The next day I woke up before Lynn. I saw her smiling peacefully in her sleep and wondered if she might have a good dream. I checked the area out with my magic and my thoughts flew through the ground. And then, far away closer to the River of Fallen was a large group. I felt weak signs of magic unrevealing their place, yet a strong kind of magic also hid the place. Phoenix must have been able to leave a trail for me, and maybe for his sister as well. We had no time to lose.

Within a second I packed all my stuff and rushed towards Lynn’s side. I nearly didn’t want to wake her because she was so peaceful, but I knew I had no choice.

“Lynn! Lynn, wake up! I found them.” I touched Lynn’s shoulders and shook her a bit, trying to wake her up. But she didn’t move at all. It was like she didn’t hear me. But how? Last night she was fine, and now she seemed dead.

I was shocked. I had to choose. Leave her behind and find her body eaten alive by the animals of the forest, of letting go of my only chance to save Elda and Phoenix. There was no way out. There was no way back either.

“I’m sorry Lynn…”

She would never forgive me if I didn’t try to save her brother. And I needed her help. There was no way back, so it was time to test the limits of my magic. I concentrated and a green aura appeared around me. Then I picked up Lynn’s senses of magic and mixed them with mine. I had no clue if this would work or not, but I would take my chances.

When I thought my mind would collapse a tree grew right under Lynn. It her into the sky and made her a bed of leaves. I knew she’s be save there. Then I left her a note carved on the tree. Something she couldn’t miss out on. I was really starting to worry about her. Why didn’t she wake up, why couldn’t she hear me. It was a pain, yet I was grateful she was still breathing, because without her breath she would have been done for.

After I secured Lynn was alright I made my move. It was no use to hide now, I had to be fast. I grabbed my bow and swung it over my back as I did the same with my bag. I checked if my sword was attached in the right way and started running.

“One, two. One two. One two.” At first I said it out loud, but then it became a voice in my head keeping me fast, even when I didn’t want to anymore. There was no other way. I had to save them or at least try.

As I went down the hill and tried to reach the river I saw smoke. That must have been it. That should be the place I was looking for. The place Elda and Phoenix where. Then all of a sudden there were burn marks on the ground. They were so small but I noticed the pain of the grass. I stopped and read what they said.

‘Dear Nature Wizard. Don’t come closer. We’re surrounded by an unknown magic source. Something from the Order, I’m sure. Please look for the Water Wizard. She is in great danger. If they find her, they can control me as she drunk from a poisoned pool.’

I knew there was something wrong with Lynn. Another Wizard to avenge, another one hurt, caused by the order. I wonder if they knew about me or not. This message was meant to warn me, to let me save myself, but as I already found Lynn, nothing was stopping me from rescuing Elda and Phoenix. I owed her that. Lynn needed her brother, and I needed my mother back.

It was useless to use magic and screen the camp. The warning from the Fire Wizard had been clear. There was someone with magic in the camp! Someone working for The Order. But who would it be? Which Wizard was so far gone he’d help the order to destroy all of its kind? I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it. But I had no choice. I had to save Elda and Phoenix. And without magic.

As the sun slowly set I made up a plan. I would scout today. Get to know the soldiers in the camp. And after that, I would break through. Kill their guards and sneak into the big tent. Just saying it like that made it sound easy. But I knew better than calling this job easy. This was going to be a job on life and death. A battle I couldn’t forsake to lose.

Then I also had to found out what poisoned Lynn. I couldn’t leave her to het fate. I had to save her as well. This is what made my plan even more complicated. I just hoped Phoenix would be able to tell me more about it. He was my only hope. I didn’t want to think of the horrors that could occur if not… They would pay for what they did to my friends. Trial Wizard or not, they’d pay!

I followed the smoke and ended up crawling through the mud. There might be guards around the camp as well. I had to use the forest as my hiding place. My home. Luckily I was used to this. As I came closer and closer to the camp I noticed a small tree with berries in it. It seemed to be my lucky day! Wild strawberries were my favourite. I made a stop to save some for later. The two of them would be grateful for some food. I just knew it.

After a while I reached the camp. I climbed into one of the higher trees till I had a nice lookout spot. There was nothing unusual in the camp, since I last visited it. Yet it felt different, as if someone was indeed hiding it. As I covered my body in the tree I felt home. This was my life, this was my tree, this what was nature power was truly like.

I looked at the camp. The tents where still in the same spot, but the only difference was that one of them was well guarded. I didn’t notice that before. It would probably be the tent both Elda and Phoenix are hold in. But I wasn’t sure. I had to check that out later. Maybe they would come out but I doubt it.

When it fully turned dark I relied on my surroundings. What all could the trees tell me? What all did I need to know to enter the camp? The trees where angry. Man cut bushes and twigs for place for the tents and fire.

I gathered enough information about the camp and thanked the forest. It was time for me to slumber as well. It was time for me to come to action and rescue their prisoners. Time to pay The Order back!

The green hills greeted me with a breeze through my hair. My hair, partly green, displayed my mood. It had been as black as the night sky when I first met Elda, but now it had a more natural colour. The green always appeared whenever I hiked through a forest, because it was my home. There was nothing wrong with it. I loved the colour green. It had always been my favourite. Especially the one from the leaves in spring.

I followed the river steam as I climbed up the hills. It had been a while since I last saw the them. When I did they were grey and dark and it was my first time ever seeing the snow. It was the winter I first spent at Elda and Master Kenjio. The good old times. A tear ran over my face as I stared at the stream. It had a calming effect on me.

Out of my bag came a zooming noise. I turned my bag around and realised the noise came from the Bottle of Life. Was it trying to tell me something? Or did it enjoy the water as much as I did? I didn’t know. But going from the worst, I swung my bow from my back as I used it as a walking stick. Nobody would suspect it was a bow, because you could only see it as bow when you were close by. And then it would already be too late. I could swing it and fight with it nearly as good as with my sword. But it was an easier way to hide a weapon, so I dealt with it.

The zooming noise became louder and louder and when I reached the top of the hill I was wanting to chant a spell to locate the zooming noise, but I couldn’t. Instead I saw a hiker from a distance. She was heading towards me so I decided to greet her. When our paths crossed I was surprised, but before I could say a single thing, she started to talk.

“So it must be, Warrior of Faith, that we meet again.”

I nodded. Of course. It had to be the Water Wizard. That was the reason the Bottle of Life made that noise, because her master was near. I should have known. The link was so obvious that I just forgot.

“Yes, Water Wizard. It’s been a while. May I ask? What brings you here to Nobody’s land?” I gazed at her. She had not changed a single bit since the time I met her. Her hair was azure blue and braided together in different directions. It made me think of the sea. Her skin was just as pale as ever and she nearly vanished in the sun. Her dress was the only thing that was different. Instead of the blue one she wore during our first meeting, it was now dark red, letting her face look even paler than before.

“I’ve been on my way to search a friend. He was captured a while ago. You haven’t seen a large group of soldier by any chance, Warrior of Faith? They’ve put a sleeping spell over us, and when I woke up, I was alone. Yet the water told me what happened.”

“Thinking of it, I have.” I was in a battle with myself. Should I, or should I not reveal I was a Wizard as well? In tough times it was needed to group together and stay strong. After all, there were only that less wizards. I didn’t even know which ones were alive, and which ones were dead.

“Can you tell where they went? It is crucial I find my friend.” The water Wizard spoke with a demanding tone, and I was quite sure that her friend might be the fire mage.

“Actually, I’ve seen them. I hid in the trees when they came, since I was suspicious of what the forest told me. There was a large group of armed soldiers. They were from the Order. Among them there were two prisoners, Elda my foster mother..” I sighed. Just thinking of her already made me sad. I continued to speak as a tear rolled down my face. “And there was a young man. He looked very pale. As if he was suffocating in the air. The forest did him no good. Even his aura was weak, he seemed barely alive. Yet of his young age, he had a full grown ginger beard, and half long ashen white hair.”

The face of the Water Wizard turned from surprised to unbelievable to angry. I think she realised I was a Wizard as well, and not just a Wizard, but one with good connections. I feared for the worsts. But I didn’t really have a choice, I needed help to save Elda, and if the Water Wizard would be able to help me so I could see her again, I would even tell the world I was a Wizard.

“You… You are a Wizard! Where is your aura? Where’s your scent?! And if you know Elda… How come, that you don’t know her companion. He’s the Fire Wizard! She called for his and my help to avenge her husband, and we decided to help her out. But she never mentioned having a daughter. Not even in the years that I knew her. All she ever mentioned was how much she wanted them. How frustrating it was, that she couldn’t have them.”

I knew I had some explaining to do. So I told her everything. How I met Elda, how I took her in, and when I last saw her. But I left out the part of my sister. I wasn’t ready to speak about that yet. That was something I would only tell if there was no hope left. If there was nobody with a plan. But for now, gathering all the Wizards seemed like a good idea.

“I see.” The Water Wizard spoke to me. “So you’re the one who can stop this madness. We have no time to lose then, don’t we. There is no other option to go out and save Elda and Phoenix. My name is Lynn.”

I was surprised Lynn’s mood changed back to her calm and peaceful nature within a second. I certainly didn’t expect that. “Come, we have no time to waste.” I lead the way and together we followed the soldiers, hoping a chance would come sooner or later to kidnap our friends back.

Me and Lynn travelled till the evening fell. After that I prepared dinner by using nature magic. I was glad I had an element to return to, as I didn’t know what the Trial Wizard would have for powers, yet they would be both dark and light. That’s everything I ever read about it. There was barely information known about Trial Wizards, and as far as I was concerned I was the first one in history.

“Lynn? How did you ever meet Phoenix? I mean, you two are water and fire, and yet you seem to care so much about him.”

“That’s a long story Kiera. It all begins when I was younger. I was an outcast since I was pulled towards the water ever since I was young. Even my parents saw it. As soon as I was born I had this azure blue hair colour, and that is why my parents called me Lynn, as it means Waterfall. Within my first seven years alive I showed signs of magic and it was soon to be known that I was indeed the Water Wizard. This left me with no friends. Everyone in my village thought Wizards were dangerous and magic was something they rather left alone. Till one day, during my fifteenth spring, a boy showed up. He looked like he just walked through a fire, and I felt pity for him. The villagers laughed at him and also ad me, when I took him by the hand and showed him the way to my home.

At first, he was just staring into the fire, and not talking at all. I knew I had to help him, but I didn’t know how. After all, water was known for their healing properties. So I sat down next to him and wanted to push my hands in the fire so I could practise healing my own hands. Except the fire never touched me. No matter how hard I tried, the flames danced around me and dodged my hands. It took me a few days, but then I realised the boy was playing with the flames. He was like me.

I never thought I would meet a fellow Wizard, so that’s when I really took an interest in him. I always felt he was special, but nowadays I understand that this was just his aura I felt. I tried for weeks to talk to him, but he never said a word. Till I approached him differently. I took a cup of water and played with it. Just as he had done with the fire. I let the water dance and embrace my hands and then I tried touching him with my hand covered in water, and he let me. This for me was a perfect opportunity to heal his skin. He was surprised at first, but later on he thanked me. But he started talking to me. When I asked for his name, he said he didn’t have one, so I simply called him Phoenix. Just like the firebirds he made in the fire.

Phoenix came to live with me and my mum. He saw me as an older sister, and he didn’t know much of his real family. I mean, he was only nine years old when I found him. Then the horrible day came, my mother died. He was so full of rage, anger and sadness, nobody could stop him. His fire destroyed nearly half the town before I managed to calm him down. I had to battle with all my might, and it left marks all over my bodies. I was burned so badly I couldn’t even heal myself. But what I did that day made him fully trust me. I embraced him even though his body was surrounded by fire. I could touch him because I had the water on my side.

When he calmed down, the elders forced us to leave the village. I was heartbroken, but I had to move on. For Phoenix. I couldn’t leave him on his own. So the two of us started traveling. During one of our travels we ran into Elda and she showed him how to control his fire magic. I was just like sword fighting she said. Fire is one of the Dark magics, fuelled by anger and other strong emotions. She showed him how wonderful fire could be, and what his magic was good for. To me, she explained why it was impossible to stay anywhere close. She even then already knew that an organisation was chasing for Wizards and she wanted to protect us.

That was ten years ago. I lost touch with Elda. I couldn’t find her again, yet we spent nearly a year with her. Till a few months ago. Me and Phoenix said to help her without even knowing what it was about. Because she gave us so much. We just wanted to do something back.” She turned her head towards me and sighed. “How did you find them anyway?”

And then I started. I wasn’t really willing to share my abilities with anyone, but I knew I had no choice. I told her about the Spirit Nim, and how nobody ever knew I was a Wizard. I liked being able to study in peace, to later become a Wizard teacher. Except the fact that wasn’t true. I was able to study because of my sister, but Lynn didn’t need to know that. All she had to know was that I knew what I was doing. And then I told her of my time alone, that I only accidently ran into the group from the Order, but that I needed to check them out.

“Yet, I don’t know how long I passed out, after finding them. I don’t know how far away we are from them, I just hope we’re not too late saving them. I’m starting to believe we need a miracle to catch up.”

“Don’t worry Keira we will get there. We’ll avenge what they are doing to Phoenix and Elda right now. They will suffer for what they did to our family members.” Lynn’s face was full of anger all of a sudden. The once so peaceful Water Wizard made a statement that shouldn’t thought of lightly. I knew she meant it, and there was no way going back now.

As the night came we ate our food and got ourselves ready for the night. We created a small fire to keep us warm and I asked the grass to warn me if any type of animals or humans would try to approach us. It wasn’t the best security, but the two of us needed our sleep.

It was dark when I finally woke up. I didn’t know how long I’d been out, or what time of the day it was. It seemed night, but was it really night, or was that just an illusion in the forest? I opened my mind as I made contact with the forest. Could this really be my lucky day?

I felt the forest calmed down. Something must have had a calming reaction on it. But what? Was it a natural reaction? Or was it a reaction that it was relieved that somebody had left? I stood up as I realised it. The soldiers were gone. The camp used to be close to the tree I was hiding in, but now there was nothing left. It looked as it was abandoned in a rush though.

The order usually cleaned their camping spaces really well. Nobody would be able to see the fact someone camped there. But now… Something must have caught them off guard. What was it? Or rather who? Could it be that someone felt me? That they had a wizard or wizard’s child working for them? I shivered by the thought. I rather hoped not. That would mean I couldn’t rely on my magic to save the two of them. The unknown wizard and Elda, Master Kenjio’s wife.

I thanked the trees as I grabbed my belongings, their branches slowly becoming branches again, and the leaves returning to them. It was time for me to get moving. I pulled my bag over my shoulder and adjusted the sheath to my right hip. I had to be ready to fight any time, and as I learnt how to fight with left first, since of an old injury, I was best with it. I pulled the bow and the tube with the magical arrows over my bag. I would never know when I needed them.

The sun slowly began to rise as I left the forest behind me. I’d come a long way, and I was supposed to go even further to reach my goal. But first, first I had to set up a rescue. It was time to save Elda and the unknown wizard. My mind pondered.

Elda… She replaced my mother when I arrived at their place. She took me in, without knowing anything of me, because she was the terror in my eyes. I came across her in a small village where I tried to get some food. It was no use though, I looked like a nomad, my clothes partly broken with loose ends, and my face full of mud. I had no money left and I was on the edge of starving. Elda originally came to the village to pick up some goods, but when she saw me her eyes flickered. She sensed something familiar, but at the same time not. Only now I realised she must have felt a small trace of magic my sister left me for protection. It was something I couldn’t get rid of no matter what I tried. A sort of wizard’s touch, you could say.

That time, I realised she was me, so I tried to hide but it was no use. She followed me to the forest, and even trying to hide in it didn’t work. I was too exhausted to get in touch with it. I couldn’t use my magic anymore. Elda carefully approached me as she tried to make me feel comfortable. I can still feel her arms as she wrapped them around me when she came closer to me. It was exactly what I needed at that time. It had only been three weeks since my birthday, and it was getting colder. Without knowing what to do, but feeling her warmth, her kindness, I started crying. Everything I’d been holding in came out.  All the pain, and sorrow from losing my sister, losing my little brother, even the fact my parents were gone. I screamed, I yelled but she didn’t give up. She held me till the very end.

Elda took me to the inn she was staying in and ordered a hot bad tube and warm food for me. I didn’t know what to do. How could this lady be so nice to me, while she didn’t even know me. When did I earn this. Why was she looking after me, while I had nothing to offer her. I was just an infant without a goal. Some sort of nomad who barely had clothes left.

At first I was really scared and didn’t know what to do. Elda kept me close as she tried to win my trust. It took her months. When the snow started to fall, she finally got me talking to her. And as we approached her home town a man approached us. He had a long sword in his right hand, and a fierce look on his face. His body build was muscular, but at the same time he was a bit fat. His grey hair waved in the wind. It reached till his shoulders, and it was braided in a warrior style. I assumed he must have been a great swordfighter, since not many survived.

When I looked back to Elda to hide behind her, I saw her gaze at the man. Following her eye sight I saw the expression of the man change. As if a light shined upon him. If he owned the brightest diamond in the whole universe. Who was he? And why did he look to Elda like that.

I shut down again at that point. I refused to talk. I didn’t know what to do. But the man took me in his house without arguing. He let me stare at him as long as I wanted, pretending that he didn’t notice. And Elda. Elda was great. She put all her work aside and put all effort in me. I trusted her. But did I trust her enough to tell the horror?

I slowly started to say small things. I followed her around in the house as she did her chores and followed her when she was practising with her bow. I was interested. I wanted to learn as well. And one time in the spring, I had the courage to stand up and ask her to teach me. That was my first step back to reality. The bow became a part of me. It protected me and I protected the bow. And with that, my confidence started to grow back. The training with the bow made me stronger, physically and mentally. I realised I had a long way to go. But I did it.

When I was confident enough, I sometimes spoke to the man in the house. I didn’t know anything of him, except that Elda loved him more than anything in the world. They didn’t have children, even though she loved them. It was a shame. But she had me now. And I had her. A person who cared about me. Yet I had not forgotten my own mother. But it was too painful to talk about.

The man told me stories about a war long ago. A war in which he was the advisor and second in command from the King of the Highlands. But that was long in the past. He left the war to marry Elda, the love of his life. Far up north, the war was still going on. It was one of the unending wars in the world. But soldiers wouldn’t kill. It was to remain practised. In reality the King of the Highlands and the Queen of the Mountains were great friends. Or actually, they were way more than that. They’d been in an argument where to marry for over years. They decided the battle would be symbolic for their marriage. And that soldiers would always fight each other, so they would become blood brothers in battle and name.

I loved these stories. I learnt about the King and Queen, and how they eventually married each other. It occurred thousands of years ago, but because of this, the Highlands, as what was the name of the country became after the marriage, lived in peace. The war went on. And everyone had to fight in it. Man and woman, didn’t matter. It was a tradition. An honour. And for that, everyone lived in peace. The sons and daughters of the King and Queen fought as well. And as their skills became better, they eventually met their love on the battlefield. Their offspring still ruled parts of the country, but the first in line always ended up being Queen or King, as the rules said.

When the legend, or the so called story ended one time and all the stories about the war were over it was summer. The heat shone upon us as the two of us looked up at the stars. It was then, when I finally spoke up to him and started asking questions. “Who are you? Why are you living here? Where do you go every day? What do you do?”

The man was patient and spoke. “Who I am, youngling? I am the last descendant from the King and Queen out the story. Their blood flows through my veins. My older brother is the current king of the Highlands, and I used to be his advisor. I was the one who made sure the battlefield stayed a playground. It was just a honour to fight there after all. There wasn’t supposed to flow blood. As advisor I travelled through the land. I was undercover, and let my brother know how his land was doing.

On one of my travels I came across a young lady. The most beautiful lady I’ve ever seen. But she was out of my reach. After all her father didn’t know who I was. And she was promised to another man, but as soon as she looked at me, she loved me. It was love on first sight. Not something, but amazing. Her father was one of the wizards that flew from the south, so I had to be careful. But her skin was the most beautiful I’d ever seen. Her smile concurred mountains and it melted my personality. I knew immediately, I wanted to marry her. So I sent my brother a letter, and within a week, he came himself. He got in touch with her father, and revealed who I was. It was nearly immediately settled, but her father asked one thing. Please go back to your home country. I know you’ve always missed it. And this is the chance to do so.

Elda told me something once we were alone. She wasn’t able to give birth. Even though I had a child wish, I immediately said it was alright. After all, I loved her and nothing would get between. We got married in the Castle while looking at the stars. Her father gave her a magical bow, and arrows who would always find their way back home. As he was The Nature Wizard.”

I looked at him with big eyes. The Nature Wizard. I nearly screamed out. And that one moment I let my guard down. My protection of nobody being able to sense I was a wizard. But At that moment, Elda came towards us. She looked at me, and instantly knew her father was dead. After all, there couldn’t be more than one wizard of each element. It was a sort circle. A circle that couldn’t be broken.

The devastation in Elda’s eyes was too much for me to handle. I loved her and I made her cry. Even though I nearly didn’t use magic for a year, I created a flower in front of me and picked it up. I ran after her as she disappeared in the woods. I called the nature to show me the way towards Elda. It the end, it turned out she hid in a tree deep in the forest. I decided it was time to travel in the sky. I called a vine, and I swung from the one tree to the other. As if I had never done something else.

After what seemed like two or three hours I reached her tree. I heard her crying by herself as I approached her. “Mum? Are you alright? Please, don’t be afraid. I can’t help it either.” I reached out to her as I gave her the flower. It was created with all information I heard from Nim about the last known Nature Wizard. He loved his wife and children more than the world, and that’s why he disappeared. He didn’t want to be a wizard, he wanted a quiet life. Which he got in the end.

As I didn’t know what to do, I gave her a hug and left her with the flower in her hand. I traced my way back to the exit of the forest and saw her husband watching over me. All I did was looking at him, and he gestured me to sit. And then he carried on as he never stopped talking.

“The two of us decided to settle down here. It was a nice place for fighting and close enough to the forest to escape. There, we dropped the seed her father gave us as well. it was magical. When we did that, the house we’re still living in built itself from the ground. It was fully made of leaves and branches, but it felt like coming home.

As me and Elda were both fighters, she a archer and I a swordsman, we decided to set up a school for self-defence in a nearby city. It’s where I go every day, to teach the pupils how to defend themselves. See it as the way I cope with the fact I don’t have children. I am glad I am able to learn them something useful. They call me Master Kenjio, as that used to be my title during the unending war. Kenjio comes from Kenji, it means sword of time in the old battle symbols. They added the o out of respect for me. And that’s how I left my old title as prince and advisor behind and became Master Kenjio.”

Master Kenjio finished his story. I looked at him with great respect. He followed his wife to her home country. His love must have been very strong. And that they are still together, amazing. I didn’t know what to say. I heard the grass tell me Elda was on her way back to us. I decided to wait. It was time for me to tell my story. But only once, and both of them had the right to hear them.

Elda threw herself in Master Kenjio’s arms when she returned. She was partly crying but felt comfortable so close to him. It was only when most of her tears had dried, that I started talking. I told them my horrible history, how The Order killed my family, how my parents abandoned me and how I became a nomad of the streets.

Their faces were shocked. I could read the horror in their eyes. It wasn’t something I liked talking about. Let alone to tell someone the whole story. But it had to be done. They gave me trust, and had faith in me, they cared for me as their own daughter. I felt strong enough to tell them.

When I finished, tears rolled over my face. Elda pulled me close as she let me cry. She put aside her own grief for me. I let it all out. I cried to the moon and sobbed all over her clothes. But from that day on, I started to talk normally again. I would ask things, and I would practise with my bow, as I’d never done any different.

One day, I decided I wanted to learn how to fight, hand by hand combat, and sword fighting. I wanted to be able to defend myself other than just being an archer. So I asked Master Kenjio to teach me. At first he didn’t want to but then he saw the determined look in my eyes, and he gave in. Yet on the day we were supposed to start, I was helping Elda in the garden, when I cut my right arm deeply. As a reflex I ordered a plant to wrap itself around me and to stop the bleeding. I cried out and Elda immediately was what the problem was. She ordered me to stay while she rushed into the house. It took her a long time to convince me, but in the end I let her have a look at the wound. She removed the leaves of the plant, and replaced them with a long strep of fabric. It was her sort of bandage and she also put some wool on the wound, so it would suck up the blood.

Master Kenjio refused to teach me like that as first, since I was right handed. But I said that I could learn with left as well. That it didn’t matter which side I started with. After all, a real swordsman had to be able to fight with both hands. And with that, my training to be undefeatable started.

The next morning I woke up surrounded by a small haze. It was as the weather knew something important was about to happen. As if every living being, every ghost, every animal knew today was important.

I hugged the blanket as I got up, while being greeted by the sun which was shining through the window. Today is the day. The day everything changes. “Happy birthday Keira.” I whispered to myself while I got up. It was time, it was time to face the truth. Time to face the legacy of my sister. Time to wait and see, if there was something, or if it were just characters. If it was the last, I wouldn’t rest before I knew what they meant. I’d travel the world, finding answers, and never returning till the riddle was solved.

I wrapped myself in the pink blanket as the cold air from outside greeted me. Then I stared at the characters for a while. I didn’t know what they were, they didn’t even make sense to me. It was impossible to see what my sister meant, but I knew for sure, I was the one who had to understand. The message was written for me, and for nobody else. It was time. I had to push my fears aside and live through the moment. There was no other way.

My hand reached for the blood as I decided to touch it. It was now or never. I hovered over several characters deciding to touch the first one. My finger reached the blood and as the two of them touched, it felt as the wall exploded. This was blood magic. No doubt. This was what my sister left me.

“Kiera. After all this time you came. Your strength and courage are mine. Don’t forget. Your way is my way, your pain is my pain. I’ve lived through the years, waiting. As my being existed through the characters on the wall, waiting for you to return. I trapped myself, hoping to help you one day. And today is that day. You have finally come to face your duty, to face the end of time. As you know, the silent war is upon us. You will need to free the wizards, The Last Wizards of the earth. They are in danger. Everybody knows they exist but they don’t know about you. It is a dangerous time to live. But you can do it. I see you already saved The Water Wizard, and she named you Warrior of Faith. Go under that name, as nobody will know that you’re actually The Trial Wizard then. The one who holds on to all the power in the world. The one divined by humans, forgotten in the past. I will gift you something to hold on. As you got the Bottle of Life from The Water Wizard I will give you the Ice of Death. It’s a relic that protects you from the cold. Hang this necklaces around your neck, and I’ll always be beside you. But don’t forget, come back here if you ever need advice, as I am bound to the characters and the characters are bound to me. They will show you the way when you’re lost. I wish you the best of luck Kiera.” 

It was slightly shocking, hearing my sister’s voice, seeing her face. After all this time, after all this time my sister was alive. Not as human, but she still existed. I took the Ice of Death from her hands and tied it around my neck. I would never lose sight of it. It would protect me, but it would also keep the memory of my sister alive. Nothing else mattered, I got a part of myself back with her. A part that was lost without her, lost without the other half. Now I had the strength to continue. The strength to move on. Since she had returned to my side.

It was time to leave, for the last time I glanced at the characters. Then I moved through the house. Would there be anything worth taking with me? Was there anything important enough to put in my bag? I wandered from the first floor to the ground floor as I looked at the walls. They were old, the paint was rotten and the smell awful. I remembered the good days. When the walls were like flowers, bright and colourful. When the wind had a slight breeze through the house. When the laughter of me and my siblings danced through the house. It was a time in the past, a time I was happy. A time without order and chaos ruling my life. A time of peace.

I went down the stairs, carefully jumping over the loose parts, just as I had done in my youth. But I made one mistake, and I heard one crack and I nearly slide the way down. But just in time I was able to save myself. I jumped down on a different stair as I found my balance again. That was close, too close. I needed to repair that. But I had no time.

My original plan was to use my old home as a sort base of attack. But seeing the state of the house, I realised that was of no use. It was so old, there were holes everywhere and it was perfect for an ambush. Something I couldn’t afford at the moment. I had to live and be free.

As I passed the living room I remembered an old picture on the wall. It was worth taking with me. The picture was nearly no weight and it remembered me of the good times. It was a picture of our family. I carefully stepped into the living room as I looked around. It was a total mess. It looked like someone searched for something important a few years ago. I rushed through the room heading towards the place where the picture used to be. And then I saw it. All that was left of the picture. Somebody tore it apart and me and my sister were the only two left on it. No parents, no little brother. somebody stole that part of the picture and searched the house for this. But what could it be and what could I do against it?

With the leftover picture in my hand I walked outside. It was time for me to leave. Calling my sleeping bag and the small thin pink blanket with a summon spell I packed them in my bag. It was a good thing I learnt from Master Kenjio how to pack a bag fast and comfortable, otherwise I would have been doomed the moment I left his land.

The forest surrounded me as an old friend. I had nothing to fear, I had nothing to lose. It was my calling. Even though my sister said I was The Trial Wizard, I was also The Nature Wizard. As I remembered with a smile on my face how the two of us found out, the memories embraced me like an old friend.

We found that out when my sister tried finding what element was hers to control. I did the exact same at home. We carefully looked which items the elders showed us and collected them at home. My sister wasn’t able to figure out what her element was, as it was summer when we first tried. But that was good for me, because I recall letting the plants in the garden grow up to a meter. My sister had to hide the plants, as it wasn’t her element but mine. As she cut them down, we realised I had the gift of life and the gift of nature.

I sneaked in the library of the elders once, to get the book left for The Nature Wizard. And I replaced it with a handmade copy of flowers, as it looked exactly the same as the book I was holding on to. While my sister returned to the magic lessons, I still followed her everywhere, but now being aware of life forces surrounding me. It was a lot to take in for a twelve-year-old, but I managed. I became more silent and only spoke when spoken to me. The elders blamed it on me being a teenager but they had no clue.

As the summer ended the elders became impatient. They wanted to know what element my sister had. They realised it wasn’t one of the creating elements which meant it was one of the elements of death. And they were dangerous. Long ago wizards with this kind of magic where naughty. They destroyed cities and harmed people. But my sister was caring and looked after everyone.

Then one day, it was stone cold, a boy was trapped in ice. As me and my sister were on our way to our daily lessons when she heard the ice scream. “Help! Someone is trying to kill me.” She didn’t know what it was, started running and found the voice of the ice calling inside herself. She saw the boy, killing the ice as she yelled. “Stop! You’re hurting her!” The boy looked up and laughed, but then in a matter of a second, my sister gestured the ice to fade away. “Never laugh at the ice, ever again.” And with that the boy turned around and ran.

That day, we approached the elders before we could start our lesson. My sister calmly told them what happened, and that she didn’t mean any harm. But ice had feelings too, she could hear her, understand her, as it was an old friend. From that day on, the elders were scared of her. They refused to teach her, so they had a boy run to the City of Ice. In this place, there was a generation trained to teach The Ice Wizard. Weeks went by, and in the end an 25-year-old showed up. Telling the boy got murdered while entering the city, but that he himself had come to fulfil his duty and train The Ice Wizard.

I sighed, facing the forest. It talked to me, it gave me warmth, it made me feel at home. But then I felt it, humans, tonnes of humans inside the forest. Why were they here? What was there purpose? Why were they crossing Nobody’s Land? Was there a reason they were here. I had to protect the forest. Grabbing onto a vine I speeded through the trees. It was time for me to see who they were, and what they were doing to upset the forest.

Arriving at the right spot, I hid myself in a tree. I was one with the forest, the soldiers couldn’t see me, but I saw them. It was a camp full of soldiers. It fully existed out of tents, smaller ones and bigger ones. In the middle there was huge tent, bigger than all others, and it carried a flag on the top. I was in shock. I knew that flag. That flag was the symbol of The Order. The symbol my parents used to sign their letters with. The symbol they had on their clothes, as they were part of The Order.

I made it myself comfortable in the tree I was sitting in. With some help of the nature magic I created a bed on 20 meter height, and I also made blanket created out of leaves from the surrounding trees. Then after I tucked myself in also using the pink blanket, I reached out with my mind. I needed to be able to fall back to my body at any time possible, since the upcoming trick I wanted to use costed a lot of energy.

The book I stole said the following “Once you make sure your body is in a good positioning to fall asleep, you open up your mind and enter your existence through nature. It is important that you keep your awareness close to your body at all time, since anyone who finds your body and just touches it, is able to kill you. By doing this you are able to protect your awareness somewhere close to you. Powerful wizards can go further while weaker wizards stay closer. But remember, this spell is very advanced and if you try this while being in training, or while not entirely knowing the entire range of your powers, you are able to kill yourself. Be warned fellow Nature Wizard.”

I slowly started paying attention to my breathing. Breath in, breath out, and breath in again. It costed some time, but after a while I was in sync with the forest’s heartbeat. It was only then, that I pushed my soul out of my body and took the time to explore.

The wind blew through my entire existence and I finally felt free. I remembered the first time I tried this, the day after my parents left. I had to know where they were, so I had to try, even if I ended up killing myself. I didn’t find them that day, but I did find the Spirit Nim. Nim was a carefree girl living her childhood dreams. She told me she used to be the first Nature Wizard’s daughter, but as she wanted to be like her father, she tried the spell and was stuck between her body and ghost forever.

“I know, it wasn’t very smart.” she told me back then. “But I’ve learnt how to enjoy this life. I watch over children and sometimes have a visit from a wizard like yourself. Yet I’ve never met one as young as you are.” She soon learnt my history and guided me through the World Above, as she called the place. That day I didn’t reach my parents, but I learnt a lot about the history of Nobody’s Land, as well as about The Nature Wizards who lived before me.

I returned to the present. It was time to see what secrets were in the camp. As I came closer a lot of questions entered my mind. Why was The Order here? How did they get past the River of Fallen, but mostly, why weren’t they hunting down the wizards?

I looped around the camp and as I saw nothing interesting I decided to check out the main tent. It took me a lot of mental strength to evaporate through the tent and reach the inside. It was something I only did when necessary. But being on the inside I realised it was worth it.

The tent was divided into two parts. One, which looked like a used prison, and one which looked like a living room from one of the higher in commands from The Order. I decided to wait. I had to know who was held in prison here and why. And if these person or people were worth rescuing.

For me the waiting became an eternity. It took a lot of energy to stay in this form, and I felt myself becoming weaker every second. But I had to do this, for the sake of the prisoners. I called upon the strength of the forest, and all nature surrounding me. And the gave it to me. As a gift, because I’d protected them, and taken care of them ever since I found them.

Then after some time, which was only an hour, but felt like a whole day, the commander walked in. And with him two prisoners and six guards. I immediately recognized one of them. It was Master Kenjio’s wife! I saw her gasp for breath as well. She was able to see me as the daughter of a wizard. But what I didn’t expect was the other person to gasp for breath as well. I realised he must be a wizard as well, as I sensed his aura. But which one? I couldn’t tell from his clothes, and there was no way to read the signs on his arms. Within a second I gestured my hand to my lips, telling the two of them to be silence, and then, as I knew enough, I slowly went back to my body and fell asleep.