First Official Duty

Somewhere in the west belt of Aelfrey, a constant disruptive force from the outside was steadily hammering on the barrier. A conjoined shape of pentagons cracked on the barrier's surface as electric sparks were spewing out from it. The electrical buzz that vibrates from the voltaic surface of the barrier blares for an approximate distance of 25km diametrically.

No single figure can be seen in that area except for a dark, brooding, cloaked figure that cynically stood in front of the specific affected part of the barrier. Its face was wholly hidden beneath the cloak except for the menacing smile planted on its lips. It chanted steady foreign words in front of the barrier. There was something ominous about those chants, as every syllable sent chills down the spine of anyone who could hear them.

Shortly after, the layer after layer of protective magical spells of the barrier went thinner, a small portal gradually forming in the center. An ear-splitting, maniacal laugh broke out from the man's lips. His shoulders shook violently. A figure from the other side of the portal was slowly approaching the cloaked man whose laughter had finally subsided.

"Impressive work." The unknown figure began. His voice, which was hollow and malevolent, prompted the cloaked figure to bow lightly, then darted its eyes on the creature that was not of Aelfrey. Its skin was paler than pale; it was as if the creature had no blood circulating in its body. Its long, blonde hair flows slickly on its back that falls just above its bottom. Its face was expressionless; its overly pointed nose flared slightly from breathing, a pair of two red orbs lazily probed into the cloaked figure, and the lack of eyebrows made its appearance more foreboding.

A thick gold crown, extravagantly encrusted with emerald stones, sits atop the creature's head. "It was nothing, King Serban." The cloaked figure replied. The creature, King Serban's pointy ears, perched wildly when the cloaked figure talked. Its long and slender arm was holding a gold scepter, and a similar emerald stone from its crown was sitting on top of its head. The unknown figure was unexpectedly tall; it towered over the cloaked figure by as much as eight feet.

"Heylareiya sends her regards to Amh Entheas' queen." The cloaked figure added as the creature strode elegantly, circling the cloaked figure whose expression was hidden by its oversized cloak. The creature's long, emerald robes pranced with each movement; its entire stature was a stark contrast against the frozen landscape, making it stand out from afar.

The creature sneered at the cloaked figure. "I do not need Heylareiya's regards, you fool! What I need is the full blueprint of Aelfrey's barrier as she promised," the creature growled, its eyes slanted inauspiciously.

The cloaked figure flinched at the creature's malevolence; its whole expression was laced with such pure malice that he couldn't help but to shudder in its presence. His hands, trembling in fright, reached out for a sealed parchment in the pocket beneath his robe.

The creature stared at the parchment. Its tongue flicked across its lips, revealing a sinister smile. At such breakneck speed, the parchment was snatched from the cloaked figure, whose jaw dropped in astonishment. "This is what I like about Heylareiya. Tell her to prepare the complete details of the plan until our next meeting." The creature made its way towards the portal, the sealed parchment secured under its robes. Before it closed the portal with a sway of its hands, it let out a malevolent laughter that sent chills down the cloaked figure's spine.

When the portal finally closed in, the cloaked figure tensely checked the surroundings, making sure that no one had spotted the things that ensued during that time. After he made sure that no one had witnessed him meeting secretly with the dark elf king of Amh Entheas—the sworn enemy of the fayes of Aelfrey—he took off its cloak and stowed it under a thick bush with a concealment spell. He cautiously walked away from the area.

'I need to report to Heylareiya right away.'

--

Gala could not count how many times she had opened and closed the Duræn that afternoon. She moved restlessly in her new room with the lack of things to do. She resentfully threw herself on her bed, tossed around and kicked her legs in the air, frustrated that until now she couldn't decipher the runes in their sacred book.

She recalled asking Elderifrey that morning what she must do on her first day as an official whisperer of Aelfrey, but ended up being disappointed when the elder faye only told her to try to decode the runes in Duræn.

'I thought my day-to-day would be much more exciting now that I'm officially anointed as their whisperer, when actually, whisperers were expected to remain on standby until their abilities were needed.' Gala complained inwardly, almost rolling her eyes out, but successfully restrained herself from doing so.

Gala learned from Elderifrey that when there were no matters requiring the intervention of a whisperer, they were expected to read Aelfrey's history and past records of the issues handled by previous whisperers to add to their knowledge and help them evaluate and solve the land's issues in case they were encountered again.

It was out of Gala's character to be bored with reading, as she took so much pleasure in doing it back home. It was perhaps she got used to the feeling of adrenaline from the adventures she went on and somehow, her system's craving for the thrill.

She indignantly stomped her foot on the floor. 'If only I could decipher the runes, then maybe I could get to go on another adventure.' Gala could not help but wonder what the other regions of Aelfrey looked like.

She lied flatly against her bed and stared blankly at her room's ceiling as a rush of flashbacks of her last journey flashed before her eyes. She could not help but feel agitated when Ejonna, the barrier, and Aremihc's words went flooding in her memory. 'Someone close to me will betray me. Who could that be? '

A hard knock on her door snapped Gala out of her reverie. She dashed towards the door, which opened to reveal a familiar light-blue-haired fairy with a friendly smile standing there. "Deviro!" Gala exclaimed. She realized that she hadn't seen the faye for a while already. "Where have you been? I didn't see you last night. You missed the anointing celebration for me." Gala ranted jokingly.

Deviro pouted, acting cutesy in front of her. "I heard it from the townspeople in the market town. Forgive me for missing it. The king had actually sent me on a mission to Thawgardé."

Gala burst out laughing when she realized that the faye was actually serious about apologizing for missing the ceremony intended for her. "I was just kidding, you don't really need to apologize."

The blue-haired faye blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Gala immediately noticed something was off when the faye's expression became formal. "What was wrong, Deviro?"

"You are needed in the kitchen, Gala."

--

Gala shook her head in disbelief when she found out what she was needed for in the kitchen. To think, she had thought something terrible had happened in the kitchen based on Deviro's formal expression; she was even relieved deep down that she was finally getting some attention.

"Are you sure that this is the reason why I was summoned here?" Gala asked Deviro again, hoping that the faye's reply would be 'no'.

The light-blue-haired faye enthusiastically nodded his head. Gala could only close her eyes in disappointment before heaving a sigh. "So, the reason why I was needed here is because the firewood won't get lit?"

Deviro, nodded his head again. "Yes."

She gave him a cold stare. "So, what was up with that solemn expression a while ago?" her brow furrowed deeply.

Gala couldn't believe it when the light-blue-haired faye attempted to hide his mischievous smile. "Well, if you think about it, lighting a fire is just as crucial as your mission last week in Spîcolion with Aelfrey's situation," the faye expertly countered.

Gala bowed in defeat. "I can't argue with that though. Fine, I'll try to talk to the firewood." Gala said. She bent her knee in front of the massive clay stove, facing the piled-up dry wood in front of her.

She realized how unbecoming it was of her to do this strange stuff right away, as if it was something that she normally does back home. 'Imagine if my mom saw me doing this so I could talk to the firewood.' Gala thought, with a goofy smile on her face.

Everyone in the kitchen silently observed her, curious as to how she would 'convince' the firewood to get lighted.

Gala first calmed herself, attempting to awaken the sacred speech deep within her. "Greetings," she said, beginning in Aeyalafreyn. "I heard you refused to be lighted?" Her intonation rose at the end, deliberately attempting to make it a question rather than a statement in order to spark a conversation with the firewood.

Silence.

The firewood did not respond to her in the same way that the Sacheverell, Ejonna, the barrier, and the Aremihc did. Should she give it another shot? Should she poke them to get their attention? Was it even a reasonable thing to do? What would the previous whisperers do in this situation? Gala realized the significance of reading the books Elderifrey had sent her. She vowed silently to read them again after this.

"What did it say?" The chief cook faye asked Gala.

Gala shook her head. "Nothing, it didn't respond to me," she said, their shoulders slumping in disappointment. Gala's stomach lurched with a familiar sensation, the same sensation she felt when she fell from the portal that brought her to this land. "Let me try one more time."

Gala faced the firewood, immersing herself in the invisible thread of connection to the soul of the firewood. She almost squealed with delight at discovering yet another of her abilities. Her vision zoomed in on the firewood's soul, who was grumpily sitting at the heart of its energy. It came over her naturally and unexpectedly, and she immediately knew what she needed to do.

A piece of her soul was yanked away from her body and approached the soul of the firewood. Only she knew what was going on at the time, and all the fayes could see was her staring blankly at the firewood. "What's with the long face?" she inquired calmly of the firewood's soul, who was clearly sulking for an unknown reason.

"Why would I not be? I am so fed up with being merely a piece of firewood to these creatures. When I turned to ash, I was simply dusted off the stove and thrown in the garbage, as if they could cook their food without me." The firewood's soul scowled.

It was a funny thing to say, but Gala could somehow relate to the firewood's soul. She hugged the soul and realized that when she was in her soul's form, she could physically touch other souls as well. Gala clasped the firewood soul's hands as genuinely as she could. "Your feelings are valid. In fact, I've been through the same phase as you. I had a moment in my life wherein I questioned my worth and capability. Why do I exist? What am I living for? Do you know what I realized?" Gala asked the firewood's soul. Its tiny eyes stared into her, waiting for whatever she would say.

"I realized that our value should not be determined by how others perceive us or whether we are doing more or less. Yes, the fayes may have regarded you as a piece of dry wood, but that does not negate the fact that you are vital to the faye's existence. We all contribute differently," Gala explained, hoping to put some sense into it.

Astonishment and admiration sparkled in its tiny eyes. A smile appeared on Gala's face, seeing that the firewood soul's mood had lightened up. "I never thought of that before." Its tiny voice echoed through the tiny planetary space they are in. "Thank you, khäremluash. The purity of your soul astounds this being exceedingly. Indeed, you are bound for great things."

The smile on her face faded as she heard that line again. Will she really achieve great feats? Is that her destiny? What about home?