Summary: After discovering the egg of the Dragon Prince and excited about her newfound magical powers, Calla convinces the others to travel to Banther Lodge in search for a magical cube but unfortunately, things start to go a little south when her relatives arrive. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Katolis prepares to crown a new king.
What's up, my readers?! It's your favorite Authoress, Yuuguregurl21! And now, here is the moment that we've all been waiting for, folks: Chapter 4 is here! *Pops party poppers and plays the kazoo* Yay, huzzah!
Now before we begin, remember how I told you that some of the transcripts are still a 'work-in-progress' on the fandom's wikia, how I'll need time to sort things out and pay close attention to the episodes in the last chapter? Well most of that is true but a while back I've found a website that has the full transcripts for S1, S2, S3 and S4 but the problem is that they lacked the full description like the ones on the wikia page so after this chapter and from this point on, I'll be incorporating some descriptions from the novelization of S1 and S2; so it's going to be awhile to write the other chapters but I'm willing to make that happen so please be patient with me 'cause I'm only human.
Also, I've changed the title from 'Caelesti Lunaris' to 'The Dragon Prince: Caelesti Lunaris' awhile back in case anyone is wondering.
Now that's out of the way, I would like to thank for Prykeey900, Iogwher62, Reiweryb, Ailele9th for their comments (even though I have never read the Eragon/The Inheritance Cycle series before and I might make a few references to Raya and the Last Dragon later on), SammyGallagher, snowykat1434, emilypassmore2020 and Sunnystar9 for following and favoring this story, Guest No. 6 for their comment (I'm fine, thanks for asking), a huge shout-out to Zubeia and the The Dragon Prince Wikia for making this fanfic possible as well as thanking 100 Dragon Prince AU's by genericfanatic on Ao3 for letting me use Ch. 6 as for the base of the 3rd act!
But before I go, here are some pointers that will appear in the story:
- "'[...]'"/"[...]" are for Thought and Whispering respectively.
- Bold italic/Italic are for the introduction cards, ASL speaking and singing respectively.
- (*) are noting the important aspects that will appear at the end of the chapter (i.e.; the footnotes).
- 'Previously, on...' is a recap sequence of the last chapter.
- "..." Italic format will be segmented for photographic memory sequences.
- Bold format/('') is for Dark Magic spells and its' translations.
- •[...]• are for thought recollection sequences.
Don't forget to like, comment and fave! Remember, I do not own anything related to the show, the work belongs to Aaron Ehasz, Justin Richmond and Wonderstorm, but the characters (ergo, the OCs) that will show up in the later chapters are mine, so please; do not use them without permission!
WARNING: This chapter will contain different views about choosing to tell the truth or withholding information, especially between Fem!Callum and Ezran.
Now sit back and watch the drama unfold!
- Yuuguregurl21.
P.S., I have a important announcement to make at the end of the chapter, so stay tuned!
Previously, on Caelesti Lunaris...
"Calla, Ezran! You're going on a trip to the Banther Lodge."
"Aspiro."
"You just did magic."
"You're a mage."
"Wow! I'm a mage!"
"Moonshadow elves are dangerous, elite fighters. They will find you, and they will kill you."
"It's up to us now. We have to return this egg, to keep it safe and carry it to Xadia."
"And find its' mother."
"We could make a difference."
"Just the three of us. Uh, five of us."
*~In order to change the world, one needs to take a path different than what was previously expected by so many others but sometimes, the right path is not the easiest one to take…~
~(Later on, in the early morning...)~
After successfully escaping the Castle and finding an isolated clearing somewhere inside the forest, Calla and Ezran snuggled against Hibari for warmth along with the egg, sleeping soundly while Raylan takes the first watch as he sat on top of a small boulder while looking at his remaining binding, still bound on his left wrist.
"Rgh…! Unbind yourself! Uh, unbind thyself…? *sigh* Unbindo!"
"Uh, Raylan; is everything okay?"
Knowing that the egg is alive and intact, Raylan no longer needs to kill Ezran as planned and looks at his binding from every angle till he pushed at it with his right finger before he bites at it with his teeth, hoping to snap it off only to be disappointed that it didn't work till he gave up and tried a different method, ordering the binding to unwind itself a few times while shouted out the last word 'unbindo' loudly; hoping that it did the trick only to be disappointed as he gave up trying to get it off as he leans back on the boulder, sighing in frustration until a voice calls out to him in confusion as he looked over to the side to see Calla waking up from her sleep.
"It's nothing."
"It's not 'nothing' if you're upset about something."
"I'm telling you I'm fine. Just… Try and go back to sleep."
Not wanting Calla to know the truth, Raylan waves it off as nothing till she points out that being upset and talking to himself around a quarter to four in the morning isn't 'nothing' before Raylan waves off her concerns and tells young girl to go back to sleep until he sees an unamused Bait, looking at him with his signature grumpy look.
"Don't look at me like that, so what if I was talking to my ribbon-thingy? I mean, how is that any worse than talking to a, uh… Whatever it is you are?"
Feeling that the toad was judging him, Raylan snipped hotly and demanded Bait not to pass judgment before sarcastically asking how the situation is any worse than having a conversation with the latter before he trails off as he questions the toad's species, causing Bait to glow red in response at Raylan's comment as he and the would-be assassin glared at each other, engaging in a staring contest until Bait licked his left eye and flicked some of his slobber away much to Raylan's disgust as he turns away from the glow toad in annoyance.
"Ugh!"
"Yeah, when it comes to staring somebody down, Bait is undefeated."
Seeing that Raylan had lost, Calla lightly commented how Bait is the all-reigning champion in a staring contest before she hears the sound of bells tolling from the capital, prompting her and Raylan to look over at the castle in the distance with saddened looks.
"They must be burying the King by now."
"B-but that can't be right, it's much too soon for a funeral; let alone to have one on the same night."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?"
"Because it's tradition that when a ruler dies, all of Katolis are to pay their respects for seven sunsets."
"Seven sunsets?"
Raylan said glumly, deducing that the people are in the process of burying their fallen king as he looks back at Ezran who continues to sleep and wonders how they'll break the news to the Crown Prince before Calla gets up from the ground and stares at the castle in confusion, arguing that it's way too soon for a burial much to Raylan's confusion till she explains her kingdom's traditions to Raylan despite his mild confusion.
"Basically, it's like having a wake for seven days before the intended burial; afterwards, their firstborn child succeeds them as the new ruler of the kingdom."
"But you two are here with me, so why would that Dark Mage ignore that notion and go ahead with the funeral?"
Calla said as she points out that the people pay an homage to fallen rulers by holding a wake for a week's time before the intended burial and how afterwards, their firstborn child succeeds them as the new ruler of Katolis while Raylan wonders why Viren would flat-out ignore his country's customs when he knows that the heirs to the throne are still alive.
"*gasp* It's because he wants to become *Lord Protector of the Realm."
Calla ponders till her eyes widened in shock, realizing Viren's intentions to start the war by assuming as 'Lord Protector' in Ezran's place much to Raylan's confusion as he looks back at her in surprise.
"Whoa, Lord Protector of the what now? What's a 'Lord Protector'?"
"In case the heir to the throne is either absent, unable to rule or if the previous monarch fails to leave behind an successor, then someone else steps in and becomes acting regent in their place, he's gonna use the position to wage war against Xadia!"
Wondering what Calla is nervous about, Raylan asked what the position that Viren is trying to obtain before Calla explains to him that being 'Lord Protector' is the same thing as becoming 'Regent' if the heir is otherwise absent, has yet to come of age or if the previous ruler fails to secure an heir and how Viren is going to use the position to start the war much to Raylan's shock.
"But they don't know what happen back there, can't they see that he's lying?!"
"Does that matter? He'll spew whatever crap comes to mind if it means of starting the war, so accusing him without having any concrete evidence; it'll just be our word against his."
"But what if we go back and tell them what really happen––?!"
"No, going back already poses too much of a risk and even if we did go back, there's nothing we can do except taking the egg of the Dragon Prince back to Xadia."
Raylan said, explaining that Viren is deceiving the people since they had no idea what went down last night as Calla glumly points out that it won't matter due to the fact that Viren will use last night's attack as an excuse to start the war, prompting Raylan to propose in going back and explain last night's events before Calla protested that it's too much of a risk and that there's nothing they can do except continue their journey in getting the egg back to Xadia.
"C'mon, we need to head for the Lodge and maybe get some supplies while we're there."
Calla said as she walks over to where the others are while waking up Hibari and starts packing up, wanting to head for the Banther Lodge and gather supplies needed for their journey while Raylan takes one last look at the castle, the bells tolling in a continuous loop until he walks back to the others.
"So, how much further is this Banther place again?"
"It's not much farther, Hibari can get us there in a half second."
"Oh, great and I'm pretty sure it won't be crawling with Humans… Humans who are looking for the two of you and would very likely kill me, yay."
"No, it's the winter lodge. It's been empty for months, just trust me on this."
"… … …"
"*sigh* Look, Xadia's to the east, right? So is the lodge, and it's on the way."
Raylan asks curiously, wondering how much farther they have to walk in order to reach the Lodge till Calla deduces that it'll only take ½ second to arrive if they go by flight before daybreak much to Raylan's exasperation as he quietly points out that the place would be probably surrounded by humans who are undoubtedly on the look-out for her and Ezran but would very likely kill him on sight as he cheers sarcastically till Calla points out that the Lodge is the winter villa and how it's been empty since March as she pleads with him to trust her, only to see that Raylan isn't entirely convinced, causing Calla to point out that the lodge is on the same route as Xadia.
"All right, fine. But I doubt Princess Sparky here is strong enough to carry the five of us plus the egg and the supplies over to Xadia."
"Okay, so what do you suggest?"
"Let's go to my campsite first, I need to pack up my stuff and pick up my companion, Corran. Then, we'll head over to your lodge."
Despite his reluctance, Raylan said as he couldn't help but to agree with Calla's offer till he points out that due to Hibari being a juvenile, she's unable to carry a certain amount of weight much to Calla's mild concern, prompting her to ask for Raylan's input as he offers to go back to his camp in order to pack up his gear and get his companion before they head towards the Lodge.
"Okay, then I'll have Hibari help you get there while I stay here with Ezran, Bait and guard the egg until you two get back."
"Actually, that won't be necessary."
"Why's that?"
Calla said as she volunteers Hibari in lending Raylan a hand before the latter politely declines her offer much to Calla's confusion until Raylan brings two fingers to his lips and lets out a sharp whistle.
"Whoa, what was that for?"
"Just wait. Prepare to be amazed in 3, 2,1 aaand…"
Startled, Calla asked curiously before Raylan calms her down and requested the young girl to brace herself for amazement, wanting to entreat her with the arrival of his faithful companion, Corran, of whom jumped out of the bushes and walked over to Raylan as the Mérchât nuzzled against the young Elf, happy to know that nothing bad had happen to his rider.
"This is my companion, Corran and he's a––?"
Raylan said as he introduces Corran to Calla before he was interrupted by the sound of a roar, causing the two teenagers to look behind them, only to see a black blur sail past them and tackle Corran to the ground, revealing to be Hibari as she catches Corran's head on at full force, causing them to start fighting savagely. *The two primal furies continue to engage with one another, tangling with each other for a bit more with Hibari going on the offensive and pushing Corran back despite the Moonlight Fury being the stronger than the former.
"Hey, what's going on?!"
"Hibari, no! It's okay, he's a friend."
Startled by the sudden surprise attack, Calla and Raylan fall back to where they see that Ezran, Bait and the egg are as the sound of snarling woken the boy up from their slumber while they all watch the two Primal Furies duke it out as Hibari took a couple of swipes at Corran's snout, causing the Moonlight Fury to yelp in pain till shaking it off and tries to retaliate before they grabbed each other, wrestling till Hibari flips Corran and pins him with a loud thump as she bares her fangs, opening her mouth wide and summoned a mouthful of white-hot lightning in an attempt to deliver the coup de grâce before she was stopped by Calla's voice as it caused the Mérchâtte to close her mouth and swallowed the blast, causing her to burp out smoke as she turns her head and looks at Calla with a confused expression as the girl pacifies the latter by stating that Corran is a friendly and not an enemy, prompting the Mérchâtte to get off of the Moonlight Fury and calms down much to Raylan's surprise combined with relief.
"Whoa, that's actually incredible. Not many people can pacify a Primal Fury's temper like that, especially a Stormrider of all things since they're the most lethal."
"Well, I learned that so long as you proven yourself to be trustworthy and show that you're not a threat, even the testiest of furies can be tamed. Plus, Hibari was just trying to defend us rather than being territorial; she's incredibly docile on her best days, aren't you girl?"
Raylan said, impressed that Calla had managed to pacify Hibari's anger without any problems while noting that the Stormrider Furies are the deadliest breed before Calla defends the species' actions by pointing out that Hibari was acting out of protective instinct rather than feeling territorial and noted how docile they are unless threatened otherwise as she rubs Hibari's chin affectionately.
"Okay, Ezran, you and Bait go with Hibari and wait for us at the Lodge while me, Raylan and Corran head over to their campsite and gather his stuff."
"Okay, Sis."
Relieved, Calla said as she orders Ezran and Bait to go with Hibari over to their family villa while she goes with Raylan and Corran to the former's campsite and pack up his supplies much to Ezran's understanding as Calla picks him up and places the young boy onto Hibari along with Bait and the egg till she motions Hibari towards the direction of the lodge as Hibari brushed her head against Calla's chest and nuzzled briefly before she takes off into the night sky along with Ezran, Bait and the egg in tow as Calla spun on her heel and walked over to where Raylan and Corran are waiting for her.
"You ready? Okay, let's go. I'd hold on tight if I were you, Corran here puts a whole new meaning to the word 'haste'."
Raylan asked curiously, wondering if Calla is ready to go till she gives her confirmation as the former extends his hand down for Calla to grab and she got on Corran behind him before Raylan throws a word of warning to the latter about Corran's speed, prompting the girl to wrap her arms around Raylan's waist so she wouldn't fall off until the Moonlight Fury takes off in the opposite direction leading to his camp.
The trio rode through the forest as if they were on a hunt for a fox until they finally reached the campsite where Raylan and Calla wasted no time in hopping off of Corran and started to work around the camp as they began to packing up Raylan's supplies.
The two teens stayed silent for about an hour or so before they worked together in taking down Raylan's tent and while they were in the process of folding up the material, Raylan took a subtle glance at Calla with a worried expression; wondering about her state of well-being due to what happen earlier.
"*sigh* Alright, what is it?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, n-nothing, it's just…."
"Just what?"
"I mean, it's just that you're rather calm after seeing what happened to the King."
Feeling somewhat fed up, Calla wasted no time in beating around the bush and looked over at Raylan with a impatient expression as her tone of voice took the Moonshadow Elf by surprise while asking the latter to speak his mind as he nervously stammers a little much to Calla's confusion till he specifies about what he really means.
"You want to know if I'm okay in seeing my father being literally stabbed in the back by someone who stood by him for a good fifty-something years and taking the throne for himself just so he can wage war against Xadia? Then, no; I'm not."
"Okay…."
"*sigh* Honestly, I don't know how much worse things can get."
Calla asked skeptically, wondering if seeing Viren killing her stepfather despite the men's long-lasting friendship and setting off a coup to seize the throne for his own agenda before she gave Raylan her answer much to Raylan's discomfort as the two resumed working in packing up the camp before Calla sighed tiredly and wonders how worse the situation at hand can get.
"Ok, that's everything, so, which way is to the Lodge."
"Just keep heading straight."
Once everything was packed, Raylan inquired about the Lodge's whereabouts curiously before Calla provides the direction that it's in as the two teenagers got back on Corran and headed straight down the path leading to the Royal Family's winter villa, the Banther Lodge – It was a two-story A-framed structured cottage supported by cobblestone accented with two large arch-framed clerestory-like windows on each side of the entryway and three lancet-framed windows stationed above the front doors.
The moment the two teens entered the clearing, Calla wasted no time in dismounting Corran and walked towards the entrance but as soon as she entered the threshold, she saw that the handles were chained together by a padlock much to her chagrin and takes out her hairpins from her pocket, picking the padlock until it clicked and unlock its hatch as it caused the chain to fall down on the doorstep while unlocking the doorknob in recorded time much to Raylan's silent awe.
Wordlessly, Calla opened the door and looked around the lodge for the interior remained the same as it always had been – The interior was accented with a combination of warm/cool colors like red, soft greens and gold while the high ceiling was supported by strong wooden beams that were the size of a tree trunk whereas the staircase leading to the second floor which consisted of the family's bedrooms, the guest rooms and the game-room.
"… … …"
Calla looked around as a sense of nostalgia suddenly creeps up on her, causing her eyes to be wet with growing tears before she rubs them away with her hand and walks inside along with Ezran and the others despite what was going on back at the castle.
Around the same time, the entire capital was in a state of mourning as the news of King Harrow's death has spread throughout the town like wildfire, affecting them very heavily for he was a kind and just ruler who tried his utmost hardest to lead the Kingdom while Viren took the chance to arrange the funeral despite the High Cleric's wishes.
Everyone looked upon the procession in sorrow as they watch the casket being carried throughout the capital by the Crownguard while Viren, Opeli and her torchbearers leads them to the Valley of the Graves – A place where the great Kings and Queens of the past are laid to rest since the era of Katolis' first ruler, *the Orphan Queen.
"A funeral so soon is sheer madness, Lord Viren. It is tradition to mourn fallen rulers for seven sunsets, and you've not even given him one."
"I understand your concerns, Opeli; but in a time of war, we must move forward."
During the march, Opeli whispered her disapproval to the silent Viren as she angrily reminds him of their kingdom's traditions and how the Dark Mage is showing disrespect to the deceased king by giving him a quick burial before Viren justifies his actions that the entire kingdom is on the verge of war as he continues to walk ahead much to Opeli's simmering frustration.
The torches from the procession illuminates the path from the castle as they gathered together and form into a beautiful river of light until it eventually reaches the entrance leading into the Valley where many generations of the Royal Family are entombed.
"*yawn*"
"Hey, keep your head up."
"Sorry. It's just… It's been a long night."
Along the way, Soren and Claude walked together before Soren brings his hand to his mouth and yawns lightly much to Claude's mild annoyance as he nudges his older brother's shoulder and whispered to him about showing respect to the fallen Harrow in a low voice, in which Soren apologized as he stretched his arms and defends his actions due to him reeling in from last night's events, although Claude knows otherwise as he can see that the older boy is still feeling down because of his failure to protect the King.
"Here, drink this. It'll help you feel better in no time."
"What is it? Some sort of herbal tea or something?"
"It's a brew, Bro. I call it…. *'Hot brown brown morning potion'."
Claude said as he takes out his canteen and uncaps it, using the cap like a cup as he pours some kind of hot dark-colored liquid into it much to Soren's confusion, wondering what it is till Claude dubs it as a type of 'morning brew' and gives it to the dejected Soren, who looks at it with a raised brow as he swirls the liquid before sniffing it; his nose detecting a bittersweet aroma from it as he cautiously takes a sip till his eyes perk up like daisies on a spring day.
"Wow, that's actually good!"
Soren said cheerfully, feeling the beverage's effects as it washes his gloom away like raindrops on a dusty windowpane much to Claude's delight, smiling that he managed to cheer the older boy up before his expression became solemn as the procession has reached the threshold of the altar. The Crownguard then carries the casket towards the top and placed it upon the altar while Opeli stood beside them as Viren walks up and stood before the coffin before he turns around and faces the crowd, causing the indistinct murmuring to die down.
"Today we woke to a devastating truth: Our king has been taken from us! Slain by the forces of Xadia... Vile Moonshadow elves!"
Viren said in a grave voice as he announces the news of the King's death to the public by pinning the blame onto Raylan of whom was acting on Xadia's behalf, emphasizing his 'hatred' to the young Elf's kinsmen much to the crowd's horror as they whispered among themselves about what will happen now that they know that the King was killed by the Xadians while a child hugs his parent in fear.
"To me, he was more than a king. In his final hours, Harrow called me his 'brother'."
"Wait a minute, where is the prince and the princess? They need to be here."
Viren said as he begins to convince the public into following his lead by speaking fondly of his relationship to the late King whilst purposely omitting how their relationship had soured in the latter's final moments and falsely claimed how Harrow referred the High Mage as "his brother" despite his attempts to wheedle the King beforehand much to the citizens' dismay before he was interrupted by Opeli speaking up from behind him as she inquires for Calla's and Ezran's presence while asking the High Mage about their whereabouts.
"The prince and the princess…. Are dead."
Viren said gravely, lying to both Opeli and the crowd by stating that the heirs are also 'dead' much to everyone's shock as they all exclaimed in horror at the revelation that Calla and Ezran have 'met' the same fate as their father.
"We cannot let Xadia's cruelty go unanswered, we must move forward with strength. Light the pyre!"
"No."
Viren said as he purposes to avenge the Royal Family by retaliating against Xadia and make them pay for their transgression till he looks back to Opeli and orders her to light the pyre, prompting the High Cleric to look at the casket briefly then back at the Dark Mage before making up her mind by not wanting to show the late King anymore disrespect as she swings her torch in swift motion, effortlessly putting out her torch as the act prompted an irritated Viren to look back at the torchbearers in hopes that one of them will comply, only to be disappointed as they follow Opeli's example by extinguishing their torches much to Viren's growing frustration.
"*sigh* Claude, if you please…?"
Sighing aggravatingly, Viren then asks for Claude's assistance by ordering the boy to light Harrow's body himself as the latter steps up and takes out a glass jar containing an *Emberback Spider while he uncaps the lid and watched the magical insect crawl out of it, skittering all over his hand till it stops on his palm and with an indifferent look, Claude crushed it tightly with his hand as its' essence oozes through his grip like blood pooling from an opened wound as he closed his eyes.
"Semalf gnippiks ginpeal ('Leaping skipping flames')."
Claude said, chanting the incantation for the Dancing Flames Spell as he opens his eyes which glowed purple like before and conjured a small flame in his hand till he extends his hand upwards as the flame leaves his palm and leaps from the pyre torches, igniting them one by one until it finally lands upon King Harrow's coffin, burning it in a raging blaze much to Opeli's and his torchbearers' shock as the crowd exclaimed in fear.
"When a ruler of Katolis dies, we mourn for seven days…. But we are at war. Today, we must mourn seven-fold for tonight, there will be a coronation."
Viren said as he looks upon the burning pyre with a steeled stare before he turns around and faces the crowd again by reminding them that they are at war and demands the people of Katolis to mourn seven-fold and announces that a coronation will soon take place afterwards as he looks up to the darkened sky while the smoke rises to the air and engulfs the scene.
~(Later that morning, over at the Banther Lodge….)~
After arriving at the Lodge and getting enough sleep, Calla was the first one up the moment the sun has risen into the sky and started the process of making breakfast for her and the others as she gathered the equipment and the ingredients to make her teacher's favourite dish, *Seven Herb Porridge – An Northern Caelestian savory meal which consisted of cooked rice watered down in a savory broth, fresh herbs, winter radish, fermented soybean paste and other spices.
Not wanting to have Ezran and the others to wake up starving, Calla wasted no time in conducting the meal prep as she washes the rice to get rid of the grains' starchiness and strains it, prompting her to pour in another batch of water and having them soak for a few minutes till she starts cutting the vegetables and the leafy greens before she starts blanching them in piping hot water for a few seconds before she set them aside to cool down to room temperature.
Afterwards, Calla starts putting the porridge altogether, flavoring the water with the soybean paste and sets it to a slow boil on a low flame while setting up a small *Timekeeping Candle – An Eastern Katolian device that tells time due to a varying amount of spark powder emulsified inside different points of the wax as she retreats back to the dining table while she waits for it to be halfway done.
Knowing what to do to help pass the time, Calla takes up her sketchbook and turns to an empty page while taking Claude's Primal Stone out of her knapsack as she starts to draw the magical storm trapped inside the glass orb, capturing every single detail of the weather raging from within up to the point that she didn't even realized that Raylan was already up and about as he quietly walked up to the table.
"Calla, Calla… Hey!"
"Ah! Huh, what?"
"That's your name, isn't it? 'Calla', 'Caella' or was it 'Caramel'?"
Raylan said as he tries to get her attention but received no answer from her due to how fully immersed she was drawing the Primal Stone, she tuned him out before he sighed and called out to her loudly, snapping the girl out of her concentration as she looks up to Raylan with wide eyes much to Raylan's relief by finally getting her attention while wondering if he got the girl's name right before he lists off several names to see if he lands on a winner.
"Uh, it's Calla. I'm sorry, it's just… I guess I was distracted, trying to draw this Primal Ball or whatever."
"You mean the Primal Stone?"
Calla said as she proves Raylan was right on the dot the first time before she apologies for being distracted by drawing the Primal Stone, incorrectly calling it a 'Primal Ball' much to Raylan's confusion as he takes up a seat next to her till he corrects the latter's misinformation.
"Right, supposedly it holds the pure essence of a primal spirit inside."
"*sigh* Don't you mean Primal Source?"
"Uh, right."
"You do know what the Six Primal Sources are, right?"
"Uh, if I say 'yes', are you gonna make me name them?"
Calla said as she tells him about the stone containing the essence of a 'Primal Spirit' inside itself before Raylan sighs in annoyance and corrects her again much to Calla's embarrassment until Raylan looked at her questioningly, wondering if she knew what the Six Primal Sources are despite being a Mage, prompting Calla to drawl uncertainly before she nervously wonders if he is going to quiz her if her answer is 'yes'; in which only answered Raylan's question.
"*sigh* Okay, here. All magic in the world comes from the Six Primal Sources, they're the original and purest forms of magical energy. You have the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Earth, the Ocean, and….?"
"The Sky, right?"
Raylan sighs as he extends his hand over, motioning Calla to hand him her sketchbook much to her mild confusion while Raylan explains what the Six Primal Sources as he draws the six symbols; one for each primal source and how they are the original sources of magical energy, naming them off one by one in a counterclockwise motion until he points at the stone, in which Calla answers the last one correctly.
"Yes and in order to cast a spell, a mage needs Primal Energy. So that wind breath spell you did, back at the castle?"
"Uh-huh."
"Yeah, usually you'd need a storm or at least a strong breeze to pull it off but with that stone, you literally have all the power of the Sky at your command, anytime and anywhere."
Raylan said sagely, explaining how in order to cast a spell, a mage needs primal energy as he recounts Calla pulling off the wind breath spell despite needing a storm or a very strong breeze till he points out that with the Primal Stone while the trapped storm continues to rage on, she now has the power of the sky right at her fingertips regardless of time and place much to Calla's surprise.
"Wow, that's amazing, *but wait; if that's the case, then why can't Humans use these things instead turning over to Dark Magic all the time?"
"That's because the rituals used to create the stones have grown lost over the centuries and Primal Stones have become so incredibly rare that they've been sought after by the most powerful *Archmages within history."
Calla said as she marvels at the stone's capabilities before her face furrowed in confusion, wondering why Humans couldn't use the Primal Stone instead of practicing Dark Magic until Raylan reveals that due to their value as power sources, the stones have been sought after by powerful Archmages within the course of history and that the ritual that were used to create them have become lost over time.
"And now, somehow you managed to get one…. '[Which still scares me for some strange reason, but I ain't gonna tell her that]'."
Raylan said as he points out that due to the strange course of events, Calla now has a Primal Stone in her possession while inwardly admits that the fact it makes him nervous before he vows to keep that little fact to himself while Calla turns her attention to the symbols drawn in her sketchbook before she studies the Primal symbols for a minute; for they looked so strangely familiar to her that she can't help but to feel a sense of *déjà vu creeping up on her before her eyes lit up in shock.
"Wait a sec, I-I've seen these before, up in the game room."
"Huh, what're you talking about?"
"There's this little cube thingy and it had these exact symbols on it."
"Uh, okay?"
Calla said, now realizing where she seen the symbols as she remembers that up in the game-room somewhere is a cube that was craved with the same markings as the drawings much to Raylan's mild confusion.
"What if it's magic? C'mon, I'll show you!"
Calla asked curiously, wondering if the said cube is a magical artifact as she gets up from her seat, sprints up the staircase and heads towards the game room with Raylan in tow much to his displeasure as they walked down to the end of the hallway until they reached the door, prompting Calla to open it and looked around the game-room, which was somewhat of a blend between a hunter's lounge and a personal study.
On the right side of the game room, there were two large wooden chairs stood at a arm's length next to the fireplace where a large desk was situated over to the side followed by two poles crossing one another in a form of an 'X' along with a tall wardrobe where a small moss-green rug is positioned vertically in front of it where a large pillar bearing two small *sconce candles mounted on its' face and right side in a 'L' fashion respectively.
Whereas on the left side is another large rug was positioned horizontally before a large bookshelf built in-between the wall next to a small wooden chest and a small sled leaning against it on the shelf's left side along with a closet on the right with a small sliver and gold shield bearing the Kingdom's insignia bolted above it.
"It should be somewhere around here…. I think."
"You got to be kidding me… Do you even remember where you saw it last?"
"Of course I do, I remembered that it was in this small ornate box filled with keys the last time I was here."
Calla said uncertainly while Raylan grumbled unenthusiastically as the two walked inside the game room and starting searching for the cube before Raylan voiced his concerns to the Katolian Princess wondering if someone had moved it four months prior till Calla disagreed with him and defended her claim by remembering that the cube was in a small antique box filled with other keys.
"You mean like this, princess?"
"Huh, what?"
Hearing that, Raylan scanned the room for the box till his eyes landed on the left side of the stone fireplace where he sees the said ornate sitting on top of the mantelpiece in plain sight as he runs towards it in a small sprint and leaped over one of the chairs and grabs it while he asks for Calla's opinion, causing the girl to stop what she was doing and looked over to where Raylan holds out the box much to her surprise.
"Oh, you found it? Um, thanks."
"Don't mentioned it."
Calla asks curiously before she walks over to him and thanks him for finding it as Raylan hands it over to her without question till Calla sets on top of the desk and opens the lid, revealing the contents to be a series of different keys and another object…. Something that Calla was looking for – It was a light-colored wooden dice-like cube with runes matching the Six Primal Sources craved on all four sides accented with intricate markings engraved at the corners.
"This is it, this was I was talking about."
"Uh, neat…. What is it?"
"Honestly, I have no idea."
Calla said as she brings the cube out of the box and shows it to Raylan, of whom reluctantly praises it till he questioned what the object is before Calla answered him uncertainly much to his surprise.
"I don't know what it is but I have a hunch that it's going to be helpful if we take it with us."
"Whoa, wait a minute; you mean that's all we have to go on?"
"Huh?"
Calla said as she states her intention in bringing the cube with them by believing that the object will help them on their journey but before Calla can take a step, Raylan stops her in her tracks much to her confusion.
"You want to bring a toy cube, which is probably a piece from a children's game, with us; simply based on a hunch?"
"Yep, pretty much; why?"
Raylan asks incredulously, questioning Calla's idea in bringing the cube will help them during their endeavor is the right course of action as Calla answered him promptly enthusiastically before her brow furrows in confusion.
"Did you forget that we have real problems to worry about. Like, ending the war, taking the dragon egg to Xadia…. Remember?"
"Yes, I know but––?!"
"Calla, we don't have the luxury to bring any useless stuff simply based on hunches!"
"I know that––?!"
"Why are you so dead set in learning magic when you don't even have the proper training for it?!"
Raylan asked, wondering if Calla had forgotten what the primary objective was, such as taking the egg of the Dragon Prince to Xadia and back to the Queen of the Dragon in hopes of preventing the war between the two realms from happening while Calla tries to answer him softly but was interrupted by Raylan's outburst as he points out her lack of magical training much to Calla's shock.
"*sigh* You know how princesses are supposed to be good at things, almost perfect even? Like, sword-fighting if needed, leadership and riding horses; but I've always been kind of bad at…. Well, everything."
"… … …"
"So when I tried that spell, I was so sure that I'd end up on fire or maybe covered in spiders but it worked and then you called me a mage, and it felt right to me. Like, I finally found a dress that actually fits, you know?"
With a hurt look, Calla tiredly explains her plight of not living up to others' expectations of being a princess to Raylan much to his shock as he looks at her sympathetically, causing him to realize that she experienced doubt similar to his own; something that he has felt his whole life whilst under Runaan's tutelage while Calla continues with her speech and how despite being sure that she would mess up in conducting the Aspiro spell, she managed to pull through and how happy she felt when Raylan called her a Mage for the first time; how it felt right to her as she likens the experience of trying on a dress that fits her just right.
"Look, I-I just have this feeling that this cube thing could help me; okay?"
"… … …"
"Calla? *yawns* I had a weird dream..."
Calla said tiredly, feeling half hopeful that the cube could help her in developing her newfound powers and half relieved that she finally got a heavy load off her chest while Raylan stayed silent and grew lost in thought, contemplating her words before they heard Ezran's voice from the doorway, revealing that he had just woken up from his sleep as he rubs the dried *rheum out of his eyes; prompting Calla to walk over to the young boy as she knelt to his level.
"It wasn't a dream, Ez. All of it was real."
"Are you sure, 'cause there was this giant pink hippopotamus and I pulled its' ear off because it was made out of taffy…."
"Uh, no; that… That was a dream. I thought you meant meeting Raylan, fighting off the smoke wolves and finding the dragon egg…. Yeah, that was all real."
"…And then I tried to thank the hippo for the taffy, but I guess he couldn't hear me because I was eating his ears."
Calla said as she explains to him that what happened last night wasn't a dream until Ezran tells the older girl that his weird dream involved him eating the ears of a giant pink hippopotamus made out of taffy much to her confusion, causing her to drawl a little uncertainly and told him that what he described was a dream before telling him that meeting Raylan, finding the egg and fighting off the smoke wolves was real but unfortunately Ezran tuned her out in favor in telling the older girl that he tried thanking the taffy hippo but couldn't due to the fact that he was eating the animal's ears much to Calla's mild exasperation.
"Hey, sad princess. *sigh* Let's bring your cube with us."
"Really, you mean it?"
"Yes; just please, no more deviating from our objective, all right? Or make heartfelt speeches while we're at it, deal?"
Raylan called out to Calla as she looks over her shoulder and saw him offering a small smile while taking up her offer in bringing the cube with them much to her delight before Raylan complies as he walks out of the game room and has Calla to promise that she doesn't steer away from the task at hand and pulling at the heart's strings next time while the young girl gets up and follows him downstairs along with Ezran in tow.
"I'm thirsty."
"Here, drink this; it'll help re-energize you in a heartbeat."
"Uh, no thank you, we don't drink…. That."
The trio walked out of the hallway and began their descent to the first floor before Ezran smacked his lips a little as he asks for something to drink due to his mouth feeling dry, prompting Raylan to stop momentarily and pulls out a vial filled with red liquid from his back pocket and hands it over to the young boy but before Ezran can take it, Calla steps in front of him and stops him as she politely declines his offer much to Raylan's confusion.
"What, don't drink what?"
"Blood, we don't drink blood. Look, we don't mean to be rude or anything but uh, you can keep it."
"What are you talking about, it's just Moonberry juice."
Raylan asks, wondering what was Calla trying to indicate before she reveals that Humans don't drink blood while not trying to offend him in any way until Raylan sets her mind at ease that the vial is filled with Moonberry Juice as he hands it over to Ezran, of whom takes it and gets a whiff of a fruity aroma; causing his eyes to lit up in surprise as he takes a few sips much to Calla's relief.
"Tch, is that what humans think we are, 'bloodthirsty monsters'? *Although considering of what I've heard about Humans eating the flesh of animals, I don't blame you guys for being wary of us."
"… … …"
Raylan asks incredulously as he continues his way down the stairs, wondering if the half-siblings foolishly believes the stories about his Elven brethren being 'bloodthirsty monsters' while offhandedly admits that he doesn't blame them for their skeptical paranoia due to him hearing stories about Humans eating animal flesh in order to survive, unaware that the moment his back was turned, Calla and Ezran had exchange looks with each other as she raised a finger to her lips; signaling Ezran in not telling him about that fact while the latter suppressed an awkward smile before the pair followed their Xadian guide to the dining room.
"No, no, no, i-it's not that. I mean, *I-I have heard stories about a group of elves practicing forbidden magic by drinking the blood of still-living beings to extend their lifespan and enhance their powers during a lunar eclipse but I'm pretty sure they're just stories."
"… … …"
"Like, horrible, awful, scary stories––?!"
Pop, pop, pop!
"Oh, would you look at that, the porridge is done!"
Calla said as she tries to alleviate Raylan's suspicions until she reveals that she also grew up hearing stories about how a group of Elves dabbled in forbidden magic to achieve longevity and enhance their powers on the night of a lunar eclipse much to Raylan's surprise as his shoulders tensed up by that fact before Calla clumsily waves it as just hearsay, comparing it to a bunch of scary ghost stories until the Timekeeping Candle crackling furiously like a set of firecrackers from the kitchen; saving her by the bell much to her relief.
As they entered the dining room, Calla made her way towards the kitchen where she walks over to the stove and extinguish the flame and carried the pot off the stove and over to the counter where she pulled the lower drawer, revealing a series of *flatware as she brings out three wooden soup spoons followed by a wooden ladle and brings down several bowls from the top cabinet.
"Here, let me."
"Oh, thank you."
After getting out the serving bowls and utensils, Calla grabs the large serving tray next to the pantry so she can carry them over to the next room but before she can do so, Raylan takes up the pot and brings over to the table much to Calla's shock as he helps her with the food, prompting Calla to thank him for his assistance as the two walked out the kitchen and into the dining room where they see Ezran waiting along with Bait, Hibari, Corran and the egg of the Dragon Prince at the table.
Calla and Raylan sets the pot, bowls and utensils down as Calla opens the lid and starts serving the porridge as she hands a small bowl to Raylan, prompting him to pass it down over to Ezran, of whom passed it over to Bait.
"*Here you go, Bait; now don't burn your tongue."
Ezran said politely, warning his glowy companion not to burn his tongue eating the porridge albeit a tad too late due to Bait swallowing the contents whole with his tongue, feeling seemingly fine until the porridge's temperature kicks in, causing him to glow a very bright shade of red before he regains his natural color as he lets out a tired burp made out of steam which brought smiles to Calla, Ezran and Raylan as they lightly laughed at the glow toad's expense before they all took up their spoons and began eating.
"Hm, I gotta say, this porridge is delicious; who taught you the recipe?"
"My Aunt Amelia taught me, I would make it whenever we go to the Lodge for the winter. You could say it's a fan favorite here, especially for Professor Riasal, he loves it."
"'[Aaand they're depressed again, although I don't blame them being in a funk but…. Gotta change the subject somehow.]' Uh, you weren't kidding about this place having no Humans."
Tasting the porridge, Raylan compliments Calla's cooking as Calla reveals the Amelia was the one who taught her the recipe and how it's a crowd favorite during every winter retreat, especially for Riasal before her face frowns slightly upon mentioning her tutor as the table grew silent till Raylan changes the subject about Calla's claim from earlier.
"Like I said, no winter, no humans; am I right?"
"Yeah, but it is kind of weird that nobody's here since this is where Dad was sending us."
Calla said as she proves her point before Ezran chipped in the fact that they've found no trace of anyone stationed at the Lodge, especially since their father was the one who sent them there much to Raylan's surprise as he swallowed the porridge and looked over to Calla with concern, of whom was equally surprised.
"Calla; this is only hypothetically speaking but in the likely event if something bad were to happen to your father, who takes up guardianship for you and Ezran?"
"Um, well; you've already met Uncle Caleb and his husband, Adam on my late birth dad's side of the family, then there's his younger sister, Aunt Amelia and her husband, Uncle Gren…"
"Oh, and there's also our mom's younger sister, Aunt––?!"
Having a bad feeling, Raylan looks over to Calla and inquires about who receives custody of her and Ezran in case the King had perished whilst subtly concealing the truth from Ezran who looks between the two teens in curiosity as Calla begins listing off her paternal relatives on her late birth father's side until Ezran chimed in about their late mother's younger sister till they were interrupted by the sound of a horn reverberating and horses braying in the distance, causing the trio to stop eating and rushed over to the side window as they see a armored-clad leader leading a platoon of soldiers out of the woods.
"Yeah, maybe coming here was a bad idea after all."
"Gee, you think? What are we going to do?!"
"Raylan, you and Corran find somewhere to hide; Ezran, you, Bait and Hibari come with me, we need to stall them however we can."
Calla said sheepishly, now seeing Raylan's point about coming to the Lodge was a bad idea as Raylan sarcastically quipped before wondering what to do next till Calla tells him and Corran to find a place to hide while she, Ezran, Bait and Hibari go outside and greet the soldiers; prompting the group to scatter almost immediately.
Calla leads Ezran, Bait and Hibari to the back door in breakneck speed as they raced outside, unaware that Ezran had stopped briefly and made a beeline for the egg of the Dragon Prince as he heaves it out of the chair and carried it with him while he catches up to the others to the front, just in time for the soldiers to halt momentarily. With the sense of rushing adrenaline toning down, Ezran looked down at his hands and realized that he was still carrying the egg much to his shock as he quickly hides behind Calla and hides the egg inside his backpack, hoping against hope that nobody saw it till he stands upright again just in time for the platoon's leader to dismount their horse.
"… … …"
The leader briefly walked a couple of steps while Calla and Ezran held their breath in anticipation before the leader takes off her helmet, revealing to be General Amaya of the Standing Battalion – She was a fair-skinned muscular woman of Eastern Katolian descent with short dark brown hair brushed to the right side of her head, slightly reaching past her ear, slim dark brown eyes and sported a vertical scar on her right cheek – She wore a long-sleeved blue shirt accented with golden Katolian symbols on its shoulders and the bottom seam in combination with long dark blue gloves and matching pants followed by a pair of knee-high brown boots underneath a suit of armor set with heavy silver plates combined with brown leather straps and sharp-blue shoulder plates adorned with golden details.
On her right was her trusted lieutenant and Calla's paternal uncle, Commander Gren – He was a fair-skinned young man with ginger-red short hair brushed to the right side of his face and reaches to his ears while the neck area is kept short, sky-blue eyes and freckles donning his cheeks and nose – He wears a long-sleeved blue shirt accented with the Standing Battalion symbols at the bottom seam and black trousers followed by a pair of shin-high grey boots while a suit of armor covering his entire body except for his hands and head.
On her left was the Battalion's Medical Chief and Calla's paternal uncle, Adam – A young man of early mid-20s with long brown hair styled in a low ponytail with side-swept bangs covering the right side of his face, tanned complexion and aquamarine-blue eyes – He wore a blue kimono-like sleeved tunic with black trousers and grayish-blue boots, dark blue armbands with the Caelestian Crest stitched in a morning glory fashion while donning the standard armor except for his hands and head. Next to him was his mount, *Ariel – An adult Rainfall Fury with sky-blue/gray gradient fur accented with two cloud-white spirals styled in a semi-wavy pattern resembling cloud patterns going across his body lengthwise, sea-green eyes with black pupils, white paws and two fluffy tails with white stripes going from the tips in a spiral-like pattern.
"Aunt Amaya, Uncle Adam and Uncle Gren?"
*"'I'm so glad you two are safe.'"
Calla and Ezran chorused simultaneously, prompting Amaya to smile at the kids while tossing her helmet over to Gren, of whom catches it effortlessly as he and Adam follows Amaya's lead in greeting the kids, just in time for Amaya to scoop up the half-siblings in her famous bone-crushing hug, lifting them off the ground effortlessly as they groan lightly from it before she puts them back down and kneels on one leg, speaking to them through *KSL while Gren interprets her signing for them.
"E-extremely safe, s-safe and alone, just us two!"
What's wrong?
Look up.
Chuckling nervously, Calla stammered a little as Ezran subtly nudged his backpack behind him while looking innocently as possible before Amaya stands back up and looks up towards one of the windows above the entrance and at the doors with a suspicious look much to Gren's and Adam's concern, causing Gren to signed curiously before Amaya replies as she nods her head towards the opened window and points over to the front doors which were no longer chained, prompting the two men to realize that someone had broken inside the Lodge as the three adults walked up to the doors before Calla steps quickly steps in front of them, blocking their path.
"Oh, uh, the doors are jammed. So, uh, why don't you all wait here for a minute–– Uh, a couple minutes, a few... However long it takes, I'll go and find a pry bar."
Calla stammered lightly as she quickly thinks of an excuse to buy Raylan and Corran some more time to hide before Amaya shot an exasperated look and interrupts Calla's rambling by picking her up by the shoulders and placing her to the side with Adam as if she was a potted plant before Amaya turned her attention to the entrance and kicked the doors open with such force that it practically knocked them right off their hinges.
"'Yeah, I don't believe in locks.'"
"*sigh* And yet, you wonder why you're on the Royal *Metalsmith's blacklist for life."
Hey, it's not my fault that he doesn't reinforce the hinges with more iron.
Dusting her hands off, Amaya signed curtly as Gren translate for her with a casual tone; prompting Calla to pop up from behind her aunt with a surprised expression as Adam sighed exasperatedly, mumbling sarcastically as to why Amaya has a very strained relationship with the Royal Metalsmith while Amaya nonchalantly signed that the smithy had a knack for not adding more iron to the hinges much to Adam's chagrin. The group walked into the threshold of the lodge softly as Amaya narrowed her eyes in scrutiny as she looked all around the first floor, searching for anything that's out of place till Adam's *Rainfall Fury, *Ariel sniff the air and growled lightly much to Adam's concern.
"Ariel, what's wrong; boy?"
"'Someone's here.'"
"What? No, no…!"
Adam asked curiously, wondering what got his companion so worked up before Amaya got the proof she needed as she signed over to Gren, who translated in response much to Calla's and Ezran's concern before Calla cried out in mock surprise as she walks in front of her relatives, trying to cover up the fact that Amaya's suspicions were right on the mark.
"No one is here but us and all your HUMAN TROOPS!"
"Calla, you know better than to yell and why are you saying "human troops" like that?"
"Uh, what do you mean? I mean, that's how I always say HEAVILY-ARMED HUMAN TROOPS!"
Calla said nervously as she enunciates the last part loudly, hoping that Raylan and Corran got the message while Amaya, Gren and Adam just stared at her weirdly until Amaya shakes it off and signed disapprovingly with Gren translating as she lightly reprimands Calla for yelling and wonders why the young girl addressed the calvary as 'Human troops' while Calla widened her eyes in shock as she tries playing dumb till she shouted over her shoulder in a very loud voice, hoping that Raylan and Corran got the message.
"… … …"
Brushing off her niece's strange behavior aside and getting the sense that she's currently being watched, Amaya continued to search for the intruder as Calla subtly looks for Raylan and Corran till she looks up to towards the rafters and sees the pair perched on top of the support beams while they both shoot a glare that reads 'Now what, Genius?' at the young girl as the latter shrugs sheepishly and silently offers an apologetic grin in response.
Tap, tap, tap!
What?
Seeing how her aunt wasn't going to let up in searching for Rayla and his Moonlight Fury, Calla's eyes lit up with an idea as she approaches the armored general and knock upon her large shield/weapon, which was still strapped to the latter's back as the vibrations resonated from the object to her bones; causing Amaya to turn around and addressed her niece, wondering what was important.
"Uh, Ezran has something to tell you."
"Huh? Oh! Um, I… Didn't finished my breakfast…? I'm sorry."
Now that she obtained her aunt's attention, Calla immediately puts her idea into action as she pulls Ezran in front of herself, diverting Amaya's focus on the young boy much to his confusion until he gets Calla's point and thinks of an excuse to throw their aunt off of Raylan's tracks as he uncertainly reveals that he didn't finished eating the porridge that Calla made before he apologies sheepishly to the older woman much to her disapproval.
"'Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.'"
As the family's self-titled breakfast connoisseur, the offended Amaya sternly reprimands Ezran for neglecting a hearty morning meal as she signed her disapproval with Gren translating but unbeknownst to her, Raylan and Corran used the opportunity to moved from their hiding place and jumped over to the next beam as they sneaked their way out while the battle-hardened general's back was turned much to the half-siblings' relief as they both exchanged a small smile with each other.
The group made their way towards the dining room where the adults see four bowls filled with half-eaten porridge much to their confusion since Calla and Ezran are the only ones here at the lodge till Amaya brushes it off and starts looking for anything to act as a side dish as she looks in the bottom cabinet beneath the top shelf and found a pair of baguettes much to her confusion.
"*The bread here is…."
Bang, bang!
"….'Weapons-grade.'"
Well, let's dig in.
"Aunt Amaya, why are you guys here?"
Gren said uncertainly till Amaya bangs one of the baguettes against the ledge of the cabinet like a club to see if they're fresh or not, only to be shocked by how hard it is as she signed to the commander deadpannedly in which Gren translated until she puts the bread on the table as she takes out a knife and stabs it into the wood so that Calla and Ezran can use it to cut the bread, startling them both as Amaya signed cheerfully, causing the bewildered half-siblings shrugged it off and took up their aunt's offer as Ezran reached for Amaya's knife and tried to pull it out, only to be shocked of how deeply embedded it was and wouldn't budge whereas Calla took up the loaf before asking curiously, wondering why her relatives would come here and not at the Breach.
"We've received a messenger bird from the king yesterday."
"… … …"
Adam said as he comes back from the kitchen with beverages while Amaya proves his point by reaching in her back pocket and pulls out a sealed scroll much to Calla's shock since it looked similar to the one that Harrow gave her, prompting the girl to search her pockets for it until she thinks back to where she had it last while Ezran remains oblivious to her distress as he tries everything to pull Amaya's knife out of the table.
"The most important things…. I've written down."
"A letter?"
Harrow said solemnly before he pulls out a sealed letter and gives it to Calla as she takes it and examined its' seal, seeing the Royal Crest of Katolis.
"Calla, what's the matter?"
"Oh, nothing; it's just–– He gave me a letter too, but I must've dropped it somewhere…. What'd your letter say?"
Realizing that she lost the letter after meeting Raylan last night, Calla's eyes grew downcast as she lost the only thing that she has left of her stepfather while a worried Gren asked curiously and pulls the dejected girl out of her thoughts till Calla proclaimed that she 'dropped' Harrow's letter, which wasn't a total lie before she changed the subject by wondering what their letter's contents till Amaya hands it over to her without question.
"'General, the castle is under threat. Assassins have infiltrated the kingdom…. Moonshadow Elves.'"
"'The worst kind.'"
"'Do not bring your forces to the castle. *Though I know you will think that I'm crazy but your orders are to proceed immediately to the Banther Lodge, Calla and Ezran will be there waiting for you. Above all, see to it that both of my children are safe.'"
Upon receiving it, Calla breaks the seal and opens up the scroll as she reads the first half of the letter's contents aloud till Amaya signed her displeasure at the mere mention of the Moonshadow Elves with Gren translating for her before Calla resumed reading the other half of the letter until she read the last line as a sense of elation entered her mind to know that Harrow had cared for her like she was his own daughter while an exasperated Ezran gives up in trying to pull the knife as he takes up the stale loaf and places it in front of the embedded weapon, moving it up and down against the blade as he opts to saw it in half instead.
Wait, there's more on the back.
"'P.S. Once their safety is assured, the kids may wish to build a dirt-man.' Um, we do not wish to build a dirt-man."
"Yeah, we do not."
Amaya signed as she revealed that there's more on the back of the letter, prompting Calla to turn it over so she can read last of the contents and discovered that Harrow had assumed the notion that his children would like to build a 'Dirt-Man' once they were out of danger much to her confusion as she looks up to her relatives and calmly states that neither she nor Ezran have the desire to build the snowman variant that their father wished for them to do while Ezran pauses briefly and supports her decision till he went back to sawing the bread.
"You're safe now, kids and that's the only thing that matters."
SNAP! CRUNCH!
"Want some more porridge, Ez?"
"Yes, please."
Gren said as he reassures the kids that they're safe while Ezran finally cuts the bread in half much to his happiness and takes a bite out from one of them but unfortunately his reverie was short-lived since the bread was extremely stale than he had anticipated as he felt like he broke his tooth upon biting it, surprising Calla as she flatly recommends her younger brother to eat the porridge instead much to Ezran's relief. Afterwards, the half-siblings finished eating their porridge, prompting Adam to collect the dishes and bring them over to the kitchen so he can clean them while Calla helps him out by drying the tableware.
"'[Okay, here goes….]' Um, Uncle Adam; can I ask you something?"
"Yes, what is it; Calla?"
The pair stood silently and continued to wash the dishes before Calla decided to break the ice as she hesitantly inquires her uncle with a question, in which he complies curiously.
"*I was wondering… This is only hypothetically speaking but if you've stumbled across something that the whole world thought was gone forever, what would you do?"
"That depends on what the said 'something' is, Calla."
Hoping to ask her uncle for help without arousing suspicion, Calla trails off a little as she thinks of a way to ask the older man for advice about what to do after finding something that the entire world thought was lost forever much to Adam's curiosity and inquired his niece to be a little more specific depending on its' nature.
"Like you found a rare reptile or something? Like, what you would do exactly?"
"Well, I would ask for help and return it to its original habitat, provided that it was kept away from its' home for so long."
"But what if the people say otherwise, fearing that letting it go back to where it came from would only bring disaster afterwards, what then?"
Calla said as she rephrased her answer in which Adam replied by asking for help considering the journey isn't going to be easy and that the reptile in question is being kept from its' home, prompting his niece to reluctantly counters it with a 'what-if' scenario as she thinks back to last night's events of how she saw what fear is capable of by failing to convince Claude about returning the egg to back to its' mother.
"If that's to be the case, then I'll return it myself regardless of what other people's opinions are."
"So basically, what you mean to say is that it doesn't matter what other people think? The only thing that matters is doing what you think is the right thing, even if it means leaving everything behind…?"
Sensing that Calla is hiding something, Adam decided not to press the young girl and answered truthfully by undertaking the task regardless of the objections much to Calla's surprise as she concludes that even though leaving everything behind maybe a scary experience, it shouldn't matter to what other people say since it's about doing the right thing and nothing else.
"*It's okay to be scared, Calla; so long as you don't let it change who are you."
"… … …"
Placing a hand on Calla's head, Adam said sagely as he reassures Calla how it's okay to be scared so long she doesn't let it change her when doing the right thing before he went back to washing the dishes while Calla stayed silent as she mulled over his words very carefully about what course of action to take. As time ticked by, the morning soon transcends to late afternoon while the sun begins to set towards the horizon and dyes the world in its' reddish-orange hue where the soldiers were spread out across the complex either standing watch or going on patrols while the others are stationed inside the lodge with the exception of a few guards are on repairman duty by reinstalling the front doors over at the entrance whereas Amaya, Gren and Adam were in the midst of a conversation until the scene changes over to Calla and Ezran, both of whom retreated to the fireplace to discuss about the dilemma they found themselves in.
"And that's that. *sigh* This is all my fault, we should have never come here."
"But we found Aunt Amaya and the others, so maybe we should just tell them; Calla."
"And tell them what?"
"You know, about finding the egg…. And Raylan…?"
"Ezran, we can't."
Watching the soldiers of the Standing Battalion patrolling the lodge, Calla surveys their movement with scrutinized gaze as she tries to find a weak spot in their formation but was unable to find any much to her dismay as she sighed in resignation and regretted her decision as Hibari comforts her while Ezran cheers her up with a way out of their dilemma by suggesting they come clean to their relatives about their mission to return the egg of the Dragon Prince over to Xadia while playing with his toys till Bait swallows one of them before he turns into a shade of blue as it prompts Hibari to jump down from the couch and pressed her paw onto Bait's back, causing him to spit out the toy while Calla disagrees with his option knowing that Amaya and the others won't offer their support and will do anything to prevent them.
"But, Sis…."
"Didn't you hear what Aunt Amaya had just said, how she talked about the Elves like that? To Aunt Amaya and anyone with a grudge, Elves are monsters; *I mean, just look at the toy you're playing with."
Not giving up, Ezran tries to persuade Calla before she cuts him off mid-sentence by stating what their Aunt had just said about the Xadians earlier today and how she made her disdain for the magical creatures known to them, explaining to her younger brother that due to the animosity that's been festering over the centuries, the Humans biasedly viewed the Xadians as 'Monsters' as she points at the toy in his hand, causing him to really look at it for the first time since meeting Raylan – *It was a wooden toy shaped like an Elf but with sharp-looking teeth accented with scary-looking eyes and a malicious grin followed by its' disproportionately large horns and its' oddly twisted four-fingered hands…. It looked nothing like Raylan at all but it looked like a monster instead much to his chagrin.
"But what if we just explain everything––?!"
"It still won't work, Humans and Elves don't trust each other and that won't change unless we take this egg back to Xadia."
Realizing that he's been playing with a tiny figurine that's been handcrafted with biased prejudice, a guilt-ridden Ezran still holds out hope that Amaya and the others will understand by explaining the situation before Calla interjects that it won't work due to the mutual distrust between the two sides, how the Humans and the Xadians won't change unless they bring the egg back to Xadia.
"We have to find Raylan and Corran; and get out of here."
Now seeing Calla's point despite his objections, a dejected Ezran silently gives his consent; prompting Calla proposed to find Raylan and Corran while coming up with a plan to escape their aunt's watchful eye as she and Hibari walks away from Ezran, leaving him alone briefly while wondering why is it so difficult for Humans and Xadians to along before he sighed inaudibly as he puts down the toy, gets up from the floor, putting on his backpack while picking up Bait in suit and follows his sister. Meanwhile, Raylan and Corran remained oblivious to the half-siblings' discussion as they ventured outside the lodge whilst staying out of sight from the soldiers by silently sneaking across the rooftop like ghosts before they made their way back inside through the partially-opened window above the front entrance and vaulted onto the banisters.
"[Corran, I need you to find the others; I'm going to check to see if there's a map around here somewhere. Once you've located them, circle around back and regroup with me, okay?]"
Raylan motioned to Corran as they made their way above the soldiers stationed on the ground floor before landing gracefully onto the 2nd floor as they sneaked past two passing soldiers finishing up their rounds till Raylan and Corran reached to the other side of the hallway past the game-room until Raylan gives Corran instructions and orders him to find the half-siblings and regroup in another location, eliciting a nod from the Moonlight Fury as he trotted off to find his rider's companions while Raylan enters back into the game-room.
"'It's the winter lodge, Raylan. No winter, no humans.' ugh…. *sigh* 'It's okay', she says."
Raylan said exasperatedly as he mimics Calla while scoffing in annoyance before he makes a beeline for the study desk, prompting him to check the drawers one by one for any sort of map before opening the main drawer where he sees a small button situated in the center much to his curiosity as he hesitantly pressed it, causing the inner mechanism to grind in motion until it unlocked a secret compartment hidden underneath the drawer, revealing its' treasure to be a blank piece of folded parchment.
"Huh."
Curious, Raylan picked it up despite his misgivings and inspected it from front to back but before he can unfold it, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up as if exposed to a midwinter chill when suddenly a shadow looms over him, causing him to look over his shoulder to see Amaya attempting to smash him with her shield until Raylan ducked out of the way, causing the general to destroy the table instead while he back-flipped several meters from his attacker and whipped out both his blades; prompting Amaya to initiate the attack by charging at the young Moonshadow Elf with her shield like a battering ram.
"… … …"
Raylan parries the older woman's attacks but struggled to do so due to Amaya countering his strikes relentlessly as she tried to pin him down with her shield before he back-flipped out of her range and tried going on the offensive yet even that wasn't made possible because Amaya managed to disarmed him by knocking one of his blades out of his hands and punched him towards the column, disorienting him momentarily.
"Argh….!"
Bring it.
CRASH!
Raylan groaned a little until he regained his senses and saw Amaya running towards him with a repeat of her earlier attempt till Raylan dodged out of the crash zone, causing her to decimate the column in the process as he puts a great distance between him and the hardened fighter before Amaya straightens herself and eyed at him as she flexes her hand in a beckoning motion, taunting him to make a move, which did the trick as it caused Raylan to leap into the air with the intent to kill which unfortunately for him; it was exactly what Amaya had wanted by raising her shield above her head and use it as a platform to throw him over to the other side of the room, causing him to collide with a table nearby.
"Oww…!"
Raylan hissed from the pain of his back coming into contact with the wooden furniture as he tries to get back up again while reaching for his blade before Amaya grabs him by the shoulder with one hand and lifts him off from the floor, pinning him against the wall as she traps him by his neck with the top of her shield with her other hand.
"General Amaya, we have a problem!"
"The kids have disappeared!"
THWACK!
Raylan struggled to free himself from the shield while Amaya glares at him while reaching for her sword much to Raylan's panic but before Amaya can fully draw her sword to finish the intruder off, a panicked Gren and Adam suddenly bursts into the wrecked room and grabs her attention with news that Calla and Ezran have disappeared much to both Amaya's shock as she turns to Raylan, of whom was equally surprised by the news till she sheathes her half-drawn sword back into its scabbard, confusing Raylan for a mere moment before he looks up to Amaya again just in time to see her rearing her fist back and deliver a swift punch to his face, effortlessly knocking him out.
"Ugh, my head..."
It was late evening by the time Raylan regained consciousness as he groaned groggily before he paused a little to see that the location had changed from the game-room to the basement as he found himself tied to one of the support beams, causing him to struggle against his bonds before he was approached by an stern-looking Amaya with the equally stern-looking Gren and Adam by her side.
"'How did you do it?'"
"How…. How did we do what?"
"'We'? How many of you are there?"
"Oh, did I say 'we'? I mean, uh… Ow!"
Gren said sternly as he translated Amaya's signing to the confused Raylan till he groggily demands what they meant, prompting him to unintentionally caused the militant commanders to be on high alert by that statement before Raylan nervously recanted while glancing to the side as a means of avoiding eye-contact with them until Amaya grabs him by the fringe and forces him to face her directly, causing him to cry out in pain.
"'Don't look away from me. Now, answer the question: How many of you are here?'"
"Like I said, it's just me; I'm alone."
"'Liar.'"
Amaya signed sternly as Gren translates for her while she tries again only for Raylan to hold true to his white lie in not giving away too much information before Amaya sneered at him and called him out on his lie much to his shock as Amaya releases her grip on his hair and gets up from the ground, readdressing the soldiers.
"'If there are more of them, then the kids are in danger; do not take your eyes off him, not even for an instant.'"
Amaya signed to Gren as he translates her signing about the possibility of being surrounded by Raylan's 'comrades, unaware of the circumstances surrounding his mission, prompting the two guards to stand up straight and saluted in response while Raylan remained unresponsive as the general's words replays itself inside his mind like a broken record.
"'[Runaan and the others have told me that the Humans were liars and couldn't be trusted with magic but… Is this how the humans felt?]'"
Raylan thought depressingly as he remarked how incredibly gullible he was for believing such words. Growing up, all Elven children were taught that the Humans were not only a unpredictable species but they were distrustful and deceptive in their ways to achieve powerful magic but after being called a liar to his face, Raylan couldn't help but to feel ashamed for how his brethren treated the humans.
"Ah…!"
"Careful with those, wouldn't want to lose a finger now; I mean, can you imagine going through life with just four fingers?"
Unbeknownst to Raylan, one of the guards was holding one of his butterfly blades in his hand; inspecting it from the hilt to the tip before he accidentally clicked a button somewhere, causing the mechanism to transform it into a blade much to the guards' shock as it falls safely into his hand while Raylan calls out with caution and warns them about cutting accidentally cutting their fingers off before he teases them about having four fingers, prompting him to wiggle his own much to the guards' bewilderment when all of a sudden, they all hear a faint rumbling sound breaking the awkward silence until they diverted their attention to the dumbwaiter before the scene changes over to a different room where the 'missing' half-siblings was in the process of lending their Xadian ally a hand.
"This has got to be one of your most weirdest ideas yet, Ez."
"Even weirder than that one time I tried making tiny armor for those snails?"
"*sigh* Ez, I told you snails already have armor."
Calla said incredulously as she lowers the pulley system towards the basement and comments how weird her younger brother's plan while Hibari and Corran were looking down the shaft in curiosity before Ezran pops up next to her and innocently counters about how he had another idea of making armor for snails much to Calla's annoyance as she tries to argue that snails have their shells as their 'armor' before she refocused her attention on the pulley system.
"Then why the heck do they keep getting smooshed?"
"Look, we're not–– Whoa! My point is, I don't know if this plan will work."
"Don't worry, he'll know what to do."
Hearing her answer, Ezran asked incredulously and retorted about how the snails keep getting 'smooshed' despite having armor much to Calla's annoyance as she tries to argue with him but before she can, the rope almost slipped past her hands until she makes a grab for it in reflex and stopped the dumbwaiter from falling till she voiced her concerns about the possibility of the young boy's plan not working while Ezran remains confident that Raylan will get the gist at first glance while the dumbwaiter reaches the basement, revealing its' sole passenger to be Bait much to the guards' confusion and Raylan's curiosity.
"Have you guys met Bait? Say hello to my little friend."
Raylan's eyes lit up with realization as he innocently asks his captors about meeting Bait before he takes a page from Ezran's book, giving the young prince's Glow Toad the signal as he shields his eyes just in time for Bait to glow bright as he emits a blinding light, blinding the two guards and prompts them to draw out their swords in an attempt to stop him despite being blindsided before one of them rushed towards Raylan of whom struggled against his bonds for a moment before the guard lurches at him, causing him to spin around the beam like a snake and hits her in the face with his feet, sending her towards the barrels while her partner charges at him and tries to strike the young Elf down with his butterfly blade; only for it to get caught in the beam before Raylan dodges it and sidekicks him to the side, knocking him out cold.
"Thanks!"
Now that he's no longer has nothing to worry about, Raylan brushes his bonds against the blade of his blade as he saws at it lightly until the rope snaps and falls to the ground much to Raylan's relief while taking up his blade and thanks the unconscious guards for their assistance before he makes his way past Bait, who looked at him indifferently as he jumps down from the dumbwaiter and onto the floor, causing him to croak after him as if saying 'Hey, you forgot something!'; prompting Raylan to backtrack and retrieve his grumpy-faced ally till he resumes his trek towards the door leading out of the basement as he bumps into Calla, Ezran, Hibari and Corran halfway up the stairs while he hands Bait to Ezran while motioning Hibari and Corran to hide inside Calla's bag.
"Come on, we need to get out of here now!"
Raylan said as he leads the group out of the basement and across the threshold of the lodge, unaware that a guard was walking towards the first floor while another one was about to patrol the other hallway before they caught the kids' movement from the corner of their eyes as they watch the trio race outside where three other guards were standing around a campfire where one of them looked over to see the kids running over to the bridge, prompting the soldiers to run after them while Raylan and the others raced towards the bridge where they see three other guards coming from the other side much to their dismay while several more began to file in, causing the trio to double back before they discover that they're at the mercy of several archers pointing their arrows at them.
*"'Stop right there, Elf!'"
Walking in front of the archers, Amaya ordered while Gren called out to the trio as the urgency in his voice stopped them in their tracks, prompting Raylan to look around in a panic as he, Calla and Ezran found themselves surrounded by the Standing Battalion from both sides of the Lodge.
"'Calla, Ezran, come here.'"
"[Calla, we should just tell her.]"
"Kids, get away from him."
"… … …"
Gren said, interpreting Amaya's signing to the panicked half-siblings but were reluctant to do so due to the growing tension while Ezran whispered softly to Calla, hoping that if they tell Amaya and the others the truth now then maybe they can lend a hand before Amaya signed again but this time fighting the urge to charge right in and save her late sister's children from the hands of the Elf. Calla's mind went into overdrive as she tries to think of a way out while surveying the amount of soldiers, fearing that one of them could report back to Viren or in a worst-case scenario, they might even take the egg away from them and bring it back to the castle where Viren might do something horrible or make good on his original promise and destroy it.
"… … …"
Silently, Calla looked around the unit as she tries to determine to see if there are any guards she recognized but other than her aunt and uncles, she doesn't recognize anyone from the castle much to her relief and thanked Lady Iustitia that her aunt had the common sense to leave them at the Breach, guarding the border in her stead.
"Wait!"
Stop, he's with us. We were the ones who brought him here.
Understanding that both Ezran and Adam were right despite the risk but deep down Calla knew that she has to take the chance before she saw one of the archers were preparing to shoot Raylan, causing her to cry out as she steps in front of Raylan and stop their attack as she began signing directly to her aunt much to the older woman's confusion.
Last night, we found something at the castle and we have to take it to Xadia.
"Uh, what are you saying?"
What did you find?
Calla signed as she watched Amaya and Gren's eyebrows raised in confusion while they looked between her and Raylan till the latter curiously inquires what the pair was talking about while Amaya frowned lightly as she ignores Raylan's question and motioned Gren not to translate for her as she signed back, wondering what would be important for Calla to step in and protect the enemy.
It's a secret, we can't show you here.
What is it?
Egg.
Calla signed carefully, biting her lip as she took a glance at Ezran where she could see the egg's glow shining from the crease of his backpack before Amaya pressed on and signed more firmly, causing Calla to swallow hard and crossed her two index fingers in a 'x' and then pushed outwards, signing her answer while Gren still looked a little confused between the pair, but he could see realization dawning on Amaya's face before the General signed silently to him, causing his eyes to widened in shock as he looks back at Calla for any sign of confirmation until she nodded her head firmly.
"'Get back, all of you! His blades are coated with magic, he'll kill them if we don't let him go.'"
Now that her interpreter is on board, Amaya signed again while Gren translates, ordering the soldiers to stand down due to Raylan's blades are coated in unknown substance that will supposedly kill Calla and Ezran unless he goes free much to Raylan's confusion till he glanced over to Calla as she motioned him to play along while he looks at the soldiers, of whom were still hesitating to follow the order while one of them struggled to keep it together, the tremor of his hand slowly caused the *fetching to slip past his fingertips and accidentally released it as it soared across the clearing and headed straight for Raylan till he brought up his blade and slices it in half; setting off a chain reaction from the second archer as he fired off another arrow, just in time for caused Raylan to regain his bearings and dodges it barely as he sees the arrowhead catches his braid before the projectile slices it off of his head and pins it to the tree behind the trio.
"I said get back back, dammit!"
"That's right, take another shot but read my lips when I say this: The next time I swing my blade, I'll end them both in half a second!"
Gren said urgently, causing Raylan to think fast on his feet as he grabs Calla and Ezran from behind and holds them at knife-point with his blades while taunting them about ending the half-siblings' lives right on the spot while his threat prompts Amaya to held up her hand and signal the soldiers to stand down.
Adam, Gren and I will meet up with you once you're further down the river.
"Move it, Humans."
Amaya secretly signed one last thing over to Calla as she nods in understanding before Raylan urges the pair to move, causing them to walk past the soldiers and made their way down the steps leading to the dock where they paused momentarily.
"[What now? Ugh, I don't think––]"
"[Just get in.]"
Now out of earshot, Raylan asked the half-siblings curiously, wondering what to do next before Calla and Ezran hopped into the rowboat as he scoffs in chagrin and tries to argue until Calla softly cuts him off, urging him to board the boat much to his displeasure till he sighs inaudibly as he complies reluctantly and jumps in, landing at the bow of the boat while signaling the half-siblings to start rowing.
"'If the Elf realizes that we're following them, he'll kill the kids; we need to be careful.'"
The boat sailed from under the bridge where the trio look above their heads to see the soldiers glaring at Raylan as they continued rowing and disappear out of range on the river while Amaya and the others looked on as she signed while Gren interpreted for her about Raylan making good on his threat while sneaking a glance over the lodge to see Adam carrying a bag and disappearing into the woods along with his Rainfall Fury.
"What are your orders, General Amaya?"
"'Corvus!'"
One of the soldiers inquires the general about what course of action to take till Gren calls out for the Battalion's Tracker, Corvus – He was a physically fit dark-skinned man with dark brown braided hair tied back in a bun and hazel eyes with a scar stretching across his right eye socket and eyebrow followed by a three-day beard – He wore a dark brown leather armor with plated guards covering most of his body followed by a mint-green scarf around his neck and black trousers along with two light brown belts around his waist and slim bag is attached to his lowest belt.
"'You're with me. The rest of you are to stay here and await further instructions.'"
Amaya signed while Gren translates and gives the order to the rest of the Battalion while secretly signing to the tracker and the commander about what was happening before the scene changes over to Calla, Ezran, Raylan, Hibari and Corran are still rowing further down stream while Calla continued looking out for any sign of the Standing Battalion before she glanced over to Raylan who hasn't move from his huddled position as his hood covered his head.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is that you made it seem like I was some bloodthirsty monster! You have no idea how that feels.…"
"Raylan, I know that's how it seemed but you have to trust me, I–– There! Ezran, help me land the boat over to that bank."
Calla asks carefully as she wondered what was wrong before Raylan snapped at her for making him seem like a monster and how hurtful it was to be labeled that way much to Calla's discomfort due to that it wasn't her intention to do so as a sense of guilt enters her mind and tries to assuaged him before she saw something twinkling from the trees on the other side of the riverbank from the corner of her eye as she enlists Ezran's help to steer the boat towards the side.
"Wait, what? First, you make me get IN this blasted thing; and now you don't even wait until we're far away enough?"
"Raylan, I told you; you just HAVE to trust me on this, okay?"
Raylan said irritably as he was confused by Calla's decision before the young girl reiterates and begs him to place his trust in her while she and Ezran worked together to pull the boat over to the side and onto the shore, prompting Calla to hop out of the vessel and walked a little before stopping herself midway, standing still before the trees and scanned them for any sign of her relatives but seeing no movement from within the woodland threshold; Calla frowned slightly as she begins to suspect that they've walked into a trap until she heard the sound of footsteps dredging through the foliage till the owners are revealed to be Amaya, Gren, Adam and Ariel much to her relief.
"What did I say before, Human?"
Show me.
Shocked to see the general and her commanding officers, Raylan asked incredulously as he falls back into fighting stance and resumes his persona, ready to bluff his way out before Amaya frowned slightly and ignored him out of favor to inquire her niece about the secret as Calla nodded and pats Ezran on his back, prompting the young boy to set his bag down and open the flap; revealing the egg of the Dragon Prince, shocking the adults speechless.
"Holy Crow..."
"*sigh* It's beautiful…."
"[What are you two doing?!]"
"[Aunt Amaya's good, we can trust her.]"
"'Give the egg to me, I'll return it to the dragons myself.'"
"No, the whole point of this is so that the Human Prince and Princess can return it as a gesture. That's the only way we can bring peace between the Humans, the Dragons and the Elves."
"'And give me one good reason why we should we trust you, Elf?'"
"Aunt Amaya, Raylan had plenty of chances to kill us but he hasn't. He wants peace, just like us and if you do too, then you'll let us go."
Gren and Adam said breathlessly as they look upon the reason behind the upcoming war with Xadia while Raylan pulled Calla back slightly, hissing in her ear till Calla calms him down by vouching for her relatives' trustworthiness while Amaya knelt down and observes the egg for closer inspection as she finds no sign of harm done to it till she gets up and looks at them as she signed to the kids with Gren translating for her much to to Raylan's shock, prompting him to reason with the half-siblings' aunt about the potential of bringing peace back to the two lands while Amaya frowned at him and signed in an annoyed tone much to his chagrin before Ezran piped up, explaining how Raylan had every opportunity to dispose him and Calla but refused to do so because of the egg's survival and how much he wanted peace like they do while comparing it to Amaya's own desire much to the older woman's shock as she looked at them for a minute before she sighed inaudibly in defeat, knowing that there was nothing she can do to persuade them otherwise.
"'This isn't going to be easy, there will be a lot of danger waiting ahead of you.'"
"We know, but we have to try. After all, I'm my mother's daughter or did you forget….?"
Your mother would be so proud of you two if she were here, I know I am.
Amaya signed resignedly, knowing that their endeavor won't be easy and incredibly dangerous with Gren translating for the kids while Calla signed back, agreeing with her aunt's notion but understood that it is worth the risk while teasingly wonders if the latter had forgotten who she takes after much to Amaya's amusement as her mask faltered a bit and knelt before the two kids and privately signed to the pair while Gren stepped back and refrained from translating, knowing what Amaya has in mind as she signed proudly and imagined Sarai's reaction would be, causing Calla and Ezran to smile at the mention of their late mother as their eyes grew misty from the tears welling up till she pulled them both into another bone-crushing hug while Calla tries to suppress a groan but was mildly successful.
Be safe and be sure to stay off the roads, I have a feeling that the Council will probably have every soldier be on the lookout for you two.
Amaya pulled back as she wipes their tears away, signing while deducing that the council will send a rescue party after tonight before she motioned Adam to escort the pair back to the boat and give them the supplies that he packed beforehand.
If you so much as to lay a single hand on them in any way, I'll take those blades of yours and shove them up your ass!
"[*gasp* I can't say that to him, he's a minor!]"
"Uh, what did she say?"
Once the half-siblings were out of earshot, Amaya grabbed Raylan by the shoulder and signed aggressively to him; threatening him a very painful experience if he ever harms them much to Gren's shock and hastily whispered that he can't translate it aloud due to Raylan's age while the latter curiously inquired a translation, prompting Gren to look between the two and concluded that the boy is better off without knowing as he leads him back to the boat along with Amaya in tow before she looked Calla in the eyes where the young girl could see the hardness of her aunt's typical mask breaking as the cracks of all her concern and uncertainty, an unspoken plea for Calla to protect both herself and Ezran, causing her to nod her head in understanding while she, Ezran, Raylan, Bait and Hibari boarded the boat and sets off on the river again while the adults stayed behind and watched them disappear downstream.
"'Follow them. Don't let any harm come to them and watch out for that Elf, but don't let anyone see you. We need to go speak with Viren.'"
Amaya raised her hand in the air and summoned Corvus from the trees as he jumps down back to ground-level while Gren translates and ordering him to tail after the group, cautioning him to be on the lookout for trouble, prompting the tracker to nod curtly as he took off down the path parallel to the boat till Amaya signed to Adam and Gren with the intention of traveling to the castle and confront Viren about his lies, prompting the trio to mount Ariel and returning for their mounts as Adam softly nudged his Rainfall Fury to take flight back to the lodge.
Around the same time, the entire castle was in a buzz as the citizens gathered into the courtyard as they await for the announcement before the scene switches over to the throne room where Viren was in the middle of being dressed for the occasion by the staff while Soren casually leans against one of the columns with his arms folded across his chest.
"It's almost time, Father; Crown time or as I like to call it, the 'Crown Hour'; 'Crown o'clock'?"
"*sigh* Thank you, that will be all. No song for the occasion, hmm?"
Soren said as he announces that the coronation is about to start before he dubs it with nicknames much to Viren's exasperation and nonchalantly dismissed his son while he makes his way to the courtyard before he stops himself midway and turns his attention onto a caged Pip, of whom miraculously survived the attack last night as he rhetorically wonders if the songbird has nothing to sing for the occasion, only for the singing avian to give him the silent treatment much to Viren's indifference as he resumed his way to the courtyard.
"People of Katolis, King Harrow's death has wounded us deeply but the loss of his children is an even greater injustice. By taking the heirs to the throne, our enemies have sought to leave us without a leader. It would disgrace Harrow's memory to allow the kingdom he loved to be lost in darkness and though it is a heavy burden, I will humbly take up the battle in Harrow's name…. I will become Lord Protector of the Realm!"
"Stop!"
Viren walks up to the balcony and addressed the citizens about the recent events concerning Harrow's death, how Xadia seeks to leave the kingdom without a leader by claiming the lives of his children and how the Dark Mage will take up the mantle to rule in Harrow's name as he kneels before a reluctant Opeli and awaits to be crowned when suddenly, a horn blared in the distance as it catches everyone's attention while a cry ranged out, revealing the riders to be Amaya, Gren and Adam coming from the bridge as they skid to a halt and addressed the crowd.
"'Stop the coronation, the prince and the princess are alive!'"
Standing by the gate, Amaya signed to the people while Gren translates for her as she delivers the good news much to everyone's relief, oblivious to the simmering sound of Viren's growing irritation as he scowled unhappily.
To be Continued...
And that's it for this chapter! The die has been cast as our young heroes embark on the journey to Xadia in hopes of stopping the war. Who will win in this endeavor?
As promised, I've got an important announcement: I've read many HTTYD fanfics that included the other seasons after the first and with careful consideration, I've decided add S2 and S3 once S1E9: 'Wonderstorm' is done! It may take some time but I promise you that it'll be worth it in the end, so please be patient!
Now, before I go and write the next chapter, here is this week's footnotes for the day:
(*) The intro card foreshadows Calla's and Ezran's argument about not telling anyone outside their group about their quest and how doing the right thing is not only the easiest choice to make but a necessary one. (And while we're at it, let me talk to you about Ezran: Now don't get me wrong, I like him but due to his belief about pacifism, he gives the wrong sort of people a little too much credit. Yeah, I know he's a child, he sees the world differently and forgives people for their misconduct easily compared to canon!callum but considering the fact that he was coerced into abdicating the throne by the combined machinations of Saleer, Kasef and Viren; as well as being almost killed by canon!claudia's illusion in S3, he lacks common sense.)
(*) The 'Lord Protector' is a title for holders of other temporary posts in case the heir apparent is unavailable or is deemed too young for the position in general.
(*) The way how Hibari engaged in a fight with Corran is reminiscent to Nala's and Simba's fight/reunion in Disney's 1994 film 'The Lion King'.
(*) Hibari summoning a lightning blast to finish off Corran and how Calla calmed her down is similar to Toothless' attempt to finish off Stoick and how he called it off due to Hiccup calming him down in HTTYD.
(*) The Orphan Queen (whose real name still remains unknown to us all for now) was the first ruler of the Kingdom of Katolis and the distant ancestor to King Atticus (the previous King), Harrow and Ezran.
(*) Claude's 'hot brown morning potion' is the Katolian equivalent to coffee in real-life (Personally, I wish that the writers could've called it something else, but hey that's just my opinion; although considering that the text for Aaravos was written in Dutch; I hope the writers rename it as 'Koffie').
(*) Emberback Spiders are these arachnid-like insects with flame-like patterns on their abdomens that are connected to the Sun Primal, they closely resemble black widow spiders in real-life.
(*) Timekeeping Candle is an Eastern Katolian device that tells time by combing a varying amounts of spark powder emulsified in different points of the wax. It pays an homage to the Time Candle device that The Mechanist created in ALTA.
(*) 'Seven Herb Porridge' is the Northern Caelestian equivalent to the Asian rice porridge dish in real-life or more specifically the Japanese variant, 'Nanakusa Okayu' (七草粥 'Nanakusa-gayu' lit. meaning '7 Herbs Rice-Congee').
(*) I got this idea from reading Callum's Spellbook (Pg. 114) where canon!Callum wonders why humans couldn't use the primal stones instead of using Dark Magic while canon!Rayla reveals that the said primal stones are so rare.
(*) Again, in case you missed something; an Archmage is someone who mastered a specific Primal Source and other forms of magic (and yes, that includes Dark Magic too), so you could say that they're like the humanoid-version of the Archdragons.
(*) Déjà vu ('Déjà vu' lit. meaning 'already seen') is a phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.
(*) A sconce is a type of candelabra mounted on a wall or on pillars, mainly around churches or hallways.
(*) Rheum is a thin mucus naturally discharged from the eyes, nose or mouth, often during sleep (contrast with mucopurulent discharge), commonly known as 'Sandman's dust'.
(*/*) I got these bits from reading a page from the novelized version of Book One: Moon (Ch. 15, Pg. 116) and from reading the graphic novel 'The Bloodmoon Huntress' and about the foundation of a the Huntress's cult called 'Order of the Blood Moon' on the fandom's wikia page.
(*) "'...'" is for Gren translating for General Amaya's signing.
(*) Flatware is another term for cutlery, also known as 'tableware' or 'silverware'.
(*) This is a callback to what Osono said to Kiki's cat, Jiji as she was feeding him a bowl of porridge after Kiki fell sick in 1989 film 'Kiki's Delivery Service' (the Disney version).
(*) KSL is short for Katolian Sign Language, which is based off of the American Sign Language in real-life.
(*) A metalsmith is a craftsperson fashioning useful items like tools, kitchenware, tableware, jewelry, armor and weapons out of various metals.
(*/*) A Rainfall Fury is a distant relative to the Stormrider Fury species. Like the Stormriders, the Rainfall Furies are connected to the Sky Primal and draw their power from the sky during a storm. Ariel is Adam's mount and Hibari's father.
(*) Seeing how Calla made the porridge, I've changed it from 'Food' to 'Bread' in this instance.
(*) I got this from reading the novelized version of Book One: Moon (Ch.15, Pg. 122).
(*) This phrase is somewhat of a callback to the Binding Ritual scene in S1E1: 'Echoes of Thunder' where canon!Rayla asks what Runaan's back-up plan was due to her sparing Marcos' life in the opening scene.
(*) These phrases are a callback to what Norman Babcock's late grandmother's ghost said to him. That, and it also foreshadows Calla's decison to let go of the past which lead her into forging a connection to the Sky Arcanum in S2.
(*) I got this bit from reading the novelized version of Book One: Moon (Ch.15, Pg. 123).
(*) This part right here is the part that I was talking about. All credit goes to genericfanatic on Ao3 for letting me use Ch. 6 as a base (you guys should check out their story and see the original chapter, it's really good ^w^)!
(*) Fletching are the fin-shaped aerodynamic stabilization device attached on arrows, bolts, darts, or javelins, and are typically made from light semi-flexible materials such as feathers or bark.
Welp, that's it for now! Hope you all enjoyed reading and I'll see you all in the next chapter, just don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!
Okay, BYEEE!
P.S., I saw the S6 and it was AWESOME!
- Yuuguregurl21