Chapter 3

Arahan

"This is going to be fun." Thought Arahan with a smile as she saw various men burning down a village while another group of men escorting a wagon full of something away, likely spoils from the village they just destroyed. That she couldn't give a damn about, but the men in the village, probably around two dozen or so men, would give them something to kill and hunt.

She wasn't here to save people or avenge them, no. She was here to satiate her bloodlust and these men would do just that. Wearing strange masks that covered the upper portions of their faces, but leaving their mouths exposed, the masks had a black symbol resembling two wings conjoined together by two smaller wings. Strange design, but she gave no care to this. All that mattered to her was hunting her prey.

Readying her bow, she ordered Ceithin-Har to fly in when the group escorting their spoils were gone so they can kill the rest without too much interference. Growling in response, the dragon remained in the air, far away enough that the men couldn't discern them. Even if they looked at their direction, they wouldn't be able to discern what they were and just pass them off as some bird or other flying creature in this world. A mistake that'll Arahan capitalize on.

Thirty minutes later

Okanos was feeling happy with himself. They had just captured a fine batch of children to help in the reconstruction of the Tower of Heaven, thus bringing the Castellans of Darkness' goal of resurrecting the dark wizard Zeref a reality. And with his resurrection, the return of dark magic over Fiore as well as the fall of the Magic council that dared to declare the teaching of Zeref as dark magic, forbidden from to the so-called legal guilds of mages.

Though some think that using children was wrong and impractical, Okanos didn't question his leaders, trusting in their decisions to use children instead of adults or even teens. He supposed it had to do with them being weak and thus unable to mount an effective resistance, but who was he to make calls. He was just a grunt. And right now, all he wanted to do now was find something of worth in this measly village. It was a small village with the houses so small that Okanos doubted more than two people can live in them that they can live in any sort of comfort, but there must be something here that was worth a few platinum dollars to get him some good grub back home.

As he was rummaging through a small house before the entire village went up in flames, looking for any trinkets to sell or even some money, he heard the sounds of something roaring, causing him to stop whatever he was doing. Getting out of the house he was in, Okanos looked around and saw his fellow brothers look around as well, wondering what that was. It sounded like a Wyvern's roar, but it was sounded fiercer and far more dangerous. It sounded almost like…

The roars then came again, this time it sounded closer, like it was coming towards them. At this point, some of Okanos' fellow brothers wanted to run away, not wanting to face whatever some coming their way with the numbers they had. But before any could do such an act, the source of all that roaring came into view when one of them pointed to an object coming right at them and it was growing bigger with each passing second. Looking at the object, Okanos could see that it had wings like a Wyvern and looked reptilian, but it didn't look like any Wyvern he had seen. He was sure there was no Wyvern in existence had a green and brown pigment like the thing coming towards them, nor had giant, antler-like brows on top of it's eyes like eyebrows. In fact, he was sure no Wyvern had four limbs along with it's wings. With all this, Okanos was sure that what was coming towards them wasn't a Wyvern but a.

"Dragon!" Yelled one of Okanos' fellow member of the Castellans of Darkness as they saw what it truly was as many began screaming out in horror as the now revealed dragon was speeding towards them. So focused on the dragon that they didn't notice the woman on top of it, readying her bow to kill a man.

Everyone else that wasn't screaming were stunned at seeing a real life dragon coming right towards them. Dragons had long been considered myths. Fairy tales for children and ways to entertain people in a play. And yet was one, mostly matching the description of most dragons in fairy tales, coming towards them with it's maw wide open, eager for their blood.

It didn't take long for the dragon to arrive and begin it's slaughter of the men. It was only when it ripped apart three men with it's mighty claws, that Okanos realized that it had a woman on top of it. Stunned at seeing a woman on top of a dragon, Okanos couldn't do anything as the woman let loose a dozen arrows, each killing a man each, all scoring fatal blows to their heads, in a span of ten seconds. With that, the woman withdrew her bow and brought out a spear before jumping off the dragon as it killed it tenth man by swallowing him whole. Taking a look at the remaining men, which were about six men left, the woman gave a deranged smile as she waited for the men to do something.

Stunned at seeing this brief reprieve and seeing the woman standing all by her lonesome, some of the men considered running away to get help, only to have the dragon growl at them, as if it sensed their thoughts. Soon the woman beckoned the men to come to her as if demanding them to face her in battle lest her dragon come to finish them all off. Not wishing to die, one of the man, regardless of the risks, tried to run away. He didn't get far as the dragon immediately launched itself in the air before launching itself on the poor man once he was clear of everyone else. Crushing the man beneath it's massive frame, the dragon then roared out at the remaining men, causing some of them to wet their pants. Seeing no other choice but to fight the woman, the men then gather up in one tight group before charging at her, hoping to overwhelm her with numbers. They were sadly mistaken.

The moment they got close to her, the woman immediately went into separating them from each other. Weaving through the men like a dancer in a play, the woman sliced and stabbed vulnerable spots in their formation and separated them from one another. With them separate, she began slicing and dicing them apart, cracking like a madwoman as she did so. One man she sliced open his throat with a brutal slash with her spear. Another, she sliced his legs clean off with her spear like they were butter before she ended the poor man's life with another thrust with her spear. She then tossed a knife towards another man's throat, causing him to gurgle out blood as he brought his hands towards his throat, inadvertently causing the knife to go deeper. By now the remaining two men, one of which was Okanos, were about to cast some spells, hoping to end her that way, but alas, the woman was too quick. One moment, she was smiling gleefully at them, a few feet away, the next she was right in their faces. And before either of them could do anything, even scream, she slashed and stabbed both men in a blink of an eye.

Once she was done, she took a few steps back to observe the two men. One was very obviously dead as she sliced his head clean off while the other, Okanos, had slash marks all over his body that were bleeding profusely. Soon, he'll be dead from the blood loss, but Arahan didn't care. Her need to hunt and kill was sated for now. Now she can return to her sister and deal with her task without having the urge to go and kill the child. Placing her spear at her back, tying it safely next to her bow. As she did so, she looked at the surviving man, cared out of his mind as she holstered her weapons. Amused at the fear in the man, Arahan could see the fear in his eyes as he silently begged her to spare him. Fake promises to be good or redeem himself were starting to form in his eyes as the want to live started to surface. But Arahan wasn't a merciful huntress, no. Nor was she a naïve one. She knew men like him. They make fake promises to be good, only to return to their cruel and violent ways just a few days after being fully healed. And that was something that she wasn't going to tolerate. Not when they had a child to take care of that can destroy the forest of Athel Loren.

With that, she began to walk away, leaving the man to bleed to death, Ceithin-Har slowly lowering himself so his compatriot can mount him. As she got on the dragon, Okanos begged her to finish him, to not let him die an agonizing death. Just as Arahan predicted, the man made some sob stories to give her reason to spare him. From him having a family with a young kid to a promise of rewarding her with great riches if she let him live and heal him. All of which were, Arahan knew, lies. Just as she was about to will Ceithin-Har to fly, she heard a familiar screech.

Looking up to the sky, she saw Gwindalor arriving with her sister in tow. In her sister's arm was the child that they were tasked with protecting. When the great eagle landed on the ground next to Ceithin-Har, Naestra stared at her sister with annoyance.

"Sister, may I inquire why you decided to leave the child and I under the care of only Gwindalor?" Asked Naestra as she held the child close to her as it coed and played with a strand of her black hair. Arahan just scoffed as she looked at her sister.

"I was confident in Gwindalor's capabilities to protect you both should any harm come to either of you. Plus, you're not exactly helpless, Naestra." Said Arahan.

"That isn't true if I have to also take care of a child as well." Pointed out Naestra. "We are supposed to be his guardians and mothers, Arahan. That means we need to protect him until he is capable of defending himself. That also means we shouldn't be going off killing random people." She then noted the still living man, bleeding from several areas in his body. Knowing how cruel her sister can be, Naestra decided to give him a merciful end. "Or giving them long and cruel deaths." She then drew out a knife and then threw it at the man before her, scoring a hit on his forehead, killing him. She was about to go on another tirade with her sister when her ears heard the sounds of whimpering. Instinct told her to look at the child in her arms, but a simple look on him showed that he was fine and happy, meaning it was from something else. Further deduction of the whimpering had it from a more feminine origin. Young, almost toddler like, but still feminine.

With that, Naestra carefully disembarked from Gwindalor, causing her sister to raise an eyebrow at her. Holding the child in one hand while brandishing a knife in the other, Naestra went towards the general direction of where she heard the whimpering. Utilizing her hearing, she heard more whimpering coming from a crate nearby in the burning village they were all currently in. Hearing more whimpering from the crate, she lift the lid up to find a small child in it. Stunned at seeing such a small child, Naestra nonetheless sheathed her knife and adopted a friendly stance towards the child.

"It is alright." Said Naestra as the child looked at her with her hazel eyes, fear present along with tears as they rolled down from her eyes. "The horrible men that did all this are gone now. You can come out now." Still scared at the stranger and not knowing if they're with the people that burned her village, the child shook her head as she tried to shrink away from the Wood Elf. As Naestra tried to get her to calm down gently, Arahan came up behind her and scowled.

"Just ignore her, Naestra." Said Arahan as she looked at her sister. "We already have enough to worry about with one child of man. We don't need another."

"We're not leaving her in this ruined village, Arahan." Argued Naestra, glancing at her sister in annoyance. "She lost everything here, both her home and family. I won't leave her here to fend for herself if I can help it." Arahan scoffed at that, but knew that her sister wouldn't budge on this.

"Fine, we'll drop it off in the nearest village, but that's it." Said Arahan, giving her sister a look that this was the final say in the matter. Sighing, Naestra nodded. With that, Arahan pushed her sister aside gently before grabbing the child, causing her to panic. "Stay still! *Grunts* Stop moving, you little brat." Soon, Arahan got the kid out of the crate and was about to drop her when the girl, bit her left hand, causing Arahan to grunt in surprise, causing her to drop the girl as she attempted to run, only to run into Naestra's calf.

"Please stay calm." Said Naestra as she grabbed hold of both children of man, one which was still playing with her hair and the other trying to get away, fearful of the two elven maidens. The girl was so focused on Naestra that she didn't notice Arahan coming up to her and forcing her away from Naestra's grip and forcing the child to look at her.

"Knock it off, you sniveling, little brat." Said Arahan as she glared at the child, anger clear in her face. She then brought the child over to the dead corpses of the people responsible for the destruction of the girl's village and forced her to look at them. "Look, these are the men responsible for all the death around you. Responsible for the death of your loved ones! And I'm the one that killed them for you. So, does that mean I'm going to do anything bad to you?" The girl, upon seeing the dead bodies, some of which were still bleeding out blood, began to cry out upon seeing them, causing frustration to from with Arahan. Before the white-haired elf could do anymore, Naestra forced her to tend to their own child.

"Take care of him." Said Naestra as she forced Arahan to let go of the girl and forced her to take care of their charge, causing her to scowl. "And don't do anything if he plays with your hair. Just let him." With that, Naestra went over to the girl and gave her a hug as she cried her eyes out. "There. There. It's alright." She rubbed the girl's back as she did this in an effort to calm her down. "There won't be any more blood spilled today. Nor more destruction. I promise you. Everything will be alright now. The bad men are gone. They won't come to hurt you anymore." As the girl continued to cry in Naestra's chest armor, the elf then began to sing an elven song to her. It was a song that she learned during what free time she had in Athel Loren. Whereas Arahan would spend her free time to hunt and kill something in Athel Loren's forest, she spent it learning and indulging in the parts of Wood Elf culture that didn't involve warfare or violence. The parts that made people see why elves are so haughty and arrogant, among other things.

The song was one that mothers singed to their children if they wished for them to calm down. It's lyrics were said to have been first sung by goddess Isha herself, blessing the song with some of her own powers as a result. Whether or not it was true was irrelevant as the song did it's charm and the girl eventually stopped crying and began to listen in on the peaceful song that Naestra was singing. The song had tuned out the crackling flames around them and Arahan's complaints as the daemon spawn played with her snow-white hair with as much curiosity as he did with Naestras'. Once the song ended, Naestra pulled the girl back to look her in the eye.

"It's alright now." Said Naestra, knowing that the child couldn't understand her, which was likely why she panicked when interacting with them. Adopting a passive stance, Naestra patted the child's hair, which held a ribbon on top that had been shaped like a rabbit's ears. With the girl no longer seeing her as a threat, she stepped back a few feet before offering her hand. The girl looked at the hand hesitantly before taking it, causing Naestra to smile.

"Come along, then." Said Naestra as she lifted the child up and carried her in her two arms. "We'll get you to your own kind soon." She then looked over to Arahan and watched as their charge began to chew on some locks of her hair, causing Arahan to twitch. Smiling a bit, Naestra hoped onboard Ceithin-Har before Arahan did and forced her to carry both children, one in each hand.

"I'm beginning to dislike you, sister." Said Arahan as she looked at her wet locks of hair, covered in disgusting man drool. With that, she willed Ceithin-Har to fly up in the air before flying slowly for another village of man, leaving the burning village behind.

Few hours later

It took a few hours, but the group managed to find what they were looking for. A town of men, far larger and more developed than the village they had been in before. It was here, they decided to drop off the girl, where she'll hopefully be well cared for by the people of this town. Although Naestra wanted to keep the child with them, she knew Arahan will never tolerate it. She already at her wits end with the child they were forced to take care of. Another will just cross the line with her and she knew her sister wasn't someone you wished to snap. So, she could only pray that the people here can take good care of the girl.

Landing some distance away from the town, the two elves left Gwindalor and Ceithin-Har in a small forest nearby, hoping they'll remain hidden from any men so complications won't arouse from having a giant eagle or dragon near a town of men. If there was anything the two sisters knew, it was men were very paranoid when it comes to giant animals and usually resorted to killing them to get rid of them.

Hiding their ears with hoods as they weren't sure what this town of men felt about elves or if they even knew of elves, the two sisters walked towards the town with their charge and the girl. Holding both, Naestra prayed Arahan will stay her blades, hidden in her armor in easy to reach for areas, as she herself kept both children of men to herself. Looking at the girl with one eye while the other watched the road, Naestra had a feeling she'll grow to be a powerful warrior one day. Whether it'd be against them or not, will be a question in the future. For now, they had a duty to drop her off somewhere nice and comfortable.