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The Boy that Disappeared:
Chapter 1

Falling Shadow

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A light fog rose from the moist earth of the forest, as the sunlight broke through the gaps in the leaves from the thick, tall trees. Moss grew on wood and rock as grass would grow on dirt. Rainfall from last night washed away footprints and dense, soggy foliage concealed paths behind a visage of the jungle. But the forest was never still as the creatures that dwelled inside moved about and continued on with their lives. New footsteps were created as a paw or a hoof sank into the soft ground. New paths were continuously created by animals that foraged for food, or by those that stalked their prey in the shadows.

Two shadowy figures ran through the forest, one larger than the other. Their equipment made soft clacking noises every time their feet hit the ground. They paused every so often to observe their surroundings and crouched low to search for anything useful, then continued on with their mission. They ran for several more leagues until they came across a small cliff with an overhead view of a clearing that was a bit further ahead.

The larger shadow moved forward, being careful not to alarm any other living thing that could reveal their location.

He slowly turned his head left and right and focused his hearing to catch anything that could be around him.

When he found the area to be void of any living things he knelt down and scanned the clearing ahead, certain that the prey they were tracking had come this way.

"Randshou, Yuelli."

A rugged man clad in animal furs and leather whispered into the shadows while at the same time he waved his muscular arm towards himself.

A moment passed quietly.

...

"Eprikki." a quiet, feminine voice responded.

A girl stepped out from the shadow of the forest canopy upon his words and crouched next to the large man.

A moderate amount of light flowed through the leaves as a gust of wind flew over the top of the trees. The green blades slowly fell down around them, giving them a sense that time was slowing. The sound of the petals rustling in the wind was both calming and delightful to listen to.

With the light now shining on the silhouettes, certain characterizations were now noticeable.

The girl had light bronze skin and long, black hair with a streak of white on the left of her bangs, purposely done by her own hands. Her eyes were also a startlingly deep, clear purple; behind them her hidden ambitions gave them a certain glow. Her body was in shape and was well defined but she was still somewhat petite. Her smooth skin and long, thin legs and arms were her attracting force when it came to boys her age. She wore a thick jacket made out of animal furs that were carefully sewn together. Over top that she wore her favourite black, handmade cloak of a Vyrian Tay Bear, an aggressive species that plague this land.

The man was at least three times her size and bore many scars around his entire body, each of them telling a story of the many battles that he had been in and what kind of skills his enemies had. Each scar he wore with pride, every single one of them a symbol of his will to live; of his determination to win. His long, black hair and full beard were greying, showing signs of his age, but his eyes were still focused; clear and bright much like a newborn. Fire still burned within them, as if he knew that he still has a purpose with his life. Even though the grey in his hair betrayed his age, the man could still easily overpower ten grown men.

As the girl named Yuelli crouched down beside the man, he pointed toward a clearing in the forest.

There, a large buck was grazing all alone right in the middle of a small patch of grass.

'It's about fifty yards away...' the girl thought, 'Not a lot of wind thanks to the forest, and I have a clear line of sight.'

She was confident she could kill it with her bow from her current position when the man interrupted her thoughts.

"You don't want a challenge?" he asked.

She paused, then looked at him with a purely challenging look, as if to say 'Just try it old man.'

The man let out a soft chuckle after seeing her expression and said quietly, "I know you want to just kill it and return home as quickly as possible, but don't you think that that is just too easy?" He started to scratch at a bug bite on his arm.

She rolled her eyes, already knowing where this was going.

"Tch, already thinking that this is getting repetitive, eh? Just because you managed to catch several other prey while doing it the hard way doesn't mean you should hold back." he said. "Besides, who was the one who begged me to go out and train her, hm?"

"Yes, I asked you to train me, not to go out hunting with you." she spoke, somewhat irritated.

"Well I have an entire village to keep happy and to look out for. Then I also have to train you and other students. Since you wanted to come along with me I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. Filling the bellies of our people is also a requirement to keeping them happy and also to keep them alive. You especially Ms. Bottomless Pit."

"I...!" she almost yelped, "I do not eat that much." she said accusingly.

"Oh...?" he said with a sarcastic expression, "Do you want to be reminded of how many times someone caught you raiding the storage house? Do you want me to remind you of how many times, as the village elder, I had to tell you to not raid the storage house any more?"

"I-I... don't know what you are talking about." she said not looking into his eyes.

"Hm? So you don't remember the time, during the Yutaren feast, where you devoured an entire-"

A solid punch to his left cheek suddenly interrupted his flow of words as the Elder staggered and struggled to regain his balance from the surprise attack.

"Haha, still too embarrassing for you to hear it again huh?" he said as he rubbed his jaw, "I remember having to go out into the forest again to hunt another Syun Boar, since you absolutely destroyed the one made for the main event, hehehehe---Hurgh!"

Another punch to his left cheek, but with more strength compared to the last one.

The Elder rolled to one side from the force.

The buck pricked his ears, but continued to graze.

The sounds of a nearby creek could be heard.

Yuelli shook her head, her face red from remembering the event and asked, " So what did you have in mind this time? Obviously I am not allowed to just simply shoot it, right?"

"No. I want you to try to sneak up on that deer and kill it with nothing but a knife."

"..."

Yuelli looked at her Elder blankly.

"You said you want me to train you, and you need to work on your ability to hide yourself. What can be more perfect than an animal that lives its life in constant danger from predators? As such, they are much more difficult to sneak up on than people." he said.

Yuelli continued to stare.

The Elder stared back.

A few birds chirped throughout the forest and the cicadas song could be heard as well, creating a unique chorus throughout the entire forest.

Yuelli then took a crouched shooting stance and drew her bow and readied an arrow and aimed it towards the deer.

The Elder moved faster than what his body size should have allowed him and he flicked the arrow up from the bow and deftly snatched it out from the air.

He then returned to his original sitting position.

"What are you doing?" he asked twirling the arrow with his fingers.

"What? You want to risk it running away?" Yuelli said appalled at the Elders' idea, "We've been tracking this deer for a while now!" she nearly yelled out.

"Ah, what was that? What was that Yuelli?" the Elder mockingly put his hand up to his ear, "I'm sorry I couldn't hear you. You weren't loud enough."

"You know you heard me old man." Yuelli said exhaustedly, "Besides we have to hunt to feed the entire village remember? And why do you keep giving me these impossible to do 'training exercises'? Like the one where you had me get birds eggs from trees where the only way I could get them were to jump from tree trunk to tree trunk"

"We already have a lot of other game that we caught. I think we can risk this one deer to see if you can be as quiet as a ghost. As for why I keep telling you to do these kinds of things? The answer, is simply because you can do them. Obviously all of my exercises so far have not been impossible, seeing as how you've already completed them, yet they have proved to be incredibly challenging, right?"

"That I caught and risked my life for, and besides there has to be a limit you know. I can't keep doing this all day or else my mind and body are going to break. Also, ghosts aren't real Elder. They are just myths. Legends. No one has actually seen or heard a ghost."

"Exactly my point." he said as he flicked his finger for emphasis.

"Ugh." Yuelli groaned, not entirely sure why she even bothered saying anything.

"Now give me your bow and make like a ghost."

"I'm blaming this on you if it runs away."

"And I'll blame your incompetence... I'm already making a fantastic story in my head to tell everyone for when you fail." he said sarcastically.

'When... I fail...?' she noticed.

"Thanks for showing your confidence in me Elder." giving the Elder the most sarcastic smile she could give.

"Not a problem, now go." He said not looking in her direction.

She looked towards the deer, seemingly oblivious to the incoming danger. But if she failed, it can easily run away and live to graze on another field another day.

"But what if I do mess up and our prey gets away?" she asked.

The Elder tilted his head down and looked at her through his eyebrows. He lifted up Yuelli's bow with his left arm and pretended to pull back the string with his right arm. He paused for a second before opening his right hand that mimicked him loosing an arrow.

"I"m going to shoot it if you didn't get that."
"I get it, I get it." Yuelli said nearly the same time the Elder finished his sentence.

"I'm not going to let all the time we spent tracking it go to waste you know."

"Obviously you are if you think that I can sneak up on an animal that is naturally skittish."

"Well think of it as one-time-training."

"One-time-training meaning...?"

"If you fail, you might never ever get another chance to attempt it again. So don't mess it up."

"Thanks Elder. Thank you sooo much." sarcasm was oozing out from those very words.

"Hurry up and get going. Oh, and uh... Loksham, Yuelli."

"Loksham my... butt." she turned and mumbled while shaking her head in disbelief and proceeded to make her way down the high ground they were perched on top of.

She could hear the Elder chuckling from her last statement during her descent.

When she finally made it down she stared at the beast for a while, making sure that it didn't detect her on her way down the hill. When she was sure that she didn't disturb it, she moved ahead a little and took cover behind a large tree.

She took a moment to look back at the Elder, who was still on top of the high ground, lying down to remain out of sight. He noticed her look back towards him and in response he moved his hands in a “shooing” motion.

Yuelli let out a soft sigh and continued on towards the deer, moving silently through the forest floor as best as she could; praying that it wouldn’t hear or see her and run away.

With intense concentration, she ducked behind tree after tree, bush after bush, only stepping on wet or soft areas to avoid making too much noise. She moved up with increasing swiftness.

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The Elder watched as Yuelli climbed on downward, chuckling from her last statement. Would be that from before she wouldn't ever dream of speaking to him that way, always calling him Elder and never casually calling him 'Old Man'. Would always be respectful around him and never act so comfortable. Act in a rigid, if not an almost robotic, manner instead of being carefree, and following him everywhere with her arms behind her head. It used to be so that she talked to him in a quiet voice, but now talks robustly whenever they engage in a conversation.

The Elder thought of these things, and smiled. He preferred Yuelli like she was now instead of the former. Being comfortable around him and not becoming formal such as when he asks someone how they are. Not to say that he hated it when they did that, but it felt hollow to him. He knew better than to think that the villagers become formal around him simply because of his title. They know that he would lay down his life for the safety of his villagers, and they in turn would do anything to make sure that he was always in good health. But whenever he talks to someone, who was just speaking in a familiar tone with somebody else not too long ago, and they become formal towards him, he can't help but feel some kind of difference between himself and the villagers.

But like he had thought earlier, he knew the villagers did not do this only because he is the village elder, but because they respected him and his leadership. He considered everyone part of his family whom he all loved very much, and that would never change.

Especially Yuelli.

Yuelli was like the daughter he had lost during one of his campaigns in his old life. When he used to be a Commanding Officer in the now forgotten Lanyu Kingdom, once a beautiful, prosperous city, reduced to rubble from invading forces from the Altin Empire.

He returned, defeated in battle, battered and bruised from the overwhelming Altin Empire only to return to nothing but smoke, fire and ash. He rushed to his own home, only to find it empty. One of his men told him that they had found a large number of dead citizens at the castle, where they must have looked for safety. He rushed over to the castle only to be confronted with a larger amount of bodies than what the words of the soldier prepared him for. He scoured the corpses for any survivors holding on to the glint of hope that his family had somehow gotten out to somewhere safe. But that hope was quickly diminished as he saw the dead bodies of his dearest love and his precious daughter. He lost all of his strength then and fell to his knees. Tears overcame him and his body shuddered and shook uncontrollably.

They were outplayed. No one had known that the Altin Empire had such an enormous army to match that of the Lanyu Kingdom's and to send one directly to the kingdom itself while it was vulnerable. No one had known that the actual size of the Altin Empire's army was much larger than the ones usually seen traversing the fields of battle. That a much larger portion of the Empire's army was kept under lock and key and used as a trump card. Frustration and anger built up inside of him and some inexplicable power made him stand up and continue to search for survivors. Before he got up, he took a memento of his family, his wife's ring and his daughter's necklace that she had given him for his birthday. He gave it back to her before leaving for battle, saying that he would surely come back for it one day. He secured them on his person and ran toward the offices.

Every soldier of the Lanyu Kingdom knew of the secret passages throughout the kingdom and in case something like this ever happened, they were instructed to guide citizens to these passages and keep them safe. They were well hidden and located deep underneath with no other exits save for the ones they came in through. They all connected to a large sub chamber where they could easily defend the area with a few men from persistent enemies. The one that was closest to him was the one in the King's office. He ran there only to find his king dead and surrounded by the corpses of Altin's soldiers. The king had fought valiantly and had taken with him at least twenty of the enemy. He had bought time for the rest of the citizens to get to safety through the secret passage.

The Commander moved the King's body so his face would be towards the sky. The number of wounds that were on the King's body were endless. How he had managed to slay twenty enemies before finally succumbing to his wounds was impossible to comprehend. The Commander placed the King's hands on top of their chest. If he didn't know any better, he would say that the King's face had a smile on it, as if pleased that his final act saved some of his beloved citizens.

Biting back tears, the Commander stood up and went over to the bookcase that acted as the door. However, several pieces of burnt paper atop the King's table caught his eye. Upon closer inspection it appeared that there was nothing written on them at all. Then it all clicked in his mind. The King sent some of his citizens through the passage that was in his office. When all that managed to get to his offices were through he closed the door behind them and burned several pieces of paper with his magic to give the idea that he was burning sensitive information. When the soldiers finally came, he became the distraction, and when he finally fell the burnt pieces of paper would draw attention towards them and away from the hidden passage. The enemy soldiers would think that there was nothing left of worth here and would immediately leave and not check their surroundings.

The Commander looked back upon the body of the late King who did everything that he could to ensure, to the best of his ability, that his citizens would not be harmed. When the Commander thought that his respect for his King could not go any higher, here he was witness to the last testament of his King's sacrifice for his people. He saluted his King for the last time, and blinked back the tears. When they were too much, he dropped his salute and leaned against the desk, choking from the lump in his throat.

After they had managed to gather all of the survivors from the horrific attack, they salvaged the wreckage of their home for anything they could use. From there they traveled into the forest hoping to avoid the Altin Empire and live their life in peace. Here he became the Elder of the village, the last remnant of the Lanyu Kingdom.

'Maybe they still see me as their commanding officer.' he thought, 'That was many years ago.'

Then he noticed Yuelli darting from tree to tree.

"I must definitely be getting old to be remembering things from that far back." he mumbled to himself.

After finding Yuelli through the brush he noticed the distance between him and her.

"She got farther than I expected." He noted while scratching his beard, "I expected that buck to have bolted by now, although I probably would have missed shooting it if it did. That would bring an earful from Yuelli."

He spoke to himself as he readied his bow, "I thought you were going to shoot the deer if I got caught, what were you doing? Dozing off in the shade Old Man? Get it together! Mah mah mah mah mah." he said in a mocking voice trying to imitate Yuelli.

He picked himself up off of the ground and took up his bow and picked up one of Yuelli's handcrafted arrows.

As he was nocking the arrow he slowed to a pause and stared at the bow that was at his side. He was overwhelmed with a nostalgic feeling and he couldn't help but smile at the warm memories flooding his mind. The bow he was staring at was made of black metal, almost ominous looking if he didn't know who made it. Before he could stop himself, he was already back four years in the past.

He remembered that he was furious at the time when he saw Yuelli alone in the practice fields, shooting targets with the very same bow that he had made for her when she first became his student several months ago. All of the other students had already made their own weapons and were using them instead of the weapons the Elder had made. He had shown all of his students how to gather and create their own bow from materials in the forest. He didn't understand why she was still using the one he made.

He calmed down, telling himself that there must be an explanation for this and went up to the young girl to ask her.

"Excuse me." the Elder said.

"Y-yes?" the young girl squeaked.

Already fearing the girl would cry, the Elder tried to make a friendly face, "May I ask you something?"

The girl merely nodded.

"Your name is Yuelli yes?"

"Y-yes." she squeaked again.

"Do not be afraid. I only wanted to ask you, why haven't you created your own bow yet?"

"I-I have c-created my own bow. M-many of them, s-sir." she sounded extremely nervous.

"Uh, I am not sure I follow." he said, then he finally noticed bandages wrapping around more than one of her fingers.

"Where did you get these injuries?" he asked holding her hand.

She shied away from him looking like she was about to burst into tears, "I-I didn't do anything wrong..."

"Huh? Did you get into a fight with someone?"

"N-NO, I-I...! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she suddenly burst into tears.

The Elder was so surprised that he didn't know what to do.

That was when another elder of the village came over to see what the ruckus was about.

"Don't you think that you might be acting a bit too harshly on the poor child? Eh Kot'lah?" she said as he was busy apologizing to Yuelli and promised to get her anything she wanted to eat.

"Ah Safat'li! Good thing you're here!" Kot'lah said, "I could use a woman's touch!"

"Really now, what did you do to the kid to make her cry like that? She isn't in the Lanyu army you know. No need to be so rough."

"I, uh, what, who?" Kot'lah said stumbling on his tongue and struggling to find the right words.

Elder Safat'li knelt down and pulled out a sweet cake from her pouch. She handed it to the young girl who took it tentatively, then started to eat the cake while Safat'li started to pat her head, eventually calming her down.

"Now, what did you do Elder Kot'lah?"

"I-I simply asked her where she got these injuries from. Then, she started crying!"

"Is that all there was Elder?"

"Yes! Also please don't call me Elder, we've known each other for long enough."

"It makes you feel old doesn't it?"

"That it does."

"Well too bad, time stops for no one and no thing. Nothing will stop you from getting old and before we bite the dirt we have to make sure the new generation is taken care of."

"I know that, I do. Nothing is going to stop me from making sure nothing happens to these kids."

"Good, now try to ask your question again, she seems to have calmed down some."

Elder Kot'lah sat down on the ground and tried to mimick how Yuelli was sitting.

"T-this isn't very comfortable." he said after a few seconds.

"You're an old man, of course it won't be comfortable." Safat'li laughed.

Yuelli started to laugh as well. It was a high pitched giggle that warmed Kot'lah's heart. His smile spread further the more Yuelli laughed.

Her joy was infectious and it spread throughout his entire body.

When she finally stopped laughing Kot'lah decided to ask his question again, as softly as he could.

"Hey Yuelli, do you mind telling me how you got those wounds on your hand?"

"Mmm..." was all she said as she looked toward Safat'li.

Safat'li gave her a nod and Yuelli looked back at Kot'lah.

"W-when you asked me why I was s-still using the bow you m-made me, I-I told you, that I made m-many of my own. These are for my b-blisters. They hurt a lot."

"I still don't fully understand."

"How thick-headed can you be? She said that she got them from making bows, a lot of them it would seem." Safat'li interrupted.

"I got that part. I understand that part. What I don't understand is why she is still using the one I gave her and not the ones that she supposedly made."

"I-it's because..." Yuelli started to say but quieted down.

"Hm?" both Safat'li and Kot'lah said.

"It's b-because," Yuelli tried to say again, "I can't get them to act like this bow can."

"Act like... that bow? What do you mean?" Kot'lah asked.

"Whenever I used my bow, it started to shine b-brightly..."

Both Safat'li and Kot'lah stayed silent and continued to listen to Yuelli's story.

"I-I thought that it was me a-at first, but then I noticed that all of the other bows the other kids have started to glow too! So I thought that it was normal. B-but then I saw that one boy's bow didn't glow anymore so I asked him what happened to it."

Yuelli took a breath and continued, "He said that he made his own bow and that he didn't notice anything strange about the old one that he threw away. He called me weird for asking him that and started to make fun of me for not making my own bow yet."

"Why that little-! What was his name? I'll wring his neck!" Kot'lah stood up enraged.

"Kot'lah! Quiet! You aren't helping!" Safat'li yelled.

"Ah! I'm sorry..." he said and sat back down.

"Don't worry! I don't care what he said so please don't punish him!" Yuelli insisted.

Her pleading instantly made Kot'lah regret his little outburst, "Ah! Sorry, I won't do anything! I promise. So what happened next?"

"Hmm..." Yuelli mumbled, trying to recall where she was, "Ah! Uh... This was when I started to see other's bows that didn't glow anymore. I asked them if they made new bows as well, and they said yes. I used the bow you gave me everyday and it still glowed a bright light."

Kot'lah started to nod after every end to Yuelli's sentences.

"So I wanted to know for sure about what I was thinking was right, so I asked someone whose bow still glowed whenever they used it if it was from Elder Kot'lah. They said yes, all of the ones whose bow still glowed said that theirs were still from Elder Kot'lah."

"So what did you find out after all of that?" Kot'lah asked.

"I finally found out that the bows that Elder Kot'lah make have something special to it. Something that I can't seem to create again. At first, I made my own bow with my own design, but when I tried to use it it did not glow. Then I tried making a new one exactly the same as this one."

"And?" Safat'li asked.

"It... didn't glow." disappointment clear in Yuelli's voice.

"So the reason you kept the bow I made for everyone as a beginner's weapon, was because you could not replicate the light?"

"Reh - pluh - cat?" Yuelli struggled to say, unfamiliar with the word.

"Ah, so adorable" Safat'li said petting Yuelli's head.

Yuelli's face turned red.

Kot'lah was deep in thought however, "So if the entire reason that she does not want to use her own bow is because she cannot make the light appear again, then what is this light she is talking about? Could it be that she is actually seeing my enchantments I placed on the bow to make them more durable? I don't see a light when I place them on my handiwork. But then, what else could it be? From what she said, every single one of the kids she asked whose bow shined brightly were made by me. Everyone else's that didn't were made by themselves. Why is she the only one to see this? Is she so sensitive to magic that she can see who wields it?"

He looked towards Yuelli who was eating another sweet cake from Safat'li.

"I might have to see this for myself." he decided.

Yuelli was still in the middle of her snack when Elder Kot'lah asked her to see if she saw anything odd.

Yuelli nodded with the cake still in her mouth.

Elder Kot'lah raised his hand slowly and Yuelli's eyes followed it. He slowly released his power into his hand and as he did this he saw Yuelli's eyes widen.

The sweet cake fell from her mouth and she stayed slack jawed for a second.

Elder Kot'lah slowly ebbed his power back to it's source, certain that Yuelli had seen something.

Yuelli stayed quiet for a while before saying, "Are you an angel Elder?"

"Bwuh?!" the question threw him off guard.

He heard Safat'li chuckle to herself as she imagined Elder Kot'lah being an angel, "Oh darling, he isn't an angel. He's just a grumpy old man." she said laughing louder than before.

"Hmpf." he grunted slightly annoyed from Safat'li's talk.

"But how is he able to glow like that then?"

He scratched his beard and mumbled, "Hmm, it appears that she is incredibly sensitive to those who can use magic and when magic is being used."

-Hey! How can he glow like that then?-

"Interesting. So then that means she'll know when something is coming." Safat'li said.

-How does he glow like that?-

"Yes. She'll be able to tell how many magicians there could be in an army."

-Are you an angel or not Elder Kot'lah?-

"Or she could tell which one of us will get the gift next?"

-Is Elder Safat'li an angel too?-

"No, I doubt she could. These things come randomly you know. You'll never know who will get the gift next or when."

-Hmpf. I don't like being ignored!-

"She could possibly see the entities when they are about to make their choice?"

"Possibly, but we don't know if that is certain or not. It could be that she can't see the light unless it is being channeled through someone. Entities can not use their own magic without us humans acting as a catalyst. If what she sees is magic, then it is very likely that she won't be able to see the entities."

"Even if the entities themselves are a source of great energy?"

"Like I said before, we don't know that for certain. Besides... right now, I am more interested in something else!" Kot'lah announced smiling.

"Oh? Then tell me dear Elder Kot'lah, what is more interesting than this?"

"I want to see Yuelli's handiwork at making a bow!" he said, practically beaming.

A sad Yuelli looked up from the ground and then smiled excitedly at the chance to show off her work to the two Elders.

The Elders looked at each other and smiled.

"Well, for once Elder Kot'lah, that is a good idea." Safat'li said.

"So? How about it Yuelli? Will you show us your work? I still don't think you made your own bow! Come on! Prove me wrong!"

"I got it Elder Kot'lah sir! Come on! Follow me to my room!" Yuelli said while pulling on both of the Elder's clothing.

Both of the Elders smiled and laughed as they followed the excited Yuelli to the student's homes.

She led them both through the hallways and doors and stood in front of a room. 'Her room.' the Elder assumed. She took a deep breath and swung open the sliding doors to reveal walls, from top to bottom, adorned with bows, all intricately designed, all varying lengths, all of them different from one another. There were even some leaning in the corner and some were littered on the ground, half finished. Evidence of Yuelli currently crafting yet another bow to add to this collection.

The Elders could hardly believe what they were seeing.

"You see? Did I prove you wrong Elder Kot'lah?" Yuelli said quietly.

Elder Kot'lah looked down at her, mouth open, and looked back up to the walls in shock.

"You expect me to believe, that you, made all of these bows in this room?"

"All of these bows?" Safat'li said breathlessly.

"Yup!" Yuelli said with a smile, practically beaming. "I've never shown the inside of my room to anybody. You're the first two to see Elders."

"Fuuu~ wow." he said, "Do you mind if I inspect one?"

"Go right ahead!" she said still smiling.

"Don't mind if I do~" Safat'li said entering Yuelli's room.

Elder Kot'lah went in the room and grabbed a random bow off of the wall and tested it's strength. None of them had been strung, so he lightly bent the limbs to study it's strength. The wood bent back further than he would had thought at first and bent it back further and further until he felt that it was too much strain for the wood to handle and let it go before it could snap. When he released the limb it flew back into its original shape and it didn't seem to have warped at all from the abuse it just took.

"Amazing." The Elder let out, "This is like a masterpiece."

"Ooh! I absolutely love this one! Do you mind if I pay you for this one Yuelli?" Safat'li asked.

"Of course Elder Safat'li you can just take it if you want!" Yuelli said pride filling her voice.

"Oh, I can't do that to you sweetie. You obviously put some time and effort into this piece and as such these things must be given its due. Now, I know that we villagers don't often use this kind of money in and of ourselves, but when the next caravan comes in, use this to buy something nice from them. Here you go Yuelli, Six hundred Shans just for you, and if you want something more quickly..." she grunted as she dug through her pouch and finally held out six orbs that reflected the light from the room.

Elder Kot'lah looked over to see what she had pulled out and sputtered.

"Hey! You're spitting all over this delicacy!" Elder Safat'li said irritatedly.

"Are those- Are those Fruit Drops?" Elder Kot'lah asked drool covering his mouth.

"Yes they are and they are all for Yuelli."

"Can I please have one?"

"What are you a kid?"

"YES! Give me one!"

"HA! If you are a kid then I'm still a beautiful 20 year old."

"Please let me have one! They are so rare!"

"No, these are all for Yuelli like I said before. Only Yuelli may have them and only Yuelli may eat them."

"Uhh..." Elder Kot'lah whimpered as he fell to his knees, "But there is no telling if those are the last six in existence!"

"We'll know after Yuelli eventually eats them all now won't we?"

"Too cruel Safat'li! You're much too cruel!" Elder Kot'lah said as he started to cry.

"And you call yourself an Elder! For Antinael's sake! Be a man, man!"

Yuelli watched as her Elder started weeping and she asked Elder Safat'li if she could do whatever she wanted with the fruit drops.

"Of course you may do what you will with them. They are now yours after all."

"Thank you Elder Safat'li. Then I would like to share them with you both."

Elder Kot'lah's head snapped up,"Huh?"

"If that is what you wish for child."

Yuelli went up to Elder Safat'li and handed her two of the fruit drops, but Elder Safat'li said that she didn't want them, saying it was too sweet for her liking. So Yuelli went to Elder Kot'lah and handed him half of the pile.

Elder Kot'lah was so moved that he started crying all the more. But he eventually only took one, saying that he just wanted a taste, leaving Yuelli with five Fruit Drops.

Becoming curious as to why Elder Kot'lah acted the way he did, she popped one of the Drops into her mouth.

The resulting taste made her mouth instantly salivate.

After a minute the flavor changed as the sugar in the candy started to melt into a different layer causing her mouth to salivate again at the new experience.

She looked towards Elder Kot'lah to see if he was experiencing the same thing.

The utter glee that spread across his face told her that he was indeed so.

"Like a complete child that man." Elder Safat'li sighed shaking her head.

Yuelli bowed before Elder Safat'li and thanked her for her gifts.

"Nonsense child, I did what was only right. Besides this is a really fantastic bow!" Elder Safat'li smiled.

Yuelli smiled and bowed again, but had to place her hands on her cheeks as the flavor changed yet again.

"Hohohohoho! Seems like you both are enjoying yourselves. Unfortunately I have somewhere to be now Yuelli. We both do, right Kot'lah?"

Elder Kot'lah broke out of his daze at the mention of his name, but only somewhat, "What? Huh? What happened?" he said in a stupor.

"You are being an idiot and shirking your duties. You have somewhere else to be right now the
same as I. Let's be off and give Yuelli some privacy."

"Hm? Oh! Yes right! Uh... Thank you Yuelli for sharing your Fruit Drop with me! I enjoyed it- well am still enjoying it!" The Elder's expression changed as the Fruit Drops flavor changed again, "Oh! But before I go, I can enchant one of your bows for you as well. It'll be quick and wont take longer than a minute to do so."

Yuelli looked at him, unsure of what he just said.

"You want me to make one of your handmade bows glow right?"

"You can do that?" she said awestruck.

"Of course! Seeing as how you were trying to replicate the light, but with your own hands. I'll tell you now though, the light might have been just you seeing the enchantments itself."

"What are these en-chant-ments you keep talking about?" Yuelli said the word slowly so she wouldn't mess it up.

"These enchantments, that I put on the bows specifically, help make them stronger. And by stronger I mean that they are incredibly hard to break, whether on accident or on purpose."

"So if you put your magic on... shields!" Yuelli said with a sparkle in her eye. 'Then they would be hard to break, right?"

"Exactly so. If I were to put my enchantments on anything, then they would be almost impossible to break. Except if another Ahlni came in and removed my spell or broke the object with his or her own magic."

"I've heard of the Ahlni! They are a group of special people right?"

This time Safat'li answered, "No child, the Ahlni isn't a name of an organization or a specific group of people. It is merely what we people who have no magic inside of us call those that have been chosen by the spirits."

"Hm..." Yuelli mumbled deep in thought.

Kot'lah clarified, "It is what makes it easier for us to tell each other apart. We call everyone a
'person' but we can call a person with magical powers a 'person' and also an 'Ahlni' because they are something more."

Still confused Yuelli mumbled, "I still don't get it."

"It'll become clear in time child. But for now, let Elder Kot'lah enchant one of your works of art." Safat'li said.

"Yes Elder." Yuelli said and stood up and walked toward the wall behind her.

Yuelli stood at the wall with her best work on it, but instead moved toward her bed and reached underneath. There she pulled out a long, black case. She unlocked it, opened it, and inside was a bow that looked shiny. It was ornately decorated with glyphs and patterns all over the frame. It held twin pointed blades over the top of the handle of the bow as well as on the bottom of it, so when an enemy came in close the bow could also be used as a close encounter weapon. It also had several flanges on the sides. Whether for show or for support no one could tell save for Yuelli. It also had a silver trim on the outer most parts of the bow. For the reason it being shiny was that the entire bow was made out of metal, or from what you could tell in a glance. It was actually reinforced with metal, with the inside of the bow actually being made of wood to keep the flexibility. A single, thick piece of metal ran through the handle and connected with the metal plates on the outside, reinforcing the entire frame even further.

It almost looked like no one could wield such a thing, much less pull back the string.

The Elders looked at it in awe. If they had never come into this room, they would never have believed that Yuelli could create such a thing. Even as it was now, the Elders still had a hard time of believing it. The entire frame of the bow was almost as long as Yuelli, who held it up for them both to see.

"I-I... I don't feel like I could afford that bow even if I wanted to." Elder Safat'li said.

"D-did, uh... Did you make that bow as well Yuelli?" Elder Kot'lah asked.

"Yes. I looked through the entire forest for things that I could use for the frame and trimmings. Although the metal is just plating and the inside is from the Dauen Tree. I consider this my best work with the best materials I had with me." She said her face positively shining.

"It certainly looks impressive." Elder Safat'li said.

"A little more than just impressive I would say." Elder Kot'lah said, leaning slightly toward Safat'li.

Safat'li agreed with a few slow nods.

"But I've been too afraid to use it, since I didn't want to risk breaking it. So maybe if you could... Elder Kot'lah?" Yuelli looked at Elder Kot'lah hopefully.

"O-of course! Just leave it to me! I'll have this thing be nigh unbreakable!" he said as he smacked his own chest.

"Nye?" Yuelli said questioningly, unsure of what the word meant.

"Just a fancier word for 'almost' dear." Elder Safat'li said smiling.

"Just give me a few seconds..." Elder Kot'lah said as he took the bow from Yuelli.

He held the bow with both of his hands and closed his eyes. Yuelli looked onto him with exuberance.

When she saw the Elder's hands shine brightly then slowly dim back down, she figured that he was close to being finished.

"...and I am done!" Elder Kot'lah opened his eyes and handed Yuelli her bow, "Here, smack it across the table and try to listen for any thing that sounds loose."

Yuelli did so, but couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. In fact, the metal plating didn't jostle at all, which, in this case, is the thing that was out of the ordinary! Normally the plates would make a dull sound when they shook or fell on something hard, but that was simply because Yuelli could not tighten them down enough or they would simply become loose again. But now, everything seemed solid on the bow. Even the dents that should have appeared on the wooden portion of the bow when she smacked it against the table looked to be perfectly undamaged.

Yuelli ran back to the black case and pulled out a bowstring. It was simple in design, but the material she used looked almost black. She strung her bow so fast that it would put seasoned hunters to shame and pulled the string back as far as she could pull it but could not hear any wood straining.

'So this is the Elder's magic' she thought in awe.

It had turned it into a very durable bow.

The Elders smiled as they were watching her enjoy herself, until she pulled the bowstring back futher than they thought was possible for someone of her size. Their eyes turned into large discs as the large metal-and-wood instrument bent back further and further, her small arms suddenly looking more and more stronger.

Yuelli could not hide the joy in her heart and thanked Elder Kot'lah with all of her strength. She even gave him a hug.

"Oh." Elder Kot'lah laughed as he felt a small thud against his legs, " I was going to do this for you even if you hadn't given me a Fruit Drop. But when you did I simply could not say no and I could not forget your generosity."

Yuelli hugged him tighter.

The Elder's smile reached for the very edges of his face as he knelt down, "Thank you for the Fruit Drop. Okay Yuelli? Now we really must be going." the Elder stood to take his leave.

"Take care and be safe Yuelli! Oh and let those fingers of yours heal! You can't train properly if your fingers are hurt." Elder Kot'lah yelled out as he left.

"Have a good night sweetie, and thank you for the bow!" Elder Safat'li bowed towards Yuelli.

A slightly perplexed Yuelli looked back and forth, trying to see who her Elder was bowing to. When she realized that her Elder was bowing towards her she became flustered and quickly bowed back.
"T-Thank you for your help!" she stammered out slightly.

"Such an adorable young girl." Elder Safat'li said laughing lightly as she waved to Yuelli.

Yuelli waved back and said to herself, "Thank you very much Elders." as she hugged the bow closer to herself.

The Elder was still looking at the bow in his hands as the memory faded, "I really am getting old..." he said, looking up towards the leaves.

The bow now had more of Yuelli's personal touch on it; feathers tied around the limbs, leather straps wrapped around the grip, and an intricately designed ribbon hanging on the bottom of one of the limbs.

"I wonder how long it took her to get the materials to forge her own metal plates?" the Elder chuckled under his breath, flipping the bow in his hands.

The Elder turned the bow every which direction to see every angle of Yuelli's design, never getting enough of her master craftsmanship and then he started to inspect the arrow.

The wood of the Leluant tree was used to make the arrow shaft, giving it the signature reddish color. The wood itself was of medium weight, but amazingly durable giving it a higher probability of it being recovered without too much damage. They also felt smooth to the touch, telling the Elder that Yuelli had spent time sanding the rods so they don't leave splinters.

The arrowheads were either made out of bone or metal pieces. They were either grinded or melted and shaped to form a cone with a narrow cylinder piece coming out of the flat end. The pre-hollowed out end of the arrow shaft was then partially filled with tree sap and then the cylindrical end of the arrowhead was quickly inserted into the hollowed arrow shaft. If done correctly, the tree sap would overflow and would also act as glue for the leather strips that would be tied tightly overtop of said tree sap so it would secure the arrowhead inside of the shaft. The feathers were from wild geese or duck, and were tied down at the end with a thin strand of sinew.

"Oh, the army wouldn't teach us all how to make arrows like these..." he said twirling the arrow between his finger and thumb, "To think that I wouldn't have known how to create these arrows of hers until she had to show me how." the Elder said smiling.

He remembered the time he sat down with Yuelli determined to find out how she made her superior arrows, and how she would slap his hand like a child to make him stop when he was about to make a mistake.

"You have to make sure you hollow out the arrow evenly, or else the side with less wood is going to snap. At that point it's not going to be an arrow anymore. Got it?" he could hear Yuelli say.

"Of course I still can't make them like hers, and I don't teach her like that... do I? Must be Safat'li's doing." he mumbled to himself, "Ah, I am definitely an old man, and I'm just sitting here thinking of the past when I have a job to do."

The Elder refocused himself, and got into a relaxed, shooting position. He awaited the moment he needed to jump in and take down the deer.

He believed in Yuelli's skill, but if he learned anything from being on a battlefield; it's to expected the unexpected.

Besides, he had a village to feed.

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“Just stay right there.” She said under her shaky breath.

The buck continued to graze at its feet, somehow blissfully unaware of its impending doom.

‘Just a few more spaces to go and I have you.’ She thought instead, fearing her voice will betray her.

She kept her sights on the deer and the floor, making sure the deer doesn’t move and also making sure that she didn’t step on any twigs or a patch of dry leaves.

The wind blew gently towards her face. A good thing, since her scent was being carried away from the buck.

As she got closer to her target she drew out her knife that she kept on her lower back. The familiar feel of the worn, leather bound handle calmed her as she smoothly unsheathed the wide blade from its leather scabbard.

The problem was that the deer was in the middle of a wide clearing. There would be no way to get within striking distance without running out into the open. She had somehow managed to come this far without alerting the creature. She wasn't about to just let her efforts go to waste.

She thought of several different ideas, one that included climbing a tree and taking the deer from above, but the buck would probably hear the leaves brushing against each other and flee and that the branches did not reach far enough for her to get above it..

The only thing that she felt that she could do, was to throw her knife at the animal and hope that she could run up to it while it was stunned and put it out of its misery. Or throw a rock on the opposite side and hopefully scare the deer over to her side.

Neither of them a good plan, but it was the only thing that she could think up that wouldn't cause it to immediately run away, or it would run away anyways if she messed up.

'Just wish I had my bow...' she tried to somehow send her irritation telepathically towards her Elder.

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He scratched the back of his head with his hand and went back to his original position.

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'I hope the Elder is paying attention, because if I screw up here, I'm blaming our empty hands on him.' she thought as she slowly raised the rock over her head.

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The Elder was watching what Yuelli was doing, but he couldn't see past some of the brush that was blocking his line of sight.

"What is she planning??" he craned his neck to get a better view.

He moved to a different position and saw Yuelli raise something in her hand over her head.

"There's no way. She can't possibly be thinking of throwing her only knife at it."

He stared, "No that isn't a knife... a rock maybe? Is she trying to hit the deer with the rock or something?"

"Whatever she is doing, it's probably going to run---"

---SSSSSSSSSSSSSSHUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu---

An earsplitting sound reverberated through the air.

Both the buck, Yuelli and the Elder lifted their heads and strained to pinpoint the source of the noise.

The Elder stood up, unable to get a good view of his surroundings while laying down.

"What in Graethal's name was tha --"
---BOOOOOOOOOOOU---

The ground shook when the low pitch sound was released; the vibrations in the air drowning out the Elder's voice. His legs felt strange while the vibrations continued.

The buck was now scrambling in every which way, confused by the loud noises that were seemingly everywhere.

"Ah! The buck!" the Elder quickly refocused on his target and pulled back the bow string.

The buck darted past Yuelli, who was now taking cover behind a tree, and headed straight towards the Elder.

The Elder's aim was off due to the shaking of the ground, the loud noises and the buck running every which direction.

The Elder loosed his arrow and it caught the buck near the upper-middle part of it's chest, nearly hitting its lungs.

The deer did not realize it was hit. Its main focus was getting out of the immediate area and it would not slow down for anything.

The Elder jumped off of the cliff and drove the arrow further inside of its chest and lungs with the bottom of his feet.

Even the sheer amount of adrenaline coursing through the bucks body could not help it ignore the pain and large amount of force it had just experienced and it staggered for a few steps before finally falling, the feathers of the arrow sticking out only a little.

The Elder ran up to his prize and saw what he had done to Yuelli's painstakingly crafted arrows. He tried to pull it out, but he couldn't get a good grip.

"That's probably going to make her very mad." the Elder said as an afterthought, "I'm going to have to cut it out."

WIth his prey finally killed and captured, the Elder tried to locate the source of the sound he heard earlier.

"But what in the world was that sound? That was no beast I have ever heard."

He turned and looked over his surroundings. Finding nothing else out of the ordinary he turned around again and yelled for Yuelli.

"Yuelli?! Yuelli are you alright? Are you hurt?" he shouted.

"I'm okay!" she coughed out, "The deer just knocked me down while it was escaping! I'm alright!" she moved into a spot where she could see the Elder clearly, "So did you manage to get him?"

She walked out from the bushes and saw the body of the deer on its side.

"Ah, so I see your old age hasn't caught up to you."

"Not quite yet."

"And uh... Did you really feel the need to do that to my arrow?" she pointed at the beast's chest.

"I couldn't let it get away could I?" he said sheepishly.

The dead stare he got from Yuelli was all it took to make shivers go down the Elder's spine.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry, but there was nothing else I could do in the short amount of time I had."

"You could've pounced it Elder, you have your knife. If anything that would've been easier than kicking a small target, like my arrow, into the chest of an animal." her irritation growing into a darker form of anger.

"T-that is true... b-but-" the Elder started to say, but he heard the sounds of branches breaking and leaves being shaken.

He looked straight up in time to see a person come falling out from the sky.

The Elder was too slow to react and missed catching the person, but instead of hitting the ground the body lifted up just as it was about to crash and floated in mid-air.

The person was a boy garbed in very unusual clothing, unlike anything Elder Kot'lah had seen in his days of travel. He wore a white jacket with what appeared to be fur outlining a hood of some sort. He also wore a black cloth on his chest and what appeared to be grey trousers covering his legs. The way he was dressed was most peculiar and he did not seem to be a warrior of any faction. His thin and angular facial structure and body features told Elder Kot'lah that his body was in shape, and some scars that were on his hands and face told him that he must have done some kind of fighting before.

'Where...?' Yuelli started to say as she looked up, "Elder...." she said gasping.

"Hm?" he hummed as he looked up to where Yuelli was facing.

"...Look." she finished pointing to the sky.

Where the boy fell a large hole was left behind in the canopy of the forest. Through this hole, they saw a bright purple light shine in the sky. The Elder stared at the familiar shapes burning through the now dark clouds.

"That's a Yualin, a magic circle! Yuelli, we have to get out of the forest! NOW!" he shouted as he picked up the boy that was still suspended in mid-air.

They climbed back up the small cliffside and gathered their belongings and ran towards the edge of the forest as fast as their legs could take them.

Other animals were fleeing as well, sensing the danger the magic circle emitted.

Though incredibly fatigued they continued to run out of the forest and towards the clearing where their main campsite was located. The other hunters that went with them were already here and were shouting about the Yualin that appeared over the entire forest.

"Yuelli! Elder Kot'lah! Thank Graethal you're safe! We feared the worst when you had not yet come back."

"Yes, I'm amazed that the Yualin has not yet activated, whatever it might do."

"We haven't seen a large one like that ever since the Lanyu Kingdom was invaded."

"I would not know of that, this is my first time seeing a Yualin of this size." he said, remembering the fact that he returned to his home after the invasion had ended and could only take the words of those who survived of what had happened on that unfortunate day.

The giant, purple circle was completely symmetrical and complex designs and script was nearly everywhere on the circle. Three more smaller circles formed a triangle pattern on the rim of the larger circle and those also had the same strange markings and designs. A part of the Yualin was covered by a mountain in the distance.

"That... cannot be good." the Elder said in complete awe.

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