"What?" Maeli asked in confusion. The lotus pond? They weren't even close to the forbidden territory as yet, so how he could he see the lotus pond?
Craig released his head and gathered his thoughts as he composed himself. Then he stood up together with Maeli. "I think I just had a vision, of some sort. At first I thought I might have died suddenly but that was... ridiculous."
Maeli was still confused as to what Craig was trying to say, but she understood the vision part. "So what did you see?"
"I saw a pond, well, it was more like a lake. It definitely was a lake. There were lotuses on the surface forming circles going inward and at the center there was a woman, a fairy, or maybe a goddess I can't be sure. She was looking at me with this... kind smile on her face. I could also hear these whispering voices overlapping each other in the surroundings but I couldn't make out what they were saying."
Maeli didn't know what to make of Craig's claim, but she didn't see any reason for him to make up such a ridiculous story, so she chose to believe him. "Are you used to these... visions?" She asked.
Craig shook his head somewhat hesitantly. "I've had a problem with nightmares but I've never had any visions before." As he mused upon the past, he didn't recall any circumstances where he had any type of vision-like incident.
Craig's past was a mystery to Maeli. Knowing him for only a few days she didn't have much data to base anything on. To her, Craig seemed like the type of guy that roamed around aimlessly just trying to enjoy life as much as he could. She couldn't help but wonder if he had always been like this or if something had changed him at some point. Still, it was only just a thought and she didn't try to pry into his personal life. At the same time, her curiosity towards him was reaching a point where she did want to ask him about his past.
"Are you okay now? As much as your vision is interesting, the more we stand around the less time we have." She exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You're right, let's move, we'll talk along the way."
They didn't waste any more time standing around trying to figure out what happened to Craig just now. Instead they focused on the task at hand and continued their journey.
***
A beautiful woman in a silky white dress was floating above a lake, looking down into the crystal clear water below. Her gaze was fixed onto the image of a man's face being reflected on the water like a mirror. After a moment, the surface of the water returned to normal and the woman floated across the lake, gently landing ashore.
She looked like a goddess from a painting; not of this world. The bright white glow around her body made her seem out of place with the environment but also at one with it. It was a confusing yet spectacular sight.
Next to her stood another woman who was not as beautiful as her, but still a beauty herself. She looked at the woman as she landed and asked, "Priestess, what did you see? Why did the Spirit Lake suddenly have such a change?" Her gaze of curiosity was pure and gentle.
The priestess spread open her palm and a miniature figure of a man appeared in the form of white energy. Although it was very small, it was very clear that it was Craig being displayed. "Gazing into the lake I saw this, human man looking back at me. The spirits have spoken to me and they said something... unbelievable." She explained with an expression of deep thought.
"Something... unbelievable?" The woman asked rhetorically with a gaze of greater curiosity.
The priestesses nodded as her gaze remained locked on the miniature image on her palm. "This human has a major role to play in the upcoming future. So much so that he can be considered the center of attention. However, according the spirits, he will be both a hero and a villain. Many will be saved by his hands but many will also perish because of him. It is unclear what the outcome of his actions will be. In that light, we must choose to either side with him or against him."
The woman was surprised. "How can a human have such a major role to play in anything? Without magic the humans are basically on the defensive the entire time aren't they?"
The priestess smiled wryly and looked at the woman. "That is exactly what is unbelievable. This human, will become capable of using magic because of us, and it will be happening very soon."
"Ah!" The woman gasped in shock. "He will become capable of using magic because of us? What does that mean? Will we help him learn how to use magic? But... can we even do that?" She spat out question after question in a flustered manner.
"Calm down, Petal." The priestess demanded
"I don't think we will be teaching him anything. I personally won't be." She dispersed the miniature image and placed her hands behind her back, moving closer to the lake's edge. "Humans are such repulsive creatures, it's difficult to trust any of them." She said as she stared into the water.
Petal also walked to stand side by side with the priestess at the lake's edge. "Then, did the spirits mention how we will give him magical ability?"
The priestess shook her head. "They didn't. As usual they chose to hold certain things back because they don't want to interfere with fate and time."
Petal stamped her feet and grumbled. "I don't get them at all. Aren't they already interfering by giving these vague prophecies?"
"I am also as confused as you are when it comes to this. However the spirits know what they're doing. Their 'vague prophecies' are to guide us in the right direction. In the end however, the choices we make are still ours to decide." The priestess could only choose to trust in the judgment of the spirits. In fact she did not doubt them at all.
She turned around and called towards the treeline a short distance away. "Glowmyth!" Her voice wasn't too loud but it was very clear and resonating.
A short moment later, a ball of light zigzagged through the trees and came to a stop just a meter ahead of her.
A tiny, cute feminine voice came from within the ball of light. "You need me Lady Setra?" The joy of being summoned was evident in her tone.
The priestess's name was Setra Angeldust. She was the current High Priestess of the fairies. Lady Setra was how those, such as Glowmyth addressed her while others such as Petal, addressed her simply as; priestess.
Setra smiled amiably at Glowmyth and nodded. "Yes, I do need your help with something."
"Anything for lady priestess." Glowmyth remarked as she twirled around twice. It was unbelievably cute and adorable.
Setra formed the miniature Image of Craig on her palm and held it up for Glowmyth to get a good look. "I want you to head to the Greenwich Road and find this human. He is traveling along with a female elf companion. You are to observe him closely and gather as much information as you can. Find out his purpose for coming to the elves' territory and report back to me."
Glowmyth took a good look at the image of Craig and bumped up and down twice as if to gesture a nod. "I will not let you down. Rest assured I will certainly figure out the motives of this human." As she said these words, the tone of her voice clearly already emanated some hatred toward Craig.
"Glowmyth, do not be biased toward this human as yet." Setra had noticed the emotion in Glowmyth's tone. "Observe him and report honestly what you learn about his character. We may be his allies in the coming future."
"Ah." Just like Petal, Glowmyth gasped in surprise. "Truly? A human? Allies?" She voiced her questions with single words Instead of sentences.
Setra giggled and dispersed the image again. "It's just a possibility, it isn't set in stone. Some of the result depends on what you find out."
"Okay, then I'll get going right away." Glowmyth said as she whizzed away at high speed.
Setra and Petal looked at each other and smiled after Glowmyth's departure.
The smile soon faded away from Setra's face, replaced with a stern expression of uncertainty and worry. "A storm is brewing in this land of ours."
"War... is coming!"
***
A flash of light flashed across forests and plains at high speed. Sometimes it would travel high in the air and sometimes low to the ground. After a few hours of dashing at high speed, the light came to a stop near a mountain range.
It was Glowmyth, obviously.
She descended into the mountains and made her way to a wooden bridge that connected two sides of a canyon. The roped bridge looked old and very unsafe for crossing, which of course wasn't a problem for Glowmyth.
However, the same couldn't be said for the two people standing on one side of it, preparing to walk across.
"Is this bridge safe?" Craig asked worriedly as he shook the ropes to test their sturdiness.
Loud creaking sounds was heard as the bridge moved from side to side. The short planks that lay across horizontally were worn over by time and looked like loose teeth, ready to fall out at any moment.
Looking at the bridge, Maeli was also hesitant to walk across. "I did come this far one time with milady, but we were too scared to cross this bridge. This is one of the reasons why many people have never seen the forbidden territory. This canyon actually forms an entire circle around this mountain range."
Craig looked down beneath the bridge but all he could see was a long way down that eventually led to white mist. If the mist didn't represent the bottom of the canyon then it was a really long way down. Looking back up at the bridge he cast his hesitation away. "Well, you won't know till you try right?" With that, he stepped onto the bridge and slowly started walking forward.
Each step he took, creaking sounds could be heard from the dilapidated, aged planks that formed the walkway. The ropes also seemed to feel the pressure as they too creaked along with the planks.
With each step, and each sound, Craig felt his stomach drop just a little more. He went on like this for about ten meters then came to a stop and looked back at Maeli. "I wouldn't wait to cross on my own if I were you. What if something happens?"
Maeli hesitated for a bit before biting her lower lip and stepping onto the bridge. Just like Craig, she held on to the two sides of the bridge and slowly walked across. The sounds of creaking from the ropes were even louder as there was more weight on the bridge. Maeli was trembling from being nervous. The entire time she kept her head up, looking directly at Craig. She didn't even blink.
Up above, Glowmyth, was observing the situation attentively, when a mischievous idea suddenly hit her. "An elf working with a human. Hmph! Let me show you the true colours of humans so you learn your lesson." Glowmyth then dashed downward and went underneath the bridge without being seen.
As Maeli was fully focused on Craig she didn't notice the plank underneath her foot glowing slightly before beginning to crumble. As soon as she was about to take another step her foot went straight through the plank.
Crack!
But she didn't fall because she was holding on to the ropes above. As soon as she felt the plank give in she tried to quickly step onto the following plank with her other foot but when it made contact, that plank also split underneath her foot."
"Ahh!" She yelped in surprise and nervousness.
With that, she was temporarily suspended in mid air for a moment. She tried to reach the following two planks by swinging herself but they also broke when her feet made contact. She released one side of the ropes and held onto one side of the bridge with both hands as she tried to grapple her way forward.
All this caused the bridge to shake left and right and as it did the ropes sounded like they were about to break. The entire bridge could collapse at any moment.
Glowmyth went to the starting of the bridge and began slowly cutting one side of the rope. Since she was invisible she could not be seen.
Pak! Pak!
Craig noticed the impending situation as he saw the rope splitting apart at the starting of the bride. "Damn it! This isn't good!"
Glowmyth chuckled to herself. "What will you do now human. Will you run across to save yourself, or risk your life to try and save her?" She was taking pleasure in putting Craig to the test, this mischievous little fairy.