Waters of Aqnis, Second Story of Nypre

Chapter 2

Stars shone brightly through the clear night sky. Most of the people from the Tawarln territory were already asleep, yet four still lingered. Nypre and his identical twin brother Deren sat opposite of Lina, a priestess of Lumin, and her protector Norris.

"Check out the floating lights, clearly a place you'll enjoy Nypre," Deren said to his brother, pointing to one of the hovering blue spheres that were scattered around the room, illuminating a dark blue light through the room.

"Aqnis is one of the most magical of the ten territories. Lumin keeps a watchful eye on it, despite its lack of aggression. It's because Meni, the guardian of water, lives here." Lina was quick to share her knowledge. After what had happened in Lumin, she wasn't willing to keep much secret anymore. She was ordered to send a brigade of Lumin soldiers to assassinate the guardian of wind who was running wild. She felt terrible about sending soldiers to kill someone, and instead wanted to focus her efforts on helping those caught in Wonik's terrible destruction. Tana, the high priestess and ruler of all of Lumin, stopped her. Lina had no choice but to obey what Tana wished of her. She felt terrible, and that was before she found out about Nypre and Deren, the sons of Wonik. She chose to travel with them to find the brigade she sent and call off the attack. Her original intentions were swept under a carpet of pure darkness when the truth of the situation was revealed to her.

"That's not very fair, mom has been in Tawarln's territory forever, yet we don't have magical windy lights or anything fancy like this," Deren complained.

"Yes. Wonik kept herself hidden, unlike Meni, likely out of concern for you two," Norris explained his theory.

"It makes me wonder what would have happened if we were there when the night began spreading. Was travelling with Ryan to Lumin was the right choice?" Nypre thought aloud.

"There is no way of knowing what could have been Nypre. Instead, focus on the problem at hand. We must discuss what we know. We haven't been in safe territory since we left Lumin. We need to rekindle our thoughts and decide our course of action. First, let us go over what we know about the enemy." Norris started talking as if he was back in Lumin. He was an instructor, as well as a protector to the newest of priestesses. It was up to him to make sure soldiers had basic leadership properties as well as the ability to assess a problem and figure out how to solve it. The situation they were in now made every practice scenario look miniscule in comparison.

"We don't know much. There's a land where the sun never shines. Any who enter under the ceiling of shadow are immediately controlled by it," Deren grunted in discouragement. "This would be a lot easier if there was a lord in charge of the territory. Usually when one territory is harassing another, killing the leader ends the problem."

"We can't assume there is no sentient force behind it. That creature that attacked me and Lina was different than anything else we saw in there. It appeared before us and the rest of Tawarln's army, attempting to intimidate us into giving up Lina." Nypre shot a look to his brother. He and Deren were very close, and the way Deren was talking made it sound like it was better to give up.

"You both bring up good points. Deren is right in saying this is unlike anything that has occurred in history, meaning it will be impossible to learn from the past. Nypre is right in bringing up that there is a sentient force leading this destruction, meaning this foe may not be as outlandish as it wishes us to think. It is mortal, it can be defeated, and it has revealed to us the way we can defeat it. The power lies within Lina, her prayers were not only able to protect all four of us from becoming permanently controlled by the night, but they were also able to guide us through it without being detected." Norris could sense a minor disturbance between the brothers. He sought to quell it before it became worse.