The Red Soul

Chapter Eleven

Irlémento, the village of magical creatures. Myris looked around her as she stepped through the gate. The green trees and hills had given way to a forest full of colour. Despite the predominance of green tones, Myris also saw red, yellow and orange leaves peeking through the normal green mass, as if fall, spring and summer coincided. But despite how beautiful it already looked; it became even more special when Myris picked up a blue leaf. Incredulously, she left it on her hand until the wind took it.

It was as if a natural paint had been splattered on random leaves, but could not be taken off as the pigments had merged with the mesophyll, changing the original colours. Still, the amount of colour was not overpowering. Especially, in the trees closest to the gate, were less different colours present. The amount slowly increased, however, as if the source was somewhere further down the path they were walking on.

The multiple paths consisted of loose stones and pebbles and were often interrupted by many streams, over which birch bridges ran. Although the paths lead to many houses on the ground, a whole network of bridges and houses had also been built above them in the trees.

The village was different from Evario with its stone walls and houses, but it was totally the opposite of the dark, black room in which she had been imprisoned; a room that had caused Myris to forget how beautiful the world could be. H And although she was not particularly fond of colours in general, the had to admit that this place was breath-taking.

Contrasting to Evario, where streets full of people were together to shop and enjoy the liveliness of the city, Irlémento was much calmer, almost imperturbable like the woods surrounding it. But the same kind of creatures appeared in both places.

Listening to the birds that were chirping, Myris recognized the dénatro that had bumped into her the other day. Instead of being in a hurry, he was enjoying a glass of water on one of the balconies above her.

When they made eye contact, he waved at her. Myris waved back politely. Somehow, she still felt intimidated by the creature's gigantic build, but the feeling had been pushed into the back of her mind, even almost completely gone as she started to trust them more and more.

The others were busy talking and walked on, not realizing that Myris was left behind for a moment, taking in the dénatro appearance. The tree-like creature also looked at her briefly and then went inside.

Surprised, Myris looked after him, but when she was about to catch up with the others he came back. Smiling, the creature held an apple in his long wooden fingers. He dropped it and Myris deftly caught the fruit. A small smile spread across her face as he waved at her one last time.

She eagerly took a bite of the apple. When she reached the others, Fyrian looked questioningly at the apple. Myris shrugged, the smile turning into a grin.

As they got further into the village, Myris saw the rivers converge. There were no houses present as the rivers merged to form a lake in the centre of the village. And in the centre of that lake, there was a tree. A willow. But the tree was by no means large. No, it was smaller than the others. The lowest leaves were for Myris probably just out of reach. But even if she could touch them, would she dare? The leaves had no colour... and yet, when the light of the sun shone on them, Myris saw them all.

The leaves seemed to be transparent, yet they also reflected the light.

She wanted to go to the tree, but not a single bridge or path led to it. On the small island in the middle of the lake, he was isolated from the rest of the trees. Above it, there was a large clearing in the canopy.

"Much has been discovered when the people dared to go in the forest again, but this willow would be the crown jewel. They say it was the reflection of its leaves that caused the specs of different colours to appear on the other trees." Viera stood beside her, not taking her eyes off the tree. Cearen and Fyrian also stopped to admire the tree.

Myris understood why. Every time she blinked the colours scheme, contained within the leaves, changed. The leaves reminded her of tiny jewels or even tiny mirrors.

Fyrian was the first to avert his eyes. "Shall we continue? Elyos is probably waiting for us."

Hearing his words, Myris remembered why they were here again and her face fell. She looked around, searching for a building that could belong to someone with high status, but she saw nothing that stood out besides the tree.

When she followed Fyrian again, it became clear that the place she was looking for was not even in the city. Although the colours continued for a while through the rest of the forest, there was only one path remaining.

Despite Viera's assurance that they were almost there, the ground became steeper, making it difficult for Myris to walk as she started to sweat a bit. They were walking up a hill until they were at the edge of the forest, which seemed to be the edge of the world.

They were standing on a cliff. Myris peered down, but she could only see the sea. Sea... and a beautiful castle that stood at the end of the cliff. Instead of being made of wood, like everything in Irlémento, the building was made of white and grey stone, decorated with the light birch wood and yellow ornaments, but Myris also saw traces of gold glistening in the sun.

Focusing on the gold specs, she realized that some of those sparkles were armour. Rows of guards with the same grey and gold armour were lined up around the castle. Some of them were already closely watching her and the others approach.

When they stood before grey doors that were already open, Myris started to tremble. If she wanted to even have a slim chance to get help by freeing Yrag, she needed to be in good favour with the man that they had called Elyos. If what Viera had said was true, his influence on Olèrian was big. If he would not approve of her, the king most likely would also not give his consent for her wish. She could only hope that Elyos was not too bad as she assumed him to be.

Cearen noticed her concern and took her hand, giving a slight squeeze.

The warmth gave Myris enough comfort to control her breathing. Although it helped and she was thankful, she still held his hand, which he let her.

Fyrian, who nodded his head to the guards, also looked back at her. Seeing her uneasiness, he stepped towards her and lay a hand on her shoulder. "It will be fine."

Myris could not look away from his piercing gaze. His unusual orange eyes had captured her completely. The light in them calmed her down, but most of all, it gave her courage. And that was exactly what she needed right now. She took a deep breath. "Alright. let's go."

"Alright." Fyrian gave her a cheeky smile. "You go first."

"Wait, what?" She could not say anything else as Fyrian pushed her a bit forward so that she stumbled into the entrance. She was standing in a small hall, in which there was nothing more than a few seats and a large staircase leading to a closed door on the left. There were also doors on the right, but they were open. Curious, Myris took a few steps towards it when she heard voices coming from there, and her mouth fell open.

The place was not a normal castle, it was a library. Rows of bookcases lined up against the walls. Humans and other creatures walked up and down stairs to different floors, where there were only more bookcases. In the centre of the huge room stood tables and chairs, while couches were set up in snug corners. Before the large windows hang light grey open curtains, obstructing half of the light so that no one would be bothered by it while reading.

Myris, who wanted nothing more than to go into the hall and stay there for the rest of the week, had to force herself and turn around when footsteps were heard on the stairs behind her.

A muscular dark-skinned Fae strode down the stairs, clad in a black shirt with a high collar and black pants. A white robe with short wavy sleeves and yellow edges was held together by a yellow sash wrapped around his waist.

When he stopped in front of them, Myris had to look up, but instead of staring at his face, her eyes travelled further, passed his long dark brown hair, towards what was above it. Two smooth black horns protruded from his head. They were narrow and curved backwards. Gold rings adorned the horns, and one ring on the left horn had a small golden chain attached to an earring.

He did not seem to be from Olèrian, but another, warmer land.

With a piercing gaze, he glanced over his guests, and while they rested on Fyrian for a while, they did not stop until they were focused on Myris. The golden jewellery and yellow embroidery in his clothing matched with his yellow eyes that looked down on her.

"My, my, look who finally decided to show up. It has been a while, hasn't it?"

Assuming that the man was speaking to Fyrian, Viera and Cearen, Myris wanted to step aside so that they could talk, but before she could, Fyrian nudged her in her back. As she slightly turned towards him, he gestured with his head towards the person in front of them, and when she understood what he meant, her eyes widened.

Surely, the man in front of her was not the one they talked about. Viera had told her that Elyos was one of the eldest persons alive in Olèrian, but this person had barely any wrinkles nor grey hair, or other signs of elderdom. On the contrary, he looked young. Perhaps older than them, but not by many years.

Yet, his eyes told her differently. They showed the coldness and intellect that Viera had mentioned as they looked around, but seemed to observe more than what could be seen. There was no light in them like those through which a person could distinguish whether someone was happy, angry or sad. Instead, they seemed empty. Not dull and glassy as they were not fully devoid of any kind of expression. It was as if proper emotion was missing in them- as if it was missing in him.

But they fitted so well, seemed so familiar for some reason as if she had seen them before. And that feeling also told her that he was indeed the one called Elyos, the one she was supposed to meet.

When other guests appeared in the hall, some of them coming from the library with books in their hands, ready to leave with them, while others just entered the castle, Elyos kept staring at Myris, ignoring them completely.

"Any reason why it took so long?"

Grinning, Fyrian shrugged his shoulders. "We got a bit delayed."

"She tried to kill him at their first meeting," Viera clarified, looking at Cearen that nodded in agreement.

"It would not be the first time that something like that happened."

"Look who is talking. How many threats did you receive these past days?"

"Eight," Elyos answered shortly. "However, you have not come to talk about that. Follow me."

As he walked up the stairs again, Fyrian was the first to go after him, still trying to know more about the treats. Cearen, however, gave Myris an encouraging smile before following Elyos as well.

Viera had also placed her feet on the first steps but remained there as she noticed Myris standing still.

Looking back at the open doors, Myris ran a hand through her hair. Fyrian's laugh could be heard above her, and she was not sure how he could be laughing at this moment... or in Elyos' presence is what she actually meant. Not sure if it was because of the way he talked without a lot of emotion, or his general stolid disposition... Myris had never felt so imitated; never so disturbed.

Stepping back, Viera hooked her arm around Myris' arm and pulled her upstairs. They led to a corridor with large windows and balconies overlooking the sea. The side aisles were just as spacious, and for a moment it felt as if they were back in Ovèrio, but Myris left that thought as soon as they reached the end of the corridor.

While the ground floor functioned as a public library, the higher floors were Elyos' private quarters. But just like the library, the room they entered was also filled with bookcases. Besides them stood class cases filled with both things she could and could not recognize. It looked like a strange collection. Along the cases, a desk and several variating tables, covered with folders and scrolls, were placed. The smell of new parchment was everywhere.

Myris turned to a dark door ajar. Elyos saw her looking at it and motioned her over. Letting her curiosity take over, she approached him and peeked inside. A giant tower with a staircase that circled to the top filled her vision. The tower was filled to the brim with shelves and stacked cabinets overloaded with scrolls, plants and herbs, glass bottles and jars, and much more. But despite the chaos, things seemed to be in order, as if everything had been arranged. It looked like some sort of storage. Or perhaps a strange trophy room, adding to the collection displayed in the room.

"And I thinking that door led to a bathroom." Fyrian pushed aside some books and plopped down a settee.

Viera laughed and sat down next to him, but Myris was not even halfway with looking through the room. She saw something different every time. Unconsciously she turned around to take it in. Only then did she notice the back part of the room. Behind yellow curtains that reached from the ceiling to the ground, there was a whole other space, with a large round bed. Above it was no real roof but a glass dome looking out to the cloudless sky.

Myris looked at it breathlessly. "So, this is where the king's advisor lives?"

The joyful chatter beside her stopped when Elyos raised an eyebrow. "Advisor? Who told you that?"

Nervously, Myris's eyes slid to Viera, who was studying her nails, smirking. Elyos followed her gaze. His expression remained impassive, except for the corner of his mouth that slightly raised. "It is fascinating that people still calm me his advisor despite everything."

This confused Myris. "Excuse me, but what are you then?"

Elyos smirked, and a shiver went down her spine. It was the first time she saw some real emotion and it did not give her a good feeling at all. Myris felt that there was a hidden meaning behind it, especially when she saw Fyrian, Viera and Cearen exchange knowing looks, but none elaborated on it.

"I am the main reason that Olèrian is still functioning properly."

Fyrian snorted as he grabbed an hourglass from a small round table beside him and turned it upside down. "Yet, if Olèrian will be destroyed, it will definitely be your fault as well."

"But by that time, I will have a good reason for it."

Cearen, who had been watching all the time with a smile, looked at Viera briefly and walked away. No, he did not run away, he walked to the tower. Myris looked after the boy questioningly.

"He is grabbing some tea herbs," Viera explained. And just as she said he came out again with a small pouch in his hand, but how quickly he had come he had already gone through another door.

Still looking around, Myris went closer to the curtains and the bed, that had a single pillow on it, but backed away with a shriek when she saw movement under it.

In a second, Fyrian was in front of her, using his body as a shield, searching for the source that had scared Myris.

One by one, two ears with white and orange fur protruded above the pillows, followed by a small pointed head sniffing at the four in attendance. When the creature decided that the strangers were no threat to him, it climbed out of its improvised hole. Then it sniffed at Fyrian's legs.

Myris eyes widened as she stared at the little fox-like creature with large, shiny, yellow eyes. The creature circled Fyrian's legs until Fyrian picked it up gently and began to hug it. "You have a baby fierrix! How did you get it? Where's the mother? What are you going with-"

With a single glare, he silenced Fyrian. "Amaeron and I found the creature a couple of days ago when we were walking through the woods. There were no traces of its begetters, nor any signs of their presence in recent time. It was supposedly starving, and Amearon thought it would be a good idea to have me provide nourishment. When it had the nerve to follow us back as well, Amearon even urged me to bring it with me so I could maintain it in the hope that it would enhance the progress of my situation." He waved his hand towards the small creature. "As I could not oppose him, I have taken it with me and supplies it with its main necessities. But it keeps burdening me with its need for unnecessary contact."

Viera, who came to stand beside Fyrian so she also could pet the small animal, chuckled. "What may seem unnecessary for you, Elyos, is essential for them. They require a lot of attention."

Right then, Cearen returned with a tray with thee cups. Surprised he looked at the animal in Fyrian's arms which started to wiggle in the latter's grasp. Understanding what the creature wanted, Fyrian put it on the floor and it hobbled with its small paws towards Cearen, rubbing the male's leg, making a huge smile appear on Cearen's face. Putting the tray aside, he started to pamper it.

Noticing Myris starring at it, Cearen sat down on the seat where Fyrian just sat and petted on the place beside him. When she was seated, he placed the fierrix on her lap. His wavy tail and coat were soft, almost silky and still warm from his place under the pillows. She scratched him behind the ears and over his belly, enjoying the feeling. The fierrix in return started to lick her hand, tickling Myris with its rough tongue.

Elyos observed them with narrow eyes. "That I have noticed. Yet, it is not something I am willing to provide, so I suggest you take it with you." Then he tilted his head, starring at Myris. "If you are interested in the ugly beast, you can have it for free."

"Sorry Elyos, but I agree with Amaeron. Perhaps it can be helpful." Fyrian answered before Myris could.

"Fine," Elyos grumbled. "But I will bring it to Ovèrio if I am really busy."

Myris eyed Elyos, but he was not looking at her. Elyos's eyes were on Fyrian, who now slumped on the floor in front of Viera and leaned against her legs. Viera and Cearen also studied Elyos.

When Elyos himself became aware of it, he blinked a couple of times and his brows furrowed. Ignoring the looks he received himself, he walked towards the tray, but instead of taking one of the thee cups, he grabbed a chalice over which thick white vapour glided. He drank whatever was in it, grimacing at the taste, making Myris wonder what was in it.

As if he read her mind, he held it up. "It is medicine."

She wanted to ask more, but the blunt tone he used implicated that it was all he was going to say about it.

Cracking his neck, Elyos approached Myris and with one hand, grabbed the fierrix out of her hold. As it purred, he put it back on the bed, almost letting it fall out of his hand. Luckily, it landed on the pillow.

"Although I dearly admire your disgusting love for that furball," Elyos said, which sounded false, "I propose that we move on, since pampering it was not what you came for."

Myris raised an eyebrow, but Fyrian grabbed her hand. She felt his thumb rub over the burn and withdrew her hand, but his touch lingered. Somewhere she was happy about that. She did not want to admit it, but she took her comfort out of it as she prepared for what was to come.

"Right..." Fyrian murmured. "Myris, we came here so you could meet Elyos. We need to tell you something and he needs to be there when we tell you."

Before she could ask anything, Elyos marched out of the room with the others following him. Going through the hallway, they entered a room that was empty except for a dark-grey stone arch in the middle of the room.

Lines were carved into the stone and filled with silver. They formed symbols that almost resembled the ones on the cauldron back in the herb room, but they were not entirely the same. They were larger, almost messier with their many wavy crossing parts. But that was not the strange thing to Myris.

They also felt stronger. It emitted the same weird force Myris had felt the moment when she had been running before she fell off a hill and ended up in Olèrian.

Elyos approached it with a raised hand. Watching his back, Myris was not sure what he was doing but gasped when the room filled with yellow light. It gathered into the centre of the arch, after which it spread, slowly revealing a different room between the stone.

As Elyos stepped aside, a hand on her back pushed her into the newly-created portal.