Tale One

1,242 AB, Altar, Elffy Kingdom....

     Inside a relatively large office, A handsome elf sat behind a dark wood desk. His hair tied loosely behind his head. His eyes narrowed at a piece of parchment paper, his hands folded in front of him.

   "...Father?" Raedel called softly, snapping the man out his daze. The older elf looked up from his desk, over to his 'son' who was sitting in front of him. The young man had soft features, and long hair that reached his back. He didn't resemble the older man one bit.

     "Raedel...You are aware of the war going on between the Human's and the Beastmen, right?" He asked, leaning forward in his chair a bit more. Raedel nodded his head, "Of course, Father. Is that why you wanted to speak to me?"

     His father had a grim look on his face, "Lord Almitus* has sent a letter from the Capital." He picked up the parchment and handed it to Radel, who carefully took it from his father. He quietly read the Elven words scribbled onto the rough paper.

     "Al Raedel yue drog neit, Afer pery veni Elte seaf borg. Lodrf seder vesder ouiple kerer Beatus."

(Young Raedel, you are to head to the Beastmen Capital, Beatus.)

     Raedel's eyes got slightly wider than normal, which was something that didn't happen often. He set the paper down, looking up at his father. "Lord Almitus wants me to travel to Beatus?"

     His father nodded his head, "Yes, apparently a few Beastmen have begun disappearing. Lord Almitus believes it could be something similar to the Dragon's disappearance."

     Raedel swallowed harshly; He has read all the books on the Dragon's disappearance. So many in fact that it feels like he was there to witness the whole thing. He knows basically everything about the incident.

     "But why me?" Was his first question, he didn't see why Lord Almitus wanted him to go. He was as weak as a fly, or a leaf. It made no sense to him, or his father.

     "He believes that you are meant for this, that it's your destiny. He believes this is why you came to us. I have tried to talk him out of this, but he won't budge. He said that Heaven's representatives are coming tomorrow to pick you up." He explained, removing his glasses and rubbing his hands over his eyes.

     Raedel felt his heart start pounding, and he started sweating. "Heaven representatives? Like Angels?" He questioned, balling his hands into fists on his knees.

     His father once again nodded, "Yes, to be specific, An Angel and A God." He corrected his son, leaning back in his chair defeatedly.

     Raedel felt like his heart was about to explode in his chest, "...What should I do, Father?" The older man sighed, putting his glasses back on. "Go pack, there is no getting out of this. You will train for the rest of day and until the representatives get here."

     His son nodded and left without another word. Slowly sliding the door closed and walking down the long hallway until he made it to his room. Once he was inside, his slide down the door and curled into a ball.

     He covered his mouth with his hands so not a single sound escaped, he squeezed his eyes shut and sat there until he calmed down. Once his heart slowed down a bit and he didn't feel like screaming anymore, he got up from the floor.

     He looked at his room, the room he has lived in for 23 years. His soft bed covered with light blue blankets and green fluffy pillows. A soft lime colored carpet. A dark wood dresser full of his clothes. A comfy blue chair in the corner of the room with a small light brown table next to it. This was his room.

     And he would not miss it.

     He walked over to his dresser, pulled open the very last draw and dug through his bright colored clothes until he grabbed onto something silky and smooth. He carefully pulled it out and held it with both hands.

     It was a dark red shall made out of high-quality silk. He held it close to his chest, "Mother..." He whispered, "I'm finally leaving. After 28 years, 5 attempts at escaping and 10 hundred lectures about Elves gracefulness."

     "I'm going to meet him."

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The next day....

     Raedel awoke to the bright sun glaring down at him from his window, It was one thing Raedel would not miss. He groaned and rolled over till he was laying on his stomach.

     He had almost fallen asleep again when there was a loud knock at his door, and he groaned again. He untangled his legs from the blanket and slowly walked over to the door. His legs and arms heavy from training last night.

     He opened his door and came face to face with his 'Mother', "Good morning, Lady Casse." He tiredly greeted the older woman, who huffed angrily at his disheveled appearance.

     "You had better tidy yourself up, Raedel. Heaven's representatives will be arriving soon. You are to train until they get here, as your father told you last night." She said before walking away just as quickly as she had appeared.

     Raedel blinked a few times before her words finally finished processing in his head. The tiredness and soreness he felt suddenly disappeared. He slammed his door shut and got to work on making himself look presentable. He brushed his very long hair, he wished he could cut it but he wasn't allowed to, something about Elf tradition. Once his hair looked presentable, he tied it up so it was out of the way.

     He then changed out of his pajama's and into something that allowed him to move easier than his normal clothing. He also chose darker colors than normal, to be honest he always hated Elven clothes they were too bright for his taste.

     Once he was finished, he looked at himself in the mirror and reached his hand up to his eyes. He always hated the color of them, his father always told him it was like his eyes had been dipped in honey. He slowly grew to hate his eyes, and Honey.

     Everyone looked at him differently whenever he went out, they looked at him like he was their savior, just because he looked different from them.

     'Misty rose hair, Honey eyes...'

     He looked away from the mirror, feeling a stinging pain coming from his palms. He was clenching his hands so hard, his nails had cut into his skin. He unfurled them, watching as the wounds slowly healed by themselves.

     Another thing he hated about himself, This stupid ability that made him heal no matter what injury he had. Another thing that made him different from everyone else.

     He shook his head, getting rid of those thoughts. He walked over to his bed and grabbed his shall, he wrapped it around his left wrist and then tied it tightly so it would stay. After that, he looked around his room for the final time.

     He didn't want to take anything with him but the clothes on his back and the shall, everything else didn't belong to him, it belonged to Raedel: The Elves God. Not Raedel Ovativ.

     He stared at the rising sun, still visible from his window. The only thing he would miss in this boring city was this sight. The sunrise. It was something he loved watching, no matter how old he got. It's what made him wake up so early in the morning, so he could see this.

     He always wondered if it looked the same from different places, he would finally get to see. He was excited. Which is something he hadn't felt in a long while. It felt nice, and he couldn't wait to feel more. Feel things he never had before.

     "....Just wait, Mother. I will find him." He gripped his shall tightly, "I'll make him pay for what he did to you." He took a deep breath before leaving the room he spent most of his life in.

/////////////////////////////////////////////

5 hours later.....

     Raedel hadn't taken a single break since he started training 5 hours ago, his father overseeing his training and making sure he didn't stop until he was told.

     "That's enough, Raedel. You may stop now." Raedel immediately collapsed onto the ground and dropped his bow onto the ground. He was better with a bow than any other weapon, unfortunately, so he forced to train harder than if he used a sword.

     His father walked up to him and helped him up from the dirt, "You are improving greatly but you could do better than that." His father told him, like he always did. Raedel learned to just nod and accept his criticism; it would be easy than trying to refute his words and then earn himself a 2-hour lecture about what he could be doing better.

      Raedel grabbed a pouch of water from the wooden deck and downed the entire thing in a single breath. Once he was hydrated again, he laid down on the deck and reveled in the shade.

     A thought suddenly came to his mind, "I thought Lady Casse said Heaven's representatives were coming soon? It's been 5 hours since then." His father sat next to him, drinking from his own pouch.

     "Yes, you know your mother. She'll say anything to get you to hurry up." He said, a light smile on his wrinkled face. Raedel held back a frown, "She's not my mother." He whispered but the older man heard him anyway.

     "If she is not your mother, then I am not your father." He said, he wasn't angry or annoyed. He was used to Raedel talking like this, he never acknowledged Casse as his mother but had no trouble thinking of himself as his father.

     Raedel sat up, "That's different. I know my real mother; I don't know my real father. No one can replace my mother, but I've never met my father before so there is no one to replace." He argued, his honey eyes staring into his father's pale green ones.

     His father had nothing to say to that, he wished he did but he didn't know Raedel's real father either so there was nothing to say. So he just let out a quiet sigh.

     Raedel laid back down again, closing his eyes as he felt a breeze wash over him. He was peaceful in that moment, no thoughts about boredom, No thoughts about that man, nothing. All he cared about was the wind, the shade, the sounds of woodpecker's beaks hitting tree trunks, Young elves laughter echoing from farther away, the feeling of the warm wood beneath his back, and slight ache of his arms and legs.

     He wished time would stop, just like this. So he could stay like this, so that time could stay at peace. So that nothing changed.

     He just wanted peace.

    But of course, that wouldn't happen, A young elf came rushing towards him and his father.

     "Lord Euther, Young Lord Raedel, The Heaven representatives are here."

////////////////////////////////////////////

     Raedel and his father tidied up and went to go meet the representatives that were already waiting with Lady Casse. They entered the room and Lord Euther immediately went to his wife's side.

     Raedel took a seat next to them, taking a second to take in the appearances of the two before him. They were both men, probably.

     The first man had very curly hair that went all the way to the floor and then some. His hair looked like snow, pure white that hasn't been tainted yet. And his eyes. His eyes were what drew Raedel in more than his hair.

     The man's left eye was like the sunset, all kinds of oranges and reds colliding and mixing. And his right eye was like the midnight sky full of stars. They were simply breathtaking.

     Raedel also noted the scar on the man's right side of his face, it looked like he had been burned by scalding hot water or something. It didn't diminish his elegant vibe though, if anything, it enhanced it.

     Raedel moved on to the second man, this man had sharper features but was good looking, nonetheless. His hair was completely straight, not a single hair out of place on his green head. Personally, Raedel didn't like his hair color. After so many years of living in the Elven capital, he had grown a very strong dislike towards the colors green, blue, and brown.

     But the same with the other male, this one's eyes were enchanting. They were a dark blue, almost purple color. They held many different shades in the sunlight, they looked like gemstones to him.

     Both men were dressed neatly, the silver haired man was just wearing a white dress shirt and long black pants. The other man was wearing a black vest over his white shirt and the same black pants as the other.

     Raedel didn't even realize they were talking to him as he was too busy eyeing both men, he was snapped out of his daze when he felt someone smack his head.

     "Ow!" He looked at who hit him but fell short when he saw it was his father. He held back the words he was going to say and started paying attention to the conversation.

     "Lord Euther of Altar, That's you, yes?" The green haired man made sure. Lord Euther nodded his head, "Yes, that is me. This is my wife and my son, Raedel." He introduced them both.

     Both men looked over at Raedel, who was chewing on a cookie that had been set out for the guests. He met their eyes straight on, not looking away or flinching. He saw the dark blue eyes narrowed into slits, "This is the 'Holy elven god*'?"

     Raedel did flinch at his title, he had been called that since he was a baby. He hated that title, another thing he couldn't wait to get away from.

     "Yes, That's me." He still replied politely, as taught by his father. Always be polite to guests. Maybe that's why his father was always so distant with him.

     The green haired man let out a scoff, "You must be joking. This is a human. We are looking for an elf!"

     Lord Euther sighed, "This is the only child I have, if you do not want to bring him with you, then I ask you to please leave." Raedel was honestly surprised he would say that he thought his father would want to get rid of him as quickly as he could.

     As the green haired man was about to yell again, the silver haired man spoke up, "Can he use magic? Understand the Elven tongue*?" Raedel wondered why it mattered if he could do either of those but nodded his head, "Yes, I learned both at an early age."

     Both men looked at each other, the green haired one looked reluctant but sighed and nodded his head. "Seems we have no choice, His highness Dregan* insisted upon it being Lord Euther's child." He squinted his eyes as Raedel, "If he does not prove to be helpful or is dragging us down, I cannot say what will happen to him."

     Lord Euther nodded his head, "I understand. Raedel will do everything in his power to be useful, Isn't that right?" He looked at his son, who was staring at the table. Raedel looked up hearing his name, "Yes, Of course Father."

     Lord Euther looked satisfied with his answer. They all then talked a bit more about their plans, after they were finished here, they would be heading to Faeylin* to recruit the Fae king's daughter.

     Raedel couldn't wait, he's always wanted to see Faeylin. He's read countless stories about it, about the beautiful scenery, the tall trees that rainbow colored fruit grew from, Jet black birds that are used as messengers, and all kinds of fae.

     It was something he's dreamed about since he was young, and he was finally able to make it a reality. He thinks his mother would be proud of him, she always wanted to see the kingdom of Fae as well. He would have write down everything he saw in notebook and read it to her the next time he came back.

     After everything was said and done, Lord Euther let the Representatives stay the night so they were well rested for tomorrow. Raedel wanted to ask them all kinds of questions but was afraid they would get annoyed with him so instead he spent the night in the library, researching everything he possibly could.

     About the Fae and The representatives. Apparently, The green haired man's name was Vialo Deepaci, an Angel officer usually in charge of Paperwork. While the silver haired man was called Walur Berto, a god created from the fifth main god: Fredis*.

     Both had good and bad reputations, though as long as they were trustworthy Raedel didn't care what people said about them. He doubted he would get close to either of them during this journey, as neither seemed the type to have friends. Of course, Raedel didn't have friends either.

     He didn't even realize what time it was until the sun shone through the window and almost blinded him. He held his hand up to block the stream of light, "Huh, It's dawn already?" He was so caught up in his books, he forgot to sleep but surprisingly enough, he wasn't that tired.

     He put all the books he had taken back to their respective places and headed back to his bedroom. He quickly got changed into something presentable and fixed his hair. All he decided to grab was a journal he kept, and his shall, wrapping around his wrist like before and once again left his room without a single glance back.

     He walked to the front of his house, where his father, Lady Casse and the representatives were standing around and talking. Despite having not slept, he still managed to be the last to arrive. How early did they get up?

     "Father, Lady Casse. Apologies for arriving late." He bowed to them. Lord Euther nodded his head, not saying anything to him. Lady Casse looked bitter about what he called her, you'd think she'd be used to it by now. She still walked over to him and handed him a medium sized bag. It was full of food and some water, as well as one or two books.

     Raedel looked at Lady Casse, surprised. She still had a bitter look on her face but it had softened a bit, "Despite that fact that you aren't my child, I still care a bit about you." She gave a small, strained smile, patting his cheek lightly with her pale hand.

     "..Thank you...Mom." He struggled a pause to say the word and regretted it after he said it but couldn't help but give a small smile at the way Lady Casse's face light up when he called her that.

     "Be careful, Raedel. Please come back to us in one piece." She told him. He nodded his head, "Of course, Don't worry." He wouldn't be coming back for a long while, but visiting once or twice couldn't hurt, he supposed.

Lady Casse nodded and went back into the house, Leaving Lord Euther to stand in his silence. Raedel wasn't sure if he was going to say something, so he spoke first, "Goodbye, Father." Lord Euther looked at him, hesitating before pulling Raedel into a small hug.

     "Be useful to them and come home." Was all Lord Euther said before walking away and following his wife. Raedel was stunned for a second, he'd never hugged his father even when he was young so it was slightly weird, but he didn't hate it.

     He turned his head, watching his father catch up with Lady Casse. He watched them until they were out of sight and then turned back to Walur and Vialo.

     "Are we leaving now?" He asked them, Walur gave a short nod while Vialo had already started walking away. They caught up with him, and began walking through the village.

     Raedel looked over every inch of it, engraving it in his head. He would never forget his first home, the place he grew up, the place that taught him everything he knows. He might wish to leave but he still loved this place, and he always would.

    He would miss the warm breeze that washes over the village in the afternoon, he would miss the tall trees he and the village kids used to climb and imagine they were giants. He would miss the sunrise, the streak of light that woke him up in the morning, the friendly faces he has been surrounded by since he was little, he would miss his training, the sounds of the exotic birds in the trees, the feeling of the dirt digging into his skin when he would run through the woods, playing tag with the villagers, catching fish in the ravines and laughing as one would jump and hit him on the head.

     He would miss his strict father, who he knew cared about him. He would miss Lady Casse, who had her own way of showing affection. He would miss his mother, who he never got to know.

     He would miss his home.

     As they got to the edge of the village, Raedel stopped walking behind them. He turned around, taking everything in one last time. The way the sun reflected off the ponds surface, the way the flowers swayed in the wind, the way the birds landed on the tree branches, and the way the villagers waved goodbye.

    He smiled brightly, cupping his hands around his mouth.

     "I'll see you later!!"

____________________________________

*Lord Almitus - The Elf King

*Holy Elven God - A figure from 500 years ago that had rose hair and golden eyes. They saved the elves from a plague.

*Elven Tongue - An ancient language spoke 500 years ago.

*His highness Dregan - One of the six main gods, The 4th.

*Faeylin - Fae capital

*Fredis - One of the six main gods, the 5th.