A week after the encounter with the Pack-Minds, Helvana, Lloyd, Gwyn and Violet headed southwest on Frederic's back and were now approaching the Ironheart Ranges. Exhausted from having flied all day, Helvana had Frederic land in a hill near a few trees. The sun was now about to set, so the travelers would now set camp for the night. Getting down from the crow's back, the group dropped their bags and checked their stored food. Helvana started to hunt more than needed recently so they could keep a stock for emergencies.
"We have enough for tonight. I'll get the fire ready in a minute."
"Alright. Frederic, are you hungry?" She asked her servant as she caressed his beak.
Caw. The giant crow replied with his deeper than usual voice.
"Okay, I'll make sure you get well fed tomorrow to make up for tonight."
She petted Frederic one last time before heading to where the brothers were. Lloyd had just started a fire and sorted out the food he would prepare for dinner. Standing a bit far from the fire was Gwyn and Violet. The fiberling had really taken a liking to the boy as they mostly hanged around him, or rather, his neck.
"Hel, how's Frederic?"
"He's fine for tonight. I'll have to catch something good for him tomorrow though."
"Hmm... You'll be hunting tomorrow anyways, right? I'll put something on the fire for him so he doesn't sleep on an empty stomach, even if it's not much for him."
"Thank you. You're being really considerate of him."
"He does carry us around all day, after all. He also has an irresponsible master, so I feel bad for him."
"Quiet, you."
"Anyways, check on the Hairball while I skin the meat."
"Okay." Leaving Lloyd to his work, Helvana headed to where Gwyn was sitting and sat down beside him. Violet was wrapped around his neck as usual and covered by his feather cloak. "Hey, Gwyn, how goes the Hairball?"
"It's doing fine, I think."
"Can you talk with it yet?"
"No, but I'm starting to understand it a little. You can talk with it, though, right? How do you do it?"
"It's because I'm a demigoddess. I can understand all languages and others can understand me, too. But I can't really understand the Hairball since it doesn't talk. Say, Hairball, are you hungry?" Violet formed a head, kept it still for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Lloyd, the Hairball will be eating tonight."
"Got it."
"You can do really amazing things. I hope I can talk to it some day, just like you do, Helvana."
"Hmm..." She held her chin in thought for a moment, then replied. "I'll look into it. If it's just making it understand you, then I can probably do something about it."
"Really? Thanks, Helvana." He hugged her from the side and she stroked his hair in return.
"Fufu, I'm not your mother, you know? Not that I mind it, though."
"Can I..." He looked up to her.
"Yeeeeees?" She looked down on him and he looked away in embarrassment.
"Can I...call you mom?"
"... Huh?" The request left her dumbstruck for a moment.
"You're really like how our mom was. She'd go out to hunt with dad for our meal often back then and she'd always have a kind smile on her face when she came back. And... she'd also ruffle my hair like this. You're even wearing her dress. So...can I call you mom?"
Helvana smiled warmly as she heard his words. She stroked his hair one last time before returning the hug. "Of course you can, Gwyn. I don't mind it at all."
"Keep it a secret from Lloyd, okay? I don't want him to think that I'm weak."
"Okay, I promise."
"Thanks, mom."
Helvana felt warm and fuzzy inside. They kept hugging each other for a while, not minding anything else.
"Hey, you two, meal's almost done."
"Ah, we'll be there soon."
After their meal, Helvana went straight into thinking up ways to make Violet understand others. Since Helvana's ability to understand all languages comes from her divine origin, perhaps she could share it somehow. Her thoughts absorbed her as usual.
"Hey, Hel, are you listening to me?"
"Huh? Is something wrong, Lloyd?"
"I've been calling you for a while now. Aren't you going to sleep?"
"Oh, it's that time already. Sorry, I was thinking about something and lost track of time. Let's go to sleep then."
Helvana, accompanied by Lloyd and Gwyn, got under Frederic's wing and nestled together under her feather cloak, like they have been doing every night.
Next morning, while the sun was halfway up, Helvana prepared to go hunting while Lloyd checked their stock.
"We have a little bit left, but it won't last until lunch."
"Alright. I still need to get something good for Frederic."
"Don't take too long. Here." He tossed her an apple. "Today's breakfast."
"Just an apple?"
"Either that or you'll have to wait a while for me to cook what we have left."
"Fine, I'll make do with this." She climbed on Frederic's back while eating the apple. "Take care." She straddled Frederic's neck and took off to hunt for food. They began by circling around the camp high in the sky, scouting the ground. Soon enough something caught the bird's eye and he cawed to Helvana, who looked to check what it was. "Is that...a village?" It had about two dozen tiny huts and a plantation. From what she could tell it wasn't very far from where they had set camp. "It's pretty small... We shouldn't bother them though. Let's fly away from here." At her command, Frederic steered away and headed to the opposite direction.
A few minutes later Frederic cawed again, this time he spotted a herd of deer. "That's it, dive in!" He swooped in, the deer heard the approaching beat of wings and began to run when they saw the giant bird. They were too slow, however, and the first was picked up by Frederic, while Helvana threw quills at some others. She kept attacking them until four of them fell from their wounds then let the rest of the herd to flee. Helvana got down from Frederic's neck as he landed and picked up her game. "What a haul. This'll last us a good while." She glued the deer to Frederic's leg with her darkness and set off back to camp.
Frederic landed a bit far from the camp and walked the rest of the way there. "I'm back, boys. I brought a lot back today." Helvana jumped off of Frederic and began to unload the deer from the bird.
"W-wait, just how much did you get, Hel?"
"Frederic ate one right away when we spotted the herd, then I got four more. See?" She stacked them up on the ground to show the bounty to the brothers.
"Amazing. You got this much on your own?"
"How are we going to eat all this before it spoils?"
"Frederic will be eating another later today and tomorrow too, you know?"
"So you'll start to take care of him now?"
"Yes, two for him and two for us."
"Alright, so long as nothing goes wasted. I'll get lunch ready then." He grabbed one of the deer and dragged it to the bonfire to prepare it.
Seeing that lloyd was busy now, Helvana called Gwyn over and got down to his level. "I thought about what we discussed last night on my way back. It's not quite ready, but I think I figured out a way to make the Hairball understand you."
"You already did?!"
"I'll try it out later today, look forward to it. Let's wait for lunch for now though." She said as she got up and ruffled his hair.
"Okay." And he replied wit ha beaming smile.
After the meal the three sat under the shade of one of the trees. They were discussing were to go from there.
"So from here we continue going south?"
"Yes, but soon we should head west. If we go too far down south we'll hit Xerxes."
"Right, so where exactly are we going?"
"I decided to go to Alefpria, it's a city further down south beyond the Ironheart Ranges."
"Never heard of that place before. What's it like?"
"I don't know myself, but I expect it to be big. That reminds me, Frederic and I spotted a village not too far from here. Want to pay it a visit, you two?
"That would be nice."
"But a village, huh..." He said while looking at her suspiciously.
"I promise I won't curse it."
"I'd hope so."
"Gwyn already gave his vote, so what about you?"
"Well, I kinda miss how a bed feels. I guess it would be a good change of pace."
"Alright then, we'll swing by before heading south."
A while later they landed near the village. Helvana ordered Frederic to not get too close to it just yet since he could scare the villagers. The villagers, however, surprised Helvana: white exterior looking like armor and breaking up at the joints, oddly shaped limbs and heads resembling a bird's skull. They weren't much taller than Gwyn, from what she could tell, standing up to Helvana's stomach at most.
"What are they?"
"Hain, I think? We've seen a few of them on rare occasions."
A few of them came to greet the visitors. "Welcome, travelers. What brings you here?"
"Huh?"
"We were just passing by and thought of paying a visit. If you don't mind, that is." She said bending over a bit.
"We don't, of course."
"You can understand them too, Hel?"
"Wait, you don't understand them?"
"Not at all"
"Hmm... Hold on." She concentrated for a few moments then snapped her fingers and a slight shift was noticed by the bystanders.
"What was..."
"Ah, I understood that!"
"Me too."
"Was that..."
"Magic?!"
"She has arrived. Inform Long-Beak Logan." One of the Hain ran off and entered the biggest hut in the village, which was still pretty tiny in their perspective.
"Wait, you knew I'd come?" She asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"Yes, our shaman foretold of your arrival. Please, follow me, you must go to him at once."
Helvana, Lloyd and Gwyn looked at each other, not quite knowing what to do with the sudden development.
"I don't know about this, Hel."
"It can't hurt to try. I'm curious about this shaman too."
"It should be okay, right?"
"...Well, fine. Let's go."
They followed the Hain to the hut at the middle of the village, squeezing their way in, except for Gwyn who could fit in just fine. The place smelled of incense and herbs and had almost no illumination save for the small candles scattered around the room. "Please, head to that room. Long-Beak Logan awaits you." He pointed to a curtain on the other end of the room.
"Can they come with me?"
"Yes, of course. Please, take your time with him." After saying that the Hain left the hut.
"Alright, let's see what this is all about." Helvana went ahead followed by the brothers. She pushed the curtain aside and looked inside. The smell of herbs was even stronger there.
"Greetings, children, I am Long-Beak Logan. Come closer, take a seat." A single Hain laid sitting at the center of the room. True to his name, his beak was longer than the other Hain's. The three entered the room and sat in front of him. "I am sure you have questions for me."
"Indeed. How did you know I'd come?"
"I foresaw that an outsider woman bearing great power would come to us. My earthly eyes can't see anymore, but my spirit has never seen farther."
"Interesting. And what else did you see?"
"I saw our home burned to the ground. Burned by a star-fiend."
"Star-fiend?"
"A being made of malevolent light. A long time ago they came upon this world and destroyed all in their path, but they have grown silent as of late. Many star-fiends were brought down by Stone Chipper himself, one of which fell not far from here. It still lives, though weak as it may be, and in as little as two suns it'll come for us."
"And you foresaw that I'd stop this star-fiend."
"Yes. Though this village doesn't house many lives and has little to offer, I ask of you to aid us, child of gods."
"I accept."
"Wait, Hel, are you sure about this? Shouldn't you think about this a little?"
"I did, and if he knew I'd come then he's not wrong about this star-fiend."
"But isn't it dangerous, Helvana?"
"Of course it is, but I won't let this place be destroyed, even if we just arrived here."
"You really were made pure after all."
"What?"
"I'll tell you about it at a later time. For now all that can be done is wait, so make use of our village until then."
"Alright. I have a question though. You said this star-fiend fell nearby and it's weak right now. Can't I just go after it now?"
"Perhaps, but it fell near the mountains and was covered in rock. If you can find where it fell and lift the ruble then you are welcome to do so."
"I see. I'll pass, it's better to just wait."
"Very well then. Enjoy your stay, don't be afraid to request shelter from anyone, we are prone to help those in need."
"Alright, I'll come back if I have any more questions." Saying that the three stood up and left. Once outside the first thing Helvana did was take a deep breath. "It was a little hard to breathe in there." Then she looked down and saw that all the Hain in the village gathered around the entrance of the hut. "...Huh?" The forty-some Hain covered them in pleas of 'you'll save us, right?' 'you'll help us, right?' and the like. "Y-yes, yes I will, I will help!" The excitement of the villagers took a while to die out.
Night came, they had spent the afternoon in the hut of the Hain that had guided them to Logan. He introduced himself as Ferron, and as it turned out he was the village chief. He lived with his wife, Safin, and daughter, Manna. They passed the time by discussing Hain culture with the travelers. They learned how the village worked and about Stone Chipper. Helvana and the brothers also talked about their journey so far.
"You three came quite the long way, haven't you?"
"All thanks to our over sized friend outside."
"Your powers are amazing, miss. I bet you can do anything." Said Manna.
"Well, I can do a thing or two. I haven't tried many things at least."
"But since Long-Beak Logan trusts you with our protection then you must be powerful indeed."
"Well, not like I doubt my abilities. Still, I don't really know what I'll be up against."
"Logan has already seen that you'll save us. So long as you give it your all I'm certain everything will work out." Safin said confident. "In any case, it's getting late. I'll prepare a meal, are you all hungry?"
"Yes, quite."
"You never miss a chance, huh? Would you mind if I help, miss? We have some meat left, so you don't have to use what you have here."
"Ah, I don't mind."
"Okay, I'll go fetch my bag." Saying that, Lloyd left the hut.
"Manna, you help out too, okay?"
"Okay."
"The Hairball's not hungry, right?"
"I don't think- huh? Where is it?" Violet was nowhere to be seen. Did they slip away at some point? "I only noticed it now, but it's gone."
"What?"
"Is something wrong?"
"Well, a friend of sorts is missing. The Hairball usually hangs on Gwyn's neck like a scarf."
"Hairball, huh... Does it feed on the hides of animals?"
"Yes, actually."
"You have a Fiberling?!" Ferron tried to contain his voice as much as he could to not startle his wife and child. "Those things are dangerous!"
"I don't doubt you, but it didn't hurt any of us. If it did I would've tear it up on the spot."
"And you said it's missing?"
"It's probably hiding with Frederic. We fed it yesterday, so it should be fine."
Ferron sighed. "So long as it's not seen by anyone... Our people aren't very fond of Jvan's creations."
"Jvan?"
"A deity responsible for many abominations. Fiberlings were created by her as well. For your own safety, don't get involved with her, nothing good can come out of it. If I were you, I'd get rid of the Fiberling."
"Maybe it didn't hurt you yet, but can you say it'll stay like that forever?"
"I..."
"Will you please stop that? You're making Gwyn uncomfortable."
"Ah...Sorry if I offended you. We don't like those creatures, but that doesn't mean others should do the same. Still, I ask that you keep it away from us."
"Excuse me." Lloyd entered the hut just then. "Hey, Hel, the Hairball grabbed on to me when I wasn't looking then hid on Frederic. Did something happen?"
"There you have it, the mystery solved itself."
"What?"
"We Hain don't like creatures like this 'Hairball' of yours. Seems like this one's smart enough to avoid us."
"Oh, I see."
"Anyways, now that you're back..."
"You want your meal right away. As unrefined as ever..."
After eating their fill, the travelers were now tucked under Frederic's wing. They were too big to be comfortable inside the hut, much to Lloyd's dismay, so they asked to at least bring Frederic close to the village.
"What day. I'm beat."
"From laid-back demigoddess to a savior of prophecy in a day. I hope you made the right choice."
"Do you think you'll be okay, Helvana?"
"I'm pretty tough, you know? You don't need to worry about me."
"Just be careful, okay?"
"Alright." Violet descended from Frederic's wing and wrapped themselves around Gwyn's neck. "Everyone's here now. Let's forget about it and rest."
The next day started off a lot more busier than the last. Helvana and Lloyd were helping around the village with heavy lifting, while Gwyn helped with minor tasks. With the star-fiend coming in the following day, they had to prepare however they could. Small makeshift barricades and hunting weapons were all that they could prepare in time.
The main strategy didn't rely on them, though. The plan was to evacuate the village and have Helvana face off with the star-fiend, while the Hain that could fight supported her however they could from behind the barricades. Helvana protested against the idea, saying it was too risky, but the Hain stubbornly insisted in helping.
Helvana helped how she could, bringing wood and rocks to the edge of the village facing the mountains. She also crafted some cloaks for the Hain and though she could only make a handful she'd make enough for the rest of the warriors later.
She was now taking a break walking around the village and decided to check the plantation field. She was curious about them ever since Lloyd and Gwyn's village and relied on Oscar to tell her about it. Now she could finally see it up close for herself. The field was just big enough to supply the village, so it wasn't as big the first one she saw. It had a few variations of crops and a handful of fruit bearing trees separate from each other. As she explored the field she happened upon Safin and Manna.
"Hello again, Helvana. What brings you here?"
"Hello miss."
"Hey there. I was just looking around. I never had the chance to see crops up close, so I was curious."
"Well, some of these aren't quite ripe yet. But since the star-fiend will be arriving tomorrow we have to take what we can just in case the crops burn."
"I hope my crows aren't bothering you then. I told them not to eat the crops, but some of them are like bratty children."
"Hahaha. Oh, don't worry, they come by from time to time, but so far they didn't steal anything. They do tend to ask us to feed them though."
"I see. Tell me if they ever take anything without permission."
"Hey, you two, no slacking off just yet." Another Hain called Safin and Manna from afar.
"Ah, sorry. If you don't mind, Helvana, we still have work to do."
"Oh, that's okay." As the two were about to walk away, Helvana had an idea. "Actually, do you think I can help?"
"If you want to, you're more than welcome."
With a smile, Helvana crafted herself a makeshift satchel and helped the Hain collect the food. Some time later, Lloyd and Gwyn passed by and called Helvana.
"So there you are."
"What, did something happen?"
"We stopped understanding the Hain after you left, Helvana."
"Oh, sorry about that. The only way I could come up with to make you understand them needs you to be close to me. Hmm..." She thought for a moment then plucked two of the feathers in her cloak and charged them with her power, then handed one to each of the brothers. "Here, if you two keep these feathers with you you should be able to understand the Hain while I'm away."
"Should?"
"Alright, they will. Satisfied?"
"Plenty."
"How goes the other preparations?"
"We don't really know, we just got back from our breaks."
"It looked almost done though, right?"
"Pretty much. We should be able to finish up without you, so have fun here. We'll call you if we do need you though."
"Okay, see you later, boys."
"Bye, Helvana."
"And keep the birds away from the crops."
"I already am."
A few hours later when all the food that could be used was picked up, Helvana, Safin and Manna were on their way back to the village.
"Thank you for helping us, you were even at your break too when you started, weren't you?"
"Don't worry about it, I actually had a little fun out of it."
"It must be so nice to be able to reach the fruits in the trees. I wish I could be as tall as you, miss."
"You'd have to be as tall as Lloyd then, or even taller. I'm actually pretty short..."
"Not to us at least. A lot of things are very big to us. Your crow is the biggest one yet actually."
"Hey, miss, Is it safe to fly on him? I'm kinda scared of it..."
"Oh, don't worry. Frederic has a special power, you see. You'll barely feel the wind hitting you even if he's pretty fast. If you hold on tightly there won't be any problems."
"I'm a little scared myself to be honest, even if you say it's okay. No one in this village has ever flied before."
"You know what? Lloyd was really scared on his first time too." She said giggling a little from the memory. "But if it's fear of flying, I'll give you two a demonstration." Before the two could react, Helvana grabbed the both and lifted them in her arms. In their surprise they dropped the baskets they used to gather the food.
"Wow! What are you-"
"Get ready, girls!" With a leap she took flight and went high enough to see the whole village.
"Wahh! P-put us down!"
"Calm down, I'm here with you." Despite Safin's protest, Helvana flew around the field calmly. Soon Manna's laughter was heard and with it Safin calmed down. "How does it feel? Not bad, right?"
"This is so nice!"
"To fly like a bird is..."
"Frederic will be flying a lot faster, of course. But he'll be careful with everyone, you won't need to worry about anything once he's taken flight." The surrounding Hain gathered to see the three flying. "I think that's enough, I'll take you two home now." She headed back to the village, some of the Hain followed running. After she landed several other villagers wanted to try out flight as well. Helvana indulged them all, and by the time they were satisfied night had come.
The preparations were finished in time, as rickety as they were, and all the food was being gathered. The stored food was going to be taken along the Hain the next day as a safety measure. Unfortunately the whole amount would be too much for Frederic to carry on top of all the Hain that would evacuate, so the remaining sacks would be stored in Logan's hut. They did all they could in the time they had and now they would rest for the following day.
The next day dawned a lot more tense than the previous one. The sky was covered in clouds and anxiety filled everyone in the village, even Helvana. The star-fiend was supposed appear after sun fall if Logan's prediction was accurate, but Helvana had sent her crows to scout the area just in case. The food sacks that would be transported were already left near Frederic for the evacuation and the villagers were prepared to mount him at any moment. All that could be done was wait, and it only served to further fuel the anxiety.
Helvana was waiting near Frederic with the brothers at all times. She had already prepared the sacks with her darkness so she could just stick them to Frederic when the time came.
"You're pretty tense. You didn't sleep well, did you?"
"No, not really. But I'm fine."
"Relax, Hel, you can do it."
"I'm confident that I can, but...what if I screw up? The lives of these people depend on my success."
"No one said it's easy being a hero. You just gotta do your best and hope it works out."
"Pssh. When did you become so reliable?"
"Since forever?"
"Yeah, He's just shy around you, Helvana." Lloyd winced, but tried to hide it by clearing his throat.
"Oh really?" She asked as she approached his side. "If you're really that reliable then I'll like to see it myself. You two still have the feathers I gave you, right?"
"Yeah, we kept them with us all the time."
"Good, because you two'll be responsible for the evacuating villagers. With those feathers you can even make Frederic understand you."
"That makes sense. Alright, I'll show you how reliable I can be. You too, Gwyn." He said brushing off his embarrassment.
"Okay!"
Time passed. They couldn't see the sun, but it was already setting. There was no report from the crows just yet, maybe the star-fiend was buried above the clouds. Even so, the food sacks were already strapped to Frederic's legs and the villagers were starting to gather. The ones that had already gathered were either already climbing on Frederic's back or saying their goodbyes to the brave that would stay behind. Among them were Ferron and his family.
"Be careful, dear. I wish you all the best of luck."
"We'll be fine. We have a child of gods with us, the star-fiend will surely be defeated."
"Daddy, I really can't stay and help?"
"No, it's too dangerous for a child like you."
"But..."
"I'll be fine. When you're an adult you'll be able to do all sorts of things, but not until then. Now go, you two."
"Okay. Goodbye, daddy."
"Goodbye, dear."
Safin and Manna climbed onto the giant bird as Ferron went to join the front line.
After the last Hain had mounted Frederic, Helvana, Lloyd and Gwyn gathered in front of the bird.
"Everyone's on Frederic. We're ready to leave anytime."
"Okay. What about the Hairball?"
"It hid among the sacks."
"I hope they don't eat the sack... Anyways, take good care of them up there. I'm counting on you two."
"Good luck, Hel."
"Good luck, Helvana." The brothers hugged Helvana before climbing on Frederic as well.
"And you." She caressed Frederic's beak as she whispered. "Don't even think about coming to help me. If it looks like I'm about to lose, then flee as far as you can." Frederic nudged against her and she hugged his head in return. "Lloyd's in charge while I'm away, okay? Listen to him as if it were me." She broke from the hug but kept holding his beak. "Wait for my signal and fly away immediately, okay? Goodbye, Frederic." Finally, she let go of the crow and headed to the front line.
Darkness came, the torches around the village being the only source of light. The wind slowly started to pick up, but it didn't threaten to blow off the fire. Helvana felt something on the distance, though she couldn't see it. She put on her mask and looked towards the mountain. Then a ball of light came through the clouds heading straight towards the village. Helvana lifted her mask and whistled, Frederic and the other crows alike flew off to safety.
"Finally here. I was tired of waiting."
The star-fiend lowered altitude as it approached, but before it could reach the village it fell to the ground on its knees. Helvana didn't tell anyone, but she placed a curse on the village. Any outside entity that threatened to harm the village would grow weak and it worked as expected.
The creature regained its composure and stood back up. As it radiated light it was easy to see its hulking frame: the right arm was torn at the shoulder, probably from when Stone Chipper shot it down, and the plating was all around damaged from the fall, especially the face with half of it being torn off.
It stepped forward, Helvana remained motionless, but the Hain behind her were visibly shaken. Helvana drew her barbed sword and dashed toward the star-fiend and it responded by spewing its white fire at her through its left arm while more leaked from the right shoulder. Helvana dodged to the right then moved in to attack; the star-fiend blocked with its arm as it barely got dented from the blow. Before it could lunge at her, she jumped back and threw quills at its feet in an attempt to pin it down then moved in again to thrust at the creature's stomach. This time it pierced through slightly and light came from the puncture. The star-fiend tried to bash her to the ground, but it only struck the dirt as she narrowly rolled to the left. White fire spewed from the star-fiend's shoulder again and Helvana covered herself with her cloak as she jumped back. The darkness withstood the heat and light, but the feathers burned to ash instantly. Now with her back to the village again she clicked her tongue as the star-fiend effortlessly tore the darkness at its feet.
"This thing is tough..."
The Hain merely watched the two fighting, their fear overwhelming them. One of them notched an arrow and shot it at the creature, though it bounced off the plating. "What are you waiting for? We stayed behind to help her didn't we?" Ferron said loudly. "Even if it's just a little, help her as much as you can!" Another Hain took up his bow and shot as well. Soon all the Hain were firing their arrows. The arrows didn't do anything to the creature, but when some came close to its face it protected itself with its arm.
"Keep attacking! Aim at its face!" She covered her dress in a thin layer of darkness while the creature was distracted and attacked again, aiming at the hole she made on its stomach. It punctured deeper this time, but the barbs prevented the blade from going much further. The star-fiend uncovered its face and Helvana went for the hole on it, but her hand was grabbed right before it could reach. She was lifted off the ground by the arm then thrown back down. Before she could recover she was grabbed by the head this time; she quickly covered her head with darkness before the white fire spewed at her, reducing her mask to ashes. She was lifted again and thrown at one of the houses, breaking its wall on impact. The darkness saved her life, but didn't protect her completely as parts of her face got burnt and most of her hair burned away. She was now too weak to stand and her sword reverted to a ring.
The Hain stood in shock as the star-fiend approached. The ones that didn't run were met with white fire. "No..." Some crows that refused to flee tried to attack the creature, but they were burned as well. "Stop..." She struggled to raise her body and looked at the monster approaching her. A rock struck the star-fiend and it and Helvana looked to see who it was. "No way." A chill ran down her spine.
"Get away from her!" Manna shouted as she threw more rocks. They didn't do anything as it was expected, but it shifted the creature's attention away from Helvana.
The star-fiend outstretched its arm at her. "NOOO!!" Ferron pushed Manna away just as the white fire came, killing him instantly and hitting Manna's forearm. The monster approached Manna as she screamed in pain, but before it could reach her several quills pierced its back. It turned around and saw Helvana back on her feet with her wounds closing and hair slowly growing back. Her face was devoid of any emotion as she shot curse after curse at the star-fiend. She felt nothing, only the pure desire to see that creature dead.
She formed more quills in her hands and threw them at the star-fiend. The creature tried to raise its arm to block them, but it failed to lift its arm and the quills pierced its chest; the curses Helvana had thrown at it began to weigh it down. The star-fiend backed away while trying to point its arm at Helvana, which she immediately targeted, but this time the quills melted on impact and covered the star-fiend's hand in darkness. It tried to shoot its white fire all the same, but the darkness clogged most of it. Helvana walked forward slowly as she continued to throw quills at the star-fiend. Chest. Legs. Abdomen. Feet. Head. Arm. She repeatedly shot the creature all over while it still tried to retaliate.
Eventually the star-fiend walked his way outside the village, now being filled with holes and with its light growing dimmer. Drawing her sword again, Helvana dashed forward and targeted the creature's leg. The curses Helvana used softened its armor enough for the blade to cut through, making the creature fall on its back. She climbed on top of the creature and stood on its chest and looked down at it. She raised her sword and thrust it down at its face then plunged it deeper, the creature's light faded soon after and she could feel its soul flowing into the Scythe.
She pulled the sword off of the scrap metal and reverted it back into a ring. She walked back to the village, the surviving Hain waited for her at the edge. They got down to their knees and thanked her. She payed them no mind, however, and simply walked past them to where Manna was. Helvana knelt down and placed a hand on her chest to confirm that she was still breathing. The porcelain on her arm was burned black and Ferron, who laid beside her, was the same.
Helvana lifted Manna on her arms and headed towards her house. Once inside, she sat on one of the beds and laid Manna on her lap and started to remove the burned porcelain shell on her arm, carefully so as to not hurt her. When she was finished removing the shell, she covered her arm in darkness. Just then, Manna started to moan and opened her eyes.
"Miss?" She called weakly.
"You're awake... You don't have to worry about your arm. I'll make the pain go away." She said as she stroked Manna's cheek.
"Okay..."
"Why did you stay behind?"
"I wanted to help you."
"It was too dangerous. You should've stayed with Frederic."
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Because of me, daddy is..." She started to cry. Helvana continued to stroke her cheek. She felt extremely sad herself, sad that she couldn't save all the villagers, sad that Ferron had died under her protection, but for some reason she didn't shed a tear. And so, despite her sadness, she continued to treat Manna's wound.
"Manna! Manna!" Dashing through the door came Safin, who immediately rushed to her daughter's side. "You left the bird! Why would you leave the bird?! And your father. Oh, by Stone Chipper!" She was crying as well.
"I wanted...to help too. I'm sorry."
"If it wasn't for her, I would've probably died. It wasn't much, but she saved me."
"Then...daddy didn't...die for nothing..."
"Safin, I'll need to heal Manna overnight. Would you mind if sleeps with me for tonight?"
"Do what you must. Please, save my daughter." She said between her sobbing.
Helvana lifted her head and saw Lloyd, Gwyn and a few other villagers at the door, watching.
Next morning the villagers performed the burial rites for the brave that fought last night. Logan left his hut for what seemed to be the first time in a long time to perform them. After the ritual was finished, Helvana followed Logan to his hut, the ever present smell of incense still permeated the air. She immediately too ka seat in front of him.
"I owe you my gratitude, child. were it not for you this whole village would have been lost."
"I only regret not being able to save everyone. I feel that is I was stronger I..."
"What's done is done, there's no point in brooding over the past. All that matters now is the hereafter. The brave hain that stayed behind knew the risks."
"But still, I didn't even know I had that much power in me. If I was better prepared then no one would've had to die."
"If that is what you believe, then strive to learn more about yourself. I trust you will be leaving us soon."
"Yes, we should leave while the sun is high."
"So be it. Before you go, however, I saw some of what lies in the path ahead of you. Would you like me to tell what I saw?"
"Yes, please."
"Then..." Logan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again. "Poison given life, made pure by the world... A tree bearing fruit most foul, spreading death freely... In the shores of the river of tears, an unforgivable act is committed for the greater good..." Logan closed his eyes again and remained silent for a few moments. "Forgive me, my visions are usually not as vague. Do you make anything out of this?"
"No... Is that all you foresaw?"
"Yes. I couldn't see any more than that, perhaps you being a child of gods interfered somehow. I can, however, tell that this does not foretell of good times. I can't tell when, but you will come upon great misfortune eventually. The vagueness must mean it is yet not set in stone, perhaps you can avoid these events entirely."
"Hmm... I see. Thanks for that, I guess. I'll do my best to avoid that future then. Goodbye, Logan. I won't be around to help, but my protection will last a good while."
"I noticed. Good luck in your travels. And may Stone Chipper watch over you."
Helvana got up and left Logan's hut. She took a breath of fresh air and went to Safin's house. Lloyd and Gwyn were inside as well, talking with Safin and Manna.
"Ah, Hel, you're here. How did things go with Logan?"
"Fine. I'll tell you about it later. Are we about ready to leave?" She sat down beside Lloyd.
"You won't stay for a while more?"
"Sorry, but we're trying to reach Alefpria. We're in an adventure to explore the world after all. What do you boys think?"
"Well, I think we could stay a while longer, but I don't mind leaving either."
"I'm fine with it too, even if I end up missing it here."
"But...you stayed for such a short while miss."
"Sorry, Manna, but it can't be helped. We'll come back to visit in the future though, so don't worry."
"Safin, are you here?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"The others are calling for you, could you come over for a moment?"
"Okay. If you'll excuse me, I'll be back as soo nas I can." Safin got up and left.
"Ah, Manna, before we leave I have to finish treating you." Helvana held Manna's arm and slowly peeled the darkness off of it. There was some scarring left, but aside from that her arm was completely healed. "All better now. This is the least I can do for you."
"Umm... Miss..."
"Is something wrong?"
"I... Can I...go with you?"
"Huh? Go where?"
"Traveling."
"What?" Helvana was taken aback. "Why would you do that?"
"Because...I don't want you to leave."
"But what about your mother? You'll just leave her here?"
"She can come too, can't she?"
"Hel, you didn't do anything to her, right?"
"Of course not, I just healed her arm and nothing else. Unless..."
"Then..."
"I don't know why this would happen." She took a deep breath to calm down and palced a hand on manna's shoulder. "Manna, you can't come with us, not even if Safin comes along."
"But...they're traveling with you, right? Why can't I too?"
"This is where you belong, Manna. I took them with me because they had nowhere else to go. You still have your home and your mother. She'll need your help a lot more now that Ferron isn't here, so you have to stay and take good care of her, alright?"
"I... Okay, I'll do that. I promise. So promise you'll come back too, okay?"
"Of course. I already said I'd do that, didn't I?"
Just then Safin came back with three more hain carrying in some food.
"Wow, what's this?"
"Payment, I guess? The village wanted to repay for your help. Safin told us you were about to leave, but would you mind staying for a meal first?"
"Well, if you insist."
"Always thinking with your stomach... When will you change?"
After they had finished eating, Helvana and the brothers were saying their goodbyes to the villagers. Aside from what they had already eaten, the villagers had all agreed to give them some of their food.
"Travel safe, you three."
"Thanks, and...good luck, Safin."
"Thank you."
"Goodbye, miss. Come back soon, okay?"
"I'll try. Farewell."
They climbed on Frederic's back and left without further ado. They would continue heading south for now, but soon they'd have to avoid Xerxes by crossing the Ironheart ranges. They would still take a few weeks to reach Alefpria.
"Hey, Hel, what happened to your mask?"
"Ah, that thing burned it... Can you make me a new one?"
"Of course. I'll work on it as soon as we find some good wood."
A week after the encounter with the Pack-Minds, Hel & Co. are setting camp for the day. They're running out of food, so Helvana has to go hunting more the next day.
Since Helvana is the only one that can be understood by Violet, she's the one to check if they're hungry or not. Gwyn is amazed by Helvana's ability as a Demi-Goddess to understand all languages and wonders if he'll ever be able to understand Violet. Helvana promises to find a way to make make them understand each other and Gwyn's overjoyed. He confesses that he started to see Helvana as his mother and asks if he can call her that, to which she happily says yes.
After their meal, Helvana keeps trying to think of a way to make Gwyn and Violet understand each other, but her train of thought is interrupted by Lloyd asking if she was going to sleep or not. She goes to sleep and keep think more the next day.
Helvana goes out hunting with Frederic first thing in the morning. While they're scanning the ground from the skies, they spot a tiny village in the distance and decide to fly away from it to not startle the villagers.
They find a herd of deer in the plains and dive in after them. They returned to camp with a hefty amount of food and Lloyd proceeds to prepare lunch. Helvana also informs Gwyn that she thought of a way to translate speech, but she's still working on it.
After their meal the three muse where to go next, when Helvana remembers the village and asks if the brothers want to pay it a visit. They agree to pass by it before continuing with their travels.
Upon arrival, Helvana is surprised by the villagers themselves as she never saw any hain before. They're greeted by a few of them, but the brothers can't understand their language. Helvana decides it's a good time to try out her translator and activates it. The villagers notice it was cause by magic and claim that the village shaman had foretold of her arrival. Curious about this, Helvana goes see the shaman.
Inside the shaman's hut, the old hain introduces himself as Long-Beak Logan and says that he saw the village being burned down by a Realta in just a few days and that Helvana would be there to stop it. She quickly agrees to help, despite the uncertainty of the brothers.
The village chief, named Ferron, offers shelter for the travelers, they meet his wife and child, Safin and Manna, and spend the day telling stories about each other (I couldn't portray the polygamy in hain culture in this post, sorry about that.) Ferron is surprised that they have a Fiberling and mentions Jvan and how dangerous she is, but says he'll tolerate it so long as Violet doesn't cause any trouble. After they have dinner they go to sleep.
Next morning they devise a plan for the Realta. The village would be evacuated on Frederic along with as much food they could carry, while some hain would stay behind to assist Helvana however they could. Hel & Co. help out in building makeshift defenses for the attack.
After doing her part, Helvana goes to inspect the farm, given that she couldn't see it up close the first time. She meets Safin and Manna there and helps them gather food for the evacuation. Lloyd and Gwyn came looking for Helvana soon after saying that they couldn't understand the hain anymore. She explains that the translator only works when she's near the speaking parties and gives a feather charged with her powers to them to serve as portable translators and then they return to their works.
At the end of the day when they gathered all the food in the farm, Helvana, Safin and Manna are returning home when they ask is flying on Frederic is dangerous. Helvana gives them a sample by flying around with them in her arms. The rest of the village is amazed by her flight and they all want to try it out as well.
The next day is a lot more somber as the Realta is supposed to arrive that day. Helvana is anxious, but the brothers reassure her. She says that when they escape they're the ones in charge of keeping the villagers safe.
Night comes and the hain begin to gather around Frederic. Ferron says his goodbyes to his family and Helvana to Lloyd, Gwyn and Frederic.
Helvana waits for the Realta at the edge of the village and signals for Frederic to leave as soon as it shows up. As a defensive measure, Helvana placed a curse on the village that weakens anyone trying to attack it and it weighs down the Realta enough to keep it grounded. Helvana fights the Realta with the support of the warrior hain, but she's badly wounded. The Realta kills some of the warrior hain and a few crows that refused to leave as it approaches the weakened Helvana, but is distracted by Manna, who snuck out before Frederic could left. Ferron dies when he pushes her out of the way of the Realta's attack, but she's wounded all the same. Helvana is majorly pissed and quite literally curses the Realta to death (actually think this could cost 1 Might, but I'm not sure.)
Helvana takes Manna to her hut and proceeds to heal her arm. Safin comes back soon after in shock from all that happened. Manna says that she only wanted to help, to which Helvana says that it helped her recompose herself. She tells Safin that Manna needs to sleep near Helvana to heal her arm overnight, to which Safin agrees.
Next day they bury the hain that died last night. Helvana meets Logan one last time before leaving and he imparts to her the rest of what he saw about Helvana. Afterwards she visits Safin and Manna. While Safin is busy, Helvana removes the darkness on Manna's arm and she asks Helvana if she can go traveling with her, which shocks Helvana. She and Lloyd argue is she did something to Manna, which she denies, but considers what could've happened. Helvana then convinces Manna to stay in the village, but promises to visit again one day.
They have a meal before departing and take some food as gratitude. Lloyd noticed that Helvana lost her mask and promises to make her a new one as soon as possible.
Starting Might: 7 -1 Might to heal Manna's arm (Might invested into Darkness(Healing)) Portfolio available for acquisition -4 Might to level up
I did a keriss,@Lauder, and I also made a vid on how I drew her, but I'll prob leave it uploading overnight. The unedited mess will take like 4-5 hours xD
She looks tamer that I thought. Is this a case of makeup usage?
Soon other people will want their characters drawn by you too.
@Scarifar Don't feel too bad. I've been procrastinating on my post for months now. If I keep this up I might not be able to maintain that one post per turn schedule... My post is almost, I swear!
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