It is impressive the way spells, monsters, curses and everything else in this world does not seem to make any difference when it comes to ambitions.

This is a world inhabited by species of different sizes, colors and cultures, but the desire to accumulate gold and wealth, to form harems and to own the best and bigger lands continues to exist. And the truth is that wars created just to ensure these benefits continue on the same hands is the fuel that runs the world.

Unknown Author

*

When she falls from the waterfall, Nafaester’s body did not hit any stones or dangerous objects on the way down. Her body is even projected forward, staying just a few millimeters from coming out of water and being suspended in the air.

This, however, did not prevent the descent and the impact on the waters at the bottom of the waterfall from seriously injuring her. Despite having used all the magic in her body to protect vital organs and her head, it became clear that her legs were not sufficiently protected and even though her nymph body gives her more resistance, the pain in her feet indicates that the layer magic in the region was insufficient.

The strength of the waterfall’s waters pushes her body to the bottom of the river and the flow pushes her forward. Her mind seems to get weaker and weaker, but her resilience allows her to remain awake.

She cannot swim at first, because of the pain and the strength of the waters. Incapable of doing anything, Nafaester opens her eyes and finds herself among the fish, seaweed and rocks.

It is the first time she has enough time to face an unpleasant truth: Her brother was left behind.

She understands that she made a promise, but that does not help. The knowledge that he told her to leave him does not lessen the burden of guilt.

The waters carry her little nymph body through the river and her eyes open more and more. Consciousness returns and, with it, the pain in both feet increases proportionately. She immediately understands that the bones must be shattered.

Unable to use her legs properly, she propels herself with both arms, seeking the surface. The air in her lungs diminishes and, unlike fishes, rocks and seaweed, she could not be submerged much longer.

The only thing that keeps her from going to the surface is the pursuers. Given the number of people who surrounded them before, she knows that a group would certainly be after her. She has to deal with the possibility of multiple enemies waiting outside the river.

She does not have much time and the lack of options calls for desperate measures.

After all, this is the opportunity that her brother created, and she would not waste it out of mere fear of the consequences of a battle.

It is time to use all the resources at her disposal.

With one hand, she opens the leather bag on her chest, using her other arm to search the object and quickly picks up the jewel she had been keeping for so long.

The ring is quickly placed on the little finger and, even under water, its reddish glow intensifies.

Nafaester feels her chest tighten when the force of magic takes its toll before it is even used. The pain in her feet intensify and, looking down, she sees the way her feet twitches, with the bones returning to the right places.

The ring glows a brighter red, illuminating her entire hand. The nymph jumps over the water, swimming easily and using the force of the wind to lift herself into the air. Using the wind, she launches above the level of the river. About two meters up in the air, she is able to identify three sources of magic nearby. The power that invades her own chest is so great that she does not even notice how one of the three sources is different from the others.

Seconds ago, she would have used that information to make her escape easier. However, the glow in her hand sneaks into her body, spreading an intense heat that invades her chest and awakes her consciousness. She feels powerful. She feels strong enough to deal with any crisis. Under these conditions, she thinks she may be able to rescue her brother.

With that thought, she allows the wind to take her body to the bank of the river, close to the place where Rinlia guides the other two, suddenly alarmed by the amount of magic emitted by the enemy.

-Arthur, stay back. – The elf orders. – Galaaz, leave the bag with him.

Arthur wants to question the order, but the vision of the nymph flying from the river to the place where they are is enough to convince him that he may not be able to help in the battle.

The lupine leaves the bag at Arthur’s feet – during the run, he had used some movements to tie it around his own neck – and walks beside the elf, facing the nymph.

Rinlia tries to think of a way to convince her enemy to surrender without a battle and, for an instant, she considers the possibility of using her brother as a hostage; however, one look at her opponent’s face is enough for her to realize that there is no chance of a dialogue now.

The nymph smiles while her feet touch the ground. She raises both hands and, just like before, the waters of the river rise up. This time, however, in a much larger quantity. Arthur takes a few steps back, gaining some distance from that.

-Galaaz, you go left. – The order is immediately obeyed. Rinlia, close enough to the river bank, just walks forward with quick steps that, soon, became a run.

Before she can use her sword, a strong wind arises from all directions, swirling the large amounts of water that accumulate above the nymph’s head. Two spheres of water, with approximately two meters in diameter, spinning fast.

Nafaester strives to maintain the spell as long as possible. She feels her interior, little by little, being consumed by the magic. However, she does not hesitate to use all of her strength. She knew that if she released the spheres too early, Rinlia could dodge and her defense would be open. After all, even without knowing Rinlia, she can see her ears. Elves are famous for their reflexes.

The lupine tries to surround her, running and looking for a blind spot near her back. With a movement, she launches a sphere in that direction, forcing him to stop his run and dodge. The sphere passes right in front of him, ripping the ground and launching itself between the trees. The nymph, using her arm as a whip, brings the sphere back and, although it had lost some centimeters in diameter, it is still strong enough to cause as much destruction as before.

The sound of the waters deafens the wolf, who need to dodge again and run in a semicircle, realizing that the movements of the sphere are conducted by the nymph’s arm and have the objective of keeping him away, just to remove him from an immediate line of attack.

She knew that it would be difficult to attack two opponents at once, so her plan was to delay one while the other attacked.

And, right now, Rinlia advances. With sword in hand, she runs while thinking about a plan. At this point, her stamina is rapidly decreasing, and she feels that she needs to end the battle as soon as possible.

The ring shines its red light before everybody’s eyes. The hand raises and, at once, lowers the water sphere over the elf’s head. Much faster than the other, this sphere falls over the commander, in an attempt against her life.

Rinlia raises her own sword, covering her arms and weapon with a thick layer of magic. The water sphere crashes against the tip of the blade, twisting the metal and, at the same time, opening a hole in the middle of the water.

Rinlia feels water falling over her body like a heavy rain as the sphere dissolves itself. Nafaester, apprehensive, sees the magic falling apart harmlessly on her opponent’s body.

The Fiandel commander devotes a quick look to the sword itself, admiring the writhed metal, grateful that was the weapon and not her head the first point of contact with the sphere.

Throwing herself forward, Rinlia knows that she has gotten enough time for Galaaz to find an opening. At this point, worried about Rinlia, Nafaester did not realize that the wolf managed to approach her.

He launches himself forward, aiming for the nymph’s legs. She notices the attack and, feeling the power of the jewel in her hand, easily jumps over him and rolls forward, allowing the second sphere of water to fall apart.

Since the battle began, even before the golems arrived, Nafaester knew that not everyone was involved in the battle. As a careful warrior, she was always aware of who was present and could be a threat.

This has always been useful to her for two main reasons: First, it lessened the chances of suffering a surprise attack; second, it allowed her to notice who were those who did not fight because they were “protected” by others.

And, realizing that she could not keep her magic for a long time, she decided to use the information she acquired at the beginning of the battle: That a boy, isolated from the fight, was probably too important to be involved in a life or death situation.

The magic in Arthur’s body was strange to her, however, she did not have the time to think about such matters. Right now, she was only interested in using his apparent fragility in her favor.

She reduces the distance between them in a few seconds, running much faster than usual, using the wind to make her body lighter and also to propel her in the right direction.

With a movement of her arm, she generates a smaller fireball and launches to her right, intercepting his escape route.

Arthur, unable to escape to the forest, realizes how fragile he is. He doesn’t want to call Akemi, as that would reveal her to everybody, but he also does not have any other way to fight.

A light suddenly illuminates Nafaester’s back, who needs to dodge and stop her run for a second. The lightning flash passes near her shoulder and burns some grass as it touches the ground. She does not need to look back to understand that Rinlia just attacked her from a distance. Even without much magic, the elf tries to run in that direction and uses her attacks to make life difficult for the nymph.

The wolf is fast enough to approach them in time. Now, Arthur is within Nafaester’s range, however, all members of the battle are also within range. And although Nafaester is not surrounded, she still has to deal with this reality: Three opponents are forming a semicircle in front of her.

In Rinlia’s mind, at this point there was just one good option: To use Arthur’s magic. After all, he showed his power in the lake and, as long as she provides him with an opening, he should be able to put down the nymph. The only thing that prevents her from implementing this plan is the presence of the wolf. She does not want Galaaz to know the origins of Arthur’s magic.

-Arthur, give him the bag. – She orders, without taking a step, fearing that one movement would be enough to make the nymph attack. – Galaaz, find the others.

The wolf wants to discuss; however, this is clearly not the best time to discuss tactics with the leader of the group. With a movement, he bites the bag in the boy’s hand and prepares to run.

Nafaester do not want to allow this, so she gathers fire in her hand and throws the flames in the space between herself and Rinlia. Then, she jumps towards the wolf, moving her hand up and making the floor shake.

The nymph closes her eyes for a moment, feeling the pain in her chest, caused by the successive magical movements.

“This is for Gaenar. He sacrificed himself to give me an opportunity.” She repeats the thought again and again, trying to forget the pain that eat her body from inside out.

Galaaz tries to change the path of his run and, the moment she notices his jump, Nafaester has enough time to close her hand in a fist and raise it again, causing a block of land to get up with the wolf on it, tossing him sideways towards a boulder.

Determined to not let go of the bag, Galaaz clenches his teeth and prepares for impact. His body twists when hitting the rocks and, while Rinlia struggles to avoid the flames that consume some of the terrain, he lets out a silent cry, trying to hide the pain that inflicts two of his legs and his torso. He could not tell if any of his bones just broke.

Arthur, suddenly ignored, realizes Nafaester’s intention. It does not take much effort to understand her plan when she raises her arm, making the ground shake.

Arthur notes that Galaaz, despite seeming conscious, cannot move properly.

If he did nothing, the wolf would die.

Rinlia decides to spend what is left of her energy to cover her body and jump among the flames. The fire seems to increase in size as the nymph’s despair increases and, by now, is taller than everyone.

Arthur, realizing that the elf is closer to the enemy, decides to approach the wolf. Despite fearing for his own safety, he does not want to completely abandon the lupine. He takes the first step and, after that, his body seems to automatically move in that direction.

As she passes through the flames, Rinlia is aware that there is no trace of magic left in her body. She would need to rest and meditate for several hours to be able to gather enough energy again.

Right now, however, she cannot do that. The knowledge that her allies are doing everything possible is the only thing that allows her to continue. Her body, despite being injured by the flames and tired from the lack of rest, moves like the body of a true martial artist.

This is what allows her to notice the moment the nymph raises her hand, lifting several parts of the land in the air and pointing them to the wolf. Galaaz remains with his eyes closed, trying to compose himself with Arthur placed by his side.

Rinlia, despite having warned the boy that she would not protect him, was not willing to allow him to die before her.

“If someone is going to die, let it be me.”

These are simple words, but they lift a burden from her shoulders. She realizes that, recently, her sadness was not originated from the problems with her plans. After all, the recent events have been absurd enough to cause problems to any plan. Her problem was with the fact that she herself was never affected by the failures and the weight, apparently, always fell on someone else’s shoulder.

Not this time.

The elf runs as Nafaester throws the stones towards Arthur and Galaaz. Rinlia does not see the result of that action, as she throws herself over the enemy. The time Nafaester needs to compose herself is enough for Rinlia to get close to her.

Facing her opponent, the elf runs with no fear for the magic that the nymph tries to invoke in a haste. In the middle of the race, the elf releases the buckle on the side of her armor. That was a last resource since she had no magic in her body to use.

The metal piece on her chest comes loose, revealing the shirt and chain mail that were hidden under the plate. She holds the piece by the buckle, ready to use it as a weapon.

Despite being tired, Rinlia is still an elf. And, when Nafaester closes her fist and creates a fireball, the good reflexes allow Fiandel’s commander to predict the movement and get enough momentum to jump at the perfect moment.

Nafaester would try to hit Rinlia, but her attack would not reach the target. With a gymnast’s movement, the elf jumps over the fireball and, taking advantage of her body’s full rotation in the air, she propels the piece of metal in her hand. In a lateral movement, she holds the piece by the buckles, using it as a plaque and striking the nymph’s face with all her strength.

Nafaester, unable to defend herself from the impact, is thrown on her back over the floor.

*

Arthur checks the physical state of Galaaz. Despite letting out a low, canine cry, he does not verbalize his complaints, trying to stand up. Arthur collects the bag from his teeth.

-Are you alright?

-I’ll be fine. – The wolf realizes that one of his paws was hurt on impact. Limping, he withdraws from the heap of earth and stones where he had been until that moment. – And the battle?

Arthur looks at his back. A few meters ahead, Rinlia adjusts the metal protection on her chest.

And at her feet is Nafaester’s unconscious body.

*

*