Calem quickly open his eyes, grabbing on to the spot where he stabbed himself.
"No wound, nor any blood."
He said to himself in disbelief.
"Of Course It Is Because I Have Saved You"
A heavenly voices spoke directly into his ear.
"What..." Calem said confused.
He then looked around at his surroundings, realizing everything is pure white.
He felt a warming presence and looked up.
A beautiful female with flowing blond hair and baby blue eyes, enormous white wings spread out from behind her. She began to descend down towards Calem and hovered above him as he stayed sitting on the ground.
She then reached out her hand.
Calem stared for a second and then started to reach his hand out and put his hands into hers.
She held his hands and spoke again.
"I Am Selene, I Am Here To Give You A Gift From The Past."
Suddenly her hand glowed brightly , she slowly pulled her hand away and Calems hand continued to glow. The glow started growing and morphed into a sword.
It was a long black blade with his family crest in the hilt like all of the kings guard blades, but that's where the similarities end. On the blade itself and at the very bottom of the hilt was 2 different crests Calem had never seen before.
3 different crests with his family crest in the middle, what could it mean Calem wondered.
"Her Name Is Broken Faith"
"Broken faith..." Calem repeated.
"They Need You Dear"
"Need me?... who?" Calem asked confused.
"All Of Them"
Suddenly a bright white light flashed and Calem closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was laying on the floor in the forest with broken faith in his hands. Calem clutched his sword and stared at it.
"Broken faith... I wonder why you're called that."
Calem then looked around, the trees and forest was very different from what he was used to.
He thought to himself and realized he never actually learned or even seen any other part of the world, he was completely clueless of anything outside of EverMoon, and that kingdom had fallen so that meant he didn't know anything.
He placed the sword sheath on his left hip, and inserted broken faith into its sheath.
He began walking in a random direction looking for any sort of settlement he could find.
As he walked Calem eventually ran into a road, but it was different from anything he had seen, it almost seemed like tree bark woven into the ground.
When Calem stepped on it, it felt as strong as steel. He started to walk down the tree bark road hoping it would lead him to people. The closer he got the more smoke he saw, and eventually he started coughing. When he got close enough he saw it, fire raging everywhere. Calem stopped and wondered if he should continue, he didn't want to get involved with anything unnecessary especially in a forest where anything can happen.
There was no way he was going to let himself get captured again, and anyone unlucky enough to get caught wasn't his duty. As Calem began to turn to walk away in the opposite direction he got startled by a scream.
"AGGHHHHHHH...NOOOOOOO!!!"
It was a woman's voice, Calem couldn't leave because he recognized this type of scream.
He had heard females make this same scream everyday when he was enslaved. He turned back around and tried to look deeper within the fire.
It was a small cart, toppled, broken apart and where the fire burned the most. The horses was dead bleeding from cuts laying on the ground, Calem walked closer and saw 2 female bodies laying dead on the ground being burned from the fire. And when he got even closer he finally saw it, what he had hoped he wouldn't see, a guy on top of a girl holding her down and ripping her clothes off her body. Calem thought of every time he would pass by a female slave being raped, every time he told himself he shouldn't get involved because of what would happen to him.
It made him mad, he was wrong. He had always been wrong, and now fate has given him one last chance to do something. Suddenly everything he did was by impulse, and he ran right towards the guy and kicked him straight in the stomach.
The man was sent forward and fell onto the ground holding onto his stomach. Calem pulled out broken faith from its sheath and quickly stabbed the man in his stomach, as the man bleed out he began coughing up blood.
He tried reaching for Calem but his arm fell and died on the floor. Calem pulled his sword from inside the man's stomach, the man's blood dripping off of the sword.
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
Calem quickly turned his head towards his left, there was 2 more men running up to him.
They seemed like they were stealing things from the burning cart. Calem quickly raised his sword towards the men. One man pulled out two daggers, it was bright silver with a brown crystal embedded into them. He quickly stabbed the ground and the crystals started to glow brightly, suddenly the ground began to shake and parts of the ground started to morph and spikes started to shoot up. Calem quickly started to run, and ran around the spikes avoiding them. The second guy pulled out a bow from his back and fired an arrow, the crystal on the bow was red and started to glow. Suddenly the arrow burst into flames and flew straight towards Calem, Calem quickly raised his sword and blocked the arrow.
More spikes from the ground shot up from behind Calem, Calem then jumped into the air and as soon as he reached the height of his jump 3 more flaming arrows flew towards him, Calem quickly ducked his head and got his shoulder cut by one arrow. The stinging from the fire didn't last long because he felt the pain of the ground from falling on the floor. He quickly got back up and started running towards the men with the daggers, another arrow flew past Calems head, with him barely dodging the arrow. As he ran the ground started to become soft slowing Calem down. Calem then held his sword backwards and swung it behind him as far as he could, he then threw broken faith with all his strength towards the men with the daggers infront of him. It quickly impaled the men stabbing through him while also impaling the ground.
"How?... bastard!!"
The last man said nervously.
The ground returned to normal and Calem quickly ran towards the man with the bow and arrow, the man tried firing another arrow but was quickly punched by Calem before he could fire it. The man fell to the floor and Calem raised his feet and kicked him in the chest with all his strength. The man fell completely onto his back and started to cough up blood.
Calem then walked over towards the first man and pulled his sword out of his body. The second man started to crawl, Calem walked up to him and quickly swung his sword at his neck and easily cut off his head.
With all men dead Calem sheathed broken faith and fell on the ground sitting, out of breath and tired from the first real fight of his life Calem was relieved he actually lived through it. Calem then quickly stood up.
"Oh shit, the girl."
He then ran towards where he last saw the girl she was crying and burned. He picked her up and carried her like a princess and ran into the forest away from the flames. Eventually he ran into a lake, he placed the girl on the ground.
"My mom.... My sister..."
The female said sobbing.
"Sorry kid, what happened was fucked."
Calem said gently and remorsefully.
Calem then ripped his pants and tied it around her shoulder that was burning and placed her arm in the cold water of the lake. He then took off his shirt and wrapped it around her to replace her ripped shirt.
"You'll be fine, it's over now."
Calem said softly.
…
Some time had passed and Calem waited patiently and let the girl hug him while she broke down. The tears seemed like they wouldn't stop, and it felt like an eternity had passed. But eventually the girl did stop crying. At least enough to talk.
Calem hadn't realized but looking at her closely now, she wasn't human. She had ears of an elf and long red hair, her eyes were a bright green color.
"Do you have anywhere safe to go?"
Her eyes sunk towards the ground and the sadness could be felt without any words said.
Calem sighed.
"Do you have any magick crystals that can help with your burns at least?"
She slowly looked at Calem confused.
"N...no, I'm an elf so... I... um don't really need a crystal."
Calem looked at the female with a surprised face.
"What do you mean you don't need one?"
"I can show you."
She responded.
She then placed her burnt arm into the lake and the water started to glow. She then raised her hand over her burnt shoulder and started to mumble.
"May Goddess Selene bless me with her power."
Suddenly her hand began to glow green and her shoulder began to heal.
"Selene...."
Calem mumbled to himself.
The elf looked at Calem confused.
"No... it's just that I have never seen anyone use magick without a crystal, I didn't know that was even possible."
The elf pulled her shoulder out of the water and fully put on Calems shirt now that she was able to move her shoulder.
"Well every elf can use magick naturally, in fact every race but humans can. Are you lying to me, it's basically common knowledge."
She said in a worried voice.
Calem started to stare towards the forest.
"Well I haven't learned anything about the realms, I was enslaved from childhood."
Calem said softly.
"Oh.... I apologize."
"No, it doesn't matter, that's history now, more importantly will you be ok?"
"I don't know, everything is different now, I don't even know what to do or where I'm gonna go, my.... My family is gone. My chest hurts and honestly I'm desperately trying to avoid thinking of them. They aren't gone, at least thinking that makes it feel better."
"Don't, it'll only make it worse."
"Mister, have you experienced lost?"
"Yes..."
"Is it rude of me asking who you lost?"
"No.... I lost everyone."
"Oh... I see."
She then grabbed Calems hand and held onto it.
"Don't leave, if you leave I'll be killed."
She said sadly looking at the floor.
"Why would anyone want to kill you?"
Calem asked in response.
"Well, I'm a princess of Elysium."
"Elysium?... you mean the elven woods?"
"Umm... it's kind of mean to call it elven woods."
"Oh. I apologize I didn't know-"
"No, it's fine.. it's just that the Avalon alliance calls Elysium that to belittle us."
"Regardless, you're a princess? Where are your guards?"
"I'm not sure, they're supposed to be with us."
...
Seconds went by before the elven girl spoke up again.
"What's your name?"
The elven girl said quietly, so quietly it was almost a mumble.
"Calem."
"My name is Lilith first princess of Elysium."
"Lilith..."
"So Calem, please protect me, I... don't have anywhere to go.... I can't go back."
The last sentence being said under her breath.
"I'm sorry Lilith but I'm not a good person, and I can't protect you. Besides I don't feel like looking after some royal kid, I've had enough of royalty for one lifetime."
"I'm not a kid, I'm almost 17."
Lilith said with a pout.
"Curse the realms, they were willing to do that to a 17 year old. If you're a princess then why can't you go back to Elysium?"
"Well those men had weapons made from an elf, if an elf tried to kill me then that means they had a great following ready to overthrow… um, to overthrow mother."
Lilith voice trembled and fought to say those last words.
"I see…"
Calem paused before speaking again.
" But what if they stole or just purchased those weapons?"
"You're actually smart!"
Lilith said surprised.
"Does that mean you thought I was dumb?"
"Would you be surprised if I said yes?"
Lilith said with a light smile.
Calem thought to himself.
~Regardless of her joking insult at least she's laughing~
"I will take you to Elysium and if it's safe I'll leave you there."
Calem said with an annoyed voiced
"Thank you Calem, I'm in your debt."
She held onto Calems hand even tighter
"Come, let's not waste any time."
"Oh... ok, um Calem.... Do you know the way?"
"And she calls me dumb."
Lilith pouts again and lightly punches Calems arm.
"I guess I'll have to lead the way, there's a small village ahead on the path before the entrance of Elysium."
Lilith chuckles slightly.
Lilith then pulls Calem toward the direction of the village. As they're walking Lilith looks back at the smoke of the fire in the far distance. Her grip of Calems hand tighten.
"I'm ready Calem…"
Lilith said softly while staring at her family body with remorse.
And with a deep breath she says her final words in a soft voice.
"Bye Mother, bye my little sister."
Lilith then looks ahead leading the way and pulling Calem forward.