"It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he'll look for his own answers."

Patrick Rothfuss

•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•

The northern lights appeared in the sky, encircling the world to give light for the night together with the two moons, Luna and Celestria. The stars sparkled at the crisp, and the plants and animals began to show their astonishing, luminous glow.

From a distance, the majestic city of the Elven Empire, Everdaile, could be seen. Located at the Eastern Lands, it has several crystal buildings soaring high up in the sky, showing their wonder and might towards the creatures it surrounds.

Every detail shone with wealth and splendor. Every corner conveyed the magnificence and glory one could ever imagine.

However, despite its beauty lies a different story - a story of pain, misery, dissatisfaction, and loneliness. "Long live the new Avallon! Long live Livian of Everdaile!" the people of Everdaile cheered as they watched their new guardian march up towards the others.

Little did they know that seeing that scene had broken the heart of one of them. It was not just because the young warrior didn't want the new guardian, but it was also because he wanted the magical magical stone to himself.

Being the child of their master and teacher, Varelor was confident that he would be the next keeper of the Wind Emerald, one of the most powerful artifacts in Enchantria that can grant extraordinary powers to the one keeping it.

However, when the day of choosing the new Avallon came, he heard a different and painful thing that broke his heart into several pieces.

The sound of silence can be heard all around. The light of the torches spread toward the corners of a room made of cobbled walls.

"When I pass the fifth ring to the next rightful keeper, I want him to be a kind and brave one. I want him to be a responsible guardian for our beloved land," his father spoke one evening after dinner.

"I will, Vio," Varelor replied confidently as he referred to his father through the Enchantrian language.

"I know that you will not bring me down," their master spoke, then turned into his youngest student, "Livian!" It almost seemed like he didn't hear Varelor's voice. "Thank you, Master," replied the kind warrior.

Varelor tried to wake himself up from his impossible daydream, and with all his might, he furiously stood up from his chair with a clenched fist punching the dining table. He turned to his father and ran as he aimed his fist toward him. "I am your son. Why did you choose Livian over me?! Why?!" Varelor shouted.

"Varelor, I'm so sorry, but... but the elders chose Livian," his father sadly replied. A sense of pity can be heard in his shivering voice.

"The elders?!" he asked. "Oh, come on! You can say that Livian is your favorite student because he is the son of the Emperor. And... And you can say that you did not choose me because the Avallon Tree showed you that I am not rightful for the magical rings!" Varelor added, letting go of a punch.

The elders and the other students were stunned and thrilled by what they had witnessed. As Varelor was about to touch his father's face with his furious fist, Livian and the other students came between them and blocked Varelor's attack with their shields.

"Vio? Why? You told me I'm the rightful keeper of one of the rings! How could you lie to me?!" Varelor asked. Tears welled up in his eyes, making his hatred rise even more. "You believe in that tree more than me?! How could you? I am your son!" Varelor paused as he thought of his next plan.

He then raised his hand, and suddenly, the students, including Livian, began transforming their rings into weapons. A strong force covered their body, making them unable to control their actions.

At first glance at what happened, the elders knew what was happening. The students aimed their weapons at each other with no ability to control their actions. However, he then let his hand down and lost consciousness.

Varelor was exiled from the land by order of the Emperor. For many days, he traveled the Elven Empire without knowing where he could be. He struggled for a place where he could rest and even for the food he could eat. Days passed, and his hatred just grew even more.

One day, he reached a dark, shady forest that he had never seen before. Hoping to find food to eat, he continued his journey.

The forest was surrounded by the sound of crying babies long dead and the eerie fog creeping toward the ground where he was standing. Suddenly, he was startled by a strange voice coming from different sides of the place.

Terrified of the threat that could happen, the young boy decided to turn around. Unfortunately, he was encircled by the same types of trees. That time, he knew that he was lost.

As he continued to walk, he found a blinding light. He came towards it, hoping we would be back from the place where he had entered. When he reached what he thought was the forest's end, the climate grew colder than he expected.

As he looked around, he saw a strange place covered with ruins of some structure. He discovered that the light was coming from something placed under a massive stone under the ruins.

He came towards it out of curiosity. As he came nearer and nearer, the colder the atmosphere around him became. Whirling wind consisting of snow encircled him. That was when he realized that he might have reached the Northern Lands with its long-fallen Empire.

Varelor felt a strange feeling. Memories flashed before his eyes - memories that seemed to be like raging and troubled waters. Memories in chaos. The blizzard almost froze him. It almost did until he touched the glowing thing. The blizzard suddenly disappeared, together with a blinding light.

"A ring?" he asked, taking the thing away from the stone. He held the sacred stone tightly in his shivering palms and then decided to look around the strange area.

The Northern Lands were filled with Barbarians, so he didn't lose attention to the things around him. The ruins were made out of ice that didn't melt even though it was built a thousand years ago.

From a distance, he saw the ice castle, badly destroyed by something... or someone. Varelor's eyes were so focused on the castle's ruins that he overlooked the lake with warm water that was bewitched to remain in its form without freezing in great winters.

After a while, he turned his gaze to other places, making him see the lake. He looked down and was shocked as he saw himself walking on ice. He stepped forward carefully, and the part where he stood froze mysteriously.

Without warning, arrows were seen flying toward him. He eagerly dodged the attacks as he ran towards the dry land. The water magically turned back into its normal phase as it was before he came. Seeing what he thought was IMPOSSIBLE might happen that time, he waved his hand, hoping it wasn't a dream. A blizzard came around him, making the arrows fly away.

"Who are you? Show yourselves, or I'll use my magic against you!" he shouted proudly but with a sense of terror.

A group of barbarians came near him with their bows facing down. He stopped the blizzard as he saw them being so familiar. Again, a memory appeared inside his mind, but it was still unclear.

"He has the Emperor's ring!" one of them exclaimed. "Which means... he is the next Emperor of the Northern Lands!" the other added. "He is the rightful ruler of the whole Everdailean Empire!"

"Emperor? Me?" Varelor asked curiously. "And are you... are you Mhydrillians?!"

"Yes, we are the last ones of our kind," a lady replied as she approached him. "And it seems like you are the last king of the elves."

"After the war, we escaped the cruel hands of the Everdaileans. Here, we built our secret sanctuary deep below the mountains of Mhydrille," an old man spoke as they approached the entrance to their hidden village. "We managed to live while they continued to rule over the lands, making the tribes of this landfall apart one by one."

The cave was pitch black and had a temperature lower than what Varelor's used to. At its center came ice crystals, when rubbed, slowly gave light and a gateway towards the village emerged down from the ground.

After several years of remembering what he might have forgotten, Varelor had been crowned Emperor of the Northern Lands, Mhydrille. There came the time for him to take his revenge.

The Mhydrillians marched towards the creatures who destroyed their land, showing them no mercy, just like they did many years ago. Many Everdaileans and even creatures from the other kingdoms died in a gruesome death, while others suffered at the hands of the revengeful Mhydrillians. One by one, they retrieved the lands that they stole from them.

Finally, the most awaited battle came as they went towards the guardians' lair at Sepphora, one of the cities in Everdaile.

Livian, who was already crowned as the new Emperor after his Father's death, was expecting him to come, bringing the other keepers and his army to bring him down. Varelor's plan could have been done, but the Avallons blocked his way towards his victory, making him and his followers banished towards the Mortal Realm, where they would lose their powers... forever.

Before he completely vanished, Varelor saw his beloved Alfira with a child resting in her arms, with Livian hugging her. "You betrayed me, Alfira! How could you do this to me?!" He asked with his heart full of hatred and envy. "All of you betrayed me! You destroyed everything!!!"

"It's enough, my dear friend! You did enough!" Livian shouted.

"I am not and will never be your friend!" Varelor exclaimed. "I promise you that I will come back, and that will be done with the help of... with the help of that child!"

"Please don't, Varelor!" Alfira begged.

Varelor began to chant the Enchantrian words as he held his medallion. The Avallons tried to make the banishing faster, but sadly, the enchantment was finished and had now been passed down to the innocent princess who was destined to be the one to destroy the whole Enchantria someday.

•○GLOSSARY○•

⚔️Avallon
- an Enchantrian word that means guardians, warriors, and protectors
- bearers of the ancient rings of power

⚔️️ Vio
- an Enchantrian word
- in English, it can be translated as Father

•☽────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧────☾•