War is like a fire; if you do not put aside your weapons, they will eventually consume you.

– Li Chuan, Tang Dynasty

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It was the last days of autumn in the whole Southern Lands. The golden leaves flew freely on the breeze, and the coolness of the southwester soothed the souls of every creature.

The sun slowly rose in the dark skies, replacing the darkness with light and a new beginning. For the Liberians, it was their time to take their slumber. However, for the other Immortals, it was their time to rise and do their everyday habits.

Cithara watched the sun as it rose from the top of the palace's tower like a bird who just learned how to fly. Her mind telling her to sleep began to nag her, but the happiness and excitement she felt deep inside fought it bravely.

"Cithara!" She heard someone call from the lower grounds.

Her gaze dropped towards her aunt, who was dressed more elegantly than she ever had.

"We're leaving soon. You should come down here now," Aja added.

Cithara stood up in her blue bouffant that matched the color of her astonishing eyes. She dashed downstairs in her royal blue-colored kitten heels shoes while her hair waved as she skipped down the steps of the five-story castle.

"Finally! I can't wait to see the new Everdailean castle and meet it in person!" Cithara sang as she went to her aunt waiting for her at the entrance of the castle.

"We'll leave as soon as the guards gathered enough square amethyst to teleport us towards Everdaile," Aja spoke.

"How about using my new invention instead to carry the gems without harming the other creatures?" she suggested.

"Cithara," Aja sighed, "haven't I told you several times before that your... your inventions... they just... they can be dangerous sometimes."

"Remember when you tried to invent a flying machine?" Aja added with a shift of her tone. "Or the time you almost burned the southern village because of your tinkering?"

The words that she heard hit like tiny but painful arrows shot toward her heart. Cithara remained silent, afraid that her aunt would leave her if she continued.

After a few moments, two guards appeared with a basket full of gems of different colors and shapes. As soon as her glimpse was caught by those gems, a mysterious feeling suddenly made her tremble.

What will she do with those? she thought, remaining silent. All that she said to me were amethyst gems.

Aja immediately shoved the gems towards her sling bag and left only one gem.

The two headed off towards the barrier that separates Everdaile from the other lands. After using a crystal-gem to open up the portal, they entered a new place filled with huge, shady trees.

Aja touched the blue gem, and Cithara took her hand that was holding it. They knew that it is not dangerous to touch sapphire gems with bare hands as long as one knew the place he would go.

"Ethlen Everdaile!" Aja uttered with a magical force flowing through her veins.

All of a sudden, the force engulfed both of them. With just a blink of an eye, they were greeted by a different place. A variety of creatures, some of which have pointed ears and long hairs scattered all around them.

"Come on, Cithara. We must hurry inside the palace," Aja spoke, grabbing Cithara's hand towards the entrance of the newly built citadel.

As they came towards the entrance, Cithara noticed a big, shady tree at the center of the castle's garden. It was very different from the trees she saw before. It had leaves with different colors and was blooming white diamonds, which she thought were its flowers.

At the moment her gaze dropped towards it, a strange feeling entered her body, leaving her with an overwhelming feeling. She watched some of the leaves fall while she let her aunt assist her towards the palace.

Why am I feeling this? she thought, trying to divert her thoughts by turning her gaze towards the majestic castle.

"Everdaileans," she whispered, "I knew they were suited to be the great rulers of the Eastern Lands.

The palace was built out of the ruins of the fallen citadel. As the years went by, the Royal and Elder Committee decided to choose a new emperor that would rule Everdaile. As a wizard, it was Alvier's role to choose the next ruler because of his ability to understand the messages from the Great Avallon Tree.

The sacred tree was slowly withering, and for that, they knew that something was wrong.

Twenty years earlier, a group of pippis attacked Everdaile. Their sharp claws and their incredible speed of flying swiftly in the air injured many individuals.

Through the rule of a well-known man named Triev Elashor, the pippis were defeated and flew away in smaller numbers than when they came. They knew that the pippis might come back in greater numbers and take their revenge.

Seeing the heroic act of the man and knowing his kindness to the people, the Everdaileans agreed to make him their new Emperor.

But ten years after that, Triev died hoping to protect his people from the perilous pippis. He thought that when he defeated the Pippi queen, they would leave Everdaile for good. However, he lost his life while in that fight.

The Elder Committee agreed to make his only son the new emperor instead. After years of training and traditional practices, the soon-to-be emperor was somehow ready to face the whole Everdaile and receive the crown.

As soon as Cithara and Aja entered the palace's hall, Cithara was startled by her aunt's behavior accompanied by the strange feeling she felt.

The hall was filled with creatures from the different kingdoms of the Immortal Realm. The merry short dwarves danced around the table as they sang their merry old chants while the others enjoyed watching them. Mermaids from the deep oceans came with the use of their magical pearls to transform their tails into feet.

Many other creatures came from far places just to witness the crowning of the new Emperor of the great Everdaile. Fairies, wizards, aragonas, and many other creatures scattered inside the great crystal hall.

Cithara watched in amazement as she finally witnessed the whole new world behind their kingdom.

"The new Emperor will be needing me," Aja spoke, interrupting Cithara's sightseeing. "I'll leave you here for a moment. Just stay here, and I'll be back when the coronation's over."

Cithara nodded as she watched her aunt huddle towards the crowd. She remained on her ground, watching her disappear from her sight.

The sense of curiosity left her wandering around the huge crystal castle as she huddled down the crowd, spreading all over the place.

All of a sudden, her eyes were blinded by the twinkling crystal lights. Minute by minute, tiredness slowly consumed her.

With her mind completely baffled about the new surroundings, chaotic thoughts were fighting inside her mind. Without warning, everything blacked out. Her mind was unconscious, but her body was still moving around. Seeming to be possessed by something, Cithara headed towards the Avallon Tree without showing any impressions on her face.

No one seemed to notice her for the reason that everyone around was focused on the newly built structures.

"Edei En Lien," she uttered as she spread her right arm towards the trunk of the sacred tree. Those words were followed by several Enchantrian words, which were long forgotten by the Immortals.

•○GLOSSARY○•

⚔️Edei En Lien
- unknown translation

⚔️Ethlen
- Enchantrian word: Bring us towards...

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