THE KEEPERS RISE

Chapter 7 - Right Foot First - Part 3

*Remember to click the play button to listen to the soundtrack as you read!*

Just as quickly as the room had lit up, the magic disappeared, and the walls around them seemed to vanish and morph into open air. Velda's inner senses were filled with new auras, all constant and unwavering. They had appeared in the corner of a rectangular grassy field where several others were spread out training with swords, bows, and a variety of other weapons. The field was surrounded by a forest of huge trees, some with trunks that looked wider than Will'ym was tall! Will'ym led the way down the small set of steps and onto the grass. "This is where our Council decided to let us train," he said.

Velda stared up at the sky, which was such a light blue it seemed to have a green tint to it. Because of the tarrephaene's lifestyle, there was absolutely no pollution in the air, and the clouds that did exist were perfectly formed. It felt like home to Velda. She had lived close to nature her whole life, and this was somehow even better than Myusaria.

Far across the field, a scaly dracona girl in yellow looked back at them. She had been holding a sword in a high ready position, practicing attacks, but now lowered her sword and waved a hand to call attention, announcing, "Hey, Will'ym's back!" Everyone on the field stopped what they were doing and headed towards the small enclosure where Velda and Will'ym had been transported. The dracona had deep purple scales that were especially prominent on her angular face and thick tail, which dragged along the grass.

"Not just me," Will'ym said when they had all gathered. "I brought Velda. She's the last Keeper."

"Then we're all here!" the one wearing black said. He was much closer to Velda's height, but had clothes more like Will'ym's silky shirt and pants. She also noticed that he had small pointed ears and a long golden tail that came up his back, almost like a squirrel. His hair was orange to match, with one black streak showing his Powerstone's color. "I'm Ozul. Nice to meet you, Velda!" He eagerly came forward and shook her hand with one paw-like hand. Velda didn't know what to think about Ozul. He seemed like a giant kikiring or a wingless shay, but his face looked human.

"Nice to meet you too," Velda said, trying to sound friendly. Inside, she was terrified by all the new humanoid species she could see. From left to right, there was an elf, an archian with visible feathers on her arms and head, a dracona, a humanoid with unfamiliar ridges on his shoulders, and a kathumis. Each of them had their own stone, hair streak, and eye color that matched, and each was different. They collectively covered the six primary and secondary colors, and black and white. That made eight of them.

Velda gave the kathumis an exceptionally long stare. He stared back at her with his deep blue eyes, unblinking. He had icy scales on the sides of his face, snow-white hair, and blue-tinged skin, just like Rhea had warned her about. Given Rhea's descriptions of kathumi, she was surprised he hadn't gotten into trouble yet.

Ozul stepped back and joined the small crowd, getting Velda's attention again. "I'm a feluna," he explained, watching her follow his flicking bushy tail. "We're one of the main species in the Persu sector." Velda found his voice pleasant to listen to. It had a deep purr behind it that reminded her of the kikirings from home.

"I represent the other one," said the elf. She had distinctive pointed ears and was dressed slightly differently from the rest of the girls, with a longer shirt and tan leggings that gave way to slender boots. She was rather tall too, though still not as tall as Will'ym. Velda was also impressed by how long her hair was. It nearly touched her feet and was neatly tied into a long braid, with an orange streak running all the way through it. "I'm Ivy, an elf."

Velda smiled, trying not to let her awe show. Rhea had taught her that elves were very secretive. She had never thought she'd meet one outside of their galaxy. "Hi," she said a little shakily.