CHAPTER 5

Focus.

Concentrate on the goal. Let the world and everything else fade away.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

...Now!

With my concentration at its peak, I let the dagger fly straight and true through the air.

…

It takes me a small moment as my mind registered the sounds of metal sinking into the wooden target.

Then excitement finally hits me.

“YESSS! Sis! Did you see that?!” Excitedly I turn around to face my big sis as my hands punch the air in victory.

Mwahaha! Sis didn't believe I would be able to hit the target. She even placed the target extra far. But guess what?! I'm just too awesome! Not only did I hit the target but I got it in the bullseye as well!

I hurriedly run over to my elder sister whilst jumping up and down from my excitement. I make my eyes extra big while holding her two hands fishing for a compliment.

“Good job Synthia” my elder sister smiles and pats my head.

Ahhh it feels good. It feels extra good because I'm going to get a reward soon! Hehehe I can't wait!

“But you didn’t beat my record.” My sister gives me a smug look as she brags about her unbeatable throwing knife streak. I can’t help but pout as I recall how many knives she can throw with one hand and still hit dead centre. But at least I’m getting better! I’ve officially graduated from one knife at a time!

“Hey hey hey Sis! Are you going to take me to the blacksmith to buy my own weapons now right? Didn't you promise if I ever did extra good you would reward me right? My record now counts as doing really well right?”

Maybe I can now get a cool sword like my sister or perhaps a new set of throwing knives? Something nice and sharp. Maybe she would even take me on the next hunt and perhaps we could eat it straight after! Lizard is extra nice when it’s fresh after all.

At my onslaught of questions, my elder sister's face started twitching before she exhaled a breath in defeat, “Fineee, I guess you do deserve a reward”. I use this chance to jump into my sister's arms to let her know how much I love her.

As my sister and I travel away from the training area I couldn’t help but excitedly wonder how strong I’ll become in the future. Perhaps I’ll even surpass my sister! Just imagining the shocked expression she’ll have when I one day exceed her, I couldn’t help but giggle.

Noticing this big sis raises an eyebrow at me and shakes her head as we continue traversing the rocky ridge.

As we reach the peak of the ridge, I couldn’t help but let out an amazed voice “oooooh”.

Conqueror's Crag, the Drow Capital promptly named after its geographical landscape as the city is built into the very rock itself as it rises like a mountain on two sides as high as the eye could see. Considering the naturally sharp eyesight, it is saying something when even Drow cannot see the very top. The numerous cracks and holes that mark the steep spirals are each alight with a fire beacon marking passageways to all sorts of sectors and districts with wooden bridges swaying from the crowds of individuals walk across.

Every time I see the city, I can’t help but feel astounded. Who knew that light could make the world so colourful and pretty? If only the rest of the Underworld was like this instead of it’s dull black and white.

I’m about to continue following my elder sister when my ears twitch. I stop, frowning. I angle my ears to the side where I heard weird noises.

I backtrack whilst following the noises as it gets louder and notices a small cave. Peeking my head around the corner, I stop in my tracks.

A Drow man is getting beaten to the point where his light purple skin turned black. The thug in question was a Drow lady. She is grinding her feet in between the part where you pee, but for boys. I grimace at the thought of what kind of pain he must be going through. I once again offer my thanks to the Goddess Aiur that I was born a girl.

“Synthia” I can barely make out the whisper of my sister’s voice as it breaks me out of my concentration as I turn around to see my sister followed me.

One of her hands began forming shapes as she silently speaks as to not bring attention to ourselves. *I want you to watch carefully. Depending on the choices you make, you could end up just like that man. Don’t make decisions you may regret.*

Frowning, I try to memorise the advice, even if I don’t understand it. *But sis, how will I know if I will regret things before it happens?*

*Do you know why we have a Queen and no King? Did you ever wonder why almost all the Noble Houses have a Matriarch leader and not a Patriarch?* She asks me back.

I scrunch up my brows. What does that have to do with regretting your decision? This is too complicated. I don’t like it.

Thankfully, my sister saves me once again by giving me the answer. *Because girls are generally more manipulative, cunning and deceitful whereas most men are simply brutes who act without thinking. There are exceptions, but it has been like this since Conquerors Crag was first discovered. A Drow will never die of old age and it goes against the teachings of Aiur to kill our own people without reason and a good cause. That’s why we Drow have to work around the rules in order to achieve our revenge.*

Ahhh, so that’s why my sister is so tricky! Like I thought, she must be really strong. I give her a nod of understanding. Seeing this, my sister slowly backs away while silently bringing me away from the scene of the crime.

I continue to follow behind my sister as she leads me to purchase my hard earned reward. However, the scene where the man was getting pummelled replays in my mind and dampens my mood.

My excitement has died down.

“We’re here” my sister announced.

Wait, reward time?!

Nevermind, I’m all excited again!

My sister slides open the rock door to reveal all sorts of shiny metal in the form of… jewelry?

What happened to going to a blacksmith for a weapon?

During my confusion, my sister already approached the shop owner and handed him a small sack of what I assumed contained coins. She receives a small package from the owner and approaches back toward me.

Kneeling down in front of me she opens the package to reveal a copper and sapphire studded earring in the shape of a four-leaf clover with a small chain attached to a pin.

Err… What happened to the cool weapons? Instead, all I get is this cheap earring?

Seeing my scepticism my sister chuckles for a few moments before explaining “this contains a high-end active enchantment which makes sure you never miss a target no matter how far away they are. It can only be used once every twelve candle marks before it uses the energy of Aiur to recharge. I asked to make it in the shape of a four leaf clover to give you extra luck when you aim for those far shots”.

My eyes lit up as I consider the possibilities.

It’s not a weapon. It’s way better!

My sister grabs the studded part of the earring and places it on my earlobe and the short chain is pierced along the upper edges of my sharp ear.

“Make sure you never lose this. Always have it on you, for it could save your life” she tells me with a serious expression.

After she puts my new present on my ear, I couldn’t help but tackle my sister once again for another hug.

She is simply the best.

---

Fog surrounds me as I slowly climbed up a stalactite spiralling from the ground to gain a vantage point. The slow trickle of water could be heard dripping nearby. Far beneath the stalactite I climbed, a slow moving stream of water could be seen with a Dream Beetle was lazily sipping at the water.

I couldn’t help but give a grin at my luck.

Here I am playing a friendly game of Hide and Kill with my big sis and a Dream Beetle mysteriously appears right in front of me!

It’s as if Aiur herself is looking out for me. If we can sell the Dream Beetle’s shell, big sis would definitely treat me to a nice Lizard Steak!

My eyes roam over the creature as I figure out the best way to end the poor beast. A feeling of shame and pity began rising up.

Then again, there was that one time where this yucky Dream Beetle once found my essence from afar and gave me the worst nightmare. I remember waking up crying so loudly that big sis had to comfort me. Muuu, I take it back, it’s not a poor beast at all!

The giant sized beetle stopped its drinking and turned around to saunter off finding its next prey.

The shell is too hard to pierce through, not to mention it’s the valuable part of the creature.

My gaze locked onto the head of the beast, I began reaching for the familiar feeling of my lovely earring my sister bought for me all those years ago.

The one-time enchantment for this cycle rushed through my body, the legs of the beetle seemingly slowing down as an illusionary image of the creature appeared in front of the beast showing me it’s next minuscule movements.

My body felt slow, yet I know it's just my mind simply thinking too fast. With my extra time and heightened perception, I can concentrate on each individual muscle and movement.

The wind flow. The angle of the blade. The arc of travel. The information rushed into my mind all at once.

Knowing this euphoric high won't last forever, I drew my hand back. And released.

A throwing knife flew through the air, just like how I envisioned it. Straight and true.

The perception of time returned to normal with the thudding of the Dream Beetle seemingly tumbled to a stop.

Even after all these years, I can’t help but feel warm as I think of how much my sister must have paid to buy the earring for me. It’s literally my most precious object in my possession.

Feeling all nice and happy I couldn’t help recall my favourite song that big sis used to sing to me as I fall asleep. I begin a soft hum and sing in my head whilst jumping down from ledge to ledge to skin the beast.

Throw, throw, throw your knife,

Gently at their face.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Dead without a trace.

Stab, stab, stab your knife,

Gently at their body.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Better when you’re bloody.

Hehehe, I wonder if sis is going to praise me after this.

I mean I did a really good job, right?

---

“Guess what?! Your magnificent sister has been studying under a priestess!” My elder sister stood there blocking the doorway while striking a grandiose pose with both her hands on her hips.

…

…

…

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Where’s my ‘Wow big sis, you are so awesome’?” she asked while clasping her hands together and looking up with stars in her eyes.

Is that what I looked like when I was younger? I couldn’t help but cringe at her impersonation.

“Wow big sis, you are so awesome,” I said in a deadpanned tone.

I then promptly threw another piece of my Medium Rare Lizard Steak into my mouth and continued chewing.

One does not simply have a conversation during meal time. Especially when said meal is Lizard Steak.

“Tsk, you were so much cuter last decade. Look at you, 50 years old and acting all refined and grown up” said my big sister in annoyance.

Not one to miss a beat, she reverted back to her playful expression and took a seat across from me.

“So like I was saying, I am pretty much a priestess now, which means I can naturally perform rituals on you! Isn’t it exciting?!”

My sister must be really excited, seeing that she is literally squirming in her seat.

But something feels weird…

Wait…

“Since when did you get accepted as an Acolyte of Aiur?” I asked. There’s no way somebody as lowly as my sister got accepted into the temple. We are the very definition of the shadier part of society.

My sister’s eyes open wide at my question and begins playing with her fingers as she replies

“Well… You see… I saw the Priestess on the street and followed her into the temple. They didn’t see me so it’s okay! She was an Acolyte and participated in some class. You know, Priestess stuff. Point is, I sat in on the lesson and I’m basically qualified as a Priestess now!” The excitement she was radiating was infectious and I couldn’t help but be proud of her. As expected of my big sis, she was even able to sneak into the temples.

Ah! That was close, I almost got caught up in another one of her crazy ideas.

I tried to give my big sister a face of disbelief. Hopefully, it worked.

“So you’re saying you sat in on a how to be a priestess class 101 and now you can conduct all their rituals?” I narrowed my eyes as I gave my sister a glare. She’s always been reckless, but this is a whole new level.

“Exactly! I’m so glad you understand me little Synthi. Although I didn’t learn all their rituals so I guess I’m not a full-fledged Priestess with their oaths and all that” she replied as she waved her hand away in dismissal.

“But I did learn how to conduct the ritual ‘Voice of a Siren’!” She crosses her arms and nods at me. I bet she’s waiting for a praise.

I’ll admit, maybe the curiosity is getting the better of me. “What’s a siren?” I asked.

“It’s a creature from the surface who is capable of enchanting other creatures with their voice alone! The Priestess ritual is meant to grant a Drow a voice of a siren. It’s especially useful during negotiations. Imagine if you can enchant the person you are negotiating with, you could basically control the whole deal!”

“If it’s such a wonderful ritual, why don’t I see many Drow with this voice of a siren?” I sceptically asked.

The face of my sister twitches a little as she hesitantly replies “...Because it’s a powerful ritual that only those touched by Aiur could perform... ” she mumbles while her eyes dart to the side of the room.

“But don’t you worry! Your elder sister here is basically touched by Aiur herself! That means I could perform it perfectly”. She nods at the statement as if reassuring herself.

Now that I think about it, my elder sister is lucky. We’ve been through a lot together and part of the reason why we are alive right now has a lot to do with her dumb luck. Maybe she is indeed touched by Aiur. Maybe this could work out.

After my internal debate, I hesitatingly nod to give my elder sister permission to perform a potentially life-changing ritual on me.

My whole life, she has always been looking out for my best interest.

No matter what, I will always love and trust her unconditionally.

Nothing could go wrong,

Right?