Chaos Reigns: Book One in the World of Nōmth Fantasy Romance Series

Coming of Age

Author's Note: There is explicit sex included in this chapter

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As Hollany walked down the marble corridor, her boots clicked gently. Her chest swelled with nervous energy, challenging her breathing, and her hands fidgeted with the items in her pockets. Even though the place halls were familiar with their antique tapestries depicting all of her ancestors from centuries ago, long open windows lined with glowing flowering vines, and view of the serene empire beyond, she was walking toward an unknown destiny. Her feet carried her steadily ever forward, even though part of her longed to linger. What if leaving her childhood behind meant barreling into danger? Her fingers found the dagger sheathed in her pocket, tightening around it.

Every thirty years, the elves were considered to have reached a new stage of development until they reached late adulthood, most lived to be 3000 years old. Hollany, and her older brothers and sisters, were born close enough together that the ceremony of Coming of Age was for all of them when it rolled around. Tradition stated they were each to climb out the castle from the great room and venture into the magical woods beyond. Hollany, though the youngest, was the most familiar with these woods. She was not, unfortunately, allowed to bring any of her artificed gadgets, including her Wayfinder, a magical invention from her youth useful for finding your way to unknown destinations, but she didn't need it for this.

She had explored the magical woods with her mentor, Old Traveler, extensively during her childhood. He had helped her cultivate her skills in crafting and artificing partially out of necessity when his body had been snatched by Dragonborns with a vendetta against him. That was some time ago, when she was still just a kid. Now, she was considered to be fully grown, and so fully capable of fending for herself. But this ritual wasn't a survival test. It was a calling from the woods to receive her prophecy as a royal Sunlasian elf, or, as known more simply, sun elf. Her brothers and sisters more closely resembled Cavernjewel elves, or lunar elves. Their father the Emperor, Hollathan, was a sun elf, while their mother, Alessa, was a lunar elf.

The prophecy that came with this ceremony would reveal itself to her during the rite of passage, and it would be unique to her and all her siblings. Everyone in the empire would be most interested in her eldest brother, Artholl, and eldest sister Esinama during this quest, but her twin siblings' Boraphim and Morphea and her own prophecy would not go unnoticed, especially if they caused the others problems in the future.

If she received a bad omen, it was possible that she be exiled for everyone's safety. And Esinama, born with the curse of a devilish alter ego they all called Sin, was most nervous of this. The embodiment of her alter ego was imprisoned, always, in the castle dungeons, but never allowed to die. If Sin were to die, so would Esinama. And Esinama was a master strategist and advisor, let alone loved by all her family and subjects, so they would not allow her to die. Hollany was somehow not entirely afraid of this morning, but she felt perhaps she should be.

"Hollany!" Boraphim called from the great window as she approached, carrying a rope to climb down with. Morphea and Esinama were watching him with arms folded, amusement written in their expressions. "You're not the only tinkerer after all!" He had tied together many bed sheets and curtains. Indeed, a funny joke compared to her intricate inventions. "Let's go!"

The light of adventure was radiant all across his face, in his bright green eyes and bristling in his tousled blond hair. Morphea seemed electrified with excitement, too. She looked a lot like Boraphim, except she inherited heterochromia from somewhere in the family tree, so one eye was bright green like most of their other siblings, and the other was orange like Hollany's.

"Last one down is a stinky goblin!" Morphea called, clambering over Boraphim and starting down the rope first.

"Please!" Esinama rolled her eyes, though unable to hide her smile. "We're supposed to be adults now!"