The night sky, home of mana that gods feed on, the Void. When the gods walked on the first lands of the world, Abelia and Amon were admiring the scenery Sapphira had created. They wandered to observe the towering mountains and waterfalls that flaunt their beauty in the reflection of the night sky.
Some of them reached the skies and clouds Anan had created. But the lands lack stars and colors the night skies give. And for that, Abelia felt lonely. Upon noticing Abelia's discontent, Amon told her to close her eyes. So Abelia closed her eyes, curious about what the usually dignified and proud god had for her.
When Amon let her open her eyes, she saw what the world was missing, life. Amon had filled the ground with flowers in different colors that resembled the night skies. And they were the first stars that stood and illuminated the world...
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Some merchants of Dea were on routine harvesting Amonian flowers. They are flowers that only grow away from civilization and are widely used in alchemy, medicines, and teas. But usually, the journey to harvest these flowers is dangerous. So the merchants hire mercenaries or private mages to accompany them.
Benedict, the leader of the merchant groups, noticed something strange. The forest that surrounds the flowers is silent. One of the merchants encouraged Benedict to return for another day. But Benedict declined because the money they paid for the mercenaries was all for nothing.
As they went deeper into the forest, they heard an earsplitting roar. It was the merchant's greatest fear, An Edolian Dragon. A giant winged lizard with a power that can cause massive destruction to a city. It is said that they were once neutral but evolved to be aggressive. Even Edos avoid them.
The leader of the Mercenaries, Alex, alerted the merchants to retreat. They can't take on an Edolian Dragon. But before they can act, the dragon raises the ground into a mountain slope, which causes their carriages to start falling into the dragon. Alex raised a wall to prevent it from happening.
The dragon started flying and threw giant earth needles. When the projectiles hit the ground, they caused large explosions of dust. But thankfully, none of them hit the group. Benedict was in terror. He thought that today he greets his demise. But the mercenaries decided to fight. Hopefully, there will be a chance to escape.
"Ash, Leo, Matilda, Michael, prepare yourselves!" ~Alex
"What? We can't take on that monster!" ~Leo
"We'll stall it for the merchants." ~Alex
"How are you planning to outrun that thing?" ~Leo
Alex didn't respond. He knows that there is no way for them to outrun the dragon, especially in a large group. Matilda noticed the Merchants desperately retrieving a stuck carriage.
"Just leave it and run!" ~Matilda
"We bought this from Tervanas. There is no way we'll recover from this if we leave it behind!" ~Greedy Merchant
"It's all meaningless once you die!" ~Matilda
"We'll live and take it with us. Mind your own business." ~Greedy merchant
The dragon then breathed fire at them. Alex and his team raised a barrier of rocks, but it started melting. As it melts, they add layers, while the others use wind magic to change the direction of the fire. The dragon dived into the ground where the merchants were, causing a shockwave that threw them in the process.
The greedy merchant and his team were severely injured due to their carriage running over them. The dragon then used wind magic to create twisters. It was over. There was no way for them to escape the twisters. The only choice Alex had was to leave the merchants behind.
"The deal is over." ~Alex
"No, please! I have children!" ~Benedict
"You brought this upon yourself." ~Alex
While they were talking, a twister moved nearby and pulled half of the merchants and mercenaries, and one of them was Leo.
"Leo!" ~Alex
Alex reached for Leo, but he noticed only half of his body remained. Matilda stopped Alex and created a large Earth dome around the survivors.
"Stop! He's gone." ~Matilda
But the earth dome was being pulled into the twisters. While they are struggling to survive, the dragon breathes fire again. This was when Alex lost hope.
But before the dragon's fire reaches them, it mysteriously disappears along with the twisters. A hooded boy appeared in front of them. He was standing fearlessly facing the dragon. His arrival surprised the survivors. They thought that the hunters from Atalantas went to save them.
The boy made the dragon pinned with unbelievably powerful winds that pushed it to the ground. Then ended it by impaling it with earth thorns sturdy enough to pierce through the dragon's scales. Now the survivors know that there were monsters scarier than an Edolian dragon. And one stood right in front of them.
"Are you alright?" ~The hooded boy
The boy reaches his hand to Benedict, lying on the ground. Benedict is still surprised about what happened. He couldn't take the boy's hand.
"You're an Edolian?" ~Benedict
"I'm an Abelian." ~The hooded boy
"What's your name?" ~Alex
The hooded boy reveals his face.
"My name is Salvino. I came from Aria." ~Salvino
"You came from Aria? What are you doing here?" ~Matilda
Salvino paused for a while. Unable to reveal the fact that he is being pursued.
"Let's eat first. Follow me." ~Salvino
"To where?" ~Benedict
"There's a camp nearby. My mother is there. You can talk to her instead." ~Salvino
While walking toward Salvino's camp, they noticed it was in the same direction as the Amonian flowers. When they reached the encampment, they saw a beautiful lady waiting for Salvino. Alex was immediately attracted to the woman.
"Hi." ~Alex
"Hello. Are they your new friends?" ~Lena
"No, I found them while hunting for boars." ~Salvino
"So, what are they doing here?" ~Lena
Lena noticed that the people Salvino brought were injured and wearing damaged clothing. So she can guess what happened.
"I thought they could join us for dinner. I hunted more boars than usual." ~Salvino
"Sure!" ~Lena
While Lena was preparing dinner, the people began healing each other.
"How did you get so strong?" ~Matilda
"I trained for three years in the forest." ~Salvino
"Three years? What mana were you training?" ~Matilda
"It's water, fire, wind, earth, and healing magic." ~Salvino
"Five? Are you sure you're an Abelian? I haven't heard of an Abelian who can use more than three manas." ~Matilda
"They told me I was special." ~Salvino
"Who are they?" ~Matilda
"My parents." ~Salvino
But what Salvino meant was Lena and Amon. Micheal overheard the conversation and decided to join.
"Really? All five? Can you show it to us?" ~Micheal
"Sure." ~Salvino
So Salvino used the manas one by one.
"Wow, you should join us!" ~Micheal
"Hey! Don't drag the boy into your dirty work." ~Matilda
"You're also in that dirty work, you know." ~Micheal
Their attitude surprised Betty, one of the merchants of Dea. They lost a friend, but they shed no tears. They attempted to abandon them but acted as if they didn't. She could only guess how dirty their hands were. And how normal for a mercenary to behave like this.
But on the other hand, Betty admired Salvino. He is powerful yet humble and polite. Fearless but filled with compassion. Comparable to the evergrowing stars. She knew that he was the kind of person destined for more.
While they were eating dinner, Benedict asked Lena about the flowers.
"Have you seen Amonian flowers?" ~Benedict
"Amonian flowers?" ~Lena
"The flower that glows and smells nice." ~Benedict
"Oh, those were called Amonian flowers?" ~Lena
"Yes. Named after that evil god." ~Benedict
Upon hearing the word evil god, Lena was upset. But she chose to hide her disappointment.
"Is that so? I think I've seen them there." ~Lena
"Thank you, they are actually what we came for." ~Benedict
"What do you need them for?" ~Lena
"We sell them, we're merchants from Dea, and these flowers fetch a high price." ~Benedict
"Oh, you're from Dea. I heard all merchants there are rich." ~Lena
"Well, you can't start a business without gold." ~Benedict
"We were actually on our way to Dea." ~Lena
"Really? That's great! We can accompany you there. Our carriage can carry two more people." ~Benedict
"Thank you." ~Lena
"No problem. Your child saved us, after all. Need anything else?" ~Benedict
"I want to open a store." ~Lena
"What kind of store?" ~Benedict
"Jewelry, I used to own one in Aria." ~Lena
"Sure! I'll give you all the support you need." ~Benedict
"Thank you." ~Lena
After a while, Salvino approached Lena. He seems interested in joining the mercenaries but wants to ask Lena's permission first.
"Can I join them?" ~Salvino
Instinctively Lena reacted.
"No." ~Lena
She doesn't want him to endanger himself and get his hands dirty. But she realized it was too late. Salvino can not live a life without shedding blood. As Amon's vessel, he will play a part in Amon's plan to reclaim the lands and save his people. And she won't be able to stop it.
"Okay." ~Salvino
"If Amon wills it, It's alright." ~Lena
"Well, I asked him. He said it's foolish."
Upon hearing this, Lena felt relieved...