Forest of Lost Spirits

The Ground Above Arc

AN: Dota 2 characters are not mine, they belong to Valve and Icefrog. I only credit the story.

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Chapter 1: Up behind the Blue

On the sky high above, stood the proud Ghastly Eyrie, inaccessible except by flight and where the Skywrath race lived. Civilians had used flight and walked every inch of the city. It was composed of seemingly colorful crystals and tiles made of strong granite. The streets has lamps and when lit at night, have a symytrical pattern engraved.

Through the central, a Castle can be seen, where the two princesses reside. One of the princesses was Shendelzare, looking outside her balcony in a starry night and staring in awe as she saw a shooting star. After a few moments, she gazed down at the central market, where it was brimming with hustle and several cheerings. Looking at her clock, she promptly rushed to her bedroom and fell asleep.

The next morning, Shendelzare plans to head outside for sightviewing, although she did it many times and she just love to walk outside the Castle. Besides, she also wanted to get some treats and want to know where the cheery air was setting last night at the market. Before she heads out, she is always disguised with a white silk hood with blue lines outlined to it and a basket.

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Shendelzare got some pastries and a jar of crystal jam on a local bakery, then she proceeded to the market which is only a couple of blocks away from the bakery.

Right just she was heading to the gate, something caught her attention and turned to peek.

It was the Archmage guild, where the Mage council and the Mages trained. It was a sight to behold; Mages and their magic rhythmically curl up and pulse like magicians on the street market. Shendelzare was caught off guard at what she saw and walked unconsciously to the door, some even noticed by some guards let her slip through without question or word.

By reading to her pocketwatch, she noticed it was noon already. She sat on a bench and unloaded her pastry on the table. She nibbled on her bread while watching the mages train.

After some minutes, the horn blared: it was lunchtime for the mages.

Shendelzare didn't think twice. She grabbed her basket and went to the door, but got caught in the crowd of mages and apprentices. She needed to get out, if they knew she was one of the royalties, she'll cause a crowd just because she exposed herself on a lunchtime. Sneaking past them and running on spaces, she managed to get few bumps and got out of the complex. She sighed loudly, unknowningly in front of the door and noticed by an another mage.

She was completely nervous. One blow and that will spread the word to his colleagues, she was completely screwed. So screwed...

The mage on the other hand, was raising an eyebrow to her. He does not seem to see her true face under the thick hood. And decided to break the silence, "Um, is something wrong to you?" He asked with slight concern. This shaken up Shendelzare out of her reverie, and only replied by shaking her head.

Suddenly, the mage was curious. "Are you a mage?" He asked again and was only replied with head shakiness from her. Shendelzare was shifting her feet shortly and inching to the ground. I need to get out of here...

"Wait, who are you anyway? If you're not a mage, then what are you doing inside the Guild?" He seem to be suspicious, and she decided to speak.

"I... uh I'm just a cleaner." She lied. That's the spark of suspicions, and the mage started to take her to the cleaning shed. "Oh really? Then why are you dressed up like that?"