Change of course

"Of course. Give me seven years after this war and I'll show you where my confidence comes from." Nightin says as the blade sinks deeper into his heart, blood gushes out from his wound at the mere thought of Charlotte. Phoenix was fine by herself since she was free from the shackles of life, but Charlotte was being restrained and he's left helpless to help her.

"I'll command my species to follow you for now, we'll be hiding ourselves in the air and will only make an appearance when needed." The Skyhawk leader says before screeching to the sky, the other Skyhawks immediately took off into the air and soon, all of them vanished from sight.

"So, just what do I call you? I can't possibly be calling you by your species name." Nightin asks as they pick up momentum and was only about two hours away from the bandits hideout. Nightfall was near because they were delayed, but there should be enough time for them to arrive before the sun sets.

"You can just call me Ark." The Arkhawk replies as its body dwarfed itself and in just the matter of a few breaths time, it was just a handsome and elegant looking bird perched on Nightin's shoulder.

Ignoring the curious glance of the soldiers around, Nightin asks Ash "Do you have a contract beast of your own?"

"You'll see when the time comes." Ash says, his tone was amusing, but serious. There was a reason for Nightin's suspicion as well, Ash had been quite calm throughout the previous event, as though him having those two aerial species as contract beasts aren't worth mentioning.

Maybe only Ark is his contract beast for now since he has yet to sign one with the Skyhawks, but he was full of confidence that it'll happen after this war.

The army then remained silent, the only sound that could be heard was the clanking of armors, the ragged breathing of soldiers and the footsteps of passing mounts.

"Halt!" The bandit leader or the captive, commanded for everyone to stop as he pulled on the reins of his horse after speeding to the front of the army.

Seeing that their general wasn't going to mention anything, the soldiers stopped in their tracks and Nightin asks the captive "So captive, why did you call for an emergency brake?"

"I have a name and the name isn't Captive, it's Caps!" The captive retorted back in rage, only to realise that tens of thousands of soldiers were giving him the death stare, soldiers whose blade has been polished by blood, their body tempered by those that fell before them.

"It doesn't matter, if I say that your name is captive, then that shall be your name." Nightin replies amusingly, but his face changes suddenly as he asks "So? You have yet to answer my question."

"Ah right! In front of us right now lays the hidden entrance to the bandits main headquarters which you guys address as hideout. Follow me, it's a portal that we'll be passing through." Before Caps can lead them to the portal however, he felt countless killing intent harboured towards him.

"Hey, didn't all of you agree to not kill me?" Caps hurriedly shouted as he attempted an escape, but a cage of wind descending from above trapped him within.

"So you tried to confuse us so that we'll get lost in the vast desert while you escape and enjoy life somewhere else?" Ash was the one who asked this time, his eyes burning with flames as two swords made from his imagination trapped Caps head in the middle.

"Just what is it that you want from me?" Caps screamed at the top of his voice as tears flowed down his face "First I was forced to become a bandit because my parents are even though they've passed on and now that I want to leave this hell, you guys are still going to stand in my way?"

Caps sounded pathetic, but no one felt empathy for him, only slight sympathy. Ash however smirked and told him "It doesn't matter, I'll just extract the information about the entrance from your mind."

"Wait don't!" Caps interrupted as he hastily retreated backwards. He may not have extracted information from the mind of a living person before, but he has heard about the dire consequences which follow after the process of excruciating pain. Even if he remains alive after this process, he'll only be alive as an idiot for his whole life, someone who lost his sanity.

"Are you really going to confess now? Throw your spirit ring over." Ash says, the two swords inching closer to Casper neck that a blood trickled down his robes.

Without any hesitation, Caps throws the ring over. After a few moments of silence, he realises that Ash was still staring at him. How does he know!?

Caps may have surrendered his spirit ring, but he made sure that something was kept close to him at all times, the treasure map where the Hepta Violet flower can be found.

The Hepta Violet flower is one of the Botanic species believed to have gone extinct ever since millenniums ago. This was caused by the greed of the many races which fought over its seven petals which reflected the seven elements.

Each petal is rumored to be capable of helping someone step into the sage realm immediately and have the chance to enter the fourth sage realm which has never appeared across all races.

Red which represented the scorching flames, the colour of everlasting love and swords of passion and courage.

Blue which represented the tranquil oceans, the colour of encompassing mentality and faith.

Green which represented the raging storms, the colour of razor sharpness and luminous speed.

Brown which represented the stable earth, the colour of never-ending patience and impactful force.

Yellow which represented the devastating lightning, the colour of instantaneous annihilation and mass scale destruction

Black which represented the lonely darkness, the colour of nightmares and dreams; the colour of fear and worries.

White which represented the angelic hope, the colour of life and purity; the colour of dreams and heaven.

These were the seven petals and as for how it got its name, it's rumored that in the middle of it all, lays a gem which glistened with all seven colours, but the violet colour outshone the rest, people call it the gem of imagination as it's something which they can never imagine. Only those with the power of visualization and imagination can absorb it and yet by the time all seven petals found their owners, the gem still remains dormant and chose no one, the ancient kingdom which held control over it then perished soon after, leaving the whereabouts of the Hepta Violet flower a mystery even up to this day.

"Night… Have you… Ever heard about the magnificent story behind the enchanting Hepta Violet flower which shouldn't exist in this world?" Ash asks from behind, his eyes glistening with delight and he was beaming with joy, even though he tries his best to conceal it, it was still crystal clear to Nightin.

"There's a backstory to a flower? Why don't you tell me about it." Nightin replied back out of curiosity partially since he wanted to know just what Ash coveted.

Ash then told Nightin about the story he heard from his master Silver, back then his master him this when they first met "Ash, let me tell you a story that might benefit you in the future if you're really the chosen one blessed with luck."

After Nightin heard about the story, he smiled towards Ash and told the soldier "Pass up the map and you may leave, don't even think about stalking us as I'll be leaving behind a trail of concealed blades that might spike up from the sand.

Leaving with a smile while commanding his soldiers to change direction the the north-east, thick dusts of smoke kicks off as the army follows the direction given by their general without any hesitation.

"Ash, since you really desire the Hepta Violet flower which you actually describe as enchanting, then I believe that it must be a heavenly flower in which existence shouldn't even have been tolerated to begin with." Nightin told Ash confidently when they were on the way.

"Don't you yearn for it yourself after the heaven defying effects I've told you about? Even though it may only be best suited for the chosen one who awakened the power of imagination, I believe that you're qualified to inherit it as well with your talent."

"Some things in life are just meant for the chosen one, if I allow my greed to consume me and take the reins, then I would just be a disorientated human who has lost his purpose of life. Don't worry, you're my brother and I'll always be behind your back, whenever you need help, just know that you can always count on me."

Nightin didn't know this, but this words of wisdom of his would end up becoming the sword of regret consuming his heart and mind in the future. Right now, all he could see was the rising moon and the dazzling stars that were losing to the moon in terms of their brilliance, the glow of fireflies can never compare to the splendour glamour of the moon.