At first I didn't understand exactly what was going on, but Ruineth had understood everything.

And she was pissed.

All around us, elves were roaring; spitting insults and challenges towards the elder. But she paid them no mind. Her eyes were transfixed upon Hestia. She stared down at her with arrogance. The duel was meant to be one on one, so how the hell had Orndir got involved? He was trembling so violently that I was afraid he'd accidently cut his throat on the blade. But although I was scared for him, I was equally concerned for Ruineth. When I said she was pissed, that was an understatement. She was seething with volcanic fury. Livid with atomic wrath. Brimming with an almighty rage, you get the picture. That wasn't all. I couldn't just see the anger plastered on her face.

I  could actually feel her anger, like a wave of hot air radiating from her body. Even though it was directed at me, my Anima actually spoke up in my head. I had totally forgotten it existed and I now felt stupid thinking about how I could have used it earlier, but now it warned me.

That girl is dangerous. You should run.

My heart started hammering my ribs all of a sudden. I began turning on me heels and was actually about to flee, but I dug my feet into the ground and shook away the sudden fear, turning back towards the dispute.

Hestia raised her hand and all at once the mob died down, just like when they were about to tear me apart. She turned back to elder Ceodwig, her expression surprisingly calm considering the circumstances. 

"This fight is between you and I, as the laws of battle states. Leave the child out of this." Her voice was calm and controlled. But this didn't seem to mean anything to her opponent.

"Are you asking me to forgive this child's intrusion? Do not speak of rules, Lady Orrenbelle, for the rules allow one of my status to engage in combat against any who I deem worthy. This child entered the battlefield as one of your draum and I have every right to dispatch that threat." Hestia tensed, her gaze falling to Orndir, whose eyes were wide and as fearful as when he had seen the dead bodies. Was what she was saying actually true? From what I could gather, when Ruineth told Orndir to tell Hestia about the Redcap and the wall, he had interrupted the fight to do so. He probably got snagged the moment Ceodwig had gotten the chance. First she had tried to off my ass, now she was going to kill my friend? There was a lot of hateful things in my vocabulary that I could have said, but most of them would probably burn the ears of every elf that heard them.

"I'm asking you as another elder, not as an opponent. All my draum are my children and are dear to me. Please, excuse his mistake. He is but a child and knows no better." She flicked her gaze down to Orndir and smiled softly in an attempt to calm his nerves and tell him everything would be alright, but Ceodwig saw this as a sign of weakness, and she'd take advantage of it.

"Save your wordplay, Orrenbelle. You claim these dryas  are your children. . .yet you harbor a monster amongst them. A runty, fanged creature with rounded ears! Your words fail to convince me, Orrenbelle. No mother  would welcome a wolf into their herd." She pointed straight at me when she spoke, and I didn't realize it until all eyes had fell on me.

All eyes but Ruineth. She had had enough. She stepped forward, all eyes that were previously on me flicking towards her. She walked with a dangerous swagger, her black blood soaked cloak whipping around behind her. She placed the dead Redcap's cap on her head so that she had both hands free. I didn't try to stop her. Not because I believed she was making the right decision, but because I didn't want to be in the way when she murders this woman.

Unfortunately for her, she considered Ruineth to be no different than Orndir, who had easily lost his nerve and was at her mercy.

"What do we have here, another one of you Orrenbelle draum so uncouth as too--"

"Silence, worm." Ruineth spoke, her voice edged with lethality. Orndir stared wide eyed at the girl, who exerted such bad assery. "Foolish woman, who speaks of monsters and dares to point at a mere boy. You blind fool."

Ceodwig stared at Ruineth, expressionless, then all at once her face twisted into anger, "How dare you, savage?! Who are you to speak to me in such a way?!" She was fuming, but Hestia stared at her student in awe. She looked like an archangel, covered in black from head to toe and brandishing deadly weapons. Ruineth was a true huntress.

"You fool! Your actions infringe upon the laws of battle, directly dictated by the goddess Ar-Myna herself! This act of rebellion is punishable by death!"

"Don't speak of battle, coward. In battle, your brothers and sisters come before anything else! Orndir came here under my request, to warn you all of the growing threat of our true enemy! This petty battle and your laws mean nothing to me, not while the Orcneas--or ANYONE--threaten the life of my people!" Then something happened. Time itself seemed to slow and condense. The heat wave coming from Ruineth intensified, but that wasn't it. She herself was changing. Not just emotionally, but physically. She was enveloped in a brilliant green light that nearly blinded me, but as it dimmed, I witnessed her mesmerizing transformation. Her clothes tightened around her body and hugged her newly formed curves. Her bones shifted slightly beneath her skin and her spine extended along with her entire body. She was growing taller, her legs outgrowing the tights that had previously fit her. Her hair grew out in voluminous curls and began to take on a silvery color. The straps that crossed her body were now pressed tight against her chest. She was maturing rapidly. With the help of the water nymph, she had temporarily increased her age in order to fight in the war game, but now power was beyond that. She had transformed into a grown woman in an instant, no longer the child that would be looked down upon. When the change had ended, the green light died down and dispersed. But on her shoulder was a glowing verdant brand.

Her teacher looked at her with profound pride. She wouldn't stop Ruineth either. Deep down I knew exactly what this power was. It was the very thing Mikoto had talked about and was in the process of accessing herself.

It was Anima, tapped into and manifested into the physical world.

She continued towards Ceodwig and drew her long blade; which also shimmered with a green hue. Everyone was silent, even Orndir, who had been freaking out moments ago, was perfectly calm. Ceodwig released Orndir, gazing at Ruineth with curiosity. Orndir walked over to Ruineth and stopped a couple of feet away. Now they were both at eye level.

"Ruineth, is that--"

"Go to Lady Orrenbelle, Orndir." Ruineth's voice sounded the same as it had before, but more absolute. He looked up and down at his friend, then ran over to Hestia. Now that Orndir was out of harm's way, she could handle Ceodwig.

Ceodwig sneered and tried to stare down at Ruineth. "You aren't as foolish as to try to coax me into withdrawing like your elder, are you girl?"

"The only thing that will be coaxed is your soul to the Grand Beyond. You will take back your insults to my teacher, else I will not stay my blade."

"You do not give me orders, draum. I don't know what form of magic craft you possess, but it's obvious that you've thrown away your loyalty to Ar-Myna. For this I sentence you to a swift death."

"You're so blinded by your meaningless pride that you fail to see the larger picture. No matter, I'll show you first hand how far that pride will get you!"

Ruineth moved like a lightning bolt. Ceodwig had barely any time to raise her sword before Ruineth unleashed a whirlwind of slashes. Each strike pushed Ceodwig back more and more. The elves that encircled the fight gave them a wide berth. Ruineth didn't give her opponent the slightest chance to counterattack. She kept on with the furious onslaught, silent and focused defeating the enemy as fast as possible.

It wasn't a long fight, and it was evident who had the upper hand. Ruineth swung her sword diagonally swatting the sword right from Ceodwig's hands. It skittered across the grass a few feet away from her. Ruineth immediately took advantage of this moment to release her guard and go for an all out attack. She smashed the pommel of her sword into Ceodwig's helmet. The loud clang of metal on metal rang throughout the entire forest. Where Ruineth had struck was now a deep dent in the elders armor. She staggered backwards, fingering the spot that had been damaged. Ruineth didn't give her the time to react. She stepped in and thrust the pommel of her sword square into Ceodwig's unprotected stomach.  I don't know who told her it was a good idea to wear armor like that, but she definitely learned her lesson. She pitched forward from the sudden shock and a that moment it seemed like Ruineth was about to kill her, but she did something else.

Ruineth pressed the blade of her sword against Ceodwig's throat and guided her head back to eye level with her. She parted her lips and spoke only a few words, but few they were, those words were powerful.

"Ar-Myna blessed me with this power. Not to fight one of my own, but for a greater purpose, that purpose is to wipe the Orcneas of the face of the earth. You cannot hope to defeat what was meant to save you." Ruineth withdrew her sword from Ceodwig's throat and with one powerful stroke, slammed the pommel of her sword a third time sideways into Ceodwig's temple. I could feel the force of the blow even if I wasn't the one getting hit. She stepped back in an awkward way, stumbled over her feet, then pitch over on her back, out cold. Ruineth looked from the unconscious woman to the crowd of elves, then placed the sword safely back in it's scabbard and flipped her cloak. Everyone seemed to waiting for her green light to begin cheering. She walked up to Coedwig's unconscious body and hoisted her up.

"Draum of Coedwig! Retrieve your elder and take her back to your village!" Not a second sooner, three elves donning white cloaks pushed through the barrier of elves and cradled their elder, removing her helmet to check for fatal injuries. Once done, the dipped their heads ever so slightly and together carried her off. Surprisingly, the crowd that was previously spitting insults now parted for the elves and their wounded elder. More white cloaked elves broke away from the crowd and followed the rest into the woods. Not until every Coedwig elf had gone did Ruineth address the crowd.

"This war game is over. I may have broken the strict law of battle in order to save my friend, but there is a greater threat I've encountered!" Ruineth removed the black hat that she had placed on her head and held it high so that everybody could see. "Witness! The cap of our sworn enemy! The very boon of a powrie, soaked in it's own blood so that it may never reform! I have slain it with Silver and Iron, it's mortal weaknesses! These creatures can be defeated, and together we can wipe this scourge from existence!"

That was when every elf around me erupted into a cacophony of cheers and battle cries loud enough to be heard all the way from the Easter Spire. It was a joyous sound. One of morale and victory. I couldn't stop myself. I cheered too, just as loud as every elf around me. Everyone around me rushed in and altogether, hoisted Ruineth high above their heads. I expected them to be somewhat scared that their village had been infiltrated by Redcap's, but it was the total opposite. They praised her for slaying it and bringing them victory.

"A powrie has been slain singlehandedly!" An elf yelled somewhere in the crowd.

"She's defeated our enemy! Victory!" More elves roared. They tossed her up high in the air and caught her. Judging from the flushed look on her face, she wasn't use to this kind of attention. I felt happy for her. What she's been hoping and building towards for so long was finally coming to fruition. Now there was a way to defeat her mortal enemy.

Hestia stepped forward and the elves set Ruineth down and dispersed, living the two face to face. Everyone went silent and bent down on one knee with their heads bowed, including Ruineth. as she approached her. I followed suit and peeked up to see what was going on.

"Teacher forgive me. I blatantly disregarded the laws of battle and acted recklessly without prior thought. If punishment is due then I am willing to receive."

Hestia stood within arm's reach of Ruineth and gently raised her chin so that their eyes could meet.

"Hush. Forget the laws. What you did today was by far the most courageous and valiant action I have ever seen in all my years. There is no punishment for taking actions into ones own hands, only celebration. Stand, my child." Ruineth obeyed and stood with her chin held high. She was the same height as Hestia now, no longer the petite girl she used to be.

"Ruineth, with that cap and the blood painting your face as evidence, alone you have slain a powrie, by far the most potent of the Orcneas we have encountered."

"I wasn't alone in my endeavor. I had Eron and Orndir at my side the entire time." She looked from Orndir to me and smiled. Her face looked to be hand sculpted by a Michelangelo himself. She had a exotic facial shape that gave her a regal appearance, but I could see in her eyes that she was still the same Ruineth.

Hestia gestured for us to step forward and we did so. The three of us now stood before Hestia. I felt self conscious now that both Orndir and Ruineth were at least a head taller than me. I was eager for the time when I hit my growth spurt.

"Eron, Orndir, Ruineth tells me that you three worked together to slay the powrie. Is this true?"

Orndir dropped his gaze. "No, my lady. Although I was present when we had encountered the beast, I immediately ran back to report to you." Hestia lifted his chin and smiled warmly.

"You did good, thinking to tell me before anything." Orndir thanked Hestia, then turned to me. "What say you, Eron?"

I scratched my head. "Ruineth did the most of it. I sort of just got one hit in on it so that it couldn't teleport." Instead of lifting my chin like the other two, Hestia clasped my shoulder.

"Don't devalue yourself, Eron. If not for your intervention the fight may have had an alternate outcome."

"You know something funny, I wouldn't have been able to do it without this." I withdrew the dagger I'd been holding onto and held it out to her. "In a way you helped out too. So, uh. . .thanks!" She stared at me oddly, but then grinned and took back dagger and held it up high.

"Together, these three have not only slain our hated foe, but discovered their mortal weakness! As I said before, there will be no punishment, only celebration! In honor of Orndir, who brought us word of the threat our enemies posed; for Eron, who aided Ruineth in the slaying of our foe; and Ruineth, who discovered the beast's weakness and purged it from this life! Ruineth, who threw away her fears and rushed in to save her brother! Thanks to her, we have won the war games, and at the same time have attained a shimmer of hope in destroying our mortal enemies! The Orcneas! Now, my children, we shall celebrate! In honor of our victory! In honor of our Ruineth!

Everyone exploded. I could feel their jubilation and cheerfulness. Then everyone rushed in and Orndir and I only had a moment to get out of the way before we were trampled by the mass of joyous elves. The surged around Ruineth and like before, hoisted her high up on her shoulders like a rock star surfing a mosh pit and carried her off in a gleaming tied towards the village green. In less than a minute all that remained were me, Hestia, and Orndir. I could still hear their cheers echoing through the woods.

"There she goes. Kid's gonna get far in this business." I joked. "Hey, so, what happens now that the war game is over?"

"Well a celebration, of course! and a great one! I'm thinking that it should last at least three days. Three days of festivities and jollification and by night we shall intoxicate ourselves with the heavenly nectar of the moon."

"Heavenly nectar of the. . .what?"

Hestia patted on the back and chuckled. "You shall see, Eron. I assure you, you will not regret this night!"

"I don't mean to put a damper on the mood my Lady, but what of the breach in our wall."

"You need not worry, Orndir. I'll have all our best guardians dispatched to every corner of our walls. If anything has gotten through, it's as good as dead. The tides have finally turned in our favor."

I threw my arm over Orndir's shoulder. "Hey, don't sweat it. Your guys will handle it. Our job now, is to party, and be happy we ain't dead, am I right?" Hestia grinned and began towards the village, Orndir and I following close behind. I was in much higher spirits now. Everything seemed to have turned out okay. Looking back to the beginning of all this, during the first three days I had spent in this world, held up in a dark apartment feeling hopeless and scared, things have made a total three-sixty. At one point I had felt truly scared that without someone to rely on I'd die, but that wasn't the case any longer. Because I was surrounded by warriors whose goal is to take out the threat, not hide from it. More importantly, I had helped do it.

Once we arrived at the village green,  giant barrels had already been rolled out behind long tables stacked high with the most enticing food I'd seen in a damn long time. Naming all the different familiar and exotic would be impossible. There was so many different kinds of meats, vegetables, gravy like stuff, a ton of weird mushrooms and a giant, steaming hot pot. I could smell it from here and my mouth watered. I caught sight if Ruineth over by the foods, stuffing her face. By the looks of it, the party had already started. All around me elves were laughing and dancing together and all around having a great time. I met up with Ruineth by the hot pot.

"Hey, uh, is that. . .good?" I asked awkwardly. As far as I could remember, I'd never been to an actual party.

She smiled and shoved a spoonful into my mouth. I nearly choked but managed to swallow the broth down.

"Well?" she asked.

"Hmm, a bit spicy, taste sits on the tongue a bit." I laughed. "It's freaking good, lemme get some more." As the sun slowly set, I spent most of my time sampling each and everyone one of the different delicacies the elves offered. Each one taste entirely different than the last. By night Hestia came to me and was telling about the nectar of the moon, or Moon Nectar for short. She whacked a metal pipe that protruded from the side of one of the huge barrels with her sword. Clear liquid began pouring out like a faucet and she quickly placed a metal tankard underneath to catch it. Once the mug was spilling over, she grabbed a piece of cloth off a table and clogged the pipe up with it. She then shoved the mug into my hands and convinced me to take a sip.

As soon as the cold drink hit my tongue, I thought it tasted like bitter water. But as it sat on my tongue I began to sense a sort of herbal, medicine like flavor, like drinking rubbing alcohol. I was about to spit it out, but then the taste changed slightly. It took on an almost fruity flavor before sliding smoothly down my throat. Then warmth spread all over my body like wildfire. It wasn't scorching pain. No, far from it. It was a comfortable, cozy feeling, like sitting by a fire with hot chocolate in the winter. It was bliss. I took another sip, and the same feeling enveloped me. Before I knew it I was filling cup after cup with the sweet drink, gulping down pints at a time. As I continued with the drinks, everything started to turn fuzzy. The torches that were lit once the sun set started to glow impossibly bright. Shadows danced through the forest and bodies whirled around in a cloud about me. There was music, beating of drums, the whistle of flutes and the voices of the forest cheering in a joyous cacophony of laughter and euphoria.

Then everything after that became a blur. Turns out what I'd been chugging down had been some sort of alcohol. Vodka maybe? But whether I knew this or not at the time, I partied hard. No pulled punches. I stuffed my face with food and ran my mouth nonstop about my wondrous adventures in the Beyond. At some point in the night, I found myself being tugged deep into the forest by an elf girl. She seemed excited and. . .I think I was too. I think we made out, but to be honest, I couldn't remember a damn thing from that night. Everything was like a fleeting dream.

I woke up under the shade of a tall tree with a nightmarish headache. The world was spinning around me and I could feel my stomach churning. Any second it'd all come up, I was sure of it. As I jolted up to purge my system of the alcohol, I noticed my left arm wad being pinned down. I glanced to my side and it was confirmed that I had probably made out with an elf girl last night. But then the bile rising up was suddenly sent right back down by my heart racing to my throat before it. Ew.

The assassin of Coedwig village was snoring lightly beside me, her head resting on my arm. The confusing I felt there was insane. What the hell did I do last night? as I pulled my arm free of her, she stirred, then her eyes flittered open. As soon as our eyes met, we both screamed.

"Yo-you!" I cried. She scrambled back against a tree opposite of me.

"No, no, no, no, no. . ." She trembled and dug her fingers into the soft dirt. "I slept with the--" Her face turned a sickly green pallor and she raced behind the tree and heaved. I didn't last much longer either. I felt horrible. This must be what a hangover is. From that point on I vowed never to touch another bottle of alcohol again.  

Once we had somewhat recovered, the elf girl propped herself back up against the tree and squeezed her eyes shut. To my thankfulness, she was still fully clothed in what she had wore the last time I'd seen her.

"What. . .what did you do to me last night! Speak, beast!"

"Woah, hold on! It takes two to tango and I was just as drunk as you. This is as much my fault as it is yours." She huffed, then massaged her temples.

"Ack! Curse this throbbing pain! What form. . .of devilry is to blame for this!"

"It's not magic, you're having a hangover. Just sleep it off and it'll be fine--" I paused and shot her an annoyed look. "Why the heck are you still here anyway? Your whole village went home yesterday."

"When that girl, Ruineth, paralyzed me with her toxin, I managed to fake the effects before they actually set in. Once you two had left, I didn't get very far before the actual effects set in. Unfortunately for me, I was missed by my comrades. When I awoke I followed the sounds of your celebration and managed to slip in unnoticed. I wouldn't dare leave the safety of your walls at night."

"How the hell did you get drunk?" I asked.

"I was stressed and needed to relax. I over indulged and everything became convoluted after that. Then, I found myself with. . .you." She shuttered as if it made her sick.

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who dragged me out here." Her face lit up like tempered steel, but she didn't say anything. "Hey, look, you don't remember jack, I don't remember jack, so as far as we know, jack don't exist. Let's just keep it that way, yeah?"

"Jack? Who's jack?" She asked.

"It's a figure of speech. Forget about it." I rubbed my head the same way she had and swore. "What was your name again, I'm drawing a complete blank."

"Tariya Ceodwig, servant to my master, Lady Ceodwig."

"You aren't still gonna, like, kill me, are you?"

"I follow my masters orders because I believe she knows what's best for me." Tariya's expression wavered, as if she wasn't entirely sure of her own feelings towards my question. "But. . .I don't like killing. When she commands me to take a life I try to believe I'm doing the right thing. But in truth, its a dark business."

"So. . .where cool then?"

 "That's good to hear." I said, wincing as I tried to stand. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"That'd be suicide," she said. "your people would strike me down on site."

"One, they aren't my people, and two I doubt anyone's gonna care about the war games and stuff."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What is your aim, beast? Why haven't you made an attempt on my life."

"It's Eron," I said, annoyed, "and I ain't no damned beast. I'm a human being."

"I've never heard of such a creature. Now it's my turn to ask the questions. Where do you come from, human being?"

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. With this  killer hangover, I was in no condition to be interrogated. "Ugh, I came from beyond the forest. The Beyond, or whatever it's called."

"Beyond the forest? There's nothing Beyond. Nothing but the void in which Ar-Myna emerged from."

"Ugh! Look, I'm not going to try to convince you, but the thing is, I did come from outside, and if you want to hear the whole story, I can tell you later, because right now I think I'm going to throw up again." My throat tightened and I did just that. The world seemed to be spinning around me like a merry-go-round.

"Aw, shit. I'm going to go. . .to the infirmary. You can stay here if you want." I limped off awkwardly into the bushes. What did I care if she didn't follow me. She could sleep off her hangover in the forest.

I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see Tariya keeping pace. I stopped so that she could catch up and we traveled in silence. Not because we had a grudge or anything, but because it was to damn painful.

"I hope you know where you're going." Tariya said.

"Oh, yeah I do. I remember what direction we went in last night--"

"So you do know Jack!" Tariya exclaimed. She immediately regretted it and massaged her temples.

"Chill out. That's all I can remember." She gave me a sort of look but said nothing. It turned out that I was right, and we arrived back at the village green in less than ten minutes. But when we saw the scene before us, we immediately gasped. Dozens of elves--possibly the entire village--were sprawled out on the floor and tables. A lot of them had tankards in their hands and others were shirtless and laying facedown. I thought they were all dead for a second, but then the situation clicked and my nerves settled.

"They're all hungover." I whispered. I motioned for Tariya to follow as we carefully stepped over the elves. Most moaned as we passed by. Others were snoring, fast asleep. Once we reached the end of the drunk obstacle course, we made a beeline through the wooden huts towards the giant longhouse at the end.

"Where are we headed?"

"We're going to Hestia." I replied.

"You're planning on turning me in to her, aren't you?" She accused.

"Turn you in? I'm trying to get you home. Hestia's cool, she won't execute you or whatever you guys do." Again she was silent, probably putting her faith in me. I had a good feeling Hestia would be cool about the whole thing. I could be wrong though. . .

There was a flash far to my left, like light reflecting on metal. I was immediately shoved backwards by Tariya, just as a meter long spear sailed through the air where I had originally been. My eyes darted in the direction that the spear came from. What I saw struck a shard if fear into my heart.

"This shouldn't be possible. . ." She muttered. Before us stood a stout, bearded monster donning a blood soaked cap on it's head. Like the one before, it looked almost identically; with torn clothes and iron boots. Surprisingly, this creature didn't seem as vicious as the last. When it bared its fangs, they seemed to have little to no blood or leftover prey caked between them and its talons were somewhat clean. But that didn't make it any less dangerous, and Tariya understood this quickly. With lightning quick speed, she grabbed me by my collar and bolted for the longhouse. The Redcap didn't give a seconds thought as it dematerialized into a black blur that glided towards us with terrifying speed. We were barreling up the steps, only a few feet from the twin doors. Fortunately, to climb the stairs, the Redcap had to reform, which gave us just enough time to reach the doors. Together we muscled the doors inwards just as the sound of the monsters iron boots stamping up the stairs grew louder. We fell in, but immediately came too our feet and rushed into the folksy throne room. We dared to look back. The Redcap's head reared over the top of the steps and it opened its gaping mouth and released a maniacal cackle.

Then there was a sudden, thunderous explosion of sound, and the Redcap was blown totally of it's feet. Tariya and I flicked our glances from where the Redcap had been to where the sound of the explosion had come from.

 Hestia blew the smoke away from the muzzle of the gun and set it back into her makeshift holster. She walked past us and down the stone steps. At the bottom lay the Redcap, a bullet hole right in the center of it's forehead. Once Hestia reached it, she grabbed the cap and soaked it in the blood that pulled around the monster, just as Ruineth had. We met up with her at the bottom of the steps and stared dumbfounded at the carcass.

"Ruineth hadn't been lying. It's best we back up or else--" There was a sizzling noise, then the area around the bullet wound began to bubble and swell. We only had seconds to duck in cover before the Redcap's head erupted in a shower of brain matter and shards of cranium. The air immediately reeked of death, almost as if the insides of the monster had long been rotting in its body. I pulled the lip of my shirt over my nose and coughed.

"How the hell did you kill it?!" I asked, surprised that a gunshot had done so much damage.

"With silver, the bane of all Orcneas."

"But, that makes no sense. Aren't bullets made of lead?" I immediately foolish for asking that question.

"I know little of these weapons from the Beyond, but I'll assume lead is what the original bullets were composed of. The one I used against that powrie isn't totally the same." With a click she released the cylinder of the gun and removed one of the bullets from its chamber. "Look closely. This bullet doesn't look the same, does it?" The bullet was a shiny chrome, reflecting my face of clear surface.

"No way. . ." I checked every inch of it. It was confirmed. The bullet was made entirely of silver alloy. Like the kind used to kill werewolves--well--hideous goblin monsters in this instance.

"I crafted this one myself. It's surprisingly simple. It's makeup is similar to that of a small, handheld cannon; and it takes a lot less gun-powder than I had anticipated." The news of her being able to make bullets made me feel like they had an even higher chance at defeating the monsters, but at the same time I had an unshakeable sense of foreboding. Right before me the elves were advancing. I knew from our own human history that along with positive effects, advancement had lead to many horrible things as well. I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind. No use dwelling on them.

I noticed Tariya, looking completely dumfounded.

"Oh, who's this, Eron?"

Tariya broke from her trance and turned to the elder. Up close I could understand how intimidated she must have felt. Although she was kind, Hestia looked fierce, like a lioness, and her long silver hair gave her an otherworldly look. Tariya seemed really nervous now.

"I'm Tariya Ceodwig, servant to my master, Lady Coedwig. Lady Orrenbelle I--" Even through her nervousness, she was brave enough to admit who she was. Hestia's expression was completely unreadable for a moment and I was beginning to fear I had been wrong about what I had said to Tariya, but her expression gradually softened.

"No matter where you're from, as long as you're here, you're one of us."

I laughed. "What'd I tell you?"

For the first time Tariya seemed to smile. "Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Orrenbelle! But. . .aren't my people the enemy? Why do you allow me quarter?"

"We are all brothers and sisters. Although your skin may be a shade lighter, we are all dryas; children of Ar-Myna."

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt, but who's Ar-Myna?"

"The title of the goddess of battle." Hestia replied. "She goes by another name, but among the dryas she's known as Ar-Myna."

"Oh, that's coo--ow!" A sharp pain forked its way through my temples and I remembered that I was suffering from hangover. Tariya seemed to react to my outburst and complained about the noise. Hestia just laughed at us both.

"You two must have drank more than your bodies could take. Feel no shame, it happens to the best of us!" She lead us into the longhouse and sat us down by the dimly lit hearth. She gave us both a cup of what she referred to as the ultimate remedy to a "hangover". It was dark green and smelled like a concoction of herbs boiled into a potion. As I sipped it, Hestia sat down in front of us cross legged.

"So other than the powrie, what brought you two here?"

"I was thinking about getting her home." I answered. Tariya's eye lit up with astonishment. Hestia nodded.

"Just say the word and I'll have you escorted to Ceodwig village." She said to Tariya.

She bowed her head. "A thousand thanks, Lady Orrenbelle. I'd like to go as soon as possible, I fear my own master may think I'm dead."

"Then it shall be so. I'll send for one that I know I can entrust with your safety." Hestia stood up and banked a thick piece of firewood into the meek flames. The fire at the wood and grew in power, send a column of fog outwards. Quickly, Hestia blocked off the mouth of the fireplace, and the flames were restricted to the inside of the furnace.

"When that smoke goes up through the smokeshaft, it'll be seen throughout entire village. She'll know to come when she sees it." I had a pretty good idea who "she" was even before she arrived. "Make yourself comfortable, Tariya." Hestia said. She thanked her again and found a cozy spot in a corner of the room.

"I guess I'll stick around then." I said. As I got up to stretch my legs, Tariya motioned me to come over. I was actually sort of excited. She was leaning against a wall, her arms crossed.

"Eron, was it?" To my surprised, she actually used my name instead of calling me beast or something along those lines.

"Oh, shoot yeah. It is. You're not calling me beast anymore?"

"I'll admit, I had you figured out wrong. Lady Orrenbelle too. Now that I think about it, why does Lady Ceodwig bear such hatred for this village?"

"I don't know, everyone has there reasons. I try to think that no one is just purely bad. There's always a reason. At least, I hope there is, you know?" I laughed.

"Even though she had me ordered to kill you, you believe she had a reason for that?"

"Nah. She was probably just grumpy or something." Tariya cracked a smile and covered her mouth to hide her laughter. Then she did something totally insane, reckless, impulsive, unexpected, and. . .insane!

She planted a kiss directly on my lips. As soon as our lips made contact, the sensations that electrified my body felt oddly familiar, like I'd done this before. Have I done this before? Too bad. It only last a couple of seconds and was over before I had a chance to test if I was good at it or not. I don't know how I looked, but when we broke away, Tariya seemed totally calm.

"Wow. . .what. . .was that for? I mean it was great but--"

"In my village, kissing is a sign of gratitude and a display of trust. Despite everything you kept your word, and for that you have my deepest thanks." I was both surprised and relieved by her reason and laughed it off.

But truly, damn it felt amazing.

Minutes later, Tariya's escort arrived. And held snugly under her armpit was the book that would win them the war.