Here is the weekly chapter, so beware if you're going to read it, it's around 12k words. :D Got kinda mature content? Up to you to decide. I'll come back to fix grammar mistakes...if I even have the knowledge to see them, huehue.

Enjoy!

The New Faith

Every single woman in the meeting hall is looking at Xerina with eyes of fear, hate, and…thrill?

One of the Elven women who stands far away from all the other females that’s gathered here, looks at the woman that’s named Xerina. It’s a look of delight and reminiscing, though she’s the only one that has that look, the others just watch him as he speaks “His” words.

“The Name is Xivan Bithrendil.”

“THE ELVEN GOD!”

Xerina’s eyes stops glowing and then she falls to the floor. She’s unconscious…

The women are confused, they just stands there for a minute or so, and all of the races except the Beasts are present in this vast meeting hall.

Those who aren’t Elves looks down upon the unconscious Xerina while wondering what has happened. …They don’t even know what happened moments ago, Elven God?

They have heard their Goddesses talk about this “God”, but the Elves said that he had passed away eternities ago. Long before the Elven Continent was taken from them by the other races… And now even one of the sapphire women said that they were building a kingdom for him? Or was that just their nervousness talking?

“Explain what in the Goddesses’ names have happened?!” The blond middle-aged woman yelled, and some of the other women who aren’t Elves also started to inquire what has happened.

This gathering where they would just enjoy conversations about what has occurred in the known Continents has turned upside down. This is their yearly meeting, they’re deep inside the Human Continent, a free zone. Snowcapped mountains are surrounding this meeting place, huge mountains that has many ways to get here, but only those who has the right can come here.

All of the women here are the most powerful people of the different countries, they are the representatives, long lines of all kinds of different families, but only females are here.

The women then looks towards the sapphire women, who surprisingly has collected themselves from this disastrous ordeal.

“My dear allies, be at ease,” Xirina said with a calm, soothing voice, “It would seem that we have met a terrifying antagonist… But worry not about what he said, The Elven God? He is no more, only someone who dares to pretend... Indeed I got surprised, I know, but now that I have gotten my bearings I can think clearly. The one that spoke can’t be him I’m afraid… Because we Goddesses saw him die long ago. This is only a pretender, a fake. My Goddess children we must get rid of this pretender who’s called Xivan…Bithrendil.”

“We can’t let someone shatter our precious religion, which has saved the lives of millions… We are your Goddesses, and he is nothing to you, he must be eradicated without question.”

Xirina finished, but her twin sister Xevinna joined in with an arrogant voice, “Yes! You mortals must find where this person is! We are immortal, and you are mere mortals that’re blessed with our presences. We Goddesses will help you how ever we can, we cannot let someone malevolent ruin what has been built upon the ashes of your ancestors.”

“Mark my words: Do not fail us mortals.”

“NOW THIS MEETING HAS FINISHED, RETURN TO YOUR COUNTRIES, AND FIND THIS PERSON, OR SUFFER THE CONCEQUENCES!!!” Xevinna yelled with a magic enhanced voice, which echoed throughout this meeting hall.

The other races then left, most of them were surprised by the sudden magic voice, but they left obediently, they weren’t going to stick around to make one of their Goddesses angry.

The remaining Elves then gathered around the square table, most of them looked uneasy.

Nennerin then asked, “So it’s really him… Why weren’t anyone watching over Xivan’s chamber?”

“It has been 4,400 years…” Xirina said in a troubled, sad voice.

“Are we just going to let her lie there?” An Elven women asked who’s sitting on a chair around the square table, “He managed to bond her…it would seem.”

They just sit there around the table, contemplating about what they should do…about this situation that has come forth.

Their Elven God has awoken… For how long has he been awake? Is he close by right now? Is he watching them at this very moment, and only pretended to disappear?

Some of the Elven women looked worried, and gazed around nervously.

“We just need to kill him, then everything will return to normal. But first we must know where he is,” Nennerin said boldly.

A hand smashed onto the table.

“FOOLISH WENCH! You know nothing of what he can do! So do not speak about things you can’t even fathom!” Xevinna yelled as she heard something unacceptable, even though she had said similar things. She needed to say those things in front of the other races, she couldn’t say that he has come back… She needed to act strong.

In the Book of the Goddesses states: That he died when they took the Elven Continent, he had battled the Black Females to his last breath. And then as he killed the last of them, he was mortally wounded, so he died there… In the Battle of the Black Swarm.

But that was a lie.

A slight giggle came forth from one of the Elven females, “You should look at yourselves you’re pathetic. What do we have to be afraid of? We have millions of Humans, Half-Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings under our very fingertips. We just simply need to…push them into the right direction, and then everything will be sorted out by itself.”

The Elven woman can barely keep her laughter from becoming to uncontrollably. It is the woman that looked delighted when she had seen Xivan talk through Xerina. This Elven woman has the skin of the darkest gray, crimson hair, and crimson eyes. She looks very formidable because she’s the only one that has armor on, blood-colored armor.

“We just need to tell our must devoted that he’s trying to destroy the very lives of every single person in the known Continents, that he’s the monster in emerald, that he controls the shadows that could wipe out an entire civilization, that he feeds on the blood of his enem—,” She said, but got interrupted.

“ENOUGH!” Xirina shouted out in anger, and looked at the armored woman with her sapphire eyes. She’s not pleased by the words that’s coming out of that woman’s mouth, “Xeronia we can—.”

“DO NOT UTTER THAT NAME! …I have told you a thousand times that my name is Eronia. Why can’t you get that through your thick skull?!” Eronia yelled out in complete anger, but then she got a calmer voice, “Xirina…we can’t go back to what was, we need to live in the now.”

“But…he raised you, he gave you love as a parent, he—,” Xirina said, but got yet again interrupted by the crimson haired Eronia.

“I WAS A REPLACEMENT!” she yelled out as her emotions started to burst. She haven’t felt these feelings in a long time… She didn’t want to feel them, “He… He killed my real parents. I was never his real daughter… It’s his fault, and your faults!”

The other Elven women, all six of them, not counting Xerina who’s unconscious, just looks at the two women who’s talking to one another. One looks saddened, and the other one is having a concerned expression.

“You know very well why he killed them, they deserved it,” Xevinna said as she cut in, “They plotted against the Elven Continent, and even managed to kill his real daughter’s mother. But yes, you were a simple replacement, just something he could hold while his real daughter was…”

“SISTER!” Xirina shouted out to stop her to speak of things that shouldn’t be spoken about. And Xevinna just looked at her twin sister with an annoyed expression, but she calms down.

Nennerin then began to speak as the wide meeting hall went silent, “Well I don’t care what you who did know him think, he’s simply an enemy to our great belief, and I don’t really care if the faithful races finds him and gets killed by him, but I want him removed so he won’t meddle in my own plans.”

“If you’re not with me, you’re against me. But… I don’t really want any of you to be my enemies, we should work together instead, as we always has. Or are you just going to abandon your worshippers only because of some threat he made: That he’ll meet us soon? No, we have come too far to back out now.”

Nennerin then got a slight curve on her mouth, she smiled sinisterly as she said, “If he only knew what you two twins have been experimenting with. If I was Xivan I would kill you on sight, because those lives that you use to further your own magical pools… Well, if he knew that, I don’t think he’ll even gaze at you. You’ll just be a simple bug to him.”

The two sapphire twins now looks at Nennerin with cold, dark eyes.

“Do not look so innocent you wench… You’re as bad as us, and you have even killed far more of the other races then we have,” Xevinna said with burning hatred, but she called down and got a more firm voice, “But unfortunately you’re right, we can’t go back to how things were. We must find a way to make him weak, and then…put him back into the sarcophagus, I…I don’t want him dead, only out of the way for now...”

Xirina interrupted, “We must send word to our bonded Half-Elves that’re on the Elven Continent, to investigate why he has awoken. They must travel to Galanimel Forest and find the source of his awakening.”

As they continued to talk, one of the other Elven Goddesses walks to Xerina who lie there on the floor unconscious, she asked, “What should we do with Xerina? She’s now bonded to him, she’ll be a liability.”

“Lock her up, and throw away the key. We can’t kill her because of her energy statues that are still—,” Xirina got such a wide-eyed expression, “The statues! He must have used one of the statues to get a connection to Xerina!”

“?!” all of the Elven Goddesses became so surprised, the known Continents are riddled with those energy statues… It had taken so many years to put them out, and now they’re being used against themselves?

“Everyone! We must call back our energy, if he were to find someone else’s statue then… Dammit! All this hard work we put into them… Sisters! Let us concentrate! We must recall our energy so he can’t control us! It will be hard, and it’ll take time, but we must do it fast! Before he takes control of another!

The Elven women then started to run, some even levitated above the floor, surprisingly… Four of the Elven women went to their own place to start to channel their personal energy, but Xirina, Xevinna, Nennerin, and Eronia stands there beside Xerina, staring down at her unconscious body.

They then use magic to lift her up, and starts to walk towards an unknown location.

They walk up the flight of stairs that leds to the large doors, which Xerina had come through. All four of them strides there on the floor moving elegantly, though Eronia has her… Crimson armor on.

The armor got the purest gleaming red metal there is. As she walks there with her crimson boots you can hear the heavy thuds from her footsteps as they hit the floor…

They continued to walk.

The place that this meeting is held is the Goddesses’ Sanctuary. This is where they control their believers, where they judge those who has angered them. They aren’t merciful to those who would try to meddle in their plans. There had been some other Elves who didn’t want to join them, to create this divine belief.

Those who didn’t join agreed to stay out of the Goddesses business, but only if the Goddesses would stay out of theirs, and they did...

The four women, and the floating Xerina comes upon a chamber, a prison chamber. They are just about to put Xerina inside one of the cells, but as they go inside the cell she starts to wake up, “Wha… What are you doing!? Put me down!”

They hastily throws her to the ground and just looks upon her with different faces, and she too looks at the four surrounding women worriedly.

“What is going on!?” She yelled as she didn’t like their stares upon her, but then she notices where she is, “The Rune Chamber? Why…? WHY AM I HERE?!”

As Xerina yelled, the four women goes out of the cell, and as they step out, Xerina started to feel an overbearing weakness inside of her. She just stares towards the four Goddesses with weak, tired eyes, then the door of the cell shut itself automatically without anyone touching it, leaving Xerina there in the darkness.

…Somebody else is inside this rune chamber…gazing out from a small gap from one of the other cell doors…

…Darkest of Blackened hair… …Pale-Gray skin tone… …An Elven man…

The glorious sun starts to arise in the horizon with its golden light.

As the light seeps into the village houses the people starts to wake up, and then sometime later Xivan too opens his eyes in a calm way. It’s as if he didn’t even sleep, like closing one’s eyes for a couple of seconds, and then opening them again.

He looks around the Chapel of Xerina, and notices the two women sleeping there, the silver enchanted spear is standing beside a wall. He had seen Alyssa sneak out before, but he had just closed his eyes again.

He sits there in a cross-armed way, while one foot is over the other. He looks relaxed, but he stands up.

*Screech* the old chapel’s door opens up.

He did a sudden face-palm and looks behind himself towards the old door.

Alyssa is standing there with a troubled face. She had gone out quietly before, but she forgot about the door when she opened it, and she notices Xivan who’s standing there by the two sleeping ladies.

Alyssa walks with quick legs. When she reach Xivan, she curtsied as she said: “Good morning Champion… I’m sorry for my behavior yesterday, I just felt really… But! I’m alright now…so I’m sorry again!”

“Alyssa it is fine, you don’t have to act like this towards me, I’m just—,” Xivan got interrupted.

“No please! Don’t say that you’re nobody, you’re our light! Our blessed Champion who has saved us from our doom! You’re our new sun in the sky! So please, do not belittle yourself by denying that you aren’t anyone!” Alyssa shouted with her regular prattle.

“I was going to say, I’m just going out to get some fresh air,” Xivan said with a raised left eyebrow, and she looks at him with such an embarrassing look.

The other two girls has awoken, they just stares at Alyssa, and Xivan with wondering faces. Aynthia stands up wobbly and walks up to Xivan, she looks behind herself to see Arianna that’s looking at her, Aynthia frowns by her attention.

Arianna too stands up, and just gives a smile to Aynthia.

“Would you like to take a bath, to wash yourself? Or maybe you would like to use our sauna to let your body breathe out all of the unnecessary worries?” Alyssa asked with a smile of devotion, and Xivan asked questionably, “Sauna? What’s that?”

“You don’t know? Then come with me I’ll gladly show you the way. We women usually use the sauna through the morning into the afternoon, and the men gets to use them when it’s beginning to become night. But! You’re our Champion, nothing will be denied to you! Come!” Alyssa shouted while gently gestures with her hands to leave the chapel.

All four of them starts to walk out of the chapel and out to the village center. The chapel is only twenty meters away from the podium. The villagers are highly observant, many have just sat themselves spread out to look to the chapel, and wait for Xivan to come out. That spectacle yesterday has made the villagers glad beyond words.

As they see the four people come out of the chapel they start to move towards them, not fast, they move slowly to not overwhelm their Champion. When they come upon him, they look with newly zealous eyes.

Most of the villagers are out on the field, harvesting to their heart’s content. So there’s only women in front of him, and some guards, but they also look at him with those eyes…

This change has effected them too quickly, Xivan thought, though I did go a little too far yesterday. But why have my Elven sisters done something like this? Those statues of mind control, why?

Xivan just turns on his uplifting face as he looks at the people in front of him, they’re very energetic, and slightly overawed, but all of the women and guards just stares, not saying a word.

Though one couldn’t stop Alyssa to speak her mind, “My people! My friends! Our Champion has worked hard for us. Yet we did not offer him to wash himself, but you might think: Does one such as himself even needs to wash himself, to purify one’s body of the dirt, and filth?”

She looks to Xivan for confirmation because she didn’t even know if he needs to take a bath to wash himself, but he notices her cry for support, so he gives a slight blink with one of his eyes, and she takes that wink as a yes.

“Yes I know! He is powerful as he displayed yesterday, but one such as himself also needs to relax in the warmth of the water, to cleanse, to make one’s self pure! Now he will experience something he has never done before! To bathe in the hot steam of our sauna! He will feel his body empty of its worries, he’ll sink into tranquility as the warmth hits him, now tell those who’re in the biggest sauna to make way! He’ll come there soon!”

As she finished speaking, some of the women strutted away towards the saunas, to clear out all of the naked women who’re currently using it.

“Come Navix let me show you the way,” Alyssa said with a smiling curtsy. It’s as if she has already prepared for this to happen. She is acting very devoted, and that made Xivan worry, but hopefully things won’t escalate any further than it already has. Hopefully.

Xivan just gives a nod in response.

They start to walk to the south, and as they come up on a house that’s giving off steam, women of all ages comes running out of the sauna, hastily dressed as they weren’t ready for their Champion to come here. Xivan just looks bothered, he’s getting too much of a service from these villagers, or is it only Alyssa’s words that makes them follow in line?

The village people looks at Xivan with shiny, and reddened faces, because most of them were in the sauna feeling the heat from those smoldering stones as they poured water onto them. They have never served someone of high stature before, so this kind of feeling is a new experience for everyone.

They have served the Goddesses, but never met them in person.

Xivan stands there taking on all of those stares upon him, he still has his cloak on, but his hood is on his back, and shoulders. So he’s revealing his whole face, his emerald hair, his emerald eyes, and that pale-gray skin.

It’s a rather large building, this sauna. It’s not bigger than the chapel, but still big nonetheless, and it got different wooded material than the other houses.

Alyssa then opens her mouth, “Let us wait a little to let them make everything ready for your use, and then let me show you what is in store for you inside the sauna.”

Xivan still got an uneasy feeling.

Aynthia, and Arianna has just stood there behind them, out of the way. Aynthia didn’t like to be close to Arianna, because she had said something yesterday to make her wary of her. But Arianna tried to get her to warm up by saying, “I’m sorry if I offended you yesterday, Thia is it?”

Aynthia just nodded as she heard Arianna speak to her.

Aynthia is used to being alone, so she doesn’t need much attention, she’s just following Xivan to not cause trouble. She would usually keep her mouth shut in front of other people, because she’s a very shy girl, she only speaks when it’s necessary to get out what she needs to say.

“Thia… You do know what would happen if a Beast pack were to find you, right?” Arianna asked to try to start a conversation.

Xivan stands there listening in on what Arianna is saying, but Aynthia didn’t respond, she stares at Arianna with vicious eyes while her fangs is starting to bare, which made Arianna slightly worried, but Xivan turned around and puts his hand on Aynthia’s shoulder to calm her down, which she did.

Arianna looks at Xivan with an anxious expression, for she’s trying to get information out of his companion in a rather forward way. But he gives her a smile, and turns around towards the sauna. Alyssa also watched what aspired between the two girls, and she isn’t happy with her niece at this moment.

Arianna was just trying to ask out of concern for her Champion’s companion, but it has backfired. She sees Alyssa looking at her with a face that screams: ‘What are you doing girl?’

Alyssa then too turns back to look to the sauna.

As she gets a nod from one of the women who came from the house of steam, Alyssa opens her mouth and spoke with her regular voice,

“My people! My friends! He shall now go into the steam, and enjoy the release of all his worries! It will purify his already purified body, but we do not get to see that, he’s a male, and as a male he has his rights to privacy! But! Those who’re chastised gets to view him in his splendid form! And if he deems it he can even take that purity from those who he picks! This is a small price for what he has done! He’s our Champion!”

“OUR LIGHT!”

What did she just say? Will…she join me in the sauna? Xivan thought with a stale expression, take their chastity? Did she really just say those words, what has gotten over her? Oh Xivan…what have you gotten yourself into…

Aynthia is confused about this entire situation, she looks around at the different women who nodded their heads in agreement to what Alyssa had just said.

Three younger women who’re ready to journey to Wantur City to take their vows looks at Xivan with eyes of readiness.

“Please there’s no need to go this far. I don’t need this kind of service, I only helped because it was needed, and I didn’t do it for…this,” Xivan said with a slight uneasy voice.

“Navix, we are but simple people, we will never get this kind of experience with an all-powerful…” Alyssa stopped before she could say the word that she wanted to say, “You’re our Champion, I want to serve, and there are those who also want to serve, as you can see. It may have only gone one day, but that single day have brought us up from the harsh days that would had awaited us.”

Alyssa pointed towards three girls that’re around the age of new adults, they’re rather plain girls, and they are…triplets. But Xivan just looks at them with a comforting smile, while they too smiles innocently as they see him looking at them.

The triplets doesn’t even know how to act. The three of them looks exactly the same, they have dark-brown hair, dark-brown eyes, and a light skin tone, though he could see that they have small pumps on their faces, making the skin complexion slightly uneven.

Some kind of sickness they had before? Xivan thought wonderingly as he looks upon the girls.

Alyssa then started to speak yet again, “Other than my niece, they’re the only ones that are ready to go to Wantur City to take their pledges. And as there weren’t that many women in this village that goes through with the vows we must’ve angered the Goddesses. But! That doesn’t matter anymore!”

Some of the villagers got surprised by the sudden words that came out of their village leader: Alyssa. Some started to whisper to themselves, but as there aren’t that many who has gathered here, Alyssa starts to speak about something else to break the confusion, “Navix, come and let us go into the sauna. You’ll bask in the fires of steam, you’ll feel your body be cleansed from its already cleansed body! Come!”

She starts to walk towards the sauna’s door, and Xivan follows while feeling tense by this slight attention of women’s stares.

The crowd of women, and some guards watches as Xivan, Alyssa, Aynthia, Arianna, and the triplets disappear into the sauna.

He feels the heat seep into his clothes, but he didn’t sweat, he just stands there.

He’s alone at the moment, he’s in the changing lounge where a lot of hooks are on the walls, and baskets where one would lay one’s clothes. The females went into another room as this is the men’s changing area. There’s lying a rather fine towel on a wooden bench.

He starts to remove his clothes…willingly.

In the meantime all of the other ladies are also undressing themselves. The ladies wraps a towel around them so they wouldn’t expose their…everything. But Aynthia just tried to stride out of the changing room after she has undressed herself, without any towel covering her. Though before she could leave the room, she got pulled back, and got a towel forced upon her by the women, they put it around her chest, and the lower parts of her body.

She asked why she needed it, but the women just looked at her wonderingly.

Six women are now sitting down on the sauna’s wooden seats that are in a circle with another pair of seats that’re elevated behind the other seats, and in the middle of the circled room are the heating stones where one would throw the water in to, to make the steam rise.

They sit there to await their Champion, their tall pale-gray Champion. Suddenly they heard a door open and then close in the distant.

Alyssa is nervous beyond words, her thirty-five year old novice body has never been looked upon, though she has the towel on, but her mind is starting to fume with nervousness.

The other girls except Aynthia looks like Alyssa, nervous beyond words, and with shiny glittering skin, which has come forth from the hot air inside this sauna. They haven’t thrown in water into the heating stones yet, but it’s rather hot already.

Alyssa had prepared these events yesterday, and today when she sneaked out before, because yesterday before they started to eat she had also disappeared for an hour with Arianna, though Xivan hadn’t thought that it was weird.

And now that Alyssa knows a lot more than she knew before, her mind is prepared to do what must be done.

To do what? He told her that the Goddesses are just normal Elves… Not real divinities, she has thought about those words carefully, but what is he? He could do what the Goddesses had done, but never to this extent did she think that his power could sprout forth ever-growing crops.

She heard from the farmers that if they would harvest the field, the crops would just grow back to its full blown state in a rather quick fashion.

In the Books of the Goddesses states what the Goddesses had done to rise to their divine right, and Alyssa had read those books as every other priestess.

One Goddess had destroyed a city with just a simple Elven word. Another Goddess had revived the dead, and brought forth the Healing-Sanctuaries, which’s spread throughout the known Continents to help those in dire need of aid.

Is their Champion as powerful as them? What if she doesn’t even need to follow them anymore, but follow him instead? To create something new, and not be bound by the Goddesses’ vows?

Alyssa sits there she’s thinking hard on the consequences that could follow if she would forsake her beliefs, but if she could gain the support of all of the villagers…then they could start slow, and believe in secret. They just need to hide their beliefs if someone were to come.

As she looks at the smoldering stones, Xivan stepped into the circled room with a towel around his waist.

All of the females, even Aynthia looks at him, some with blushing faces, and some with unreadable faces. He stand there in his tallest height, his chest is bare, his hair is hanging down his back, and front sides.

This isn’t the first time the sauna has been mixed with both men and women, but that would rarely happen, only those who felt comfortable enough would join the mixed ones.

As he comes up to them, he looms over the sitting ladies gazing down upon them. Alyssa stands up in a quick fashion, and bobbed her head to greet him.

“Come sit down,” she said as she forwarded him to a seat, which is in the middle of the females.

He got a troubled face, and they noticed it, the triplets takes that face of his rather hard, and he detected those sad faces of theirs.

“Oh it would be my pleasure to be seated beside you fine ladies,” he said as he sits himself down beside one of the triplets, and Alyssa then takes a seat next to him.

Aynthia just looked suspiciously at the women who’re surrounding Xivan, she didn’t like this atmosphere at all…it’s making her uneasy…

As all of them are sitting on the bottom seats, Arianna stands up. She goes over to a wooden bucket that has water in it, she scoops the water with a spoon-like tool, and throws the water into the stones, which made a *Pssss* sound as the water boiled upon the heating stones.

Steam arose, and blessed them with a warmness… Arianna throws in some more water, and it got hotter, she throws in more, and it got even hotter. He could feel his throat become warm as he breathed, so did the other ladies.

They just sits there not saying a word, the females started to sweat profusely, but Xivan didn’t sweat one drop, though he can feel the damp air inside this baste sauna. The triplet girl who’s sitting next to Xivan is breathing rather heavily while she felt that hot air come in, and out of her mouth.

Nobody is say anything… Are they waiting for him to open his mouth first?

“Why is everyone so quiet?” Xivan asked as he darts his eyes about at the different women.

“We are just letting you relax. You needn’t worry about anything. After we have finished here, we would like to wash you if you do not mind. We must perform the bathing ritual of the ascending,” she said as she breathes those warm breaths.

Xivan thought, I don’t like where this is going, a ritual… What kind of ritual?

“What’s a bathing ritual?” he asked as he raises his left eyebrow.

…There is no such thing as a bathing ritual, Alyssa had only come up with it moments before they stepped into this circled room.

“You needn’t worry, it’s nothing special… It’s just what we do to those who has honored us with life, the means to survive,” she said with eyes closed.

“I, I see…” Xivan said with an overbearing uneasiness.

They continued to sit there, when the air started to cool down Arianna threw in more water into the heating stones. And it kept on going like that for fifteen minutes, no sound came from any of them, only the water could be heard as it hit the searing stones.

*Cough, cough, cough* Aynthia breathed in the hot air to deep, she’s actually sitting on the elevated seat behind Xivan to feel the hottest of steam go down her throat.

The triplets just sat there staring at Xivan who’s beyond their level of attractiveness, though he doesn’t look upon them as something lesser, they’re plain, but he doesn’t look at the beauty of women, he looks at how a woman acts.

Beauty is something superficial, but the heart is the truth, at least most of the times. If one is beautiful, and acts gracefully then that’s admirable, but if one is beautiful, and acts dreadfully then that’s something wicked. The same goes for those less fortunate in prettiness.

Thy state of mind is thy core, thy drama is thy appearance, which shows thy trueness of thy love.

They continue to enjoy the warmth.

Xivan closes his eyes to take in everything, and they just looks upon him…

“I think we’ve been here long enough, come let us clean you,” Alyssa said with a forward voice, and Xivan opens his eyes by the sudden words.

Clean me? Oh I better just go through with it, and then leave this village before I get stuck here, Xivan thought.

He raises himself to stand, and so did the others, but the triplet that’s beside him started to fall forward as she stands up, he caught her in his arms, but it made so her towel gets removed and fell to the wooden floor.

He picks her up and carries her in princess-style towards the changing room.

Her two sisters blushed up even more from their already scarlet cheeks as they see him carry her like that, he didn’t even wait for them to say anything, he just walks quickly towards the male changing room and opens the door, then closes it.

They follow, but he moves faster than them so the door got closed. As they open the door, they got hit by a chilling air that sprung forth from the door. He’s using magic… They see him swirl with his hands above the unconscious triplet, she’s lying there on the floor. Then as he cools her temperature down, he touches her naked stomach.

He pour in his magic into her, and she gasps as she wakes up. All the other females are standing beside Xivan and the now awake triplet. They observed with gleaming eyes.

The now woken up triplet stares at Xivan, and then noticed that she’s very much buck naked. She covered her private parts rather quickly, but Xivan just looks into her eyes, and not anywhere else.

“Are you okay? You fainted from the heat,” Xivan said as he smiles at her, and she responded with a rather tiny voice, “Yes… I’m okay.”

“That was magic… Some kind of cold magic? And some recovery magic?” Alyssa asked with a face of astonishment, “That was fantastic! Come! Let us go to the bath-house, it’s connected to this sauna, come, come.”

She went out the men’s changing room with Arianna, so did the other two triplets, and Aynthia too, because she wants to remove all the sweat that she has gotten on her body.

They left Xivan there with the other triplet, but Xivan just chuckled and stands up while he stretches out his hand to the remaining triplet that’s sitting down on the floor. She hesitantly takes that hand.

They then went to the bath-house.

He’s sitting there inside a carved-out stone pool. He’s naked, and in front of him are six women, they’re also naked. They are kneeling before him, but Aynthia is standing to the side wondering what they’re doing.

The triplets, Arianna, and Alyssa is sitting on their knees exposing everything to Xivan.

Alyssa then started to speak as they sit there in front of him while he’s enjoying the bath water, “Oh forgive us for our humanly bodies! We’re simple Humans! I’m the eldest, yet I have held my chastity intact, and I’ll hold it for as long as it’s needed! Navix! I want your permission so we can start to worship you instead of the other Goddesses!”

He became slightly wide-eyed…

How could she have come up with this idea so fast, when? How? He then remembered that she disappeared for one hour yesterday…and sneaked out before. Could she have done all these preparations?

“I know this is a selfish request, but I don’t want to worship something I can’t see, can’t hear, can’t…touch. Yesterday when you sprouted forth our salvation, I could feel something let go inside of me, something that has held me from doing what I wanted. It must be a sign from you! When you used your magic, I could think clearly. And now my emotions are yelling at me! They’re saying that you’re real!”

“But…it’s your decision. I’ve talked to these four girls yesterday, and with other women today and they also want to serve, and worship you as their light. I know that you won’t stay, but let this place be your sanctuary, and maybe some time later on when you have left the village… You’ll return.”

“Is this the bathing ritual you spoke of?” Xivan asked as he has returned to a calm expression.

“There’s no bathing ritual, I lied, I beg for your forgiveness,” Alyssa said as she bent her naked body forward, making her breasts touch the stone floor. She’s in a pose of forgiveness, head looking down at the stone floor.

“I can’t stop you from believing, but won’t you get in trouble for abandoning the vows you’ve taken?” He asked in a calm voice.

“One can’t know, what one can’t see,” Alyssa said, “We’re going to worship you in secret, our savior in green, our dark-hooded…Divine being.”

This woman is very forward, though she’s rather fanatical… Start a new religion? She’s very brave to go against my Elven sisters. But I can’t blame her, Xivan thought, now that Xerina’s energy is gone, and is replaced by mine, they shouldn’t have any thoughts about anything other than what they really want to do.

“Please I beg for your answer. I want something to believe in, I’m growing older, and I want to do something that feels…right,” Alyssa said while she’s still bowing low.

The other four girls who’re sitting next to her stares at Xivan with eyes that’re too seeking for an answer.

This kind of degrading… I don’t like it, Xivan thought as he sighed, oh well, this is my own fault, if they want someone to rely on…why not. Humans has short lives so I’ll let them believe in me for as long as they want. But… I should help them a little bit more. Wonder if Humans can use magic if I help them a little bit?

“You have my permission… But I have one request, which is a must. It’s a matter of life and death,” Xivan said in a cold voice.

All of them got faces of surprise. What kind of request is he asking for?

“What, what kind of request?” Alyssa asked with a worried voice.

“That you’ll be bonded to me. But the thing is I don’t know if this bond works on Humans. If it does work then you’ll gain power beyond your wildest dreams, and If it doesn’t work you might die. Are you ready for that kind of responsibility?” Xivan asked as he gazes at Alyssa with a serious face.

He sits there in the stone pool, which reached to his chest. His arms are on the edges of the pool, he’s rather relaxed for this situation. He’s holding his head slightly tilted forward as he gazes at Alyssa.

“I’m ready for that responsibility, if I’m not deemed worthy of your gift, then that would mean that I’m undeserving of your power, you warmth. If I were to die, then please do not let anything beset him, my dear girls,” Alyssa said as she looks at the girls who’re sitting beside her.

They responded with a simple, “Yes.”

“Are you ready Alyssa? If you’re, then step into the water, and let us begin,” Xivan said with such firmness behind his words.

Alyssa gulps, but she stands up from her kneeling position, and steps into the water with such grace. She stands over him as he sits in the stone pool, revealing everything that she has to offer.

Xivan also stands up from his relaxing position, and as he stands there in front of her, he’s looming. She reaches only to his shoulders. They stare at each other, but Alyssa is looking at him with eyes of determination, which made Xivan worry, though he didn’t show it on his face.

The other girls just stares at him as he stands there in his full glory, revealing every part of his body.

I hope this works, Xivan thought.

He forwarded his palms so they’re in front of Alyssa, and said, “Hold my hands tightly, and be ready for the process, because it might hurt.”

She hesitantly takes ahold of his hands, and just waits for him to begin.

Xivan slowly closes his eyes, but through his eyelids one could see his eyes glow. Alyssa started to feel something… Then her eyes went blank as she stands there unfazed. Her whole body stopped moving, and Xivan too has ceased to move, only his eyes are glowing.

So… Humans do have pools of magic and energy… But no wonder they can’t use them, they’re so small that no spell could work, Xivan thought, though now that I know that, let us see if I can enlarge it so she can use her pools.

*GASP* Alyssa woke up from her blank expression as she felt such a surge come into her body.

She starts to shake violently as she holds Xivan’s hands, she began to feel something that grew inside her, it just grew, and grew until her thirty-five year old body started to become…slightly younger.

Xivan opens his eyes and looked at her with a rather surprised face, but he keeps on going… He poured his powers into her… Making her his first bonded Human…ever, though something started to change other than her newly young body. Her hair starts to change… Her scalp sprouted forth emerald hair, and newly emerald eyes started to form in her eyes.

Everyone else stares with wide-eyed expressions, the triplets holds their hands over their mouths in surprise by the sudden changing Humanoid. Arianna just watches her aunt become an emerald Human, her ginger her went from orange to green in a blink of an eye.

The water in the stone pool started to spin in a whirlpool beneath them, it reacted violently as the water elements felt this new power that has come forth.

Aynthia just looks at Xivan with a rather unpleasant expression as he does his thing to Alyssa, she wanted to bathe too, but she has to stay here on the side and wait for them to finish. She had seen Xivan naked before in his chamber, but she doesn’t really understand why people look with blushed faces when they see him…

Xivan gave off a frown as he’s seeing Alyssa’s change, it reminds him of someone he love, but he pushes those thoughts aside and continues.

*Splash* Alyssa fell into the water when they finished, but she surprisingly stood up, feeling very refreshed.

So Humans change if I pour my powers into them… This never happened with my brothers and sisters… Humans sure are an interesting race. But this kind of change should only happen when someone uses the Blood ritual that’s on my sarcophagus. I…hope she won’t turn into my long gone lover, Xivan thought as he looks at the emerald Alyssa.

“Marvelous! See! I’m worthy! Haha! Look my girls, I have been reborn in the liquids of rebirth! I have become his instrument! *Gasp* Navix my divine! What has really happened to me?” Alyssa said, but then realized as she came out of her fanatical trance.

Xivan said with a calm, and wondering voice, “Hmm, I’m not entirely sure, but you should be able to utilize your magical powers now.”

All five of them became speechless, magic? Humans using magic? How could that be possible?

“I…I can use magic?” Alyssa asked, and Xivan just answered with a smile, “If you train hard enough you’ll be able to use magic, yes.”

I hope, Xivan thought, this is a rare find indeed, if I knew Humans were like this, then I should have visited them a long time ago… But my brother and sisters started that war with them…

Xivan sighed when he thinks there standing in the stone pool, he’s still naked from head to toe, though so are the others too.

“Arianna, I’ll leave the training to you, though I haven’t seen your magic capacity, but I’m handing over that responsibility over to you,” Xivan said as he gazes at Arianna, and she just nodded obediently, she’s staring at him yet again as she was yesterday night. She had felt his power as it flowed into Alyssa.

I guess my influence do have some hold over them? Xivan thought, should I give the triplets also power? No, for now Alyssa should be the only one that’s bestowed with this kind of power.

“Alyssa… Mark my words, if you dare use these powers for evil, I’ll come and extinguish you myself,” Xivan said with a dark voice as he stares into Alyssa’s eyes.

“Though you wouldn’t be able to nonetheless, because I can see through you, and call upon you wherever I go, but do remember to strive for something good, Alyssa,” Xivan said with a smile.

“Yes, though I’ll need to convince the other villagers that of our new faith, hehe faith. OH! This feeling that has sprouted forth from inside me! This joy of going into an unknown new belief! I’ll do my best to convince the villages! But! As you’ve helped them survive through these upcoming months, I don’t think they would stay loyal to their Goddesses anymore!” Alyssa shouted with her normal zealous voice.

I’ll come back to this village later on to see how they’ll fare, but now we should bathe… Aynthia is looking rather impatient, Xivan thought.

“Well for now this is the only other power that’ll grant you, I’ve done rather much without thinking about the consequences. After I leave you can call upon me if you ever come in danger. Even if I’m hundreds of kilometers away, I’ll be able to help you. You just simply need to think of me, and I’ll hear your cry for help,” Xivan said with a comforting smile.

Alyssa just stands there with such a gratifying smile. She is a newly reborn woman with those eyes, and hair that’s like Xivan’s, though without the long ears, and skin color.

“Now that we have settled that, shall we bathe?” Xivan asked with a slight smile.

Aynthia perked up when she heard those words from him. She went inside, and dipped her legs into the pool of rebirth…

The triplets looks rather confused by this whole ordeal, but they look at each other, and then went also into the pool of rebirth… Arianna too.

They then started to enjoy the water that they’re in. Aynthia dipped her whole head under the water, and stayed there for a couple of seconds, she peeked out only showing her head as she relaxed.

The others too sits relaxed in the carved out stone pool, but Alyssa stares at her reflection, and looks upon her new…face, she’s younger. The power surge must have restored some of her youth… Tears started to flow down her cheeks, tears of gladness. Xivan noticed, but he just smiles as he looks upon her.

“I’ll make this village into the heart of the Continent, I swear this to you my Divinity. I’ll not stray from the path that you’ve granted me, I’ll make this village into a town, then into a city… Then into a…” Alyssa said with overbearing excitement… This new power that she didn’t have moments ago flooded her emotions.

She can do the things that she has dreamt of, but it’ll be a hard journey if she doesn’t get the village’s support.

Her face blazed with conviction…such determination. She wipes off her tears, and she too starts to relax.

They’re not even aware that they’re naked in front of Xivan, showing their all, their entire being. Xivan didn’t stare, he just relaxed…

Xivan has returned to the changing room, he gives a big sigh, and sits down on a wooden bench.

“Oh dear me, what have I done… I’ve been rather reckless, but oh well… Huh?” Xivan stopped talking to himself as he felt someone use magic, it’s coming from the ladies’ changing room.

“Oh! There it disappeared. Haha, she must be trying to use her newly found powers. Well I can’t blame her, though maybe I did give her a little more than I should have…” Xivan got a worried face as if he has done something he shouldn’t.

“Haaaa” Xivan sighed, “Well, I think it’s time for us to leave this village, and journey forward. I’m rather looking forward to see Wantur City, the capital of this kingdom. But, I don’t think Aynthia would enjoy flying there.”

He remembered when they floated down the steep cliff, Aynthia had such a scared look, but when they landed she didn’t show it anymore.

“Well we’ll just stroll there, and I must ask how far it takes to get to Wantur City before we leave. I have only ever flown with speed to faraway places... I just hope that we’ll not find another weird companion on the way,” Xivan said, but then gave out a big sigh…again.

He starts to clothe himself, but his regular clothes, not his cloak. His shirt, pants, and boots have been replaced with other clothes… Everything is black, boots, shirt, and pants…all black.

The villagers must’ve literally taken what Alyssa said seriously, the dark-hooded wandered.

He dresses himself with the new clothes, and they fit even better than Jack’s clothes. Xivan swooshed his dark-cloak on, and tied it neatly, then went out of the changing room.

He waited there outside the women’s changing room for a couple of minutes. Aynthia is the first to come out, surprisingly. She must’ve put on her armor in a very quick fashion. Her dual longswords rested inside the cross-like scabbards.

There came the other women, though one is wearing a shawl over her head…Alyssa.

“Scared to show your new features huh?” Xivan asked as they noticed him leaning towards a wall with his arms crossed.

Alyssa starts speaking, but it got a little muffled with the shawl that covers everything, only her eyes are showing, “I need the element of surprise so I can gain the village’s support. Come let us go to the podium, and get everyone gathered up. I’ll show my people that I’ve been reborn into your warm embrace, that I’ve gotten the power to help even more now… But if they do see me as an abomination, then I’ll seek out some other place, and start there.”

Xivan just stares at her, but he stays quiet.

Xivan, Aynthia, Alyssa, Arianna, and the triplets goes out the door, and into the radiant burning sun. A lot of villagers stands outside, but they only stare.

Then Arianna shouted out, “GATHER EVERYONE BY THE VILLAGE’S CENTER! OUR LEADER: ALYSSA HAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE!”

As the villagers hear her voice they got rather surprised, because they haven’t heard her speak over the period of time she has been here in this village. But the villagers did what she told them to.

The guards and women started to spread out and walk hastily in different directions.

Alyssa strides towards the chapel, and the others also follows. The villagers looks at her questionably, but they know that it’s Alyssa because of her blue robe.

Xivan and Alyssa is once again standing on the podium overlooking the confused villagers. Aynthia stands by the chapel…alone. The triplets and Alyssa stands on the sides of the podium, looking out at the crowd of people.

Silence… The excitement, the nervousness, the pondering of what’s going to happen next.

Alyssa then looks at Xivan, and he gives her a simple nod of readiness.

Let’s hope we don’t get run out of the village… Xivan thought jokingly.

With one quick pull of her shawl the villagers gasp in unison, they’re wide-eyed with all kind of expressions. Hands covering mouths, widely open mouths with bafflement, and eyes of disbelief.

The villagers then got surprised even further when Alyssa started to speak with her high voice,

“My people! My friends! Feast your eyes upon me! I who has been blessed by our Champion! Fear not! For I’m still the normal priestess that you know, and love! Glare at this power that has bestowed upon me! WATCH!”

She raised her hands in the air, and then a bright light comes forth. A light of warmth, and tranquility. The villagers yet again watches with different expressions, they are seeing a fellow Human being who can use magic, a Human like themselves.

They are simple villagers, how could they handle this kind of amazement, this kind of news of a Human using magic. No one spoke, they just watch the demonstration of the first Human being that can use magic.

No one has ever seen a Human use magic, never!

Not even the Goddesses has granted Humans magic… Is it because they aren’t powerful as Xivan? Who knows? Maybe they just don’t have the knowledge to bring forth such deliverance, or maybe they don’t want the Humans to gain magic.

Xivan then helped a little; the light shot up into the sky, and exploded into a huge array of magical colors, sparks flew into every directions… As the sparks fell to the ground, they disappeared into nothingness.

The crowd became speechless, but some of them got a broad smile when they saw that explosion. As Alyssa watches them, she starts to speak again,

“See what I’ve been granted by our Champion! He has saved us from our dying village! He generously offered his power when we were in dire need of it! He had come forth out of nowhere! Did he get sent here by the Goddesses!?”

“NO, HE DID NOT!” Alyssa yelled with violent arms gestures, and the crowd became dazed.

“Navix helped us out of his own kind heart! He blessed us with his own powers, and not out of the Goddesses powers! He saved us! He made us not go hungry anymore! Your children doesn’t need to lose a parent to the cold winters that’ll come ahead! And what have we given in return!?”

“NOTHING!” she yelled with her highest voice possible, and the villagers got startled.

“We who got saved by him, we have given him nothing! Food!? Rest!? Clothes!? It means nothing! What can we give that’s our must precious possession!? Our faith! Our emotions we must give in payment! We only need to believe!”

“The Goddesses might smite us down, you ask?! NO! They are but simple Elves! Navix has told me that they’re just Elves who has granted themselves that power of divine right!” She yelled, and shouted out her thoughts to the villagers.

Xivan then help her some more by telling her about the statues…he told her telepathically. Her eyes became wide, but with anger… This news is something new to her.

“The Goddesses are manipulative Divinities! The statue of Xerina has been put there to control us! It gives off a certain energy that has controlled this village and our people for centuries!”

“FOR CENTURIES!” She yelled at her highest again to get more result from her words.

“The statue is evil, but our Champion has removed its mind controlling elements! For I feel clear minded since yesterday! My people! My friends! Do you not also feel something is different!? You do, don’t you!?” She shouted, and she got a response from one of the women of her people.

“Yes! I feel like something has disappeared from me!” “Me too!” “Yes me too! “I also!” the villagers started to scream out their responses wildly.

“Yes! We have been controlled by the Goddesses to believe blindly upon them! Everyone’s ancestors had been controlled by statues! And our savior! Our Champion has removed its influence! You might wonder: What if Navix is just controlling me to his ends?! Does he wants to control us?!”

“I’ve changed, yes! But I’m still the priestess you know!”

“OH MY PEOPLE OF TEMONAR! I’m but me, my regular self! I’ve not changed, only my belief of these Elven women who we call Goddesses! For I will not stand for this! I’ll not stand to be controlled by someone unknown! Someone we can’t see! Someone we can’t hear! Someone we can’t touch!”

“My people! My friends! It’s up to you, your own choice! Your own minds that can decide the fate of our saved village! Our blessed ever-growing crops! Shall we remain here as always in this village, and believe in something that was told to us!?”

“I WILL NOT! WILL YOU!?” She yelled with bursting anger.

“If you still decide that you want to follow the Goddesses! Then so be it! But I will not remain if that’s the case! I’ll not stand by as my own people that I’ve served with my very heart go into ruin! What I want is for this place to bloom! To shed its scales! To bring forth something magnificent!”

“Under the gaze of our CHAMPION that has given us our deliverance!” she yelled.

“I ask of you my people! Will you not stand with me!? Will you not ascend with me to greatness?! I know that we’ll go through hard times if we were to abandon our faith! But! There are those who are just normal people who doesn’t believe in anything! Those people! We can bring to our embrace to shower them with glory that’s to come!”

“MY PEOPLE!! MY FRIENDS!! WHAT SAY YOU!?”

Silence…

Nothing is said… The villagers just looks at this emerald woman with speechless expressions.

“Yes! I’ll follow!” “I too!” “Don’t abandon us!” the villagers started to yell out in unison, all kinds of cries, yells, and shouts came from the village people. They didn’t want their priestess to leave them, she who’s their leader. She who had been sent here ten years ago is their precious leader.

“MY PEOPLE! It gladdens me to hear your kind voices! It is a joyful feeling to be depended upon, if you follow me, I’ll bring everyone to glory! We’ll become a new village! Then a town! Then a CITY! We’ll expand, and expand as the years go! But we must keep our new faith in secret! We mustn’t bring danger upon us needlessly!”

“We’ll bring your children’s futures so they don’t need to starve, and so they don’t need to feel helpless!” She kept on speaking to her people to get their support, and it seems to be thriving inside the hearts of the villagers.

Xivan just stands there next to her, and surprisingly he doesn’t have the attention of anyone anymore, they’re all looking at the new emerald woman, his first bonded Human.

What will she be able to achieve? Xivan has wondered. Will she be able to bring forth this village from poverty into greatness? Or will she be tainted by the greed that follows those who become a leader of high stature?

He can just watch over them from time to time. If they would be tormented by other Humans, then it’s his responsibility to help them, because he didn’t need to do these things that he has done, but he did them.

And now he stands here on the podium, looking out at the once again newly awakened villagers.

Humans certainly change fast… Xivan though, only time will tell now, how it will play out.

Xivan, Alyssa, Aynthia, and the triplets are inside the chapel, Xivan is preparing to leave this village with Aynthia, and it has gone one hour since Alyssa threw out her speeches to her people.

“Do you really need to leave?” Alyssa inquires, “Why not stay a couple of more days?”

“I truly am sorry, but I’ve already set my path that I must follow, and then after that… Maybe I will come back, and have a look at how you cope in this newly awakened village,” Xivan said as he smiled, “I’ve gotten to know a lot of things by coming to this village, and I’ve many thoughts that I need to think about.”

*Screech* the old chapel’s door opened up, and there comes Arianna with a mask, a cloak, and a dark-scarf. Xivan raised his left eyebrow wonderingly.

She first comes upon Xivan, and she gives him the mask, it’s a rather fine mask, though it’s in a black color. He looks at her, but then gets it. He needs to hide his face? So people won’t fall to their knees as they see him?

He let out a sigh when he remembered all of the past happenings these two days… He shakes his head in dismay, and just watches Arianna go over to Aynthia. Which made Aynthia flinch as she sees her come her way.

“What do you want from me!?” She yelled out, because Arianna has been trying to get information out of her, because she’s alone here with Xivan, and not with a pack of Beasts.

“Indeed, I’ve been curious why you push her so,” Xivan said wonderingly. When Arianna heard Xivan’s voice she stopped dead in her tracks.

She turned around to look at Xivan, and started to speak, “It’s just… Why is she here with you? Because it isn’t natural. Beasts doesn’t let a single one of their race roam alone without a proper cause.”

This is new information to Xivan, but he said to her, “She dueled me, and I beat her in the… The Dual of Submission was it? Yes that’s the name of that tradition. And now… She’s my property, as Aynthia has told me.”

“Oh… Then that really does explains everything, but beware if you meet other Beasts, because they’ll take her from you if you don’t have proof,” Arianna said with a new understanding of things.

“Proof? Thia, what proof does she speak about?” Xivan asked as he stares at Aynthia.

“Your…brand must be put on…me,” Aynthia said weakly.

“Indeed a brand, a right to ownership of the one who beat the person in, The Dual of Submission. It’s law, even in the Human Continent, and the Elven Continent,” Arianna said with a rather sad voice, “The one who’s beat can’t serve another, if its master dies, then the one who’s marked by that person’s brand must commit suicide with its master.”

“Such madness… It’s something I truly hate… Slavery, those who’re forced upon against their will,” Xivan said with disgust.

“Indeed, but they chose that life by themselves, like Thia has,” Arianna said as she looks to Aynthia.

“Chose? What do you mean?” he asked.

“You needs to decide if you want to follow that tradition by yourself. It’s considered an honor to join that tradition. Most packs got a leader, and its followers are some who has been beaten in, The Dual of Submission. But I don’t know much about their traditions, I’ve only learnt a little, because I needed to learn that at the school I went to, back in Wantur City,” Arianna said.

“You’re rather unknowledgeable about these types of things aren’t you, Navix?” Arianna said as she giggled a little.

“Niece show some respect!” Alyssa cut in as she heard her make fun of their Champion.

She stared with her emerald eyes at her niece, which made her slightly nervous.

“It’s fine… So a brand huh,” Xivan said as his whole body turns to Aynthia, and she looks at him with eyes of surprise, she began to feel something on her skin, not a painful feeling, but as if something crawled on her.

Aynthia scratched the part where the feeling is felt in a rather desperate scratch.

“There, it’s done,” Xivan said.

Aynthia opens her black-leather armor to see what he meant by that, and there on her upper chest right by the collarbone is a circle mark in emerald…or rather a circled rune.

“My…brand?” Aynthia asked, and Xivan gives her a nod of confirmation. She got a slight smile on her lips as she keeps looking at the brand, it’s a rather pretty mark, and it’s glowing in an emerald color, it got Elven letters that’s embroidering it.

She closes her upper part, and now just looks at Arianna who’s holding onto the dark-scarf, and dark-cloak. Xivan is still holding onto the mask of darkness…

“It’s better that you hide that you’re a Beast, Thia, otherwise you’ll only bring trouble to your…master,” Arianna said, and Aynthia just nodded while pouting slightly, she didn’t want to give in to this Half-Elf, but even Aynthia knows that she’ll only bring trouble to Xivan if she isn’t careful.

Arianna took it onto herself to wrap Aynthia’s head skillfully. Now only Aynthia’s eyes are visible, it makes her very daunting with those slit yellow-eyes of hers, and her black-leather armor. Arianna also whooshed the dark-cloak over Aynthia, and tied the strings so the cloak will stay in place.

It’s like dressing a child… Arianna thought.

“Done! Hmm, you do look a little terrifying, but it’ll do,” Arianna said with a pleasing smile, but then she turned her attention towards Xivan, “And Champion, you shouldn’t reveal your face, if you don’t want to be attacked by regular people like us, hehe. But you must’ve avoided these kinds of situations before, so you’ll be alright!”

“Duly noted. By the way how long does it take to get to Wantur City by foot?” Xivan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“If you go by foot, it should take you around… Five days, but that depends on how fast you go, and how many breaks you take,” Alyssa said with a smile.

Should I take more information, like I did with the Half-Elf? Xivan thought, no, I better learn as I go.

“Always had this mask?” he asked, and Arianna answered, “Oh, well… I have used it before when there was a festival in Wantur City. Everyone had something on their faces so I bought the mask because it looked appealing…even though it was for males. And then I brought it with me.”

Xivan gives a nod in reply.

He puts on the mask. The mask itself has two small hook-like wooden sticks that fits around one’s ears. It didn’t move while he have it on him, it’s just a normal black-mask of a male’s face. He covered himself in the hood too, which made him appear rather evil-looking.

Both Xivan and Aynthia is clad in all black from head to toe. The ladies have prepared for their departure, and have brought backpacks, which is also in a color of black…

Do these people favor this color or what? Xivan thought as he pondered, should I carry them or… No if I do that it’ll just bring more questions.

Xivan and Aynthia sets their new backpacks on their backs. Heavy, but not heavy. Aynthia’s scabbards are on the outside of the cloak, and the backpack is over the scabbards so it’ll be easier to move.

The triplets are sitting down by one of the long benches, and they’re sketching something… But he didn’t pay any attention to them at this moment, though they did look at him back and forth as they sketched.

He’s ready to journey out, and it’s still very early in the day, people will soon take a break from their hard work in the fields to eat lunch that the women of the village has prepared. This village is rather open to its own villagers, everyone knows almost everyone… Though there’s always someone who lurks in the shadows.

“Well then, it’s time to say farewell for now. You’ve treated me kindly, and as I said, I’ll come back later down the line to check up how things are going,” Xivan said as he turns his head to Alyssa, “Alyssa you can reach me whenever you want, you just simply need to contact me with your emotions, because we’re connected now through and through. Though only do contact me when you have something important to tell me, otherwise refrain from it.”

“I understand my… Divine,” she said, but with a hint of sorrow.

Xivan just looks at her as he feels her plea of emotions, but he just stands there with his mask on, unfazed.

“There’s no need to follow me to the gate, please say farewell to the other villagers for me. And remember the enchanted spear, it’ll aid you immensely if trouble will ever show up. But if you can’t fix that trouble without calling on me, then I’ll give assistance,” Xivan said as he turned around to walk towards the old door.

Aynthia too followed behind him, she looked behind herself, and sees that Arianna is waving to her… Aynthia gives a quick wave back, which made Arianna surprised, but she sprouted for a smile as she got a reply from her.

They disappeared as the door closed.

Now there’s only Alyssa, Arianna, and the triplets inside the chapel of… Navix?

“Does this look good?” one of the triplet says as she holds forth the drawing that they have drawn together.

“Very good girls, it looks beautiful, take it to the carvers. And now for that statue… This chapel will be needing a little renovation,” Alyssa said with smile.

“*Gasp* I forgot to tell them about the crossroad… Ah! I can contact him!” Alyssa shouted.

Xivan and Aynthia is walking there on the village lane moving towards east yet again. As they passed some villagers they understood that it’s them, so they just nodded in gratitude, and Xivan nodded back.

They came upon the east gate.

Guards are stationed by the opened wooden entrances, not in the guard towers which stands on either side of the entrance, but on the ground standing and looking at people up close.

“Have a safe trip Champion, may you always be welcomed here,” the guard said as Xivan came close to him.

“Indeed, I too wish your wellbeing, farewell,” Xivan said with a slightly muffled voice as they passed the gate, and strode onwards.

As Xivan and Aynthia is going in a reasonable pace, he began to feel that Alyssa is trying her hardest to get through to him, but she’s failing royally. He reaches out to her, and she got through to him.

She told him about the crossroad, that they should not go left when they come upon it, they should turn right. To the left is a hunted village that has been abandoned for centuries, people have disappeared when one venture there.

No one knew why it had been abandoned, but Alyssa warned Xivan to turn right, not left when they come upon the crossroad. Though the right will take a longer path around a mountain, and the left is straight to the east, which if it’s Xivan we’re talking about, he would have just gone left for it’s in the direction of Wantur City.

As Alyssa finished her thoughts, the feeling too vanished.

“Haunted village…” Xivan said out loud.

“Hmm?” Aynthia hmmed wonderingly, and Xivan answered with a smile, “We’ll go left when we come upon a crossroad.”

“Mhm,” she simply replied not knowing what would await them there in that haunted village…

Little did Xivan know that he’s being hunted by two different factions…that’re searching for him with such desperation, and…fury?

Who will meet him first? Those who’re the closest, or those who’re the furthest?

Greetings reader.

Think the faith of the villagers got turned a little to quickly? Or Xivan acted irresponsible with his powers? Voice your thoughts, I read! :D

REVIEWS has been reset because of the rewrite, so if you want to, you can leave one. I apologize to those who did a review even after the rewrite, but it had to be done. Though I don't know when this new review business will change, when the update of the site comes. :D

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