Stories of Acoptia

Ch. 3 Syvis Elandorr #1 - Blessings of the Shirewood

"I've got you now." - Young elf said, taking aim with her bow.

The Shirewolf was darting in between the giant trees. But that didn't matter. Once she spotted the beast it wasn't going to get away.

"And... Here!" - She said shooting an arrow.

The arrow hitting the beast straight in the head, killing it instantly.

Of course, that bow is not of the ordinary kind. It is a magic bow or in other words a magic weapon.

- And the name of the young elf?

Syvis Elandorr.

...

Syvis walked up to the body. Her long white hair flowing in the wind. It's red eyes already losing their glow. She had to act fast or it will lose its magical properties. Taking out her knife she masterfully removed the fangs of the beast.

"Another good hunt" - She thought to herself.

Counting up the fangs she had collected today.

"That's enough for 20 arrows, I should head back home now, it's getting dark."

And so miss Elandorr walked back into the centre of the Shirewood. Where the Kingdom stood in all its glory. She knew the woods by heart. And even as it got darker she had no trouble navigating.

The young elf finally hit the clearing at which the giant kingdom hid. Its beauty was difficult to describe. And even though she had seen it countless times, it still took her breath away every single time.

Syvis was already 104 years old and couldn't be considered a kid, yet her father and mother always treated her as such. But lately, it had gotten worse.

They begged her to come home after sundown and not to stray too far away from the kingdom. The unrest was clear in the whole elven society.

Elves are very sensitive to mana around them. She had overheard the conversation between her mother and father. they spoke about the intensified amount of dark mana in the shirewood. She too, sensed it a little herself.

Miss Elandorr stepped into her home situated in the lower parts of the kingdom. That's where all of the common elves lived.

"I'm home! Is there anything for dinner?" - She shouted out while taking off her boots.

"Dear, come. I'm afraid we have some bad news" - Her mother Sionia responded, from the kitchen, with worry in her voice.

Syvis rushed into the room. The atmosphere was unbearable.

"Yes. What is it?" - She said with a shaking voice.

"Nelly Treelily is dead." - Sionia said, whipping her eyes. It was clear she had been crying.

Nelly Treelily the families pixie, who had watched over them for generations. It was a tradition, every family had a pixie for protection and good luck.

"But how? Pixies live forever in the magical shades of Shirewood." - Young elf said confused and hurt.

She couldn't make sense of what she was hearing. Pixies were pretty much immortal as long as they lived in the Shirewood.

"This has been happening all over the kingdom. The whispers, they are getting stronger." - Elyon said.

Her father was a stoic man most of the time but in his face was undeniable worry and fear.

"The whispers? What's going? Will, somebody tell me. I'm tired of being left out, I'm not a kid anymore!" - Syvis shouted, releasing the emotions that had been building up inside.

"Calm down dear." - Her father said, with a saddened look in his eyes.

He worked as the royal advisor, guiding the elven king and his family in making judgments. He was quite respected for his wisdom and intellect despite not being too old.

"I shall tell you everything now. See, The Faith claims that the evil has perished forever but recently, over the past few years the amount of dark mana has been growing. Faster and faster. And now it's starting to touch the Shirewood too."

"But..." - Young elf stumbled over her words.

"We have to do something about this. What evil? How do we stop it?" - She said out of confusion.

"We are already warning all other kingdoms and lands. The king sent ravens out a few hours ago." - Elyon said, rubbing his forehead.

"Acoptia might be at a turning point. Yet again."

"I'm going to sleep..." - Miss Syvis said, overwhelmed by the sudden news and all of the information.

"Good night," - She said solemnly, heading upstairs to her bedroom.

Sitting down on her chair flustered the young elf pulled out the fangs she obtained. She placed them on her table, and got to work on making expertly made magic arrows.

"At least I can do what I'm good at..." - Miss Syvis thought to herself, wondering what else she could do at this point.

Syvis had spent most of her childhood hunting. Which translated into her becoming a masterful magic archer and also learning many skills. Skills like making magic arrows, she knew everything there was to know about the Shirewood creatures and woods.

The young elf loved exploring them, sometimes spending days out there much to her parent's dismay. She knew that the trees hid stories forgotten by time.

But now the woods called her, miss Syvis couldn't find peace in her room. And so she lept out of her window and headed back into the trees.  Miss Syvis didn't know why, but she felt calmer in the vast forest.

Deep in her thoughts, she walked for what seemed to be hours until she snapped out of it.

She had gone quite far away as Syvis hadn't seen this part of the woods. After looking around she noticed something peculiar. A treehouse, it looked old but there was definitely candlelight shining through the windows.

Her curiosity amassed and the young elf couldn't resist but to climb and pay this out of place house a visit.

"What's the worst that could happen" - Miss Syvis thought to herself, knocking on the door.

After a few moments, an old elf man opened the door. He was quite short, and definitely towards the end of his days.

"Oh, my." - The old man said smiling.

"A visitor! It's been a long time since I've had one." - There was a smidge of sadness in his voice as he said the last part.

"How may I help you?"

"Ah... I don't think anyone can help me. I'm sorry to be disturbing you. I just saw the house and got the urge to check it out"- Young elf said, realizing she really didn't have a reason to be here.

"Rough day young lady? Come inside I'll fix you up some herb tea. Times are getting tough even an outcast like me knows" - The old man said.

"Oh! Where're my manners! My name is Ellisar." - He quickly added.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Syvis. Syvis Elandorr. May I ask you what do you mean by the times are getting tough?" - She said stepping into Ellisar's house.

"Oh, my dear child. I mean the rise of the dark mana. I've lived a long life. I'm already 706 years old. I've seen a lot but never in my life has the darkness been on the rise as much as it is now." - he said.

"You know about it too? May I ask you some questions sir?" - Syvis blurted out...