Tales of Six

Chapter 13 : Savyna

The wood elf lies on the ground.

She gets up on her knees and pats herself.

How is she not dead ? Or at least in an immense amount of pain ? Did the axe not hit her ? She stands up and turns around. A tentacle cut in two, fading away, stands where she was standing. Behind the tentacle, back at the entrance of the room, she sees Kaen curled up, lying on the ground, silently screaming.

Kaen, with a cracking voice and tears in her eyes- I.. think you were right... it.. it kinda hurts.

Elf, almost angry- Why !? Why would you push me ? I.. I was the one... I messed up..

Kaen- You .. needed help...

Elf- I should have gotten hit ! It was my fault ! You had no reason to do that. Why ??

Kaen- Hehe .. I.. don't know..

The elf sits down heavily, frowning in confusion.

Elf, mumbling- No one... no one ever did that for me...

Kaen- Hmmm ? What ?

Elf- ...

Kaen- ...

Elf- Savyna.

Kaen- ?

Elf- My name.. is Savyna.

Kaen, now sitting- Nice to meet you Savyna, I'm Kaen.

Savyna, as she stands up- Alright, get up and let's get moving.

While grunting from the pain, Kaen stands up as well and approaches the swinging axes.

She looks at the one in front of her, and breathes deeply.

---

Walking away from Ribanur's house and shop, Philantéline arrives on the main south road, leading straight from the Citadelle to the South Gate. The view from the middle of the road is beautiful, the high peaks of the Citadelle reaching for the clouds on one side, and the aligned houses and buildings aiming towards the horizon on the other. It all feels so big, so grand.

This whole city is just so... much ... And she's here. All alone. On her own.

She gets brought back to reality when she is pushed to one side and hears a loud "Out of the way !". A horse-pulled cart rumbles through, as the sound of the wheels against the pavement helps Phil shake herself. She timidly says a small "I'm sorry", but the driver doesn't even turn his head. Philantéline dusts herself, straightens her shirt and jacket, and looks around to get a bearing to where she is. She takes the Citadelle as a reference point, and just picks a direction and starts walking. The alleyway leads her through a few shops with some very nice displays.

As she walks on the dusty pavement, she cannot keep her eyes off of the shiny jewelry and figurines, the beautiful artworks and clothes, and she does not notice the stairs on her path until her foot is blocked by the stone. She loses her balance and lands a knee on the ground. She quickly gets up and sees a person holding their hand in compassion. They retract it as Phil dusts herself for the second time today.

They just say "So you're unhurt, that's good." with a smile, and walk off.

That was... strange... but nice ?

She looks around her and a few people seem to have been there to help her up, and are now going back to their own businesses.

After checking around her, she continues along the road.

---

Still panting from the pain, Kaen looks back at the three swinging axes.

Savyna- See ? Wasn't that hard, was it ?

Kaen- I hate this so much. Please tell me the next room is easier.

Savyna turns to the previous hallway and holds her hand towards it as she closes her eyes. A water thread on the ground comes around the corner and slides to grab the torch left on the other side of that room. It comes to her by keeping close to the wall and avoiding the axes, and finishes by forming a small pool at the elf's feet. Savyna grabs the torch and hands it to Kaen.

Savyna- I believe this is yours.

Kaen, grabbing the torch- Oh yeah, I must've dropped it when I uhh.. *awkward*

Savyna- ... *awkward*

Kaen- ... So uhh, how do you know so much about soul magic ?

Savyna- What do you mean ?

Kaen- Well, you seem to know stuff about it. How to detect it, how it works, why it works...

Savyna- Yes. Because I learned it.

Kaen- I thought wood elves had also banned soul magic.

Savyna- Honey, wood elves have banned soul magic since before the lyune oligarchy even existed. Banning the magic is common sense. Banning the knowledge is absurd.

Kaen- Hmmm.

Savyna- If you don't know anything about a venomous snake, how would you fight it ? How would you protect yourself from it ? You need to know about something to be prepared. Also, preventing someone from using an element for no other reason than "that's the law" seems a bit... tyrannical to me.

Kaen- ... I guess. Anyway, Let's see what's next.

The two get to the hallway separating the exam rooms, and at the end of it, they see another chamber. Bigger than most of the previous they passed through, but still just an empty regular room. Regular, except for one thing : there is no hallway on the other side, but a closed door.

Before entering, Savyna looks at Kaen.

Savyna- Ready ?

Kaen just nods and prepares herself.

Savyna takes the first step in and waits. As predicted, they hear something moving. Rocks ? A few seconds later, two small shapes come out of openings in the walls, one from each side, which close immediately after. They both look vaguely humanoid, but the height of children. The left one seems to be made of stones, while the one on the right is made of soft fabric.

And they turn to the two intruders in perfect synchronisation.