Prologue: Cry of the Wynex

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piercing cry tore through the seams of the night, and stirred the creatures of the woods and the forms of the Elyonites. This was not a cry of pain or despair, but of fledgling wynexes in their glorious flight. It is not common to hear this extravagant sound of these graceful creatures, so many attempt to capture the divine beasts.

As the wynexes flew by, the trees bowed down and the stars began to weep. The eyes of new Elyonites gazed in awe at the wondrous creatures, while pearly tears gathered in the eyes of the elders. Wolves of the night, the relentless hunters, halted and began to howl in great reverence.

The wynexes were monstrous eagle like creatures with vast wingspans. Their glossy feathers shone and glistened as a pale sapphire shade on their beautiful wings and muscular back. Below its belly was a pair of razor sharp talons which could slice through its prey’s skin as if it was paper. However, though they looked fearsome, something in their eye said they were soaring for the first time.

This appearance of the wynexes was not a common spectacle; it was a sign of the Grand Prophecy’s fulfillment. The birth of four Elyonites, four heirs and heiresses, will be born with untamable powers. They will be the almost omnipotent saviors of the shrouded land of light, shadow, and of sorcery; the land of Uquaya.

Leaders of the Village Gyredym were stirred by the appearance of the wynexes; they must summon the unborn saviors. These leaders chanted together the summoning spell which its significant effect will not take place for several weeks. The time will soon come for the land to be saved.

Lyania was laying besides her three other companions on several blankets. All of them were shaking; all of them were ill. A plague had gripped their village several months ago. They knew it was fatal and the plan of life would take them now.

This disease begins as a sudden and sever case of flu which would get worse with each passing day. They would be so nauseated and their nose so congested that they would not be able to sleep and recover.

It happened to mortals and wizards. Such a dreadful end had struck almost every mortal city.

However, there was a spell that could only be used by a magician; the Spell of Elyonye. This would transform them into an Elyonite after death. Though, most people would prefer to die only once. These people wanted a second chance at living so they created the spell.

“Ilysotu ibyccye, Idlibar inusas, cunvugu le, utyes apricus,” the four companions said weakly, hoping that it would work. They took their last breath and passed into nothing.

Lyania was plunged into darkness with her friends at her side. She was tumbled and buffeted by the darkness until she came to a slow drift. At this time, she noticed she felt different, much better than before her sickness. She could even breath a full breath without her nose being congested. Her friends Liam, Xave, and Celestia were at her side. They seemed as content with their current state as she was.

Death felt warmer that she’d expected. It was welcoming warmth that willed her to give herself in and disappear from life and emotion, to pass into the veil of the void. She could fight, but she knew she couldn’t last long until she gave herself in.

As soon as she almost let herself go, a blinding red light flashed upon them. Their comfortable drift became quicker and swifter.

A swirling feeling arouse in Lyania’s stomach, which was all too familiar. They were falling fast. Soon it appeared that they were dissolving, but before they could fade, they impacted into solid ground, the ground of Uquaya. However the impact itself had knocked her unconscious. She had slipped away again.

Chapter 1: Prophecy’s Call

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awn light poured through the trees and touched the forest floor. There lay the four new Elyonites.

Celestia woke up first and arose. She felt lightheaded and woozy from falling unconscious. For a moment, she was tempted to go drift into sleep again, but she chose to become aquatinted with the surrounding vicinity.

A distinct sound could be heard, one of fresh running water. Suddenly, Celestia’s mouth felt rather dry, so instinctively she walked toward the sound. Her gaze caught sight of the source of water, which was a lake.

The source or water was like an oasis in a desert. Though it was in a forest, this lake had an enchanting beauty. A smooth, glassy, surface of the lake reflected the surrounding trees and the beauty the landscape.

Celestia walked to the edge of the lake and looked at her reflection. What she saw startled her. No longer was she plain Celestia, but an image of beauty. Her brown hair was now streaked with gold, and her formerly gray eyes were now a multicolor rainbow with hues of emerald, sapphire, maroon, and scarlet. Her scars of mortality and humanity had faded out completely, and her torn cloths had been replaced with luscious silken garbs.

She was temporarily distracted by something that had nudged her side. When she reached down and touched a rough texture of scales, she jumped up and looked at what she had touched. It was a dragon.

Though it was a dragon, it wasn’t a very large nor fearsome. Its scales varied in hues between light purple to a deep blue, and its spine was lined with little spikes. The creature flapped its leathery wings in a way of greeting Celestia. It eyed Celestia curiously with its big, blue eyes. The thing appeared to be examining Celestia with much curiosity.

Celestia decided that the thing would be harmless, so she bent down and patted it gently on the head. She wanted to hold the thing in her arms, but she knew she should take precautions. As if it had read her mind, the dragon walked into Celestia’s arms.

The dragon felt warm in her arms as she carried it. Thinking that it might be time that she should go back to her friends, she walked back to where her friends lay.

“Quite frankly”, she thought, “this dragon might be a good companion at times of trouble.”

“That I would be, and by the way, please call me Iris”, said a booming voice inside Celestia’s head.

“You can hear my thoughts?!”

“No, not really. When I want to talk, you hear me.”

“Where are you from? If I recall, your type is from the Jahammera Mountains.”

“Correct. I am Iris of the Jahammera Mountains, born into the Sunstar Clan, generation three thousands, six hundred, thirty-seven, royal bloodline of Myrisia and Ophelus.”

“Royal blood?”

“I came here in search of the Prophecy’s Heirs and Heiresses, and I come to believe that you are one of them.”

“You must be mistaken.”

“I do not make errors. Have you heard the Prophecy?”

“Yes, but not all of it.”

“I shall tell you later. Take me to the other three while I take a short nap.”

“Whatever.”

Celestia continued to walk to her friends or these “Heirs and Heiresses.” She was sure she was not the Heiress, nor was any of her friends.

The dragon snorted a puff of smoke and fell asleep. Eventually, when Celestia finally arrived to her friends, they had already risen. Like Celestia, they had undergone a similar transformation of appearance.

No more was Lyania a scraggly teen, but she was a young maiden and a daughter of new life. She wore dark locks of hair which streamed in the breeze and her piercing eyes were fathomlessly black and showed no reflection. Lyania was a slender, fragile child. Despite this fact, she was able to perform various magic with water, making it leap or swirl in the air or solidify into ice in a sculpture.

However, Liam was quiet. He had a rich, delicious voice that could persuade mankind. In his both his human and Elyonite form, he had wispy, long, white hair and the iris of his eye was colorless. Liam was not elderly, but was charmed with a spell that he had invented and tried on himself unsure of what its effects were. The spell had changed him thoroughly in all ways. He became a quiet boy, rarely talking, and had the ability to 1extract knowledge and gain dominance from surrounding beings. Still alas, he was kind. He normally never used his abilities to harm, only to guide.

Normally surrounded by the Sydenthe, or the shadow wolves, Xave was the prince of Uquaya, he was royal blood and the noble son of King Raphael III. His appearance was still comely and alluring as it had been in the past. He still had well kept shoulder-length golden blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes.

“Vilyu yrra! I am Iris of the Jahammera Mountains, born into the Sunstar Clan, generation three thousands, six hundred, thirty-seven, royal bloodline of Myrisia and 2Ophelus”, boomed Iris’s voice inside the Elyonites heads.

“Yes, she can hear your thoughts, that is, when she wants to,” said Celestia.

“That is right”, said Iris grinning and flapping her wings, “Well, from what I can see from your friend here, you are the Heirs and Heiresses.”

“I tell you, that’s what she thinks. I don’t think so. We aren’t”

Iris snorted.

“Well, ok. Whatever you say… your majesty.”

“Don’t call me that! Ok, as I was saying”, Iris jumped down from Celestia’s arms and started pacing, “You can shapeshift. And according to the Prophecy… never mind. Try to shapeshift.”

“What?!” cried Xave.

“You’re fine. Trust me. Just will it. Picture what you want to shapeshift into and will it!”

Lyania tried first. She closed her eyes and imagined 3soaring high into the clouds upon wings of an eagle. An uncomfortable sensation gripped her. It was like being pressed on all sides by wet sand. The feeling squeezed the breath out of her lungs but, there was no sign when the pressure would lessen. When her lungs were screaming for air, she felt her body liquefy shape into something else and solidify. The pressure was immediately lessened. She opened her eyes gasped for breath.

She held the shape of silver eagle. Her feathers shined metallically, and her eyes could see sharper and clearer. The transformation was complete.

“Well”, she thought, Iris, please tell the others what they are in for.

Sure thing, Iris said sounding content.

The others tried out the new ability.

Lyania watched in horror what shapeshifting was. Xave’s body was liquefied into a writhing mass of silver and gold and reshaped into the likeness of a lion. Unlike the real creature, Xave appeared to be an illusionary imitation of a lion, it looked rather odd. His mane fur was bright gold, but his eyes showed human experience, emotion and intelligence.

However, Liam took on the identity of a small jade green viper. His tongue was a metallic gold color, which was the flaw of his shapeshift. Liam had always had a fondness of serpents. He’d reach into their minds and see through their eyes.

Celestia’s self remained the same except that she wore a pair of wings of pure light extruding from her back in an elegant position. Her eyes and hair remained the same color as it had been before, a hypnotic whirl of colors.

The Elyonites relinquished their animal form to that of a human. Their human appearance was yet again, flawless.

“The Prophecy,” said Iris pulling out a scroll from seemingly nowhere, is written here. I managed to recover it.”

Celestia took the scroll and read it silently and passed it around. Upon it, written in beautiful penmanship, was the Prophecy.

To my dear posterity and kingdom

A time shall come in which seems like the flourishing age of Uquaya will be its mournful death. Indeed what should seem is not, typical of fate. Shall four should notice death’s coming, should be the land’s Saviors, would also be a victim of death’s grip. The Saviors would be an Elyonite with its memory in tact, still, would not know of their role in fate. Thus if they should realize their role and believe in it, the land should be saved. In their Elyonite form, their first shapeshift would be of a snake, an angel, a lion and an eagle. These forms will be their preferred forms, and would mostly travel in that form as shapeshifting for them is exhausting and energy consuming. The Saviors should be brought to and judged by the wynexes of the Pyimaria Wood. Live long the Land!

“I still don’t believe it,”said Celestia indifferently, “Why us? We didn’t notice death’s coming. We did die, so what? Everyone who’s an Elyonite died.”

Xave nodded in agreement.

“Well, you are. First transformation, I have proof!”

Celestia paused and thought about it. She matched everything in the Prophecy. Moaning, she swallowed the fact and moved on.

“Well, I’ll see the wynexes. How are we going to get to them?” asked Celestia, glumly.

“Liam will contact them and guide them here,” said Iris.

“What?!” exclaimed Liam. He didn’t want to contact some being with such an unknown background. He could be overwhelmed by them.

“You’re good. Trust me.”

“I refuse! I know the risks and what could happen!” retorted Liam angrily. He couldn’t be forced to that. It risked losing his mind.

“They won’t attack you.”

“And you know that how?”

“I am dragon. I’ve been around for millennia. I’ve seen the wynexes once before. I called out to them.”

Liam paused for a second.

“I risk my mind.”

“For your home.”

“Doubt it,” Liam said,” Maybe I ought to show you.”

“Don’t touch me!”

“Then don’t ask me to do you bidding!”

“Fine then. I’m open!”

Liam closed his eyes and reached out with tendril of thought to touch the mind of the dragon, and was almost blasted away from a sudden rush of thoughts, memories, and emotions. He retracted the tendril for a moment to collect himself and attempted again. He rummaged through the dragon’s memories and extracted some of them. Then, he got down to business. He pictured in his head a boy writhing around on the floor clutching his head in agony. He screamed a retched sound. The boy suddenly straightened out, stood up, and began walking around in jerky motions. Soon later he collapsed on the floor and died. Crows came and pecked at the corpse of the boy…

Liam retracted the tendrils of thought and opened his eyes. The dragon was on the floor staring at him blankly.

“Mind pain. Just as I thought, it’s weak,” mumbled Liam. He experienced mind pains when he first discovered the effects of his spell after his formerly brown hair turned snowy white. It was caused by a surge of overwhelming power rushing through your head with no pace of stopping. The pain itself gave you headaches for days after you recovered from the initial shock of getting it.

“What did you do to it?” cried Celestia.

“It told me to show him something,” replied Liam indifferently.

The dragon stirred and collapsed onto the ground it was standing upon. It seemed to be in pain.

“It’s just a mind pain. It’ll recover. I know that much. I’ve had one of those severities,” said Liam.

“Maybe it wasn’t strong enough for it!” replied Celestia.

“It’s been alive for millennia.”

Both Celestia and Liam shut up for a while. Growing tired of silence, Liam arose and started a fire for it was getting late.

Lyania approached Liam cautiously, not wanting to agitate him. She felt something touch her mind. It was just there, like a memory, but it was unshakable.

“Liam?” she thought.

“I sensed you coming.”

“Could we talk normally? I’m mean, only if it’s ok with you.”

“I don’t want to be heard. Lie down here next to me.”

Lyania walked over and sat next to Liam. The ground was cold and wet on her face.

“I need to ask you something,” said Liam.

“Sure thing. Anything.”

“Iris wants me to contact the wynexes. I’m afraid what would happen if I did. These creatures are legendary, which could mean being overwhelmed by them. Did you see Iris just now?”

“Yeah, Iris is lying on the floor. What happened to her?”

“I showed her something, mentally, you know. Apparently it had overpowered her for a while. I mean, she’ll recover overnight, but think, what if that happened to me but I had completely lost my mind and I will be forever gone and reduced to nothing?”

Lyania remained silent.

“I know how could prevent it, but it might put you in risk, if you help. I need you to…I need you to help me contact the wynexes. It’s not easy; it will put us out of commission for days even. The task I was going to ask you might even kill you in the process. I haven’t tried it before.”

“What is the task?”

“It’s a transfer of energy through a link. I forge a temporary link to help me prevent getting permanently ruined. It’s risky I know. I can understand if you don’t want to help.”

“So you use what I have and hope you don’t kill me?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to kill you. You can’t be Elyonite again. You will be dead and it would be my fault. I won’t be able to live with the guilt, and I can’t banish it with my mind.”

Liam shifted his position. His white hair glistened in the darkening sky. It was almost night. He positioned himself into something more comfortable and continued.

“Tonight is a full moon. The link would be stronger if forged by a full moon. I don’t know if I can banish the link. It’s also will transfer all thoughts and memories and I would have access to those things. I respect your privacy and all, but I can’t shield myself from that. You will see what I think and know what I know. You would have lived my life and shared my experience.”

Lyania paused for a moment.

“I will help you.”

“Are you sure? You know the risks.”

“Yes. I am sure.”

“When midnight comes around, I will forge the link. You may or may not get knocked out because of the strength of the magic. In any matter, I will wait until you arise before contacting the wynexes. Meanwhile get some rest. I will awake you.”

Lyania drifted off into sleep. She dreamed she had been alive again, before the plague and was talking again to Liam. They were on a grassy hill looking out at the village. It was midday and they had finished their chores. Liam had told her that if anything would happen to her, he would be there bailing her out.

This was not a dream, but a recollection of a memory. She was only thirteen at the time.

“Lyania! Wake up!!” boomed Liam’s voice in her head. Lyania woke up alert.

“Is it time?”

“Yes. Are you ready?”

“That I am...”

The moon was high over head and the air was crisp and clean, Lyania could hear Liam mumbling something. Suddenly, what felt like an icy bullet, lodged inside her brain. She whimpered in pain. Liquid ice traveled through her body. She collapsed onto the floor and lay there twitching violently. There was nothing more she could feel except a stabbing cold eating her insides. Lyania couldn’t handle it; she screamed.

“L— Li—am!” she shrieked desperately, “H—elp!”

She was suddenly flooded with Liam’s memories. She saw his face contorted in fear as his brown hair turned white, and his blue eyes turn icy cold. Glimpses of him controlling snakes around appeared and vanished. She saw his parents, his life, his memories, his thoughts, and his emotions. There was one thing she didn’t expect. She couldn’t hold it though, the thought slipped away before she could comprehend why it was unexpected. The ruckus in her mind ceased as well as the pain leaving Lyania weak.

“Lyania, are you in tact?” said Liam’s voice

“Yes,” she replied weakly.

“Good. I got the link established. It’s good and strong. Sorry I couldn’t help you about the pain. That, I couldn’t cease, but I got rid of the worst of it. I did what I could.”

“Thank you. So you know everything about me now.”

“Yes. You know me now, I could say.”

Lyania realized that she could remember her past and Liam’s. She could distinguish between her and his though. Liam continued talking to her.

“Well, now at least you know why my hair is white,” said Liam optimistically, “We still have the same personalities, I know that much.”

“You were horrified.”

“Well, you would be to if you found your hair turning white in a period of thirty seconds. I miraculously still remember my original hair color. Are you ready to contact the wynexes?”

“I would like to wait awhile before. I am a bit weak from that stunt of yours.”

“Sorry.”

For about an hour, Lyania examined the Liam’s past. She couldn’t find the thing that she had found exceptionally interesting so she decided to ask Liam.

“I had encountered something interesting while your thoughts flashed by when you forged the link. Can you help me with it?”

“Hmm, can’t say I know anything about it. Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Brace yourself.”

Liam closed his eyes and searched for the minds of the wynexes. Until what seemed like hours, he found something. It was a wynex. Liam spoke to it.

“It is thy humble servant of the dragon Iris of the Jahammera Mountains, born into the Sunstar Clan, generation three thousands, six hundred, thirty-seven, royal bloodline of Myrisia and Ophelus. I am sorry to intrude upon your mind.”

“Well, then, it is I, Rilla, and I excuse you for the intrusion,” replied the wynex, her voice was pure; Liam had to withdraw some of Lyania’s reserves of energy.

“I talk on the behalf of Iris. She had asked you to fly to our current location for us to be judged.”

“So, looking into your head, you are currently in Pyimaria Wood. Me, alone, will judge the four of you.”

Liam was shocked the wynex had looked into his mind and rummaged through his thoughts without him even sensing it.

“By the way, you need to protect your mind more. You are so easy,” said Rilla, “Unless all you beings are that way. Ok, I don’t know if your request is actually genuine, so can I test your mind out?”

“Test met?”

“Yeah, it’s a simple test. You stay there, and I try to overwhelm your simple mind. Nothing really.”

Liam braced himself as a force gripped him. He was slammed himself to the floor his body writhing wildly. He’d lost control to a more superior being, which he knew was almost every time fatal. His body was gone, how long till his mind was. The force was approaching his mind fast. Liam remember his link with Lyania, he could draw from her. He mustered the energy to draw the power and revitalize his body for a while. He fought back savagely for his life, and Lyania’s. The Rilla was winning. He could feel it. Liam could not fight back; he was gone. Attempting to banish the creature, Liam grasped at his head, knowing it would not work. Liam gasped one last breath, before fading into death.

Death did not come. He lay on a pile of dirt on the floor next to Lyania who was sitting next to him. He tried to speak, but only a gurgle came out, so he reached out with his mind, and found that he couldn’t.

He realized he lost his powers. Liam felt empty, like a part of him was missing. The wynex had taken his mind, and his only talent. Liam tried to find consolation by trying to remember Lyania’s past, but he couldn’t. His ability was gone, with that was part of his mind. He couldn’t cope with the fact. A scream of horror escaped him.

“Liam, you are ok,” consoled Lyania, “You are fine.”

Hearing the voice from her mouth comforted him a little. He relaxed.

“Would you like to know what had happened? You’ve been asleep for six days.”

Liam nodded slowly. His head hurt an awful lot.

“Well, after you got attacked by the wynex, you went unconscious. Iris looked at you and said that you might live, but with unknown side effects. When you were still asleep on the third day, we decided to look at you again. So Iris said that you might suffer a loss of something. She wasn’t sure what, or if it might come back so we waited, but you still were asleep.”

It took Liam a minute to comprehend what was being said to him. He recalled the spell he had invented was incredibly long and energy consuming. It would definitely kill him if he tried again.

“So on the fourth day, we checked on you again, your hair was dark brown. I told Iris about the spell, and she told me that he might suffer some hysteria if it remained that color. When we checked on you the next day, your hair was back to its normal white color, so Iris told me that he would be fine. I agreed with her. Today, I checked on you, and you were just waking up, but I noticed you didn’t talk to me telepathically like you normally do. So I might talk to Iris about it.”

“W— Water,” wheezed Liam.

Lyania left and came back with a canteen and pushed it up to Liam’s lips. Liam drank deeply. The water was refreshing and cool, light and pure.

“I can’t,” he finally said after drinking the water, “I lost my power. I think. Did the wynex come? Rilla.”

“Yes, right after you fainted. He muttered something about you being a weakling and left.”

“Did anything other that happen?”

“Well, one more thing. A weird looking person with hot pink skin and bloodshot eyes asked for you. We said we wouldn’t give you up, and then some guy with a huge sword comes out of nowhere and slays her and blood spurts all over the place. Which was disgusting since the blood was pink, like her skin. I think she was of the species coytre.”

Liam remained silent. He tried to reach out with his mind, but kept failing. What was he doing wrong? Just then, Celestia and Iris walked in.

“I am here to check on you, like I have been doing in the past few days for about a week.”

Iris waited for a telepathic answer, but none came.

“Did you loose your powers or something?”

Liam nodded slowly. Losing something like that made him feel like an empty shell, used and discarded.

“Well, that’s ok. I got you covered. All you need to do is stay still and keep your mind open.”

Liam did as instructed. Soon later, a bizarre force had begun tearing itself at his head.

“Do you feel that?”

Liam nodded.

“Ok good. Try reaching out now.”

Following the instructions, Liam was able to reach out, but only briefly. A wave of comforting relief washed over Liam. His life would be normal again.

“Thank you, Iris,” said Liam.

Liam was weary for the rest of the day, but nonetheless grateful that he survived an attack to the mind. He strengthened his mind to its former glory and was able to talk to people by the end of the day telepathically. There was a nagging feeling that he would have to contact Rilla again.

Chapter Two: Discovery

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ave arose early next morning and started a fire to warm him. He remembered that in his human life, he was royal blood, and the only way he got the sickness was because he had left on a trip with his friends. Recalling his past, he thought his father might be worried sick about him. He must get a message to his father.

Concentrating hard, he summoned his Sydenthe messenger, Heryalus. There was an explosion of dark fire and there, appeared, a slick, black wolf.

“Greetings Heryalus. I again, need your assistance in sending a message to my father,” Xave said.

“Sure thing, Master Lord Xave,” Heryalus said. His voice was showed signs of strength.

“Tell him this: My dear father, King Raphael, I give you my sincere word that I am doing fine. I have been claimed by a sickness, and chosen the Elyonite path. But please, do send my dearest friend, Soceress Laylea to assist me. Love you, Prince Xave.”

“Is that all, Milord?”

“Yes, you may depart. I wish you well. Please tell him to reply soon!”

“Thank you, Master Lord.”

Another burst of dark fire, and the wolf was gone. Xave sighed in relief, knowing that his father would soon know he was in tact.

Another thought entered his mind. Was Liam’s mind in the right place? He had been acting a bit odd; he couldn’t walk straight and he talked with a weird accent he had never used, and whatever he said did not make any sense. Liam had mentioned that there would be men with cold thunder in their hands who would strike the innocent with it, and blood would be shed. Xave’s thoughts drifted off.

“Celestia…” he whispered, “what lovely eyes she has…”

“Thank you, Xave,” said a voice.

Xave whirled around and saw Celestia. Her hair was, as usual, streaming. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Xave’s face was bright red; he remained silent out of embarrassment.

“Well, it’s nothing to hide.”

Xave changed the subject.

“Did you see Liam last night?”

“Yes, he was acting… odd. He’s usually the one with more sense. Bit strange for him isn’t it?”

At that moment Liam walked out of his tent, squinting to let his eyes adjust to the light.

“I can’t remember anything from last night!” he announced, “Just a blur of thought. No substance at all, I can’t remember it… it’s just not there!”

“Well, that would do it,” thought Xave.

“Watch your thoughts!” cried Liam offended, “It’s not my fault I can’t remember. I recall going to bed, then waking up again and it’s gone, just nothing.”

“Do you want to know what you were doing?” asked Celestia.

“Yes!”

“This is what happened. You stumbled over here and uttered in an unusual accent that people with cold ‘thunder’ in their hands would attack the innocent,” said Xave, “It was weird. Maybe the wynex did something to you.”

“I checked for anything gone. No changes in there, none that I can remember.”

“You can’t even remember what happened last night!”

“I can attack you but I won’t.”

After Liam had said that, everyone fell silent. They could hear for miles in the silence. Trees were singing its’ mellow song and the lark chirped its life. After about an hour, Liam went to check on Lyania, who was still asleep. She normally arose early before him.

Lyania was deeply asleep, but they must get back on track to contact the wynexes. Liam shook her, attempting to wake her up. Sensing something was wrong, he reached out with his mind, and saw that Lyania was just tired and needed rest. He walked away and hoped Lyania would be ok.

Iris walked up next to Liam and said into his mind, “You need to contact the wynex again. Now.”

“You did see what happened, right?”

“Yes, and it won’t happen again. I promise.”

“Whatever.”

Liam concentrated hard, searching once again for a wynex. One snagged at his mind, urging him to talk to it.

“I am Jylesa,” the wynex said. It was a feminine voice, “Sorry about what my brother did to you. Rilla is the competitive type. I was afraid you weren’t strong enough for the attack, so I told him to stop.”

“Superior Jylesa, you do know who I am, right?”

“Yes, Rilla told me all about you, and how you writhed around in pain. I will fly over to where you are now. Is that fine with you?”

“Yes, Superior Jylesa.”

“Please, just call me Jylesa.”

Liam looked down at Iris who was looking at him. They stared at each other for a moment.

“And… how did it go?”

“Good. Better than expected. Is Lyania awake?”

“You fancy her.”

“I do most certainly not!” lied Liam cleverly. He had special feelings about her.

“Oh yes you do! And yes, she is fine. She is awake waiting for you with the others.”

“What time is it?”

“Six in the evening”

“Ok cool thanks. It’s a bit late.”

Liam walked over to where Lyania was sitting. She looked rather pleasant. Her dark hair framed her face perfectly. She beamed lovingly at Liam with her dark eyes. She needed to talk to Liam about something, something important; she couldn’t put it off till later. No procrastinating.

“Liam, can I talk to you in private? It’s something important,” said Lyania quietly.

“Sure thing, what is it about?” said Liam.

“Just come on!!”

“Ok.”

Liam and Lyania walked off into the trees, hand in hand. They walked off until they were out of earshot of Celestia, Xave, and Iris.

“Liam? I…” Lyania faltered, “I… sort of like you… I couldn’t keep it to myself. You were always there, and you had never done me harm.”

Liam paused for a moment. He was dumbstruck.

“I like you too,” he replied slowly, “I didn’t know you well enough I thought; I feared to admit it.”

The couple sat in silence until they felt that Celestia, Xave and Iris were asleep before they began to walk back.

Their friends were curled up on the floor sleeping; apparently they had tried to stay up watching them, but had gotten tired of waiting and fell asleep.

Lyania and Liam sat down on the cool, dirt floor.

“Look into my eyes. What do you see,” said Liam softly as to not wake up the others.

Lyania gazed deeply into Liam’s clear eyes and fell into a spell. She felt warm and giddy as she collapsed into his eyes. She could hear a voice, a voice urging her to fall deeper into the spell. She sighed. How lovely Liam was. Her vision became hazy and she lapsed into a trance.

Liam whispered into her mind, “Sleep, my beautiful one.”

Lyania collapsed into Liam’s outstretched arms with no resistance. Liam lifted her up, powered by love; he was able to sustain her weight. Slowly he placed her upon a bed of leaves that had been raked up to clean up the area. Liam had touched her cheek gently and walked away and collapsed onto the floor out of exhaustion of the spell he had cast over Lyania.

Liam felt slightly guilty about intoxicating Lyania with that spell, but he wanted to embrace her, to love her, and to kiss her. His guilt quickly faded as he drifted into sleep.

The five arose late next morning. They were tired because they had tried to wait for Liam and Lyania, but were rejuvenated from the night’s sleep.

“So… Liam, what did you do last night,” said Iris mischievously as she stretched out her front paws, “Sleep, my beautiful one? Eh?”

Liam turned a bit pale, “How did you know?.”

“Ha! Caught you! Slept with one eye open! But I won’t tell. Unless…”

“Oh… no... You wouldn’t dare blackmail me…”

“Yes I would. You can’t attack me, and you have to… do whatever I say and let me see your thoughts… It’s blackmail.”

“See my thoughts?!”

“Yes, or I’m telling. What spell did you use by the way?”

“I used The Spell of Enchantment and Subconscious. It’s a hard spell to master.”

“Ok, then, I can use that on you… or I’m telling.”

“Fine… Fine…”

A shadow black as the night flew over them. The wynexes had arrived. They landed gracefully before the Heirs and Heiress. Their feathers glistening; each wore a different color.

“We are late. When you are with us, you will understand our language and we won’t have to communicate like this, I am Jylesa,” said a voice.

The one who had spoken stepped forward, causing the Elyonites to step back in fear and respect of a higher authority, had glistening blue feathers which almost appeared to be made of sapphire stone. Lyania bowed slightly just to be on the safe side.

“We will chose you, because we have better taste than you mortals. When we chose you, Iris will tell you what to do,” continued Jylesa, “Gosh, I hate this telepathy thing. It’s such a pain!”

Jylesa fluffed her feathers up abruptly and walked towards Lyania was almost pale in fear. She had not said anything or done anything since the wynexes had come. Jylesa cocked her head to the side and stood by Lyania, who felt as Jylesa was telling her to walk to her.

“Lyania, all you need to do is to say, ‘I, Heiress of Ice and Water, will connect a bond with Jylesa as a part of the inevitable plan of fate.’ And place your hand on Jylesa’s beak. Got it?”

“Yes I have it down,” said Lyania as she placed her hand on Jylesa’s beak warily, “I, Heiress of Ice and Water, will connect a bond with Jylesa, as a part of the inevitable plan of fate.”

A bizarre sensation that was not painful, but merely uncomfortable struck Lyania in back and went straight to her heart. It was a feeling that tingled and itched; it was almost like parts of her had fallen asleep. Soon later, the feeling faded, replaced by numbness. She looked at Jylesa and as soon as she took her hand off her beak, she could immediately tell the she felt similar sensations of numbness.

Jylesa was much taller than she was, maybe by three or four feet, and now, it almost seemed as she wasn’t as fearsome as she was before. Her eyes, once appearing angry, had smoothened in to something showing vast intelligence and beauty. This was the creature Lyania had intended to befriend.

“Come, now Lyania. We are together now,” said Jylesa gently her voice sounding slightly different through her mouth, “The others have been chosen. Shall we take flight?”

Glancing around, an enormous, black, wynex with flaming red eyes had chosen Xave, and Celestia had been chosen by the illuminating gold one. However, the last one, the silver one, had almost hesitated before choosing Liam. Instants later, everyone had been joined and connected.

“Sure. I suppose,” replied Lyania.

Jylesa lunged down with her beak and scooped up Lyania and dumped her upon a blanket of feathers. This was Jylesa’s back. The feathers felt soft and plushy against Lyania’s bare skin.

“Are you ready, my child?” asked Jylesa, “I will take flight.”

Before Lyania could reply, Jylesa had leaped into the air gracefully and had begun to fly. The sensation of flight had been unexpected Lyania. It was a nerve racking feeling, almost like falling into an abyss of nothing.

“Relax,” crooned Jylesa, “Stay calm.”

Involuntary, Lyania went slack completely, and she did stay calm. Lyania was surprised at her actions, but stayed calm due to some force.

“Using the Command,” thought Lyania.

Jylesa seemed not to notice Lyania’s thoughts and continued to fly. Her beating wings pounded steadily and smoothly with no strain. The sound beating wings soon synchronized with Lyania’s breathing, and at which time, she fell asleep.

Until several hours later, Lyania had slept peacefully, but she was disrupted by Jylesa’s landing. It appeared to be near evening, so time had flown by fast.

“Where are we?” asked Liam drowsily. Apparently he had fallen asleep as well.

“I don’t think we properly met. I am Rilla, the one who attacked your useless mind,” said the silver wynex indignantly, “I only chose you because you were the only one left. Got that weakling?”

“S—sure thing,” stuttered Liam, slightly frightened.

“Oh, Rilla! You scared him! I can sense the feeling, though he is not my chosen one,” said Jylesa sympathetically, “Now, child, Liam, we are near Gyredym, several leagues north of it.”

Celestia and Xave remained silent. They were tired from the flight, and had not slept while riding. Quickly they slid of their wynexes and began to start a fire.

“Xave! We have no time for that!” cried Xave’s wynex, Shyade.

The gold wynex, Kyras nodded in agreement.

Xave immediately stopped trying to light a fire and scurried back onto Shyade. He knew better than to not obey a higher being.

The wynexes took flight again. Lyania somehow automatically relaxed to the motion of flight. No longer did she get nervous. In fact, it soothed her sore muscles and caressed her troubled, churning mind. She looked around, though it was high up, she did not get dizzy nor did she feel any fear.

She soared high over the forest surrounding Gyredym. This was her homeland, her birthplace. Not once had the thought of home entered her mind since she became an Elyonite. A sob arouse in her throat but she quickly suppressed it; she didn’t want Jylesa to know she was crying.

“Jylesa?” called Lyania.

“Yes, my child?” replied Jylesa warmly.

“What happened about the connection and why am I doing this?”

“The connection has to do with the Prophecy. The one that Iris has is not the full version. My knowledge of it is limited since I was born only about a week ago.”

“A week?!”

“Yeah, well, we wynexes grow and learn fast. First flight was last weekend. As for mother, I don’t know what became of her…” Jylesa’s voice trailed off. It soon became apparent that she no longer wanted to talk, so Lyania was silent.

A probe touched Lyania’s mind; it felt like Liam. Lyania didn’t feel like talking, like Jylesa, so she remained silent.

“I don’t suppose you want to talk now,” said Liam and went away.

Lyania’s mind was swirling with thoughts, questions, memories, and emotions. She was confused on why she was chosen; she didn’t want fame or to be a legend. What were the effects of being connected to a wynex? Would she be different? Her mind was restless.

Sensing this, Jylesa, as usual, tried to coax her by using the Command.

“Rest, child, cease your restless mind,” said Jylesa softly.

Lyania’s mind went numb, which was a bizarre feeling. It was like the loss of feeling spreading throughout her body and engulfing her mind, ceasing all motion and thought and calming the churning of her mind. She sat there thoughtless, almost mindless. Lyania didn’t black out or lose consciousness, and no feeling came to her mind until Jylesa had landed and woke her up from the daze.

They were at Gyredym. Xave slid from the back of Shyade... to be greeted by many people. Crowds of people were gathered around him and his friends. All were cheering and screaming for joy. Applause and laughter filled the air. There was some festive occasion going on.

“Shyade, what is going on?” demanded Xave, “I thought we were only here to talk to the leaders!”

The crowds fell silent. Something Xave said had done something. Soon, to break the silence, one man spoke up with a gruff voice of wisdom.

“It is he who speaks the tongue of the elements! The Prophecy will be fulfilled!” the man uttered insanely.

“What language? I spoke human,” Xave replied almost questioning what he had said.

“Xave, you speak differently when conversing with me, or any of my brothers and sisters,” said Shyade, “Which is why, when you speak human, you have an accent though you have only been speaking the elements for several minutes.”

“I am no different that any of you,” said Xave to the crowd, “I merely have found my fate.” In actuality, Xave noted, his voice sounded strange, like Liam’s weird accent when he went berserk.

“Should I, if your honor allows it, meet you at the villas today?” uttered the man who had shouted insanely before.

“Yes, sir, you may. May I know who you are?” asked Liam on the behalf of Xave.

“I am called Myphys, Myphys of Gyredym.”

“Xave, we must take flight yet again,” said Shyade.

Xave climbed atop his wynex and took off. Unlike Lyania, he didn’t feel restless or wary at the sight of heights. He, in fact, enjoyed the feeling. Each flight, he felt a soaring freedom, like he could fly and his very mind would be content at his current state. He guessed that this is how Shyade felt as well about flight. He bathed in pure glory and light the higher he went. The feeling was exhilarating and invigorating.

Shyade landed abruptly and hard. Xave was knocked off and lying flat on his back, wind out of him. Soon later, he heard his companions land alongside him. He felt as the wynexes knew something they didn’t and refused to tell.

Wordlessly, everyone seemed to know what they were doing. They set up a fire and cooked something, anything they could find, to eat, for they felt ravenous hunger pangs. The group silently ate until a noise sounded near by. It wasn’t loud, nor was it quiet.

A large figure emerged from the trees shadowing the Heiresses and Heirs. It was the shape of a human, a relatively tall man, seemingly around the age of fifty. He was wearing a robe of dark violet, hemmed with blue silk.

“Hello, I am Myphys. I hollered a bit of nonsense to you earlier, but I know not what I was doing,” said the man, “I had a Ganzy Sprite stuck in my head. I mean you no harm.”

No one dared reply to the strange man. He talked like he had been good friends for years.

“I won’t do any harm. I got rid of the Sprite,” said Myphys.

“I think maybe Liam should check you out,” said Celestia finally. Talking to people who had been attacked by Ganzy Sprites usually end up injuring others, eventually, and they are always set on people for malicious reasons. This man must have some enemies!

“That might be good. I haven’t been able to think sensibly since I got attacked. Something’s messed up in my head I think,” replied Myphys.

“Great, I should start now,” said Liam, “Just stay still and relax. It’s unnerving as all could be.” Liam had done this before many times. It was nothing new to him.

“Lie down, it’s a lot easier and quicker,” said Liam slightly absently. He stared blankly at the man as he positioned himself into a comfortable position. Liam bent down and placed his had on the man’s forehead. Abnormally, it felt cold and waxy, but not regarding this as a threat, Liam continued the process.

Myphys’s eyes fogged and then closed. He lay still and his face showed a serene expression, which was disrupted briefly with a sudden violent twitch. For several minutes all was silent except for the sound of breathing.

Liam removed his hand from Myphys’s forehead and slowly said, “He’s safe. I got a through check before I got ejected. In fact there was something in there, but it’s gone. I don’t think he remembers anything of what had just happened. It’ll take a minute before he realizes where he is…”

The man stirred and opened his eyes. He groaned and rubbed his head as if someone had delivered a blow to his head. Myphys looked around and saw several strange faces, and one of them was talking about something, but he couldn’t catch what it was. He had apparently been cleaned of something, though he could not remember what had happened.

“Where am I,” the man asked one of the people, the girl with the golden hair.

“Near Gyredym, that’s where we are,” said Celestia, “You got lost around here and we found you.”

Myphys knew unexpectedly that the girl was lying. At this thought, he suddenly remembered who he was and what had happened. His memory came back to him. He had to tell them something important.

“I’ve gotad telya somein portlant,” he sputtered excitedly.

“What?” asked the girl.

“I mean, I have to tell you something important. Call me Myphys and I’ll continue.”

“Sure, I’m Celestia.”

“Ok, the leaders of Gyredym was looking for Lyania, hearing news that she is a Heiress and would like me to help her out a bit as well as the others. I have to tell you or whoever you are about the wynexes and all and how to communicate with the creatures if you know what I mean since I am the only expert on the subject as a wizard and researcher. It’s sort of strange, but I am sort of a pawn to the Leaders so bear with me.”

“We’re good, we know about what to do and what not to do,” replied Lyania smartly, “By the way, I’m Lyania so tell the Leader Rahale that.” Rahale was Lyania’s father. She knew he was concerned about the subject. He tended to be over protective of her and she found that somewhat of a nuisance.

The man sulked and stalked off. He was told to obey Lyania over the Leader’s power since she was an Heiress, who had more authority than the meager pawn messenger. He knew the Leaders wouldn’t be pleased to hear about the event, and the fact that he had his head searched.

Xave sat stoutly watching Myphys trudge off… in the wrong direction. He was heading south, yet Gyredym was westward. Curious to see if the man would realize he was going the wrong direction. The man soon disappeared into the distance after quite a while. Almost laughing he snorted about the man’s bad sense of direction.

He wondered when Sorceress Laylea would arrive. It had been several days since he had sent the message. Surely his father would’ve gotten his message by now. Perhaps Heryalus had been slightly late or his father had been busy with uproars from the flight of the wynexes.

As if on call, behold, the form Sorceress Laylea appeared, except her exterior appearance looked slightly revolting. She was wearing a strange headgear that covered the upper left portion of her face. This headgear had a blood red lens was placed on her eye and two silver tubes from the back of her head were connected to it. On the portion of her face that wasn’t covered, was the fair form of Laylea, with her sparkling turquoise eyes and reddish brown hair. She was also wearing an unusual armor of a dull type of blue metal, which had clear tubes pulsing with green liquid flowing through it to various areas of her body. The armor covered her entire torso and down, covering all but her hands and her sandaled feet. On a closer look, her hands were also covered in swirling tubes with the green liquid.

Xave stared gawkily at Laylea. The armor and headgear was alien and unfamiliar to him. Seeing this, made his heart drop. His father had sent him a beast of the unknown kind.

Laylea laughed a soft giggle, but quickly stifled it. She watched her good friend stare in surprise at her. How unmannered he looked; he normally looked decent and polite. She grinned knowingly at her childhood friend and giggled again. The suit she was wearing was stolen from a group of odd people that had appeared one day. When she stole it, she made sure she couldn’t be tracked. The only problem was, she couldn’t get the suit off. No instructions came with it unfortunately. This thing just crawled on her like it should fit and seemingly fused to her skin.

She could see clearly out of her left eye, which was covered by a strange red lens, except for the fact that some things appeared to have a yellow tint to them, some more than others. Occasionally she was able to adjust the lens to not show the tints and was able to see normally like she should. Most people ran from her because they couldn’t recognize her, but that was the only thing that made Laylea regret taking the suit in the first place. She also hadn’t slept much since she took the armor, which made her curious about it.

“Hi Xave!” she exclaimed finally, “How do you like my new look? I smuggled it from some people back at the castle.”

“What is it for?” asked Xave.

“Looks I think. I found out a few things about it. These tubes with the green liquid,” she pointed to one of the tubes, “pump stuff into my system that helps me out sometimes. Not sure what it’s for though…” Laylea showed her hand, which revealed that the tubes had penetrated her skin and was pulsing the liquid into her arm.

“No offense, but eww,” said Xave.

The oddest thing happened next. Laylea’s visible eye clouded over and she collapsed abruptly. Xave instinctively screamed for the aid of his friends and Shyade. They came quickly and began to examine her.

Liam did the most extensive search of her body, nothing broken and nothing strange, except for an unusual unidentifiable chemical. He pricked her skin and took a sample of the chemical and found that it was a drug to reduce her temporarily. So he concluded the suit was meant to be stolen, but Laylea would recover eventually when the effects of the armor wear off. Another thing he found is after the effects of the drug wear off, she would be dependant on it to live. It would do nothing more than that, so it would be harmless.

Hours later, Laylea stirred, awoke and moaned loudly. She was fine, but she felt a bit dizzy after blacking out. Carefully, she stood up and staggered over to where Xave was, bundled up sleeping by a large bird, a wynex. Xave woke up and jumped straight up. Laylea was expected to wake in a day or so, and not in a few hours. Just as normal, she was popping up unexpectedly.

At home, Laylea would always be showing up when you’d least expect it or would pull some prank on you.

It was late, Laylea noted, at least nine o’ clock at night. She looked around, three enormous birds were sleeping next to their partnering companion. Quietly she told Xave to go back to sleep. Soon later she fell asleep as well.

Chapter Three: Expedition

1 You know, this means he can rummage through your memories and influence your actions. It’s freaky man! I don’t know where that came from.

2 Is this a Greek name?

3 Now, it would be nice if humans were born with wings. We could fly then. Then again, for those who are afraid of heights… some do freak me out, like flying in a plain with a glass floor…