It was a bright morning in the Sky Gryphon Peristylium. I had agreed to meet Natalia, Bahn VIII and his elders in Bahn's Residence through Joseph. Sage was also expected to be present. Joseph prepared himself and headed off to Bahn's Residence. Once there, we met Natalia, Sage, Bahn VIII and his elders as well as the new Chief Of the Village Of Gaya.
"The Camouflage Protective Gear you ordered is all done San" Ciella said through Natalia.
"Do we have enough for the people of Gaya as well?" I asked.
"Yes, we do. The people of Gaya arrived roughly a week ago so we've taken their numbers into account. The protective gear has been designed to camouflage form, scent, sound and temperature. We should be impervious to detection by the aforementioned parameters" Ciella said.
"That's good to hear however the Wraiths also possess the ability to track negative sentiments and zone in on it as though it were a homing beacon. I'm worried Bahn. Your people and the people of Gaya have been under siege by the Weaver Of Calamity's forces for over Four Hundred Years now. I'm worried the Wraiths may be zoning in on the negative sentiments radiated by your people. If we attempt an escape while negative sentiments remain, all we'll do is draw the Wraiths to ourselves" I said.
"So what do you plan to do?" Bahn VIII asked.
"We'll hold a festival themed around 'Peace'. We'll create an avenue for your people to vent out their frustrations and talk about their problems and fears as well as to cement their bonds and social ties" I explained.
"I see, we haven't celebrated any of our festivals since the invasion began" Bahn VIII admitted.
"Are you sure it will work? How will holding a festival help us against the Wraiths?" Sage asked skeptically.
"The positive emotions being radiated by your people will act as a cloaking device protecting you from discovery by the Wraiths. It will also serve to weaken any nearby Wraiths" I explained.
"I see your point. Well, they do say oppressive atmospheres breed conflict" Sage realized.
Thus Bahn VIII sent out a proclamation through his elders that the Night of that Day would be celebrated to reestablish lost ties with the people of Gaya and celebrate the Peristylium's impending Freedom.
That Night, a huge bonfire was lit up at the centre of the Village.
"A bonfire huh? Isn't this like signaling the enemy?" Sage asked worriedly.
"Chill out Sage. This bonfire was lit by me and it's made from a special kind of fire called 'Blaze'. If anything at all, it's Wraith Repellent" I said with a smirk.
"Thought about everything haven't you?" Sage said with a laugh.
Everyone had gathered around the bonfire. It was a large gathering. Bahn VIII stood up and began to speak to his people.
"People of this Village and the Village Of Gaya, for Four Hundred Years, we've had to endure the burden of an invasion at the hands of an army of monsters that enslaved our people Eight Hundred Years ago. I am glad to inform you that that burden will soon be lifted from our shoulders for our Ancient Guardians have returned. Thanks to them, we've defeated Four Hundred Thousand of the enemy's army of Six Hundred Thousand units strong. Unfortunately however, this location remains vulnerable to another invasion. Our Guardians have invited us to a Mountain at the Coast where we can begin anew by building ourselves a new Village. To do this however, we'll have to overcome the enemy's remaining units that number two hundred thousand. I need all your help to do that. Though we may not be able to fight on the frontlines, we can still aid the Guardians by ridding ourselves of any ill feelings we currently harbor as these act as forces of attraction for the Wraiths" Bahn said.
For a while, there was silence.
"The Guardians are here? Why did they ever leave in the first place? If they hadn't, none of this would have happened. Can we even trust them anymore?" the people began to voice their frustrations.
Ciella looked sad.
"This isn't really a surprise. We should have expected this reaction from them after all, they have endured a lot. This is their burden" I said in an attempt to console Ciella. "Yes, we did leave however…we didn't leave you vulnerable. Centuries ago, we purified your Waterbodies with a drop of Phoenix Tears we retrieved from the Serpent that poisoned the First Chief of this Village and your people. It is that very Water that flows through your veins and through the Trees guarding this Village and is thus preventing the Wraiths from harming you physically. Aside from that, we left you Twelve Stellar Systems to aid in advancing your civilization. We could also blame you for forgetting about all the legacies we entrusted to you…but that will only serve the Wraith's purposes. We do bear some blame in leaving you in the first place…that's assuming you were ignorant children who didn't know what to do with all the gifts entrusted to you but…we trusted you to make the best of what we had given you. This was the original agreement made between your ancestors and us" I said.
There was utter silence for a while.
"So are you really Eight Hundred Years old?" someone asked and the people burst into laughter.
"That's a pretty rude question. I'm about your age. Time just flows a little differently for me" I said.
Sage stared at me with a weird expression on his face.
"He calls it a rude question and still answers it" he said.
The people laughed.
"Fine, we forgive you. We just needed to hear it from you why you left" they said.
"So tell us about our ancestors" the people requested.
I smiled. Ciella smiled as well.
"I'll be glad to" I said.
So I told the people about Bahn I and how I'd first met him. Then I told them about the agreement Ciella and I made with Bahn I. Next, I told them about the first invasion and their enslavement by the Weaver Of Calamity's forces and how we'd all worked together to drive the enemy away.
"I see, so that's the whole story huh? But what have you been doing for the past Four Hundred Years?" the people asked but this time more out of curiousity than anger.
Then I told them about the Mountain Of Olympus and how time flowed differently within it.
"So that's the gist of it" I said.
After that the people settled down and began to enjoy the festival. They ate, drank, danced and played as well as told stories of all that had happened to them over the years.
"It's all nostalgic. It reminds me of the time we shared with their ancestors" Ciella admitted with a smile.
"For us, it wasn't that long ago. Probably a few months ago, maybe a year" I said.
"It's amazing and mysterious…how the flow of time differs for different people" Ciella said.
"Well I'm glad I got to share some of that time with you and the others" I said and stood up.
Then some musicians began to play gentle music.
"Tomorrow, I've got a huge battle to fight and you've got to lead the Villagers to Mount Olympus using the Tunnels and Camouflage gear to ensure you're not discovered by the Weaver Of Calamity's Forces but while we've still got time, care for a dance?" I asked.
Ciella nodded with a smile. Joseph and Natalia danced together and so did Ciella and I.