Garden Of The Abyss

"It is futile…!"

Following behind the young otherworlder, the elf drew another arrow along the string of his bow before releasing it into the moist depths of the forest.

Feeling the wind brush off the malicious arrow, Charlotte knew this time--it was coming straight for her, there was no avoiding it.

"Nodens: Breath of Protection!"

As the barrier formed only halfway, it mostly halted the guidance of the arrow, though it still grazed her arm, cutting away at the fluffed sleeve of the white dress she wore--leaving a cut along her forearm.

"...Ah!"

She winced at the evisceration, holding her arm before throwing herself deeper into the woods before another arrow could seek her out.

If I can just draw him in close...I can do it, she thought.

It was a task easier said than done; the elf Argonaut seemed perfectly content unleashing his arrows from the safety of his distanced position. Beyond that--she simply wasn't prepared for a fight--not that she ever really was.

Wearing her nightgown, still exhausted from the previous day, plunged into a sudden battle of life or death--she found herself unable to grasp what needed to be done.

As her magenta irises shook from the prospect of battle, she watched as the rain splattered against the evergreen surrounding her, slowly settling her eyes as something finally came to mind. Moving her hands to her cheeks, she caressed them slowly to seemingly ease her mind before straightening herself up, gulping and nodding her head.

I can do this, she thought, in a straight fight, I'm useless...I know that. But in a fight, things aren't always fought evenly or fairly.

Clasping her hands together as she intertwined her fingers, she closed her eyes as if indulging in prayer amidst the nightly rainfall.

"Hear me, great divinity of the sea, healing, and hunting…"

As her words were whispered but spoken calmly, an array of arrows shot out against the many trees, that much was felt from the brief shock waves that released from each impact. Keeping her eyes closed, she kept her cool despite the looming danger.

"It is by your grace that our waters exist; as healthy, as bountiful--such aquatic blessings are yours by nature."

"Show yourself…!"

Sounding frustrated by the game of cat and mouse, the argonaut unleashed a stronger array of arrows this time, shooting directly through a few trees as they slumped over onto the forest's surface, sending tremors throughout the land of nature.

However, it was too late, the gambles the elf had taken proved to fail.

"Nodens: The Raging Storm of Hearts!"

As Charlotte called out with utmost confidence in her usual meek voice, her shout birthed the great magic into reality as the droplets of rain still falling through the air glistened with a shining azure.

Noticing this change in the showers of precipitation, the argonaut was too late to deduct in the slightest what was happening as the rain radiated brilliantly before suddenly--it stopped.

What is this? He thought.

It was quiet--harrowingly so.

Nodens is a type of water magic that little is known about--the only thing that's known is it tends to fall in the hands of reserved, gentle beings. So...just what is it she unleashed? It was certainly great magic, he thought.

Standing still with his guard readied as he kept an arrow resting against the string of his bow, he kept his golden-hazel irises narrowed on his still surroundings. Suddenly, the rain that had vanished began to coalesce into differing forms before his eyes.

Shooting an arrow against these forming masses of water, nothing came of his assault as the arrows simply pierced through the aquatic substance.

As the thousands, if not tens of thousands of rain droplets finished their formation, stretching out into humanoid forms, they also shifted their complexion to match the color of the beings they took the form of. Once the elf recognized these figures before him, his eyes began to shake as his trusty, string-pulling fingers quivered.

"...No…"

They were men in all-black robes, accented with crimson details that outlined the length of the shrouding garments, bearing the symbol of an eye on the center of the outfit. Wearing black gloves and sable boots, their appearances were enigmatic at best--but all too familiar for the argonaut.

"Stay away from me…!"

Finding his strength once again, he unleashed an arrow that merely disrupted the form of one of these robed, mask-wearing beings only for a moment as their aquatic nature reformed their illusionary bodies.

Lifelessly, the figures approached him, lumbering--but their slow, aimless movements accompanied by their blank, voidable gazes hidden behind the eyeholes of their masks frightened the man all the more as he slowly backed up.

Faced with the mysterious entities of his past, the elf tripped backward inelegantly as he watched in horror as the robed men continued to drag their feet toward him.

"...No. Leave me alone! You...you already took everything away from me! My name, my home…! What else could you want?!"

No matter how much he shouted or how loud he did, nothing seemed to reach the ears of the enigmatic figures as they continued to slowly but surely move towards him. Falling to absolute despair, the elf tucked himself away in fear as he sat on the ground with his arms over his head and his knees close to his chest--wishing somehow if he didn't see them, they could simply leave.

"Got you…!"

It was a young, feminine voice that met his ears just before something had grabbed onto his head. The hold wasn't malicious or harmful in the least, in fact; it was quite gentle. Her soft, smooth hands gently caressed his head.

Everything...is washing away? My fear, anxiety...what is this? He wondered.

Opening his eyes once more, the figures were gone, the rain resumed as if it never stopped.

"Please, open your heart."

Though it sounded like a request, the words from the girl were nothing less than supreme mysticism--something even in his hazed mindset he recognized as the result of an innate ability. Seamlessly, the nightly forest covered in a ceiling of tall trees and dreary, crying clouds shifted into an environment of bright, warm light all around him.

The girl's arms moved down, wrapping around the shoulders of the argonaut as if embracing him from behind, feeling her warmth pressed against his back as he sat motionlessly.

"...What is this?"

"I believe...defeating your opponent isn't the only way to win a fight. It doesn't always have to be so violent, grim, and merciless...this world can be kind as well."

Her answer came softly to his ears like lavender. The calm, benevolence to her voice wasn't something of a frightened girl he chased with his arrows, but a kind, tranquil entity.

"Tell me, what is your name?"

From how gently it was asked, he could feel it wasn't a question that came out of an avarice for information, but simple, kind curiosity. A part of him wanted to turn around to see the girl in this void of warmth light, but he was far too comfortable to move.

"...I...I don't know…"

It was the truth, as simple as that.

"Why?"

Being pressed further, he expected himself to choke up when finding the words within him, but none of those feelings of anxiety crept over him.

"I was taken from my family when I was a child...I wasn't old enough yet to even read, write, or speak. Honestly, I wasn't old enough to be able to engrain the memories of my own family's faces into my memory…"

"That's cruel."

He nodded slowly in response to her words, feeling naturally inclined to continue speaking. It felt good; being able to speak freely of the burdens that sat on his shoulders since his childhood.

"It was because of my eyes...Apparently, it is a rare gift my people are sometimes born with--"Eyes of the Hunter", it gives us supreme vision, usually making us expert bowmen."

"So they took you away because of your eyes?"

"...That's right."

This is my ability--"The Bridge of Flowers"...It's completely useless for battle. But...I don't want something used to hurt people.

That's what I'm glad...I got to be the one to confront him rather than any of the others. They don't even consider the possibility of peaceful resolution. It's simply a war for them...I can't necessarily blame them, but I'll still do things my way.

He's hurt, confused, and alone...I can feel it as if it's my own pain. The memories of his past, although faint, I can see them as if it was me they happened to, she thought, Let's find out together--your name, your past.