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The full moon had finally arrived. Its beautiful, serene glow blessed the forestland island with a soft light to illuminate the elven tradition that was to begin.
"Riku!"
I snapped out of my daze as my mother, Tifa, called my name impatiently. I blinked several times, and then turned to face her.
"It's time. Are you ready?"
I nodded, gesturing to my cream-colored dress tunic and dark-brown pants that I had recently changed into.
Her earthen-brown eyes studied my outfit for a minute before nodding approvingly.
"It looks great," she commented simply, before turning around and beginning to leave.
"Wait, Mother!" I called to her.
She stopped in her tracks, and then turned to face me.
"Yes, Riku?" she asked. I lowered my head, embarrassed for what I was about to say.
"I think I am scared. I have a feeling that something bad will happen," I muttered to the ground. She stared at me incredulously.
"Something bad? It is a ceremony, a time of joy. Nothing bad will happen," she told me.
"I know, I apologize," I said shamefully. Her face softened, and she placed her arm on my shoulder.
"Have a little confidence; do not let your thoughts get to you. Besides, I will be with you the whole time," she said encouragingly. I offered her a smile, which caused her to give me one in return.
"Are you ready now?" she asked.
"Of course."
"Well then, let us leave." She turned around and walked out the door. I followed her example, but not before stealing one last glance towards the moon.
"Wish me luck," I murmured under my breath, as my aquamarine eyes left it.
Of course, the exact opposite occurred.
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"Yo, man!" Wakka greeted me in his heavy-islander drawl.
"Hello, Wakka," I returned, slapping him on the back. Together, we joined the large crowd of young elves in the forest clearing. Tonight was the night in which we received our Calling that the fates gave us, and our leader would be acting as a medium between the spirits and us.
"You psyched for the calling ceremony, man?" Wakka grinned at his question, rubbing the back of his ginger hair.
"Of course!" I responded adamantly. "I believe that you spent too much time around humans at that island reservation," I added, grimacing at the word 'humans'. "Your accent makes you sound ridiculous."
"Hey, them humans are cool. I don't get why you and the others think they bad," Wakka retorted.
"I will believe it when I see it," I replied with a smirk.
An awkward silence emitted between us for a moment, before Wakka finally asked the question that was plaguing all of our minds.
"So, what do you think the leader's like?"
I pondered this for a moment.
"Well, it's most likely a she," I replied thoughtfully. "Moon fey are women, are they not? She must be a just leader, if I were to guess. Our community is flourishing under her. What do you think?"
"I bet she's hot."
"Hot?"
Just as I was going to ask him what he meant by that, the moon's light liquefied. The small, shimmering lights instantly quieted the elven crowd, as a harmonious peace filled the air. From the inside of a small hollow, the Moon Elf arose from her slumber.
She was a glorious sight. Her silvery-platinum hair, not unlike mine, fell down her right shoulder, and was drawn into a shimmering braid on the air. Her alabaster skin absorbed the beams of moonlight, seeming to give her a soft, euphoric glow. Her royal-blue gown cascaded down her body like a river, emphasizing her attractive curves, and crystals were scattered across the front, such as to mimic the night sky. Intricate silver knot-work accents had been placed around her hips and low neckline.
She looked like the moon personified.
She yawned faintly, and then opened her eyes. Those pupil-less eyes surveyed the crowd of young elves before her, and then moved onto their parents waiting patiently behind them.
"I take that back. She's beyond hot," Wakka whispered under his breath.
Finally, she spoke.
"Tonight is the night, young ones. The heavens shall bestow thee with thy true forms. You will finally be recognized as adults in our community," she said with an air of authority, despite her soft voice.
"Does anyone oppose the beginning of our ceremony?" she asked. The crowd remained silent, so she continued speaking. "Very well. Let us begin."
She inclined her head towards the nighttime sky; she raised her arms, and then addressed the elven spirits.
"I, Lady Serah, the leader of our people and the Moon Elf of our era, hereby give my body into thine wise hands for the Calling."
The wind picked up, sending strands of silver hair across her face. The moonlight she had been absorbing released itself from her skin and flashed upon the crowd. We covered our eyes as the light flooded over us. When it finally died down, Lady Serah looked almost exactly as she had before.
Almost.
"Wow, man, check out her eyes!" Wakka gasped. I narrowed my eyes, and then drew in a gasp. Not only did she have pupils, the clear irises had been filled in with a color I had no name for.
"Yes, you may have noticed that." We all jumped as she spoke. It was still her voice, but it had been joined with a man's. "Wakka, I presume?"
Wakka gulped, and then nodded weakly.
"Of course, you're the one that was discovered during a reservation on the heated one's island," they said tonelessly. "How about you go first?"
Wakka shot me a nervous glance, but the Moon Elf smiled and gently pulled him towards the front of the clearing. The crowd parted around him as he walked up to Serah.
"Kneel," Serah commanded. Wakka didn't need to be told twice, as he swiftly knelt down before her. Then, Serah began speaking in a foreign tongue similar to the ones that the healers and spell-casters use. Moonlight began to flow from her and into Wakka, causing him to gasp in pain. It enveloped him, which gave the rest of us a fright.
"What is happening?"
"Will he survive?"
I tried to block out the murmurs of my peers, but it didn't work. "Everything's going to be fine, this has happened to all the adults," I tried to assure myself.
Finally, the lights died away, and a stunned Wakka with a new appearance was left, carefully examining himself. His simple tunic was replaced with a yellow vest that opened midway down his chest. Matching trunks were belted to a pair of dark pants on his legs, and his feet were left bare. He looked as if he'd tanned a few shades darker, and a warm glow emanated from his body. He appeared to have grown a few inches taller and gained a much more muscular body structure as well, something he would harass me about later.
"That was…awesome!" he said in awe. We exhaled in relief as he proudly made his way back among us.
"Whatcha think, man?" He grinned, towering above me. He smelled very tropical, like a mix of the sea and tropical fruits.
"An islander elf. I should have known," I mused.
"Snow of the Village, please step forward," Serah called loudly. A large blonde man with pale hair stepped forward.
"I'm ready for anything," he said confidently, but Serah gave no response.
The process continued for a while, as the other elves came out of the painful light as changed members of our community. I was beginning to get impatient, and my stomach was churning with anxiety. After what seemed like ages, Serah finally called my name.
"Riku of Locked Hearts, please step forward."
I nervously walked through the sea of people and into the center of the clearing. Serah scrutinized my appearance for a moment, and then frowned.
Oh no, what's wrong? I thought nervously.
Oddly enough, she said nothing other than to kneel. I obeyed, mimicking my peers before me. Her chanting continued as normal and the moonlight came from Serah and over to me. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the pain the others seemed to encounter, but it never came.
Instead, I felt a pleasant, warm feeling fill my body. It calmed my mind, my stomach, my soul. I felt completely at ease.
The pleasant sensation ended after a moment, leaving me in a daze. I felt oddly refreshed and happy, as if I had awoken from a long nap.
However, I had a nagging suspicion that something was wrong when I heard the uneasy mutters in the crowd.
Not to mention the scream Serah and the spirit let out.
At this point, the nervous flutters in my stomach had returned. I had no clue what was going on, but deductive reasoning told me that it had to be something wrong with me. I looked myself over, attempting to find any clues on what might've happened. As far as I could tell, I didn't seem to have changed much. I felt taller and more muscular, and I appeared to be wearing a pale-yellow mesh shirt with a pair of baggy blue jeans connected to royal-blue suspenders. My skin was paler and gave off a white aura, but nothing spectacular stood out to me.
"Impossible!" Serah shrieked, but I was sure that it was still the spirit. "There can't be two of our kind at once! You aren't even female!"
Wait, what?
"This is bad."
"It must be an omen."
"Look at his eyes!"
"What will happen to him?"
As the uneasy elves quietly chattered amongst themselves, I began to realize what was happening. I was a Moon Elf, the second one alive within the same period of time. There was never more than one alive at one time; that was one reason that they were the leader.
They thought I was a threat.
Just then, she/he pulled a large ceremonial dagger from under her gown. "This should not have happened. You are a bad sign in our village," the spirit said through Serah as they raised the dagger above their head. I closed my eyes, raising my arms protectively in front of my body.
Splink.
I lowered my arms and opened my eyes to see the dagger embedded in the heart of a raven-haired woman in a flowing monochrome kimono, standing directly in front of me.
"Mother!" I cried as she fell into my arms. I tore off the bottom of my left pant leg to stop the golden blood from pouring out of the wound, but it proved ineffective.
"Mother! Mother, can you hear me?" I cried desperately. Her eyes fluttered open, staring into mine with a mixture of emotions.
"Why are you still here?" she tried to scold. "Run!"
"No, I-"
"You are a curse on our lands. You have caused elven blood to be spilt this night!" Serah shrieked, brandishing the gilded dagger, which was stained with my mother's blood.
"Run, man!"
"Riku, Run!"
My mind was numb. I didn't know what to do. My mother was dying, and I had an angry spirit after me. I wanted to scream, to cry, to punch something. This was all wrong; the Calling was supposed to be a happy time!
The next thing I knew, a golden blur had grabbed my arm and was dragging me through the forest. "C'mon man, I can't drag you! Pick your feet up!"
Wakka? Was that him? I tried to respond, but only garbled nonsense came from my mouth. Instead, I decided to obey him and break into a dead sprint.
We were on the run.
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Reviews are greatly appreciated!
~Moss
