In Search of Auria Read online

  Erik was dumbfounded. He had merely seen a couple of fairies in his lifetime; all common, the size of a finger. But never had he seen a fairy as big as a human. She was the kind of fairy he had only heard in legends. The colorful wings and lines confirmed it. She was a Daystar, a fairy of the Sun. Legend said that they lived hidden atop the Forest of Agony, collecting the overabundant rays of the sun. If not, the star would burn the world to a crisp.

  Erik sheathed his sword with a tap. The sound made the fairy face him. She was incredibly beautiful. Her tan skin matched perfectly with her blue eyes. Her attire was completely made from the trees: a sleeveless leafy top, a fluttery skirt and bark greaves. Her body was strong, but feminine.

  “Are you a daystar?” Erik asked. She remained still, surprised to see him there. Erik wanted to let her know that he meant no harm. He gently raised his arms and stepped backwards, but the fairy did not accept his gesture. She blasted through the room and slammed him to the opposite wall. Before he could even react, she had already grabbed him by the throat and lifted him. She was strong enough that she kept him up with one hand.

  “I-I mean no harm,” Erik babbled out, but she kept squeezing his neck. He immediately felt a sweltering sensation on his throat. It was like if he had swallowed a hot piece of coal. He couldn’t explain it. Then, the other hand of the fairy burst with sparks. Erik was starting to panic. He kicked his feet and couldn’t breathe. He moved and twisted, but her hands just squeezed and scorched and blinded…

  *

  I woke up by slamming my foot against the inner wall of the stump. I couldn’t believe I had just dreamed that. I was sweating and my hands were shaky. I could hear the songs of the morning birds. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head clean of thoughts. The sun was out, it was time to move.

  5- Helping a Devita

  I had dreamed of the first time I saw her. Her beauty and strength overwhelmed me. I wish I had dreamed a bit more, but it was morning now and I had to get moving. I removed the shield from the hole and crawled out of my stump shelter. The sky was cloudless and the air fresh. It was a brand new day and I had to continue my journey.

  I was happy to find a red gooseberry bush as I carried on northwest. I had only eaten gooseberries once before and they were too sour for my liking. To my surprise, these ones were sweet and juicy! A big handful made a good breakfast. After filling my stomach and a half-hour walk, the woods ended and opened to green plains. Curiously enough, I also heard water. I checked my map and it was the series of streams I was counting to come across.

  Called the Riverways, the streams crisscrossed among the plains, forming patches of land that looked like islands. All the water came from a far mountain and ultimately merged with the Crude River. The streams were not that wide and could easily be crossed by horse, or even on foot. Fortunately, small, arched bridges of stone were made available for travelers and carriages. I looked around the area to see if there were people wandering. News of my troubles at Vieris might have reached around these parts. But after a careful assessment, it was safe to continue.

  I walked calmly over the bridges and crossed over. The streams were loud with the current of the waters, and the grass on the islands flowed with the breeze. The place was so fresh and serene, I was mesmerized by it. But that feeling quickly disappeared when I started to see plants torn apart, and flowers crudely stepped upon. I guess someone had a grudge against nature.

  It was then that I heard a hoarse yell from ahead. It made me crouch beside the bridge’s parapet. I peeked over and past the next bridge I saw two balorian soldiers running around. They were chasing some kind of glittering butterfly. They were in the last of the small islands, and the final bridge to clear the Riverways was right on its other side. If I stealthily walked past them while they were distracted, I could avoid a confrontation.

  I walked to the next bridge and spied from there. They were arguing and shouting.

  "We need to catch it!" said one of the soldiers. He wore a brown leather coif.

  "Let's corner it on the other side," said the other, a chubby man carrying an axe on his waist. Both of them chased the butterfly to the far corner, away from the connecting bridges. I didn't know what they wanted with a butterfly, but it was the diversion I needed to pass unnoticed. I got low and walked fast.

  I almost reached the final bridge when I heard a tiny cry. I looked towards the soldiers and got a better look at what they were chasing. The butterfly wasn’t a butterfly at all, it was a small fairy! It had golden wings, two white swirled antennas, and six arms with silver bracelets on each one. One of its wings was dripping with blood, making her flying difficult. The soldiers had a small canary cage. While the coif soldier scared her, the other managed to slap her to the ground.

  "Haha," laughed the chubby soldier. He picked up the fairy and put her inside the cage.

  I wanted to keep going, but something was holding me back. The soldiers started to laugh and taunt the fairy. She cried helplessly inside the cage. Is thas how Auria felt? Was she crying and sobbing at this very moment. I couldn’t do nothing, I had to intervene!

  “Release her!” I shouted. The soldiers turned around stunned.

  "Who the hell are you?" asked the coif soldier.

  "Leave her alone," I replied as I took out my weapons, "Anything you have to say to her you can say to my sword and shield."

  "Ho ho," wheezed the chubby one. "What do we have here? Feeling a bit warrior-like, peasant? Go back to the farm and tend to the pigs."

  "Funny, I thought I was talking to one.”

  "What did you say?"

  I stepped forward and pointed them with my blade, "Release her or die at the hands of Miaflore's finest." The pig pushed the cage to the other, almost knocking him back.

  "Y-you are a miaflorian?" he babbled.

  "With pride!"

  The soldier’s face turned red with rage, "A 'florian roaming freely on Balora? Over my dead body!" He took out his axe and charged towards me. I was impressed by his agility, being fat and all. He took a swing to my head that I blocked. The hit was strong enough that it pushed me to the side.

  “My axe will cut you to pieces,” he said. He continued knocking me around as I defended and resisted.

  “Bust his head open!” yelled the other soldier, holding the cage.

  The chubby man was indeed strong, but I knew he couldn’t keep up his rally. His exhaustion was beginning to show. As a last attempt to kill me before his strength ran out, he raised his axe high and tried to pummel me down. But unlike him and his weariness, I was just warming up. I opened my shield to the side and blocked the axe outward. He was left open and defenseless. I thrust my sword forward and pierced him through the chest. He squealed as the bloody tip carved through his back. His body lost its prominence and fell back. As I walked over the dead body, the remaining balorian shook with fear.

  "How could you beat him? He was stronger!”

  He was going to be next and he knew it, so he did something I did not expect. He threw the fairy into the stream.

  "You save her and let me escape or you fight me and let her drown," he said anxiously, "Your choice.”

  My temper urged me to kill him, but I had to save the fairy. I put away my weapons and quickly ran to the stream. The soldier dashed to the bridge and escaped.

  The current was not strong and it reached beneath my chest. It was of no danger to me, but for the hand-sized fairy, it was. I went under and saw her in the cage, the current pressing her against the bars. I grabbed the cage’s top handle and pulled her out.

  After returning to land and releasing her, she laid in my palms, forlorn and barely breathing. I raised her close to look at her more properly, and that's when she slowly opened her eyes.

  "Brave warrior" she said with an echoing, shrill tone, "I thank you for my rescue."

  "I just couldn't leave you to those soldiers. Is there anything I can do for you now? Take you someplace or..."

  "No, it is too late. Inside... the dama
ge is done." A thin line of blood came out of the corner of her right eye.

  "There must be something we can do," I desperately said.

  "You cannot do much more, but I can. Please, get me closer to you."

  I got suspicious. What was she going to try?

  "Do not worry,” she added, “I will not harm you." She stood up on my hands as I carefully approached her to my face. She then slowly climbed it, putting four arms on my nose and two more above my eyes. She then kissed me on the forehead. Immediately, I felt a warm sensation go from my head to my toes, like if I were beside a flaming hearth. After the kiss, she collapsed into my hands, wheezing for air.

  "W-what did you do?" I asked.

  "I am a Devita Fairy," she huffed with a smile and weak eyes. "I grant life."

  Her head fell back and her eyes closed. She died right there in my hands; her petit body, motionless. I crossed the final bridge and buried her under a small purple orchid growing beside the stream. It was the least I could do.

  I looked at my reflection in the water. My forehead looked and felt normal, and I didn't feel any different. Maybe she was too frail to work her magic, or maybe she made a mistake. You cannot give life to what is already alive, right?

  I sat beside the grave and went into thought. The Devita reminded me so much of Auria. I needed to save her. I did not want to reach her to have the same end.

  6- Corvus Assault

  Third Memory

  As I sat beside the Devita grave, I dwelled my mind on Auria. She was so strong, I didn’t understand how she was taken. Even me being as tough as I am, she handle me easily. But other than being strong, she was also so kind. Her gentleness and smile won me over so many times…

  *

  “Are you a Daystar?” Erik asked. Before him stood a woman with four colorful wings, a fairy of the sun. Erik thought she would answer, but instead received her wrath. She blasted through the room and slammed him onto the opposing wall.

  “I mean you no harm,” Erik babbled out as she clutched him by the neck and raised him against the wall. A sweltering burn formed on his throat. He couldn’t breathe; the only thing he could do was kick his feet in panic. Then, her other hand started to shine and spark. He struggled, but there was nothing he could do. Her hands squeezed and scorched and blinded. He couldn’t take it anymore and fell unconscious.

  #

  Erik woke up with a banging headache. He was lying on the table. His sight was hazy and his throat was burning up. He tried to get up, but he couldn’t move his hands. They were tightly bound behind his back. Disoriented, he couldn’t remember where he was. When he finally managed to sit up, a hand forced his chest back down. It was the fairy.

  “Stay still so I can heal you,” she said. The moment Erik saw her, he remembered everything; entering the Forest of Agony, climbing the stairs, entering the house, and getting attacked by her.

  “Heal me?” Erik said with disbelief. “My neck is burning. What did you do to me?”

  “I gave you the Sear. I must cool you down so it does not spread to your head.” She grabbed a knife made of bone and passed it on top of his throat.

  “Oh no, you won’t,” said Erik. He raised his knee and hit her on the shoulder. He then rolled off the table and stood up.

  “What are you doing?” she glared, “You need to be still.”

  “Why? So you can slit my throat? Being dead will certainly cool me down.”

  Erik wanted to run for the door, but his head started to spike. He felt like his brain had caught on fire.

  “Ah, my head… it’s boiling!” He couldn’t take the pain and fell on his knees. The fairy walked to him with knife in hand.

  “No, don’t,” Erik mumbled, but he dozed and blacked out.

  ##

  Erik woke up… again. This time he didn’t feel any pain from the so called Sear. His head felt cool and completely normal. He was no longer bound, so he got up from the floor and checked his body. He didn’t have any cuts or wounds. He looked around the room, but the fairy was gone.

  “Good, she’s not here. I better get out of this place.”

  He saw his weapons leaning against the wall near the entrance. He fixed the shield on his back, his sword on his waist and dashed for the door. As he neared his exit, the door suddenly opened and slammed on his face. The fairy outside jumped in shock. She was trying to enter when she hit something. She slowly opened the door again to see Erik unconscious on the floor. He had the door’s butterfly design printed on his forehead.

  ###

  Erik woke up again… for the third time. His forehead was swollen. It hurt like if a nail were stuck there. To his surprise, this time he woke up on the mushroom bed. He looked towards the table and the fairy was sitting there, staring at him while eating an apple. Erik stared back.

  “Did you do the Sear thing to me again?” he asked while holding his head.

  “No. You did that to yourself, trying to open the door with your skull,” she replied. Erik breathed hard and looked around the room. He eyed the door, the table, the walls, and finally back at her.

  “Is this like a torment chamber or something? Because the moment I stepped inside, all I’ve done is suffer.”

  “I am very sorry for all that has happened to you, but it was you who entered without permission.”

  “… You mean I got all this punishment because I didn’t knock? Then what is the crime for the death penalty? Passing gas?”

  She looked at him annoyed.

  “You know what? I’m sorry,” Erik said as he got off the mushroom bed. “I’m sorry if I intruded, but this was the only place I found to escape the darkness from below. I only wanted directions and food, but I guess I’ll find neither here. So, I’ll take my leave.”

  The fairy was rather stunned by this peculiar individual, but she pitied him by all the mishaps he had gone through.

  “Wait,” said the Daystar, stopping Erik before he exited the room. “I apologize for the hardship you have endured at my home.” She reached for a bag beneath the table and produced a peach.

  “Have this fruit to quell your hunger.”

  Erik thought about it, but in the end he accepted the peach and thanked her. However, before having a bite, he smelled it.

  “Why do you smell it? It is not poisoned!” she raised her voice.

  In a few seconds, Erik gobbled the peach with just a few bites.

  “Um, can I have more?”

  The fairy gave him an apple, then a prune, and lastly some berries. Afterwards, her bag was empty.

  “Sorry I ate all your fruit, but I feel much better now. I thank you.”

  She looked at the bag and shook her head. Now she had to go and search for fruits all over again.

  “Well, since we’re not clashing against each other anymore, let me introduce myself. My name is Erik,” he extended his arm to shake hands.

  “Why do you open your hand asking for more?” she yelled, “You already ate the whole bag!”

  “What? No, no. This is a gesture of friendship, a custom among my people when meeting one another.”

  The fairy stared at him and then his hands. “I do not think eating the food of someone else a gesture of friendship, but very well. I am called Auria.”

  They sat down and talked with each other. Conversation was slow at first, but little by little they became more trusting. He asked Auria about her people; if the legends were true.

  “We expose ourselves to the sun and absorb the light,” she said, “It makes us strong with the ability to create heat. But, if we do not, the sun will not consume the land. That which gives us life will not kill us.”

  She then asked him about the bottom land, about how were the lives and customs. Erik gave a simple answer, “We eat, sleep, work, and of course, we wage war”.

  They continued talking for the next hours. Every few minutes Erik remembered that he needed to return to the base camp. But every time he had the thought, he pushed it away. He felt so relaxed and joyf
ul talking with Auria, instead of going back to talk about war. And Auria herself felt delighted with Erik’s presence and his jovial way of talking. They continued until it was completely dark outside.

  “Wow, would you look at that,” Erik exclaimed, “It’s night already! I didn’t realize.”

  Auria stood from the chair and walked to the door, “I cannot tell you how to get to your destination, but I can tell you how to not lose yourself.”

  Erik paid attention like if his life depended on it.

  “The winds that hit the forest always come from the north,” she continued. “They are strong up here above the canopy, but at the bottom you will have to remain very still to feel them. Sense the wind and you will find your way.”

  Erik thanked her. He put on his equipment and walked to the door. But, before he stepped out, there was one more thing he wanted to ask that didn’t come up in the conversation.

  “Um, before I leave, remember when you had me tied on the table and my head was scorching? Why did you come at me with a knife?”

  Auria smiled. She went beside the bed and returned with the knife and an odd looking weed. “This is the coolmis herb. Its extract has chilly and soothing properties. I cut open the herb with the knife and used the extract to treat your pain. The Sear I afflicted you with is a scalding sensation that spreads and escalates into burning fire. If it had enveloped your head, you would have died.”

  Erik nodded with a blush. He owed his life to her; she fed him, saved him, even though she was the cause of his pain, and now gave him the trick to go past the Forest of Agony. He wanted to show his gratitude.