Ravissant

Chapter 7

Hic Est Retus Est - The Rite to Passage

Neonella braced herself as the signal to the competition began. She felt bodies hitting her while she runs blindfolded towards the course inside the forest.

Yes, the soldiers and warriors who joined the competition were all blindfolded. They had to rely on their other senses as they jump over one challenge over the other.

To make it worse, their hands were tied to their back as they ran inside the forest.

She prepared for this moment more than anyone else did. She practiced running into these forests, getting scratched, and tripped over the roots and the branches of the trees inside.

One time, she even bumped into Milos who was also memorizing the path towards the goal in the forest.

Her comrades fell into the holes in the ground, some hit by branches and trees. A lot played rough and tried to trip the other. Everyone wanted to get the chance to be a part of the team that enters the Old World.

Neonella relied on her speed and her memory. She memorized every turn, every rock, and every possible obstacle that was ahead of her way. No one was stopping her to get to the Old World. No one can stop her from finding Olethea.

She ran and jumped and avoided everything and anything that went against her way.

Neonella was the first one who reached the finish line of the Elvin race. She was welcomed there by her brother, Fortem, who stood proudly while he removed the blindfold from her face.

Her brother smiled at him. It was the kind of smile that was only reserved for his loved ones. Behind his eyes, Neonella knew that he was happy and supportive of her plans to find Olethea while trying to capture and defeat the monster Gilgamesh.

She smiled through her eyes and stood like the soldier that she was trained for. She looked back at the trail where a few more soldiers began to arrive, running towards the end of the competition.

Lux was the second soldier to arrive. He was two Elvin years older than Neonella. He was known for his talent with animals and how he could talk with them through their mind. His brother walked towards where he was running and caught him at the end of the line. There, his blindfold was removed, and was officially welcomed as one of the five Elves to enter the human world.

Another soldier arrived just seconds after Lux. It was Petram. He was among the older elves that joined the competition. He was a few years younger than his brother Fortem. Petram was known for his unbelievable strength. He was among the most famous members of the Elvin army who managed to single-handedly capture and defeat a monster just like Olethea. He defeated and captured the Primis Tenebris, also known as the dusk monster.

However, not known to the kingdom, not even to Petram himself, Neonella was hidden in the woods during his battle with the monster. While Petram lost his consciousness for a few minutes after being given a hard blow by the monster on his head, Neonella appeared and stabbed the monster on his hide, his weak point. She managed to chant a sleeping spell to the monster a few seconds before Petram woke. She was never the kind of soldier who would fight blood and bone for glory. She decided to hide while Petram continued the battle and eventually defeated the monster.

She never shared that fact with anyone, not even her brother. She was just happy that she managed to help save a fellow soldier’s life. Besides, Petram was one of the very few soldiers who showed compassion to her when the whole kingdom hated them.

She remembered him saying to her one time during her training years as a soldier,” You lost a friend and you are still just children. We all make mistakes.” She never forgot that.

The rest of the kingdom cheered as Petram reached the end of the trail. Fortem was the one who took off his blindfold and congratulated him as one of the five elves to enter the Old World.

It took a while before the fourth soldier emerged from the forest. It was Ferox, one of the fiercest soldiers of the army. He was lean and muscular and was known for his skills in fighting. He is believed to be as good as Neonella, but they were never pitted against each other. Ferox was Neonella’s right hand. He also happens to be the Elvin son that was meant to be married to Milos.

Neonella never knew about this fact up until Ferox became a part of her troops. According to him, he was already introduced to Milos. Knowing how obedient of a daughter Milos was, she didn’t complain. After two more Elvin years, they are scheduled to marry.

Four soldiers were already named and cheered by the kingdom. Only one spot was left,

At the edge of the forest appeared three more soldiers. Milos and two other soldiers whom Neonalla realized were Damian and Oros. The three were almost at each other, running towards the finish line.

However, in the middle of the sprint, Oros tripped Milos who fell to the ground. As she was trying to get up, she was kicked by Damian who was close behind. The whole kingdom shouted in disappointment. Although most people still remembered Milos as one of the Elvin daughters who caused the monster of Omnia to escape, the move Oros and Damian played on her was far from honorable.

Neonalla tried to compose herself. She couldn’t do anything for Milos. However, just like when they were kids, she managed to get into her head, as if shouting to her ear. “Get up, Olethea is counting on us.”

Milos got up and looked in her direction. She ran as fast as she could and managed to catch up with Oros and Damian who were busy trying to off throw one another. They didn’t notice Milos who was closing in.

When they did, Oros tried to trip her again. However, Milos was more than ready this time and managed to counter Oros’ attack.

Damian blindly hit Oros and the two of them fell on the trail. The whole kingdom cheered as Milos ran towards the finish line. She was the last elf welcomed by Fortem. She is going back to the Old World to defeat the monster Gilgamesh.

After accepting the Elvin Army’s congratulations, Milos tried to catch Neonella’s gaze. When she looked at her, she looked at her the way she used to look at her when they were younger. For a split second, Neonella felt that she had her friend back. When the King and Queen started to step down to congratulate them, Milos looked away at Neonella and never looked back.

“It doesn’t matter,” Neonella told herself. When we get back Olethea, Milos, and I can be friends once again.