Artica

Artica was humming a cheerful tune while collecting berries in her own little blue basket.

Tomorrow, they would have to go on their own quests, and they would be separated again, so why not be happy now?

"Hm!"

Artica spotted a blueberry bush and hurried towards it.

Blueberries. Are. Yummy!

She plucked one off of the bush and popped it in her mouth.

Mmm!

Sweet and mushy!

Just right.

Artica picked a few off the branch.

This was enough.

She skipped back to the cave, excited to show others her collection.

Right when she stepped in, she noticed Jade and Estella were escorting Noami up from the floor.

Noami's face looked pale and anxious.

"What happened?"

Artica set her basket of fruits next to Jade and Estella's baskets.

"Noami started to grasp her head and was shaking just a few moments ago," Jade informed, scrunching up her eyes.

"I—had a dream," Noami started to gasp as though she did not have enough air. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. "I think I know who my guardian is."

"That's good!" Estella smiled. "You have a head start now!"

"No. This is not as easy as we thought. My guardian—she was chained up. All bloody. And she was a little girl."

"Oh! A little girl…" Jade frowned. "She can't be a guardian, right?"

"I don't know. She told me to find her in 'the deepest and darkest land, where the s-shadows swallow everything'. Estella—" Noami looked up at Estella. "Do you know what this means?"

"Well…" Estella fidgeted with her fingers. "I think I know…but it's not a good place to go."

"What place?"

"The Devlin Realm," Estella replied. Artica could hear her voice quivering lightly. "Realm of Darkness. Where Mother Nature found me."

She turned to Noami.

"Your guardian may be there. It would not be easy to survive, but there is a way. You need darkness to be with you."

"Here, give me one of your regular arrows." Noami handed Estella one of her arrows. Estella brushed her hand against it. The arrow tip became dark and smoky as if it wasn't a solid anymore. "Put this in your bookshelf, so you can get duplicates of these arrows. This will help you defeat enemies you meet on the way. The beasts of darkness will not be harmed by normal weapons."

Noami nodded.

~~~

It was the day to find the guardians.

Noami traveled to the Devlin realm, Jade traveled to the Celine realm, and Estella traveled to the Aspen realm.

Artica…

Well, traveled into the dark woods in front of the cavern.

It's not like she's a coward, but her guardian didn't have any clues for her…except for the time he told Artica she was going to wrong way to save Noami.

So, Artica decided to walk into those woods.

She just wandered aimlessly for a long time. Nothing disrupted her. Only the sound of branches crackling and the leaves crunching beneath her feet.

Artica was just about to rest when she heard a voice.

Not as smooth as her guardian's voice, but rough.

"I know who you're looking for."

Artica stopped walking.

"What do you mean?"

"Turn around. You'll see me."

Artica slowly turned around and was ready to summon her ice sword.

Behind her was an old man. He was definitely old, his hair streaked white and back hunched.

He was wearing long, yellow robes.

"How can you help me?"

"Oh, I can help you more than you think."

"Oh, please." Artica sighed. "If you are a monster, please just attack me now. I don't want to waste time with you."

"Would you like to know where he is, and who he is, or not? Or has Mother Nature told you already? If she has, I don't see the point of being here."

Artica stared at the old man.

"Tell me."

~~~

"You're looking for Sympony." The old man glanced at Artica.

"He is an Astrosian, a species specialized in battling. Astrosians are all male, but long ago, contained females. They then betrayed the males and formed their own group, the Amazons."

The old man's eyes had a sense of anger.

"Humans value those females, and some recorded them in their stories. Not the males. Each Astrosian has their own hair color, which can help you easily identify their abilities. Dark-brown hair is the most common Astrosian, usually succeeding in arts, studies, or battling. Golden hairs are rare Astrosians, only living to five years. Black hairs are harmful Astrosians, they will cause trouble in the future, so Astrosians usually try to kill them right after they are born. Light brown hairs have the power to summon things out of thin-air, and only four have been found. Sympony is one of them."

Artica gasped but was excited inside.

Her Guardian was powerful!

"Lastly, the white hairs. They mean that this Astrosian is meant to be royalty when he matures."

"Okay, so I got all the information, but how do you know all of this? And who are you?

"That's simple." The old man locked eyes with Artica. "Sympony is my son. "

Artica's eyes opened wide.

"S-so that m-means—"

"Yes." The man smiled. "I am the king of Astrosians."