In her terrified face, she saw nothing but darkness, punctuated only by the single, menacing red eye glowing from the figure standing over her. The figure stood for a long moment, his expression an unreadable mask as he raised his sword. A clean cut followed, and then everything went blank.
She woke up breathing heavily. "Haa... what happened to me..?" Her eyes darted around the unfamiliar space before noticing the neatly bandaged hand where her wound had been.
As she stood up, scanning her surroundings with cautious eyes, a voice broke the silence.
"Ohhh, you're awake..?"
She immediately glared in the direction of the voice, her body tensing.
"Hold on, don't move," the voice said as its owner approached. Saturu knelt beside her and began carefully removing the bandage from her hand to examine the wound.
"Why are you helping me?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion.
"Did you not want to live?" he replied calmly, his red eyes meeting hers. "If so, I don't mind ending your life now."
"No, that's not what I meant!" she said quickly. "But why? Why save me?"
He looked at her and offered a faint smile. "I simply lost interest in killing you." His fingers gently probed the wound. "Hmm, your wound is not healing. This must be the effect of the poison."
After a moment's examination, he continued, "Looks like the side effects of this poison have not fully manifested. Then I have to get the antidote for this poison."
"Where are we anyway?" she asked, taking in their surroundings properly for the first time.
"This is Elven Sorcerer Kayon's sanctuary," he stated matter-of-factly.
Lin's jaw dropped. "Wait. You don't mean the Grand Elven Sorcerer Kayon, right? That Kayon? The one who vanished a century ago and is the subject of about a thousand ballads and legends?"
"No, he was one of my oldest friends," Saturu corrected casually while pushing aside a low-hanging branch.
"He...?" Lin's mind reeled, trying to process the correction of both gender and timeline. "Your oldest friend..." she muttered to herself, "He's completely lost it. Kayon vanished a century ago! At that time, you wouldn't have even been born yet to meet him."
"I was with him," Saturu continued, his tone as matter-of-fact as if he were discussing the weather. "And then he died. I buried him two days ago. This place is his sanctuary."
Lin could only stare, her mouth agape. "How in the hell are you so casual about Kayon's death? The greatest sorcerer of the last millennium, and you're talking about it like you lost a pet hamster!"
"I don't believe it," Lin whispered, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Well, believe it," Saturu said as he walked away. "If he were here, he would have healed your hand in no time." He paused, considering their next move. "Now, where do I get the antidote for this poison?"
As she looked at her wounded hand, she asked, "What type of poison is this?"
"Viperis toxin," Saturu answered without turning around.
"I know where to get the antidote," Lin said, her voice gaining conviction. "It's located in Skyridge, but it will take days to get there in the condition I'm in now."
"No worries, I have a way. Get yourself ready. We're heading to Skyridge."
"Sorry, may I have your name?" she asked hesitantly.
"What? I could have sworn I told you my name." He turned to face her fully. "Well, it's Saturu."
As she processed this, realization dawned on her face. This was Saturu Vermillion, the knight who had been prosecuted. "Thank you, Knight Vermillion," she said formally.
"No," he said, a genuine smile finally reaching his eyes. "Call me Saturu from now on." As he spoke, he took her hand gently.
"It's Lin by the way... just Lin."
A moment later, they stepped out of the sanctuary, and Lin blinked, trying to reconcile what she had just seen. Inside had been a space that defied physics—a small, pristine wooden hut containing a library that stretched into infinity. Saturu had spent a few minutes there gathering scrolls when he noticed a dark red scarf nearby. He took it and wore it, then strapped a new sword to his hip.
Lin looked at the weapon as he secured the scabbard. It was a beautiful, stark blade, its metal a dark, smoky grey, and its hilt elegantly simple. She realized she had never seen it before. "Your new sword... it's not any kind of sword I have seen."
Saturu glanced down at it. "It's one of a kind." His eyes then traveled to her, truly looking at her for the first time since their meeting. "Your new look is good. The maid's rags you were wearing were... decidedly out of fashion."
Lin's face flushed with a mixture of indignation and something else she couldn't name. Without thinking, she balled her fist and punched him solidly on the shoulder.
"Aww!" he yelped, rubbing the spot, a genuine grin breaking through his usual composed mask. It was the first truly youthful expression she had seen on his face.
"Okay," Lin said, brushing off her own new, practical traveling clothes—dark, durable trousers and a tunic that allowed for easy movement. "How in the world are we getting to Skyridge?"
"With this," Saturu said. He placed two fingers to his lips and let out a sharp, piercing whistle that cut through the forest silence.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a shadow fell over them. Lin looked up, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief. Descending from the sky with a powerful downdraft that shook the trees was a giant eagle, its feathers the color of burnished gold and its eyes holding an intelligent, ancient light. It was large enough to carry them both with ease. It landed gracefully beside Saturu, nudging his hand with its formidable beak in a gesture of clear familiarity.
Lin could only stare. "Huh." It was all she could manage.
As the giant eagle carried them away from the sanctuary, the magical structure began fading away as if it were a pocket dimension itself.
"Goodbye, Kayon," Saturu said softly, watching the sanctuary disappear.
The flight to Skyridge was an experience that stripped away Lin's remaining sense of normalcy. Soaring above the world, the wind whipping through her hair, she saw the land laid out like a map—a map she was now seeing from the perspective of a legend. Saturu sat in front of her, perfectly balanced and serene, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
Soon, the legendary city of Skyridge came into view. It was not built on a mountain, but through it. Spires and bridges of white stone were carved directly into the face of a colossal peak, gleaming in the afternoon sun. Waterfalls cascaded from great heights, catching the light and creating permanent rainbows. It was breathtaking.
Their eagle landed smoothly on a wide, public landing platform near the city's main gate. The moment their feet touched the ground, the giant eagle began fading away into nothingness, leaving a bystander staring in shock.
"Whaaat.....?" the man gasped.
Saturu gave the person a feather from the giant eagle. "You saw nothing," he said firmly.
They went inside the main gate, walking through Skyridge's beautiful scenery. "It has changed a lot from that time," Saturu remarked as they moved deeper into the city.
They were absorbed into the bustling, chaotic energy of the city. The air was thick with the smells of exotic spices, forge-fires, and the cacophony of a thousand different conversations.
They had barely taken ten steps into the main thoroughfare when a large crowd gathered in a central square caught their attention. Pushing to the front, they saw a man standing on a raised dais. He was handsome, with a charismatic smile, but his eyes held a cold, calculating glint.
"People of Skyridge!" the man, Dorama, proclaimed, his voice magically amplified. "Do not fear these disappearances! I, Dorama, give you my word! I will find your missing loved ones and bring them back to you safely! My resources are at your disposal!"
A wave of relieved cheers and desperate pleas washed over the crowd. Lin watched, her instincts prickling. As Dorama finished, she saw two rough-looking men approach a distraught woman, offering to "expedite" her case to the top of Dorama's list. With slick words, they convinced her to hand over a pouch heavy with gold coins. The moment the pouch was in their hands, their smiles vanished, and they turned to melt back into the crowd.
They didn't get far. A flash of movement, and Lin was there. A sweeping kick took the first man's legs out from under him. A sharp, precise chop to the wrist of the second made him drop the pouch. She caught it mid-air and handed it back to the stunned woman.
"Th-thank you!" the woman stammered.
Lin didn't respond, her eyes scanning the crowd. In the commotion, she had been separated from Saturu. The press of bodies was too thick. Thinking quickly, she leaped, using the shoulders of a startled merchant as a springboard to propel herself onto the low-hanging roof of a nearby shop.
Her eyes darted across the sea of faces below, but Saturu was nowhere to be seen. Where did he go?
Saturu had not been idle. The moment the crowd had surged, he had felt ita faint, but unmistakable aura. It was the same vile, corrosive energy that had leaked from Kayon just before his death. The same signature as the Grand Oni. It was here, in the heart of Skyridge.
His gaze narrowed, tracking the sensation like a hound on a scent. It was coming from an alleyway near the back of the square, an area shrouded in shadow despite the bright afternoon sun. He began to move, a predator slipping through the herd, his focus absolute. The trail was fresh.
The scene changes, and we find Lin, still perched on the roof, her search for Saturu. A new, different kind of chill went down her spine a premonition of danger that had nothing to do with the crowd below. She was being watched. She slowly turned around.