Chapter 18 - Home

Arriving safely at Falamel made her feel relieved. Though her father's wariness towards Veron and the High Elves' involvement with the clans had warned her of the hidden dangers of the City, it still felt more secure than the murderous Tribal Wood Elves who harmed them severely.

Looking around, she saw that their group had drastically reduced in numbers, with less than half of the original guardsmen and even a few of the young trainees that the Tribal Wood Elves targeted with far less killer intent were not spared from some losses.

Her Father had been worriedly beside Ballen most of the journey back, though he was similarly concerned about her. Ballen appeared more distraught from the situation and needed him more.

At that time, Veron noticed their group and gave a kind smile. Sylvie had no idea if she was being paranoid, yet she felt he had been focusing his attention, particularly towards their group, the entire time.

And ever since she went through that transformation with the Dire Wolf, she gained a sense of danger, and she felt his eyes fixated on her frequently when she was not appearing to pay attention.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that she did not even realise Veron had already approached them.

Veron placed a hand on her Father's shoulder as he solemnly said, “Your son has been through much, and I feel ashamed as the leader of the expedition to put both your son and daughter through situations younglings should not have to deal with. I will do my best to procure the best healer and alchemist to perform limb regeneration for him; it is my duty, as I have let you both down.”

Her Father and Ballen's eyes widened at Veron making such a proclamation.

However, once again, Sylvie unknowingly felt her heightened senses act; at that moment, she saw something in Veron. His body language and tone of voice spoke of genuine regret at the expedition's events, yet subtle cues such as scent spoke of a hidden lack of emotion and insincerity behind his words.

‘Having the form of the Dire Wolf is not the only thing I gained…’ Sylvie thought. Her senses were strong before, yet this was a new level. Though not as significant as in her Dire Wolf form, they were far sharper than before as an Elf. It made her sense things imperceptible to her before.

Her Father turned to Veron with a shake of his head, blaming himself as he responded, “Thank you for the kind words, Veron. Though you cannot be blamed for this, if we blame anyone, it is the one responsible for the ambush and doing this to my son. You have tried to protect everyone and saved many lives by defeating their leader, so if anything, you should be praised.”

Veron had a slight smile before a despondent look appeared on his features. He said, “I appreciate the sentiment, though such a loss of Elven lives under my watch makes it impossible to see it that way. Anyways, I should not delay you all from going home. You have been through a lot, and I bet your wife will be worried terribly, Yorik.”

When Veron turned to leave, she felt relieved, until he said one last thing as he turned, “Oh! And how forgetful am I! Nice meeting you today, Sylvie. I have heard a lot about you, and I’m sure we will meet again soon. After all, I much desire to talk more to one so interesting.”

At that time, Sylvie thought she saw a flicker of gold in Veron’s eyes before he left her view entirely. She turned to her brother and father to see if they noticed anything strange about Veron's last words, yet neither seemed to react as if it had ever happened.

“Father, how long did you know Veron again?” Sylvie asked as a sudden thought came to mind.

“Oh? Not long, actually. Two years ago, I was never particularly familiar with him before that. Yet, suddenly, he began launching expeditions like this, taking out the younglings for valuable training. It is uncommon for a Liadon and an expert of his calibre to do that. We’re lucky to have him.” Her Father said with a smile.

“We sure are,” Sylvie said as a creeping feeling filled her.

“Anyways, Arlen, Ballen and Sylvie. I will take you home. Haryk will be worried after what happened. We will leave together now and apologise, Ballen, but it may take a while to procure a healer or alchemist, even with Veron kindly lending us his assistance.” Her Father said seriously.

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All of them nodded, and they moved together with their Father, a much more solemn vibe about them compared to the original optimism they left with.

Ballen seemed to have recovered with the walk and regained a part of his positive and determined self as he was reminded that losing your limbs was fully recoverable with the world's magics.

Sylvie felt happy for him before they utilised the lift to ascend from Eshva towards their district, Neolune.

They were going to accompany Arlen home first, yet that time he said, “Mind if I walk home alone? I want some time to myself after that, and don’t worry, Sylvie's secret is safe with me. She saved my life, and Ballen, please don’t give up on your dreams. You're far more talented than any of us; if anyone can get through this, it’s you. And the you I know said a true warrior never gives up.”

Her Father replied, “If that is what you wish, Arlen, I won’t stop you. You're old enough for that at least. Though I will check up on you and Haryk later to see how you are doing, thank you, Arlen.”

Arlen nodded, turned to Ballen, and embraced him. The two hugged briefly, with Ballen's eyes becoming slightly red.

It seemed her brother needed that. Arlen was his closest friend after all; he likely knew he was struggling despite Ballen's brave front. Though his limbs could potentially be restored with powerful magic and alchemy, it was still a setback in his pursuit of becoming a martial expert.

Arlen shortly left after that, not before once again thanking her profusely. She felt odd at realising the truth of his words. It did not quite dawn on her that she was the one to deal with the group that even her strong, capable older brother could not do anything towards.

It made her realise the power a Druid can have; if this was just the first form she had, what about others?

Though a Dire Wolf was not the weakest beast in the Forest, there were far more frighteningly powerful beasts, and if she had gained those forms, why would she need to fear anything?

At that time, her Father informed them to return, and they did, quickly navigating the streets. They reached home, finding their Mother, who promptly went from delight at their return to sheer distress at seeing Ballen's injuries.

Sylvie had never seen her mother so worried, and soon, that worry turned to anger directed at her Father.

“You said they would be safe! You said they would be protected! Yorik, what happened?” Her mother said, raising her voice accusingly at her father.

Her Father seemed guilty, his face red in shame as he replied, “I did not know they would go that far. The area we went to was not dangerous; such an incident close to the city had not happened in centuries. To think they have lost their sense of honour in pursuing some misguided crusade against the clans.”

Sylvie saw that her Mother did not enjoy his reasoning and said, “You could’ve... You!”

Ballen then interrupted as he said, “Mother, it’s fine. It was not Father's fault; you know this, too. We had the most capable and experienced group in our district escorting us. All measures were taken to protect us. There is always a risk of being a guard, and I accept this fully.”

Her Mother paused for a period before she said, “You, yes! Despite my warnings, you have always pushed for this, yet Sylvie? She is a capable alchemist. Why do this to her? You call those Elves misguided fools, yet that ridiculous idea swayed you and Haryk that the High Elves are somehow infiltrating the clans and have been slowly replacing them for centuries!”

“Don’t act like you're not worried, too. You're just as concerned as I about that High Elf Faelar nestling here. And besides, we have another problem: Sylvie can no longer stay a simple crafter and remain uninvolved, as you think. She has awakened, and as a Druid.” Her Father replied, and at that moment, all the steam and Fury from her usually docile Mother evaporated.

“She is a what?” her Mother said, believing she had heard something.

“A Druid, and you know what that signifies, Mryna.” Her father replied.

“Now, I’m still mad at you so don’t think you’re off the hook, but you’re right. We need to plan for this. Now, Lanren, get in here, too. I know you’re listening, and this time, no more being jealous of your younger sister. You are not to tell a single soul what she is,” her Mother said sternly as Lanren appeared from the other room with a lazy expression.

“Huh? Of course.” Lanren said far too quickly.

Sylvie felt he was half asleep, the way he postured groggily. Lanren never ceases to remind her that not all Elves are graceful; there is always that one outlier.

Her usual gentle Mother, who allowed Lanren to get away with this behaviour, was decisively stern this time, though, as she said, “Lanren! I mean it, now your sister will undergo a core test tomorrow for a core Awakening. You will share exactly what we say, right?”

Lanren nodded, and at that time, the family gathered. Tomorrow, Sylvie will have a test that is freely available for all suspected awakened. Then she will eventually be inducted into an academy when the awakening of her core is verified. Hopefully, it would be enough to stop Veron speculating about anything beyond her having a core.

Since her Father told her from the start it would be impossible to hide, and there are few reasons anyone in Falamel would hide, awakening a core and a typical awakening is not one of them.