn’t mind staying in this forest with me.” TwinkleStar nudged Kurr.

Kurr nodded slightly as if to signify that he would stay.

“Kurr, I’ll miss you…” Lyra did her best to hold back her tears, but they would not stop flowing.

“I’ll miss you too.” Kurr went over to Lyra and gave her a hug.

“We should leave today, the weather looks good.” Dainn announced.

Lyra had not noticed the weather; she looked up at the sunny sky. It was indeed a good time to set off, but Lyra did not want to. She wanted to stay with Kurr a bit longer; she really enjoyed having his company. Still, the sake of the world was more important than this. Besides, she could always visit Kurr again. Lyra sighed as she started packing.

“Well, good bye Kurr. I hope your new life here is good.” Lyra waved goodbye to Rotem, Kurr, and TwinkleStar.

They set out and went through a portal, the portal teleported them into the other side. The other side was cold, very cold. It snowed here and everything was snow white. The rest of the day was peaceful, but cold. It would be very hard to survive here, but with a little bit of magic, anything is possible.

Dainn and Lyra reinforced the tents with hides that night and everyone slept warmly. The major problem was food. A few stray deer would certainly be here, but hunting in the cold and snow would be a problem. They had been able to eat leftover rabbit meat and veggies tonight, but what about the nights to come? The faster they got of here, the better.

Lyra could not sleep. She missed Kurr beside her. She could still smell Kurr’s sweet honey scent and she could almost just feel Kurr breathing against her, but Kurr wasn’t here. Lyra just could not accept the fact that Kurr was no longer with her.

The next morning, Lyra was tired and weary. She had not slept at all last night. She struggled to keep up with the others as she walked and every time they tried to talk to her, she frown and say nothing. Lyra was usually the one to cheer everyone up; it was not good with Lyra like this.

As the day staggered on, they discovered penguins and walking snowmen. The strangeness did not affect Lyra-it was like she wasn’t even there-at all. That night they ate penguin meat. Eir was grossed out, but Lyra just ate it like it was natural. Lyra slept soundly that night, but only out of tiredness. All reality had sunk from Lyra.

The next morning proceeded like yesterday and Lyra was still emotionless. They started walking as soon as breakfast finished. At noon, Lyra finally spoke.

Eir was the one who made Lyra speak; she had discovered a snow creature with long white ears and cute bunny head. It would’ve been like a snow bunny except it had no arms or ledges. It bounced around eagerly and smiled at them

“Isn’t it cute, Lyra?”Eir asked with as much enthusiasm as she could, she didn’t want Lyra emotionless anymore.

A smile broke from Lyra, but nothing more. The eagerness and gleam in the creature’s eyes reminded Lyra of Kurr.

“Lyra, let’s keep the creature with us so you won’t be lonely, okay?” Eir said as she bent down and picked up the creature. “Here Lyra, you hold the little thing.”

Lyra bore a big grin on her face as she pet the creature. Everyone looked intently on Lyra as she opened her mouth, “So…Are you alone, little one?”

Chapter 12-Snowgirl Disaster

“Kuu~!” The creature smiled at Lyra.

Lyra smiled back at the creature and snuggled it tightly. “So, what are you exactly?”

“Snow mong, Kuu!” The creature wagged its little tail. “You, who?”

“I’m Lyra. I’m a female human from the other side of the Earth.” Lyra’s face had brightened a lot. “Are you a female or male?”

“Female, kuu!” The snow mong wiggled in Lyra’s arms.

“Hmm..You’re so cute, round and wiggly. Shall I call you Snowball?”

“Kuuuu!” The snow mong nodded excitedly.

“Thank you, Eir.” Lyra put Snowball down and gave Eir a long embrace. “Are you sure you don’t want Snowball as your own pet?”

“No thanks.” Eir smiled. “Besides, I don’t think Snowball wants me as her owner.”

Snowball wobbled in the snow behind Lyra the rest of the day. Sometimes Lyra would pick Snowball up, but she always wiggled out of Lyra’s arms.

At the end of the day, everything was back to normal. Lyra’s laughing came back and dinner was happier and even changed Sieg back to what he was before. But yet another incident came when it was time to sleep. Because Snowball rolled around in the snow all day, snow particles stuck on to her. So when Snowball came into Lyra’s tent, the whole tent got wet from the snow melting. But for some reason, Lyra wasn’t the least bit unhappy. Snowball was alone in this place and Lyra would be able to say with her, she was happy to just be with Snowball. Lyra slept with a smile that night, her dreams were both sweet and full of melancholy.

2 days passed in the snowy plains. Lyra knew nothing about where she was nor did she care. The only thing that mattered was that everyone was okay and that was Snowball was by her side. Lyra smiled every time Snowball did, they were inseparable. Every spare moment Lyra had was spent with Snowball. They would play in the snow many a times and Lyra felt happy.

She smiled more than she ever did before and she never felt a need to hide her emotions. She even winked at Dainn once-she regretted it a little after-when she was eating dinner. Snowball was enchanting her with happiness magic, causing her to feel like this. When Lyra found out what Snowball was doing to her, she didn’t really care. Life was good now, everything felt right.

One day later, everything changed. It was sunny morning in the snowy plain and everything was glimmering. Lyra and Snowball played around as usual and breakfast was lively. It was an hour after they had started walking; it was then that Lyra saw something that would change her forever.

Standing in the middle of nowhere was a snow girl. She had dark blue skin and her face looked sinister. Still, she was wearing the white and blue robes of a snow girl. Lyra, with her confident new attitude, began to approach the snow girl. She smiled kindly at the girl and went up to her.

“Hello, I’m Lyra. I’m travelling with-“

Lyra could not finish her sentence; she had caught her eyes on something. The snow girl’s eyes…they were a deep red. Lyra backed away; red eyes could mean only one thing: The snow girl was contaminated with dark magic. Lyra turned and started to run, but the snow girl was too fast for her. A burst of icy cold magic hit Lyra and she felt cold all over. She fell into the snow face first and she could not move. She was both frozen and stunned by the cold magic.

Eir immediately ran to Lyra and cured the freeze while Dainn tackled down the snow girl. Sieg slashed the snow girl and she disappeared into crystal shards.

“What was that?” Lyra had broken out of Snowball’s spell at last. “And why do I feel so strange?”

“First of all, you were enchanted by Snowball.” Dainn began to explain. “You’ve just broken out of her spell by getting hurt by the snow girl. This was no ordinary snow girl though, this one was corrupted. I don’t know why, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon. Don’t worry, we aren’t killing them. When Sieg cut the girl in half, her soul was released. We’re saving them, Lyra.”

“Where is Snowball?” Lyra was devastated to know that Snowball would do such a thing.

“Snowball!” Eir called Snowball over. “Lyra wants to talk to you.”

“Kuu?” Snowball nuzzled Lyra.

“No, you were very bad, Snowball. “ Lyra used her magic to create a magic bubble around Snowball. “You are going to stay in this until you realize what you’ve done. Don’t struggle or try to break it, I’ve put a lot of my magic in it. I’m sure it won’t break to the strength of a snow mong.”

“Kuu…” Snowball appeared to cry.

“Snowball, I’m sorry, but I have to do this.” Lyra said. “If you were to enchant me again, I could lose myself.”

“Kuu…let Snowball go?” Snowball’s teary eyes stared at Lyra. “Snowball no hurt Lyra, kuu?”

Lyra’s eyes swelled up with tears, she hated seeing Snowball like this. Yet, she could not let her go. She said sorry one last time, and then she started walking.

“Uhh…What is that?” Eir pointed to a snowman in the distance.

“A snowman, what’s so weird about that?” Lyra laughed.

“But it’s moving…” Eir said. “Are they supposed to do that?”

“No…” Lyra looked closely at the snowman, it was indeed moving. “Uh…if we kill it, it won’t matter right? It’s made out of snow after all…”

“Um…I guess so. Let’s do it quick before it attacks us.” Eir said.

Eir said a few words of magic and moon beams shot out of her wand. The snowman died immediately.

“Let’s hope that’s the last of them.” Eir said, but it wasn’t.

They saw more and more snowmen as they walked north. Eir was usually the one to spot them and she was given the honor of killing them all. As the day went on, Lyra could tell that Eir was stressed with the snowmen. Snowball’s bouncing distracted Lyra from comforting Eir and Eir just kept piling on the stress. At last the day ended and during a nice dinner of snow mong soup (no, Snowball was not cooked), Lyra comforted Eir.

“Eir, I’ve never seen you this distressed, is there something about snowmen that you don’t like?” Lyra was worried.

“Yes.” Eir admitted. Both Dainn and Sieg stared at her as she continued. “When I was a child, I loved building them. Then when I was ten, something horrible happened. It was December 14; I remember it like it was yesterday. I was outside in the palace yard building a snowman like I do every year and then…My best friend was killed by the snow…”

“How?” Lyra was curious.

“She tried to make the snowman I made come alive. I told her no, that it was realistic enough, but she would not stop.” Eir began to cry and Sieg put his arm over her shoulder and told her to continue. “Well…she did it…She made it come alive…but the snowman rebelled on her and it used it stick arms to smash her head. She died immediately from the impact…I managed to kill the snowman, but it was too late.”

Eir burst into tears. Sieg lent her a tissue and told her it was okay.

“Eir, you have to get over this though.” Lyra was determined to make Eir confident again. “You can’t just live that nightmare again everything you see a snowman, you have to let it go.”

“I can’t!” She buried her face into Sieg’s shoulder.

“You can,” Lyra stopped for a moment, and then she smiled. “And I know just the way to do it.”

The next morning, Lyra pulled Eir out of bed early. She put on mittens and began rolling the snow.

“What are you doing?” Eir asked her. “Don’t tell me you’re going to make…”

“A snowman?” Lyra finished Eir’s sentence for her. “Why not? The snow here is perfect. This is the only way to get rid of your fear. You need to experience the joy of making a snowman again, you need to get over that incident. What’s done is done, what’s through is through.”

“I know.” Eir said.

“If you know, that’s good.” Lyra smiled at Eir. “But that’s not what I need you to do; I need you to help me build a snowman!”

They spent an hour building the snowman. They laughed every time they made a mistake and building the snowman was a lot of fun to both of them. When it was finished, it looked fantastic. It was five feet tall, rounded perfectly, and decorated beautifully. Lyra had taken a silk scarf and as she put it on the snowman, it looked elegant.

“Lyra, this is unbelievable.” Eir smiled. “This snowman, it’s incredible. And I’ve never had so much fun in my life.”

“I’m glad you had fun too,” Lyra said. “Wouldn’t it be nice for this snowman to be alive, though? Wouldn’t it just be so cool?”

“Oh no….” Eir’s smile disappeared. “Don’t, you can’t. You’ll get hurt and I would…No…”

“Don’t worry, I’m a big girl.” Lyra began to words to the spell. She smiled as she saw Eir’s look. Eir was scared and distressed. Eir started to move back, but stopped. She ran forward to tackle Lyra, but it was too late. Lyra had finished the spell.

“NOOO!” Eir cried. “It can’t be, it just can’t be happening again.”

Eir fell to the ground and Lyra bent down to help her up.

“Look, Eir, isn’t it pretty?” Lyra reached down and lifted Eir up.

“What happened?” Eir looked up at the snowman. It was not alive. In fact, it was more unanimated than ever. “What did you do?”

“Can’t you see?” Lyra smiled at her creation. “I made it smile.”

Eir looked up, that was not the only thing Lyra had done. She had made it grow ten feet and had added a giant grin on its face.

“Lyra, this is…” Eir stood in surprise at what Lyra had really done. “This is amazing!”

“What will be more amazing is seeing you smile at the live snowmen.” Lyra took Eir’s hand. “I’m sure you can do it. Anyways, let us go make breakfast. The others will be waking soon.”

They had a shining breakfast. Lyra and Eir were both smiling their fullest and the sun was still here. Dainn and Sieg both gasped when they saw the fifteen foot snowman, but they understood. They knew what it represented: A fear has been overcome with a giant grin.

They walked on and at noon, they saw another snow girl. Her eyes were a kind blue and her skin was pale white and she looked nice, but something about her troubled everyone. It wasn’t that she was holding a bloody dagger in one hand or the fact that blood stained her clothes. It wasn’t even because she had strong cold blasts of magic coming from her. It was something even more surprising, something that the last snow girl bore nothing of. After all the smiling, it was very troubling….The look on the snow girl’s face was making everyone worried: Everyone could tell that she was troubled and she was crying in pain.

“Snow girl?” Eir was the one to approach the girl this time. “I can see that you are good. What is the matter? We wish for the aid of the snow girls.”

The snow girl opened her mouth and her voice was sweet, but the tears blurred her words. “We cannot be of much-help. Our queen enchanted-…evil.”

“Your queen is corrupted?” Lyra couldn’t understand what the snow girl was trying to say.

“No…good before-dark elves-snow girls turn evil.” The snow girl stopped crying for a moment. “We had been informed of your arrival and had waited by the entrance of the plain….It was then that one by one, all the snow girls turned evil. A good snow girl managed to see a dark elf and screamed out what she saw before she…turned into one of those monsters.”

“You mean those pale and dark snow girls?” Lyra asked to make sure.

“Yes.” The snow girl replied. “My name is Kanna and I ask one thing of you. Save the snow girls.”

“We will,” Lyra answered for her friends. “What can we do?”

“Protect me,” The snow girl smiled confidently. “Bodyguard me until I reach my destination. Sorry if I’m speaking in commands, I’m just so used to talking like this. You see, I’m a snow girl captain.” Kanna showed them her badge and began walking. “The destination is north west, if we walk swiftly and fast, we should be able to reach it in one hour. If we make it there, all will be good. Thank you again for helping me.”

“Et es no prob,” Sieg said, he was beaming with his old accent. Lyra smiled, she was glad she had reversed Sieg’s enchantment.

As they walked, snowmen were drawn to them. Eir was unafraid this time and she gladly killed them all off. Occasionally, a few snow mongs also tried to attack them. Ignoring Snowball’s cries, Lyra would be the one to shoo them away. In a quick hour, they reached a clear area. It was bursting with enemies-penguins, snowmen, and snow mongs-it took all of them to clear them. They cleared it and Kanna got straight down to business.

“I will begin the enchantment, but you will need to protect me until I have summoned the snow spirit.” Kanna instructed them. “Please, do your best.”

“We will.” Eir said. “Do your best as well, Kanna.”

“May the snow spirit bless us.” Kanna began the enchantment. “Ankrim Sinew Kami…”

As Kanna spoke, more snowmen appeared. They were drawn to Kanna’s magic. Tears rolled down Kanna’s cheek as she continued the chanting. Lyra stayed close to her and tried to cheer her up, but it was no use. Snowmen, penguins, and snow mongs used to be good friends of snow girls, now they were the enemy. What cruel evil creature would torment the balance of life like this? Lyra shivered as she brought up an image of drake elves.

As Lyra fought off the snow mongs, Snowball fought desperately in Lyra’s arms. Lyra could not hold both her book (she uses it to cast magic) and Snowball tightly at the same time. As Lyra grabbed Snowball from escaping, her book fell into the snow. A marching penguin trampled over the soft bind of Lyra’s magic book. Lyra tried to use magic to repair it, but the pages would only tear again. Lyra had enough of Snowball. It was her fault that she lost her book and it had been her fault that she had behaved strangely. Snowball had to go.

Lyra gently undid the enchantment that held snowball in the soft yellow magic bubble. The bubble burst almost immediately and Snowball bounced up and down in excitement.

“Lyra not angry at Snowball, kuu?” Snowball nuzzled Lyra.

“I am angry at you.” Lyra’s face did not show humor. “Leave now.” She pointed south.

“Why? Snowball won’t harm you, Snowball good girl.” Snowball nuzzled Lyra again.

“No, no more!” Lyra threw Snowball a few metres away from her. “GO!”

Snowball obeyed this time; she bounced off into the distance. Lyra did not smile nor cry; she only flinched and began striking at the enemies. Lyra’s face tensed up and just when she was about to give up, Kanna had finished the incantation.

“Here Lyra, catch!” Kanna threw a dimly shining purple jewel to Lyra. “Use this stone to control the snow spirit, go free my queen!”

“How?” Lyra went over to Kanna, but it was too late. “Kanna, no!”

Snow mongs and Penguins piled on top of her. They tore her apart and ripped her into pieces like ravage beasts. Blood and flesh exploded and the snow was stained red all around. The blood-craving creatures turned and set their eyes on Lyra. Lyra ran and before she knew it, she had found the Snow Spirit.

The Snow Spirit was like a giant snowman. It had the most adorable button eyes and its silk scarf glimmered in the light. The only thing that separated the Snow Spirit from a snowman was the fact that the Snow Spirit had an open mouth and teeth.

“The snow girls have summoned me, for what reason?” The Snow Spirit boomed. “Why are humans on this side?”

“Kanna, the snow girl who summoned you, has been killed by the evil that surrounds us now.” Lyra tried to remain calm as she looked up at the giant Snow Spirit. “Her last wish was for you to help save the snow girls.”

“Ah,” The Snow Spirit frowned. “But why are humans here?”

“We came here to seek shelter with the snow girls. “ Dainn said. “We are on a mission to get the Book of Mages back and we were hoping to ask for directions. Now that such a disaster has occurred, we have no choice but to rescue the snow girls before asking them for help.”

“Then let us turn the snow girls back to their original tender selves.” The Snow Spirit grumbled and began shifting through the snow. It was actually quite funny to see the Snow Spirit move. Lyra wondered how it was going to move without getting a lot of snow stuck and making him grow bigger. Lyra stared in bewilderment as the Snow Spirit just got bigger as it trampled through the snow; he was consuming the snow as nutrients that made him bigger. Lyra gasped as the Snow Spirit turned, it was an elegant sight to see.

“You, human.” The Snow Spirit grumbled at Lyra. “Are you coming or not?”

Lyra ran in embarrassment. She had been too busy staring at the Snow Spirit to notice that she was the only one standing there. She ran over and smiled. She felt silly and absent-minded; all these new things intrigued her. She was glad to have left Auroria. Nothing ever changed in Auroria, but here…Everything was different and more exciting. Lyra’s heart raced as she struggled to keep a steady pace with the others.

They did not stop all day. The Snow Spirit fed on snow, so he never grew tired. Whenever someone tried to tell them to take a break, the Snow Spirit would disagree and say that they had to get going. They fought many small creatures and it was getting annoying to see a corrupted creature come by. They didn’t want to kill these creatures. After all, they were good creatures once.

At about twilight, they stopped walking. Even the Snow Spirit had gotten weary. It leaned against a tree and appeared to go to sleep. Lyra tapped it once just to make sure it was really asleep. Then she turned to the others and began discussing their next options.

“Should we really seek help from the snow girls?” Lyra asked. “I know it would be wrong not to help them, but right now…This corruptness…It may be too strong for us to stop it.”

“You may be right.” Eir said. “Still, we can’t leave this problem as it is. We will help the snow girls if we can, if we can’t…well…we’ll find someone else to lend us their aid.”

“I’m afraid it isn’t as simple as that.” Dainn joined the conversation. “The snow girls are the only real ‘people’ out here. If we don’t rescue them and ask for their help, there may be no help at all and we can’t afford that. There are many dangers out there.”

“Deh mage es wright.” Sieg said gloomily. “Des snow gurls mey bee our best chance.”

“I guess we have no choice but to help the snow girls.” Lyra sighed. “Still, it would’ve been nice to avoid so much fighting. I’m tired of it. All we do is fight, fight, fight.”

“It cannot be helped.” Eir said. “Let us sleep well tonight; I have feeling that we’ll be pushed to our limits tomorrow. And with the Snow Spirit around, we’ll be sure to walk all day.”

Eir got up and entered her tent without another word. Sieg left shortly after that as well. Lyra stayed by the fire, she didn’t want to sleep yet.

“Dainn,” Lyra tried to give a smile to Dainn. “Why don’t you go sleep?”

“Because,” Dainn’s face was emotionless. “My sleep is haunting me.”

“Haunting you?”

“Yes, haunting me.” Dainn said no more on the subject. He got up and went inside to his tent. He sighed so loudly that Lyra could hear it over the prickle of the fire. Dainn’s new sleeping problem gave Lyra a new dilemma. What was it that he could not tell her? If she did tell her, would it be something she would not be able to comprehend? Lyra frowned as she pondered her thoughts.

Dawn was approaching and Lyra was still thinking. She could not think of a solution to all her problems. Still thinking, she put out the fire and went in her tent to get some rest. It was no use to think on a tired mind anyways. As she lay down on the cold floor of the tent, she couldn’t help notice that her journal had disappeared. She was almost about to get up and look for it, but exhaustion kept her down…

“Lyra, listen to me…” A tall snow girl wearing fine white and pink robes was smiling at her. “You and your friends are in great danger…”

“Who are you?” Lyra said.

The snow girl’s long blue hair dangled down to her waist as she spoke. “Can you not remember me? Has my death made no change in the world?”

“Kanna?” Lyra stared wide-eyed at the snow girl. She had died a brave death...how could she be here? Then again, this was a dream…

“Listen to me, Lyra. You have to save the queen and escape this place.” Kanna looked desperate. “Bring all the uncorrupted into the portal back to our home…our homeland Krish’na.”

“Krish’na?” Lyra was puzzled.

“Just promise me that you will do as I said…” Kanna cried as she began to drift away.

“Why? I don’t understand!” Lyra shouted.

“Lyra, promise me!” Tears rolled down Kanna’s cheeks.

“I promise! Don’t go…” Lyra noticed that her cheek was wet as well.

“Save the snow queen, bring them to safety, please!” Kanna was a mere shadow now. “And never forget me…Let me be one with the hope of the snow girls…Never forget your promise to me…” Kanna faded away at last.

As Lyra woke up, she noticed that she was soaking wet and surrounded by friends. Everyone looked relieved for some reason and they helped Lyra get up.

“What’s wrong?” Lyra asked. “Did something happen?”

“Don’t you know?” Eir seemed surprised. “We shook you ten times and dumped three buckets of cold water over you, but you still did not wake. We were afraid you had some sickness or something…you were burning up…”

“I am fine.” Lyra tried to reassure her friends. “I just had quite the strange dream.”

“Dream?” Dainn inquired. “Well, tell us while we walk. The Snow Spirit is most impatient.”

Lyra changed into some dry clothes and they packed up the tents. Lyra walked fine, but Eir kept glancing nervously at her as if Lyra would drop at any moment. Lyra tried to smile at the worried Eir, but a smile could not appear on her face. The vision had disturbed her, causing her to be distant.

As they walked, they quickly ate a bit of bread enchanted from wheat. The Snow Spirit’s impatience scared them. If they didn’t eat while they walked, they might never get a chance to stop and eat. Dainn was the one who brought up the discussion again, he was worried about Lyra.

“Yes, yesterday I had a vision,” Lyra said in response to Dainn’s question. “I saw Kanna…She talked to me…”

“Kanna? But that’s impossible!” Eir said in surprise. “We all saw her ripped apart by those…fiends.”

“Indeed, she is gone.” Lyra said softly. “But her spirit lives on; she used the last of her strength to warn me of dangers and to instruct me.”

“What did she say?” Dainn looked at Lyra worriedly, he was afraid that it could mean death. “Nothing dangerous, I hope.”

‘She says that we have to free the snow queen and bring all the good snow girls back to their homeland.” Lyra said. She hesitated on whether or not she should explain about her promise, but she decided not to. “That was all.”

“That’s all?” Dainn eyed Lyra suspiciously. “Is there something you’re not telling us?’

“I trust you guys with everything.” Lyra said calmly. “You should know that I especially trust you. You are all my friends, I would not hide something important from you all.”

“Ef yoo sey so.” Sieg smiled lightly at Lyra.

After Sieg’s comment, the conversation settled down. They enjoyed the scenery of the snow and the fresh air was quite nice. For the first time in days-maybe months-they could relax and talk freely. Everyone seemed to smile more and even the Snow Spirit was less grumpy. At the day’s end, they sat down by the fire calm and relaxed.

“Snow Spirit, do you know where we are?” Lyra asked the Snow Spirit. With much begging, Lyra had convinced the spirit to sit and talk with them. Surprisingly, the Snow Spirit was not melting or even affected by the heat of the fire at all.

“Why do you ask?” The Snow Spirit growled as he spoke.

“We do not know the lands well,” Lyra said. “We were hoping that maybe you would know the way of these lands.”

“I do, but the land changes.” The Snow Spirit seemed amused by the conversation. “I cannot be certain of what knowledge I know, but I’m sure it will be enough to guide us to the place where the snow queen is.”

“Where is the snow queen?” Lyra asked eagerly. “I don’t understand. Frankly, I’m confused.”
The Snow Spirit laughed. “The snow queen is never in one place, we’ll be lucky to cross paths with her. For now, all we can do is walk towards what I think is the right direction. We will need a lot of luck to find the snow queen anytime soon.”

“Many times, it is luck we depend on.” Dainn said. “Luck has kept us alive from Rotem and luck has enabled us to help the world. With our luck, I’m sure we’ll see the snow queen soon. Maybe even tomorrow…”

As Dainn had said the night before, they found the snow queen. It had been a streak of luck and everyone smiled. The only problem was that the snow queen was corrupted.

“Look!” Lyra screamed. “Is that really the snow queen? She has such dark blue skin and evil red eyes….Something’s wrong!”

“Yes, the snow queen is corrupted by the dark magic.” Dainn said. “But we don’t need to kill her…she still has an almost kind look on her face… If we knock her out of it…I think we can make her nice again.”

“Let’s do our best, the snow girls are counting on us!” Lyra shouted.

Chapter 12-The Rescue

Lyra tackled down the snow queen. As she knocked the queen to the ground, a cold icy chill went through Lyra’s body. The snow queen was using magic against them! To make matters worse, giant snow mongs surrounded them.

“We can’t do it…” Lyra fell to another ice blast. “The snow queen, she’s killing us!”

“We have to do it,” Dainn tried to sound confident, but Lyra could tell that it was hard for him as well. “If we don’t save these snow girls, who will? We’re their only hope, Lyra. We have to do this.”

“I’ll do my best…but my best may not be enough.” Lyra frowned at the situation they were in. Snow mongs tackled them everytime they tried to get close to the snow queen and if they tried far range, the queen’s icy blasts would knock them out. The situation seemed hopeless indeed.

Just as an ice blast was going to knock Eir out, Lyra thought of something in desperation-they couldn’t afford to get Eir hurt again. Lyra noticed that they were using physical strength and random magic. Water and ice magic was weak against fire…They had to use it. Sieg and Eir could start a fire and burn down the snow mongs while she and Dainn used fire magic to knock to snow queen down. Lyra turned to her friends and explained her plans; they agreed quickly-it was worth a try.

“On the count of three,” Lyra shouted over the noise of the fighting. The Snow Spirit was unaware of the plan, but smiled at them. It understood what had to be done. The Snow Spirit gently shifted away, not wanting to be near any fire.

“1, 2, 3~!” And then they were off. Sieg and Eir winked at each other as they held burning stakes in their hands. They threw the stakes at the snow mongs and that distracted the beasts just long enough for Lyra and Dainn to get through. Sieg and Eir continued to hold back the snow mongs as Lyra and Dainn confronted the snow queen.

Dainn held his hand full of fire magic to the snow queen’s face and Lyra struggled to hold the snow queen down. After what seemed like hours, the snow queen’s eyes changed and the blueness of her skin changed to a soft pale pink. The snow queen’s eyes were closed and she looked peaceful. Dainn tried to shake the queen awake, but the queen was in a heavy sleep. The good thing was that she was still breathing.

Lyra helped Sieg and Eir finish off the giant snow mongs and they came over to see the queen as well. Lyra looked around for the Snow Spirit. She managed to get a last glimpse of the spirit before it disappeared into thin air. Thank you, Snow Spirit, Lyra thanked the spirit in her mind.

“Dainn, is the snow queen okay?” Eir was prepared to heal any wounds. She had just finished wrapping up the wounds of Sieg and Lyra. Dainn looked okay, so Eir did not bother with him.

“She’s fine,” Dainn said. “Though there are several bruises and cuts on her.”

“Then I shall use my healing magic,” Eir went to the queen’s side. “There’s a reason I’m here, you know.”

“Oh, don’t I know…” Dainn smiled as he thought of all the dangerous things Eir had done for them.

Once Eir finished healing the queen, they could do nothing but wait. Dainn set up a camp and they sat quietly eating deer meat and some mushrooms that Eir had double-checked weren’t poisonous. They did not speak, afraid that they might wake the queen. They would not sleep either, someone needed to be awake to help the queen if she woke.

They waited calmly by the fire for a long time. Soon, it was going to be dawn. Was the snow queen really that fatigued? Lyra went over to the queen and was about to wake her up when the snow queen stirred. Lyra, afraid that she might have done something wrong, backed away from the queen. A few moments later, the queen woke up and smiled the travelers. The queen could tell that these people meant her no harm.

“Hello,” The queen’s voice sounded confident and fit for well…a queen!

“Um, hello…” Lyra was the first to reply. “Are you aware of the situation you were in?”

“No, but if you would gladly explain, I would tell you my name.” The queen smiled. “In these lands, a person’s name is most important. If you openly use someone’s name here, it must be really serious.”

“Oh really?” Lyra asked. “So, we cannot use our names openly or it’ll offend the snow girls?”

The snow queen appeared to laugh. She looked much better and could even walk normally. She went over to sit with them and she wouldn’t stop smiling. Lyra could see why she was such a good quuen. The snow queen gave off such a soft and confident aura, it made Lyra want to be near her.

“Didn’t you notice?” The queen laughed again.

“Notice what?” Lyra was mystified.

“You have not been using your names lately,” The queen sat down beside Lyra. “Giving your name is fine, but have you noticed that you haven’t used it much unless you were talking really serious?”

“Oh right.” Lyra noticed that she hadn’t used any of her friends’ names for a while. The last time she used their names was only for telling them her strategy.

“So…” The snow queen smiled again. “Weren’t you fine travelers going to tell me what’s going on?”

And they did. They told her every single detail, including Lyra’s vision and their journey. When they finished their story, it was morning. It was a strange morning though; no one seemed tired in the least. Story telling had made them energetic and they were ready to get a move on.

“Snow queen, what should we do next?” Lyra asked.

“We have to save the other snow girls.” The snow queen did not smile this time. “My name is Ceria by the way.”

“And my name is Lyra.” Lyra said politely. “The descendant of Agae here is Dainn and our healer is Eir. Last but not least, our proud swordsman is Sieg.”

“Et yoor service ma’am!” Sieg bowed to the snow queen.

“Let us start walking, “The snow queen got up. “I will explain where we’re going on the way there. It is a day’s walk. We will camp near the place and take action the next day. Please do not disagree with me.”

No one disagreed with the queen. Everyone was glad to have someone take command and really know what she’s doing. They walked the whole day. The snow queen explained that her good snow girls were probably being held in the Cold Plain. It was a wide open area. Having only one entrance, it was also easy for the dark elves to guard.

“What are the dark elves planning?” Lyra asked as their day’s journey came to an end. “Or what do you think?”

“I cannot be certain, but I think they are trying to rebel the sides against each other.” The snow queen replied. “They probably plan on making us all corrupt and consuming the world with evil. For what and to what extent, I do not know. All I’m really sure of is that they are holding my snow girls captive until they turn corrupt. Let us sleep and rescue the snow girls who are being captive in the Cold Plain tomorrow. After that, I will tell you and your friends our next course of action. I, myself am unsure of what to do next.”

“Then may luck be on our side again.” Lyra said softly.

The next day, everything went according to plan. They found out that the snow girls were being held captive in cells spread out across the Cold Plain. After they killed the dark elf guarding the door, they started to rescue the snow girls. The only problem was that numerous monsters guarded the cells. Snow mongs, penguins, wild yetis, and even snowball throwing trees awaited them.

“This will not be easy,” Lyra said loudly. “We will have to split up if we are to rescue all the snow girls in time. The death of the dark elf has alerted more and I can hear the cries of snow girls who are being changed into demons. This is the only way.”

“Very well,” The snow queen agreed. “I will go alone. I may not look it, but I am stronger than you think. You, my friends, will have to split into pairs.”

“I will go with Sieg,” Lyra said. “An archer and a swordsman is a good combination. Eir, please protect Dainn as he fights. Everything has to work out...it is for the sake of the world.”

“Very well.” Eir said.

They split up and slowly, they rescued the snow girls. At day’s end, they had rescued twenty five snow girls. Five had been killed, but it was good that most made it. Dainn set up a camp for them while Lyra made one for the snow girls. The snow girls were all very scared and it took a while to calm them down. Finally, when matters had settled, Lyra went to join the others by their own fire.

The snow queen stayed with them as they ate.

“For tomorrow…” The queen began to tell them her instructions. “We will have to get all the snow girls into the portal. There is always one portal open and it is on the other side of a really long valley. It has many passages and it makes it easy for ambush. I want you, the heroes of my people, to protect them as they cross the valley.”

“It will be no easy task,” Lyra remarked. “We will need a strategy for it, fighting blindly may be our downfall.”

“I have prepared one, if you agree, then it’s settled. Dainn and Eir, the wizard and mage, will guide the snow girls. Lyra and Sieg will protect the back. I will look after the wellbeing of the snow girls until all of them start their travels. I have a feeling that when the dark elves’ minions fail, a few of them will be sent to stop us. I leave them to you, Lyra.”

“Understood,” Lyra said confidently. “Tomorrow’s enemies may be stronger than we think; a good night’s rest will do us good.”

“I bid you good night.” The snow queen got up and went back to the other camp to speak with the snow girls.

That night, Lyra felt the cold again. She wore four layers of clothing to sleep, but the cold of these snowy plains plunged down to her bare body. She covered her blanket-she had stuffed a lot of feathers in it for warmth-over her, but the coldness remained. Lyra felt that the coldness came from her insides and that was what scared her.

The next day, the feeling was still lingered. It wasn’t as strong now, but it was there nevertheless. Already, the day did not feel right. Lyra tried to shake off the feelings, but it would not go away. Sighing, she went to join her friends for breakfast. While everyone else talked, Lyra felt out of place. The feeling made her uncomfortable and when it came time to set out, Lyra was not confident at all.

“What’s wrong, Lyra?” The snow queen noticed Lyra’s discomfort. “What happened to that confident Lyra that was here yesterday? I’d hate to think that you’ve given up on the snow girls.”

“I’m fine.” Lyra lied. The snow queen had used her name; she had better not make her use it again. “Everything is going great today! I’m sure we’ll pull through!”

“That’s the spirit!” The snow queen smiled and turned away.

“You sure you’re alright?” Dainn said after the snow queen left. “You don’t have to lie to us. If something’s wrong, we can solve it together.”

“No really, I’m fine.” Lyra tried to put up a reassuring look. “I felt a bit queasy from sleep, that’s all.”

“If you say so,” Dainn shrugged. “Come on, let’s go!”

They walked for about an hour before stopping at the entrance of a valley. Lyra, Dainn, Sieg, and Eir took their positions and the snow girls started walking in pairs. The moment Lyra stepped into the valley, an arrow shot by her head. Every step in was going to be one of fear. This place was more dangerous than Lyra had originally thought.

“Go, go, go!” Lyra shouted. “I will take down the archers. Sieg, go get the bears. Dainn and Eir? You two know what to do?’

“Of course.” Dainn was irritated. He had not expected Lyra to be so confident and commanding. “We’ll follow the snow girls as you said, commander.”

“Dainn…” Lyra looked at Dainn with a sad look on her face. Then she shook off the face and smiled. “Let’s win this battle, okay?”

“Yes,” Dainn was relieved that Lyra was back to normal. “Let’s win this.”

The battle carried on for quite awhile. Bodies of bears and archers covered the valley. The pure white snow had turned a deep red. Four snow girls had died and only five had made it through the portal so far. Lyra and Sieg kept being pushed back by the enemy and sometimes Dainn and Eir weren’t enough to hold back the impact.

Dark elves emerged from dark portals as the few remaining snow girls began their journey through the valley. Dark elves were stronger and quicker than the archers and bears, it would be hard to kill them. The peaceful valley had turned into a blood thirsty battlefield. Five snow girls still had to go in the portal. Just a little longer, Lyra thought. Lyra looked back at the snow girls for a moment and when she turned back to her enemy, she was knocked down and hit…

“Lyra!” Kanna appeared before her. “Why are you here, oh no…”

“Where am I?” Lyra looked around her; all she could see was darkness.

“This is the dimension spirits go before they enter the spirit world. It’s really quite complicated, you see.” Kanna smiled, but the smile quickly disappeared when she realized what this meant.

“I’m not dead…” Lyra said. “I can’t be….”

Kanna placed her hand on Lyra’s shoulder. Kanna gasped as she pulled away.

“You’re burning with life,” Kanna explained her reaction. “You aren’t dead. But why are you here then? How did you come here?”

“I think I know.” Lyra said. “I’ve been feeling this cold feeling all the time…It’s freezing inside of me…I think it’s a part of you.”

“Freezing?” Kanna thought for a moment. “Our souls are entwined!”

“How does that work?” Lyra asked eagerly. “Entwined? How?”

“If too souls are connected enough, they stick to each other. When they let go of each other, a connection remains.” Kanna explained.

“Oh.” Lyra smiled. “We’re soul mates, no?”

Kanna laughed. “Nice point.” Then Kanna’s face grew stern. “Lyra, may I borrow your body? Since our souls are binded, it would do you no harm. I will not harm you in any way. I just want to say goodbye to the snow queen and see the snow girls’ rescue for myself. “

“I don’t know…” Lyra hesitated. “But I trust you. Take care of my body, I will wait here. Still, don’t take too long. Who knows what nasty side effects could happen?”

“Thank you…” Kanna faded and Lyra was left alone in the darkness.

“I hope you know what you’re doing…” Lyra sighed…

Kanna took control of Lyra’s body quite well. She had all of Lyra’s abilities and tactics and she could even smile like her. The only thing missing was the personality and memories, the body was blank in that way. Kanna shot down each enemy with ease. Soon, the snow girls were all in the portal. Kanna went over to the snow queen and bowed.

“Hello, Lyra.” The queen smiled at her. “Why are you bowing? The battle is won; we may rest safely because of you. It is I that is in your debt, please do not think otherwise.”

“My queen,” Kanna said in Lyra’s voice. “You may not recognize me, but it is I-Kanna Orcania.”

“Kanna…” The snow queen smiled. “You died a brave death back then, you will not be forgotten. We have lost many girls due to this uproar, but there will always be snow girls thanks to you and these friendly travelers. I wish you peace in the next world.”

“Thank you,” Kanna said. “Your blessing is most greatly appreciated, but I will not go to the next world. I will choose to become a wandering spirit and look over our homeland-Equenir. “

“You are most brave to even consider this path.” The snow queen’s face was grave. “But I must ask you to reconsider. Staying here for an eternity is no good. You will grow tiresome and sad, please go to the other world.”

“I have made my choice already, my queen.”Kanna used Lyra’s most solemn voice. “I must leave now; Lyra has waited long enough for me to leave her body. I ask you to give me your blessing on my decision before I leave.”

“Very well.” The snow queen frowned. “I consent.”

“Thank you, my queen-“

“Call me Ceria for once.”

Kanna smiled at her queen. “It has been ten years since we met, but you have not changed one bit. You tell me to call you by your name every year. Very well, I will. Thank you, Ceria.”

Kanna stepped out of Lyra’s body and smiled. Dainn held Lyra’s fragile body as Lyra entered it again.

“Hello everyone, what did Kanna say?” Lyra said, smiling.

“We bid each other luck, that was all.” The snow queen replied. “You and your friends have saved many of my kind. As a token of my gratitude, please allow me to guide you for some of your journey. “

“We would very much appreciate your guidance.” Dainn said. “But may I ask what we will be going through?”

“Your journey is far from ending.” The snow queen said. “You have much to go through still. The creatures that lay ahead are far more dangerous than just a few bears and snow mongs. There will be giant one-eyed creature, gargoyles, ice spirits, and worst of all-you will have to defeat drake. I can only go as far as bring you to drake. After that, I can only hope you succeed in your journey.”

“Do you know what is beyond drake?” Lyra asked curiously.

“Indeed, I do.” The snow queen’s voice was stern and serious. Any notion of humor was erased. “A wide blazing desert awaits you if you do manage to defeat drake. At the other side of the desert, Daru lies there.”

“Thank so much for warning us of the dangers.” Dainn thanked the snow queen. “Also, thank you-“

“No more thanks.” The snow queen’s voice was lighter now. “I could never repay you enough. Normally, we would have a feast in your honor, but time is running out as you said. Perhaps on your way back, you can stop and celebrate with us.”

“We would love that,” Lyra smiled.

Chapter 13-One-eyed Beasts/Into the Inner Tunnel

The next day, they set out. As they walked, the snow queen pointed out scenery to them. Lyra learned about Gilskin trees, Apricot bunnies, the Comsina flower, and about the Afidale plant. Lyra realized that these snowy plains had more life than meets the eye. One could spend years here just enjoying nature and would never run out of things to look at. She had thought that this place was nothing but a place full of evil, but now looking back, things here weren’t that bad. They were not attacked by anything the whole day and Lyra could almost imagine living here with Dainn.

The day passed slowly and beauty exploded in Lyra’s eyes. The snow queen made sure to walk a steady pace as she guided and taught them about the plains. At day’s end, they were at the edge of the snowy plains. A giant tunnel made of rock stood in front of their camp.

“What is that?” Lyra asked curiously as they sat down and ate dinner.

“A tunnel,” The snow queen replied. “That leads you straight to drake. We will go through the tunnel cautiously, it is filled with dangers. I went into the tunnel once as a child, a terrible fright awaited me and I have never gone in there again. Until now, of course.”

“Thank you for agreeing to come with us,” Lyra said. “What was in there must’ve really frightened you. To be able to confront fear face first…that really is something. You are indeed a fine queen.”

“Thank you.” The snow queen smiled. “We will be entering the tunnel tomorrow, be ready to face perhaps the biggest scare of your life.”

“I’m sure I’ve seen scarier things.” Lyra said as she thought of giant slimes and of the tremendous Rotem.

Lyra was wrong. The next day when they entered the cave, all of them were frightened half to death. Right near the entrance was a terrible beast. It wasn’t the beast that scared them, but what was behind it. A pile of bones, both beast and human lay behind it. The beast ate its own kind; it would show no mercy to them.

Lyra was stunned and could not move. She noticed Sieg struggling to move as well. None of them could actually move. They were paralyzed somehow, perhaps because of fear.

“This was the beast that had scared me so long ago…” The snow queen was not stunned. “Looking now, it doesn’t seem to be that scary.”

The snow queen’s words freed Lyra of her stunned stance. Everyone else broke free as well.

“This beast…” Lyra stared at the brown, scaled, one-eyed, winged beast. It was flapping its wings wildly and when Lyra tried to approach it, it moved away. Lyra examined the creature closely, it wasn’t that large. In fact, there was no way it could’ve been the beast that tore all those beasts and humans apart and put them here. As Lyra pulled out an arrow, the beast flew away and a few moments later, was nowhere to be seen.

“So it was what I thought it was,” The snow queen said as she brushed her fingers through her silky blue hair. “That was only a scout. Its master is somewhere inside. I have a feeling we will have to kill the master to get through.”

“If we can avoid it, I would prefer not to kill anything.” Eir said. “These things seriously scare me…I don’t even want to look at them.”

“I know how you feel.” The snow queen said in sympathy. “I felt the same way when I first entered these caves. Looking back, I don’t really see why I was so afraid. If we keep our guard up, everything will be okay.”

During the rest of the day, they walked through the tunnel quietly. Any noise could bring danger to them. At day’s end, they sat in the middle of a hallway. There was no safe place to hide, they would have to keep watch at night. Actually, they couldn’t actually tell that it was night. It was dim inside the tunnel and the only way they could see was due to fire magic.

All they knew was that they were tired and hungry and that was a problem as well-food. Dainn and Lyra could not just make food appear out of nowhere. Luckily, the snow queen had the solution. She had noticed plants growing along the side of the walls.

“I can probably tell which ones are good to eat.” The snow queen explained. “We can wash them with water magic and choose whether to cook them or not. They will be our only supply of food for the days we spend in here.”

The snow queen collected the plants with Lyra, teaching Lyra everything she knew about plants. For some reason, the snow queen seemed to confide more in her than anyone else. Perhaps it was her eagerness and confidence or perhaps it was because they both shared royal blood.

They washed the vegetables and cooked them with fire magic. As they took their first bites in the plants, they all flinched. It was bitter, but the tiny taste of sweetness kept them eating it. Besides, there was no other food around and they couldn’t afford to spit it out and waste it.

After a gruesome dinner, everyone took their sleeping bags out and slept by the fire. They had not put out the tents for they would have trouble packing in an emergency. Lyra kept watch first and her eyelids drooped as she sat there. She wrote in her journal to pass the time, but she grew tired of writing after a while.

She stared at her companions and smiled. Dainn’s face glowed in the fire’s dim light and Lyra couldn’t help but notice how fragile and angel-like it looked. Even Eir’s and Sieg’s faces looked peaceful and elegant. The snow queen, however, was not looking so well. Lyra could tell that the snow queen was having a nightmare; she stirred and turned all through Lyra’s watch.

Lyra decided to wake the snow queen from her nightmare and let her keep watch next. She bent down to tap on the snow queen’s shoulder, but someone stopped her. Dainn had woken up to take his shift.

“Lyra, it’s my turn next, why are you waking the queen?” Dainn whispered into Lyra’s ear.

“She’s having a nightmare…” Lyra replied softly. “It makes me worried to see her like this…I want to wake her from her dream.”

“Don’t, it could be an important dream…like your vision.” Dainn said lightly.

“But what if it isn’t?” Lyra cried.

“Shh…Don’t wake the others.” Dainn cupped his hand over Lyra’s mouth. “Just go to sleep, I’ll keep a watch on the queen.”

“Please do,” Lyra went over to her sleeping bag and tucked under the blanket.

Dainn went over to her and kissed Lyra’s forehead. “Good night, my angel.”

When Lyra woke the next morning, she found everyone sad and weary. A breakfast of plants was being prepared and no one seemed interested in eating it. Lyra tried to cheer everyone up, but even the snow queen was depressed. Lyra stared the plants, perhaps it was the food that was making everyone feel so bad.

Lyra took the breakfast Dainn was cooking and put it all on a wooden plate. She said a few words, hoping that it would turn into bread. Surprisingly, it did turn into something made out of flour. It turned into veggie cupcakes. Lyra picked one up and ate it; it was sweet and salty at the same time. The look on everyone’s face brightened as they each took a few cupcakes.

Lyra smiled, she was happy to be able to cheer everyone up. It wasn’t her friends she was worried about though, it was the snow queen. Even as she took a cupcake, Lyra could tell that her smile as only half real. Somewhere deep inside the queen’s heart, she was unhappy and depressed.

Lyra frowned as she thought of what the snow queen might be thinking. Lyra decided that she had to confront the snow queen alone when they stopped tonight. They packed up once the dozen cupcakes Lyra had made were finished. Everyone smiled at Lyra and said thanks, they were glad to have some ‘good’ food.

Lyra smiled back at them and all of them seemed to glow, except the snow queen. The snow queen was definitely troubled and Lyra’s heart ached just seeing the usually bright and cheery snow queen be like that. As the day went on, they fought numerous one-eyed beasts. They finally stopped walking and fighting when they came to a giant door. A giant door meant a giant room and a giant room meant…the master was inside these doors.

“Let us rest before going in, we should walk back a bit and camp there.” The snow queen said with a slight moan in her voice. She was growing tired too.

“I will make us dinner then,” Lyra said as she began to gather plants. She turned them into vegetable crackers and also boiled them to make veggie stew. It was amazingly delicious and Lyra’s friends swept the whole pot of stew clean. The snow queen didn’t eat much though; she only took a single cracked and only one bowl of stew. While everyone was fast asleep and while it was time for Lyra to keep guard, she woke the snow queen up successfully.

“Snow queen, we need to talk.” Lyra helped the queen sit up right. “Why were you tossing and turning yesterday? Are you okay?’

“I normally wouldn’t burden others with my problems, but…” The snow queen said nervously. “I’m afraid of the one-eyed beast master we will see tomorrow. I saw it…ten years ago and I don’t want to see it again. I act so brave to put up as an act. I was shaking yesterday when we first walked into this cave tunnel, I’m really scared.”

“We all are.” Lyra said softly. “But like you have done before, we are facing our fears face first.”

“I want to do that as well,” the snow queen frowned, “But I don’t have the willpower.”

“What are you talking about?” Lyra exclaimed in a soft voice, she didn’t want to wake the others. “You are facing your fear right now; you’re not running away, you’re confronting it head on. Your dreams are taunting you, but they will do so no more after tomorrow. You will help us defeat the beast. If things don’t go better after that, then we’ll think of something else. You will be rid of your fear even if it takes us the rest of the time we have together. You’re my friend. You know that, don’t you?

“Thank you, Lyra.” The snow queen smiled. “I’m feeling much better already. In fact, I think I’m all better.”

“Shh…Don’t rush your fear away.” Lyra tried to be serious, but she couldn’t help smiling. “Your fear will leave you gradually and you won’t notice it gone. I know you’re lying when you say it’s already gone.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The snow queen laughed. The two of them did a double shift watching the camp and they talked about themselves. Lyra told of Auroria and the snow queen told Lyra about her homeland.

“Our homes are so comfortable and wonderful…” Lyra sighed. “It really makes you want to go back to them.”

“Yes, I agree,” the snow queen smiled. “I totally agree.”

The smell of eggs was in the air when Lyra woke the next day. Dainn had somehow turned the plants into omelets. Everyone had a great breakfast and everyone-including the snow queen this time-smiled. No one said a word about what awaited them through the gates, but Lyra could feel some tension in the air.

After breakfast, they stood by the gates. They did not discuss their tactics, but merely entered the room. Lyra examined the surroundings and found it dark, really dark and right in front of them was a giant one-eyed beast. Lyra grabbed the snow queen’s hand. She was going to show her that they could defeat it together.

“Snow queen, let’s do this!” Lyra shouted as she took out an arrow from her quiver.

“Asha Freiza!” The snow queen shot an icy blast in unison with Lyra’s arrow.

The beast attacked back and everyone scattered across the room. When Lyra saw Dainn falling to the impact of the beast’s attack, she tried to run over, but the snow queen stopped her.

“Don’t go over there.” The snow queen pulled Lyra back. “You’ll only get hurt and you might even get in Dainn’s way of escaping. Let’s attack the beast and draw its attention away from Dainn instead.”

“But…Dainn…” Lyra protested softly, she knew that the queen was right.

“Come on,” The snow queen hurried Lyra to the side of the room. The snow queen whispered instructions into Lyra’s ear and they were off. Lyra shot arrows are incredibly fast rates and the snow queen was almost singing her spells out into the air. The snow queen had gotten over her fear entirely; there was no doubt about that.

“Snow queen,” Lyra said as the one-eyed monster started heading for them. “You’ve gotten over your fear quite nicely and even some of your braveness is rubbing off on me. How do you do it?”

The snow queen laughed as she shot another spell. “Who says I’m over my fear?”

Lyra laughed as well as she realized that the snow queen was probably getting over her fear with humor. Lyra was proud of the snow queen. After seeing the queen’s terrifying state yesterday, she didn’t think the fear had a cure, but she now realized there was. Here was the snow queen, standing right in front of the beast that had scarred her, smiling and laughing like a child.

Lyra left the snow queen to fight her battle as she walked over to Dainn’s side. He was looking okay with only a couple of bruises. She got Eir on him right away and sighed in relief. No one was hurt this time. They could win the battle full heartedly. Lyra looked back at the snow queen. She was dancing around the beast, singing out spells, her long blue hair flowing. The beast could not touch her no matter how hard it tried.

Lyra laughed, she actually thought it was ‘their’ battle, but it was the snow queen’s all along. The four of them sat there watching the snow queen dance extravagantly while harming the beast, it was so beautiful that they couldn’t believe that the queen was killing something. Ice particles flaked down from her robe as she swiftly conjured the beast. The snow queen joined them again with the beast dead and not a single speck of blood on her.

“You know what, guys?” The snow queen’s eyes shined with the excitement of a child. “I feel so much better.”

“You’re acting so…” Lyra gasped as the snow queen spoke so casually.

“Childish?” The snow queen finished Lyra’s sentence for her. “I know. I used to be like this. Even two years ago, I was more casual. Everything changed with all these new responsibilities as queen and then I forgot myself…But Lyra; I’ve found myself again thanks to you. You’ve helped a lot…and I’ve lost a childhood fear.”

“Don’t thank me,” Lyra smiled. “It was you who did the work. It was you who killed the beast and it was you who sang the spells. It was all you, I don’t deserve the thanks.”

“Lyra, I so do not need to thank you.” The snow queen said with sarcasm. “It’s not like you sat up with me last night and helped me through this.”

“You did?” Dainn stared at Lyra and she nodded. “So that’s what you two were doing before my shift…I should’ve known. I’m glad you feel better, snow queen.”

“As do I.” The snow queen’s smile lit up the darkness of the cave. “Come, there are more dangers in this tunnel. This room is not the end. Look over there.” The snow queen pointed to an odd looking stone pillar in the wall. It was smooth and round, and stood out against the flatness of the wall.

“Is that a door?” Lyra stared at the pillar. “How do we get pass it?”

“I do not know.” The snow queen’s smile did not falter. “But I do know that we had better rest before we do anything. I feel fine and energetic, but you, my friends, don’t look so well.”

“We’re fine,” Lyra laughed. None of them had really gotten injured from the beast and they had barely fought. In fact, they found it remarkable to see the snow queen not tired from killing the beast singlehandedly.

“Then why are you all staring at me like that?” The snow queen frowned. “Is something wrong? Are you tired?”

“No,” Dainn answered this time. “We are just surprised to see you so energetic after you defeated the beast alone.”

“I didn’t kill it alone…” The snow queen thought for a moment. “Or did I? Wait…Lyra was…” The snow queen gasped suddenly in realization. “I did fight the beast alone, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did indeed.” Eir said.

“Shall we walk more today?” The queen asked. “I feel fine and all of you seem to be okay. Why don’t we get a little bit more walking done?”

Lyra laughed. “You really have turned into a child. Have you forgotten the dangers that lurk behind that door? You yourself told us about the gargoyles. Those gray winged creatures with heavy beaks will show us no mercy. With their gray colored fur, they could ambush us without us even noticing.”

“I know…but…” The snow queen sighed. “I’m just so excited to have this eagerness back. As a child, I lost this anxiousness when I saw the beast. It’s all coming back, I’m sorry for acting so childish.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Dainn said. “I am-We are glad to see you like this. It really brightens us up and it’s seriously better than seeing you depressed and having nightmares.”

“We have talked too long…” Lyra said. “Let us start moving and put this new found eagerness into action.”

Proceeding slowly, Lyra went over to the pillar door. She examined it. It was nicely carved and had symbols of an ancient language on it. Its roundness and perfectness amazed Lyra. Lyra tried to read the symbols, but gave up after a few minutes.

“I can’t read the symbols,” Lyra sighed.

“I can, let me translate.” Dainn went over to the door and began translating it into English. “Beware of beasts with angel wings and devil eyes. The dangers lie beyond. Know that once you enter, your life is at risk more than ever. You may choose to turn back, but by then it may already be too late. Travelers, you have done well in defeating the blade claw master, but you will never get past the one and holy drake.”

“Weve com soo fer, nething is stopping us!” Sieg ran over to the door and inspected it quickly. Within seconds, he pushed it from the side and opened it, revealing a strange and mysterious darkness. It was even dimmer inside and it would be impossible to even see without light.

“Let us proceed then,” Dainn said.

They walked inside and found themselves immediately attacked by one-eyed beasts. Lyra sighed; she had thought that they had left the last of them back on the other side of the tunnel. The snow queen wasted no time; she took out her hand and called out a few words. The beasts fell to the floor and shattered into parts. Lyra gasped, something was strange about these beasts. Dainn told her that they were enchanted with dark magic, but she couldn’t believe it. Weren’t they evil in the first place?

“I’m afraid that no matter how deadly these creatures look, they never really were evil.” The snow queen answered Lyra’s thoughts. “The ones we saw in the first part of the tunnel were also enchanted, just not as badly as these.”

“Really? I seriously thought they were evil to start with…” Lyra frowned. “I don’t want to harm innocent creatures anymore.”

“Perhaps they were evil to start with,” The snow queen tried to cheer Lyra up. “That would make them perfect candidates for the enchantment; it would only take a simple mind control spell.”

“I hope they were…” Lyra looked worriedly at the flesh parts on the ground. There’s no point of over thinking things, she thought.

They continued to walk and they came into a giant room. One-eyed monsters were rushing and flying around in the room. The whole place was in chaos. Suddenly, all the monsters turned to them. A gargoyle that stood on the ground in the center appeared to be in charge. It pointed a wing at Lyra and they were off.

It took them a little over an hour to finish off the beasts. They had not bothered in killing some of them. Instead, killing off a wing or two shooed them off. At last, only the gargoyle remained. Lyra swung her staff and began a spell, but the snow queen cut her off.

“Wait!” She shouted just as Lyra was finishing the spell. “We may be able to cure this one and question it…”

The gargoyle was not moving. In fact, it appeared to be frightened. There would be no harm in sparing it. The snow queen went over to the beast and touched its shining horn. Its beak flinched slightly, but besides that nothing seemed to happen.

“Little one, your curse has been lifted.” The snow queen spoke gently. “Please help us; we need to find your master.”

“You…human cure …master?” The gargoyle had trouble speaking English well.

“Yes, but we need help.” The snow queen smiled.

“Through maze…big gate…master there…evil elves control…beware.” The gargoyle shrieked and flew away into the distance. Lyra never saw it again.

They soon found the maze they were looking for. It was made of glowing purple rock and was tall and wide, the tip of it nearly touched the ceiling. Lyra guessed that the little room above the maze was for gargoyles and the one-eyed beasts to get over. Because of its enormous size, they could not know how long the maze stretched. Lyra tested the rock for toughness, it was almost like wood. They would have no trouble breaking parts of it if they had to.

“Shall we stay here tonight and enter the maze tomorrow?” The snow queen asked. “Even I do not have to strength to go through all of it today.”

“Yes, that sounds good, we shall rest tonight.” Lyra finalized the decision.

The next morning, they entered the maze. It was warmer than Lyra expected inside and she even took off her jacket. She was scared one bit and surprisingly, the maze was comforting. It was like a jigsaw puzzle ready to be solved. The day carried on they didn’t seem any closer to the end of the maze. Sieg suggested breaking the maze all together, but the idea was rejected when Dainn said that it’d take even longer. They kept running into dead ends and such, they were getting nowhere.

“I can’t walk much longer…” Eir whined. “My feet hurt and my throat is begging for water. Please, let’s stop.”

“We have to get out of here.” The snow queen urged them on. “We just have to…Being in this maze makes us vulnerable to any attacks. Eir, please keep going.”

“Very well…” Eir groaned as we continued to walk.

Another few hours passed and they were still in the maze. Weary and tired, Lyra collapsed to the floor with the others. It seemed hopeless. If there was an end to this maze, they certainly weren’t going to find it today. Even the snow queen gave in to fatigue. They had walked for a whole day straight and there was no food. Water could be summoned by magic, but food eluded them. Lyra suggested that they changed the elements in rock and turned it into bread, but Dainn marked that idea off by saying that the elements would be changed too much. The snow queen suggested that they summoned food from somewhere, but everyone agreed that it would require too much magic to summon food from far away. Besides, where could they summon it from? The snow queen’s homeland? Auroria? They were running out of ideas.

They started through the maze again the next morning (or at least it felt like morning to them, they couldn’t really tell in the tunnel,) but they made little progress. It wasn’t until they rested in the afternoon that they learned something.

“This maze is enchanted,” Lyra burst out her realization. “No wonder we’ve made no progress…this maze is enchanted to last forever unless…we break the generator.”

“Generator?” The snow queen was confused; she had never studied such strange magic before.

“The magic generator.” Dainn explained, “Magic this big can’t be powered by just human and normal magic, it needs something. Something to charge up energy and power the spell, something like a gem.”

“Oh.” The snow queen said in understanding, “But how do we find it?”

“I say we try a…”Lyra hesitated before suggesting. “A spirit channel.”

“Lyra,” Dainn looked at her worriedly. “It’s too dangerous; no one would want to risk their soul for this.”

“No one would,”Lyra smiled. “But I will.”

“Lyra…” Dainn protested.

“Let the girl do what she wants,” the snow queen defended Lyra. “Even I know a spirit channel is dangerous, but I believe in Lyra. She’s not the kind of girl to just lose her life for nothing, she’s a brave one. Dainn, believe in her.”

Dainn sighed; everyone was agreeing that Lyra was going to do the spirit channel. Dainn was worried about her, what if the channel went terribly wrong? He had known friends who had attempted a channel and paid a heavy price for doing one: their souls got ripped apart bit by bit in an agonizing nightmare. Lyra understood Dainn’s concern for her, but ignored his protests. This was something she had to do. There was a feeling in her heart that guided her to do so.

“I’m sorry, Dainn, but I’m going to go through with this.” Lyra said, her eyes glimmering with tears.

“Please, be careful.” Dainn held his tears back. “Stay away…from phantom souls and soul rulers and oh-”

“Dainn, I’ll be fine.” Lyra turned away from Dainn, tears streaming down her cheek.

She was not going to be fine. Spirit channels were hard to do, but with so much at stake, the pressure could really kill someone. Lyra knelt down and tried to smile as she began the spell. Dainn knelt to her right and the snow queen sat on Lyra’s left and they each held on of Lyra’s hand.

“I’ll be alright…” Lyra stopped the spell for a moment to look at everyone. “Thank you for lending me your magic…I love you all.”

As Lyra said the last few words to the spell, she plunged into an unknown darkness. She felt light and free from the burden of her body. No longer weary or held down by gravity, she floated in the calm air. For a split second, she forgot the purpose of the spirit channel. Then as she looked down at her friends, she knew everyone was counting on her to destroy the magic generator. Hand and hand, they were praying for her safety and success.

Lyra floated away from her friends and found herself unable to cry. I guess souls can’t cry, Lyra smiled, it was better that she was happy. For over an hour, she floated across the maze with no hope in finding the generator. The whole tunnel seemed barren and lifeless, filled with grief and pain. Lyra did another circuit over the maze, but she could see know end.

Lyra gasped as she realized what she was doing. She was caught in the spell. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that there was no way the generator would be in the maze anyways. Lyra flew back to the entrance of the maze, floating gracefully and searching hard.

Another hour went by and Lyra still could not spot a glimpse of the generator. Was the generator gem really that small? Lyra had read that they could vary from small to big, but it couldn’t be smaller than the size of a dog could it? Besides, a spell that big would require quite a powerful-

“A diamond!” Lyra gasped as she realized what the gem was. A spell that powerful would require the hardest and most powerful gem-the diamond.

Lyra floated down near the floor. She smiled as she discovered that she could still touch objects like the dirt. She floated around while touching the dirt, feeling around for the perfect hard soil to hide a diamond under. At last, after another hour of searching, she found the place. Quickly and gently, she started digging with her finger. As a spirit, dirt did not enter her fingernails. Lyra smiled at the advantage.

In minutes, Lyra saw the diamond. She pulled it out and floated up to the ceiling. She dropped it to ground from the highest point she could get, but it would not break. Diamonds were just too hard. Disappointed, Lyra held the giant one meter diamond around her arms and flew back to where the others were. She dropped the diamond beside her body and continued to enter her body again.

“Lyra, you’re back!” Dainn gave Lyra a soft embrace, unsure whether she was really herself.

“Hello.” Lyra smiled. “I got the generator, but was unable to break it.”

“It was strange…we saw a floating diamond drop down…” Eir laughed. “But I knew it was you all along…”
“Right….” Dainn raised his eyebrow and Eir shrugged. “Anyways, we’re glad you made it back safe. None of us even dared to move away from your body while you were gone. We just stayed and talked.”

“Talked about what?” Lyra asked with interest. “I hope no one talked about me behind my back…”

“Of course not!” Dainn replied immediately. “You were so brave…to have gone through with the spirit channel…We would never say anything bad about you...Never…”

“I believe you.” Lyra said. “But how will we break this diamond? We have no tools to break it and time is short. The world is being corrupted as we speak.”

“Lyra,” Dainn smiled. “Have you forgotten? We have all the tools we need, we have magic!”

“But it’s a diamond…” Lyra frowned. “I read that diamonds aren’t affected by…”

“Magic?” Dainn said. “They aren’t usually, but if we use the right kind…”

“No…” Lyra gasped. “Not again, you promised….No more dark magic, Dainn. It’s much too…forbidden.”

“Lyra, we don’t have much time…” Dainn said. “A lot of things have happened. A little bit of dark magic isn’t going to corrupt the world. It’s for the sake of survival…of all things.”

“Fine, but I won’t like it.” Lyra frowned.

“No one’s expecting you to like it,” Dainn smiled, “It’s something everyone hates and you should know why.”

“Because side effects are…”

“Common? Ambiguous?” Dainn laughed, “I’ll be fine.”

Dainn put the diamond in the center of a circle he had drawn. Everyone watched him as he cut his finger slightly to place a drop of blood on the diamond. Dainn mumbled a few words and the diamond turned a deep red. Lyra looked away; the last part of the spell was the part that was the most dangerous. Dainn’s hand would turn into a monster’s for a split second as he tears the diamond apart. It’ll be all over after that, Lyra thought as she covered her ears with her hands. She wanted nothing to do with dark magic.

Lyra waited a few moments and when nothing happened, she turned around. It was then that Dainn had decided to finish the spell. Lyra could not turn away fast enough and she saw the horror. Dainn’s eyes flashed with evil and his hand turned into a gruesome green and his nails grew sharp. It lasted for a few seconds, but a few seconds was all it took to scare Lyra.

When it was all over, Dainn went over to comfort Lyra.

“It’s over, Lyra.” Dainn tried to reassure Lyra. “I’m fine and-“

“NO!” Lyra screamed and everyone stared at Lyra’s frightened state. “You-you became a monster when you did that! I can…I can never forget…That look on your face…you smiled…”

“Lyra,” Dainn tried to help Lyra up. “I wasn’t myself. You know that, don’t you?”

“Dainn,” Lyra stood up and looked at him right in the eye. “You and I both know that you were very much yourself when you did that spell. You weren’t possessed or anything, you were you. Don’t deny the truth…You’re a demon inside…”
“So you know.” Dainn turned away from Lyra and started walking further into the maze.

“Dainn, I know…” Lyra said. “I was there when they put…that thing…in you. I know you try to pretend that it doesn’t affect you, but it’s there, Dainn. You can’t hide it forever, we’re your friends!”

Dainn did not say a word. He only continued to walk. Lyra sighed and walked beside him in silence. He obviously didn’t like talking about it. Eir, Sieg, and the snow queen caught the drift and did not speak a word. It wasn’t until they were out of the maze that they communicated again.

“It’s the gate the beast told us about…” The snow queen pointed to the large wooden door in front of them. It was painted a dark red and had brown rims, but it stood out against the gray and blue stone walls. It marked a reign of terror and the terror was about to be released on them.

Chapter 14-Drake, the Coldbreather

They had gotten out of the dreadful maze, but they were in a new situation with a new problem now. The gates before them would no doubt be the doors to the gargoyle master’s lair. They entered the lair and found it empty. Bones with flesh still attached was spread out across the floor. The stone walls were bloody and floor was as cold as ice.

“Where is the master?” Lyra looked at the empty room.

“Wait…” The snow queen halted. “Look…something’s moving.” The queen pointed to a side of a wall.

Lyra gasped, the master was indeed here. “It’s sleeping…and I see a door. If’ we’re lucky we can make it to the other room-“It was too late, the master had woken to the commotion.

“RAWWR~!” The gargantuan beast attacked them without hesitation. It was heading to Dainn.

“Dainn, to your left!” Lyra screamed.

“I thought that you-“

“DAINN!” Lyra ran over to his side and reflected the monster’s blow with a magic shield. “Get out of here or fight, Dainn. This is a battle.”

“I know, I just couldn’t think.” Dainn covered Lyra’s back as gargoyles started crowding them.

Lyra tried to signal the others to help, but they had packs of gargoyles surrounding them to attend to. Lyra only flinched as the giant gargoyle scraped against her skin. She was bleeding, but it was only a minor injury.

“Lyra, be careful!” Dainn pushed Lyra to the ground just as the beast was about to slam on her.

“Thanks,” Lyra brushed the dirt off her as she got up and began fighting the gargoyle back. It took her five ice arrows to knock the beast back, it was an extraordinary sight when she did though, and the beast was knocked across the room.

“That wes eh nice blow,” Sieg gave Lyra the thumbs-up.

“Thanks,” Lyra smiled. “But this is far from over.”

Lyra strung another arrow in her bow and she powered it with the magic of lightning this time, hopefully it was enough to finish the beast off. As she strung with all her might, her bow broke. After all of that, her finely carved wooden bow broke. Lyra sighed; she didn’t even bother trying to use magic to fix it for she knew that she couldn’t. The bow would never be the same. She took the lighting magic she from the bow and shot it at the gargoyle master in rage.

Everyone gasped as the gargoyle shattered into a million pieces. With the power of anger, Lyra had killed the beast.

The snow queen walked over to admire her shot. “Lyra, that was-“

“Please don’t say amazing.” Lyra frowned.

“Why, what’s wrong?” The snow queen looked at Lyra, worried. “Did something happen?”

“Everything’s wrong.” Tears escaped Lyra no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. “First of all, this whole journey is horrible. Death is all around me and Dainn…He’s so…different. And now my bow…I can’t stand all this wrongness!”

“Lyra,” The snow queen sat down with Lyra. “You may think this journey is all bad, but look at things my way. You are healthy and fine and you just achieved a good accomplishment-killing the gargoyle master. Not everyone could’ve done that, you know? Also, if you hadn’t gone on this journey, would I be here helping you now? Would you have really been content to living out the rest of your life in Auroria without ever setting foot out of the city? Think about it Lyra, you are on this journey for a reason. Never forget these things.”

“Thank you, snow queen.” Lyra stood up and wiped her tears away. “If it were not for you, I would still be on the ground, crying about my horrible fate.”

“But you’re not,” The snow queen smiled. “And that’s all that matters.”

They ate peacefully that night. They turned flesh into fresh meat and the weeds into cabbage. With a light fire, they cooked the food and ate a mini feast. While they ate, they talked-and that was the thing that made the whole dinner troubled. If they were talking about it, it wasn’t good.

“Lyra,” Eir said suddenly as they sat down and ate. “You mentioned something about a thing being inside of Dainn? What were you talking about?”

Lyra gasped, she had forgotten that she had said it out loud. Two years ago, she had seen something so horrible and despicable; she didn’t even want to talk about it.

“Nothing,” Lyra lied. “Nothing important, I was uhh..talking about a donut. He ate it and um…”

“Lyra…” The snow queen interrupted. “You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. I’m sure Eir can wait until you and Dainn are actually comfortable in talking about it.”

“Thank you, snow queen.” It was Dainn who spoke this time. “I appreciate your kind words and your outstand patience, it is a good quality in a person.”

“Thank you for the compliment,” the snow queen smiled. “Let us sleep a heavenly sleep tonight, for I have a feeling we’ll be meeting drake soon. How soon? Well, we may even meet the legendary coldbreather tomorrow.”

“Coldbreather?” Lyra asked. “Do you mean drake?”

“The coldbreather, one of the bravest and strongest of the drake.” The snow queen looked troubled. “He will be no easy opponent.”

“You mean we will have to kill more than one drake?” Lyra asked curiously, she hadn’t known any of this.

“If we really did have to,” The snow queen raised her face up. “We would all die.”

“So we don’t?” Lyra sighed in relief. “Only the coldbreather? One shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Don’t underestimate the coldbreather, he is stronger than you will ever be. It will take all four of us and more to kill it.” The snow queen said strictly, this was obviously a serious topic. “Let us sleep now; another sleepy and tired day is the last thing we need.”

But Lyra could not sleep that night; she kept getting the same nightmare over and over again. She kept seeing Dainn being possessed by the demon that had been sealed with him when he was four. The wolf demon, Arisnata, had been sealed inside him after a brave incident. Lyra sighed, perhaps she could tell her friends about it one day.

Lyra got up at dawn, tired and weary. She was worried and stress, and nothing-not even the grandest feast-would be able to cheer her up. As usual, she gathered the food and finished cooking it by the time everyone woke up. After a light breakfast, everyone silently got their things and crowded around the stone door that would lead them into a new tunnel.

“I will meet the coldbreather at last,” the snow queen sighed. “I never thought that I would live up to this day or did I think this day would even come.”

“Let us proceed,” Lyra said calmly as she pushed open the amazingly light tablet shaped door.

As they entered, they noticed something very peculiar. It was lighter here; they could see everything in adequate precision. This would prove to be an advantage to both them and the enemy. Also, it was colder and as they breathed, their breath could be seen in the freezing air. They took a few steps and inspected the first room they had entered.

Lyra noticed that it was like a living room of some sort, stone chairs stood in the middle of the room and the walls had wall paintings on them. What kind of people could’ve lived here? Lyra was mystified.

“The fallen ones,” the snow queen said suddenly, “I didn’t think we would have to deal with them as well, but I guess we have no choice. This is merely one of the many rooms the undead would lay.”

“Undead?” Dainn asked. “Fallen ones?”

“The fallen ones,” Eir explained. “Are the ones who died by the fierce claws and cold breath of the drake. They are reanimated and brought to serve him for eternity. The only way to free them is to kill the drake and that’s what we have to do. No, that’s what we must do.”

“I never knew the drake to be this evil,” Lyra exclaimed at this new discovery. “Let us be on our guards at all times.”

“Indeed,” the snow queen agreed.

They walked out of the skeletal living room and into a long hallway. One step into the brightly lit corridor showed them that it was not empty. Dozens of skeletons roamed the hallways and all of them stared at the humans. For a split second, Lyra thought the skeletons weren’t going to attack them, but a split second was all it took for her to get off guard and cut by a skeleton. Luckily, the skeleton missed, tearing only a piece of Lyra’s shirt.

Lyra frowned at her stupidity. How could she have thought that these skeletons were harmless? Lyra dodged the blows from over twenty skeletons gracefully and as she tried to take out her bow, she realized it was not there. Lyra sighed and began chanting magic. Ten skeletons tore apart to her empowering spell.

As they progressed through corridor after corridor, the same thing happened over and over again. Everyone would kill the skeletons and just keep going, but the number of hallways seemed endless. As they were stopping for the day, a red blazed skeleton wearing black armor attacked them. Most of the skeletons they had seen today were brown and grayish, but this one was not a normal skeleton. It tore at them like a ravage beast and even a blow of Lyra’s burning ice magic could not blow it off. Dainn immediately went to Lyra’s side and used a fire wave, and that did the trick. Still, this new kind of skeleton troubled Lyra, she had thought they were all the same.

The next morning proceeded almost like the morning before. Occasionally they would fight a red skeleton, but it was mainly the regular ones. It was at noon that they found some real competition. They were at the end of a corridor and Lyra groaned as she opened the door to the next room, but when they stepped into the room, her lifeless state came back to life. There, standing in the middle of the room, was a completely red skeleton with the evilest looking helmet and armor ever. A giant blue tablet lay behind it and Lyra guessed it was the portal to drake. They would have to get through this skeleton to go to drake.

“Who are you, humans?” The skeleton knight spoke roughly.

Lyra gasped, she had not expected a skeleton to talk. Lyra opened her mouth to reply, but Dainn beat her to it.

“We mean you no harm; we just need to get past drake and into the desert.” Dainn said. “Please let us through.”

The skeleton knight chuckled. “Do you really thing I’ll just let you pass so easily? No, not without a fight. It is my duty as the hell knight to kill all trespassers that make it through this far.”

“Hell Knight?” Lyra stared at the skeleton. “You mean in Ashtar, the Hell Knight?”

“I have been called many things,” the skeleton said. “Hell Knight, Ashtar, the Dark One, Blood Killer, but my names do not matter. All that matters is that you must die. Now, arm yourselves and DIE!” The skeleton charged at them with its full might.

Lyra dodged easily, but it was harder for the others. They did not have the same swiftness that she had. It was a gruesome fight. Dainn scraped his shoulder against the wall every time he dodged and Eir got pushed back heavily by the knight when she tried to heal. Sieg had trouble matching the pace of Ashtar and the queen had been knocked out cold. It was up to Lyra to defeat this knight. If only I had my bow, Lyra sighed. She took out an arrow and thought for a moment.

Wait… Lyra gasped. My hands can act as a bow!

Lyra readied her arms in a bow position and charged the magic to her fingertips. She pulled the magic back like a string and fire. The fire burst onto the hell knight, flying him to the other side of the room. Everyone hurriedly got out of the way and went to Lyra’s side.

“Amazing-“The snow queen had woken up.

“Don’t praise me yet,” Lyra said as she pointed to the moving Ashtar. “This battle is far from over.”

Lyra threw another fire burst at the hell knight before he could get to her, it was successful. Still, it was not powerful enough to destroy the knight. After another few shots, she could tell the hell knight was weary and tired, but not dead. She had to try something else if she were to kill it. The hell knight charged at her with all its remaining strength, but Lyra could not think. What could she do to finish the knight off? What was powerful enough to kill it? What final burst of power should she waste her magic on? It was then that Lyra thought of the snow queen’s graceful approach on the first boss, she would use that.

Enhancing her speed with the swiftness of the wind was no easy task, but Lyra had to do it. She changed her movement rate and as she did that, she felt like she was floating in the air. Still, there was one problem; she didn’t have her bow to shoot with. How could she kill the hell knight now when she use her last magic on this spell?

“Lyra, catch!” The snow queen threw Lyra a bow made of firmly carved ice. “You need a bow, right? Well use this one.”

“Thank you!” Lyra thanked the snow queen in a brief second and went back to the task at hand: Ashtar, the hell knight had to go.

She charged up five arrows with ice power and loaded them one by one into the bow. All of them landed directly on the knight and the power shook him and shattered his bones into pieces. She had done it; she had killed the Ashtar of the skeletons.

Lyra walked over to her friends and hugged them tightly. This was an easy battle and her friends could do naught, she could see a problem now. Still, she loved her friends ever so much and would never let anything happen to them if she could avoid it. Due to Lyra’s weariness from the battle, they did not travel on that day.

Lyra took out the ice bow she had used in the battle and examined it. It felt smooth and ice was barely cold at all, the craftsman was surely a good one and the spell he cast on it was a good long lasting one. Lyra sighed; it was too bad it wasn’t really her bow. She carried the bow over to the snow queen and tried to smile, but she couldn’t. She missed her old bow so much.

“Snow queen,” she approached the snow queen slowly. “Thank you for lending me your bow. It really proved to be a swift bow and a powerful one as well. The craftsmanship of the bow is beyond anything I have seen and I’m glad I got a chance to use such an extraordinary bow.”

“Lyra,” the snow queen smiled. “Who says I was lending it to you? I crafted this bow last night and it was for you. Please, accept this gift as a token of my gratitude for everything you’ve done.”

“Th-thank you.” Lyra should’ve known that the snow queen was the one who crafted it. The bow wasn’t even there before they started their journey through the tunnel.

“Don’t thank me,” the snow queen pleaded softly. “You’ve done so much for my people and I wish I could do more for your kind, but I cannot. I leave today, Lyra, and I can only hope for your safety and success until we meet again. I have been away from my people too long, they will begin to question my authority and rebellions may occur if I am not back soon.”

Lyra nodded, she knew the snow queen couldn’t have come with them the whole way. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she said goodbye to the snow queen.

“Don’t cry, Lyra.” The snow queen smiled. “We will meet again, be sure of it.

The snow queen walked out of the room they were in and when Lyra tried to go after her, she was gone.

“So, she’s left us.” Dainn said solemnly. “Well, I’m sure we’ll meet up with her again someday. Until then we know what we have to do: Kill drake and then to Daru.”

“Yes,” Lyra reluctantly stopped crying, she knew crying would do them no good. “Let us go through the tablet portal tomorrow and unleash our might onto the drake. After all these years of being undisturbed, I would think that the drake is out of shape. If we battle to our fullest, the drake may be down before we know it.”

That night, Dainn made them dinner while Lyra could do nothing but inspect her bow. She never knew that snow girls were such skilled craftsmen. If only she could’ve known them better or if it was a different situation, she was sure she could be friends with many of the girls.

Lyra ate halfheartedly; she was too concerned with the power of the drake. Dainn tried to reassure Lyra that they were going to do fine, but his reassurance was not helpful. She needed proof of power, not proof of kindness. Lyra sighed and slipped under her blanket. Shutting her eyes, she imagined the village of the snow girls where everything was at peace and quiet. Gentle melodies filled the air and the snow fell would fall gently to a rhythm, everything was at peace and they were dancing in the village square. Lyra noticed something strange in her dream though, all of the people were girls. She pondered many things as she was in her graceful dream. How were snow girls different from humans? Why were they only girls? Did they live forever?

Lyra woke up and sighed, if only she had asked these things before the snow queen left. Now, she may never know. Still, there had never been much time to ask such unimportant questions and now was not a good time to be thinking about this anyways. She looked at the others, they were still fast asleep. Lyra smiled, this was the perfect time to practice her archery.

She strung an arrow to her bow and shot at the tablet. As she did so, a portal opened by the tablet. Lyra gulped as she realized what she had done. She had opened the portal. Struggling to wake everyone up, she realized that the portal was not disappearing. There was no need to go through it immediately. Still, they could not be certain it would not disappear in a couple of hours. Lyra prepared them a quick breakfast and sent them to stand by the edge of the portal.

“Lyra, what were you doing?” Dainn stared at Lyra, disapprovingly. “How could you open the portal without us?”

“I’m sorry,” Lyra said. “I was practicing my archery, I guess I though the tablet was a good target. Let me just gather up two dozen arrows and we can go.”

Dainn sighed, there was no point in delaying their inevitable battle with drake anyways, and it would’ve just made the tension worse. “Let’s go then.” Dainn said as he stepped into the great portal.

Lyra went in second and found herself engulfed with light. The portal was brighter than she thought. She felt around for Dainn’s hand, but before she could find it they had been teleported into a room. The room was larger than any of the rooms they had been in before and ice spirits floated around and shot snowballs at them. Besides the ice spirits, the place seemed almost empty. Lyra killed the ice spirits off slowly and when she finished, she noticed some blue figure was moving above them.

“The drake is flying!” Lyra shouted as she realized what it was. “Get out of the way, I think it’s about to land!”

Everyone heeded Lyra’s warning wisely and got out of the way. The drake nearly landed on Dainn’s cloak, but a burst of speed, he avoided a deadly fate. Lyra wasn’t particularly afraid of the drake, but her friends were and that was all it took to get Lyra to fight back strongly. She used all her strength in her arrows and imbedded all the magic she had into her spells. Still the drake did not seem affected. Lyra was on the last of her strength, but the drake seemed no weaker.

“Lyra,” Dainn had realized that Lyra was trying to kill the drake on her own. “Don’t do this alone…this isn’t Ashtar…Drake is much too strong for one person.”

“But you guys are terrified of it and I’m the only one-“Lyra began to protest.

“You may be the only one brave enough to look the drake in the eye,” Eir smiled. “But you’re not the only one here, we can fight as well! Don’t count us out and disabled yet.”

“Thanks,” Lyra smiled as she watched her friends scared the drake away with spells, her friends could fight back after all. “I’m glad we can do this together.”

The drake flew again and it would fly over and breathe cold breath over them. The breath was hard to dodge, but not impossible. Every time it hit one of them, they would have trouble running and they would feel numb. The drake was one clever opponent; attacking from the sky would enable them to get weary and when they were tired, the drake would have the perfect opportunity to finish them off.

Lyra wasn’t going to let them be beaten up now; it had taken too much to get here. She fought the coldness with heating spells and protected the others with barriers. Still, the drake had the advantage. Lyra was too much on the defense, she would have to be more offensive before they ever got anywhere. To make matters worse, casting spells took physical energy as well; she had used too much magic. She stopped casting spells for a while and fought with arrows, but she found the arrows to be useless. The giant blue scales of the drake protected the drake from the arrows.

As the drake lifted up for another aerial attack, Lyra noticed something. The drake was vulnerable at two times: while he took off and while he landed. Also, the drake had a soft belly; it would be the best place to aim the arrows. While the drake flew, he was too fast for Lyra to even aim at it, so Lyra waited for the drake to get down. The drake flew in the air for longer than last time, for over half an hour, the drake flew and blew freezing cold breaths at them.

As Lyra waited, she could feel herself nearly getting frostbite. A warming spell took her strength, but she had to use one to warm both herself and her friends. At last, the drake returned to the ground and Lyra was ready. She had a charge up arrow and she wasn’t going to give mercy to the drake. The split second before the drake touched the ground, Lyra shot. It landed right in the middle of the drake’s belly. Yes! Lyra smiled at her archery skills, they never let her down. The drake screamed in agonizing pain and Lyra felt just a tiny bit of remorse for it. After all, no one would want an arrow stuck into their belly.

“That was a nice shot,” Dainn commented. “I see you’ve discovered two of the drake’s weaknesses.”

“You mean you knew them all along?” Lyra was irritated.

“Hey, if I said something, you would never learn how to notice things.” Dainn shrugged and began aiming more spells at the dragon. Lyra had never noticed before, but Dainn had always aimed for the drake’s belly. Lyra groaned in realization, she had thought that she was the first to find out.

Before long, the drake was down for the count. This new discovery allowed all four of them to aim and attack at the right place and at the right moment. As the drake breathed its last breath, it mumbled something.

“Aforlar…Keiin…Omigar.” The drake groaned into the air in his last breath, and then he was dead.

Lyra went over to the giant drake body and screamed. It was rotting faster than anything she had ever seen. Bugs and rodents consumed the drake’s body as if it was the tastiest thing in the whole world. Lyra turned away in disgust and went to talk to the others about a more concerning matter.

“What did the drake say?” Lyra asked Dainn, it was he was usually knew.

“Aforlar keiin omigar.” Dainn replied frowning. “All I know is omi means good and gar means balance. I have no idea about the rest of the sentence.”

“Good balance?” Lyra was curious about this language. “What is this language anyways? Some kind of dragon talk?”

“No, no, no.” Dainn laughed. “Dragons speak the ancient language. Everyone used to know the ancient language, but times have changed. We made new ones to communicate easier with our people and the ancient language has almost been forgotten. I studied it a little when I was young, but not a lot. I had thought that it was a useless language. Looking at how much we need it now, I think I should’ve paid more attention when my father was teaching me.”

“Ah well.” Lyra said. “What’s done is done. As long as we remember the words, we may soon find the meanings to them. There is another problem right now…There is no door leading out of this tunnel, where do we go?”

Dainn gasped, he had noticed that. It was usual for Dainn to be so careless and miss a fact as big as that. “You’re right…”

“What shall we doo?” Sieg asked, he was worried. Lyra thought that Sieg should be more worried about his own wellbeing. His arm was covered with blood and bruises and Eir was too injured to fix him up right now.

Lyra sighed; they could do nothing but get healed for now. They would have to figure out the way as they rest. Lyra, luckily, was not as hurt as the others. She was tired and weary and after a nap, she summoned water for all of them. Dainn offered to help, but Lyra took one look at him and said no. He was too bruised and cut to be of much help anyways. She helped Dainn tie up his wounds again and put him off to sleep.

For the next few hours, Lyra attended to the needs of her friends. After giving everyone dinner, she felt weary and tired. Sighing, she forced herself to stay up. An hour passed and Lyra saw Eir wake up with a start. She went over to her and tried to comfort her, but Eir rejected Lyra’s help. She told Lyra to go to sleep and that she’ll watch the camp, but Lyra wouldn’t let Eir do such a thing. It was her responsibility to look after the others and it will stay her responsibility.

“Eir, it’s okay, I’m fine with doing this.” Lyra tried to persuade Eir to go. “Anyways, you don’t look so well. How come you woke up suddenly anyways? Eir…”

“Sorry, Lyra.” Eir said. “But I would like to stay awake and think about some things…I just had the worst nightmare ever…”

“Fine, but if you ever need someone-“
“I’ll be fine, now go sleep.”

Lyra reluctantly slipped under her blanket. She thought it was going to be hard to fall asleep, but exhaustion overtook her. Sweet melodic dreams embraced her and when Lyra woke up, she could still smell the scent of daisies and lilacs from her dreams. Everyone seemed to wake up at the same moment and they all gathered around a fire Dainn had made.

“How do we leave this cursed place?” Lyra brought up the inevitable question immediately. “Everyone, we need search for some kind of exit.”

“Yes,” Dainn said. “Let’s start now.”

Lyra got up and went over to the west side of the wall. She felt around the stone wall for a switch of some kind, but she could feel nothing but cold stone. Lyra looked the stone walls carefully for some kind of hint. Every time she discovered symbols on the wall, she called Dainn over to look at them.

“Lyra, these symbols are everywhere.” Dainn said. “They only talk about the great war, nothing more, nothing less.”

Lyra sighed, were they doomed to stop here? Lyra felt hopeless as she walked around the room again. She was about to give up when something caught her eye.

“Dainn, come look!” Lyra called him over.

“I told you Lyra, symbols are-“Dainn began to say when he looked at what Lyra had found.

“Look carefully, these symbols are different.” Lyra said excitedly. “See? That swirly thing isn’t there.”

“You’re right…” Dainn inspected the symbols for a moment. “Oh my…I believe that you’ve done it, Lyra. You’ve found the way out!”

“What?” Lyra said, she was curious to know what she had discovered.

“It’s so funny and simple…” Dainn laughed. “We have to go back to the spot where we first reappeared in this room and then all we have to say is ‘oh my…it’s drake!’”

“What the…why would we say that?” Lyra was surprised.

“Because, we’re apparently supposed to react to drake all over again.” Dainn laughed. “When we do, a portal should appear.”

“Okay…fine.” Lyra said. “But I’m not saying it.”

“We all have to,” Dainn said. “Don’t ask me why, I’m just reading off the wall.”

“Fine.” Lyra grumbled. She didn’t want to act strange and stupid by doing something as silly as this, but she had no choice.

Everyone took their places and Dainn counted them in. 3, 2, 1!

“Oh my….it’s DRAKE~!” They all shouted in unison.

As Dainn had foretold, a portal opened directly in front of them. Lyra wasted no time and she started walking slowly near the portal. She signaled everyone to go in. One by one, they entered the portal. All they knew was that a long blazing desert awaited them. As the light of the portal disappeared, an extraordinary sight entered each of their minds, capturing them in a whole new world.

Chapter 15- Across a Treacherous Desert

The brilliant sun shined into Lyra’s eyes. They were in a new plain now. To Lyra, it seemed like an entirely new world, a world of yellow and orange. She could see nothing but the desert, not a single cactus stood here.

“This place…” Dainn basked in the sunlight and smiled. “It’s amazing. It’s so beautiful and-“

“Bright? I agree.” Eir smiled. “I have a feeling this place is going to be a lot more fun and warmer too.”

“Yesh, it shall indeed be warmer. Still, we watch out for teh creepy monsters, nay?” Sieg added.

“Yes, Sieg is right.” Lyra said sternly, but she couldn’t help but smile. “The dangers may have decreased or the enemies may have gotten even stronger. We cannot afford to let our guard down. And about this sun? It may be the right temperature now, but later…We may be too warm for our own comfort. So enjoy this place for now without troubles, but be warned that everything can change in a split second.”

They walked freely in the blaze of the desert. Lyra was right though, they would not enjoy the desert for long. The wet sand was uncomfortable to walk on beetles stung their feet. Soon, another problem attacked them face first. Scorpions were in the desert: Vicious, large scorpions with claws as sharp as a knife.

“Eir, watch out!” Sieg cried. He was the first to realize that they were being ambushed by scorpions.

Eir dodged quickly, but the scorpion matched her speed. Lyra gasped in shot as the scorpion aimed its claw at Eir’s face. Luckily, Dainn took control of the situation just in time. He had aimed and shot a powerful ice spell at the scorpion. The scorpion died with no second chance. Lyra sighed in relief as she went over to see how Eir was doing. It took a few minutes to reassure Lyra, but everything turned out okay.

As they walked further and further through the desert, more and more scorpions attacked them. At night, someone was needed to keep watch. These scorpions were deadly, but their tails were useful. They can cure poison, Eir explained. When Lyra asked what kind of poison a tail could possibly cure, Eir just laughed. Later, Dainn explained that inside the tail was a special material which was the antidote to many poisons such as scorpion poison or rodent disease.

By noon the next day, they reached a fortress. They approached the gate-to giant wall protected land-with caution and they saw a cobolt by the door. Cobolts were curious looking creatures, having pointed ears, light brown skin, green eyes and sharp brown blades attached to each arm. The cobolt at the door was almost Lyra’s height, which was surprising since most only grew to four feet. As they approached, Lyra heard the cobolt speak.

“No humans may come into our lands,” The cobolt spoke with a booming voice.

“We must go through, we need to find Daru.” Lyra explained. “Please, we mean you and your people no harm.”

“Daru? Why do you wish to meet such a strong foe?” The cobolt asked in amusement. “I suggest you turn back now and save me the trouble of doing it by force.”

“Please, we’ll do any task to pass.” Dainn tried to bargain with the cobolt.

“Fine, but you will not be safe inside the fortress.” The cobolt began to smile; he had obviously come up with a hard task. “Give me three scorpion tails for every one of you. So…four of you equal twelve tails.”

“Here you go,” Eir took out the tails she had been saving. “I trust these will grant us passage through?”

“Fine.” The cobolt grumbled as he checked the authenticity of the tails. “But I warn you, more enemies than you can possibly imagine lie within. We have been having um...problems with scorpions and harpies.”

“Harpies?” Lyra asked curiously. “What are they?”

“Half human, half bird,” Dainn explained quickly. “If the cobolt speaks the truth, you will see them soon enough.”

The cobolt opened the gate and they walked through. Once inside, they were immediately attacked. They were expecting an attack, but this attack had caught them off guard. Cobolts were attacking them.

“Humansss?” The cobolts screeched. “Die!”
“Wait, we did the cobolt at the door a task-“Lyra began to explain, but it was too late. They would have to kill the cobolts if they were going to pass.

Lyra used ice magic on them, but it was not as effective as she thought it would be. She changed to using her arrows, but it was even worse. She turned to Dainn for help.

“Use fire magic, they are from the earth element, fire should be extra effective on them.” Dainn explained.

“Okay,” Lyra thanked Dainn quickly and did as she was told. The dozen cobolts who had assaulted them were all down for the count, but not dead. They left the cobolts and continued to walk further through the desert. Lyra had been wrong to think this place was a fortress, the wall before had been merely a guard preventing foreigners to enter.

As they progressed further, they fought more cobolts and scorpions. Lyra could see that Eir liked fighting scorpions; collecting tails had become a hobby of hers. The day staggered on, and the cobolts they met further on did not even bother shouting at them before attacking. Finally they stopped when the sun went down and they had found a small water deposit near a lone cactus. Today was a lucky day; Lyra had also hunted down a rabbit. They would not starve tonight.

After a relaxing dinner, Lyra slept peacefully. But that night, Dainn could not rest easy. Another one of those strange dreams had entered him and he could not shake it off…

“Dainn,” The girl was there again. This time, she was wearing a violet blouse and skirt and she shined with a dim gray light.

“I still don’t know who you are and why are you contacting me so much?” Dainn frowned, there was so many questions he wanted answered.

“I am someone you will so meet, but I will not be myself…I need you to-“The girl was fading again.

“No! Not again!” Dainn shouted in his dream.

Dainn woke up to find everyone already up and running. Everyone had already eaten breakfast without him so he didn’t bother eating his. Packing up quickly, Dainn noticed that everyone was opening their mouths but did not talk. Lyra went up to him and seemed to be speaking, but Dainn could hear nothing. He tried to speak back, but could not hear himself.

Finally, Lyra spoke a spell and Dainn could hear again.

“Dainn, are you better now?” Lyra looked at Dainn worriedly.

“Yes, what happened?” Dainn had a serious headache.

“Someone cast a deaf spell on you, but I don’t see how or who.” Lyra said. “You’re usually so careful…and who could cast a spell on you anyways? We’re in the middle of nowhere. I was really worried Dainn, we all were.”

“I’m sorry to make you worry.” Dainn said. “But I’m fine now, so let’s go, okay?”

“Okay.” Lyra gave Dainn her hand to hold. As Dainn held Lyra’s hand, he could feel it warm and sweaty. Lyra was nervous and worried about him. He wanted to tell Lyra everything, his dreams and his confusion, but he couldn’t. It would be too much of a burden on her.

“Eir, Sieg, guess what?” Lyra smiled unevenly, she wasn’t happy at all. “Dainn’s all better now?”

“Oh, thank god!” Eir smiled and gave them both a hug. Sieg just shrugged and joined in the group hug.

By afternoon, no one was worried about Dainn anymore. They had just found another problem. There, right in front of them, was a seven foot harpy. It flapped its wings again and again, flying straight towards them. It screeched loudly and Lyra had to cover her ears to numb the noise.

“So that’s a harpy,” Lyra said. “It sure is…scary.” The harpy was indeed scary. It had human flesh for the top half of its body and its head was the shape of a human male. Its wings thumped hard on the ground and the harpy’s red eyes looked angry. Lyra inspected the harpy’s feet; they were like a bird’s with sharp talons. Harpies really are dangerous, Lyra thought.

“Kill it, Lyra!” Dainn shouted. The harpy was heading straight for her. She needed to think fast.

“What do I do?” Lyra shouted. She could do nothing but run and wait for some kind of advice.

“Use ice!” Dainn shouted as he struggled to help her. “Or an arrow, anything!”

Lyra knew that no one could help her. More harpies were coming and she was still having problems with this one. Lyra sighed and attacked with her ice bow. The harpy died in one shot. Lyra gasped, she had aimed for the harpy’s heart without noticing it. Lyra took a moment to rethink her actions, but then continued to help her friends without hesitations. It was better to kill the harpies in one shot and save the suffering.

Soon, due to Lyra’s new strength, the harpies were all gone. Before anyone could thank Lyra, Lyra fell to the floor and cried.

“Lyra, that was great, why are you crying?” Dainn sat down beside Lyra and tried to cheer her up, but it was no use.

“I’m a killer, Dainn.” Tears continued to flow down her rosy cheeks. “A killer! Can you understand how much it hurts to kill…and not realize it until everything is dead? What if I were to hurt all of you…my friends…and not realize I’m hurting you guys until you’re all dead.

“That won’t happen, Lyra. I won’t let it, now stand up and smile.” Dainn gave Lyra his hands, but she pushed it away. “You cannot undo what is done, Lyra. You are not a killer, but you think this is so because of all the blood and flesh around us. Those harpies are corrupt, you are not killing them.”

“They are not corrupt, Dainn.” Lyra cried. “Don’t lie to me. I have eyes too you know. I don’t see them shattering into crystal pieces…I see them dying, corpse and all.”

“Lyra, if they were nice, they wouldn’t attack us in the first place.” Dainn put his arm over Lyra’s shoulder. “Think about it, would nice harpies really be attacking you? They are evil and you know it just as much as I do.”

“You do have a point.” Lyra stopped crying gradually, but still took heavy breaths. “Fine, let us keep going then. Daru awakes us.”

“That’s the spirit!” Dainn helped Lyra up and they joined the others.

“Are yeh feeling better?” Sieg asked. “Yung ladies needs be bright and have tis emotion of happiness.”

“Thank you all for worrying, but I’m fine now.” Lyra almost smiled. “I promise this won’t happen again.”

“Even if this happens again, it’ll be alright.” Eir said. “None of us mind waiting for you, you’ve done much for this mission and we wouldn’t be able to continue without you in a good mood. So never think it is a burden on us to see you express emotions of sadness. Think of it as creative mood expression.”

Lyra laughed and Eir joined in, Eir had no idea what she just said. Pretty soon, all of them were laughing while they walked. It would’ve been a strange sight to anyone who saw them. Four travelers armed with weapons were laughing in a blazing desert with the sunset in the background. Lyra could almost imagine them being the front page of a newspaper due to irregularity.

Two days later, they had made it well across the desert. For two days, they had fended off harpies, scorpions, and cobolts. For two days, they had struggled to find food. For two days, they had been in peace and harmony. But today was special, today was the day they would meet Daru.

They had walked a fair distance in the two days and they were now by the gates of what seemed like a garden. No guard stood at the entrance and so they let themselves in. It was not a garden but in fact an orc village. Beyond the village was a castle and Lyra guessed that it was where Daru would be lying.

Lyra covered her friends and herself in an invisibility spell. They walked through the village without being seen. The village was large and humble and gave off a feeling of homeliness. The sweet scent of pears and caramel apples floated around them and Lyra was tempted to take the food, but she knew there was no way in a million years could she have done that without being noticed.

It took them well over an hour to walk to the castle. It was farther than Lyra had thought. Unfortunately, the castle was heavily guarded and there was only one entrance. The six orc guards did not flinch or move and remained still against the castle doors. Lyra began to take off the invisibility, but Dainn stopped her. What was she thinking? They couldn’t just take it off because they had made it to the castle. They would only cause a commotion that way.

It was strange, they were all invisible and it was hard for Lyra to tell who had stopped her. The only way they knew where each other was because they were holding hands the whole time. Lyra sighed and took out an invisible arrow and her bow. It was hard to aim properly, but the arrow landed right in one of the orc’s chest and the others ran away, scared of the invisible enemy. Everyone quickly moved out of the way and went into the castle. Once safe inside the castle, Lyra took off the invisibility.

They smiled at each other as they made their way through the castle. None of them were certain where Daru might be, but Lyra thought she might know. After all, she had lived in castles most of her life. The castle was old and the gray bricks of the castle walls had green mold growing on it. The floor was carpeted with a simple red carpet and the doorways were not elaborate in the least. Lyra found the place most displeasing, she had never seen a castle this mistreated before until now.

At last, after an hour of searching, they heard voices. A booming one and a soft one was talking in the royal hall. Lyra guessed that the booming one was Daru. Everyone moved close to the door to hear the conversation.

“Sir, a guard was killed.”

“What do you mean? How DARE you suggest that one of my chosen few have died?”

“Sir, it came out of nowhere, an invisible arrow.”

“Invisible? A mage is here in this castle right now? How can that be?”

“I believe they are after your book.”

“The book has granted me power over all, I will not lose this power now. Still, I cannot fight here; it will cause a dispute among the people. Spread the news, a great battle will take place in Agaeflower.”

Lyra gasped. They were going to invade her country. Lyra charged into the room and her friends went in after her. There, standing in front of her, was a small orc and a large orc. The large one had a muscular build with the eyes of a leader while the small orc was small and meager.

“So you have shown yourself.” It was the small orc that talked with the booming voice. “I’m sorry that you have to see me in such a weakened form, but under these conditions, it can’t be helped. I’m afraid we cannot fight here. I will send you back to Agaeflower with the power of book and in two week’s time, the final battle will commence. Bring all your friends and all of your army, humans, but it is time for my reign. I, Daru, will rule the world.”

“No. Don’t you realize the harm you are doing?” Lyra cried. Dainn tried to calm Lyra down, but she was just too mad. “You are turning the creatures evil! This is effecting the balance, you have to stop!”

“Who are you to judge my command?” Daru laughed. “Be gone, little flea. I do admire your courage though, it is a quality not many have. Go, little one and warn your country!”

With that, the Daru took out a book. It was white with purple designs on the cover.

“My mother’s book!” Sieg ran to grab it, but it was too late. Daru had said the words to send them back. In moments, they appeared in the grand palace in Auroria.

Lyra’s mother, the queen, was sitting in the dining room, pale and sickened. Lyra ran over to her mother and asked what was wrong.

“Oh, Lyra!” Tears flowed down her mother’s cheeks and touched her face. “I was worried sick!”

Lyra smiled. “Mother, I missed you so much.”

“I couldn’t eat with you missing…” Lyra’s mother, Queen Wynnie, had fainted.

“Mother!” Lyra held her mother in her arms and cried. Dainn, Sieg, and Eir quietly left the room. They could do nothing. The servants and the nurse immediately attended to Queen Wynnie. Lyra could do nothing but pray for her mother’s well being. Too much evil in this world…I wish it would all go… Lyra cried into the night.

Chapter 16- The Last Battle

A week had passed; Lyra’s mother was looking no better. Lyra discovered that her father had passed away while on a frivolous journey. Lyra’s life went from bad to worse. Dainn, Sieg, and Eir planned the battle while Lyra dealt with her own problems. Chocolate desserts and elaborate feasts were planned for the return of the princess, but Lyra didn’t care for food anymore.

Two days before the battle, Dainn went to see Lyra. Lyra’s face was pale and her body was slimmer than usual. She wasn’t eating well. When Dainn walked into Lyra’s bedroom in the grand palace, Lyra did not flinch or move. She paid no attention to Dainn who sat down beside her.

“Lyra, are you okay?” Dainn asked after an awkward silence. “If you want, you don’t need to fight during the battle.”

“Dainn, I’m fighting.” Lyra said. “I’ve decided that much. For some reason, I’ve been blaming the death of my parents on Daru. If father had not been killed by those…orcs…then mother would’ve kept eating. If only…”

“Lyra, it’s okay really. Don’t fight, look at your condition!” Dainn said worriedly. “There’s no way you could do much in your current state.”

“DAINN!” Lyra cried. “I’ve decided to fight. It’s the least I can do; I want revenge for my parents. I need to do this or I can’t live on.”

“Alright, I won’t argue with you anymore today.” Dainn said. “But you have to promise me one thing before you fight.”

Lyra protested, “I’ll be alright, I don’t need to promise any-“

“Just listen to me, Lyra.” Dainn said calmly. “My request is simple. All you have to do is eat more. I don’t want you fighting when you’re just skin and bones. Promise me you’ll eat at least fifty cupcakes today to fatten you up.”

“I don’t think I can eat that much,” Lyra laughed. “Thank you, Dainn, for understanding. I have to fight to prove I’m still worth being called a princess.”

“I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Dainn said. “Until then, I want you to do nothing but eat, think, breathe, and sleep. We’ll be travelling to the selected battlefield tomorrow, it will be a long walk and I want you in the best shape possible.”

“Okay, thanks for coming to see me.” Lyra smiled.

“No problem. Just keep smiling, okay?” Dainn added as he left the room

Lyra did as she promised. Unfortunately, she only got up to twenty-three cupcakes before she was sick of them. Still, it was enough to make anyone gain a few pounds. Lyra spent most of her day packing things into her square. After, she had a peaceful sleep, something she didn’t have for over two weeks. After a light breakfast in the morning, she was ready to set off.

Lyra met up with the others on the outskirts of Auroria. Dainn took Lyra’s hand and smiled. Lyra looked much better today, her pale skin was now rosy and her eyes were shining brightly. Lyra looked around saw many gathered here. Over ten thousand of Agaeflower’s people had gathered to fight in the battle. Lyra smiled to her people. Her mother had died yesterday night, she was the queen now and no matter how much it pained her, she had to smile.

“Thank you everyone for coming!” Lyra spoke loudly to the crowd. “Let us win the battle tomorrow!”

Lyra, Sieg, Dainn, and Eir led the way to the battlefield. It took only several hours to arrive at the battlefield and everyone was still eager enough to walk more. Still, everyone reluctantly stopped as they realized that they did not need to walk any further. Lyra looked at the people and smiled once again, this time she noticed a girl among the people. Lyra gasped, the girl was around her age and she was gloomy and sad. How did she end up with the soldiers? Could she have been dragged along with the crowd?

Lyra rushed over to the girl and took her out of the crowd. The girl said not a word as Lyra dragged her out. Lyra went back to where she would be staying and brought the girl to ask for her friends’ advice.

Lyra showed Dainn the girl first. “Dainn, I spotted a girl among the crowd and-“

“Oh my…it’s her!” Dainn gasped. “It’s…that girl in my dreams.”

Lyra looked at the girl; it was the girl she had seen in Dainn’s mind. Lyra gasped in realization.

“What’s wrong with her, she won’t open her eyes and…” Lyra inspected the girl worriedly.

“Her soul is wandering and looking for her body…I think something’s preventing the girl’s soul from reentering.” Dainn said. “Lyra take care of my body for a moment, I need to return the girl’s soul back to her body.”

“Okay, but be careful. This is almost as dangerous as a spirit channel.” Lyra said nervously. “And don’t take too long. If you can’t do it, then don’t force yourself to.”

“I won’t.” Dainn said and then he was gone.

Dainn had left his body and was in the spirit world. He saw the girl again. Suddenly, he knew everything about the girl. Her name was Dacy and she was a puppeteer.

“Dacy, why do you not enter your body?” Dainn asked Dacy’s spirit.

“I can, but…I am scared. A beast lurks in my body.” Dacy replied clearly and she did not fade away.

“A beast lurks in my body as well, but I am not afraid of it.” Dainn said. “If you face that beast head on and tell him what’s what, he will leave. Trust me; the beast is as scared of you as you are of it.”

“You are right…I need to try.” Dacy opened a portal and prepared to step inside. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck.” Dainn said and Dacy disappeared. Dainn smiled as he prepared to return his own body.

Dainn returned to his body easily and gracefully. It was no hard task. Dainn explained everything to Lyra and asked if Dacy had moved. Unfortunately, Dacy had not moved an inch. Dainn sighed, it was taking longer than he expected. Usually the beast was so afraid; it would back off almost immediately. Perhaps this beast had been in control of Dacy’s body too long. Dainn frowned.

An hour passed and still Dacy did not move. Lyra and Dainn ate dinner together while waiting for a sign of movement from the girl. At last, night arrived and Dacy still had not moved. Dainn gave up and he reluctantly agreed to sleep and hope that Dacy would gain control of her body overnight.

In the morning, Dacy was back. She had gained control of her body after all.

“Dainn, it’s me!” Dacy’s eyes shined with excitement. “The beast is not secluded in a tiny place in me, I can be me again!”

“All is well,” Dainn said as he woke Lyra. “A long battle we will have to fight today, Dacy. Don’t think that everything is just fun and games.”

“I am prepared for battle.” Dacy said as she took something from the backpack she was wearing. It was a small stringed marionette that looked almost like Dacy. Dacy said a few words and the marionette grew to the size of a human. “I will use this to fight. She is called Mellon and believe me, she may look sweet, but her attacks are deadly.”

“Impressive,” Lyra commented. “Can I hold her?”

“No, she’s much too heavy for you.” Dacy said. “But you can…shake hands with her.”

“How can you control it?” Dainn asked curiously, he had never seen a fighting puppeteer before.

“With magic of course.” Dacy said, smiling.

Just as Dainn was about to ask more, a figure with long flowing blue hair came into the tent.

“Snow queen!” Lyra gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“I am helping with this battle; my debt has not been repaid.” The snow queen replied. “I have brought along about a thousand of my people, all of them use magic.”
“We did not help a thousand people, why did you bring so many?” Dainn asked, intrigued.

“You are helping my people right now. Fighting a long battle for the sake of the world…Now that is what I call a heroic deed. There is no way the snow girls are going to miss out on this.” The snow queen smiled. “Oh…TwinkleStar and Kurr are here as well. Shall I send them in to meet you?”

“Oh…Yes please.” Lyra smiled, she had missed Kurr.

The snow queen went outside and two brave looking bears came in.

“Oh Kurr! How are you?” Lyra went over to him and gave an embrace.

“I am fine, my queen.” Kurr smiled, he had heard the news.

“Hello TwinkleStar,” Lyra gave a hug to the strong female cub as well. “If you two are here, who is guarding the forest?”

“I am sure that Rotem can take care of it for now.” TwinkleStar nuzzled Lyra.

Lyra was so happy; she wanted to know every single detail of their life for the past two months. “So how is life in the-“

Lyra could not finish her question; screams told her that the orcs had come. Lyra wasted no time to defend her people. She was out in the front lines in less than a minute. Using her archery, she knocked down and killed many of the orcs with just one shot. Still, there were more orcs than she had anticipated. About fifty thousand orcs stood on Daru’s side. This would mean that the orcs outnumbered humans five to one. This was going to be a hard fight indeed.

Lyra shot a few more arrows and over fifty more orcs died. She did not bother with the weaker orcs anymore after that; they were easy enough to leave for the others. Instead, she focused on the higher ranked orcs and on the most important orc of all: Daru.

Daru was ten times his original size now. Not only was he big and strong, he was fast and intelligent as well. The Book of Mages had made him strong, almost impossible to kill. Lyra shot more arrows, some of them directed for weaker orcs, others header straight for Daru. Daru knocked all the arrows that Lyra shot away like fleas. Daru was not going to die from arrows. Lyra knew that the only way was for her to kill Daru was to get the book away from him, but that would be no easy task.

Over a hundred of her people had died. She could not stand the blood and flesh anymore, if only there was a way to end everything. While Lyra thought, she was left vulnerable many times.

“Lyra, watch out!” The snow queen cried, but it was too late. A stunning spell from an orc mage had hit her. She fell to the floor unconscious.

“Lyra…” A voice was calling her.

“Who is that?” Lyra shouted into an empty void. “What do you want?”

“What do you value more, Lyra: your life or your friends and kingdom?”

“I don’t know, why are you asking me this?”

“Just answer….”

“If I had to choose, I would choose my friends and kingdom.” Lyra said, searching desperately for the person behind the voice.

“Then so be it…The snow girls…your people…Dainn, Eir, Sieg….Kurr…TwinkleStar…Will you sacrifice your life for them?”

Lyra understood now, it was her own conscience she was speaking to.

‘”Yes, yes I will.”

“Then so be it. You know the words…I will bring you back to reality now, don’t let me down, Lyra…destroy those orcs…there is only one way…sacrifice yourself, Lyra.”

Lyra returned to reality and saw that Dainn was by her side. She took Dainn’s hand and got up. She told him that she would be right back and she ran back to the tents. She took out a piece of parchment and wrote in it her last words. Then she enchanted the parchment with a spell that would prevent it from getting torn, wet, muddled, or damaged in any other way. She left it in Dainn’s tent and went back to the battlefield.

Daru and his army had the advantage; they were going to win unless Lyra said the sacrificing spell now. Lyra moved into the center of the battlefield and stood directly in front of Daru.

“What are you doing, little one?” Daru growled.

“Ending this.” Lyra winked at her comrades. “Everyone move away.”

Dainn wondered for a while what Lyra was going to do. He gasped as he realized what spell Lyra was going to use. Dainn ran as fast as he could, but he was too far away.

Lyra smiled one last time and then she said the words: Ashvala Sayona.

Chapter 17- Ten Years Later

Dainn sat on the throne in the grand palace of Auroria. It had been ten years since Lyra sacrificed herself and ten years since all that was wrong was righted. Dainn stared blankly at Lyra’s final words. He knew that he had to let go of her, but this letter reopened his heart’s wounds every time he read it:

Dear Dainn and all those who this may concern,

By now, you should know that I have sacrificed myself for the greater good. I hope that you will always remember me. Still, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t let go of me. Dainn, please become a kind king of Agaeflower.

You are the one I trust the most and the one that I loved the most and since I, the princess, is now dead, you must ascend the throne. Why you? Because I have no siblings and you are the only one I can trust for the job…please don’t argue about it...Agaeflower needs a king and I would rather it be you than some stranger.

Also…let go of me. Find someone else you truly love and marry her, have many children who can take over the kingdom in the future. Have Eir and Sieg by your side and rule full heartedly. When you join me in the spirit world, I want good news of a kingdom well led not one that has been abandoned.

The last thing I say is….I love you, Dainn and I always will. And about the summer palace...? Give Clow a job at the grand palace…and let no one enter the summer palace ever again, I want it to stay a grand beauty, yet not be touched. Let people see it, but let no one enter it. Even you, my love, should not enter it. These are my last wishes and I hope you will live on peacefully and happily.

Live life to the fullest,

Lyra Cordeline

Dainn sighed, no matter how many times he read the letter; he could not let Lyra go. Dainn put the framed letter back on the wall and got up from his throne. Just as he was about to go out of the palace door, Sieg and Eir came into the room with their six year old daughter, Lyra.

“Hello, Lyra.” Dainn smiled. “Go play with the other children for a while please. I have things I need to discuss with your parents.”

“Hello, Dainn.” Eir smiled. “Have you asked Dacy to marry you yet?”

“No, I just can’t let go of her…” Dainn’s eyes began to water. “I’m sorry. It’s been ten years; it must be silly of me to dwell on the past.

“No, it isn’t.” Sieg said. “Lyra was important…I’ve even improved my English for her sake. Lyra’s affected us a lot and we wouldn’t be who we are without her.”

“I know...that’s why it makes it so hard to propose to Dacy….I love her too, but she just isn’t Lyra.” Dainn frowned. “I wish Lyra hadn’t sacrificed herself.”

“Dainn, don’t say that!” Eir cried. “If it weren’t for Lyra, we wouldn’t even be able to talk safely. We would be in constant fear and the orcs would rule us. Do you really want that? I know it’s harsh, but Lyra died for the greater good. We all miss her, but think of all the people she saved.”

“I know,” Dainn sighed. “I’m sorry you have to see me so confused like this. Let us keep Lyra in our hearts…talking about her isn’t going to make anything better. We’ve been talking like this for ten years…it’s time we’ve stopped.”

“Yes…it is time we’ve stopped.” Eir said. “We’re all twenty five years old….We’re mature enough to stop talking like children. Still, you can’t help but love Lyra. She was a special one…a very special one.”

“Oh…” Dainn looked at his watch. “I have to meet Dacy for lunch in the park…Lyra’s favorite park…Dacy’s favorite park…The memory park.”

“So many names, eh?” Sieg smiled. “You better hurry; it’s not nice to keep a lady waiting.

Dainn took a bus to the park and as he went through the city, he thought of Lyra. She had always loved Auroria, admiring every single bit of it. Now, looking back, he regretted not loving the view enough.

At last, he arrived at the park. He saw Dacy humming softly to herself and Dainn apologized for the wait. He had brought the sandwiches and Dacy had brought them drinks. Dacy sensed tension in the air as they ate and she asked Dainn what was wrong.

“Dacy, I just miss Lyra a bit that’s all.” Dainn sighed. “It’s strange…every few years I get this feeling that’s she’s right beside me….then it goes again.”
“Dainn, Lyra will always be besides you.” Dacy said. “She lives forever in your heart and no matter how much you try to forget her, she will still be there. Learn to deal with it, Dainn…You can’t keep acting so tense anymore.”

“Thank you, Dacy.” Dainn smiled. “You know, sometimes you’re just like Lyra. Other times…well you’re a totally different person.”

“Hey, Lyra lives inside of me as well. Do you really think I’m not affected by Lyra’s death?” Dacy said. “Anyways, why did you call me out here to the park?”

“It’s kind of funny actually…” Dainn said. “I asked you out here to propose to you, but I can’t even think straight.”

“I accept.” Dacy said. “I’ve loved you for so long…I’ve been waiting for you to ask me.”
“Wow, you really don’t care for detailed proposals, do you?” Dainn was surprised that Dacy accepted that easily.

“No…I do care for them…” Dacy cuddled Dainn. “But I love you enough to do without one.”
“Thank you, Dacy.” Dainn brushed Dacy’s cheek with a soft kiss. She blushed slightly and smiled.

“Dainn…you do realize what this place is don’t you?” Dacy smiled at Dainn ever more mischievously.

“Our wedding place?” Dainn asked, shining with happiness.

“Exactly.” Dacy smiled.

“You know… This park is really something special.” Dainn said softly. “This was where Lyra and I met and this is where you and I begin our new life. This park holds so many memories, I wonder if it can really hold it all.”

“It can’t, trust me.” Dacy whispered. “But you and I can keep those memories locked tight inside our hearts. And Dainn, I need you to do something.”

“What?” Dainn asked curiously.

“Never let go of Lyra.”

“Why? I thought you would be jealous or something if I didn’t let her go.”

“No…If you let her go, I would never forgive myself.” Dainn felt Dacy’s tears roll down onto him. “Ten years ago, Lyra didn’t just die for you. She died for all of us. Every single person in Lunia as a debt to Lyra, this is why we have a parade for her each year…Yet the debt will never be repaid…for Lyra is no longer with us.”
“Yes, this debt is indeed too big to be paid back in full, but we can still make her happy.” Dainn ruffled Dacy’s soft brown hair. “But I’ve promised Lyra to live my life to the fullest and I’m sure she’ll be happy if we get married as soon as possible.”

“Let us get married on the day of Lyra’s parade….so it will seem like she has given us her blessing.” Dacy looked up at Dainn. “Is this okay with you?”

“Anything is okay with me,” Dainn smiled. “I’m still surprised you agreed so quickly…but let’s do it. On Lyra’s birthday…we will get married.”

“Can I plan the wedding?” Dacy asked, her eyes shining mysterious.

“Why?” Dainn looked at Dacy and then he understood. “Of course, my love.”

As Dainn promised, Dacy was allowed to plan the wedding. It was an elaborate wedding, perhaps the most elegant and large wedding in the whole history of weddings. The city was shining with sunlight, the whole city seemed to be at the wedding and the parade was a combination of wedding celebration and remembrance. Written on the giant twenty feet cake in the middle of the parade was:

Smile, Dainn and Dacy. Rejoice, Lyra, for we will carry on your legacy.

Dacy wore an elegant silk dress covered with ribbons and Dainn dressed in formal wizard robes. Dainn wanted to be a wizard again just for today, not a king.

Dacy and Dainn had an incredible after party as well. Food was delivered to every single household in Auroria by magic. Tourists and visitors stayed at the palace and joined in the feasting. Everywhere there was noise and it took Dainn a long time to drag his friends into a quieter place to talk: The library.

“Dainn, congratulations on your marriage.” The snow queen shook hands with him.

“Thank you,” Dainn smiled. He was glad that the snow queen, Kurr, and TwinkleStar had made it to the wedding.

“Why did you put your wedding on Lyra’s birthday?” Kurr growled. “You do remember that May 5^th is Lyra’s birthday, don’t you?”

“We had deliberately planned this…we wanted Lyra at our wedding in some way,” Dacy explained.

Everyone sighed as they talked about Lyra. All of them missed her.

“There will never be a gal like her,” A single tear dropped from Sieg’s cheek.

“All of us bear the pain of missing her…” Eir’s face was wet from crying.

“You know…” Dainn was crying slightly. “We do this every single year on her birthday…we cry and weep and remember her. Are we ever going to be over her? She died ten years ago…not knowing that we would cry now…remembering her.”

“I didn’t know her that much myself,” Dacy sighed. “But when she died…I cried. It was just so brave of her to do that for us.”

Everyone was sitting at a table crying silently in memory of Lyra.

“Let us never forget her.” Dainn said at last after an awkward silence.

And none of them did for their entire life time. Every year, the tears were the same and speech no different. The parade carried on year after year. Every child in Agaeflower learned of Lyra’s deed at an early age. Dainn and Dacy’s children smiled as they were taught of Lyra the age of six. None of them really understood their parent’s pain, but every one of them thought Lyra was a hero.

Lyra was a hero.

©Copyright 2007 Vanessa TY Lee