The Moon Symphony

Pine Lagoon

"Thank you so much, Father. We will set off now again for our journey."

"Take care, young ones. May the deities bless you on your way." Father said as we started the day for our journey.

At first, Anan was not allowed to go with us, but after some time convincing our Father, he was allowed. He was thrilled that he could travel with us to discover the secrets of the Orient seas. We told them that we could have Anan because of his healing abilities and Anan's knowledge about herbs that can help us.

Everything was set, and we left for our journey. As per Baku's instruction, we need to head south of the Bulan to reach Pine Lagoon's location. He said that his friend lives there and can guide us to the lost village of the stars. We kept on asking if his friend was talking about it, but Baku wouldn't say a word. He wants us to be surprised once we get there.

We let Baku do what he wants since he is our guide, and he knows many things here in Orient Seas. As for Ani, her actions towards Apo were the same. She was still cautious of him. I kept on convincing her that it was okay, that Apo could be trusted.

After a few explanations, Ani lightened her attitude towards him. Well, I hoped that there were no complications as we move forwards in our journey, at least.

As for the hooded people I saw last time, Father has less information about them. They only found one book that has records of them.

During the age where the Evil Lord rampaged on the Orient Seas, several people worship darkness. They were given powers by the Evil Lord the same as the Deities. People who don't have a blessing or the untouchables fell prey to the dark lord's promises and allowed themselves in the pits of darkness. It was because of the hunger for power and acceptance.

After the battle of the Deities and the Evil lord, most of their records disappeared suddenly. Thus, people forgot the group's name over time. Tribes called them a lot of names, the harbingers and whatever sinister name that they can have. As for the present time, some people say that they are the Heralds of Darkness, but the organization still hid their true identity and whereabouts.

"As far as we are concerned, the old village chief of Amihan and Batibat connected to this organization," I said.

"We should be careful of their presence, and we still don't know what they can do," Baku said.

"Understood!" Ani and Ester said in unison.

"So, how long are we going to travel to the Pine Lagoon?" Apo asked.

"It will take some time if we walk towards there, but I have some solution for that," Baku said.

"What?" I asked.

"You'll see, my fellow warriors."

"Hey, Baku, stop teasing us and let us know."

Baku stayed silent and looked at us. We continued to travel on the path that he told us. The vegetation was getting greener than the ones that we had near Bulan nor Amihan. We walked for several hours and reached an open field, changing the scenery we saw before.

Everyone was amazed by the view. It was a very vast flower garden. All sorts of flowers grow in the field, ranging from roses to lilies. I saw some sunflower too, and of course, my favorite, Lily of the valley.

The two girls were overjoyed by what the surroundings. They ran on the fields like kids.

Baku and Anan followed the two girls. Apo and I were left alone, and the situation got awkward. After that accident, I was too shy to talk with Apo. I can feel that both of us were embarrassed.

While the others were enjoying, we both stayed silent while watching them. I mustered up my courage and tried to talk to Apo to lighten up the mood.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I asked and looked at him.

"Not as beautiful as the one near me," Apo answered.

Wait? What the. Did I hear that right? Is he talking about me?

My heart reacted again, causing my face to flush.

"Sorry, I'm just joking. I was trying to lighten up the mood." Apo said and smiled.

"Oh, okay," I said.

Was my expectation that much? I feel I'm going crazy.

"Hey lovebirds, what are you still doing there! Let's go." Baku shouted.

Oh my goodness, not again. At first, it was Ani, and now Baku.

I can hear them laughing at us. Those people, I'm going to smack them on their heads if they continue to tease us.

I walked towards them, Apo following.

"So where are we headed now? I did not know that such a field of flowers exists here." I said.

"Of course, this place is usually hidden to people, and only those who were allowed can enter," Baku said.

"But how did we manage to go here if this place were secluded to us?" Ani asked.

Baku pulled a talisman out of his pouch. It's made from the golden sunflower seed.

'What's that? I never saw something like that before". Anan said.

"This seed is a token that we can use, and anyone who holds this can enter the path to the Pine Lagoon," Baku said.

"But why do you have that?" Apo asked.

"Of course, the Pine Lagoon guardian is no other than my friend, the Fae Dragon Saldang."

Fae dragon?

"Guys, up until now, you still don't know my real identity, except for Master Ayari. And for you to have a more precise grasp of what's happening, I'll show you my true form." Baku said.

"So you mean you are not an actual human?" Ester asked.

Baku did not answer but moved backward to have some space. He put down his purse and closed his eyes.

"Release!" Baku shouted.

A white light covered Baku, and he slowly transformed back to his actual appearance. The white light disappeared, and everyone was surprised, and I suddenly let out a laugh because of their reaction.

"A dragon!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Of course! I am the Moon Dragon Baku." He said, laughing at everyone's reaction.

Everyone looked at me as if they were asking for an explanation.

"I'm sorry, guys, if I didn't tell you, Baku asked me to hide his identity, or the people around us might be afraid," I said.

"Okay, we understand Big Brother. The both of you could have told us sooner than this." Ester said.

"Listen, guys, if I roam around outside there with this form, do you think the people will be happy? As far as everyone knows, dragons ceased to exist a long time ago. What if they saw freely flying in the skies? Of course, I will end up causing panic and fear." Baku explained.

Everyone nodded in agreement at what Baku said. I'm glad that they understood his intentions.

"But why do you look so small?" Ani asked.

"Okay, before I answer that, girls, can you please turn around for a minute? I'll morph back into a human." Baku said.

"Is there something that you don't want us to know?" Ester asked.

"Do what he says, guys. I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't like what you will see." I said.

"Oh, okay" The two nodded and turned around with their back facing us.

"Why are you turning around too?" Apo asked.

"Oh, nothing," I said and waited for Baku to say that it's okay. I'm still not used to seeing other people's you know. You can say that I'm too innocent, but I quickly get embarrassed.

A white suddenly flashed, which means that Baku transformed back into a human.

"Oh my goodness, hurry to get his stuff." Apo and Anan exclaimed. I can't help myself not to laugh.

After a few minutes, Baku asked the girls to turn around.

"What happened?" Ani and Ester asked.

"You don't need to know," Anan said.

The two just nodded at what he said. We continued to walk towards the center of the field, and the two girls keep on asking Baku if what it feels like to be a dragon. Anan kept on laughing at them.

While walking, I noticed something in front of us.

"What's that?" I pointed my fingers in front of us. Everyone gasped at what they saw. It was a massive tree! Its base is as large as Bulan.

"It's the Pine Lagoon," Baku said.

Really? That gigantic tree is what we are looking for? I said.

"Yup, that's the home of the Fae Dragon."

How are we going to get there? I asked.

"We are going to ride the wind."

"Wait, what do you mean ride the wind?" Apo asked.

"Come on, over there!"

My eyes widened when we arrived at the place Baku was pointing. I can hear the buzzing of their wings and the gleam of their exterior shell.

"Do you mean this giant beetle?" I said.

"Of course, do you see anything that we can ride aside from our friendly creatures?"

I can feel my jaw dropping from what Baku said.

Orient Seas is sure surprising!