Chapter XXIV: I'valdi

A Chapter by Oran

[1]The Hero of Ivaldi

It's a nice book about a hero named Ivaldi who saved a girl named Lu who got captured by a dragon. I know what you're thinking. Why would it be called "The Hero of Ivaldi" when it could've been entitled as "Ivaldi the Hero"? That's because Ivaldi was saved by a hero. The hero wasn't really him, but his desire to save the girl. Sounds pretty corny, doesn't it? Not to Naiya.

Naiya sits alone late at night in a diner at Xenovia. The alluring aroma of the bowl of Nido Soup seeps from the quail eggs that float on the surface. She takes a sip of it from her hollow spoon, expressionless despite the satisfying taste. Lain beside the bowl are two pieces of olive crackers to go with the soup. I don't think she likes it , though, because she's piecing it apart and dropping it under her chair. Oh, look at that. The pieces are falling but they don't make it to the floor, almost as if something invisible is eating it....

"So how's the soup?", said a man wearing a [2]goggle-mask that had seven eyes, an apron that had the word: [2]"Champ" neatly printed on the fabric, and an improvised weapon made of kitchen utensils taped together.

"Tastes like quail eggs", she quietly remarks.

"O' course it does! I made it, hahaha!"

"...."

Quite an accent, she says in her head.

It's not an accent, Naiya. He's been disguising his voice ever since he left the[2]League.

"So why's a young lady like ye' prancin' around this late at night?", he renews the conversation.

"Looking for someone named Anna."

"Oh, you mean Lady Lena's step sister? She left the other day. Come to think of it, the Mayor hasn't even bothered to tell anyone why."

"Did she leave town by herself?"

"Neigh. A few interesting fellas came to town the day 'fore that. They rode off with her when Credo finished a huntin' job for the Mayor. Me' daughter kept racking about bein' the reward for the lad's mission; couldn't really stop the girl from following the love o' her life."

"Who is this... Credo?"

The man smirks from under his mask. "Oh he be a fine young lad with Casanova's appeal, and a tenacious reputation to match! He's said to have slain The Impaler in his own Blood Well at a young age!"

"And the others?"

"Aye. I saw one with the [3]Tearju Assassin's emblem on her, and the other looked like a prissy little tot with sissy blonde hair! He was wearin' a coat with the Hunting Guild's symbol, but me thinks it's all for show; that stupid [4]feeder couldn't possibly lane properly in the League!"

Looks like he slipped his fake accent on his last remark.

At hearing this, Naiya takes the bowl and finishes the soup in one gulp.

She stands from her seat, "Thanks for the meal", then walks towards the exit.

"Where do you think you're goin' the middle of night?", the man asks with his accent phasing back in his voice.

"Credo."

The bell on the door rings as she opens it and walks out to the dark streets of Xenovia. Outside, she finds her brown horse, Medallion, saddled up on the hitch. She undoes the binds and mounts the horse after lightly stroking its forehead.

Where did she get that horse? And what the hell kind of name is Medallion?

"Takbo, bilis...."

On her mark, the steed gallops to the main gate as her cloak blares in the wind. It looks pretty cool, actually, if it weren't for that adorable school uniform. Now it's just absurdly cute. As they reach the gate, a few guards obstructed the way, causing the horse to halt.

"What are you doing, kid? You shouldn't be running from home this late at night", the guard scolds her. Do you have any idea who this kid is?

Unresponsive, she dismounts from her ride and approaches the guard, looking right through him with her stifling brown eyes. Then, without warning, her lips collide with the guard's left cheek.

chu~~

At the same instant, the guard falls on his back, unconscious. The four other guards react alarmed and raise their swords against her. She doesn't flinch, and instead stares blankly at the first one that drew his blade.

"S-stay back!", he precedes, somewhat afraid.

Yet, still she walks toward him. Fearfully, he tries to strike her with his weapon, but before he knew it, he was disarmed and her face was very close to his.

chu~~

He falls out-cold the same way the first guy did, spreading terror on the others as they drop their weapons and surrender.

Yeah, that's right! Don't ever mess with a Void Elemental!

Satisfied, she points at one of them.

"Gate."

It takes him a second to comply to the command, but at his realization, he staggers quickly to unlock the newly enchanted clasps that was just installed this morning to bulk up on Xenovia's defenses. The gigantic doors move to each side to form an opening. Just as he was done with opening Naiya's way out of Xenovia, he turns only to find her right next to him, ready to attack. His eyes shut as he braces himself from his doom.

chu~~

He opens his eyes to find out that he's not unconscious and sees her tip-toed next to him to reach him. She stands on her feet again at meeting his eyes.

"Thank you."

She returns and mounts her horse and continues out of the Mirage Field, leaving the guards dumbfounded.

As she rides through the moonlit road, Maria reappears on her shoulder.

"Excited?"

"Sobra..."

I've never actually told Naiya's back-story, have I, dear reader?

Well, to start off, she was raised by an old Frost Elemental. When I said they were the only survivors of the Elemental Incident, I obviously said that because I intended to make things a little more dramatic. She was scurried out of[5]Novaliches when the corruption started to fill the ground with blight. This old lady took care of her in Fortuna's Citadel like a scholar before it went in ruins. Everyday she'd read a book, and every night she'd be reviewed for the contents by the old lady.

The difference between her and the other Elementals is that she knew what happened to her people at a very young age. She knows what's at stake if she fails. She knows what will happen if anything were to disrupt her from her path. That's why she remains expressionless, and utterly cold. A vast network of intellect interconnect inside her mind, but none ever spill her tongue; only Maria could tell her thoughts. She is, after all, the very first Void Elemental ever created.

Originally, there were only seven(There! I said it!) Primal Elements, but before hell was able to rain down, a few Elementals had a keen sense of speculation on what will happen; thus they imbued the power of all seven inside the Elemental Matrix of a newborn baby girl, the daughter of Anthony Redgrave. Both her and her twin brother were Solar Elementals, but she was given to bear a greater power.

Her favorite book, The Hero of Ivaldi, once made her believe that she'd have her own hero to save her. She waited everyday. But he never came. Naiya knew all too well that no one would ever come to ease her pain all of a sudden, but she wanted to believe there was.

We all want a hero, but no one's coming to save us, and before we know it, we're all falling down, only to be saved once again by the people who said they would. And in the end, no one's alone; that's what she thought when she got caged in The Mound after the Demons "challenged" Fortuna's Citadel's apothecary.

She's already saved herself twice.

So where's her hero?

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1. A book which was also the favorite of Tabitha, an Anime character, both of which are from Zero no Tsukaima.

2. Again, not Jax from League of Legends. Just described to seem like him.

3. Tearju is a character from the Anime/Manga, "To-Love-Ru Darkness"(R-18).

4. Jargon from League of Legends which means someone who lets the enemy win by killing himself.

5. The writer's hometown.

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