Chapter 01 – Page 03/07

“Great job for a maiden experience!” a child’s voice reverberates in the library.

Evienne pivoted around, her chest still heaving from the exertion of her previous activity, her curiosity piqued by the sound of the young voice. She was confronted with a delightful being – a three-horned canine with fur pink as the petals of cherry blossoms.

“What did you do to me?” the woman drops the sword and is overcome by a feeling of guilt when she sees her master’s body and all his blood spread over the floor and walls of the library.

“You did an amazing job! It is a beautiful scene, and I feel lucky to have witnessed it. I simply appeared here and was lucky enough to witness this magical moment. How I missed the lovely smell of human blood”, said the creature, strangely happy and licking the corpse’s blood.

“I did not do it! I have never killed any living creature. No one deserves to die like that, not even…”

“You are regretting having brutally murdered a despicable creature. This is so cute! These millennia seem to have left your species even more pathetic and weak. I was trying to figure out how to get here, and you seem to hold the answer, enchantress.”

“Enchantress? Who are you?”

“Do you not recognize one of the creators of your species? I am Edgward, Luza of Zawa.”

The creature before her had a childish voice and resembled a dog with pink fur and three graceful horns on its head. Evienne recognized it from the book “Norvashan”: the magnitude of a Luza’s power could be seen physically through the number of horns on their head, representing their caste position. The higher the number, the stronger their connection to the forces of Kana and Zawa. Of them all, the most magisterial beings were Tzaphk and Zareketh, the unique ones with seven horns.

Edgward maintained his composure despite the fear of that enchantress’ energy…

“Wait wait wait, narrator. I advise you to be careful when describing me. I am not scared, but merely exercising caution…”

Edgward maintained his composure despite being attentive to the intense and chaotic energy emanating from the newly empowered enchantress. Her red eyes reflected her bloodlust, but he showed no hint of surprise. The transmutation process usually required the combined strength of two enchanters or Luzas. Still, he had never witnessed a single being possessing such immense energy.

“Better now!” he turns back to Evienne, “It is possible that the breaking of the Norvashan’s veil was not sudden and is occurring gradually. Regardless, I am grateful to be here on Earth again”, Edgward is trying to redirect the conversation from the notion that transmutation can be done by one individual alone.

“Norvashan? As in, the stories of the past? I’m not sure if that’s even possible…”

“We’re both unsure about the answers you’re looking for. It’s a difficult situation for you to be in. Judging from your outfit, I assume you work as a servant.”

“I am Evienne… I am not sure if there is anyone out there who can assist me with my powers. According to the myths, if you are a Luza, you may be able to help me harness my abilities. I must gain control over them to survive and…” for a moment, Evienne’s confusion turned into hope.

“How dare you? I’m a Luza, and I will never associate with your kind. If you cannot provide answers, I cannot see the value in our conversation”, Edgward nods his head to the reader, “Watch this one; she is losing her mind. I am out! See you soon“.

Edgward, a member of the Luzas in Zawa, shares the unyielding hatred towards enchanters with his counterparts. Despite his fervent desire to eliminate them, he seems reluctant about engaging in combat with an untested enchantress. The prospect of facing someone still discovering the extent of their powers places him at a significant disadvantage. To compound matters, it had been ages since he has used his powers, so it was logical for him to target weaker opponents to regain his strength. With a graceful leap, the pink dog vaulted through the highest window of the library and disappeared from sight.

The young enchantress found herself once again alone in the dreary castle. Her encounter with the strange creature had left her with a sense of foreboding. She knew that she needed to leave immediately. With trepidation, Evienne opened the door and stepped out into the unknown. From being a slave, she gained freedom and became an enchantress, even if she couldn’t fully comprehend the extent of her powers. Despite the apprehension, the red-hair felt a newfound vitality as she fled the castle and moved stealthily through the city’s shadows. She emerged from the darkness, and she felt the sun’s warmth on her skin after an eternity in the dusty filled library.

In the wealthy part of Aranor, not too far from the royal castle, the red-haired woman was lurking in the shadows when she heard an aged lady scream from a large, manor house. The house seemed to be emanating some strange energy. Without any forethought, the enchantress impulsively jumped through of a window on the mansion’s second floor and headed toward the source of the screams.

As she entered the room, she inadvertently tore down the curtains and transformed them into a large fan. Despite, not being fully mindful of her actions, she noticed that her body was becoming agile and precise. She leaps lightly between two men and decapitates them with her sharp fan. As soon as she lands on the ground, the red-hair sees the elderly woman’s face, which shows both fear and relief. Initially, she felt pleased to be of assistance to someone. Looking at the elderly woman, she couldn’t help but notice the medallion she wore. It had the coat of arms of Aranor, which was the same one her master had always wore to proudly display their belonging to the nobility.

Evienne remembered all the suffering she had gone through in the years serving her master and all the abuse to which she had been subjected. Her red eyes filled with fury, imagining the old lady could do the same to other human beings. It’s just unacceptable that these nobles would stoop so low. Who are they to try to control other people’s lives, bodies, and privacy? It’s just not fair.

“An enchantress! My name is Nova, and I am thrilled to meet you, love. What is your…”

Evienne couldn’t keep listening to the voice of that crumbling worm who probably owned slaves in her house, and in a quick movement, she cut the woman’s throat. Blood flowed from the corpse.

The red-haired enchantress felt a sense of relief knowing that more slaves would be freed as a result of the lady’s death. However, before leaving the place, she noticed a suit on the wall that pulsated with energy and seemed to call out to her: a dark outfit made for a warrior with light red fabrics, gloves, and boots. Despite being at a larger size than her, the suit magically adjusted to fit her perfectly when she put it on. As she wore the costume, the hurricane in her mind about the moral conflicts calmed down, bringing peace like a sunny day after stormy weather. After putting on the suit, the enchantress left through the window she entered.

“Just another master who mistreated her slaves,” the young woman looked for justification in her actions, “and certainly that dead woman will not need that outfit that seems so expensive,” Evienne smiled slightly. Despite feeling uncertain about the changes occurring within her mind and physique, she found solace in the growing sense of strength and empowerment that accompanied it.

The trail of blood she was leaving behind did not worry her. Instead, she was preoccupied with finding a secure place to gain control over her new body, which had proven so helpful in eliminating slavers and breaking the chain of undue control of innocent humans.

After donning the mysterious attire, her thoughts became lucid. Evienne definitively concludes: true freedom can only be won through bloodshed.

Evienne was just a servant in the library. But now, she had gained physical abilities and the power to turn objects into weapons. Her mind was confused, and it was as if two people lived in the same body: one a child who had been corrupted countless times by her master and the other a young adult thirsting for revenge. She didn’t quite know who exactly she was. When she closed her eyes, suddenly, memories of her took them back to the village she lived in before being wiped out by her own father. But her childhood memories became more vivid for the first time in many years.

While immersed in her memories and feeling her mind on the verge of collapse, the young woman sees a white horse with red eyes in the backyard of the lady’s house where she stole the dress. She approaches the creature slowly so as not to scare it, but the horse is not intimidated by the young woman’s presence.

“Seems like we’ve been through the same suffering, right? Creatures born only to serve,” Evienne whispered to the horse as she stroked its coat, “if you had the chance, would you have done what I did?”

Evienne was surprised by the horse’s acceptance of her. When she looked into its eyes, it felt like they had a connection, and the horse could understand her emotions. She noticed soldiers from the kingdom of Aranor approaching in the distance, but she had nowhere to go. Her life had been limited to the library for the past few years, and her childhood home was the only place she knew. Suddenly, she grabbed the horse’s reins and mounted it, and the horse accepted her peacefully.

After a brief smile, Evienne asked the horse, “Are you ready to take a walk around where I was born?”