Behind The Veil Of Normalcy Hides A Dangerous Mystery.

Seeing their reunions tugged at my aching heart. The void that I so desperately tried to fill seemed to widen so much in such little time, barely a moment of another's happiness.

I did not belong here, among the embrace of family, I had none…I had none here.

I manipulated the earth to dampen the noise and impact when my feet touched, I controlled my breathing, shallow and rhythmic I respirated.

Steadily, the Aeter I fed the rune decreased and the light dimmed accordingly until the town plaza was nothing but a blanket of darkness pierced by rare lances of moonlight.

No tears left my hazel eyes, for I had none to spare such silliness. I have no need for such thing, family. An over glorified concept that depends on platonic love and an illusion of blind trust.

'Look where that got me. I am a mess, a mess that was used do co-dependency.'

While I felt that I deluded them, I could sense a pair of eyes locking on to my figure. My back tingled, a prickly sensation numbed my legs, anchoring me in place.

[D-Do you feel that?]

Before Eset could answer, a soft feminine voice called out to me.

"Please wait brave shepherd. Did you save these children?"

The voice was melodic and mature, dancing its way into my ears.

Turning back to the owner of that piece of auditory art, my eyes chanced upon something completely otherworldly. And that's saying something considering it's a fantasy world.

The woman who called to me was a beauty of enormous pedigree. She was the moon's chosen one, the lunar light casting a divine brilliance upon her fare figure. The golden ocean atop her head floated into an aureola, the ends of her hair sticking out like sharp blades. Her ethereal blue eyes, a bright swirling sea of Aeter, locked on to mine as her slitted white pupils narrowed.

'An angel' I thought. What else could I say? She was the definition of something divinely untouchable.

I was stuck in a trance appreciating the beauty of this seraphic figure, but suddenly, her brilliance flickered, its light dimming gradually.

Her hair no longer woven into an intricate halo of radiance, but slumped to the ground lifelessly as if its former majesty was an illusion.

'…W-what?'

"Brave shepherd?"

Again, this…woman called out to me. But I was in no normal state of mind to answer. My brain was turning its gears trying to process what happened. Was it all a trick of the senses? Was none of what I saw real?

While stuck in a perpetual loop, the plump woman tugged gently on the mysterious one's arm and softly whispered into her ears. Were it not for enhanced senses I got from my bond, I would not have even seen her, much less hear her.

"Drea, Is someone there love? I can't see a thing."

Drea, did not look back at her friend but simply pointed her index finger at my position.

Teresa tried to peer through the thick blanket of the night, but her eyes could not make out anything distinctive.

Fed up with her futile efforts, Teresa resorted to magic.

{Ember}, called out the plump women, a silver of fire forming atop her outstretched palm.

The small light did not do much to illuminate the whole plaza, but it was enough pierce through the darkness surroundings of our immediate area.

I was painted with the flickering orange shadow of the candle fire. My figure was quite comedic, I was like a thief caught red handed, a cat discovered whilst dropping a vase.

Surprised gasps were shared, shocked at my presence. It seems even the rescued boys forgot I was there for a moment.

"Who are yo- wait, that owl…You're the hermit aren't you?!" Teresa exclaimed

A small frown creased my eyebrows and my lips tugged an awry smile. I'm stuck with that nickname aren't I?

Noticing my less than pleasant reaction to that name, Teresa clapped her hands over her mouth and shook her head realizing she just called a small boy a hermit.

Her embarrassment sparing her the awareness of the fire still burning at the tip of her palm.

"Ouch!"

However, a sting of pain was enough a reminder.

She waved the back of her other hand in the air frantically, attempting to cool the burning sensation. After blowing on it a few times as well, she looked up to see everyone judging her silently in their heads.

"Hey, don't look at me like that t'was an accede-"

Cutting her off, the old man with a hunched over back and a haggard beard walked over to me with Lester still embraced in his arms.

"You, you saved them…saved Lester."

His salted beard parted to reveal a small mouth with dried lips reminding me of a desert's cracked earth.

Tears flowed from his tired eyes and washed over the faults on his lips, and down his beard, whose tips formed icicles.

"Thank you. I could not live a moment more without my grandson beside me."

I was not sure what to do in this situation. So, like the most socially normal human being, I just nodded.

Before this situation could get any more complicated, I ran away. I did not mind stealth any longer, I augmented my feet and ran like hell. Each time I extended my leg, it would strike at the earth with much force, propelling me further and further away.

[Why did you run away Elias?}

I had no clear answer. The warmth of the atmosphere was suffocating, the frigidness of winter was more comforting for my taste.

###

Opening my eyes slowly, I pushed away at the beams of sunlight disturbing my eyes. I found myself sleeping upright, my back resting against the backboard of the bed. My knees were tucked in and my neck contracted in pain; a tell-tale sign that I had my head dipped between my legs.

I stretched my head backwards and rubbed the aching muscles on my neck, the fatigue left in my body reminding me of yesterday's events.

I heaved a sigh, fluttering the small strands of hair covering my eyes. The air I exhaled carried some smoke of sorrow trapped within my chest.

I spared a glance to my right checking whether my companion's perch was occupied; it was not.

'She must have left to hunt something'

Leaving my thoughts, I kicked off the messy sheets of the bed and headed to the basin to get a start on my day.

I put on my leather gear and equipped my shepherd's staff. Nothing better than a god grazing to start the day, I thought.

Opening the door, I came to see something I was not quite used to, something that so happens to be the beginning of a budding friendship.

Outside my door were three rascals that looked nothing like each other, a group of friends I would have the honor to join.

"Hey, uhm Elias right?...Good morning?" Said the red haired hero.

"…Yeah good morning. What do you want?"

The trio looked at each other and nodded, they then looked at me with bloodshot eyes and yelled all together

"""PLEASE TRAIN US!"""