Screw him, I'm going back to dreamland. But I'm afraid what that elf will do to me if he catches me in my slumber. He came earlier to rouse me but he had a hard time to shake me awake. He even had the nerve to call me a dull stone. Afrter he ruined my rest, he tol,d me that the twhole camp is having a gathering in a few hours. He did not say it, but I was obviously not welcome to join. So why should I bother to get up? I should just sleep on.

As I settle in my bed of hay, I notice several eyes spying on me from the window. Now that I'm a distinguished fire magician, I decide that these intruders will be my first prey. I'm drained but I rise and walk to the door. The dimwits think they were slick but I spot their retreat. I emerge and I see Yvaka and her elven cronies standing by my hut casually.

I keep silent and utter my spell aloud, "Flame Arrow!" My aim is terrible and it plunges at an angle and nearly hits them at their toes, but I scare them enough.

"Hey! What's wrong with you!? And fire magic too, truly the peak of barbarism as expected from your kind. Do that again and expect me to fight." Yvaka shouts at me while smugly folding her arms. I pay her no heed and cast, "Fireball." I recall the fireballs that I swallowed for breakfast almost every day back in the village, thanks to my young tormentors but their spell was nothing but a spark compared to the sphere of flames forming in my hands.

Yvaka watches the fireball growing, getting bigger and bigger by the second. She and her friends are frightened again and dive to the ground. I unleash the spell, but my control is so poor that I can't handle the backlash and I shoot it up into the sky. It flies fast and bursts in the distance. I think I went too far, if that had hit them, I might have injured them badly, but I act cool and say, "This is what you will face if you spy on me again. Elves are really a bunch of creeps."

Yvaka lies on the ground and opens her mouth again, "What!? Of course, we're spying on you! Making sure that you're not plotting anything today. You humans are untrutworthy. And do you think I'm scared of you-" She gets up and starts chanting in an elven tongue. Winds swirl around her arms, which point at me. Her chants are lengthy, though, and I think that I have time to respond with another fireball, so I begin to prepare myself, but Yvaka's arms are grabbed by a guard, "Yvaka, you intend to harm a guest? This is not the elven way."

"The human girl attacked us without any reason!" says one her friends.

"Yes, yes, he's right! We're making sure she wasn't up to no good." Yvaka says as she struggles with her hands.

The guard's eyes dart between me and the group, his grip tightening on Yvaka's arm, "If you wish to duel, then you can, but no on this day. That goes for you as well, human. I hope we've showed enough hospitality for you to respect our privacy." He shoves Yvaka towards her companies and waves them off. He friends scamper away, but Yvaka lingers, her gaze burning with hatred. I meet her stare, unflinching. I'm always prepared for you. A true mage never shies away from away from any challenge, anywhere, anytime.

I head to the ranges to practive my skills. Elves are still there, but they gradually depart to the massive tent in the center. The Ooribates vanish as well. The camp becomes deserted, evoking unwanted memories in me, but I push them aside. I have to focus on improving as a magician.

Time flies by with each flame arrow I missed and the sun is high in the sky. No one emerges from the tent. I feel a temptation to sneak there and eavesdrop, but I resist the bad thoughts. They treated me kindly and gave me home. I can't stab them in the back like that.

I collapse on the warm earth after hours of weaving magic, but I don't feel tired, only exhilaration. The arcane energy courses through my veins, filling me with a surge of power and joy. Never have I thought I would unleash a spell. How I wish my father could see me now, his daughter who struggled with this so-called curse. But it wasn't a curse, it bloomed late. Maybe I can cross the inner borders with the help of this new power, and I was fortunate enough to keep the pouches of Lirat. I can do it, I whisper to myself.

A voice from above startles me from my reverie, calling me by my namne, "Hestia, you have a remarkable pool of magic reseves to be able to cast spells for hours on end. And that's after you spent the whole night doing the same thing."

I look up and see a raven perched on the branches. But it's no ordinary raven, it is a creature of bone and shadow. It has grown larger since I last saw it. It's the Fornsic that I encountered a few days ago!

"You're the Fornsic! You look much better, almost perfect. And were you spying on me all this time!? I'm beset by creeps. What do you want from me?" I exclaim.

He spreads his wings and glides to a practice target near me and says, "Nothing of importance. It's a nuisance really, but I owe you a debt of gratitude." His voice sounds like metal scraping against metal but it didn't bother my ears.

So he had reached my village... and feasted on them. I feel a wave of emotions, but I quell it quickly and reply, "I'm pleased you're well, but I did nothing. I merely showed you the way, and you're the one who dragged yourself there. You don't owe me anything. You can stop being a creep and soar away with grace."

He stares at me with his red eyes and says, "I'm intrigued in you nonetheless, so you won't shake me off. You can try your flaming arrows and fireballs but you won't hit me with your aim. But, Hestia..." He pauses and decends once again on the ground in front of me.

"Do you not realize the place you're in? I understand they're taking care of you, after what you went through. It's nice and all, truly kind beings, but... you must not linger here for long." He says, his voice flat and emotionless but I detect a hint of worry, I think.

"What do you mean? They are just elves doing their elven things with their Ooribrates." I reply.

He shakes his head and covers his skull with his wing, as if in despair, "Hestia, you are actually a jester in disguise. This is a camp of elves. Warrior elves. Can you not see how they are all armed to the teeth? You can't even tell the difference between a commoner and a guard."

I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off, "I was there, listening through that tent. Those elves are the 'Uprisers of The West'. And you did not wanter into any camp. The man in charge, Gulvan, is thier leader. Do you know what they call this forest?

Uprisers? What is this bird trying to tell me? But I answer his question, "Forests of Deritam, they cover most of the north-west borders of the kingdom."

He nods his head and says, "Most of Deritam is now under the rule of Phoebal, due to the king's light extending over it, decades ago. It was once a prosperous elven realm, and now, only fragments of it remain beyond the light's reach. The king of this elven realm is none other than Gulvan."

A king!? Gulvan is? He must be lying, I think, but he doesn't seem like the type to lie. I lean closer to him and whisper, "What are the Uprisers?"

He draws even closer, our faces almost touching, and he whispers back, "When the light of king Tezca reaches new lands, these places lose their freedom and sovereignty. The people of these lands only have a few options to choose from once the reckoning of the light begins. Either give up their sovereignty and live under the king's light, or be pushed back and have their kingdoms slowly be eaten away. Some choose to fight, but that will end to thier doom. I'm sure you've heard of such tales, so, now I ask you, what do you think these Uprisers are rebelling against? King Tezca, of course. The root of all this turmoil."

I realize what he meant by my presence here, in the middle of those who intend to... challenge the rule of the supreme King. I cannot fathom this idea. King Tezca is the eternal sun whose light will engulf all the lands in Aurgea one day. A legend born in a time where dragons still soared under the sky. He is right, everything I saw here points to this fact. Should I flee? Will they pursue me to silence me? I start panicking, but I remember Vasco. Is he also invovled?

"But this time, the Uprisers of The West may soon change their name, if what I overheard in there is true. Your boyfriend is from a distant realm, but he is here as envoy. The truth is... it makes me uneasy. Gulvan gave a stirring speech about 'unity' against the infernal sun. Unification of all realms. Phoebal will be besieged by hordes of all kinds of beings joinging forces, if Gulvan's words are true. I don't know if even the King himself can stop chaos flooding to his doorsteps."

I strain to listen, but his words sound like the beginning of something out of history books. We're so close that I impulsively grab his neck and demand to know if he is telling the truth.

"Yes! Foolish girl, yes! I did not expect much coming here, but we found ourselves in a situation bigger than ourselves! Now release me!"

I let go and I'm speechless. What can I say after hearing all that? The bird breaks the silence again and says, "I learned your name last night, Hestia. I am Bayak. I speak your tongue today because I had assimilated with human structure for the first time. As much as it disappoints me to say this to fool like you, but, thank you."