Young Writers Society

Annabelle Johnson/ Ashla Kolsdottir

Ann woke with a start when she was ripped from her dreams and thrown into an icy bed of wet dirt and debris, biting winds whipping around her. Immediately she scrambled backwards and assumes a fetal position to escape the sudden cold and shock

Of course, nothing to do about the shock of being thrown from one world to another, but the cold never came. Ann looks down to her thin pajamas, or where her pajamas should be, anyways, only to rest her eyes on thick leather and wool wrapping a muscular body that seemed to be attached to her.... Ann's eyes widen and she lifts her hands to flex the gloved digits. What happened? Where..... What am I?

Through the shrieking winds, a faint voice can be heard out from the maelstrom. "Help me." The words are impossibly faint, yet somehow they are perfectly clear in Ann's ears. She looks around, a newfound sense of urgency and heroism broiling in her chest. "Where are you? Don't panic, I'm coming!" Just get out of here!!! A tiny voice screamed in the back of her head, but Ann somehow knew that she shouldn't.... or couldn't?

As she stumbled about, clumsy in her transformed body, a realization finally dawned on Ann and she reached backwards, cold steel meeting her hand. The sword she brought from the scabbard on her back sparked recognition in her mind. This is Ashla's sword! She stopped in her tracks, and looked down at herself once again. Then I'm.... But she knew this would have to wait as through the gale, a form was visible standing shakily in what seemed to be the calm of the tempest. Ann-.... Ashla replaces her sword upon her back and swiftly but gracefully makes her way to the figure.

Almost like stepping inside from a storm, the winds subside and the debris all but vanishes; Ashla stands in the eye of the storm, and as she stares in awe at the cacophony that rages all around, but not with her. The warrior maiden looks up at.... a young girl? Ashla takes a few cautious steps towards the distraught teenager and reaches out gingerly. Why would anyone be here in this storm? More importantly, how?

"You called for help? It's alright, I'm here. How did you come to find yourself in such a place at such bad timing?"

It happened so suddenly that no member of their small group was prepared for it. Incredibly strong winds began to blow through the forest, sending twigs and leaves up into the air. The breathtaking stars were covered up by thick storm clouds.

She looked at the other members of the group. Renee's eyes were wide, and she sounded absolutely terrified as she said, "We're in a hurricane."

Aileen was the next one to speak. She somehow remained calm and collected. "It's probably Taifu's. She has power over that, after all. And considering the circumstances..." She cast a glance in Anima's direction. The god seemed oblivious to their conversation, but Jamie understood the reason for the secrecy. Anima didn't know the truth about them, and there was no way they could explain it to her.

They knew the source of the hurricane, but what could they do about it? "The eye!" Jamie suddenly exclaimed. Her face turned bright red when everyone else stared at her. "The eye of a hurricane is just like when there isn't one..."

"So you're saying that the hurricane is a monster?" Anima questioned in disbelief.

"No!" She was shocked by how confident she had become, and how loud her answer was. Was it because she was Ariken now? "Why would you say that?"

"Because you just said it had an eye!"

"That's the name of the center of the hurricane," Aileen explained.

"Oh." Anima, crossing her arms, stared at Jamie. The confidence she had felt was instantly shattered when tested by the god's suspicious stare. "So why is the eye important, Mister 'Adventurer Extraordinaire and Amatuer Healer'?"

There was no doubting Anima was testing her. She had tried to act like Ariken, tried to be brave, tried to be as confident as he would be, and her efforts had come back to bite her in the butt. She took a deep breath. Ariken wouldn't hesitate to rise up to the challenge.

"The eye is where Taifu would be...Which you would have known if you actually had a clue where we were going." Her accusation was even more surprising - Jamie was the quiet girl in school and at home, never wanting to cause any trouble.

But maybe it was here, with winds blowing around them and rain soaking their clothes, that she thrived. Maybe it hadn't been Ariken who had given her confidence. Maybe it had always been there, and it wasn't until she was in Truven that she could be the brave person she had always dreamed of becoming.

"I know where we're going!" Anima protested. "We're going this way!"

"We passed the same tree three times already," Jamie explained.

The god sighed. "Alright, you got me. I have no idea where we're going, and have no idea where your companions are." Her two different colored eyes widened. "Wait just a sec. You're not going to go running straight into the hurricane, are you?"

The former roleplayers didn't respond.

Anima facepalmed. "You're all idiots. Incredibly stupid idiots. You don't go running into a hurricane! That's basically suicide!" When no responded, she continued her rant. "You guys all must have a death wish or something, because no one in their right mind-"

It was at that moment that Anima was knocked to the ground by a man-shaped piece of paper.

I still don’t entirely know what happened. One moment, I was floating through the forest like a silk ribbon on the wind, the next I was being battered against tree branches, rocks, and various dirtying unmentionables as the hurricane caught me in its icy grip. All I could see was blinding mist, all I could hear was roaring rain. Needless to say, it wasn’t much fun until I flew into the woman.

I glomped her into the dirt, my entire flat body covering hers. The woman cried out and thrashed underneath me, punching upwards like I was some possessed bedsheet. Not knowing what else to do, just knowing that flying wasn’t fun, I dug into the ground and held on. I could feel her body beneath mine, and she was pretty- yeah, know what, I’ll stop there.

“Geddoffame!” came the muffled yell. Oh, that’s right! As a talisman, I formed an unbreakable seal with my paper. I must have been smothering her!

Just then, my enchantment ran out. I felt the letters peel off of my arm, dispersing into shards of light. My body warped and sucked back into itself, until I was just a short guy lying on top of a dark-haired woman.

I poked my head up and stared at her for a second. She glared back with two different-colored eyes, one gold and one purple. Strange, but it was still kind of beautiful. Almost on instinct, I sunk into her chest, wanting to nuzzle-

A hand gripped my collar and hoisted me off, dangling me in the wind. I was now looking into the face of a woman with stormy grey eyes, a mixture of annoyance and bemusement.

“So, who would you be?” she drawled, clearly unimpressed with my paper-body.

I saluted, grinning. “Lovelock Letters, at your service! What’s your name?”

“Aileen.” She set me down, somewhat satisfied.

Just then, a strong burst of wind swept in from the hurricane, ripping me off of my feet and tossing me face-first into a tree.

“BRLLLBTPHRLLRR!” I screamed, undulating against the rough-barked trunk.

Eventually, a strong hand grabbed my arm, peeling me off of the tree. An elf had dug his heels into the dirt, preventing me from flying away. “I don’t believe we’ve met, Lovelock,” he grunted, smiling a bit. “I’m Ariken Hawk.”

With his other hand, he gestured to another girl standing beside him. “This is Renee. And that,” he said, pointing to the woman I had originally landed on, who was standing up angrily, “is Anima.”

“HelloooOOOoooOOOooo,” I said, still flapping in the stormwinds.

Ariken reeled my body in, wrapping his arm around my shoulders to keep me from flying away. I was grateful at first, but then he brought his head close, whispering into my ear. “You’re one of us, aren’t you? I’m TheDarkKnight7. We don’t know what’s going on here, but please, hang on.”

I twisted in his grip to place my hands on his chest, grinning. “I’m TalisMan. And I don’t need to hang on to anything.” Saying that, I pulled out my brush, and wrote quickly on my left hand.

Heavy. I dropped from Ariken’s grip, accidentally stomping on his toes. As the elf hobbled in pain, I stepped onto the firm ground, feeling it beneath my bare paper feet. My body had taken on a greyish sheen, like a graphite pencil had shaded all over my skin. I tested my weight a few times, then nodded, satisfied with the outcome.

“Alright!” I said, standing proud against the stormwinds. “Everybody follow me!” With that, I marched towards the center of the hurricane, the tree branches dancing wildly around me.

The other adventurers, though shocked, eventually followed behind. I thought they would. In a world like this, the next event is always at the eye of the storm.

Veil! Veil! Wake up! You must wake up immediately!

Risfeel opened his eyes, surprised by the sudden discomfort – he'd even say pain – that his bed caused him. Which was very weird, because he had always slept so well inside of it. But upon closer inspection, Risfeel realized several things that would make his heart race like a mad cheetah.
First off, he wasn't in his bed.
Instead, he was sleeping next to a gigantic tree, and what he believed to be a pillow was in fact a bunch of leaves. His head was resting against a hard root, and he promptly removed it from there before immediately regretting the sudden movement: his neck felt horrendously stiff.
Second, he was wearing his casual clothing.
Risfeel frowned, remembering that this wasn't actually weird: he remembered staying late at night to practice his roleplaying game, as he was supposed to join for the first time an already established group with his new character, and since he didn't have time to give him a proper attire, he had given it his own – which were extravagant enough anyway, or so people said.
Third, he had his kendama in hand.
Once again, he wasn't too surprised by the toy's presence in his hand, as he had probably fell asleep with it in his hand. But why its red ball was glowing so brightly was beyond him, as well as how exactly he had managed to find himself in a forest. Had he sleepwalked his way somewhere? And why was the mist around him so thick?

Veil! Can you hear me?!

Risfeel's eyes widened. The situation was getting weirder and weirder. “Uh… Hi?” he said uneasily. “Who's there?”

Thank the stars you're okay! Listen: you must flee from Misty Forest at all costs and reach the farm town of Drey! You are in grave danger here!

Risfeel froze. Misty Forest? Drey? The town he was supposed to read about yesterday for his roleplaying game? Was the voice telling him that he had somehow landed inside of the game?

Okay okay, calm down. He thought to himself. Don't panic. First, ask her who she is.

You don't remember?! the voice continued. Oh my Liege, what to do…

“Wait… You can… You can hear my thoughts? So I can like… Speak to you like that?”

Correct, though not all of them. But I have no time to explain everything! The Kaiser's Myrmidon is already on your trail! You must flee before he–

“I had a feeling you'd be alive after that, little one.” a new voice arose, making Risfeel jump on his feet. Turning back, he noticed a child-sized, ball-like furry silhouette staring down at him from a high tree branch. Even through the thick fog, Risfeel could see the strange creature's golden bandana stuck on top of its head. There was also a metallic round eye patch covering its left eye, while tiny yet freakish-looking claws decorated the creature's thick hands and feet.
This was the most hideous fur ball Risfeel had ever seen. And there people said that these were always cute.

“I hope you're ready to meet your doom, Star Boy.” the creature continued before grinning, showing razor-sharp teeth.

Risfeel's breathing accelerated. First creature he met, and it already wanted to kill him. Imaginary worlds were definitely less stressful when stuck on the safe side of the computer screen.

“Uh, so...” Risfeel began hesitantly. “Before you… start chasing me around the forest or something, uh… Could you tell me, y'know, your name, and why you want to kill me? Because I kinda forgot a few things, and… well… This is kinda random to me. Uh, hi! My name's… My name's...” it was at this moment that Risfeel realized that he had no knowledge of his actual name and could only remember the name of his character.
Things were moving from bad to worse.

“Risfeel Valdeyr.” Risfeel concluded. “P-Pleased to meet you!”

What are you doing?!

Buying time, and trying to figure out what the heck is going on!

The fur ball's creepy smile disappeared – thank goodness – and it frowned, staring down at Risfeel “Da heck?” it exclaimed, visibly intrigued. “Dude, first off, you totally broke my awesome presentation there, and second, why the heck would I tell you anything about me?”

It was Risfeel's turn to feel confused. “Uh… Because you're a bad guy? And… you kinda like to toy around with your naive enemies, tell them your plans to their face before beating them up or something?”

This time, the fur ball looked genuinely appalled. “Dude! That's just dumb! You said you didn't remember a few things, right?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Then that totally makes my mission easier! I kill you, cut your head off to prove that I totally whooped your sorry butt, bring it back to my master and give the rest of your body to my Boys! Why would I waste my time telling you anything else about me? And… Why would you care? I'm here to kill you!”

“Oooh!” Risfeel exclaimed in return, slightly less stressed thanks to his enemy's much more casual tone. “So you're kind of like an assassin? Less talkin' more fightin' philosophy, right?”

“Yeah, pretty much. I'm kinda trying to be efficient here. But, since my Boys still need some trainin' and stuff, I'm still trying to take things a little more slowly to give 'em the time to adapt.” the fur ball pointed at Risfeel. “So basically I'm only having this conversation because they're coming to eat you, and I'm here to make sure they don't eat your head. Also, you're weird, man.”

Risfeel couldn't hear that last part: he had already started running across the Misty Forest, trying his best to put as much distance as possible between him and the creature that literally wanted his head. That was the thing he hated the most during his playthroughs: when a monster would tell him exactly what he'd do if he got his claws on the hero.

Come on, Veil! If you're fast enough, I'm sure you can outrun Myrmidon's Kurrses!

“Instead of giving me random names, can't you give me a weapon or something?!” Risfeel exclaimed as he ran, trying to carefully avoid the trees around him. “Would be easier if I could fight back!”

Use your artifact, then! I thought it would be useless if you had lost your memory, but it would be a useful tool to get out of here more easily.

Risfeel stopped his mad rush, leaning against a trunk. “Well why the heck didn't you say that from the start!” he exclaimed, more scared than truly angered. “Okay okay. Stop for a sec. Tell me your name. And tell me how to use my Kendama.”

Alright, the voice conceded, but I'll have to make this quick! First off, you've always called me Yonder, because it was easier to pronounce than my actual name. Then, your beloved artifact is a wish-granting one. The more tricks you perform with it, the mightier your wish is going to become. In short, these tricks act as a substitute to Spell Chants for regular magicians. You… always wanted to make things differently, as far as I can remember.

Risfeel let out a nervous chuckle. Now that definitely sounded like him.

You can also assign specific combinations to specific wishes, Yonder continued, thus making it much easier to call forth.

“And then I just have to say what my wish is right?”

Shh! Don't talk so loudly, the Kurrses could hear you! But yes. State your wish after your tricks are done, and it should be granted – unless your magical stamina has too low for you to cast anything.

Sorry, I… still need to get used to the whole mind talk stuff. But I think I get it, so let's give it a shot.

Taking a deep breath, Risfeel unrolled the thin string around his Kendama and took it by the handle. He performed several tricks with it, alternating the ball's position between the small cup, the big cup and the base cup, before finally letting reach the spike.

“So...” Risfeel murmured out loud. “The more I do this one, the stronger my spell gets...” with that in mind, he performed his "Around Japan" trick 4 more times, and finally stopped, watching as his toy's red ball began glowing with more and more intensity.

“I wish… I wish to gain the powers of Ristar the Shooting Star!” Risfeel exclaimed, holding his toy high above his head. As a result, Risfeel's entire body was engulfed by the toy's light, and mere seconds later, he emerged from it.
Seemingly unchanged.

“What's going on?” Risfeel asked out loud, looking at his hands and feet. “I don't see any difference at all!”

Your wishes don't necessarily create physical changes, Veil. Yonder explained. You wish to gain the powers of this Ristar character. Not become him. So you must still be able to do… Whatever he's able to do.

Oh, it's word specific! Okay, uh… Risfeel looked around and locked his eyes on a tree branch right above his position. Taking momentum, he flung his arms forward, and to his surprise, they extended towards it. He gripped the bough and his body was immediately hurled upward. However, instead of panicking, Risfeel performed a flawless back flip and landed on the thick bough, as if he'd done this all his life. He looked at his glowing hands with utter shock.

“...Wow.” he whispered. “I… I really have Ristar's powers! It's.. this is amazing!”

Veil! Don't waste any more time! The Kurrses might arrive at any second!

Risfeel frowned. “The… Kurrses?” he repeated.

A strange, chanting-like bestial cry suddenly resounded in the forest. It was quickly followed by a concert of similar noises, and soon enough, Risfeel noticed an army of furry creatures similar to the first one he had met – Myrmidon, or so Yonder had called it. But unlike Myrmidon, they had no external features covering their dark green skin, freakishly pointy teeth and unsettling red eyes. They were bouncing around the Misty Forest like oversized parasites, and every single one of them were circling around the tree Risfeel had managed to climb. He watched as the Kurrses chomped on the tree, which caused it to gradually lose its shape, turning from brown and strong to black and feeble, almost as if it was being burned down.

“I guess… I guess I don't need to ask if that's them, huh...” Risfeel whispered.

Veil, if you can run away from here, do it NOW!

It wasn't needed to warn him twice. Risfeel extended his hand, and in a flash of light, a Star Spinner appeared in mid air – it was a star-shaped golden jewel with a metallic bar attached to it. Risfeel extended his arms to grab it and spun around it, gaining momentum and speed as he did. Once his silhouette was nothing but a glowing blur, he released his grip from the pole and flew head first in the foggy sky, traversing it like a blazing shooting star.

“It worked!” Risfeel exclaimed, his stress gradually disappearing as he enjoyed the rapid flight. “Oh my gosh it worked! We escaped these… WOWOWOWOWOW!”

A cyclone suddenly appeared in his filed of view, engulfing a good chunk of the forest below.

Veil! Yonder screamed in his mind. Stop moving so much! You're losing control!

“I know!” Risfeel shouted, dragged by the hurricane. “But I can't focus!”

With a desperate scream, Risfeel collided with the ground, more specifically the eye of the powerful cyclone that had attracted him in the first place. A bright explosion occurred, destroying a tree in the process. Risfeel rose up as well as he could, surprisingly unharmed.

“Really gotta practice that kind of stuff next time...” Risfeel said to himself, his head slightly hurting. Luckily for him, a protective aura was always around Ristar whenever he traveled at high speeds, which meant that his travels were just as harmless as Ristar's, even when he crashed.

Well, mostly harmless… Risfeel couldn't help but think as he noticed the remains of the tree behind him. Then he immediately froze, noticing that he wasn't alone anymore.

Veil! Are you alright?

Only if you tell me that these guys aren't here to kill me too.

Although the hurricane had vanished after the crash – and part of the mist along with it – Risfeel could still notice the group's expressions.
And they clearly didn't believe that he had appeared for a friendly visit.

“Okay, wait!” Risfeel immediately exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air as a sign of peace. “Wait. Hello, my name is… Risfeel Valdeyr, apparently. I have another name, but I can't remember it. Please, please tell me you're not here to kill me like the others!”

Before anyone could say anything, a cacophony of chanting-like chirps resounded around the group. Risfeel let out a terrified gasp.

VEIL! You didn't fly far enough! They're still around us!

“Oh gosh, the Kurrses!” Risfeel shouted. “I have no idea who you guys are, but we need to run away, NOW!” Risfeel stretched his arms once again and flung himself towards a nearby tree. He turned back one last time.

“If they get their teeth on you, they'll suck your blood, your skin and everything else! C'mon, let's go!” just as he said that, the creepy fur balls finally made their appearance. The group finally followed Risfeel's advice and began a mad rush across Misty Forest.

This was not the ideal Roleplay someone would like to take part in.

Her lips curled as she withdrew a silver knife from its sheath at her side. Turning her back to the fleeing group, she stared down the monsters approaching them at an increasingly fast pace. Magic began to travel to her fingertips, adrenaline racing throughout her bloodstream.

"Latius," she commanded. The knife extended outwards and became wider, golden engravings appearing on the former-knife's blade. The sword in her hand hummed with the reassuring feel of magic. Shadows shot away from their owners, gathering around her feet. She called them to her, and they listened to her plea for assistance. They took on the guise of form-fitting armor.

She couldn't deal with politics like Kardia, and couldn't understand the stupidity of the people she had to get for her older sister. But, with Death trying to tighten his hold around her neck, she felt truly alive.

The grin became animalistic behind her shadow helmet. "Let's dance," she muttered, magic licking the air around her sword. The odds were stacked against her, but that was what gave her the thrill of fighting. She focused her first attack on the smallest one of the monsters (Kurrses, the newest addition to the group had called them). She was satisfied to watch its head come flying off after a clean slice to the neck.

And this was why Anima was a Proelio.

Havanna Gurth

She could hear the panting breaths of all her group-mates as they ran from the Kurrses. Well, all except one.
"Where the heck is Anima?" Renee screached to a halt. She turned around and saw Anima covered in black and attempting to attack the creatures. As Renee glanced at them she shivered. They looked like they had come straight from hell. Renee appeared at Anima's side, howling. She finished and changed into a wolf as the rest of her pack apeared. They started tearing through the Kurrses. There was only a small section of Kurrses left when they started retreating.
Anima shout out a war cry and started chasing them, but an arrow flew through the trees and stuck her tunic against a tree.
"What?" Anima angerly looked at Renee, who had switched back to her human form.
"Let them go. We have a group to go join," Renee's silver eyes were shining bright, much different from their ususal dull gray.
"Your eyes," Anima said as she pulled herself free of the arrow, "It's like they're glowing."
"Renee. Her eyes glowed when her mate was near," Renee remembered the roleplay. Just then, their group reappeared.

Risfeel – Creeping Myrmidon

It was a blessing that Risfeel had the good idea to look behind him and see if everyone was following like he believed they should have.

Veil! Yonder shouted in the boy's mind. Look, they're fighting back! Quick, Veil, you must stop them!

Why? Risfeel replied. I warned them about the Kursses and what they can do, but if they have magic powers to defend themselves, what's the problem?

Myrmidon! Myrmidon's the problem! He must be near his Kursses, and he can create a huge amount of them! I would know, I saw him in action before!

...Darn it. Now fully realizing the problem that might hit the group if they didn't act soon, Risfeel extended his arms towards another tree branch and flung himself forward, nimbly landing on the ground below.

“Uh, guys?” Risfeel exclaimed, briefly gazing at a fleeing pack of Kurrses. “Not sure what happened here, but I don't think fighting them was a good idea.”

“I made these weaklings run away.” Anima answered in an angry tone. “They weren't strong enough to be a threat, anyway.”

Risfeel nodded. “Well, it's great that you beat them, and I think I wouldn't mind fighting them in other circumstances, but see, their boss, Myrmidon, is probably not too far behind them.”

“And your point is?”

“He can create more of them. Like… a lot more. I don't know what his limit is though, so can we… Just… run to the closest safe place and figure out a plan? I know I don't sound super confident and all, but I've played way too many RPGs in which I died 'cause I was too battle-hungry at first.”

Anima crossed her arms. “I still don't see how that's my problem.”

Why is she antagonizing you so much?

I don't know! I'm just trying to help! “Look, I'm really sorry if I interrupted something important with my crash earlier, okay?” Risfeel said in the most patient tone he could muster. “I was just randomly chased by that monster thing, and now I'm just trying to keep ourselves alive.”

Though the others were watching the argument, two of them were about to intervene to help resolving it just as a group of bushes around them rustled, thus interrupting everyone.

“Trying to keep yourselves alive, eh? Well you're doin' a really bad job at it, kids.”

Risfeel let out a tiny gasp and looked up. Everybody followed his motion, and a couple of more gasps followed his as everyone stared into the eyes of Myrmidon, who was smiling down at them with his creepy, vampire-like teeth shining in the foggy night. The fur ball glanced at Risfeel, and his smile grew larger.

“Yeah, I thought you wouldn't be stupid enough to fight my Kurrses on your own.” Myrmidon added. “Welp, this isn't really part of my job, but hey, the more the merrier!”

Aileen stepped forward, slightly shaking despite the bold stare she gave to the enemy creature. “Y-Yeah? Well you made a big mistake coming to fight us on your own!”

Ashla pulled out a two-handed sword from a scabbard on her back, perfectly exemplifying Aileen's previous words. Yet Myrmidon didn't seem impressed in the slightest, even going as far as raising a taunting eyebrow in their direction.

“That's cute.” Myrmidon commented. “You kids are cute. Okay screw this, I'mma not spent more time chit-chatting when my Boys are hungry.” with that said, Myrmidon unleashed the signature, half melodious half bestial cry of his kind. Instantly, dark shades appeared on the ground below everyone's feet, and from them rose an impressive amount of Kursses. Then, Myrmidon spread his freakish claws, and the dark portals followed his gesture, appearing all around the group. Still chanting, Myrmidon rose his claws above his head, and more Kurrses came out from the portal.

“A stupid kid once said that I made a mistake comin' here 'alone.'” Myrmidon couldn't help but taunt. “So I brought my family along to have a good ol' slice of life. Heard that, Boys? KurssKey – Slice!”

All of the Kurrsses' eyes began glowing menacingly as they opened their mouths full of razor-sharp teeth.

“Ssssssslisssssss...!” they repeated in unison.

Oh my Liege…! Veil! You must… You must flee! You must flee and tell your companions to do the same! They're going to decimate you all!

An image of Ristar flying from planet to planet came to Risfeel's mind. He feverishly took his Kendama in his hand. I… Yeah, Yonder, I think I have a plan.

“Uh… Guys?” Risfeel called softly. “I think I can make us all get away from this place. Can you buy some time? Please?”

Anima, not worried in the least, turned her head to stare down at him, a knife in her hand. “Make us go away?” she repeated sarcastically. “How, by swinging this toy of yours?”

Frustration took over Risfeel's mind, putting his fear back to second-rate matters. Frowning, he unrolled the thin string around his Kendama and, taking it by the handle, performed a rapid trick with it, letting the ball bounce on the small, big and base cups of the toy.

“Wish: thunder arrow. Target: Myrmidon.” Risfeel whispered to himself. As he did, he swung the red ball back on the Kendama's spike, and an unnatural glow appeared on it. The next second, a thin, arrow-shaped beam of solid electricity came out of it and flew to Myrmidon's encounter. The latter didn't budge, as a Kurss suddenly materialized itself in front of Myrmidon, thus protecting him from the blow.

“Yeah, no.” Myrmidon commented. “Not exactly defenseless, Star Boy.”

Veil, what are you doing?! Yonder exclaimed in Risfeel's mind.

Testing the waters. Risfeel thought before gazing back to Anima. “Okay, d'you believe me now? I can help us to get out of here, just… Lemme prepare the spell. I'll try to make it quick.”

Ashla traded her long sword with her shield, and took a war axe in her free hand. “I'd rather trust the kid than that monster over there.” she exclaimed. “So let's defeat these abominations!” Joining words with actions, Ashla began fighting against the slowly approaching enemies, swinging her axe right and left, soon joined by Anima and her own blade. Though the others moved around as well, Risfeel stopped looking at them to focus on his Kendama tricks, as he realized that one wrong step might mean that they'd all stay trapped.

“Big Cup... Small Cup... Base Cup... Small Cup… Base Cup… Swing In…!” As Risfeel performed his tricks, the red ball of his Kendama began glowing with more and more intensity.

Remember, Veil! Yonder intervened. All of your wishes must be carefully worded!

Nodding thoughtfully, Risfeel swung the ball back on the spike and held his toy upward. “Wish: Shooting Star Travel.” he recited. “Target: Humanoids. Destination: Drey.” Immediately, a yellow circle appeared under Risfeel's feet and expanded in a limited zone, only a few meters away from the boy's position.

“Everybody get inside the circle!” Risfeel shouted as loud as he could.

“EVERYBODY STOP THEM FROM REACHING THAT CIRCLE!” Myrmidon shouted at the top of his lungs. But it was useless, for all the Kursses that tried to approach the circle were pushed back, as if they were trying to hit a wall. Understanding what was going on, Renée threw the Kurss stuck in her fangs away and took her human form, being the first one to join Risfeel in the magic circle. She was soon followed by the rest of the group, with Ashla being last, having taken the unconscious Kaya Naifu – did Risfeel knocked her out when he crashed in the tornado? – over her shoulder.

“Everybody HOLD ON!” with these last words, Risfeel pointed his Kendama at the sky, and the entire group vanished inside a ball of light, which hurled itself towards the foggy sky above.

As they flew towards Drey, a sigh of disappointment lost itself in the forest.

“Welp.” Myrmidon said to himself. “That happened. Boys!” he called. "Looks like it's tree diet for everyone! ...Again."