Natan woke to a deafening racket.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every blow of the hammer against iron pulsed through his head, which throbbed with excruciating pain. Eyes squeezed shut, he clutched his temples, trying to piece together what had happened. All he could recall was Gazzaro leaving him in the crowded streets of Bato-Balani, followed by a sudden wave of exhaustion and hunger that had blacked him out.
"Don't get up so fast if you don't want the room to spin," a woman's voice—gentle yet laced with authority—called out from his left.
Natan opened his eyes and turned his head. There, standing before a blazing forge, was a blacksmith hammering a glowing red bar of iron into a sword. His eyes widened as he realized who it was. Pushing past the ache in his body, he scrambled into a sitting position on his cot.
"You... are you Andata?" Natan asked, forcing himself upright. "Please, forge me a weapon! I need a—"
The woman paused mid-strike. She lowered her hammer, wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and turned to face him. "Unconscious for three days, and the first thing you ask for is a weapon? Feed your stomach before you worry about steel. Let us start with that."
Without waiting for his reply, Andata walked over to a small stove in the corner and ladled hot broth from a clay pot, serving it to Natan alongside a bowl of meat.
"Eat first," she ordered, watching the famished young man dig in immediately. "Give your brain something to work with. If you truly want me to forge you a weapon, it isn't that simple. You must first find and bring me rare materials. Above all, you must locate the Stone of Destiny to learn what you are truly searching for in this world."
Natan stopped chewing. He set his spoon down and looked directly at her. "Wait... how did you know I was looking for something? I just woke up, and I haven't told you my story yet."
Andata offered a faint smile and pointed toward the simmering pot. "Simple. Everyone who wanders into my forge looking for me has something lost or an answer they seek. Besides..." She stepped closer to the pot and stared into the rising steam. "I can catch glimpses of the future through boiling water. I saw you before you collapsed at my doorstep."
Natan was stunned. He quickly finished the rest of his meal, feeling the life return to his veins thanks to both the food and her cooking. Setting his glass down, he studied Andata's face. Though her cheeks were smudged with soot, there was no denying her striking beauty, her sharp nose, and her long hair, which fell loosely yet neatly over her shoulders.
Natan scratched his head, and a thought escaped his lips before he could filter it. "You know, to be honest... I thought the blacksmith I was looking for would be an old, hulking man with a thick beard. I never expected the famous smith here to be such a beautiful woman."
Andata froze. Her stern composure melted for a second, and a sudden flush crept up her cheeks. She quickly turned away, grabbing his empty bowl to hide her face.
"Y-You certainly have a lot to say for someone who just woke up," she stammered with her back turned, though a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Rest up, unless you want me to throw you out before I even begin on your weapon."
Natan scratched his head, watching the flustered blacksmith retreat. Did I say something wrong? he wondered. His compliment seemed effective enough, but fearing the wrath of the woman holding the fate of his future weapon, he decided to keep his mouth shut.
To steer the conversation elsewhere, Natan looked back at his empty bowl. "Andata," he called out, adjusting how he sat. "May I ask what kind of food you prepared for me? I've never tasted anything like it, but it was incredibly fresh and delicious."
Andata returned to the glowing forge. She picked up her heavy hammer once more and faced the red-hot iron. Hearing his question, she couldn't help but flash a mischievous smirk.
"That?" she answered before striking the metal again. Clang! "That was mermaid meat. It heals wounds and rapidly restores strength to a weakened body. That is why I fed it to you."
At the word 'mermaid,' Natan choked. His eyes went wide and he instantly clutched his throat, feeling as though he might throw up everything he had just eaten. The image of a creature half-human and half-fish flashed in his mind, turning what had tasted delicious a moment ago into something harrowing.
Andata stopped hammering again at his reaction. She burst into a booming laugh that echoed off the forge walls. "What? Don't tell me you don't eat fish?" she teased, continuing to laugh at his ghost-white face.
A few hours later, after Natan's strength had returned and the pain in his body had faded, he prepared for his mission. To gather the materials for his sword and retrieve the Stone of Destiny, he needed to ascend to the highest peak of Bato-Balani.
The problem was that he had no idea what the stone looked like or where it lay within the dense mountain wilderness. Fortunately, he wasn't going alone. A tiny fairy, no larger than a songbird, glowed a vibrant green as it hovered above him, serving as his guide and navigator through the dark forest.
Before Natan stepped out the door, Andata placed a firm hand on his shoulder. Her expression turned deadly serious.
"Remember this, Natan," she warned, staring straight into his eyes. "Do not speak to any Sigbin you cross paths with up there. No matter what they say or ask, remain silent. A single response from you, even a brief word, will give them the opening they need to make you their prey. As long as you ignore them, you are safe."
Natan nodded, feeling the weight of her words. It matched Gazzaro's warning about the creatures. Guided by the glowing fairy fluttering ahead, he began his ascent toward the perilous, mystical peak of Bato-Balani.
Natan and the quiet fairy quickly found the two rare minerals Andata needed. The final item, however—the Stone of Destiny—proved to be a headache. Even the tiny fairy seemed confused, flitting in circles trying to navigate through a thick fog rolling off a nearby hot spring.
Out of the steaming mist, the figure of a stunning woman emerged. She possessed the likeness of a half-human, half-mystical creature. Her face was familiar; Natan recognized her as the enchanting maiden he had seen leading the Sigbin parade back in the city's busy streets. She raised her hand, revealing a rare stone engraved with glowing runes.
"This is the Stone of Destiny you seek," she said softly. "It is simple enough to take, though you would normally have to brave the wolf den further up to find the rest. But... I could give it to you right now."
She smiled provocatively. "On one condition. Let me hold your wrist so I may see your destiny."
Gazzaro and Andata's strict warnings flashed through Natan's mind: Never speak to a Sigbin. Yet in the blink of an eye, the woman vanished and reappeared directly in front of him. She stood so close he could feel the warmth of her breath, causing him to draw a sharp gasp. Before he realized it, she was already holding his right wrist.
A beautiful yet bitter, sinister smile crossed her lips. "So that is what you are searching for," she said. Before revealing what she saw, she offered a formal greeting. "I am Liwayway."
Hypnotized by her fragrance and beauty, Natan couldn't stop the word from slipping out. "Natan..."
Terrified, the tiny fairy darted away, hiding behind the leaves of a nearby tree.
Liwayway began to circle him slowly. "There are eight lost relics in Eldoria... That is what the mysterious Elven priest sent you to find." She appraised him from head to toe. "And that blacksmith you met? She is lying to you."
"Impossible," Natan replied, though doubt began to seed in his mind.
"Impossible?" Liwayway laughed, continuing her slow prowl around him. "Then why didn't she tell you that she holds the map? She knew your purpose from her boiling pot the moment you arrived. She sent you to this peak merely to become food for the wolves."
The Sigbin stopped before him. Natan was unaware that she was releasing subtle pheromones, systematically breaking down his self-control. A sense of ease washed over him, sapping his will to resist.
"I took a liking to you the moment I saw you in the street during my parade," Liwayway whispered, her eyes burning with desire. "Would it be so wrong for us to enjoy ourselves on this cold night?"
Slowly, Liwayway leaned in, closing the distance to press her lips to his. But before their lips could meet, a massive hammer came hurtling out of the darkness, striking the Sigbin square in the face.
CRASH!
The force of the blow sent Liwayway flying into the distance.
Andata strode out from the shadows. The hammer that had struck the Sigbin flew back into her right hand as if drawn by a mind of its own.
She immediately marched up to Natan and punched him squarely in the face without a word.
"Ouch! What was that for?!" Natan protested, clutching his cheek.
"To wake you up!" Andata shouted in a fury. "You were moments away from becoming that Sigbin's dinner! A Sigbin's kiss carries a venom that can paralyze your entire body in an instant!"
As Liwayway pulled herself up from where she had landed, spine-chilling growls echoed from the shadows around them. Out from the dark corners of the forest, aggressive Sigbin began to emerge—their sharp teeth bared, drooling, ready to pounce on their prey.