Where Eyes Close
Twelve years ago — Forgotten Mountains, border between Autumn and the nomadic kingdoms
It was a small village.
Made of stone, smoke… and silence.
Sarya was only seven years old by the human calendar.
Dark hair with crimson undertones tied into a messy knot.
Skin stained with dirt and ash.
She lived with her mother in a crooked cabin, where the wind seemed more eager to enter than the warmth was to stay.
Her father?
She never knew his name.
He was only a story told in a low voice.
And forgotten between the lines.
— Keep your eyes down, girl. — her mother used to say. — Where eyes close, danger passes.
But that night…
Not even closing her eyes helped.
---
The screams came first.
Then the sound of doors being kicked open.
Then…
The smell.
Burned iron.
Men wearing leather armor.
Black swan tattoos on their necks.
Eyes empty of compassion. Greedy for money.
Bandits?
Militiamen?
They called themselves Selectors.
— Food, coin, or a strong young arm! — one of them shouted.
Sarya’s mother ran.
She tried to hide her beneath the loose floorboards.
— Stay silent. — she whispered. — If they hear your heart… you disappear.
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Outside, voices echoed:
— We have nothing, sirs! Please! We don’t want trouble!
— Liar! An elf village always has beautiful maidens worth a fortune!
— Girls! Young elves are worth even more! Autumn elves are highly sought after among nobles in the capital!
Laughter.
— Show your power!
— These lands belong to Lord Kyros! We are protected by the Black Sun!
— Hey, Bergan… maybe we shouldn’t mess with them if that’s true.
— Lie, Drugan! Elves don’t know how to lie, and that old man is lying straight to my face! Where are the Black Sun banners? Where is the mark of the Elite Rubros?
Bergan spat on the ground.
— This place is too far out. Border with the nomads. Everyone knows no one owns these lands. The Eastern County favors us.
He smiled.
— And we intend to put collars on these damned elves.
His teeth ground together.
— Because of that cursed Aurelius and his red hunting dogs, I lost men. Lost slaves. Lost everything. But here… here there’s money.
The old elf fell to his knees.
— I swear! There are only elders in this village!
Bergan kicked him, sending him flying.
— Impossible! Otherwise, they wouldn’t be Autumn elves!
---
He entered a house.
Stopped.
Small shoes at the entrance.
— Small?
Inside, he saw an elf woman.
Not young by human standards.
But beautiful.
Frightened eyes.
Calm… dense mana core.
— Lying old fool… — he muttered. — I’ll rip out his tongue later.
He stepped closer.
She grabbed a knife.
— Don’t come any closer!
— Easy. You’re worth a lot of money. I don’t want to hurt you.
Sarya watched through the cracks in the floor.
Then—
A creak.
Bergan stopped.
— Hm?
Her mother tensed.
— What are you looking at?!
He smiled slowly.
— Considering that Autumn elves are territorial and would die for the ones they love…
The key word is…
— Child.
He ripped up the boards.
Revealing the hollow beneath.
Sarya.
Wide, terrified eyes.
Reddish hair.
White skin with faint red freckles.
Even covered in dirt and ash…
She was beautiful.
Bergan smiled.
— I hit the jackpot.
— Stay away from her! — her mother shouted.
She lunged with the knife.
Crimson mana exploded outward.
— Mana? A Rubra?
The blade went straight for his throat.
Aura reinforcement.
Bergan twisted like a seasoned veteran and delivered a brutal punch, sending her crashing into the wall.
Without killing her.
— That only makes me more curious.
He tore the entire floor apart.
Sarya’s mother drove the knife into Bergan’s shoulder.
— What?! That fast…
— Run, my love! Run, Sarya! Don’t let them catch you!
— But, Mama—
— RUN! Don’t look back!
Sarya ran.
Bergan roared:
— MEN! CAPTURE THAT ELF! She’s worth at least one hundred million gold reis!
She’s a rare elf among the four elven seasons!
Her mother twisted the knife in his shoulder.
— You will not touch my daughter!
— Rubro technique… poorly taught.
He unleashed his full aura.
The house exploded.
---
Sarya ran through the forest.
Behind her, a Selector shouted—
But a crimson aura tore his head clean off.
Others died within seconds.
She saw the explosion behind her.
— Mama…
Her mother’s voice echoed in her mind:
Don’t look back.
---
Back in the village…
Her mother was bleeding.
One arm destroyed by the aura.
— I didn’t want to hurt you… — Bergan said with an insane smile. — But you killed my men.
She knew.
She couldn’t win.
Not with techniques learned from cheap books.
If I cannot win… I will take as many of these bastards with me as I can.
— Whispers of Autumn.
She vanished among the leaves.
Killed more soldiers.
Swift as the wind.
Bergan snarled.
— Autumn elves never cooperate.
Aura explosion.
Collision.
She was hurled against a tree.
One arm gone.
Bleeding.
Her final thoughts:
Forgive me, my love. Mama won’t be able to continue with you.
But you will reach them.
You will become an Elite Rubra.
Far stronger than your pathetic mother.
The light left her eyes.
---
Bergan touched the scar on his face.
— If she had been a true Rubra… I would have died.
He shouted:
— Search everything! Feel for elven mana cores! The younger they are… the stronger!
He looked at the corpse.
— What a waste…
He smiled.
— I’ll find that girl. Sarya. And sell her for an outrageous price.
He laughed.
— Many nobles would pay a fortune.
And if she has aptitude to become a huntress… five hundred million would be cheap.
That kind of emotion-filled core is rare.
You gave it too much love… and I thank you for that.
His smile was unhinged.
— I need to find her.
---
The next day…
The village no longer existed.
Ashes.
Bodies.
Five wagons descending the trail.
Elves being taken as merchandise.
Sarya…
Escaped.
End of Chapter 1
