"Hope we get a good harvest this year." Said the farmer as he created a bubble of water to rain down on the plants.
"The Vanguards prayed hard for us." Chuckled the big man, carrying tons of wheat in his arms.
It's a sunny day, the perfect weather to harvest crops. For the last 7 years, the townsfolk always talked about how the nymph of fertility gifted and favored their land for the last years. While the other towns suffered with the harsh storm of winter, Cantinel flourished, even within the long nights.
Some say that it's because they have been kind, others argue that they have suffered enough so the gods pitied them, while some… a weird saying, but believe that it is because of a girl. A little girl born during the longest winter in modern history. They say that the moment she cried, the wolves howled, the birds sang, and the sun shined so brightly it melted the snow.
"Father, I told you no more reading!" The little girl jumped off her seat with a pout. Walking angrily away from her blind father.
"Azriel," He called softly, "You told me that you wanted to be a princess. Princesses read my love, their knowledge is what makes them a princess."
"Are there no princesses with swords?" She turned around, her purple eyes full of curiosity. "A princess can't protect herself if she just reads all day, that's stupid. I wanna be like the first queen, she has magic and a long magic wand."
"You mean a scepter." He said.
"I don't know what that is."
"It's her long weapon. But the first queen didn't use a weapon, all she had was a book. If you try to read, you'll know magical weapons that can help you become the woman that you are." Her father smiled, picking her up and making her sit on the nightmare chair again.
Azriel always wondered, how can her father see her when he's blind. Despite his inability to see, she would always lose a battle of hide and seek. She always wondered what kind of secrets her father was hiding.
Outside the abode is her mother, hanging their laundry clothes on a wooden rack just beside the dog's den when suddenly a man shouted.
"A boar! A wild boar!!" The man continued to shout until he left the woods, boars chasing him from behind. Yuna, Azriels' mother quickly picked up a stick near the den and ran between the man and the boar.
She has no magic, but in in a quick moment she positioned herself and breathed, mumbling words that only she can hear. She placed the stick near her chest, and swung it instant to the sounder of big wild boars.
Wild boars with flame on their sharp tusk that can burn crops, houses, and even humans when in contact. Usually it takes 6-8 Average Tier II mages just to defeat a wild boar. The sizes of these boars vary depending on its inhabitant. For an outskirt town like Cantinel with few people and more forest, their boars are twice the size of a man.
Yet, with one swing of her stick, Yuna was able to knock them out. Scaring them off for the rest of the week.
Azriels' feet swung impatiently. A huge distance between her and the floor as she reads the book of the moonlight goddess. Her favorite book, and yet she wanted to jump out of the chair once again and look outside to the work that her mother has accomplished.
She could hear the townsfolk cheering and praising her mother. The more she hears it, the more impatient she gets.
***
"Mother, do monsters really appear after the moon passes its peak?" Azriel asked in a soft voice, glancing out the window as her mother brushes her hair.
"Yes." Yuna replied with a chuckle, kids really are easy to fool. "That is why you must sleep before the moon reaches its peak."
She picked up Azriel and placed her lightly in the bed, tucking her in before she headed out the door.
"Sleep now, you wouldn't wanna miss out on the dreamland. Goodnight." Said Yuna before she opened the door, giving Azriel a flying kiss right before she closed the door.
Azriel never had trouble sleeping, her mother always makes sure to tire her out by letting her play outside with friends so that she can sleep early. But tonight was an exception.
She couldn't sleep properly, even after her mother brushed her hair, tucked her in, and gave her a kiss. She felt an attraction to something far from her, just right outside the window, a feeling that a child couldn't explain.
It was pulling her, as if telling her to go look right outside the window.
She sighed, holding her pony to calm her down as she closed her eyes, trying her best to sleep.
***
"Are you sure that this is the right town?" The man asked his comrade.
"Boss said that it is. Ready the wagons with the others, we'll have tons of wheat." Replied the other.
Another group of men, their numbers more than a dozen, followed from behind, wearing black masks covering their faces except their eyes.
The others ran to the destination of the harvested crops, using their magic to trespass and not alarm the town dogs.
"They have no trained mage in this town, do they?" Asked by the young man walking beside the wagon.
"No," The other man replied with a slight chuckle, "It's a wonder all of them are still aliv–"
Blood gushed out from his mouth, his head almost falling off from the impact.
Everyone froze, no one dared to move an inch as the injured man fell to the ground, choking from his own blood.
The wind brushed through them sharply, the leaves cutting through their skin as it moved. Even the weakest tier mage would be able to locate the source of what attacked them, but unfortunately, there is simply none.
"Brave of you to steal at this hour." A figure suddenly spoke, a gentle tone that was followed by the harsh wind.
"W-w-who are you?!" One of the men stuttered as try to locate the figure.
"Look up." Said the figure. A tall silhouette stood on top of a tree, perfectly encased by the moonlight. "How many of you are here?"
"There's only 24 of us! Minus this guy!" The guy pointed at the man on the ground. "Please don't hurt us! We have families."
"So do the people here. You're only sorry because you got caught, but if not, you would be lavishing on the crops that the townsfolk worked on for months." The figure spoke in a more gentler manner, a contrast to it's looming shadow. "People like you aren't sorry, you're just afraid of what's about to hit you back."
There are many things in this world that are masked as mistakes, when in reality they are just stupid decisions. And there must always be people to correct those decisions, to make them realize that their actions would always have consequences.
The figure unsheathed their sword, a katana with the 12 constellations engraved on the middle of it. Each star shone brightly as it hit the moonlight.
"Attack!" A man shouted, opening his Aether, the rest followed and casting their spells towards the looming figure.
"Wind breathing, 12th form, twilight breeze." All of a sudden there were numerous clones of the figure, circling around the group of men. The light of each clone disappears after the other.
Started falling one by one, either choking on their own blood or stopped breathing. The last one shivered in fear, panicking as he tried to find a spell on his Aether.
"Leave," Said the figure as it stood right in front of the man, "And tell the person who ordered you, to never come back to this town… or I'll be heard by every single one of you." It said, placing its blade on the man's neck, enough to make a small cut.
The man didn't waste a second and immediately ran off, stumbling and tripping as he tried his best to leave.
"You were too harsh on them." Said Hiro, Azriel's father, walking with his Aether by his side. "I'll clean them up, you should rest."
"They better not come back here." Yuna replied, removing her hat and silk mask, then wiping her sword clean right after.
Hiro opened his Aether and cast a spell, "Oceans Prison, The Sea's Grace." He acted calmly, creating a bubble shaped water prison for the bandits that attacked, and manipulating the water to clean all bloods scattered around the area. "This is messy work, but let's collect our reward tomorrow."
He offered his hand to his wife, holding her as they walked back inside the house as if nothing had happened.
"I haven't fought any real enemies for a while now, my skills are getting rusty." Yuna chuckled as they walked.
Meanwhile, Azriel hasn't slept yet. She kept looking at the light mirror she had sent outside to spy on whatever was happening, though she had to hide it on her mother.
The Divine Eye, the magic she used were two balls of light, one to capture whatever is happening, while the other shows the caster the scene in real time. Though it can be destroyed once caught.
It is a spell that she mastered for months, something her small hands can control. Unlike the other kids who can use their magic more efficiently, Azriel can only make small rays of light using her hands, and barely master any spell due to her lack of magic power.
But she already had a plan in mind, if she can't be a spell caster like her father then she will be like her mother, someone who uses their strength as their power.
"I'll beat some bad guys like mom." She giggled, running back to her bed to sleep with her dog. Her mind finally being at ease with the sight of her mother protecting them and the townsfolk.
***
World Note: Aether's are magical books containing spells and understanding of one's own magic. It cannot be opened or stolen, the only way for someone to steal or open another Aether is if they kill the owner, or if the owner gave it themselves.
Aethers are classified into tiers, from Tier 1-12. 1 being the weakest and 12 being the rarest and strongest. Every Aether is unique, some are thick, some have one page, others are small or sometimes too big, there's really no way of saying what kind of Aether one will get.
***