"Vellaria Buscahll, also known as the Druid Saintess, is known as the strongest druid in the world. Using her healing abilities and the beautiful sounds of her Harp, Vellaria earned her title of Druid Saintess during the war for the dragonlord's forest. She saved so many lives during those five years that nearly every warrior of the elvish forces knows her name and will pass down her story through the generations. She is revered as a folk hero, some even worshiping the very ground she walks upon." someone spoke from behind me. I was initially surprised that someone had managed to sneak up on me, but I quickly composed myself and turned toward the voice. The speaker was the healer from earlier, and now that I was no longer in an intense situation, I could properly observe her features. The young elf woman was tall for a woman, almost as tall as my mother, who was 6'1. She had waist-length, shiny silver hair that freely flowed behind her and equally silver eyes with a tinge of purple in the center. Her skin was fair and clear, and she was certainly on the same level of beauty as my mother. She wore baggy robes that made it impossible to determine her figure, but not that it mattered much.
"Truly? Why was she with the elves? She was human." I inquired as I looked over my shoulder at the woman. She nodded her head in acknowledgment.
"She was indeed a human, but she was left on the doorsteps of the elvish druids as a newborn by an unknown person. The elder druids determined it was morally wrong to discard this child, so they raised her themselves. Vellaria grew into an extremely talented druid, rivaling even the elders. However, her true talent lies in her ability to heal. She was so talented at the ways of medicine and restoring magic that she literally wrote the book on magical medicine." The girl, who had yet to introduce herself, showed me a book called 'Medical Magic for Dummies.' I nearly laughed at the title because the name fits perfectly with my mother's personality.
"Interesting. Does anyone know where she is?" I asked out of pure curiosity.
"Indeed, she retired long ago and is currently spending time with her family in an unknown location." The girl responded, clearly having no real clue where Mom was. I sighed in disappointment.
"Unfortunate. I was hoping to meet her." I was secretly dying inside at the news, as I had been hoping that maybe, just maybe, my mother was still alive somewhere.
"Changing subjects, I would like to thank you for saving my and my companion's lives. My name is Ailla Everwood, the third princess of the Everwood dynasty. My companion is my personal knight, Oriella. If she were awake, I'm sure she would be even more grateful than I am for your assistance. May I ask your name?" She tilted her head slightly, which was rather adorable.
"My name is Magni Gunvaldsen." I said plainly, to which the princess's eyes widened in shock.
"You… would you happen to be related to Thür Gunvaldsen?" The princess asked with a hopeful expression on her face. Clearly, she knew who my father was, and she seemed trustworthy, so I decided to share the truth. I never did like lying anyway. A perk of being my father's son, he was honest to a fault and made it one of his biggest personality traits.
"He's my father," I said, only to be instantly grabbed from the collar by the woman.
"You're the son of Vellaria! Are you serious?!?!?!? You need to come with us! I'm sure the elders would be thrilled to meet the son of their adopted daughter!" Ailla was getting overly excited at this point, not even trying to hide her emotions or keep to her well-taught manners.
"Where would we be headed?"
"The Capital of the Elven dynasty, Elvara. The druid elders live there, and I'm sure the Dynast would also be thrilled to meet you. He considered your mother a niece, you know?" She was now smiling widely, and I didn't wish to ruin her mood by telling her my parents were both dead.
"Shall we head there now? Oriella will awaken soon, and I'm certain she'll wish to go home. We've already accomplished our goal here so that we can leave." I nodded in confirmation, to which she grinned and turned around to walk back to her knight. I noticed her steps were utterly silent, which is how she managed to sneak up on me.
I need to stay on my toes. This woman could have murdered me, and I wouldn't have even heard her coming.
"And what was your goal here?" I asked bluntly, catching the girl slightly off guard. She quickly regained her composure and stared at me in contemplation. We stayed like this for a minute or two as I waited for her to come to whatever decision she was making.
"I was here to perform a ritual of nature binding." She said plainly, turning around the next moment and continuing towards her now conscious companion.
"What's a Nature-binding ritual?" I asked in confusion, "It sounds like a druid ritual."
Ailla turned towards me slightly, not hindering her gait, and smiled playfully.
"You aren't going to tell me, are you?" I asked, and she continued to smile the same way. After I sighed in defeat, she turned back around.
"Thank you for saving my life, good sir. My name is Oriella Ivarro, a loyal knight of the Elvish royal family. From this day forward, please allow me to help you however I can. Within reason, of course." The knight girl said with a slight bow after I arrived next to her. She is a slightly shorter build than Ailla, only 5'10" or so, but carried herself with honor and respect. She has long, braided dark red hair and is not an elf but a catkin. Her ears match her hair color and randomly twitch toward different forest noises. She wears black leather with a dark red chest plate and back plate, with some crest over the top. The crest is that of an elvish maiden playing the harp. At first glance, her eyes are pitch black but have red irises. She carries a rapier at her hip and wears a short cape that matches the breast and back plates.
"It is no trouble, Oriella; it was mere happenstance that I came across you. You don't owe me any-"
"Absolutely not! Not only royal knights but all Ivarros always keep their promises. Please do not discredit my good name, sir!" She interrupted.
I sighed in defeat once again at her insistence. It couldn't hurt to have someone owe me a favor.
"Gunvaldsen. Magni Gunvaldsen. But you may call me Magni." When I gave my name, Oriella's eyes lit up like stars. She grabbed my collar and brought my face to hers with more strength than I thought possible.
"Are you the son of Valleria Gunvaldsen? My idol and the person I aspire to be?!?! Ailla! We must bring this man back with us!" I almost laughed at the similarity of the two's reactions to my heritage, and I would have had my face not been mere inches from Oriella's.
"Can you let go of him first, Riri? I'm sure Magni isn't used to being manhandled, Right?" Said Ailla to the rescue, to which Oriella complied with a slight blush. As I stood, I realized I had an opportunity to tease this girl.
"Say, Riri, is this how you treat all men or just a son of Valleria?" I said with a shit-eating grin. The girl's face quickly became comically red as she began stuttering to find an answer. Ailla, on the other hand, nearly laughed her ass off.
"Oh, Ailla, don't think you're off the hook either. You both had the same reaction when I told you my name. You two are fanatics of the highest order." Ailla quickly stopped laughing and began blushing angrily as well. Oriella turned towards her in shock.
"You're a Valleria fan too! How come you never told me? I thought we were -Are- Best Friends!" Instead of being angry, Oriella smiled playfully and poked the princess in the stomach. The taller girl then started giggling, trying- and failing- to tell Oriella to stop.
After the two's giggling session ended, we hit the road to the Capital of the Everwood Dynasty: Elvish Paradise! There was an actual path this time, and the two came in a carriage, so I didn't even have to walk.
Along the way, the three of us discussed several things, including Aillas skills in healing and support magic. I learned very little, mostly because when she began talking about the different types of magic circuits and other details that I couldn't even come close to understanding, I just sat there and nodded my head when prompted while thinking about other things.
So many things have happened recently that it's hard to wrap my head around, but my main worry right now is what that tree was! In the vision, my mother said it was a fragment of the world tree, as in Yggdrasil, but I don't even know what that means, not to mention the things that it did to me, like my emotionless take on the murder of those other humans! I felt nothing! Not even joy from successfully winning my first real fight. What does it all mean? I know the tree probably kept me alive this whole time, but what else did it do-
"MAGNI!" Yelled Ailla, who didn't look happy that I had ignored her.
My eyes refocused on her face, and I realized I had tuned her out accidentally. "Sorry, Ailla. I've just got a ton on my mind. Not to mention, once you got into the specifics of magic, I had a really hard time following, so I guess I tuned you out."
"Ugh, it's fine, just don't ignore me when I speak, please. Anyways, we should almost be back to the capitol, so be prepared to explain who you are, okay?" Ailla said, with slight annoyance on her visage.
"Aye, I won't ignore you again."
"Good," both of the girls said at the same time.
Then Oriella spoke up for the first time in a while, "So you're not a magic guy, huh? Does that mean you're a barbarian, like your father?"
"I'm not sure exactly. That was only my second real fight, and I got lucky that I was able to take it by surprise and that Ailla was able to buff me."
"Interesting, you were able to notice my minor buff in the heat of battle? Most people can't notice a buff that weak." Ailla said, confusing me.
"What do you mean? When you cast your spell, it was as if the wind was lifting me. My body felt lighter, and I wasn't nearly as tired as before." I responded with confusion visible on my face.
"Interesting! Does that mean you already have the barbarian's blessing? Because that would explain why the buff worked so well!" Oriella said, confusing me even more.
"What's the barbarians' blessing?" I asked.
"You don't know? It's a blessing given only to proven barbarians by the war god, Thor. It-" Oriella started to explain but was quickly interrupted by the sudden stop of the carriage and a knocking on the door.
"Oh, it looks like we're here. We'll have to continue this discussion later. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time later," Ailla said, stepping out of the carriage and greeting the guard who had knocked on the door. Oriella nodded and stepped out next, leaving only myself.
As I stepped out of the carriage, I was greeted by a once-in-a-lifetime sight as beautiful as no other: the capital city of Elvara. As one would expect from a wood elf city, it was built harmoniously with nature. The titanic trees that stood over the city let through very few rays of sunlight, but that didn't leave the city dark, as a large amount of magic floating lamps covered the city. They are shaped like Diamonds and produce a softer light than expected, but that still provides enough light to reach the ground. The architecture is mostly made from the trees themselves, and the homes are suspended in the air, attached to the trees. Glowing mushrooms line many homes and tree trunks, creating a calming atmosphere. At the far end of the city lies a large building with elaborate architecture and beautiful design, leading me to believe it to be the Dynast's hall. Finally, the many businesses that line the forest floor create a bustling atmosphere.
"Wow, Elvara is gorgeous," I said out loud, causing the guards to turn to me and instantly point their weapons at me.
"Halt! State your name and purpose for being in the princess's carriage!" the guards' leader said while signaling one of the guards to go get some help.
"WOAH!" I said in surprise instantly, as I hadn't expected this. I looked at the princess, who had an impish smile plastered across her face, "My name is Magni Gunvaldsen, and I'm with the princess because she invited me along!" I blurted out as soon as possible.
"Gunvaldsen, huh?" The guard looked over at the princess, and she nodded in his direction to let me go. The guard then lifted the long polearm he had been pointing at me. The rest of the guards hesitated but followed their leader's lead nonetheless.
"What is going on here?" A new voice asked, quickly coming into view as the other guards parted way for him.
"Captain Chantei, how very nice it is to see you again!" Oriella said, catching the Guard captain's attention and causing him to smile widely. Captain Chantel is my height, around 6'5", and is covered from head to toe in shiny silver armor. He is fairly handsome, even in the presence of other elves, and is visibly very muscular, even under the armor he's wearing. He gives off an aura of kindness and strength, that of a true leader, reflected in his subordinates' eyes. At his hip is a longsword, which is clearly well made, even viewed in its sheath. His piercing bright green eyes are intimidating, and the light scar over his left eye further promotes his aura of experience.
"Oriella, it's wonderful to see you again! Would you be so kind as to explain the situation, please?" the Captain asked.
"Oh, nothing much, just the guards doing their job. The situation isn't that serious; it's just that we brought someone back with us who wasn't originally with us. He's a human, and the princess and I owe him our lives." Oriella said, causing the guards to sigh in relief.
"Oh, you owe him your lives, do you? Why is that?"
This time, Ailla responded, "That's because he saved them, Captain. You see, a minotaur attacked us at the Valleria shrine and nearly killed us both. However, just in the nick of time, after Oriella had already passed out from blood loss, Magni saved us from the minotaur, managing to kill it by taking it off guard with a little assistance from a minor buff skill."
The Captain's eyes widened considerably as he heard the story, and he quickly turned towards me with an earnest face. He took two large and powerful steps and stuck his hand out in front of himself to shake my hand. Of course, I shook it with as much strength as I could muster, which didn't even matter to the elven Captain, who I instantly recognized was overwhelmingly more powerful than myself.
"Thank you for saving the princess's and my niece's Lives. You have my sincere gratitude, Magni. Was it? Ask for anything, and you will have it; just say the words, " the Captain said with a smile.
"Your gratitude is unnecessary, Captain, as I just so happened to be in the area, so-"
"Magni, what did I say before?" Oriella interrupted, indicating an earlier conversation about accepting a knight's promise. I smiled slightly as I lowered my head in defeat, accepting the Captain's offer of generosity.
"Very well. I will have to think of something then."
"Good. For now, why don't you join me at the Dynast's Hall? I have to escort the princess and Oriella anyway."
"Sounds good."
So we set off towards the Dynast Hall, where I would meet the Dynast and introduce myself. This somewhat intimidated me, but I didn't let it show.
"So, Magni, what is your last name? You remind me of someone." The Captain asked, having dismissed the guards before we left the front gate.
"Gunvaldsen. My father was Thür Gunvaldsen, and my mother was Valleria Gunvaldsen." Upon speaking my last name, the Captain's steps paused slightly before grabbing my shoulder and pulling me into a hug, leaving me extremely confused.
"Captain, is there a reason you're hugging me? Did you know my parents?" I asked, noticing the slight smiles on the princess and Oriella.
"Boy, of course, I knew your parents. Your mother was my adoptive younger sister! I knew I recognized your features from somewhere! You look just like her. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner! Great tree. I'm so happy to meet you!" the Captain said while pulling me away from him to look at me with a huge smile on his face.
"HUH! You're my uncle! That's unbelievable! It's great to meet family! Wait, doesn't that make Oriella my cousin? That's great!" I said while flashing a huge smile at everyone. Pretty soon, everyone had enjoyed a few laughs and smiles together, and we eventually got moving again.
"So, where is my sister?! I haven't heard from her since she got married to Thür! I'm kinda annoyed by that, but it can't be helped because of the Gunvaldsen name." I stopped walking for a second, the scene of the black-draped assassin appearing in my mind once again, and the anger flooding my mind.
"My mother... My mom is dead. So is Father. They were murdered by an assassin dressed in black from Gulven 10 years ago." The Captain, too, stopped in his tracks and looked back at my face as if looking towards me to find a sign I was joking.
He would find no such sign.
The Captain fell to his knees in despair and slammed his fists into the ground. The primal scream he let loose caused all of those around him to feel his sadness in great detail. Tears fell from his face as he screamed his lungs out. The princess and Oriella both looked at me as tears came to their eyes, clearly affected by the mighty Captain's cry of despair.
He truly loved her.
That man…
That MONSTER…
He will die the most gruesome death known to man…
Known to the gods…
To the goddess of death herself...
I will make sure of it.