Alchemi ( volume 1 of the "Swirdiniad " series

Owl

Faria slammed her bedroom door open. She stomped to her large bed and threw herself onto it. Her mother was the worst! She didn't even know how queen Gardenia was still on the throne. One would've thought that the peasants would drive her out of the city, but it was not the case.

She glanced at her bedside table to see if anything was out of place. She wouldn't want her servants to find her keeping a set of daggers in a small box behind the table. Even as a child, she had been paranoid about many things. Assassins, alchemic creations, rogue Fellashumists, but her fear rose when she heard that her father passed away. When the news reached her, in the form of a sealed letter, she cried for a while; when the footsteps of  a random person could be heard, she decided to stop as to not draw anymore attention to herself. She would not want people to find out that the first child of the royal family is a weak-hearted, short-tempered brat. Of course, Rafathel was even worse. People knew his.... bad habits.

There was a knock and Faria quickly got up, brushed her simple, yet beautiful dress straight and said "Come in."

The oaken door creaked open and a messenger boy scuttled in and pulled out a letter. His hands shook when he handed it to her.

" F-from the Owl . " he trembled with so much fear that he forgot to bow as he quickly ran out the room.

Faria looked at the letter with curiosity. The "Owl" huh. She turned it ober and studied the intricately designed seal. It was a shade of Purple with an owl perched on a branch as a design. She sat down on the comfy bed and pulled out a letter opener from her dresser.

When the blade came in contact with the envelope, the whole letter glowed with purple light. Faria yelleped and dropped the glowing paper. A flat piece of whethered paper slipped out and it flew into her hands. She dropped it and jumped off the bed. She considered screaming, but it would draw too much attention.

How was a floating and glowing letter possible? Everyone knew that when a trees was cut, it stopped glowing. She cautiously touched the parchment and the envelope stopped shining and returned to its original state. The letter was written in a neat handwriting.

Your Majesty,

I am Owl, the leader of the Alchemi guild. As you may have heard from the rumors, my true appearance has never been witnessed by any living soul. I would like to schedule an appointment with Your Majesty to discuss some private issues regarding the well-being of, not only your kingdom, but the whole of Alsdoria. No details will be mentioned through this letter.

Dark Lullaby:
Testrafumior, des enagiarde
Gulshamium fulyamar
Driuyiste, Driuyiste.
Truvaldem Dyim Sulmaer

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Faria read the whole letter before placing it inside her drawer. She had no idea what the "Dark Lullaby" was. She pushed down the thought and walked out of her room. She'll worry about that later.

She walked outside, to the Royal Gardens and looked at her pocket watch. It was nearly sun set. There were more nobles outside today taking a stroll. Strdenheil mating season was coming and Faria did not want to miss it again. She took a seat on one of the various stone benches and waited patiently by observing everyone in the area.

When the sun finally set, the trees all glowed with dots of light. The trees filled the area with an array of multi colored lights. Faria paid no attention to it. There was someone singing the words. It was faint, but she could hear it. She pushed herself up and started following the noise.

People greeted her politely, but she paid them no heed. Faria really wanted to know how that song was connected to this man or woman named Owl. She turned a corner and found a little girl sitting on the bench. She seemed to be the daughter of a minor noble, judging from her gown. It was a violet dress which ran straight down to the ankles. The neckline is quite high and the bodice was embedded with light blue gems.

The girl stood up and curtsied, " Your majesty."

Before Faria could say anything. The youth handed her a letter. Faria accepted it and the girl said " I am Issandylle Owl."

Faria's eyes widened in shock. This was the most powerful Alchemist in Swirdiniad?