The Town of West Gorgon

"I can not remember it very well, but there were plenty of children. It was an orphanage full of a lot of bad people that did some terrible things to me. One day though, a man with hair color like mine came in and adopted me. The orphanage shut down after that. I lived with my new family since then. My brother who was my parent's real son, became my reason for wanting to stay. But, now that the house has burned down..." Lilian glanced at the mirror staring into it.

"I can't find them anywhere, so; now I'm here; looking for them..." Lilian didn't exude anything further. She gave as much as she could bare to the man and hiding some details here-and-there so her identity was still kept secretive.

"Well, that's enough of a reason for me kid, you seem honest enough. Here; take it; you can use one of the changing rooms." Mr. Goldman pointed.

Lilian took the outfit from the strange store clerk and got changed into her new disguise. It didn't really fit her hair or her eyes but it was good enough. Mr. Goldman gave her a small sheathed dagger and a satchel big enough to fit the vile and the mirror. Lilian tied the weapon firmly around her waist to make sure she would have it on at all times.

"That vile has fourteen drops in it. Use it wisely, one drop will last you two weeks. I recommend only using it when you're in town or in dire need of hiding yourself from those guards. Also you should think of a fake name while you're at it." Mr. Goldman explained this as he handed it to her.

When Lilian looked at herself in the shops mirror with her disguise; she remembered only people with strong enough spellbinding can make potions like these. Let alone ones that can be undetected by magic. But Lilian didn't know how strong this potion was, which is probably why Mr. Goldman added the outfit with it.

"Mr. Goldman... Thank you. I will have to repay your kindness in full next we meet." Lilian humbly curtsied as an expression of thanks barely managed to reach her unemotional face. She went on her way after taking a drop of the potion.

As Lilian walked through the town asking people if they had seen her brother and getting no-good responses her tummy grumbled. She touched her empty stomach and felt embarrassed by the noise she had made. It came to her mind then, she hadn't eaten for at least a day, but how was she going to get food? It was the middle of winter here.

Lilian searched for a way, she couldn't really ask anyone for help, it made her feel uncomfortable relying on the help of others without giving in return. She was stubborn in this instance as well. Lilian kept looking around and asking if anyone had seen her red haired brother. It wasn't long until she came across a sign at a meat shop.

'Help needed! Will be rewarded money and food! Enquire within!' it read.

Lilian certainly didn't like the stench walking in. The smell of dead pig was strong but the essence of the shop was lively. Many people were lined up for the fresh meat, it almost boggled Lilian how so many people could clamor into one space. This place must have been famous for something. It just seemed like a regular meat shop to Lilian though.

Scuffling her way to where the signs pointed saying 'Help wanted', Lilian was eventually lead to what seemed like an office door. She knocked a couple of times before the accented voice of a woman said, "Come in," on the other side. Lilian creaked the door open and peered inside.

A woman with caramel skin, hazel green eyes and black hair in a braid sat in a desk across from her. "May I help you?" the woman asked not looking away from her work.

Lilian's nonchalant attitude came stronger than ever, "I am here to enquire what work you need done around here miss." Lilian took a slight bow like that of the maids she had back at home.

The woman looked up, "You are but a child... Hmmm...." the woman pondered a while. "My name is Ms. Furlough young lady, and you are?" Ms. Furlough finally introduced herself.

"My name is Kindle Baker ma'am" Lilian said her new fake name as if it was the most natural thing.

"Well Kindle Baker, do you know anything about spices?" Ms. Furlough asked.

Lilian had to be honest but she knew she had to mention some kind of skill she had. "Not particularly, but if it's physical labor, or labor out in the snow, I can withstand plenty. I can read and write aswell. I can start whenever you require of me."

"Well that ought to do it then. Welcome to the Meat Hook little lady. I have one job for you, take this pamphlet, and go get what's on this list." Ms. Furlough handed Kindle a personally made pamphlet of spices and where and how to get them in the wild. She also handed Kindle the list and the glass bottles to carry the spices. "I want these no later than sun down, if you can't make it I will need those things back and you won't be rewarded. Understood?" Ms. Furlough gave her orders like a true boss. "Yes ma'am" Lilian nodded with the materials in her hand.

Lilian head out in no time, she was hungry and if she was going to find Fredrick she was going to need currency and food to make the journey. The spices that Lilian went to look for required going out of the town. Lilian searched mostly with her nose as each spice in it's plant form had a certain smell to it. She was still getting used to her heightened senses from the flower and used this time to explore the area as well. Most of the spices she found either hid underground or were in tight spaces most bigger people couldn't reach. She still stayed out of sight from the guards though, disguise or not, they were still looking for her.

It only took Lilian three hours to find everything, luckily the sun seemed like it was just about to set as Lilian came back to Ms. Furlough with the goods. "You actually got all this?" Ms. Furlough seemed surprised, as if she was expecting Lilian to fail.

"Yes, I used the pamphlet you gave me thoroughly." Lilian's eyes did not falter as she looked at Ms. Furlough. "Well little lady, you have impressed me. Here, take this, if you're around town and in need of work again you can come to me, Kindle Baker." Ms. Furlough gave Lilian three gold pieces and two large sandwiches made with the shops meat.

If Lilian remembers correctly, one gold piece is at least a hundred silver. One silver piece is worth fifty copper. Ms. Furlough gave her quite the sum for just a couple of spices, but Lilian thought nothing of it. She was glad to have a full belly and some money to get her by until she found Fredrick.

Later that evening Lilian bought a cheap room at an inn for her 'parents' to sleep in for the next couple of nights, she barely gotten any rest since her home burnt down. As she slept, dreams of previous nights occurred in her head. When she woke up sun shone through the room and her fears were left behind in those dreams. She looked at herself in her mirror, she could see her red eyes and white hair. She was shocked thinking the potion perhaps worn off, but when looking into the reflection of the window nearby, her plain disguise was still intact. A magic mirror?

Lilian took on the same task she did for Ms. Furlough again and got the same rewards. This went on for at least half a year as Lilian played in her disguise as Kindle Baker. The town was quite peaceful actually, aside from a few adults wondering if this Kindle Baker would see her parents again. She spoke of her goal of going to the Castel in the east. People who knew of it told her it was on a great island in the middle of the Vartalia Ocean that set between the two great continents of Forlorn and Deira. It was more of a great city than a castle. While staying here Lilian also found out the Town's name was Henstett, located just outside of Ordelion.

Lilian didn't seem to have any problems aside from the constant loneliness and emptiness she felt. Nightmares came to her every now and then, often in the form of a red burning glow like her eyes that spoke to her, telling her to burn something.

"B̵̮͇̕̚ù̵̘̾ȓ̸̡͇͇̃n̷̦̗͂̄̈́ ̷͈̐̋͝t̷͕͒ḧ̵̘̕ë̴͉̼͕́̋ḿ̴͉̰̺̾.̴̛̖̫̎͆.̶̛̻̻̔̿.̵̺̦̌̈́̅ ̴͈̟͗͐T̴̺̤͊̽̓h̴̡͋o̷̤͘ͅs̴̬̊͂̾e̶̡̟͑ ̷̞̆s̸͖͋i̵̼̊͂̚ͅn̷̠̦͑̍n̷̝͑͠e̷̪͝r̶̝̬̃̆ͅs̴̖̉̌̚ "

Lilian only ever remembers the red. The words always seem to go away by the morning. Sometimes she would even have dreams about the manor in an un-iced state.

There were of course other kids in this town but Lilian didn't bother playing with them as they were all talking about how freakish yet pretty the girl looked on wanted posters that had been plastered around. She was here for one thing only and that was getting enough to go find Fredrick and her family. Lilian missed Ms. Berry as well, the nagging, the coddling, she missed it. She missed her home very dearly while she stayed in this town.

That wasn't all though, Lilian could feel her mana drifting in her. She knew she could use magic when she wrote down a spell-symbol she remembered back at the manor as an attempt to contact Fredrick. It seemed as though it was all for nothing in the end her power wasn't enough to fully activate it. She still didn't know what element she fully bonded with yet either, so all she could do was use spell symbols for training.

Lilian told Ms. Furlough that since her 'parents were travelers' she would have to be on her way soon. As a parting gift to Lilian, Ms. Furlough gave her a map to and of her home country, Thindrand. But the truth was, Lilian was running out of potion and she wanted to look for her family as soon as possible. Thanks to the money she'd been saving, Lilian was able to buy enough supplies to last her in the wild. Before Lilian made her way towards the rising sun, she had to stop by Mr. Goldman's shop one last time.

"Well hello Ms. Baker, I see you've made a name for yourself here." Genie said as Lilian came to the counter a couple hours before the potion's effects would wear off.

"Yes, I've come to repay your kindness for last time. But, I also came in the hope of getting another vile to at least last me until I get out of Orelonde." Lilian went to straight to business, she was really going to miss her home.

"Hmmm.. I see. Well, I can give you a vile, but it's not money I want." Genie said crossing his arms.

Lilian tilted her head like an owl. "I want to know your name, your real name, I can tell when people are lying." Mr. Goldman wanted more information. Lilian was very mysterious and he couldn't help but think about how she hadn't introduced herself before.

She hesitated "...My name is Lilian Von Wane, I am the adopted daughter of the Duke of Ordelion, and I am looking for my family." Lilian stated her name and objective, she felt like she hadn't said or heard her real name in years. Genie was silent for a moment, he looked at her. Trying to find any hint of hiding in her eyes, but there was none.

"I see... Well, here it is then." Mr. Goldman said. He was almost baffled, but he handed her the vile anyway. The guards said they were looking for an Ember user, but for a kid to be so powerful to burn down an entire estate in the coldest part of Forlorn, seemed almost impossible to him.

Lilian bought two more outfits for the road. "Thank you Mr. Goldman, I won't ever forget your generosity..." She gave him three extra gold coins as thanks for the outfits before leaving.

Thanks to the disguise Lilian had, it wasn't hard getting through the stone border that surrounded the small town. The guards didn't notice her disguise thankfully, and let her pass along with some other similar looking townsfolk. Lilian held onto the straps of her bag tightly as she took her first steps forward. She looked back at the large iron gate she just went through. Who knows what will happen from here, Lilian almost wanted to go back, but she knew she couldn't stay.

It was a long journey. The path Lilian followed seemed to go on forever. She took note of the snowy state everything was in. Unlike Ordelion where everything had been preserved in frost, West Gorgon, as it was called, was cold and snowy. Trees still managed to grow and new plants were coming to life in the summer of West Gorgon. It didn't surprise Lilian anymore with what Ms. Furlough paid for those spices.

A week or so passed as Lilian walked her way to the next border town. The map Ms. Furlough gave her was helpful and it kept her on a safe route away from guards and bandits. Lilian quickly learned that it was also better to sleep in the trees than on the ground when finding Crystal Bugals crawling on her one fine morning.

Creatures and magical beats alike all seemed to be much more fluent as it got warmer the further away Lilian became from Ordelion. She didn't have to use the potion for long and was happy to be in her normal state for a while. She was also happy to take off the extra layers, although she wasn't effected by the cold that much, her clothes still felt hot here and there.

Lilian filed passed the many different trees that littered the forest around her. The great big trees gave her shade in the summer's filling air that covered East Gorgon like a blanket. Lilian couldn't help but feel at ease in the warm weather. Everything was so different here, if only Fredrick could see her now. When night fell, the land filled with glittering light of Oani Flowers' nectar and the bustling Lumenflies that came from the trees. Magical beasts and creatures alike roamed below Lilian as she camped in the thick branches of the tall forest. Things she would only read about in Ordelion, were happening all around her.

When Lilian woke up from the sun hitting her face, she felt a strong gust of wind and saw a disturbingly large shadow pass above her...