We climbed up the slope of the rocky cliff leading to the village we had seen in the distance. The houses, to nobody’s surprise, were not as tiny as they had looked from far away. All of the houses were built from strong stone and featured colorful tapestries nailed to the walls and roofs of the houses, creating a colorful environment.

  I glanced down under my shoe, perplexed by grass growing directly from the rocky terrain, no dirt or soil in sight. “How is this possible?” I mouthed.

  Perhaps what was most intriguing was the two different waterfalls: one made of lava, the other of water. Each led to its own stream, one carefully wrapping around the other, ensuring the two liquids never meshed.

  “Greetings, travelers.” A woman and several others bowed to us. Their attire was much different from the attire in the capital. Much more… casual. From shorts to short skirts, to pants, and everything in between. I noticed that everyone wore a piece of colorful fabric similar to a sash. Some wore it across their chest, attached to their belt, or tied around their wrist or thigh.

  “Uh, hello.” I smiled nervously. This was awkward…

  “Get out of the way!” Zephyr shouted, motioning for everyone to move to the left with his arm.

  Before the villagers had time to glance behind them, Finn had already leaped into the air with his lance, landing directly behind them. Once everyone scattered in a panic, I realized a group of animals were rushing towards us. I could make out a faint purple glow and—

  Why was I frozen in fear, the world fading out around me? I choked on my own breath, feeling like I would suffocate. What was happening?!

  I watched as my friends ran forward with their weapons, while I was stuck in place, unable to move. It wasn’t fair! My magic finally awakened, and I was still on the sidelines!

  The world became foggier and foggier, like I, and it would disappear. Was I… in a dream?

  A hand clamped my shoulder, the only thing reminding me that I was real. “You’re okay, Ella.” Zephyr whispered into my ear.

  “You still won’t join them?” I managed to ask.

  His grip on my shoulder tightened, which was the only answer I received.

  Finn was the first to run over to me once the animals had been defeated. “Are you okay, Ella?” He frowned.

  “I… I don’t know,” I sputtered. My vision was starting to clear up, but I had the distinct feeling that I wasn’t safe.

  “We’re not going to let you die, okay?” He brushed a strand of hair out of my face, a gentle smile greeting me.

  “Thanks…” I forced a smile back.

  “You two okay?” Maverick asked. Marge and Aidan were unsuccessfully trying to calm the villagers. Zephyr noticed this and stepped in, giving Maverick a simple nod. “Are you okay?” Maverick focused on me with Zephyr out of the way.

  “I’m fine.” I bit my lip, not wanting to worry him and Finn. Well, Finn was a mind reader, so I guess that didn’t matter.

  “Are you sure?”

  “No offense, but… why do you care?” I asked genuinely, my mind flashing back to when he held the seat out for me at the banquet.

  “It’s just not like you.” He shrugged and walked off. Quite frankly, I didn’t want to talk about it either.

  “Come on.” Finn interlocked his fingers with mine as we walked towards the villagers, who were… a lot more joyous than they were seconds ago.

  “You have saved us, just as Her Imperial Majesty foretold!” One of the villagers bowed to us.

  “Her Divine Grace is truly looking after us!” Another one exclaimed.

  Zephyr cleared his throat. “If it isn’t too much of a hassle, we’re rather new here and would like to learn more about Her Imperial Majesty.”

  “We would be absolutely delighted.” A girl around my age or younger ran up to us, bowing—her dark brown hair fell over her shoulder in the process. “Please, follow me.”

  We followed her to the side of the village, next to a cliff. White, red, green, and blue markings were painted onto the side of the cliff, creating words I couldn’t read as well as pictures. In the middle was an entrance to a cave. The girl summoned light in her palm before beckoning us to follow.

  “Y-you have light magic?” Aidan’s interest was no doubt piqued by someone having similar magic to his.

  She nodded. “My Affinity is light and dark. But it’s quite different from yours. You have Elemental Mastery, after all.”

  “Y-you know just by looking at me?”

  “We saw you playing in the lava before you arrived.” She giggled.

  “Could we have your name if it’s not too much trouble?” Zephyr asked.

  “Rita,” she introduced.

  We introduced ourselves in return.

  Eventually, we entered a hollowed-out room where the walls had been carved out, forming windows and giving us enough sunlight that Rita’s light was no longer necessary. She motioned to the walls in front of us. Images of what I could only assume were Avaline were drawn on the walls.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “What are these?” Maverick asked.

  “These are drawings that date back five hundred years, detailing Her Imperial Majesty’s history. It’s a complement to the mural north in Caevit depicting the creation of the world. ...Not that any of us have seen it with our own eyes.”

  “Wait, you’re saying that Avaline is five hundred years old?!” Marge frantically turned from the mural to Rita.

  “She is older,” Rita answered. “She’s been our empress for as long as anyone can remember. Also, I would highly encourage you to address her as Her Imperial Majesty from here on. Your previous form of addressing her was highly inappropriate.”

  “N-noted…” Marge smiled sheepishly.

  I walked over to the wall closest to where we entered. It depicted Avaline fighting what looked like a giant deer. The next image was of her sitting on a throne with a crowd of people bowing to her.

  “Her Imperial Majesty defeated a Falor Ghula many hundreds of years ago, saving many Vafirans. In honor of this feat, she was crowned empress, and the capital was built on the very spot the beast was slain.”

  “I thought Her Imperial Majesty said she wasn’t able to defeat the Falor Ghula?” I asked.

  “She isn’t now, but that wasn’t always the case. She fought many Falor Ghulas in the past.” Rita pointed to the next two pictures, depicting Avaline fighting monster after monster. In the second of the two pictures, she appeared almost sad. Was she worried for her people? Worried she wouldn’t be able to always protect them?

  “One day,” Rita continued, “she defeated a monster so fierce she lost the power that allowed her to defeat them.” She pointed to the next mural, Avaline stood over the monster she felled, a smirk on her face. I noticed Maverick looked lost in thought, staring at this one.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Nothing. Just thinking.” Maverick didn’t bother to glance at me, his eyes glued to the mural before him.

  The next mural depicted the citizens increasing the size of the capital as darkness approached from all corners.

  “Now, Her Imperial Majesty is only strong enough to protect the capital,” Rita explained. “Within its borders, you’re safe from the ghula.”

  The last mural depicted Avaline and her people celebrating, holding a party of some sort.

  “The Vafirans celebrate their newfound peace, protected by their empress. That’s all I can tell you. If you wish to learn more, such as the location of the Falor Ghula, Lemria can tell you more.”

  “Could you introduce us to this Lemria?” Zephyr asked.

  “Of course.” Rita bowed towards us before leaving the cave. We followed her outside—the village was much more cheerful than when we had arrived. A woman a little older than me danced in front of the lake of lava—the lava dancing with her. I watched, completely mesmerized as the lava danced in the air, following her every movement.

  “I wonder what kind of Talent that is,” Marge whispered to me.

  “M-maybe something similar to mine?” Aidan asked.

  “If we get close enough to her, I could tell you,” Finn said.

  “No!” I whisper-shouted back. “That would be creepy! And stalky! We’re not even going in that direction!”

  Rita stopped abruptly before turning around towards us. “You do know that if you have a question, you can just ask?”

  All of us went silent—everyone involved in the conversation’s faces turned red. I supposed asking directly would be slightly less creepy than forcibly learning the information by reading their minds.

  “I’m sorry.” Marge bit her lip.

  “You’re a little troublemaker, you know.” She shook her head and turned back, leading us towards one of the many stone homes. This one bore blue and red tapestries that fluttered in the wind.

  Rita knocked on the door, and a middle-aged woman with long curly black hair answered. Next to her was a boy around Aidan’s age, also with curly black hair. Must be her son.

  “Lemria, they wish to know the location of the Falor Ghula,” Rita explained.

  Lemria eyed us suspiciously. “Come in.” Her voice was louder than I had expected.

  We followed her in, save for Rita, who ran off to… also dance with the lava? Okay then.

  Inside revealed a quaint kitchen with a wooden table and chairs that most definitely wouldn’t fit all of us. The boy wasted no time jumping into his seat, resting his elbows on the table and watched us with a bored expression. Well then. I guess we’ll just stand here awkwardly in the arched hallway while Lemria stands in front of the table, blocking us off from the tasty bread resting on her kitchen counter. I was so hungry after not eating nearly all day.

  “You’re the ones who saved our village and the ones Her Majesty sent.” She spoke of Avaline with less fanfare than the other villagers had.

  “Uh, yeah,” Maverick answered.

  ”Hmph. How do you feel about all of this?” Her gaze moved across us all, a mixture of suspicion and annoyance.

  “Not thrilled, admittedly,” I answered honestly. If word somehow got back to Avaline, I would sure love to have that private discussion we never ended up getting.

  “Good. You shouldn’t be. She sent you on a suicide mission, you know. Falor Ghulas are no joke.” She rested her fists on her hips. “If you really did defeat one and this wasn’t some sort of publicity stunt, consider it luck. A coincidence.”

  “You don’t seem to think very highly of the empress,” Finn interrupted. He must have read her mind. I doubt he would’ve commented otherwise.

  “You’ll find most people here don’t.”

  “Rita seemed pretty simpy— I mean respectful to me.” I shrugged.

  “You can say that again.” Marge rolled her eyes.

  “Rita is the exception, not the norm,” Lemria explained. “I know she took you to the cave, so you must have seen the mural showing the capital as the only safe haven. Most Vafirans relocated to the capital during that time, but our ancestors chose to remain here. The royal guard tried to convince us time and time again to move, but we stood our ground. Eventually, supporting us proved to be too taxing, so the capital withdrew its support and grew spiteful of us. Now, the only way to gain residence in the capital is to become one of the empress’ sages.”

  “Sages?” Zephyr asked.

  “They do research, offer advice to other Vafirans, and handle any civil disputes. I can’t blame Rita for wanting to leave. The capital is a utopia from the ghula. We’re certainly not the only village still standing, but the capital grows more appealing the more villages are wiped off the map. Sealude is the most recent case. It’s hard to believe such a large village fell… It’s even more shocking that the Falor Ghula itself attacked. I don’t know what the empress’ true intentions were sending you here, but maybe it’s for the best after all. That is, if you live long enough to defeat it.”

  “Ma, you talk too much,” the boy interjected. “They probably came here for a map and some bread, and here you are rambling about politics nobody cares about.”

  “The bread sure is appealing…” I couldn’t help but add.

  “Then go to Lucind’s and stop eyeing my lunch!” Lemria shouted harshly. “I can, however, provide you with a map. The Falor Ghula is just north of here. Let’s see… map… map…” She bustled around the kitchen before deciding it wasn’t in her drawers. She also hid the bread in one of the cabinets for good measure. She ran off into another room, and I imagined that she caused the loud clashing and banging we heard.

  “Here. I drew you guys a map while you were talking.” The boy handed us the parchment he was huddled over.

  “This… is a surprising amount of detail.” Maverick held it up for us to see. It was very detailed. A level of detail that should’ve taken hours, not minutes.

  “Well, duh. My Affinity is art.” He shrugged.

  “Let me guess—your mother’s is baking?” I asked.

  “She doesn’t have magic.”

  Lemria entered the room once again, her hair far messier than when we first arrived. “I don’t have a map. Who even keeps a map of the kingdom in their home? This isn’t five hundred years ago! Presir will just draw you one— Oh, I see he already has.”

  “Well, thank you for your hospitality,” Maverick said with an ounce of spite in his tone. “We must be on our way to get that bread— I mean, defeat the Falor Ghula. We’ll be on our way.”

  Clearly, all of us were hungry at this point…