Twisted Moon's Rising

Chapter Fourteen; Elixar The Nation of Greed

Song; Rises The Moon, Liana Flores

I safely reach Elixar by nightfall, avoiding any more of the forest creatures. I still cannot shake what happened with the one though... and also with what happened with Zaid.

He's so random, always appearing, always disappearing. Makes no sense, but I've gotten used to it, though I hate seeing him.

The forest thinned out a while ago, and now I'm standing in front of the 'Welcome to Elixar' sign, Tanyths favorite thing to make.

I roll my eyes at the thought. It's around four feet in width and three in height, a deep orange with gold calligraphy. On the edges around the words there are what appear to be two trees in gold. Used to represent what Elixarians call 'the tree of life', it's a thing they worship like a god.
It's rumored to nourish their lands, but it's just a tree.. So I don't really understand where that information came from.

I step past the sign, immediately feeling a rush of magic towards me- an automatic defense system Tanyth made to scan the person coming through.

To make it worse, he made it smell like oranges. I let out a breath once the rush finished. I have to averagely take a moment to gather myself after one- as it messes with my own magic most of the time.

His system uses his magic to draw out a portion of the enterer's magic to see what Nation they're from, and most have different sections of magic, which narrows it down. For me, I'm the only one with my type of magic left, as Caustia didn't inherit it from our parents.

I haven't been to this side of Elixar in awhile, normally I just fly directly to the capitol.

Tanyth keeps Elixar fairly clear of any harmful creatures, unlike my nation. But I can't be bothered to rid them from my nation, because the forests are so dense I wouldn't be able to find all of them.

The forests here are open and breezy, and many wild berries and flowers can be found. The flowers are most commonly found in oranges, yellows, and reds. Occasionally I've found purple ones, but they aren't common. Two generations ago the king used his remaining power to keep Elixar in fall forever, so all the leaves are colorful. Making the nation held in its prettiest form.

Elixir is known for being very glamorous and over the top, everyone always cares about appearance.

I reach for my bag, pulling at my water container.

I've already drank most of it, only a little bit remains.

I look around as I walk through the light forest. The air feels nicer here, not so heavy. In a way I resent my nation for that. Everything is always so heavy and dark.

It is speculated the whole royal family is cursed to be awful rulers, and people say I'm better for the nation than Caustia... but I think everyone knows that's not true.

My slightly pointed ears pick up on the noise of water trickling to my right. I look towards and spot a small stream twenty meters away from me. I begin walking towards it. My eyes take in the beautiful view around me. I feel calm... almost like how I did when Zaid came to me in the forest, but despite this I have no plan of getting close to him. Avoiding him is one of my top priorities.

I scoop some water into my container, putting the lip back on after taking a drink, the water is fresh in this nation.

Unharmful.

This nation is like the perfect younger sibling, always appreciated, and wanted. Never in trouble, shining, for everyone's eyes.

I head back onto the path, and walk through the night until I arrive at one of the small towns a few miles before Elixar's capital; Finseal. I don't remember the name of this town, as I haven't come here more than once.

It's fairly empty, as it is night time, but I spot a small corner store in the distance that is open.

The streets in this town are a lot like Finseals, a mossy rock path. Flower beds lining the outside of some areas on the path, the buildings here take on a calmer, more traditional look. White stone walls, orange and brown roofs, most standing at one floor high, as I get closer to the center of the town, the buildings get slightly bigger.

I pass a market stall section that is closed, before reaching the doors of the store. I see one worker inside, stalking shelves with a variety of things.

I open the door gently, stepping inside, a small chime sounds as the door opens - indicating to the worker that a customer came.

I watch her head snap up, looking towards me. She stands up, a cheery look on her face.

"Welcome! How can I help you?" She asks, her voice louder than the average fae. "You're not from around here are you? That outfit... hmm... perhaps Centra? No.. that's not right." I watch as she analyzes my outfit from top to bottom, her hand going in front of her as she snaps her fingers.

"You're from Trisye, aren't you?" She steps closer, her eyes take a moment to rise to mine. A soft smile spread onto my face and I nod. Her eyes widen as she takes note of my face.

Her mouth goes slightly ajar. "Queen Isabella?" She asks, before bowing, "Oh my, excuse me, I am very sorry, I did not realize I would be having you here."

A small awkward laugh bubbles through my throat. "...There's no need to bow, it's okay," I say, and she rises.

"Right, sorry." She says, not holding eye contact anymore and slightly tipping her head. "What do you need help with?"

"I am just looking for a quick snack, as I'm heading to Finsea-" She cuts me off.

"Oh! Are you going to see Tanyth? On foot? Or do you have a horse? I don't normally see you come through here. Normally I hear you go by dragon. Your dragon is named Ceria right?"

I find my mouth slightly agape, my eyebrows raised as I try to not laugh at her sudden questioning. She can't be more than fifteen years old.

Her eyes finally meet mine, and her mouth instantly shuts, she doesn't say anything else.

"I'm going to see Tanyth. Yes. on foot. I am simply just grabbing a snack." I respond, holding eye contact, I can't help but let a soft smile fade into my face.

"On foot? Why?" She asks. A slight rosy color bleeds into her cheeks.

"I have my reasons."

"Right, sorry, sorry." She bows her head at me. "We have quite a lot of snacky things, if you want to look around." She says stepping back from me.

I give her a quick nod before walking around, looking at the different things.

She goes back to stalking the shelves.

I find a snack, before having another short conversation with the girl, then leaving. I walk for another hour, before finding a small place to sit down past a few trees.

I decide to take a small nap, knowing I'll be in Finseal by midday tomorrow.