Solaris faded in and out of consciousness. For his brief waking moments, it felt as though someone were trying to move him, though, it didn’t seem like they could get far as they kept pulling on his arm…

Ellie finally gave up trying to move the injured man who’d crash landed in the forest mere minutes ago, and turned back, sprinting as fast as her little elven legs would allow, back home.

She arrived in the middle of 3 small cottages and ran into one of them. This, of course, was no random cottage, as she looked up at her parents, Toan and Jinyu, while she struggled to catch her breath.

They stared back at her, wondering what was wrong, and slightly concerned. “I’m glad you’re back safe and sound. I heard a loud bang, like an explosion, and was preparing to go see what it was, and if you were OK.” Toan said in a calm voice.

“That’s just it! That ‘bang’ you heard, I was there!” the small elf exclaimed.

“W-what? What happened, you didn’t get hurt did you?” Jinyu shouted.

“No, I didn’t, but Mr. Solaris looks pretty hurt. He was where that loud sound came from! We gotta help him!”

Her parents just looked at her in confusion. Finally her father broke the dozen or so seconds of silence. “You mean to tell me… that the loud boom we heard, was that of Solaris, who I could only assume to be landing? He’d HAVE to be dead after a fall that could be heard so loudly, or at the very least, in the bottom of a small crater.”

“What’s a ‘crater’?”

“It’s a hole made when something hits somewhere hard, like a hole that’s left behind after a large rock falls off a cliff.” Jinyu responded with a smile.

“Yeah, he was in one of those! Let’s go already” Ellie shouted as she grabbed her father’s hand and tried to pull him. He pulled himself free and grab his bow and quiver of arrows. Jinyu followed suit and they headed out, with Ellie leading the way.

It wasn’t more than about 10 minutes later that they spotted a line of damaged trees. Toan scratched his head, wondering what could’ve caused the trees to break in a line such as this. Jinyu gasped as she turned her gaze forward.

“See, I told you he was in a crater!” Ellie said as she glanced at them, then ran off towards the shallow hole in the ground. Toan and Jinyu followed with their bows ready. The party of 3 finally reached the edge of the hole and looked down at the unconscious Solaris, who was about half a meter below ground level.

He lay there in a small pool of his own blood, which had apparently spilled while Ellie was away, as she gasped in shock at the scene.

Jinyu, having seen this, immediately dropped her bow and jumped into the crater to check if Solaris was even still alive. Much to her relief, she found that there was still a pulse, although it was weak. Toan reached into the light pouch he’d brought for medical supplies, wondering if any bandages he had would even be suitable for whatever wounds Solaris had.

Jinyu began chanting some kind of spell, in a broken and frightened voice. It was a slightly long spell, and took nearly 30 seconds to cast. She knew it wouldn’t help much, but in this case, she decided to use the small amount of magical ability she had to try and stabilize his condition, so that he could at least be moved.

Toan handed Ellie his bow and a couple of arrows and instructed her to keep watch over the area. Meanwhile, he jumped into the small hole as well and started checking for the various wounds which should now be at least slightly healed due to Jinyu’s magic. He started applying bandages on the most serious wounds, leaving many of the smaller ones alone. It wasn’t long before he was out of bandages. Jinyu cast the spell once more before becoming exhausted.

They waited for the magic to finish taking effect, which was about a minute or so later, and finally figured that it was relatively safe to move the badly injured warrior. Toan and Jinyu shared the load as they spread Solaris’s arms across their shoulders and made their way back to their cottage.

The simple couch in the family’s living room would was where they kept Solaris. Ellie hid a smile as that meant she would not lose her room to their unexpected guest.

The events of that day attracted the attention of the neighboring houses. They were visited by the neighboring elves who seemed concerned, yet upon hearing the circumstances behind Solaris’s being there, and how they met him in the first place, the concern was converted to wishes for a speedy recovery, as well as minor advice, and assistance from another elf who knew some minor healing magic.

Upon seeing just how useful even minor healing magic could be, Ellie turned to her mother about 3 days after the incident. The conversation was short and simple.

“Mommy?”

“Yes dear?”

“Can you teach me your healing magic?”

“Of course. We’ll start with your first lesson the next time I cast that spell on Mr. Solaris, OK?”

Ellie showed a huge smile and jumped up to hug her mother.
 
Solaris woke up 4 days after the fight with Siralos. He glanced around an unfamiliar room, and tried to turn to his side. However the pain caught up with him at the same time. His first reaction was to roll over as quickly as possible, which in this case would land him on his stomach. He didn’t realize he was on a couch, leaving him in the bittersweet embrace of gravity as it led him to the floor.

He landed with a thud and a groan, which caught the attention of a small elf girl as she entered the room. Her eyes widened as she turned and ran to another room yelling “MOMMYYYY!” as she ran.

She child returned a short time later with a much taller elf woman. Solaris looked up at them from the floor as they came into focus. The smaller elf ran over to him. “Mr. Solaris, are you OK?” she said with a voice full of worry.

“There’s only one person I can remember, who called me that, what was their name again…?” Solaris scratched his head.

The small elf pouted and turned around to go back to her mother, who was now standing right behind her. The small elf ran right into her mother, who caught her.

“It seems you don’t remember much Mr. Solaris. I’m Jinyu, and this is my daughter Ellie. You, Romel, and Tara saved her some time ago.” She showed a beautiful smile and looked down at her daughter who was clinging to her leg. “I’m pretty sure he got hit pretty hard. He may have forgotten some things.”

“E-llie…?” Solaris muttered to himself. “Yes, I seem to have the problem of forgetting things quite often. It’s unfortunate…” he paused to let the pain pass. “By chance, you wouldn’t happen to like ‘night rainbows’ would you?”

The girl’s eyes shined with what seemed to be a happy, cherished memory as she jumped up and down. “YES! But I’ve only seen it once, whe3n I was with you.”

Solaris natural smile didn’t last long as he went back to dealing with more pain. He tried to pick himself up, only to fall back to the floor.

“You mustn’t push yourself too hard. I’m not sure what happened to you, but I’m sure it would’ve killed most anyone else.” Jinyu scolded him as she moved to help him back to the couch.

Solaris’s eyes grew wide. “Romel, Red, Eber, Pinzu! Have you seen my friends around anywhere?” he asked hurriedly.

“I don’t know a lot of those names, but I haven’t seen Romel since we last saw you. You seem distressed, did something bad happen before?”

Indeed, Solaris had a mixture of shock, fear, and concern on his face. “We were in a battle for our very lives. Last I remember, we were losing, and I’m one of the stronger fighters amongst them. How long was I out for, and where am I?”
“Well, you’ve been napping on our couch for about 4 days, and you’re in the Entrall Woods not far from the center of the elven kingdom.” Jinyu replied.

“What in the world could hurt YOU like that? I’ve seen you fight before. You’re STROOOONG!” Ellie stared in disbelief.

“Indeed, I’d like to know the same thing.” responded the mother elf.

“Well, we’d picked up a few friends, enemies, and random people in our travels…” Solaris started explaining the adventures they’ve had up until about 4 days ago as he lay on the couch. He finally finished with, “And the next thing I knew, there was a pair of small feet in front of me, and a frying pan.”

Ellie stared at him wide-eyed. “You mean you fought against yourself, AND met a dragon, AND somehow got beat up? I don’t believe this! You’re telling stories!”

Jinyu gave Ellie a sharp look and she instantly stopped talking. “That is quite a tale, however I have no reason not to believe it. There was no sign of a battle nearby, and aside from the broken trees, no sign of any force used anywhere near here. If what you say is true, then it must be an unbelievable power to create something that can send a person that far.”

“I guess, though I’m pretty sure it was. Though, if he could send me that far, why didn’t he just use that skill to get to me in the first place I wonder. He was after me for quite some time actually.”

“Using a spell like that will drain nearly all of the energy of even an experienced and strong wizard. Had he used it to get to you, he would’ve been in quite a bad spot. I’m sure that’s why he didn’t use it to chase you, but as more of an escape. Also, at that range, he’s probably not even sure where the destination was.”

Ellie and Solaris stared at Jinyu in mild shock. “Mommy, how do you know this much about magic?”
 
Jinyu stared at the floor for a moment, as if remembering something. “A long time ago, I went to a school that specialized in magic, but I didn’t quite like it, so I left it. I still learned a couple of useful things though, such as the minor healing spell. I never practiced it though, so I can’t use it continuously. Speaking of minor healing, your bleeding seemed to have stopped far faster than expected, even with use of healing spells. It’s not quite normal actually.”

“Uhm… about that….” Solaris paused as if debating something. “Well, that’s another backstory entirely. But, unless you believe in the dragon I told you about, or know of ancient lore, I don’t think you’d believe me.” 

“What won’t we believe?” They all turned as Toan entered the room.

“Oh, the fact that I’m a Flame Keeper, among other things… oops” Solaris blurted out without thinking.

“Would it be bad if I said that if that fact were true, I could believe everything else that’s happened?” Toan nodded. “Just so you know, I could kinda hear the entire conversation from outside. These ears are more than just part of my good looks” he said with a laugh.

“Well, yeah, I’m a Flame Keeper, apparently the last known one, as they were supposedly wiped out some number of centuries ago.”

“Yeah, seems they were mostly written out of history as well. Them and Moon Guardians.” Toan replied.

Solaris’s eyes widened. “What do you know of the 2 races, and how did you come across this information?”

“I attended the same school as Jinyu. We actually met there. Neither of us were doing particularly well in our studies. Not that I wasn’t interested, it’s just that something about that place… bothered me. Jinyu was the same. So we left together.”

“Where is this school? It seems like they may have information that I could use.”

“Well, I haven’t heard good things about that place recently. It seems to have been taken over by some dangerous group over the last several years. They started to gain influence not long after I started attending there. That’s the actual reason I left. Should your identity be discovered, it most certainly would not end well for you.” Toan said solemnly.

“If I don’t find out the stuff I need to know, this world may cease to end as we know it. I’m fairly certain at least one of you know the elven prophecy of destruction, right?”

Jinyu and Toan both nodded. “We each know, and we also know the purpose of those ancient races. I know you don’t seem to remember things at times, but I don’t think you would be able to gain what you are looking for until you have a full grasp of the powers that you should have.”

Solaris just stared at Toan in disbelief. “You are… quite knowledgeable aren’t you?”

“Well, I am older than I look, but yes, I’ve been told that numerous times. I’m sure you’re still injured, so I wouldn’t recommend going anywhere just yet, that’s for certain.”

“About that…” Solaris sat up and started to unwrap the bandages on his arms.

“What are you doing?!” Jinyu exclaimed. “You wounds aren’t healed….” She stopped as the bandages hit the floor, revealing Solaris’s arm to be completely healed, or, almost.

“Ah, all the cuts and bruises are gone, it’s still a bit sore though” Solaris said as he stretched out and inspected his arm. Jinyu just stared blankly, unable to give words to what she just witnessed.

“Well, that most certainly isn’t normal healing. I think the magic helped, but even so, you heal quite quickly.” Toan nodded.

“Well, yeah, though I’m still a bit weak, and hungry” he said with a shy smile.

“I’ll get him some soup. You 2 can cast that healing spell again right?”

Jinyu and Ellie nodded at Toan, and he took his leave of the room.

“So, Mr. Solaris…” Jinyu started a question.

“Just call me Solaris, or Sol. There’s no need for the ‘Mr.”

“OK Solaris, I’m going to cast a minor healing spell. It’s nothing special, or particularly strong, but it’ll help ease the soreness.”

“Sounds good to me.” The golden-haired man answered.

“Mommy, can I help?”

Jinyu turned and looked at her daughter. She hesitated, “Well honey, I’m not sure if….”

Solaris interrupted, “What would happen if she failed to cast the spell properly?”

“Well, it’s a fairly simple spell actually. Mispronouncing something in a spell of this difficulty would merely have no effect, aside from nothing happening. You won’t explode or grow an extra head or anything. It’s just that I started teaching her the basics of magic yesterday. I’m not sure if she’s ready to try just yet.”

“Well, you’ll be casting too, right?” Solaris questioned. Jinyu replied with a nod.

“Then go for it. I don’t mind” he nodded reassuringly at the pair.

“As you wish” Jinyu smiled. She and Ellie took their places on either side of Solaris. Jinyu started chanting first, Ellie followed, repeating Jinyu’s words and actions as best she could. The 3 of them were surrounded by a slightly dim white light as they neared the end of their cast, however since 2 were casting, the light intensified, forcing all of them to shut their eyes.

They finished the cast, and Solaris just stared blankly for a moment when the light faded. He stood up, stretched a bit, and seemed to be in no pain whatsoever. He removed the rest of his bandages to find no signs of damage from the battle nearly 1 week prior.

Ellie was staring at the floor with a frown “I messed up didn’t I?”

“Well, technically, yes, you did, though I’m not exactly sure how. Either that, or I’ve been casting this spell wrong for quite a number of years. Even when 2 people cast it, the effect shouldn’t show like that.” Jinyu replied with a puzzled expression. “That spell not only hit you twice, but for some reason, each cast also had at least double the normal power. I’m not sure what happened.”

Solaris activated nova without thinking as he looked at the pair. “Well I think the answer is actually simple: you have yourself quite the little mage there.”

Toan returned with the soup, and seemed less than surprised by the scene. “Let me guess, fully recovered?”

“Pretty much, I think. I’ll let you know right after I finish this soup.” He glanced at the soup in front of him, picked up his spoon, and finished the entire bowl within 2 minutes. “Sorry for the bad table manners, I was just a bit on the hungry side.”

The stares of disbelief continued as he stood up. He leaned slightly to the right, then to the left, and nearly fell over.

“Fully recovered huh?” Jinyu teased.

“Just off balance. Though that won’t matter once I get outside.” He made it to the door and exited the house, picking a place near the middle of the 3 cottages. He noticed the neighbors peeking through their doors and windows, and turned towards them, waving and smiling. The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a look of concentration.

Ellie walked up behind him and poked him. “Solaris, you’re not wearing a shirt.” She reached up, trying to hand him one.

He turned to the child and nodded. “I know, it’s just as well. I would burn it if I put it on now. Just keep it for me for a few minutes, and please step back.” The bewildered child did as she was told, just as his eyes began to glow with their familiar golden brilliance. Ellie stepped farther back, slowly, as if in fear and awe.

Solaris took a deep breath, then exhaled strongly. He looked up at the clouds and his feet slowly left the ground. Ellie gasped and turned, looking at her parents for an explanation.

Toan nodded to himself and shouted to Solaris, “I guess it is as you said.” Solaris simply nodded in reply.

“Daddy, daddy! I wanna fly too! Can I, please, please, please?” She begged while jumping up and down.

“Honey, I’m not sure if you can. It’s just a skill for him.” Toan shook his head.

“Actually, there’s something I’ve done once before, in which I can affect other people. If you don’t mind me testing the skill, it’s possible that she can fly.” Solaris said while looking down at the family and doing summersaults in the air.

The parents looked at each other. “What’s the worst that could happen if you fail?” Jinyu questioned.

“Well, she’ll either not get off the ground, or she’ll fall if I completely lose focus.”

“You’ll catch me right mommy?” Ellie asked cautiously.

“Of course honey” Jinyu replied without thinking. She realized her error once Ellie ran off towards the airborne Solaris. “Yaaay, I get to fly!” Jinyu could bear to tell her that’s not what she meant as the child beamed with a grin from ear to ear.

Solaris looked down upon them, as if inspecting them. “Uhm, Ellie… go put on some shorts or something. I don’t think flying in a dress would be good.”

Ellie paused and looked down at herself with a frown. She dashed inside and returned moments later wearing a light shirt and shorts. “How’s this?”

Solaris nodded in her and Jinyu’s direction, then focused his attention on the child. His eyes glowed even more brightly, and blaze burn nearly activated, which he had to suppress due to the fact that he wouldn’t be the only one around in a moment.

Ellie glanced up at Solaris and noticed her clothes flowing, as if being blown by the wind. However the wind was calm that day, and she quickly noticed that they were flowing upwards, as was her hair. “Whaaaaa..?!” she squealed. She then jumped into the air, flying straight up several meters. Her eyes widened as she glanced at the cottages below, and the neighbors who had now stepped outside. Then she realized exactly how high she was, and felt gravity take hold of her as she began to doubt the fact that she’d stay aloft.

Solaris kicked off of a tree branch he’d collided with and flew to catch the child. There was still about 2 meters left between her and the ground. She opened her eyes and looked up at him as he held her in mid-air. “You got scared eh?” he smiled. She nodded helplessly. “Don’t put your weight down next time. I was prepared for that.” He let her go, yet still held her hands.

They stared down at the trembling parents and Solaris lowered their height to about a meter above the ground. Jinyu smiled “You’ll have to show us this trick as well.”

Solaris smiled back and replied “There’s a few things I need to learn first, and practice. For instance ‘lateral movement’.”

Toan glanced up at them “looks like there’s more reasons for you to go to that elven academy. I can guide you there whenever you’re ready to go. It is however too late to start the trip today.”
They all looked up at the sky as Solaris and Ellie drifted higher and gazed upon the sunset. The sky was tinted red and god, fading in the distance to pink and purple. Night wouldn’t be long in reaching them.

“I’ve never seen the sunset from so hiiiigh. It’s prettyyyy!” Ellie exclaimed. Solaris was startled, almost as if he forgot she was still holding onto his hands.

“Yeah, it really is. Even I don’t see it from this high often.” He then flicked his wrists upwards, sending the weightless Ellie flying up, slightly above his head. She felt her weight return to her, even though she didn’t shift her weight at all. “Ahh--uff!” she screamed as she began to fall, landing half a second later in Solaris’s outstretched arms. She grinned as they headed back towards the ground at a much safer speed. Upon landing, they all headed back inside.

He caught Jinyu’s attention just before she entered and asked, “Are there any waterfalls nearby?” Jinyu stared at him blankly at the randomness of this question and Solaris simply continued. “OK, I have another question then: do you believe in night rainbows?”

Jinyu smiled “Ellie talks about one she saw. I’ve never seen one. I would like to though. As for the first question, there is a waterfall northwest of here, on the way to the Aglarost, and that elven academy. I don’t think Toan would mind the slight detour.”

“Oh, that won’t do. You and Ellie have to come too. It’s said that night rainbows form most often near waterfalls.”

Ellie peeked her head out the door, and Toan did the same about half a meter above her. “So, you want a family trip the Elven Academy of Magic and Science? I can’t say this is a smart idea, but we could detour just before we got there, for my family’s safety.”

Solaris nodded “I forgot about you elven hearing. If you guys are OK with the trip, I think it would be fun, as long as there’s no blight infected areas along the way.”

“There are none. We are near the center of the elven kingdom.” Toan noted. “If everyone is fine with the trip, we can leave once we’re all ready.”

“NIGHT RAINBOWS!” Ellie shouted happily. Jinyu, Toan, and Solaris could do nothing but smile at the look of pure joy which showed on her face.