The Legend of Arcaladia

Eve

I had heard noises. Human noises.

The question was, what the hell were humans doing here? 

So now I am watching from a safe spot as a tall sandy-haired boy and a taller redheaded girl argue.

I edge closer, listening in. Celene, my fearsome dragon companion, poises like the hunter and defender she is, her amethyst purple scales shining in the tree-filtered light.

'I swear there's something here, watching us,' the girl says, looking around with alert in her amber eyes. 'If it's another gòrach eileamaideach...'

Elemental minion? They really do exist?

'There's nothing there,' the boy insists. 'If it were an elemental, we would know.'

'Then we have a human stalker.'

It takes a moment to realise she's talking about me.

I should attack. If this girl knows I'm here, it won't end well. After all, what else is the element of surprise for?

Sizing up my opponents is easy. The boy has a trident, a glistening sword and he looks like he knows how to use them. The girl holds a bow firmly in her hands, a quiver strapped to her back. If I can get close enough to her she won't be able to use her bow. 

He has an unconscious kelpie. A phoenix stands on her arm.

And I have Celene.

Swinging my double-headed dragon scale axe in my hands, I stalk closer to their argument.

The boy speaks, his voice echoing: 'Whoever you are, you should come out. Please.' 

Someone has manners.

The girl, however, does not. She nocks a feather-tipped arrow in her bow and yells, 'Nochd thu fein, amadana!'

This translates to 'show yourself, you fool!' Ah, so she wants to be able to see me? Sure.

Signalling to Celene, I run with my weapon secure in my hands.

I burst out yelling my battle cry, swinging my axe with all the power I can muster at the confused people standing before me. They grab their weapons, the sandy-haired boy faster at retrieving his trident. By the time the girl nocks an arrow, I'm at her throat.

With my lethal dragon scale, double-headed axe.

Her phoenix attempts to surprise me, but surprise is my comfort zone, so I kick away its fiery attacks. While I am distracted, the girl uses her height and time against me to out me in a firm chokehold. I hadn't realised she was carrying a cavernite bronze dagger. Its hilt is decorated with a double curved carving, simple yet beautiful.

'Leig às na h-airm agad,' she snaps. Sweat beads on my forehead as I gasp for breath, but I use the round end of my axe to strike her legs and quickly escape her chokehold as she doubles over in pain.

Sadly she was wearing greaves so my axe only grazed her. 

The boy is just standing there looking dumbfounded. I consider attacking him but the girl tries to catch me out with her knife. As I expertly dodge the blade I rapidly spin round knocking the girl's feet from out under her.

I lift up my axe to, ah, end the fight by I am suddenly blocked by a hilt.

Hmmm. This will harder than I thought.

The next 15 minutes is just one of us constantly gaining the upper hand but then the other flips the whole situation around. The boy tried to intervene once but the girl just yelled at him to 'air ais far an gille isag'.  I thought he could be Nauticalian, but then a knife tried to meet my throat. 

Priorities.

I twist and evade her blows using my small stature to my advantage. However I notice something.

Celene and the phoenix aren't attacking each other. Now this is very unusual because Celene mostly just attacks who I attack. 

The girl realises this as well. Must have a rather slow mind compared to mine. She lowers her knife slowly, with her eyes still unwavering on me, and I keep a firm hand on my axe but I place it in the sand.

'Your companions aren't fighting...' mumbles the boy.

'No shi-' I start.

'Ash, rookie mistake,' the girl says. 'The dragon could end your life right now and you decide to become its friend?' She says 'friend' in a disgusted tone. No wonder she doesn't have any. Apart from a puny bird.

'And I will end your life right now, nighean bhogha, if you don't shut it,' I threaten.

'You're the one who started attacking me out of fucking nowhere for no fucking reason, leanabh tuagh,' she replies, glaring intensely.

'I am not that short, nighean bho-' I try to snap back before I get interrupted again.

'Guys, maybe you should stop fighting-' says the blondie.

'Shut up, gille iasg,' two different voices say violently.

I spin round to look at the girl with surprise, who said the exact same thing as me at the same time. Aww, we're bonding.

Not really.

'Well, please don't kill me or her, Mallory.' The blondie sighs. 'I was hoping to live through today, you know.

'Mallory? That your name, nighean bhogha?' I taunt.

'You shut it too, shortie.' 

'I'm Cedric,' the blondie says, stupidly offering out his hand. What does he think I'm gonna do, shake it? No, instead I judo flip over one shoulder, questioning how I had enough strength to do that to someone heavy as he.

'Eve,' I say, shrugging.

Mallory helps Cedric up as he explains to me that they're also joining in with the revolution, despite being outcasts like myself.

'I'll come with you,' I decide, looking at Celene, who is still conversing with the phoenix in some animal language I can't yet understand.

'You'll regret it, leanabh tuagh.'

And that is how we decided to stick together on a quest to kill the king.