The Story of Creation - Elswyth

The sky grew darker as they walked deeper into the forest, if she could call this place that. This forest was nothing but dead trees and thick fog. The soil was damp and covered with dried leaves and mushrooms. It smelled like death.

They walked in silence, their eyes constantly scanning the area. But Elswyth kept her eyes on the unconscious Ren, hanging limply on Friedolf’s shoulder. His brown hair was in disarray, dried leaves and twigs entangled in his locks. His face and arms are covered with scratches, and his clothes are wet and muddy.

‘He’s alive,’ she thought to herself. ‘That’s what matters.’

She tried to convince herself that it was enough for her to relax. But they were surrounded by strangers, clearly dangerous and skilled.

Three men walked in front of her, one on each side and two at the back. They may have said it was for their protection, but it looked like they were locked in.

Unlike his smile and his words, Roukan’s grey eyes were cold and unwelcoming. Even as she walked behind him, it felt as though he had eyes at the back of his head, staring directly at her. As if he read her mind, he suddenly looked over his shoulder and smiled when he caught her staring. And when she looked away, his smile turned into a grin.

‘Seven against two,’ her hand mindlessly went to the hilt of the sword on her hips, her fingernails fiddling at the cheap leather wrap. She eyed each one of them, deliberating who she has to incapacitate first. Her plan was disrupted when she felt a strong grip on her wrist.

“Relax,” Rahil whispered to her. She flinched when she heard his voice too close to her. Sensing her discomfort, he released her. “If you’re hostile, so are they,” he finished before giving her a critical look.

“You’ve been jumpy since we left Faeldic,” he said lowly. “I trained you to be aware of everything around you, yet everything catches you off guard.”

“It’s been a terribly long day.” It was an understatement.

“The days coming will be worse and longer,” he answered back. “I asked you if you were ready and you said you were. Maybe we should postpone the plan,” he said reluctantly.

She scoffed. “I need rest. It doesn’t mean I want to stop.”

Rahil didn’t answer.

“But it won’t matter what I say to you,” she sighed. “You’ll never believe that I am ready.”

She regretted saying those words as soon as they left her mouth. She cursed at how childish she sounded.

“I’ll start believing it when you do.,” he answered without looking at her.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

She glared at him, but she knew he was done with the conversation. He kept his eyes forward and ignored her.

Thunder lowly grumbled after a lighting crawled through the dark canopy. She felt a drop of water on her shoulder, followed by another and another. She welcomed the rain with her palms up. She watched as each watery pearl washed away the blood and dirt that caked into her skin. And though she slowly felt her hands get cleaned, they still feel heavy. Perhaps it was the weariness of the day, or perhaps it was the weight of taking someone’s life.

Not just someone. A person very near to her heart.

She looked up and saw Roukan staring at her. His lips in a thin line and a somber look on his face. She realized that the group stopped because she did. Feeling embarrassed, she pulled the hood of her cloak on top of her head and wiped the remaining blood off her already stained shirt.

She started to walk once more, and they followed.

“Your first kill?” Roukan asked.

The word felt like a stab to her chest. ‘Yes,’ she thought. ‘I did kill her.’

She simply nodded in response.

“Don’t look so down,” his sincerity in his voice surprised her, but his cold gaze made her shiver. “It won’t be your last.”

His words rang in her head. Will she have to take a person’s life to save the world? He said it as if it was a simple matter she must accept. How can you kill and not carry the memory of the light fleeting from someone’s eyes?

She pulled her cloak tighter around her. The forest suddenly felt so cold.

Not long after, they reached the abandoned village. The houses were made of straws and wood, and most of them were burned. In the middle stood a house that was made of stone. There were scorch marks on the walls, and the roof was burned. The glass-stained windows were broken and inside the house, there was a beautiful statue carved in wood. It was a house of worship. A small temple where the people of this village prayed to the Mountain God.

“We’re in the Yamatan region,” Rahil whispered to her as he scanned the small house of worship.

She couldn’t transport them to Caeldig, but at least they were in the right region. Now they just need to know exactly where they were to know where they need to go. But she knew that information was kept from them on purpose. If only she could get one of them to talk.

Inside the temple, there is a wood carving on each pillar. The first one on her left shows stars and three people, one man and two women. The next pillar showed the three people standing on land, the sea, and the sky. The next one shows hand, a seed, and a tree.

“It’s the story of creation,” Rahil said. “Those are the three primordial. Apolaki, the god of light, Nerezza, the goddess of darkness, and Death, the goddess of time.”

Rahil pointed at each of the wooden carvings as he explained. “They came from the stars, created Eardyn, and planted the Hearts of the Forest.”

The next carving shows men kneeling in front of the gods. “Then they molded men from the earth, gave them life from light, mortality from time, and wisdom from darkness.”

“Nerezza gave wisdom to men?” Lupe said in disbelief.

“Bet she regretted that,” Friedolf made every one laugh, except for Elswyth and Roukan who was still taken in by the woodwork in the temple.

She stared at the carving of the three gods that oddly felt familiar. Then the smell of rain triggered a forgotten memory. The smell of grass after a long day of rain. The sky was indigo with streaks of pink from the setting sun.

“You are born for single purpose,” a deep voice said.

She was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of a loud thud hitting the wooden floor.

“We could stay here for the night,” Roukan said.

She looked back at the carving, hoping it would trigger more memories, but image of the three gods stayed silent, leaving her at a loss once more.