The old man's voice carried over the crowd, calm and steady, cutting cleanly through the murmurs that had begun to rise.
"You are safe here."
The words settled over us, but the tension didn't.
"Safe?" a voice cut in, sharp and irritated.
A man stepped forward slightly, blonde hair falling neatly around his face, his posture straight, refined. A noble. Even as a different species, it was obvious.
"Look, listen," he continued, dragging a hand through his hair. "Not to be rude, but what the hell is this place? You're telling us we're safe here, but how is that even possible with… whatever that forest is?"
A few heads nodded in agreement while others fidgeted uneasily, eyes flicking between the man and the old figure on the podium.
The old man's smile faltered, just slightly. His brows drew together, deepening the wrinkles along his face as his grip tightened around the twisted wooden cane in his hand. For a brief moment, something else passed through his expression. Something deeper.
Then it was gone, replaced just as quickly by a warm, gentle smile, almost like it had never left.
"You're right," he said, letting out a soft sigh. "It was foolish of me to expect patience after everything you've endured."
A second voice spoke up, this time feminine. Calm, but firm.
"Better yet," she said, "how did we all end up here?"
The crowd shifted, attention pulling toward her. A reptilian woman, tall, no shorter than six feet. Wise-eyed, with skin covered in white scales that caught the light faintly, her yellow eyes steady and unblinking as they locked onto the old man.
"None of us came together," she continued.
"So why are we all here now?"
The murmurs grew louder.
We were survivors of something that hadn't given us time to think. No time to question. No time to understand. Only to run. And yet now, here we stood. Gathered. Together.
"She's right." Seraphina muttered.
Questions passed between people, low and uncertain, the weight of her words settling into the space between us. The tension didn't just return, it spread.
The old man exhaled slowly, then straightened.
"My name is Eldrin," he said, inclining his head slightly. "I am the chief of this village."
His voice was soft. Measured. Controlled.
Like he had done this before. As if, our confusion, our fear, our questions, were already expected.
It felt… odd.
But I remained quiet, as patience always proved to be the better ally than mindless aggression.
A lesson that I knew all too well…
"This place… is known as Starfall Hollow."
He gestured lightly toward the distance, where the faint outline of the totem could still be seen.
"Long ago, this land was home to one of our own. A woman who walked a path beyond ours…"
His hand trembled slightly as he raised it, coughing faintly into his sleeve. The guards beside him shifted, steadying him, but he waved them off with a quiet breath.
"She left behind that totem," he continued, voice quieter now, "as a guide… and as protection."
His eyes moved across the crowd.
"You think of this situation as strange, and I would be lying if I said I didn't understand why you would think so." He paused, briefly. "But your arrival here is not without reasoning."
His gaze glued onto us.
"It does not call to everyone," he said.
A pause.
"It draws in those whose presence it can… accept."
My brows pulled together, a feeling of unease swam from my gut to my chest. Something about the way words were used by him felt wrong, more than just them being calculated or practiced.
"You were not lost," he added gently. "You were guided."
The murmurs quieted again.
Not gone, just quieter.
"We have survived here because of her," he said, his smile returning. "And because of what she left behind."
He coughed again, heavier this time, his body dipping slightly before the guards steadied him.
"For now… you may rest," he said, recovering. "Allow my people to show you where you'll be staying."
There was hesitation among us, still, no one argued against the offer. At least not yet.
"Why?"
Seraphina's voice came from beside me.
She stepped forward slightly, her yellow eye fixed on him.
"Why are you helping us?"
The question lingered in the air, eyes shifted from Seraphina onto the old man as murmurs between the crowd halted.
The old man looked at her. Really looked.
Then he smiled, soft and kind.
"When you have something worth protecting…" he said quietly, "you learn to give what is necessary to keep it."
Something about that stayed. The words replayed in my head as I racked my brain to understand its meaning.
We were led away shortly after. The man from earlier, the one who had first greeted me, walked at the front.
"Name's Markieth," he said casually, glancing back. "I'll be showing you around."
The village opened up as we walked, and for a moment, it didn't feel real.
Bridges stretched between massive trees, their structures woven seamlessly into the wood as if they had grown like that over time. Glass dome-like buildings sat elevated among the branches, glowing faintly under the filtered light. In the distance, a waterfall poured steadily into a river that wound its way through the village, the sound of rushing water soft but constant beneath everything else.
The air smelled sweet. Honey. Fruit. Something warm and inviting that lingered just enough to settle into the senses.
People moved through the streets without urgency. Children ran past us laughing, chasing each other along the curved paths while adults spoke quietly among themselves, carrying baskets filled with food and supplies. Some figures hovered above the ground in circular constructs, rings spinning slowly around them as they drifted through the air with controlled ease.
It was peaceful.
Yet, I could not bring myself to fully bathe in its warmth.
I felt it immediately. That same subtle pressure from before, faint but present, like something watching from just beneath the surface of it all. My eyes surveyed the village, finding nothing out of place, and somehow that made it worse.
"…Hey."
I glanced to the side.
Seraphina had turned toward me, her expression bright, almost excited, but then she paused, blinking once.
"…Wait. I don't know your name."
I stared at her for a second before answering.
"…Kael."
She grinned. "Seraphina," she said, tapping the mark on her forehead lightly. "Velmora."
"A Velmoran," my mind raced, recalling an old memory. " I've worked with a few of your clan members in the past. You're much more…expressive."
"I'll take that as a compliment," she said, smiling slightly.
Her gaze shifted past me. "You."
I followed it.
Rai stood a few steps ahead, silent, his posture straight, his presence distant.
"…Name," she said.
He didn't respond immediately. A moment passed before he spoke.
"…Rai."
Another pause.
"…Rai Augustine."
Seraphina froze. "…I thought the Augustine family was wiped out. I heard they—"
"Shut your mouth."
His voice cut through the air, sharp and cold. His eyes melting into hers, something heavy sitting behind them, something that didn't invite questions.
I stepped forward slightly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "…Sorry."
He looked at my hand, then brushed it off without a word and moved ahead, creating distance between us.
Seraphina leaned closer to me, lowering her voice. "That's him," she whispered. "The cursed youngest son."
I glanced at her. " Cursed?"
She nodded her head."...Yeah, they say those who get too close to him meet an early end." Her gaze focused onto his back, "Not much is known about him, even my clan who's known for their intelligence gathering couldn't find out too much due to the name that protects him. But it's rumored that his birth took the life of his mother, their patriarch's first and only wife.
My eyes shifted back to him. His clothes were worn, torn like the rest of ours, but as he moved, I caught it for a second. A mark. Old. Faint, stretched across his back before it disappeared beneath the fabric again.
He turned slightly, catching me looking.
The glare he gave me lingered for a moment before he looked away.
We passed through the center of the village and stopped.
A statue stood there. A woman holding a sword in one hand and a crescent moon in the other. Its face was calm. Sleeping.
People surrounded it, kneeling, praying, watering flowers at its base as they hummed softly. Their robes were white, embroidered with gold and silver patterns that captured the light above.
The symbol of a sleeping moon was ever present throughout the village, always watching, like a silent guardian.
"Guests used to stay here." Markieth said.
"Used to…?" I thought to myself.
I glanced towards Seraphina to see if she caught the oddity in what he had just said. Our eyes met, a silent acknowledgment between us that went unnoticed by the others around us.
Inside, everything was clean, organized, and prepared. A man behind the counter lit up when he saw us, stepping forward quickly before catching himself.
"Rooms are ready," he said.
Keys were handed out. Mine read 132.
I stepped inside my room and closed the door behind me.
It was simple. Clean. Quiet. Calmly, I walked to the window and pulled the curtain slightly.
Outside, people laughed. Children ran. Life moved without fear.
A small trace of envy welled up inside me, watching these people live a life that I myself wanted.
A life without war.
A life that was normal.
Yet as I watched these people live the life I so badly desired, I couldn't help but ask myself why it felt so wrong.
I let the curtain fall and sat on the bed.
"…Just a few minutes."
The moment I laid back, everything caught up at once. The forest. The blood. The fall.
My eyes closed.
a knock pulled me back.
"The feast is beginning," a voice said. "You'll find a change of clothes and boots in the closet"
I stood, changed, grabbed my knife and slotted it into the boots prepared for me before stepping outside.
The smell of food filled everything.
People danced. Laughed. Celebrated.
I moved through it slowly, taking it all in.
A small boy ran up to me, holding a necklace made of pink flowers.
"A gift," he said.
"... thanks." I replied, putting the necklace around my neck. The sudden warmth and hospitality caught me off guard.
Then I saw her.
Sitting by the river, just at the edge where the lights from the lanterns softened against the water. The current moved slowly, reflecting gold and orange in broken pieces, as she sat there with her feet just above it, as if she was unwilling to disturb it.
Silver hair fell over her shoulders, catching the light in a way that almost made it glow. Her skin was dark, smooth, marked with faint red lines that traced gently along her arms like something etched into her, not placed.
Her eyes lifted, meeting mine.
Something inside my chest stirred, my heart beat a step faster.
I didn't realize I had stopped walking until a second passed too long.
Then I moved.
Each step felt slower than it should have, like the noise around me had dulled without me noticing. The laughter, the music, the movement of people… it all faded into something distant, like it didn't belong to this moment anymore.
It was just her.
"…H-hi."
The word caught slightly in my throat. I hadn't even meant to stutter.
Her lips curved into a small smile. Not wide.
Not forced. Just… soft.
"Hi."
I stepped closer, stopping a few feet from her.
"…Kael."
"Maria."
She said it simply, like it was enough. No hesitation, no weight behind it. Just her name.
For a moment, neither of us spoke, and somehow it didn't feel awkward. She shifted slightly and patted the space beside her. I sat. The river moved quietly beneath us.
Her hand reached out slowly, careful, like she didn't want to startle me. Her fingers brushed against mine before settling, light, almost hesitant. She turned my hand slightly, her thumb tracing over the scars that ran across my palm.
"You've been through a lot," she said quietly.
Her voice was gentle. Not pitying. Not distant. Just… understanding.
I swallowed. "…War." The word felt heavier than it should have.
She nodded, like that was enough. No questions. No pushing. Just acceptance.
"I saw you earlier," she said, glancing up toward the higher structures of the village.
"Up there."
"…Why me?"
I didn't even know why I asked it. Maybe because she looked at me like she saw something.
She tilted her head slightly, thinking. "…I don't know."
But the way she said it didn't feel empty. It felt honest.
For a moment, everything else faded. The noise, the people, even the weight I'd been carrying since the forest. It was quiet, not the kind that pressed down on you, but the kind that let you breathe.
"Priestess."
The word cut through it.
I turned. Markieth stood a short distance away, his expression calm, unchanged.
Maria let out a small breath, something between a sigh and acceptance, before she stood. I moved without thinking, taking her hand and helping her up. Her fingers lingered for just a second longer than they needed to.
"It was nice meeting you," she said.
"…Yeah."
She smiled again, softer this time, then turned and walked away. I watched her go, the light catching in her hair as she disappeared into the crowd.
I didn't move. Not right away.
Something about that word sat wrong.
Priestess.
It didn't fit. Not with her. Not with that moment.
I looked out over the village again. The lights drifted through the air, people laughed, music carried through the streets. Everything felt warm, alive, and peaceful.
I rested my hand near my chest, the warmth from that moment still lingering.
But it didn't erase the feeling.
Something about this place…was wrong.