Since my childhood… I have lived with more questions than answers.
I never understood why Sister Sally insisted that I grow my hair long enough to hide my ears.
Why she always forbade me from speaking to strangers,
And why I was not allowed to leave the village without permission… as if the world beyond the walls was a beast waiting specifically for me.
When I asked her for the first time, I was nine years old.
She looked at me for a long while… with a tenderness in her eyes, but weighed down by a fear I would only understand much later.
Then she said, in a quiet voice:
"Aurora… some things must remain hidden. Not everyone is kind."
But that wasn't an answer.
Not for a child who already knew there was a far bigger secret than mere "protection."
As the years passed… I learned the truth from the books I secretly read behind the church.
I… am not human.
And the proof was as clear as moonlight—my violet eyes… my silver hair… and the long ears I struggled so hard to hide.
I was an elf.
And finally, I understood why Sister Sally never wanted me near strangers.
For the elves, in ages past, had suffered the worst of what humans could inflict:
Wars…
Massacres…
Cities burned…
Women abducted…
Books and knowledge erased from existence simply because humans wanted more.
Elves are peaceful by nature… far too peaceful.
And because of that, they nearly went extinct.
Until their queen, Zenith, intervened and sought aid from Elianora, the guardian of the Sacred World Tree.
When Elianora answered the call… a mysterious fog rose and separated the four continents, and it was said that anyone who entered that fog… never returned.
Just legends?
Perhaps.
But I never found anything that contradicted them.
What I did find… was the painful truth Sister Sally couldn't bring herself to tell me:
That hatred between races still lived on.
And that someone who looked like me… could be killed simply for being different.
That is why I had to grow my hair.
Why strangers were forbidden.
Why I was not allowed to leave the village.
It wasn't protection…
It was concealment.
Concealing me… and a truth no one wished to acknowledge.
But to be honest, I never cared much about the outside world. I was a shy, hesitant girl—an easy target for slavers. After all, the price of a female elf would be outrageous.Yet inside the village walls, everything was different.The villagers, the orphans at the church, the sisters, and the Father—they were my family.They never cared about my race or anything else.That's why I wanted to help them.
I often assisted Sister Sally, the village healer. I had heard she volunteered in many battles and wars as a medic, and that her skills saved hundreds of soldiers and civilians before she became a nun in Haniville—our lovely village of flower fields and honey farms, known for producing the finest honey in the duchy.
My life was peaceful, joyful, and warm…But on the night of the annual Honey Festival, something happened that would change my life forever.
The morning of the Honey Festival was the best day of the year for me.The singing, the dancing, the celebration—the excitement was killing me.I had been waiting for this day for weeks.
I went out into the village streets, joy clear on everyone's faces as they prepared for the midnight ceremony.Sister Sally allowed me to go to the fields to gather flowers with my best friend, Frederica.She was always by my side, defending me from the mischievous children of the village, and always ending up injured because of it.I would burst into tears every time I saw her hurt.
We reached the fields and started picking flowers.My task was to gather lavender and jasmine.But then something strange happened.
Frederica and I both noticed that the animals were acting unusually.We assumed it was the noise from the village…until we smelled something strange rising from beneath the soil—a scent like burning rot.
Frederica urged me to return to the village, telling me not to worry—"Today is a day for joy, not fear."
We went back.At midnight, the event of the year was about to begin.A root of the Sacred World Tree was set to appear in the village, as it did every year, and the villagers would touch it to receive its blessing.
The root emerged near the well.The festivities stopped, and we lined up.
Frederica whispered to me that she would ask the tree for a handsome and wealthy lover.It was normal for everyone to make such wishes.
When my turn came, I stepped forward.But again… that smell—burning rot.No one else seemed to notice.
I approached and touched the root.
Something pricked me.And in an instant, a horrible pain surged through my entire body.I collapsed, unable even to breathe.
The last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was Father François calling for Sister Sally.
Then—nothing.
I opened my eyes and found myself sitting in a small room.A young girl sat on a chair, staring at me.
I thought, Where am I?
She answered as if reading my thoughts:"You're in the Spirit Dwelling. I have chosen you."
I replied, confused:"Spirit? Dwelling? Chosen? Who are you, and how did I get here?"
She stood and approached me."Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lilith—the Spirit of Healing Flame."
I recalled that name from a traveler's book:Lilith, the Demon of Healing.But I never imagined she would look like this—just a child with goat-like horns.
I stood and introduced myself: Aurora Griffin.
I asked why she had chosen me.It was said that sentient spirits only chose people of great status, not a village girl like me.
She smiled softly and answered simply:"Because I wanted to choose you."
She told me she was now contracted to me, that she would remain by my side no matter what—she would feel my pain, know my emotions,that we were now one.
For a moment, I thought I was dreaming.
But then I considered it carefully.A healing spirit…Her magic could help the villagers.
She told me that the time within the Spirit Dwelling was almost up and that I would wake soon.
I asked how I could return.
Her answer was simple:"Just call my name."
I opened my eyes and found myself lying beside the well.
But the silence was terrifying.
I looked aroundno villagers.Every house was empty.
I shouted every name I knew,but no one answered.
Panic tightened around my chest.Had the village been attacked while I was unconscious?
But there was no blood, no destruction, no bodies.
I searched desperately.Then I noticed the flowers Frederica and I had collected earlier… had withered.
How long was I asleep?
Suddenly, I heard voices.I turned to find a group of armed men surrounding me.
One of them said:
"Look, a survivor. We can sell her and buy ourselves some booze."
I was captured, thrown into a wagon, and before I knew it…I was being taken to the capital to be sold.