Using the darkness of the night I sneak out of my home who were empty only couple of maid and guard patrolling my home.
Wearing a dark cloak, I jump out the window while keep vigilant for anyone that could spot me cause the bright blue moon light shine through the night. I went toward the same spot of the doom and leave undetected not so far there is a landmark where someone familiar stood waiting gracefully.
"Young Master."
The voice was smooth as polished stone. Varda. Her maid's uniform was, as ever, immaculate, not a thread daring to be out of place. The staff in her hand, crowned with its distinctive hammer-like crest, glimmered with a faint, captive starlight.
"Varda," I said, my voice softer than I intended.
"The underground manor is half-complete. And as you suspected, I found materials I believe your master seeks."
A spark of anticipation, sharp and bright, ignited in my chest. "Excellent. When the moment is right, I will summon another servant to begin the 'Automaton' project."
"May I ask why not now?" Her question was a gentle probe, not a challenge.
"The situation is a powder keg, Varda." My voice dropped to a whisper, the words feeling heavy and true. "Using large amount of mana carelessly, when an enemy could emerge from the shadows at any moment… it's a foolish risk I can't afford."
A sigh escaped me, and I felt the weight of it in my very bones, my shoulders slumping. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid… but this suffocating peace… it feels like the false calm before the storm. It reminds me too much of the time before everything was destroyed."
'Is this what it feels like to have your own mind betray you? Is this… PTSD?'
"Master…" Varda stepped forward, her usual formality vanishing as she lowered her head and wrapped her arms around me.
The embrace was surprisingly strong, an anchor in my swirling thoughts. "I will support you with all the power that I possess."
As she spoke, I felt a fluctuation in her mana, a sudden, powerful surge. From the earth at our feet, the ground churned. Not one, but a dozen humanoid golems, each smaller than my own body, erupted from the soil, standing at silent, perfect attention.
"You are not alone," she whispered, her voice firm. "And you will never be, so long as I am in this world."
"Thank you, Varda," I managed, the words thick with emotion.
She released me, and the professional mask slipped back into place, though the warmth in her eyes remained. "Ah, I forgot to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Recently, when I cast spirit magic, I don't need to chant at all." As I spoke, I simply thought of a fire spirit. A sphere of condensed flame bloomed in my palm and shot towards a nearby stone, reducing it to a puff of smoke and splinters. Varda observed, her sharp eyes missing nothing.
"It started the day I read that grimoire from Sindarin," I continued.
"Hm. The same day you summoned me?"
I nodded.
"I know of only one way that is possible," she said, her tone measured. "A mortal who has made a contract with a spirit can wield their power with a mere thought, their souls linked. So, it is possible the book is not a mere grimoire, as you suspected."
"Is it possible it contained a contract inside of it?"
Varda gave a single, simple nod.
The implication hit me like a physical blow, and a new, more troubling question clawed its way to the surface. "Why me? Because I am a high-elf? No… Father didn't have this ability. Riveria and her father don't… The Luneta, what are they planning?"
I shook my head, forcing the frantic thoughts to still. Calm. Breathe.
The purpose was still shrouded in shadow, but one thing was crystal clear: I couldn't let my guard down for a single second.
====x====
Home
The first ray of dawn was my only wake-up call. A sliver of golden light cut across the vast, empty dining hall, illuminating dust motes dancing in the silence. The only sounds were the quiet, efficient clatter of porcelain as the maids prepared my meal.
"Good morning mother. "I greet my mother and went to her side and give her short warmth hug.
"Good morning Oberon. Sadly father are not present this time."
"I understand mother. If mother here does it mean magic lesson?"
The conversation are casual mother and son. Mother the one first leave follow close to her Elowen because of mother ability of barrier and detection magic this forest never had anyone able sneak inside so far before an arrow straight to their head.
After the meal, I moved to the training grounds—my true sanctuary. The theory came first, pages of ancient spirit magic rustling under my fingertips. The concepts, once complex, now felt instinctual. I raised a hand, and a shimmering, a blue light take a form of small bird who rest on my fingertips and start too flied wherever I command.
'A normal magic is the base like mathematic understand the logic everything become more sensible, but for spirit magic for it able to be used need a contract with a spirit something that I learn my family lineage had.'
"Every contract had a condition break it and all it gone. Why did she not explain the bind contract to me yet?"
("Master.")
It was Varda, my servant. Her tone, usually devoid of emotion, carried a sharp edge.
("One of my golems has detected a horde of monsters massing east of the border. They are... converging.")
My blood ran cold. "Outside the Wishe Forest?" I mentally projected back, already striding towards a scroll I storage below my bed.
("Affirmative. Their trajectory suggests they will overrun a small human village by nightfall.")
A human village. My grip tightened on the doorframe. I had no love for the politics of men, but the thought of innocent slaughter...
'It outside our territory father most likely can't send a large number of guard.'
While me plundering for an idea Varda continued.
("There is another variable, Master.") Varda's telepathic voice hesitated, a flicker of static in my mind. ("My long-range sensors have identified a divine signature among the villagers. It is the huntress, the one they call... Artemis.")
The world seemed to tilt on its axis.
"...What?"
====x====
Athol
Nestled on the shores of a sapphire ocean, just beyond the border of the vast Wishe forest, the village of Athol was a picture of tranquil dawn. The salt-kissed air was filled with the rhythmic crash of waves and the distant, familiar sounds of villagers beginning their daily routines.
"Hm. So peaceful," murmured Artemis, her voice a soft sigh.
A woman with hair the colour of a summer sky, she sat by her window, cradling a warm cup of tea. She watched the fishermen mend their nets and children chase gulls along the beach, a rare, gentle smile gracing her lips. It was a peace she had fought to protect.
The peace shattered with the frantic pounding of footsteps on her doorstep.
BANG!
The door flew open to reveal Atalanta. Her feline ears were flat against her head, and her tail was bristled. In her heterochromatic eyes—one of vibrant green, the other of sunlit yellow—swam a storm of pure dread. She was panting, her small frame trembling on the verge of collapse.
"Artemis-sama!" she gasped, the words fighting their way out between ragged breaths.
Artemis was on her feet in an instant, her placid expression hardening into one of sharp focus. "Atalanta. Breathe. What happened?"
"A message… from an unknown source," Atalanta managed, clutching the doorframe for support. "A horde of monsters… it's heading this way."
Artemis's eyes widened. "An unknown source? Are we certain it's true?"
"I saw the dust cloud myself on the horizon," Atalanta confirmed, her voice steadier but laced with fear. "I ran back as fast as I could."
Artemis's gaze softened for a fraction of a second, taking in the girl's heaving chest and shaking limbs. She placed a steadying hand on Atalanta's shoulder. "You've done enough. Rest now. I will handle this."
In one fluid motion, Artemis snatched the handcrafted bow leaning against the wall—an extension of her own will—and swept downstairs. Her Familia was already gathered, their faces mirrors of the anxiety she had just seen in Atalanta.
"Listen carefully!" Artemis's voice cut through the panic, clear and commanding. "First, sound the alarm. Get every villager to evacuate, now. I will send a swift-winged plea to an old friend for aid, though I fear it will arrive too late." If it arrives at all, she thought grimly.
As her children scrambled into action, a young girl with hair like spun silver approached. "Artemis-sama," Eryn began, her voice small. "The evacuation… the elderly and the children… they'll be the slowest."
Artemis's heart ached. "I know, Eryn. The fishermen's boats are few. They will prioritize their own families. I cannot ask them to do otherwise."
Eryn's small hands clenched into fists, her knuckles white. Seeing her distress, Artemis gently cupped her cheek, then ran a hand over her silver hair. "Do not despair, my child. Do you forget who stands as your shield?"
A flicker of hope lit Eryn's fearful eyes. "The Goddess of the Hunt."
"Precisely. This forest is my domain, and you are all under my protection." Artemis's voice dropped to a fierce whisper. "So, let us begin the hunt."
====x====
Panic, as expected, spread through Athol like a wildfire. Belongings were hastily gathered. Boats were launched, overloaded with desperate families, while others fled on foot towards the dubious safety of the nearest town. The local guards—ordinary men without the blessing of Falna—stood their ground, their faces pale but resolute.
Artemis, who knew every hidden path and treacherous root of the forest, positioned her small familiar at key ambush points. The regular guards would hold the town's edge, while her hunters would strike from the shadows.
"Every arrow we lose, every second we buy, is a lifetime for those fleeing," Artemis declared, her keen eyes locked on the growing dust cloud in the distance. It was a dark stain upon the horizon, moving with terrifying speed.
"We don't have enough arrows," Atalanta stated, her body coiled like a spring.
"Then make every one count," Artemis commanded, her tone leaving no room for argument. She met the gaze of each of her followers. "Retreat when you are in danger. Do not play the hero. I will not forgive any of you if you do not return to me safely."
"As you command, Artemis-sama!" Atalanta echoed, and then she was gone, moving through the rocky, hill-strewn terrain with the wind-blown grace of her namesake.
From her perch, Atalanta looked down and met the gaze of Tania. The Amazoness stood with a heavy blade strapped to her back, her dark hair contrasting sharply with her tan skin. She wore a fierce, eager grin.
"Just give the word, Captain," Tania called up, her voice booming with a battle-lust that belied the gravity of their situation.
"I will try to steer the horde away from the town," Atalanta instructed. "Your squad is the last line of defense. You are the shield that protects our goddess."
Tania's grin widened. "Heh, easy. Just be sure to leave a few of those beasts for me, will you?"
Atalanta offered a faint, grim smile and a nod before leaping into the embrace of the next tree, vanishing into the foliage towards the coming storm.
Back at the command post, Artemis watched the horizon, her bow held tight. Tania moved to stand beside her.
"I won't lie, Artemis-sama," the Amazoness murmured, her usual bravado tempered. "If the scout's report is right, they will overwhelm us."
"Our goal is delay, not victory," Artemis replied, her voice steady. "We must empty the town. With luck, the monsters will lose interest in the chase."
"It's just… strange," Tania mused, her brow furrowed. "Monsters don't form organized hordes. They're mindless."
A cold dread settled in Artemis's stomach. "They follow instinct, which is to kill. But the other explanation…" She let the sentence hang in the air, more terrifying than any roar. "The other explanation is that something, or someone, is controlling them."
Tania swallowed hard. "That's a terrifying thought."
"For that very reason, Tania, keep your eyes open," Artemis commanded, her gaze sweeping the tree line. She then reached out, pulling Eryn closer to her side. "And Eryn, you stay close to me. The hunt has begun."
====x====
Oberon watched from the sky. Below, his Varda golem watched from the earth.
Artemis's children were turning the forest into a weapon. They struck from the shadows, using guerrilla tactics to confuse and disorient the brutish monster. It couldn't grasp their location; for every roar it unleashed, an arrow would silently find its flank from another direction.
"The apple doesn't fall far," Oberon thought. "Her children fight just like her. Not born of her, but forged by her. A testament to her blessing… or her ruthless doctrine?"
He observed, learning the party's flawless synergy. But one of them was a standout—a beastkin girl. She moved like lightning. Where other beastkin were fast, she was a whirlwind, leaping through the treetops without a sound, her Falna-enhanced agility making a mockery of the laws of physics.
"Racial talent plus a goddess's Falna," he realized. "Devastating."
His eyes snapped to Artemis. And she was already looking back. Straight at him.
Impossible. The clouds…
Back to ground
"Artemis-sama?" Tania asked, immediately alert. She had seen her goddess's focus shift skyward.
Artemis didn't look away. "Nothing."
++++++++++++++
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