“SHIT! Your wings are distracting me.” Althy complained when they reached their hunting ground.“Deal with it,” Eleand chuckled. He joined the hunting party while waiting for his mana recovery to shift back to his normal form. They were hiding behind an enormous rock and patiently waiting for the white lion to come out.The cousins chose this animal only for a thrill. They were inside the deepest forest of Velidia. The glacier was thick, and the snow fell heavily. Eleand blanketed himself of a thin fire to prevent him from hypothermia.“Be quiet. How can we lure the lion if you are shouting there?” Rade snapped.The white lion was lurking at a safe distance from them.“Wait, how can we be sure that lion is not a shapeshifter?” he asked. He suddenly remembered Harewyn, the Guardian of the Forest.“No, that is a wild animal. Shifters are usually in Gwiazda. They

  DURING the breakfast, Eleand was invited personally Duke Navi and his wife. He met Nikola, the Duchess of Croea. She looked stunning. Her complexion was fair, and her hair was golden blond. And just like her husband, her gray eyes were like Asian.“I hope you enjoy your stay, Eleand.” Nikola’s voice was sweet.“Certainly,” he smiled.Eleand’s training immediately started when Navi brought him to the library to learn the basics of Gaoitherie. He gave him thick books to read.“Learn all the magic inside those books. Then let me know when you’re ready. I will assess your improvement.”“I’m a fast learner, don’t worry.”“I know. I will not assign anyone to assist you aside from me. I believe in you, Eleand.” The Duke tapped his shoulder and left.Eleand was caught in surprise while studying the wind manipulation. It was ea

  THE celebration formally started. Alva became occupied with partying and dancing. Eleand did not mind her that much; he just focused his attention on the foods on his table. And he occasionally scrutinized every faerie he encountered.He knew if the faerie came from Noyuh, others mainly were unfamiliar to him. Maybe they came from Argia or Gwiazda. He even saw shorter faeries, only his waist-high in height. But faeries from Alsache had a distinctive color of having white hair. Some were dark-skinned; others were fair.Eleand identified Lord Arion. He thought he was an older man since he was five thousand years old. But he appeared only a few years older than him. His eyes were like Winzi’s, brilliant silver. His wife was equally stunning, Lady Sereia. She may be in her old age, but she looked like in her mid-thirties. Even the heir to the throne, Prince Wallace, seemed strong.He momentarily paused when he was a

  ELEAND cursed hard when he leaned on a rock near the river. He crawled and struggled until he finally reached this spot.He repeated the spell he did for Unaeth, but it was ineffective, maybe because he was too weak. Alva warned him about this drawback of healing. He could not wield it if heavily injured and with his mana nearly drained.Eleand calmed himself. If he panicked, he wouldn’t be thinking straight. He had to stay focused. He attempted to call his friends, but no one came. Maybe they were all busy. There had to be other ways to survive.After learning the basics of Erdeterra, he was pretty confident in his magic skills, especially that he somehow mastered the fire and wind magic. But how come that he was still weak? He only encountered one enemy, yet he was about to meet his demise.He shook his head and gritted his teeth. The blood continued to spill from his deep wound. If he couldn’t act fast, he would

  WHEN Eleand opened his eyes, he realized that his hands and foot were tied. It was a heavy iron chain with runes glimmering in the dark.After a while, the room lighted up. He was shirtless, and his vision caught four guards and one male faerie in a high black coat and red cloak.“Who are you? How dare you trespass in Gwiazda!” the faerie in black said dangerously.He remained quiet, silently studying the one who talked, probably a faerie royalty. He couldn’t miss his resemblance to Ahldrin.Eleand tried to free himself from the binding, still not showing nervousness and thinking about the possibility of escape. Transportation magic would not work since he was tied to an iron. Worse, runes powered it up. In his months of studying magic, the only weakness of a faerie was iron with anti-magic runes. But he wasn’t a faerie, so he might find another way.“Where is Elida?” He tilted his hea