"I'll be back soon," the ranger shouted with a wave.
And she was a ranger. Not just some poor little half-elf barely out of childhood. She still had a childish look to her in some ways, with her long, blonde hair and her ears sticking out the sides of her head, but she liked that look. It got people's attention.
An elderly magician had offered a hefty purse to anyone who'd guide him to Colhen, but none of the other rangers had stepped forward.
The only way there, they all knew, was through one of the most dangerous parts of Hilder Forest.
"That pointy-eared little snot'll be back home crying in three days."
"THREE days? I'll bet a whole night's drinks she'll be back by tomorrow night."
The others snickered behind Lumielle's back.
"Young ranger...if you could simply draw me a map, I'll be on my way. No need to push yourself..." said the old magician to the half-elf, with an apologetic look on his face.
She looked up from tending to her bow.
"What are you talking about, sir? I know Hilder Forest like the back of my hand. The swamps, the lakes, which trees have how many branches... I can even find my way around places I've never been before! Don't worry. I'll get you all the way to Colhen, safe and sound."
"...Thank you."
"No problem. I'm Lumielle."
"...I'm Hans."
Hans couldn't help but return Lumielle's bright smile. Once again, he heard the rangers snickering and whispering behind them.
He shot a glare over his shoulder. Seeing that, Lumielle whispered to him.
"Don't worry about them. Anything they say, it just rolls right off of me. Always has."
"Oh, no, I don't mind them either. You're obviously quite talented. That means you have the favor of the gods. They're just jealous."
Never having heard that before, Lumielle wasn't sure how to respond. She blushed, then laughed.
And so, off the two of them went, following the shafts of sunlight through the dense trees. Side by side they walked, like old friends.
Suddenly, Hans furrowed his brow. He'd just seen something flickering around Lumielle's arm.
'Could it be a trick of the light?' he thought. But no, it most definitely wasn't.
Rather, it was a flow of green light, dancing in time with Lumielle's movements, rising like a warm haze.
An aura of mana, beautiful as it was profound.
Even as she led the way, Lumielle was too busy pointing out various spots in the forest to pay attention to anything else.
"There's an eagle owl nest in that big tree. At night, their whole family comes out to hunt small game."
"They fly around so quietly, it's really hard to spot them. Even for me, it comes down to luck most of the time. But it's worth the effort. They're all beautiful."
"From here on, there are lots of apple trees. Come autumn, they'll be nice and ripe. I only eat the apples I shoot down with my bow."
"Sometimes, I go running, or swimming in the pond... Time just goes away when I'm out here, know what I mean?"
Lumielle, Hans soon learned, would never run out of things to say about the forest.
With her happiness all over her face, Hans easily understood where her green aura came from.
He followed silently behind her, a smile playing on his lips.
*
The journey to Colhen was indeed arduous. Even for Lumielle, it became increasingly difficult to find the way. She began scouting at each new dawn.
"We've got trouble on our tail."
"What kind of trouble?"
"Yesterday, I could feel the ground rumbling from far away. The only ones in the forest who can make that kind of noise are Kaonu's pack."
"Kaonu?"
"He leads the toughest trolls around here. But don't worry too much."
Lumielle left the path and began walking amongst the tall trees and dense brush.
Hans observed her as she spoke. Whenever her eyes sparkled, he saw, a spirit's energy would appear, hover around her, and then vanish.
"Sir, what's that blue thing coming out of your staff? Did you use magic?" Lumielle asked as she built the night's campfire.
Hans had cast a blue sigil of protection around their campsite.
He nodded.
Then he created a red flame in the palm of his hand, using his staff to swirl it about.
The red flame, trailing a long tail like a comet, circled around Lumielle before dropping into the firewood.
With a small pop, the fire flickered to life.
"Wow!" Lumielle exclaimed.
Her excitement made her smile even brighter.
"Say, Lumielle..."
"Yes?"
Distracted by the sigil and the flames, she blinked before looking his way.
"Do you see the green spirits' energy, when it swirls around your body?"
"Oh. You see it too, sir? Magicians really are amazing, aren't they?"
With an embarrassed look on her face, Lumielle stretched her arms.
"Whenever I focus on a tight shot, or whenever I run as fast as I can...I see this green energy around me, just faintly. I feel it, too.
But no one else knows a thing about it. I used to ask around when I was little, but everyone said I was crazy or lying to them.
I suppose I am a little weird, at least. I mean, look at my ears, right? So I've always just ignored it. It's not like I see it all the time, anyway."
Hans smiled faintly as Lumielle's shoulders slumped.
His staff traced another small circle in the air.
Suddenly, a blue flame flared up from a piece of wood lying on the ground.
"Oh my gosh... It's so beautiful!"
"Yes, it is. It may not be the color one normally sees in a fire, but that's part of what makes it beautiful. Makes it special."
"..."
Lumielle fell silent, contemplating the magician's meaning.
"Listen, Lumielle. Try to imagine a world where only blue flames existed. If there were a red flame in such a place, wouldn't that color seem extraordinary?
That's what normality means. It's not something that's set in stone from the start. So don't go thinking there's anything wrong with you.
To me, you're like a blue flame among the red."
At Hans' words, Lumielle's eyes sparkled with joy. She gazed at the blue flame for a moment, then spoke up.
"Sir, could I learn to do what you do, with the blue flames and the sigils? Can my spirit do that?"
Hans burst out laughing at Lumielle's words and nodded. "Let's try and see."
The following evening, Hans showed Lumielle more magic.
She'd been pestering him all day about learning to make a blue flame.
"You draw on the energy of spirits. Magicians like me draw it from the mana around us. To be precise, we don't so much use it as become a conduit for it.
When mana flows through our bodies, we can release its power through our hands, or use a staff to harness it."
"...Con...duit...?"
Hans explained to Lumielle how to open up her body to the flow of mana.
"Understand this: the mana works through us, not for us. We serve to bring it forth, and help it bring about results.
In studying these arts, one must always, always be humble. Cherish that humility."
Lumielle felt the flow of nature around her, the life and experience of the forest itself.
She didn't quite know what Hans meant by "humility," but she thought of the many things nature had given her.
Sweet apples, the cool breeze, the sound of birdsongs, shelter beneath the trees, clear ponds, many-colored fish...
Suddenly, she felt a tingling sensation at her fingertips...and what sounded like a whisper in her ear.
With her eyes closed, Lumielle stretched out both arms and tensed her fingertips. Hans' voice slowly faded from her mind, subsumed beneath the whisper.
She heard a sudden pop and a rush of air in her hand, Opening her eyes, she saw a green glow in the palm of her hand. It shifted and rolled, as if uncertain of its form, then flickered and faded away.
"Oh, my. Lumielle, how did you do that?"
"I...don't really know. I felt a tingle, and then...bam! Did I make myself a conduit? For the spirits?
...Wow. This is amazing! I don't even really understand it yet, but it feels great! I'm gonna have fun with this!"
"Finding joy in trying new things is always a blessing..."
Every night, Lumielle sat by the campfire, trying her best to conjure that magic flame.
But the green flame would never stay in her palm for more than the briefest moment.
"Ah, well, no one said this was easy. Maybe I'll try again later. I'm just glad the spirits are letting me play like this. They're so nice!"
"...Gratitude is a precious feeling. When you call on those spirits again, remember your gratitude, and your joy."
"Do you feel grateful for your magic, sir?"
Hans smiled and nodded.
Lumielle sensed an inexplicable, wistful sadness in Hans' wrinkled smile, but when he then urged her to rest, she laid down and closed her eyes.
*
A cloudy dawn.
When she realized she couldn't feel the warmth of the sunshine, Lumielle snapped her eyes open and jumped to her feet.
There was no sound at all in the forest. Not even the breeze. Just silence, thick as fog.
Lumielle placed her hand on Hans' shoulder. He too opened his eyes and looked around.
"You feel it too, sir?"
"Yes," he said. "They're closer than I thought."
"They're hunting us. Take that path behind the rock. I'll be right behind you."
No sooner had Lumielle finished speaking than...
THUD.
...the ground shook.
Lumielle rushed Hans into a hiding place beneath a large tree root.
"...It's them, all right. Kaonu and his trolls."
Through the gaps between the trees, their pursuers came into view. Close, too close, to their hiding place.
Kaonu's entire body was crisscrossed with scars large and small. How many battles he'd survived to earn them all, Lumielle couldn't guess.
His growl carried across the silence as he stopped and swept his gaze from side to side.
Lumielle checked her quiver. Just as she thought, she had exactly one arrow. They'd have to avoid the trolls at all costs.
"Sir. If we keep going straight," she whispered, "there'll be a fork in the road. Both paths lead to Colhen. The left path is longer, but it's much, much safer.
If these jerks spot us, I'll lead them off of you. So don't look back. Just run for it. All right? You ready? ...On your mark, get set, go!"
Along the dark forest path, the two of them tried their best to manage both speed and stealth.
But Kaonu was a creature of war, who had chased down his enemies time and again. He spotted them at once, and let loose a great howl.
As his trolls joined the howling, Lumielle shoved Hans forward.
"Go, hurry!"
He looked back for just a moment. She saw the reluctance in his face, but he ran just as she asked. As he disappeared behind the trees ahead, she stopped and turned back toward Kaonu.
She drew her last arrow, nocked it on the taut bowstring, and closed her eyes.
A gentle breeze brushed against her cheeks.
"Now...!"
She loosed the arrow and heard it whistle away.
A cry of agony shook the forest.
Kaonu clutched his eye socket, and the arrow now lodged within it. He collapsed to the ground with a grunt.
Lumielle sighed and smiled with relief...until he got back up.
Ripping the arrow out of his face, and not even bothering to wipe the blood, he rushed straight at Lumielle.
She had no arrows left.
All she could do was run.
Suddenly, her pursuers' footsteps stopped.
Puzzled, Lumielle turned around. At that moment, an arrow whipped past her, lodging itself in the tree right beside her.
The trolls had all drawn bows of their own. Some had gone ahead of Kaonu, and now they had her covered from every angle. With her heart pounding and no way out, she instinctively closed her eyes and sank to the ground.
She waited for the arrows to pierce her body...but they didn't. Instead, she heard them snapping as they ricocheted away.
Lumielle opened her eyes to see Hans' back as he stood before her. He'd created a defensive barrier around her, and was now struggling to hold his ground.
"Sir, what are you doing here?!"
"Never mind that. What's the best way out of here?"
Upon hearing those words, Lumielle slapped herself back to her senses.
Standing up, she grabbed Hans by the arm.
She felt the magician gather his strength, then sweep a massive blue beam across Kaunu and the trolls.
She heard trees falling, rocks shattering, trolls howling.
Lumielle ran, leading Hans away. Her legs grew heavier and heavier. Every breath ripped through her lungs like a fire. But she had one hope: she knew a shortcut to Colhen.
The other path from the fork. The one that wasn't safe. But they'd make it. She promised herself that.
Before they knew it, the forest had fallen silent. There were no footsteps to be heard, no arrows in flight. Relieved, Lumielle looked for the best tree to hide and rest in.
"We lost them, sir. It'll be okay. From here, it's just..."
Only then did Lumielle see what she'd missed while running away.
The arrow lodged in Hans' chest. The blood that stained his robe.
Lumielle knelt before him.
"Sir, we're almost to Colhen. I'm sure there's someone there who can treat you..."
"There's...no need for that..."
"N-no. We can stop the bleeding on the move!"
Lumielle's voice and hands were both trembling. She reached for the arrow, but he slapped her hand away. With great effort, he spoke.
"...Lumielle. I don't have much time, so listen carefully. When I first became a magician, and I stumbled into danger, there was a mercenary who laid his life down to save me."
Hans coughed up a stream of blood. Steeling himself, he reached into his robe, pulling out an old Crimson Blade epaulet.
"That man... Gunther... He rests in the Colhen cemetery. He told me to come see him once I became a great magician...
Would you take this to his grave for me? It'll give us both peace, I think, to see each other again..."
"No, sir. You come along and see him yourself! You can't give up!"
Hans smiled weakly. His weakening hand climbed his staff, then pried out its two radiant gems.
As Lumielle held out her hands, he gave her both the gems, and the epaulet.
"The gems are for you. Don't cry. I was glad to have you with me on this final journey.
...You'll do great at anything you set your mind to. Even in the unknown, you can find your way. You're a very special person...aren't you?"
He gazed into her tear-streaked eyes with pride and faith. A moment later, his head nodded back slowly, then lay still.
"...Sir?"
He said nothing in return.
She clenched her hands around the gems and bloodstained epaulet, then pressed against his chest.
Her tears dripped onto his robe as he lay there in peace.
Minutes passed. Perhaps hours. The wind changed direction again. And the flow of the forest came to a halt.
She heard Kaonu's footsteps again. He must have followed Hans' trail of blood.
And she still had no arrows left...
...except the one lodged in Hans' body.
Tucking the epaulet away, Lumielle clapped her hands against her cheeks. Then she took a deep breath, reached for the arrow, and carefully slid it out intact.
"Thank you," she told him. "I'll tell Gunther everything. You can count on me."
*
With the arrow in her quiver, Lumielle ran as hard as she could into the deeper forest. Her heart felt ready to burst, but she couldn't give up. She'd keep her promise. She had to.
The forest had grown dark. Even other rangers, she thought, might have lost their way there. But she still knew the way to Colhen.
And Kaonu knew the way to her. Still he tracked her every move, never far behind.
"Ah!"
In her haste, Lumielle tripped over a root and nearly fell.
Inspiration flashed through her mind. She changed direction and started running again.
A short while later, the flourishing trees and green bushes gave way to a new landscape, filled with pale broken trees and grayish-brown mud.
A swamp.
Gingerly stepping from rock to rock, Lumielle made her way through the murk and mud, toward the swamp's very center.
Just then, Kaonu appeared at the swamp's edge, bellowing after her. At the sight of his quarry in the open, he howled in triumph and charged, his one eye blazing in fury.
As his massive legs pounded across the mud, he began to sink. Soon, both his feet were submerged.
As he struggled to free himself, he tripped on a rotten tree root and fell.
Her plan had worked. Hope spread across Lumielle's face.
She nocked the arrow, still red with Hans' blood, and aimed for Kaonu's throat.
This was her only chance.
The ranger girl took a slow breath and held it.
She could hear her heart beating in her ears.
But then, just as she was about to release the bowstring...
...she heard a quick, dull noise.
She knew the sound. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
The bowstring had snapped.
The recoil threw her off balance, twisting her to the ground. She rose halfway, snatching up the dropped bow and arrow...or rather, half the arrow. The other half, she saw, had already flown halfway, fallen, and now lay useless in the mud.
Kaonu locked eyes with her as he wrenched his body from the mud. Drawing his massive mace, he approached with a great quaking roar.
Lumielle's mind went blank. She had nothing left, no tricks, no strength. She was finished.
Then she heard the slow, gentle voice of an old man.
"Even in the unknown, you can find your way. You're a very special person...aren't you?"
Their journey through Hilder Forest flashed through her mind in an instant.
As she took a slow breath, she saw the path ahead.
Drawing herself upright, she calmly raised her broken bow.
She closed her eyes.
Her first bite of that sweet red apple as she sat under its tree.
The cool wind brushing past her ears, almost cheering her on as she ran.
The warmth of the sunlight on a sad day, wrapping up her body like a blanket.
The scent of fresh grass that tickled her nose as she surfaced from the water of a clear, cool pond.
The moon, her companion at night, sharing its moonlight to illuminate her way.
Time stood still.
Lumielle felt the spirits all flowing through her body, eager to help and share and make her strong.
Their power coursed through her veins, flowed through her lungs, whirled through her thoughts and feelings.
The energy enveloped her arm, toward the fingertips that held the stringless bow.
And then, with a green flash, a new bowstring appeared, taut and strong, with a bright green arrow already nocked to it.
With her slender fingers and all her might, Lumielle drew the arrow's shining feathers to her cheek.
Kaonu gasped in disbelief.
Lumielle released the bowstring, sending the arrow straight toward him.
The arrow's light traced a dazzling path as it flew, expelling all darkness from the swamp.
Finally, the blinding light faded, leaving the spirits' afterimages to flit and fade.
There was no trace left of Kaonu.
Lumielle, barely standing, gasped for breath.
As if sending her words on the breeze, she whispered to the spirits.
"Thank you."
*
From there, the path to Colhen was short.
Soon, the trees grew sparse, the shadows thinner, and the morning sun spread its radiant joy.
The edge of Hilder Forest. Lumielle caught her breath.
She thought of the old magician, who had sacrificed everything for her.
With his words in her heart, she left the forest behind.
*
On the outskirts of Colhen is a graveyard.
There, Lumielle found Gunther's gravestone, though the name had nearly faded with time.
Taking out the bloodstained Crimson Blade epaulet, she laid it upon the grave.
"Hans told me to give this to you. He said you saved his life, like he saved mine. Now, he's on his way to...wherever you are."
Setting her bow down on the ground, the young ranger ran her hand over the name on the gravestone, again and again.
Gunther. ...Gunther.
Every time she touched the name, her fingertips seemed to grow warm.
Her eyes welled up. And then the weight of the journey fell upon her all at once.
She collapsed in front of the grave, watering its earth with her teardrops.
As she remembered all Hans had done for her, her sadness burst out of her.
And her cry of sorrow rang across the graveyard.
The warmth of the morning sun descended upon her, drying her tears.
The bloodstained Crimson Blade epaulet glistened beautifully in the sun's golden light.
Rubbing her swollen eyes, Lumielle picked herself up. The breeze gently ruffled her hair.
"...Thank you, everyone..."
She found herself staring at the Crimson Blade epaulet and Gunther's name for a long while. Though the sting of her sorrow had passed for the moment, the image of Hans, bleeding from his chest, flashed through her mind unbidden.
Taking out the gems Hans had given her, Lumielle clutched them in her hands.
"I see the path..."
With her lips tightly pressed together, Lumielle left the cemetery.
*
Although it was her first time in Colhen, Lumielle found the place she needed to go right away.
As she raised her hand to knock on the door, her lips finally loosened into a smile again.
She knocked three times, loud and clear.
A moment later, with a loud creak, the old door of the Crimson Blade's mercenary outpost swung open.
