Such a magical little town, very lively

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

Masterpost

#merlins apprentices -> Avaluna and Suniva return to Arcadia, to assist the training of the first human trollhunter. Ending up having to face old demons and open old wounds.

#road to redemption -> Instead of trying to keep the ring, Jim return it to Angor, earning him and the team a new ally.

#the lost will be found -> Ateraoth, a self-exiled changeling, finds a lost gumm-gumm child and a clay troll child, which they adopt without a second thought.

[artyflames]

Gunmar acting racist/just horrible and insulting how humans are just plain weak

Julia: gunmar. If you don’t stop being horrible for one day I’m gonna show you how strong I am and snatch your good eye

Gunmar: you speak like your strength: lacking- AH* yells as Julia leap up to snatch his eye out*

30 minutes later

Julia is in the timeout chair by Morgana. Looking salty. While gunmar and Angor rot is watching from a distance. Angor rot trying not to die from laughter by gunmar scream earlier and attempted of Julia to snatch his eye

Gunmar: not a word.

Angor rot: told you she is spicy

[artyflames]

Julia meanwhile:

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

This is hilarius! I do not know the full story, but the idea of Gunmar screaming because a child was attempting to blind him is absolutely amazing.

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

☀️

[Canon?]

The Mediterranean was everything she ever thought it'd be, the salty air flowed through her ears, whispering things she knew her sister would understand better than her. The waves that crashed onto the side of the ship were soft and kind, the sun that set on the horizon warmed her skin one final time before retiring beneath the ocean.

And as it did, and shadows took over the prowl, it was her time to retire. But not before she awakened her shipmate.

Crawling under the deck, as silently as her boots allowed, she tapped her feet and in her hand a small flame was produced. Its light was enough to illuminate the dark chamber, revealing the net-hammock that hung, and more importantly, the sleeping troll in it. Suniva couldn't help but giggle as she approached, and he turned away from the light.

"Good evening, Angor!" She greeted, though he pretended not to hear her. "It's your turn!"

"Sunset already...?"

"Oh yes! And it's your turn to steer." She grinned, pushing him gently and making him sway on the hamock. "Come oooon~ or there's not gonna be dinner left for you~!"

Angor rolled his eyes just like he rolled out of the hammock, following the wizard up to the top deck. As he climbed out of the sight lower space, he stretched his back, feeling the joints on his back cracking. The pain subsided quickly and allowed a gentle smile to return to his features as he approached the woman who watched the water so intensely, before with fast-moving movements of her arms, she made a spear of water shoot into the boat unsuspecting fishes, who she quickly finished off with his dagger.

"Don't you have your own knife?! Why my dagger?!" He exclaimed, running to snatch it back with a slight panic.

Suniva did not fight him, but grinned at the affirmation. "Oh- but of coooourse. And do you might help me remember where my knife is?"

He was about to be snarky, when he recalled the incident from a few days earlier. "In... the ocean."

"Bottom of the ocean you mean. Sooooo..." She grinned widder, having won the argument.

The clay troll rolled his eyes, moving closer to clean the fishes. "Might as well since you got it all covered in fish blood."

The red haired woman cackled like a crow, deliberately patting his back with a hand covered in said fish blood. "Thanks Angoooor~!"

She watched as he shivered at the cold wet feeling and cackled once more, running to wash her hands and prepare the kitchen for the cooking before he was done and would return the prank.

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

Hello! I know I've been gone. But as hyperfixations do, my Trollhunters one has been... low.

I do have more chapters of Merlins Apprentices done. They're simply not in order.

Would you all like to read ahead? Or wait for them to come in chronological order? There may be BIG spoilers ahead.

Post not in chronological order?

Yes

No

Voting ended onJun 7

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

🌙

Avaluna gazed at the moon, wide and shining full as it could be, the wind soft against her feathers. The cold winds of winter came and went but she was not bothered in the slightest, her feathers shielded her, just like she expected they would. The cliff she sat at was not as tall as she remembered, though it might’ve been that, after being in a void so long, it didn't call to her anymore. Her thoughts consumed her as she listened, the winds voice a comforting reminder of her place in the unforgiving universe she had pledged herself to.

Though other sounds could pass through the whistling.

"What is it saying tonight?" Bular smiled, approaching her on the cliff edge.

"Nothing new. The shadows are recovering. The trees are happy... the flame is ever strong." She smiled. "They say we're at peace at last."

The gumm-gumm prince nodded, laying down at the edge next to her, staring up at the moon much like her. He hadn't stopped to watch it in a while, now it felt like a good time.

"And to think... we almost didn't have this..." He mused, memories of the months beforehand crawling through his mind, followed by a heartache he was getting used to. "And it was all-..."

"It was all meant to happen." She cut off. "We both made mistakes... but we all got here in the end." She brings a wing around him, covering him, almost like she used to when they were younger. "We are here now... and we're together once more. Just like we promised."

The troll smiles softly, an expression she was getting used to seeing. She leans down, pressing her forehead to his, a moment of intimacy they barely had time to share before. It was almost like she could read his mind, his worries, and he felt the same. The woman leaned against him, turning to the night sky once more, in time to see a shooting star, wishing for more nights like that.

Canon? We'll see.

[lightfin]

I watched PIBTLW recently, and I was inspired.

The character of Death really interested me as an antagonist, but also not, because it’s death, it’s his job.

I read somewhere that in puss and boots the last wish, the character death appeared to a living soul as what they fear most. For puss it’s his polar opposite in the wolf. ( lovely bit of symbolism with that one.) But then I thought, what would death look like in Trollhunters? Since death is a large construct in the franchise and also their both dreamworks projects.

So here’s a design for the character death in the Trollhunters universe, appearing to characters befor their demise. Mainly those who have disregarded life, such as Gunmar or the Arcane order.

Experimented with a different art style, hope you like.

( and yes, I was thinking of Angor Rot when I designed him.)

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

This is one great painting! Death looks menacing and dangerous, and whilst terrifying, also great looking.

Well done, my friend!

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

First patrol

The group patrolled the streets with attentive eyes. Things had been awfully calm lately, even though Angor says there were still changelings in Arcadia. Lately, the only things that seemed to rumble the town were trolls stuck by humans and goblins, which made the nights short for the kids, which they were thankful for. 

“This could be our first official good night's sleep ever since the start of the trollhunting!” Claire excitedly remarked. 

“Yeeeeeees! Can’t wait for my bed.” Toby agreed vehemently. Then looked up to where a shadow loomed over. “Though, what’s up with him?”

The group looked up at Angor, who strolled the tops of the buildings, following them. Surely, they were not all too familiar with each other. Claire had progressed, but apparently, the entire team at once was still too intimidating. He insisted that looking from above was much better than scouting from below; none of them argued. Still, they expected some sort of interaction, since he had accepted coming with them.

“Wish I knew, but he’s a really quiet guy.” The girl mentioned, not particularly worried. “Want me to go check?”

“Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try. He has been up there for a while.” Their trainer agrees. 

Shrugging, she does, portaling up to the rooftop. The troll tilted his head, his eyes still on the distance. 

“Hey, Angor? Find anything interesting?”

“Maybe.” 

… What?

“What do you mean ‘maybe’?” The girl tilts her head, turning to where he was looking. 

“There’s a lot of noise coming from there. Perhaps I am mistaken, but I do not think that humans were meant to scream as much as they are.” 

Claire stopped for a second, paying attention to the distance, it was far from the movies, and it was far from the park where kids hung out. So, by default, it could only mean one thing. Trouble.

“Why didn’t you say anything?!” 

“How was I to know it was-” Before he could ask more questions, she was already on her “phone” and talking to the others. “C’mon, we gotta go!” 

“It is faster through the rooftop.” He points out.

“And how will the others follow?” He forgot about that. But then the sound got louder, sending both into high alert. “Okay- maybe we go and I’ll send the location to them.” 

“I approve of that thought.” 

Both turned towards the noise, Angor running ahead and jumping rooftops effortlessly. Claire, meanwhile, tried to follow; however, some of the gaps he jumped were way too far for her jumping ability, and thanks to his warnings, she wanted to avoid using the staff. “Okay! If you want me to follow, you gotta remember I am a third of your size!”

Angor rolled his eyes with a grin. He jumped back, kneeling with his back to Claire. “Well then, Roach. Climb on.” 

The girl frowned, offended. “Did you just call me a roach?”

“I did. You’re small, hardy and refuse to die. So, a roach. Now, do you want to go make sure that whatever is happening over there to be something or other, or are you happy complaining about a title that suits you?” 

She grumbled, but climbed onto his shoulders, holding onto the stump on his shoulder for extra support. Impressively, his movements were barely impaired by her. “Do I even weigh anything to you?”

“No. It’s like a Roach on my shoulder.”

“I think I rather you without a sense of humour.” Angor does not mind the acidity of the affirmation and continues running.

Once at the location, both look down at the street, finding what can only be described as a gang fight between gnomes and goblins, and it was getting bloody. Claire sent a picture and the location, querying if they should wait or start doing something. To which the answer was affirmative. The duo jumps down, getting in the middle of the fight, which promptly enrages the critters further, and they turn their focus onto them.

The horde attacks them, the gnomes seem especially keen on climbing and biting Claire, here as the goblins piled on Angor. They were soon aided by the rest of the group, allowing the focus to be temporarily dispersed. But even with the backup, they were still overwhelmed. Angor was holding himself better than the rest, but as he now had to keep close eyes on his soul, he was on the defensive. 

Then one of the gnomes came too close for comfort, his heart skipping as he jumped away from the mess, kneeling on the rooftop they arrived on. As his heart rate slowed, his eyes focused on a curious sight. 

On both ends, the critters were coming from the holes in the walls of the buildings beside them, like bees from a hive. It was only logical to imagine that whatever was causing that aggravation, besides their presence, was in those two buildings. He sneaks over, conveniently finding a skylight that was easy enough to enter.

The team, slowly, realized that the waves of goblins and gnomes were slowing down. 

“We’re doing it!” Toby cheered, swinging his hammer back and forth onto the foes. “We’re actually doing it!”

As all goblins were dead and the gnomes were thrown into a dumpster and locked shut, they looked up and found the clay troll sitting on the rooftop, smiling. 

“Abandoned us in the middle of the fight?” Jim teased, looking up. “What are you doing up there?”

“Keeping my soul safe, for one. For second, I was trying to figure out where in the nine hells were all of the gnomes and goblins climbing out of.” He called them up, and once they followed, he showed them the fruits of his labour. “I got here as one of them got too close to my ring. That’s when I realized both of them were coming in and out of these two buildings.” He pointed inside, where what could be described as a small town of gnomes had formed, though now it was a ghost town. “There was this small commute of gnomes in there. Then a nest of goblins on the other. I gathered these… And got rid of the nest.”

“How??” Toby was amazed, running to look at the other skylight to check. 

Angor produced a small light, grimacing at it slightly. “I do still have my magic… Though I despise using it…” 

Though the tone he had was saddened, it didn’t foul the mood. In fact, all of them were quite impressed. 

“That’s amazing Angor! You did amazing! Great eyes and even greater act. Hahaha!” Blinky was amazed, while Angor tilted his head.

“Yeah! That helped a lot! It probably would have taken waaay longer to have gotten all of them!” Toby agreed, waving away the smell of burnt goblin flesh. “Dude, if we had known you’d be this good a trollhunter, we’d have gotten your ring back for you to join the team day one!”

“Yeah, I mean, I knew you knew your way around a staff, but that was real nice! Thanks for saving our skins again.” Claire smiled, walking off. 

Toby walked past like her, making what he assumed were positive gestures with his hands. Jim followed them, “Thanks for coming, Angor. I wasn’t sure why you came, but I’m glad you did! It’s nice having more eyes in these trollhunts! Oh! And I swear we will get to your soul as soon as we deal with Claire’s brother!”

The children walked off, with the grubera right behind them for safety, leaving a stunned Angor and grinning Blinky behind. “Not used to compliments, are you?”

The clay troll snaps back to reality, turning from the children to the one next to him. “Not for the past 900 years.”

Blinky nodded, “You know, they have been studying your lore a bit more these days, understanding a little better the origins of your woes.”

Now Angor was confused again, “How… Much has been written about me?” 

“Not much, fondly. Though now that I know you a bit better, it is strange how you are regarded as ‘ancient’ in the historybooks.” He did suppose he looked worse for wear. “Either way. You do not need to see yourself as part of the team. But if you ever feel like you’d like to join, all you need to is say so.”

Blinky smiled, walking on to join the others. 

Angor was truly astonished by this. Yes, he had been interacting with the Trollhunters for a few weeks now, and he could say he had gotten somewhat of a better understanding of them. It felt wrong to try to pry his way in just because he wanted to feel part of something. But alas, there was time.

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

Chasing Shadows

Sleep was never soft for Avaluna, the night was not her place of rest, unlike her sister and unlike her brother.

It was not like she desperately needed it either, she was not mortal, things like sleep were not a requirement. For the moon-wizard, dreaming was her way of receiving visions. When tiredness overtook her in the arena before Jim’s fight was a premonition, it only happened when the world had something to whisper.

Her eyes were closed, her physical body relaxed, however her heart and soul were hard at work.

She kept her spiritual eyes open in the darkness, until images began forming and she felt her limbs begin to awake internally. The soft glow from her hands telling her of the vision she was about to witness, nothing she had not been faced with before. From the depths of her core, she hummed a melody of old and an owl appeared in her view, wings made of moonlight. It flew within a moment, leaving Avaluna to follow.

As she did, the terrain began taking shape.

The grass gave way to tree tops, feeling more and more familiar as they flew on. Avaluna followed closely to the spiritual guide, never losing it from her sight, staying close, but not too close, as they dove beneath the canopy. The trees were ethereal, yet running into one would hurt the same, no matter if it was vision or not.

Finally it landed, the moon wizard recognizing the layout of the opening more than the bridge that stood before her.

Drawn by the remnants of the phantasmagoric owl, she sought the core of the vision, it wasn’t a hard mission, she had traversed those dream-like plains for centuries. Hopefully, it would bring some clarity to some of the mysteries that had appeared around Arcadia, or at least, that had shown themselves in the times they paid attention.

The meditative realm she created, for all its hallucination-like sights, was one of comfort. It wasn’t hard to traverse by no means and it had been a long time since that realm had become hostile to her, not since she had learned to master traversing the currents.

As the owl disappeared, Avaluna was left with a new woodland, younger trees, different grass. Following the horizon’s light, she found the city, still in its beginnings. Wooden houses, no concrete, only carved stone and faces she could almost remember. Flickers in the corner of her eyes brought her attention, faces and bodies flickered among the crowd, going from human to troll-looking, some didn’t even have a form.

Changelings. They were always there.

Time moved forward, the city unmaking and growing, and they were all still there. Among them, a figure she had seen before, towering before her for a moment, long enough only for her heart to skip a beat.

“I suppose I will break my promise.” She sighed, a mixture of feelings churning inside her.

Her mind barely wrapped around the memories before the ground gave in below her feet, dropping the wizard through the air, no matter how much she tried to summon her wings. Though the lack of control sent a shiver through her spine, she did not scream, looking around the void for a reason. Only then, finally spotting the dark prince, much younger, on a cliff’s edge as the sun crept up, ready to envelop him in stone.

Avaluna watched, heart pounding now, focus loosened.

Her wings returned, her body moving without her command, she dove toward the gumm-gumm.

She shouldn’t care, not after everything, not after her promise.

—

As they were about to collide, Avaluna opened her eyes to reality.

The dimly lit room of the library welcomed her, air entering her lungs deeper as she sat up. Her heart was still pounding, though now it slowed down.

“Pleasant vision, Lady Ava?” Archie queried, sitting down next to her on the living room table.

Avaluna’s eyes didn’t leave that spot on the wall she stared at, though slowly, the sounds of the ambience overshadowed the one of her heart. “I have not had a pleasant vision in quite a while, sadly enough.”

Her voice was hoarse and tired, she had been asleep for a while. “Are… Bad things to come?”

Avaluna watched the little dragon as she took the tea mug from the side table, carefully sipping the liquid, which softly soothed her throat. “I do not know… It was not too clear… But there seems to be adversity.”

“Well. We have dealt with adversity before! Right? It cannot be too difficult.” Her brother’s familiar was optimistic, that was something.

The moon-wizard turned to the window, watching the gleam of sunlight through the blinds, then she turned to the clock on the wall. It was almost time for her to go to her new work, she needed to get ready. Thankfully, she noticed her clothes had already been set aside for her, a sticky note with her sister’s handwriting on top of them.

“Hope you have a good day sis! Tell me about the vision at 14h? Same place as we used to? Love, Suni*. Ps: You owe me breakfast ;)”

Avaluna chuckled, pocketing the note and moving to the washroom with the change of clothes, emerging as her “Miss Lunalima” persona.

Being a counselor wasn’t entirely different from what she expected, but in Arcadia, it was still a different experience from most places. Many came with the usual fears, being SAT prep, tests, driving, romance. Others came with strange experiences they couldn’t explain, many of which she had insight on, but covered up with a layer of lies scrambled in scientific terms that seemed to make sense. Jim and Toby came by that day as well, requesting advice about who to look for when it came to the changeling threat, how to seem inconspicuous and so on.

They left with some answers, which hopefully she worded in an understandable enough way. She sighed, turning her gaze down once more towards the papers of student files, a few bullies she was told to talk to, recommendation list students…

She almost didn’t feel time pass, the light outside darkening, the moon shining through her window even as the sky was still blue. As she left the office, the chattering of the faculty reached her ears. They spotted her before she could turn around, calling out warmly.

“Yoohoo! Miss Lunalima!” Ms. Janet called, waving at her. “Wrapping up for the day?”

“Yes. I’m heading home. We’ve been busy!” She smiled back.

“Oh! We could drop you off! I’m dropping these two off and there’s space in Suzana, my car, for one more!” Uhl offered. “If anything, we put the coach on the trunk.”

“Hey!” They all laughed.

Avaluna obliged, walking alongside them, taking the time to start friendly chatter. “Mr. Uhl, is it? Thank you for the offer. May I ask, where are you from? I recognize the accent but fail to remember where it is from!”

Uhl puffed his chest with pride, “Austria! My home land!”

Avaluna smiled, remembering the little german she knew from five decades prior, “Aaah, das heißt also, dass du Deutsch sprichst, ja?”

“Ja!” He replied, a shin of recognition and excitement in his eyes. “You speak german as well?”

“It’s been a bit, but I had some friends from Germany.” She then switches to spanish, “¿Pero me han dicho que también enseñas español?”

“Si… I am a polyglot. I learned a lot of languages in my travels, talking to people.”

“Indeed. That takes skill.” He seemed to have become quite shy now, apparently unused to the compliment. “What about you, ms. Janet? Where does your passion for theater come from?”

She blushed. “Oh… It’s a long story…”

“Well, why not? We have a bit of time.”

Ms. Janet grinned, ecstatic over someone showing interest in her story. “Well, it began in my college years…”

Although indeed long, Avaluna found the story both enlightening and entertaining, explaining well the woman’s passion for theater and passing it onto the next generations.

“Well that’s a story! Thank you for sharing!”

“Oh… It was nothing!...” Ms. Janet took a long sigh. “I just wish this generation knew all the things theater can provide…”

“Oh but they do!” Avaluna smiled, while the other woman’s eyes widened. “I cannot share private details, however many students have mentioned how much the theater classes have been beneficial to their mental health, how it helps them be better. Just like you said.”

The woman leans back, a slight blush and a few tears in her eyes. “Oh… Really…?”

Coach Lawrenced rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, Avaluna watched him, he was a bit dull, though many mentioned how warm he was although he showed through tough love. He was about to ask something, when they finally arrived at the bookshop and he leaned back, waving it off. The counselor nodded, understanding, however made mental note to check on him.

Uhl stopped the truck, allowing for her to jump off.

Thanking her newfound friends once more for the ride, the wizard watches them roll off and disappear behind a corner. Once the coast was clear, she enters the store, bids good evening to Archie, then exits through the back before disappearing into the skies. Her eyes scan through the night, perfectly used to the wind that stings them, as she makes her way to Trollmarket for the Trollhunter’s lesson. The woods that cut through Arcadia were quiet, some bats, some night birds, some deer.

A few goblins, a few gnomes, a few trolls that used the night time to meet on the surface. She grins as she swerves in the air, descending quietly beneath the bridge. Entering Trollmarket as trolls exited made her feel centuries younger, as she flew through the crystalline cave, waving to friends and newcomers. Then finally, she arrived at the Forge.

The mechanisms were already tiredly at work, however, she was not hearing the screams of teenagers. She knew she was slightly late, however she knew they were still supposed to be there. She waited and sat by the feet of Unkar, scanning the training grounds, she found her sister at work, dodging the blades.

“The Trollhunter never came…” The ghostly presence spoke in her ear.

“Oh? Why?”

“Watching over a human child… Brother to a girl he’s infatuated with…” There’s silence for a long moment, tell that the ghost was hiding something.

“What is it?”

“The child’s been changed… That is not a human anymore…” A chill went down Avaluna’s spine, “It will end well. You should not intervene. Do not let the changeling know you.”

“It was never my intention.” The mechanisms stopped, allowing Avaluna a better look at her sister, sweaty and with a grimacing glare at the ground, following the grooves. “I will calm her.”

She flew down, looking over her sister’s shoulder at the cracks on the floor and smiling. Suniva’s voice didn’t need to be directed at her, “These gears need some oil. I wonder if Kanjica hasn’t been taking care of it.”

“He had been awfully busy.” Avaluna smiled. “What is bothering you tonight, dear sister?”

“Oh nothin’ just…” Suniva opened the latch, tossing the stone aside to look at the mechanisms. “Jim just… Doesn’t seem to take training seriously!” She grumbles, jumping in with her trident, fighting the rust. “I mean! Doesn’t he understand! That this is- is- like a job?! You have to work! No sick days!”

“He is also a teenager. Or did you think it would be easy?” Avaluna sent a current of cool air to aid her sister, as the Forge could get overheated, “You were excited once, about him.”

“Yeah, but now I realize how hard it is.” There is a crashing sound and a curse from her sister. “CARALHO NINGUÉM CUIDA DISSO MAIS NÃO?!”

Avaluna does not hold back her grin as she helps her sister out of the machine. “They do take care of it, if not, I shall help you later. For tonight, perhaps resting is more appropriate. It’ll clear your mind for their training tomorrow.”

Her younger sister glared at her, the smile the moon-wizard held was the same as she had when the sun-wizard was younger. However, it was hard to argue, when she was indeed tired. Rolling her eyes, she summoned her wings, ready to take to the skies.

“You owe me breakfast.” She grinned, charging up towards the exit.

Avaluna chuckled, she hummed a low and powerful melody which scrapped the rust off of the metal gears. There was little left to do, thus, she walked her way back to the market. Somehow, the shadows that lurked among the hallways and stores felt darker than usual. It was only then she realized she had not told her sister of the vision, and by that time, Suniva was already in bed, out cold. Sighing, Avaluna opens the portal out of Trollmarket, stepping out into the night for what felt like the millionth time.

She’d tell her sister in the morning, as usual.

As the wind washed through her hair, its voice warned her of a presence. Her armour was dawned, her bow drawn as she climbed out of the canal, watching the shadows. Two glowing red eyes caught her lenses, heading for the city, like a lone wolf stalking prey. She never understood, but did not beg to question why they would do that, hunting alone was a hazard. Still, she could not allow him to trouble anyone, not tonight, not when she was watching.

Her arrow flew righteous, hitting the gumm-gumm in the back. It would never be enough to kill, however it drew his attention, that was enough.

Bular turned to her, his eyes glimpsing the black and silver armour that hid among the trees, his hands moving instinctively to the swords in their sheaths. His grasp on them did not frighten her, even as he charged her, his blades were caught effortlessly by her arch, sliding off to the sides. Her arrows would not pierce his flesh, few arrows could. Only the Trollhunter’s blade could kill the son, her arrowheads were too weak in comparison. Still, they’d annoy him enough.

Just as planned, he chased her, striking over and over in that predictable way, a way she tried to force from her mind.

“What are you, demon?! Speak!!” He demanded.

Her response was a blinding arrow he deflected, having learned from their last confrontation. Her head tilted, surprised that he picked it up as fast as he did. His smirk sent a burning feeling to her head, an anger she repressed failing to be contained as her arrows flew. It didn’t take long for her to drive him from the city, an old overflow diverge laying in front of them, the empty muddy walls a remnant of the drizzles that sometimes hit Arcadia.

His eyes were on her, trying to decipher what she was.

Well, her job was done.

“You are not human… Not troll… And you don’t smell changeling…” He growls, hatred dripping out of his words. She does not react. “What are you…?”

She rolls her eyes, whispering a fast song, she claps her hands and disappears in the blinding light that follows. The skies served well as a hiding place.

Only when she landed, did she realize one of the steel feathers was missing. What she deserved, for not wearing her armour in so long.

—

Bular saw the glimpse in the grass, taking the steel in his claws and examining it. It was hand made, it was durable, it was magic.

It smelled… vaguely familiar.

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

Understanding

The night was quiet, safe for the sound of the Shadow Staff colliding against the wooden staff Angor held. The girl was good, she was a quick study, as well as she had a little practice before that point. 

However, it was easy to see Angor was holding back. “Come on! Fight me properly!”

With a hissed chuckle, the troll does, instantly catching her staff and pushing her off of it. She fell sat on the grass, looking up and trying to catch her breath. Aaarrrgh watched, slightly concerned for the girl.

“Was this properly enough?” He questioned, tossing the staff back. “You were holding too lightly to the staff. You only loosen your grip on it when you change it. If not. You hold on to it as if it was a part of you.”

Claire nodded, getting up and standing ready. Angor tilted his head, using his staff to correct her stance, widening her gravitational point, fixing her grip, adjusting her arm position. She did good for someone self taught, but there was still a lot to learn. The girl struck again, walking forwards as Angor dodged.

“You cannot treat a staff as if it was a sword. It will not cut your enemies, however it can pierce them, do not expect the same result as what happens when the Trollhunter strikes with his sword.” He moves back, until he's a few meters away from a tree. Then he uses Claire's momentum against her, knocking her down once again. “You must also learn to dodge better.”

“First: can we learn one thing at a time? Second: I think I need a break.” She plants her face in the grass, taking a moment to breathe the soft night air through them. 

Angor nodded, sitting by a tree opposite to the girl staff laying on his lap as he watched the girl get up and sit, leaning her arms on her knees as she takes several gulps of water from her bottle. He was not a drinker, yet he feared if she ever became one. Claire soon put it back down now half empty, taking a final deep breath, she gets up with the staff in hand. 

“Okay! I’m back!” 

Angor leaned on a tree with a skeptical stare, she had just chugged a good amount of liquid for her size, from his experience, that wasn’t about to end well. “You’ll throw up if you push yourself further. You wait.”

“I need this training! I need to get as strong as I can to save my brother!” She put the point of the staff to his face, challengingly. 

The ancient one rose a brow, quickly grabbing the staff once again, he twirled it around the girl and destabilized her enough to pull the staff from her hand. With a swift toss, he embedded it on a tree. 

Claire stared at the staff, anger swiftly boiling inside of her as she roared and tried pulling it off the tree, to unsurprisingly no success. She attacked the object with her might, trying to pull it off the trunk, cursing in Spanish all the way. The trolls watched, only when Aaarrrgh glared at Angor disapprovingly, to which the response was a roll of his eyes and a sigh. 

“That’s futile. Just rest. It’s better than getting sick and delaying training.” 

The girl stopped, turning to him with pure hatred in her eyes. He had yet to see that kind of ire from her. “I need to save my brother! I need this training!”

“Wearing yourself out won’t save your brother. If you rest we can continue training faster.” He added, sitting down by the tree opposite to the Shadow Staff. 

Claire tried over and over to pull the staff from the tree, finally relenting when she felt the nausea begin to set in, sitting beneath it and glaring at the assassin, who now took to carving another totem. She looked at Aaarrrgh, looking for support, but the green giant stayed where he was sitting. 

“He has point.”

She rolled her eyes, annoyed at the relentless ignoring of the severity of the situation. Her anger filled the silence of the clearing, neither troll were the conversation type, she had gotten that much. It wasn’t helping the others were in Trollmarket, trying to find out what kind of armour enhancement Jim got and, more importantly, how to kill Gunmar. 

The noise of metal on stone didn’t help either. “Why do you keep carving those?”

Angor paused his carving, not looking up. “I suppose it… Is force of habit.” 

“Yeah… But doesn’t it hurt? I mean, ripping pieces out of your body sounds like it hurts.” 

He found the barrage of questions slightly unpleasant. Though, reasonably, he could not blame the girl. “It didn’t used to, not as much. And I gathered these pieces a long while ago. I have not actually carved my flesh in… A few nights.”

Claire nodded, thinking about going quiet again, but deciding against it. “My grandpa was a carpenter, he made my brother’s crib and made me some dolls. I still have them.”

“I used to carve wood. Long ago.” He thought back, the intricate carvings along the haul of his boat. “I used to eat the scraps.” 

Claire frowned. “You eat wood?”

“Sometimes I ate fish, when needed. But I prefer wood. Pine, specifically.” He reminisced, he recalled the endless teasing of being a “woodtick” by the other children. 

“I used to love eating palm cactus when I was younger, it’s not common here, but really tasty.” She shared. 

He grinned, “I had a friend who ate cacti, not my favorite I must admit.”

“I know. But the way abuela made it was the best! I'd eat an entire plate of it! If they weren’t watching!” She reminisced fondly, soon though the memory became sour. “People made fun of me though, called me weird.”

“They teased me too. Not even for that did I stop enjoying it.” 

He made a good point, even then, Claire continued staring down at the ground, anger filling her up. “Can you unstuck the staff so we can continue training now?”

“You could take a lesson in patience.” 

“And you could try to see the urgency from my end!” She hissed, not meaning to be mean, but upset nonetheless. “My brother’s in an underworld of pain and suffering! And I can’t go get him yet!” 

He frowned, putting down what he was carving, now looking directly at her. She felt a shiver go down her spine, as if she had angered a wild animal. Soon however, he turned away and stared at the ground, carving some more.

“I was a brother once.” He sighed. “Elder brother. With two twin younger siblings.”

Aaarrrgh and Claire stared at him, the truth of his words striking them both with shock. “You… You have a family?”

Once again, he stopped carving. “I had one…” He sighed, putting the dagger back in its sheath, looking up past the trees to the stars. “So I do understand the urgency. But you must also understand that unless you wish to be ill prepared to face what might come ahead. Then you must understand that there’s things to be done. Or else, you are going to be risking your life… And of those you care about.”

The silence from before then became even heavier, grimmer, the girl hugged herself tighter. She now knew he understood, she understood his point of view and understood what he was saying. And yet, the images of her brother in the darklands weren’t leaving her mind, she knew he was safe for now. But did not trust Gunmar to keep it like that for long. 

The stillness was the worst part, it was crushing. Something needed to be said.

Or asked. “What was your family like…?”

At first there was no response, she thought she had asked the wrong question, even Aaarrrgh cringed, aware that it might’ve been a heavy question. To their surprise there was an answer. “My mother was the chief of our village… Kinder than anyone I’ve ever met… She was all I had for a time, until my siblings were born.” HIs eyes traced the sky, the constellations he remembered little about. “I was just 1000 when they were born. Male and female, Orioz and Atilia… So similar and incredibly different in their own ways…” 

He fell silent, tracing the ring and its grooves, it almost made it easier to remember. Claire was patient, smiling softly as she watched him trace the ring, thinking about what to say. 

“I think I understand… I mean, I became an older sister really late too. I was thirteen when my brother was born, but he was the best thing that ever happened.” She smiled, thinking fondly of her little brother. “It was funny… Because he was born blond and with blue eyes, they never think he’s my brother… Genetics are a funny thing, because my grandfathers on both sides are blond, but it gets weird looks anyways.” 

She turned her eyes, seeing him watch her. “My mother sculpted my siblings after her, just like she did with me… She wanted them to have amber eyes like her, but there was no more in the entire village… So they had one topaz and one amethyst instead… Mirrored each of them, for good measure.” He sighed. “Orioz was made with a reddened clay patch and Atilia in a yellow one, mother only realized it when they had dried… Together they were as chaotic as they were kind.” 

“Sounds like every kid I know.” She smiled. “My dad says Henrique has energy like a storm… He refused to sleep through the night. Dad was soooo tired he walked around the house like a zombie… He’s doing better now that Henrique has more naps… And since Not-Henrique does sleep through the night.” She rolled her eyes in annoyance, but then her features softened. “For being just two, he’s got a lot of personality…”

“When I met Orioz and Atilia for the first time, Orioz tried to climb me. And he almost succeeded. I was barely taller than you and he was…” He gestured a bit to a size akin to her brother’s. “... This size, perhaps a bit bigger. It was a feat from someone who had just been born…” He chuckled softly. “When I held them… It felt like…”

“Like you gained friends for life… I know…” Claire sympathised. 

She never expected to have that kind of connection, she understood him better than she thought. It made what she planned to do before make her stomach churn with regret, he didn’t deserve it. Well, he kinda did a little, he did take some pleasure from trying to kill them. She’d not forgive him for what he did to Jim either, not yet at least, but it was nice to know he did have more than just “I’m DeAtH” in his resume. Silence fell over them again, something she had not noticed until it rang in her ears. 

She was tired of waiting. 

Taking the staff in hand, she had a different approach. She made a portal into the tree, from where she teleported to be next to the clay troll. 

“It’s getting late and I still haven’t kicked your butt.” She smiled politely, nudging him with the tip of the staff. 

Angor looked up quite impressed at her astuteness, then got up as well, moving away with the staff in hand. “Well then. We shall resume.”

They sparred some more, though it wasn't long before they both got tired, the slight change on the airs temperature alerted the clay troll to the rising sun. Claire was sceptical, then surprised when she realized he was right. Quickly, they made their way back, with the gentle giant disappearing among the trees away from the house. 

The girl was already inside her room, when she realized the troll standing still, looking up at the moon. 

“You okay?” She queries carefully, looking up at the crescent.

Angor didn’t answer right away, keeping his eyes up. “Perhaps my destiny was not to save my siblings… But perhaps it is to help you save yours…” 

He turns back, letting the girl see a different emotion on his face, was that… Compassion?

“That… Means a lot.”

Angor gave her an enigmatic nod, before disappearing toward the attic again.

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

The Lost Will be Found

Raoth dashed through the rain, returning to the cave that was their hiding place for the day, the storm managed to block the sun enough that they could retrieve the herbs necessary, the clouds showing no sign of stopping the downpour. He dashed through tree branches, never leaving a track on the muddy ground, not daring to leave a single trace to lead anyone back to his children.

Finally, they saw the soft glow of a fire inside the stone walls came to sight, finally, the troll fell from the trees and dashed inside.

“I’m back!” They called out, from the back of the cave, his youngest dashed to them. “Angor, how’s your brother?”

The clay whelp was nervous, anxiously pacing around the cave ground, his orange and black eyes darting from his guardian to the other shivering whelp. “He’s shivering more and more! There’s no more dry wood!” He followed Raoth to where the oldest laid. “Is the medicine gonna make him better?”

The blue-skinned troll slowly shook the shivering pile of furs, which unfurled, revealing a pure black whelp underneath, from fur to horns, his eyes begrudgingly opening to reveal the orange and red eyes. “Bular, what are you feeling, little one?”

The whelp breathing was labored, yet he managed to whisper back, “Cold… Everything hurts…”

Raoth rushed to work, trying to find the right herbs. This was going to be the third concoction that they were making for the sick child, normally, the first one he made was good enough. Bular had always been a sickish child, at least once a lunar cycle he’d go down with something minor. Normally it was easy to handle, easy to heal, just a day or two of rest and warm meals, perhaps one tonic or two would help get him back on his feet. With the gloomy winter and constant rain, many herbs became difficult to find, the stash they had kept from summer had gotten stolen when they stopped too close to a village.

It was difficult already, and Bular’s illness was lasting longer than ever.

Just as they readied to make the medicine simmer, the flames gave away, and now only embers remained. Mentally cursing, Raoth rushed to try to light them once more, but the fuel was gone, much like Angor had pointed, there were no dry logs to use.

Their situation was desperate.

“I can’t do anything like this… I can’t make medicine without fire…”

Checking on the sick whelp, the moon-horned troll felt his fever rising.

“Trollmarket is not too far…”

The thought felt almost insane, almost too idiotic. They’d never let a gumm-gumm in, no matter if it was a sick child or an adult, not with the war raging as it was. The mark made them less of a threat to others, but they'd pay no mind to it, not after everything.

Bular coughed, short of breath, too weak to keep his head up. Angor curled up next to his older brother, nuzzling him to keep the other awake.

They couldn’t stand there. Doing nothing while one agonized in sickness and the other suffered by proxy. They couldn’t just let one of their sons die.

“Angor, get your and your brother’s bag.” They asked, already their own things. “We’re getting your brother help…”

“Where?” Angor queried as he obeyed.

Picking Bular up and helping the young one to their back, they grabbed their bag. “Gladsbury Tor Trollmarket.”

With that, they donned their capes, running out the cave. The whelp followed his parent closely, holding onto their hand as tight as he could while they ran. The droplets of the storm were blinding, the wind chilling, one step made by his father were four of his own. Yet he kept running, following, not lowering their eyes even once.

The path was treacherous, roots revealed by the mud, thunder and lightning crashing in the sky, they could not use the roads nor could they follow an easy path. Looking down a few times, Raoth made sure to keep Angor on their sights, it was clear he struggled, yet he did not break a word of complaint. It made his father proud as he focused on the path, tracking the small notes in the trees, seeking the path to civilization.

The race felt like it went on for hours, maybe days until they found the hollow stone. The entrance was guarded by two larger trolls, who instantly turned their focus from a conversation to Raoth as he called out.

“PLEASE!! HELP!!!”

Their survival instincts made them raise their weapons, which most likely felt justified when they saw the gumm-gumm child on Raoth’s back. “IMPURE!! WITH A GUMM GUMM!!”

The changeling's heart sank when they began pointing their weapons. “Please… I beg you… he's just a child… he's deathly ill I did everything I could please!!”

Their begging was only met with disbelief and anger. “Then may he rest in pieces.”

“PLEASE!!” Raoth could feel Angor holding tighter to their leg. “We mean no harm… he's only a child, please!! Please I have nothing to do with the war!! Please just help him…!!”

They were about to start prodding them with their spears, growling, when a thunderous voice cut through the cave entrance followed By the sound of a staff hitting the ground.

“What in the nine hells is going on here?”

A light tan troll appeared, horns twisted like goats, behind him a pale orange followed, horns twisting up like the older troll. The guards instantly stopped, turning to the elder and his son.

“Rundle! This changeling was trying to enter! We were about to dispose of them!” One of them spoke.

Continuing to approach, they cut the side of Raoth's cape, revealing the deserter mark. When his foggy eyes fell upon it, Rundle raised an arm to stop them, approaching the changeling. “This is a deserter mark.”

Raoth nodded, “It is…”

“It was not burned on you… It was carved… Scared by hand.” He stared at them, running his eyes to Bular who wheezed on their back, to Angor who swiftly hid behind their legs, legs shaky from the running. “Pass me the gumm-gumm. Carry the other one with you and follow me. Do anything else and today will be your last.”

All the adults were in shock, although apprehensive, the moon-horned helped Bular to be carried by Rundle, picking up Angor in quick succession. They followed obediently and silently through the threshold, entering the bustling Trollmarket, he could feel the glares of the trolls and the whispers around them. He clutched Angor close, as they knew he felt those too, giving him assuring eyes. The Healing Ward was thankfully close to the entrance, their suffering ending on granite walls and small Hearthstone lamps.

It was warm inside, warm and comforting, as if blankets had been draped upon them.

There, Bular was laid down on a table, now at a bit of a distance from Raoth and Angor. The whelp’s breathing was shallow, his hoarse voice calling out in this new strange setting. “Pana… Pana…?”

The parent’s first instinct was to dash to his comfort, but they were stopped by the sharp points of the spears. The guards glared at him, angrily and protective, it deeply confused them, but they did not question. “I am here, my child! I am right here! These are trusted hands, you can rest easy!”

Of course, things weren’t so easy.

Bular squirmed beneath Rundle’s equipment, neither he nor his son did well in stopping him, there was little they could do to ease the child’s suffering if they could not find out what was wrong in the first place. Vendle had always been taught to fear the worst from gumm-gumms, but that one, in the shade of the hearthstone, looked like any other child that had come through the doors. The son turned to Raoth once more, their eyes worried at every movement, whilst still holding onto the younger whelp who shivered beneath their hands. Their eyes were tired, like any parent, they were worried, cooing comfort from afar which only worked for a few minutes.

Vendel exchanged a look towards his father, pointing wordlessly to the worried parent. Rundle turned, facing the same scene his son had.

“Come here. Make him stay put. We cannot tell what’s wrong with him if he keeps pushing us away.” Rundle called, nodding towards the guards, who lowered their weapons.

Raoth dashed forward, taking his child’s face into his hands and pressing foreheads. “It’s alright, Bular. It’s alright. I am here, like always. Just stay still, alright?”

Angor had now climbed onto the father’s back, watching the scene and patting his brother’s mane. Bular relaxed, finally allowing Rundle to continue his examination. Vendle assisted his father, as always, keeping focus on what was to be done. However, he could not fully diverge attention from the parent, that vowed so harshly over his child, but even more, to the child that watched from his father’s shoulder still shivering from the cold of the rain. Giving another knowing look to Rundle, his father nodded and he ran outside.

Raoth was confused, that level of knowledge of one another was something he envied, perhaps one day he’d have that with his sons. As the elder of trollmarket continued his examination, the fever beneath the changeling’s hand continued to climb, they knew the dangers of it and felt nothing but worry.

“His… His fever keeps rising…”

“I know. Vendle should bring some cooling ointments.” Rundle responded, quite dryly. “When has this sickness begun?”

“Two weeks ago. It started as it always did, some soreness, mild fever, snot. Usually, he gets better within a few days but… But he didn’t and it got worse. I… I have no medicine left… It was all stolen…” They didn’t need to look up to know Rundle had turned to them. “There’s no new symptoms… I don’t know what went wrong…!”

“I brought the ointment.” Vendle’s voice cut, approaching first his father before turning to the parent and clay whelp. “And something to dry yourselves with. Best you don’t fall ill too.”

Raoth now became aware that Angor and himself were dripping from the rain still, his child shivered on his back, even when under the warmth of the hearthstone lamps. They nodded, gently pressing their forehead to Bular’s before stepping back to dry up with Angor, they patted the youngling down gently, taking off the excess of water before drying their own mane. His youngest’s semblance was still serious as they stared back at their brother on the table, being handled by the strange trolls, it was clear the entire situation had been hard on him much like it was hard on Raoth and Bular.

Of course, having raised him for six centuries now, there were tricks they knew to get his son to become more at ease, even a faint smile would be enough.

Shuffling fiercely the towel over their fur, Raoth poked his son. “Angor, Angor I need your opinion.” The whelp turned, watching as their father pulled the towel off and revealed a mess of fluffy upturned hair. “How do I look?”

Angor couldn't contain a chuckle, a chuckle which turned to a giggle and a laugh as Raoth started rubbing their mane on the whelp. “You look like a bunny!! Pana!! Hahaha!!”

His father stopped, smiling as they continued to dry his son. “You were very brave. You watched over your brother and you even kept running for a long time. I'm proud of you.” Their son smiled, proud of himself. Raoth continued to dry him off, eventually reaching his legs, seeing how weak they were and… blood? “Angor?! Your leg! You have a cut!”

Moving swifter than anyone could react to, Raoth brushed the blood off, using a bandage he had stored deep within their kilt and using it to cover the cut. It wasn't deep, it would heal over in a week at most, yet they cursed upon themselves for not having noticed earlier. In another swift move, they picked up the 600-year-old, holding him against their torso in a soothing motion. The clay whelp nuzzled his father's fur, now way more pacified.

“I'm okay papa…”

“I'm sorry for not having noticed… I'll make it up to you… Papa promises.” Angor held onto him tighter, relaxing and waiting for the moment it'd come true.

Rundle and Vendle watched the scene, the elder kept a skeptical mask, while his son had softer eyes.

Eventually, they finished treating the whelp, treating Angor as almost a bonus. The two children were put to rest in a very back room, covered in soft furs. Raoth being pulled aside to discuss the health of the two while getting his own checked.

“So? What have you found? Is it serious?”

Rundle removed the hearing horn from the changeling’s chest, “No, it was not, it was but a cold. One which seemed to get out of hand this time.” Raoth frowned, thinking back to how many the whelp had. “He gets sick often?”

The guardian’s eyes widened, “He… Does…”

“Hm…” The elder didn’t fully seem to think much before answering. “I do not know much about gumm-gumm physiology. However, I do know they need a substantial amount of prey. Have you been getting it?”

“I… I try. It’s hard depending on the places we sleep the day. And there’s not many prey I can hunt that won’t end up dry by the time I get back to where they are, if I can even manage it…” Raoth let a deep sigh escape them. “Have I… Failed him?”

Rundle stopped for a moment, a long moment, before continuing his movements and pricking the changeling with a sharp crystal before watching it patiently. “No. I wouldn’t say that. You have two young whelps with you, neither being of your kind, furthermore. I would’ve expected you’d know, but if you don’t, I’m not surprised.”

Raoth kept quiet, nodding along, standing morbidly still as Rundle continued to check them over.

“Are there more people with you?”

“No… It is only the three of us…”

“Why?”

“I left. I deserted.”

“Why?” Twice was a pattern. Yet Raoth breathed and continued to answer the questions.

“Because I could not bear to leave my familiar in the darkness.” There was a pause in the headmasters' movements, but they continued. “The older changelings always talked about the world above… How the stars shimmered, how the moon waned and waxed… And I craved those sights just as much as anyone else… But when I finally got it and experienced the love and the life in a family… Something that doesn’t exist for changelings… I felt… Guilt.”

“Guilt?”

“Yes. Guilt…” Those questions felt so redundant, yet they continued as Rundle patched up the hole a tree that had cut open on their back. “I felt guilt… For cheating that child out of seeing those sights… Before they could understand their beauty anyway… So, I brought them back. I got my familiar back to their family… I hoped, perhaps, they could see me as one of their own but… They did not…” With another grave sigh, they turned towards where Bular and Angor slept soundly, unable to see them yet knowledgeable that if they were to have wakened, they’d have called out already. “I spent long on my own… Hunting, gathering, selling… I marked myself so that, maybe, I’d have a better chance out here… It has not been a better chance…”

“And those two?”

“I found Bular in the ruins of a battlefield… Heard him cry faintly from beneath a pile of corpses… Would’ve been eaten alive by a gruesome, had I not… I told myself I’d find his family and reunite him and yet… I never managed to. And now, I seldom think either of us wants to be apart…” They remembered finding the young whelp, smelling of blood and ash, with no marine in sight. “Angor was much different… I was in his village when a raid happened. I saw him with his mother as we were buying rations, then again… when his mother was laid on the ground, bleeding out. She gave me his hand and whispered for me to take him, in her last breath. So I did. It was a long road, he was inconsolable for the first few days. It’s been four centuries, yet he’s still recovering.”

Silence fell once more, the elder of Trollmarket continued a few more tests, then let the changeling get up. Raoth followed him, glancing back at the two children every other moment, no sound yet. Once again the elder made the guardian sit down, so they did, with the elder now sitting beside them. Looking closer, they could find many more details about him, small cracks to do with age, tired eyes, teeth that seemed filed down. Most surprising were the little crystal beads on his beard, hidden behind the loose strands were small braids, pinned by the beads which seemed clumsily made, as if by a child.

“Your child will heal. But once he does, I cannot promise your safety if you stay here. I will make sure no harm will come to him here, but the trolls outside the Healing Ward are terrified of your kind, and I cannot blame them for it.” Raoth nodded along, averting their gaze and trying to scrounge up an idea on how to survive the winter. “However…” The former changeling perked up his ears. “As a healer, I have an oath to do my best to help anyone in need, and as a leader, I have the authority to make certain adjustments.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know of a cave, isolated from Trollmarket, yet close enough you’d be able to reach us even in daylight. It is abandoned, the last resident moved into trollmarket many moons ago. It has enough space for your family.”

That felt too good to be true, to perfectly aligned, too kind. “What do you want from me?”

Rundle got up, straightening up. “For you to not cause trouble. Neither you, nor your children.” He sighed, his voice softening. “I am also a father. I know the lengths one goes to protect and care for their young. You about jumped into a wildebeest den for a chance of your child surviving, even if you didn’t. That, I respect. And besides, it is the saying ‘keep friends close and enemies closer’ which happens to best work in this situation.”

Raoth’s heart melted, throbbing in relief, tears welding up in his eyes and the fear slowly melding away. Of course, they’d have to protect themselves still, keep themselves safe, but it was a better beginning, it was much better than anything they could’ve hoped for when coming to Trollmarket. Their knees gave in as they moved to bow to the elder, gratitude overwhelming them.

“Thank you, Elder Rundle. I’m forever in your debt…”

The old troll forced away his smile, using his staff, he tapped the other parent in the shoulder, a signal for them to rise. “You can begin by preparing your children to move. Now that the older one is stable, it is best he rests somewhere undisturbed.”

Raoth nodded, rushing past the elder towards his sleeping sons, he found them beginning to wake. He got down to their level, hugging the both of them tightly. Neither son understood what was going on, but they held on back.

“We don’t have to keep moving anymore.” He explained. “We have a home.”

[kathrahender]

I'm bored so here's a new game tag:

What are your top 5 favorite TV Tropes?

Mine are these:

Sympathy for the Hero

2. Even Evil Has Standards

3. All-Loving Hero

4. Enemy Mine

5. Villanous Rescue

Tags: @annabelle-creart @cowboysanddragons23 @yavannah @seekerofblades @whitherwanderyouspirit and everyone who wants to join!

[annabelle-creart]

TV tropes..... hm

Gentle giant (AARRRGH!!! And Boulder's fault)

Rivals to friends

Sacrifice

Lovers by fate (Just Like Heaven, I love you)

Plow twist at the beginning instead of the ending (yes, I'm talking of Rumi)

@gelu-the-babosa-multiversal @elclipzis @socratesvisitsarcadia @amiablyinept

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

I am not one for tv tropes but I shall attempt

Found family

Redemption arcs (That don't end in death specifically. Deltoro stole us of good arcs)

Friends to lovers

The traitor is among us

Scary, but has a heart of gold

@stealingpotatoes @an-autistic-dweeb @niuniente @gold-kobold

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

The Battle

The sun was high in the sky, and Arcadia was ever so rustling and bustling as usual, with people moving and cars rolling down roads and streets. The park was the perfect place to bask in the sun’s energy. After all, it was easy— it was California. The summer’s warm heat was soft, and it reflected the bright colors of her tarot cards nicely as she shuffled and reshuffled them. 

The backs of her cards had an intricate design of a flowing river, with banks filled with wheat and grains, with falcons on each side. Carefully, watching the smoke of the incense flow off, she finds specific cards on the shuffled deck. Laying them down on a cup shaped organization, she reads it carefully, muttering under her breath. Lighting a lighter, she watches the flame dance on its opening for a second, it grew brighter for just a moment as she mentalized her conclusion.

She was right.

With relaxed shoulders, she sets down the lighter once again as the incense is quickly consumed and the last bits of smoke drift in the wind. Reading those cards had been something she always had pride in, wizards of all kinds had their methods of divination, hers was one of the hardest for its subjectivity. Avaluna herself also had a difficult divination, but even she, as the oldest, had difficulty reading cards. They bonded over it, as the eldest helped her perfect her technique, something she’d always be thankful for.

The sun-wizard was ready to pick her cards together once more, when a shadow was cast on the grassy floor she sat on. 

“Tarot! I have not seen that in a while!” The woman in front of her spoke, voice soft and excited. Her eyes indicated she was of asian descent, however Sunvia could not tell from where, her green eyes were almost as bright as her browns and her hair was black and draped down like ink. It almost reminded her of her sister centuries before the blue lights. “Pardon the intrusion! I was simply heading into the museum and couldn’t help but notice!”

“Oh it’s not a problem! Hope you don’t find it weird or anything!”

“Ah of course not! I always had a fascination for who could read these things!” The woman noted, smiling. “And that is a beautiful deck!”

“Thanks! I made it myself!” Suniva felt something off about the woman, there was dissonance in the sound of her aura. “Say… Why don’t I pull some cards for you?” 

The woman was surprised, but nonetheless, sat down on the blanket Suniva had stretchded out. “My name’s Zelda, though most know me as Ms. Nomura.”

“Well, you may call me Nini! Suniva smiled back, picking up her deck and shuffling it. “So tell me, anything in particular you’d want in your reading?”

Nomura thought about her words, turning her green eyes to the other once again. “I do have a business meeting in a few weeks. Why not see how it’ll go?”

Suniva chuckles, giving the cards a bit more of a shuffle. “The cards cannot predict the future, it’s a funny misconception! But they can advise you about it!”

Paying attention to the sound of this lady’s aura, like a broken record, Suniva’s fingers dance on the edges of the cards as she draws five, arranged in a line. She observed the symbols, trying to keep calm as she watched the pictures twisting into meaning, moving beneath her eyes alone. The woman kept her eyes calm, watching her as she watched the cards.

“Alright, so! I see good things and bad things… I’m not sure what to make of it specifically… It’s like the reading is split in half? Well, anyhow…” Suniva smiled, pointing at the first card. “You see, this one says there’s praysal in your future, you have something someone else wants and they’re gonna be happy you have it!” She moved on to the second card. “Though, these ones say there’s some conflict in your future as well… Old scars opening up again as well as… A lot of anger that’s been repressed.” She points to the fourth one, a huge building that had cracks, to her upside down, with bricks falling like dust. “And this one… This one says really bad things will happen. You will crumble, probably be at your worst. But then…” She points to the last one. “All will be well, there’s always always calm after the storm and soon, you’ll be surrounded by friends. Everything will work out!”

Zelda clutched a fist, nodding along. “Wow! That’s a very good explanation! It kinda makes sense too! It’s… Hope bringing!”

“Meh, what can I say? I like bringing hope whenever I can!” She smiles. 

A man walks behind them, patting Nomura’s shoulder. “Ms. Nomura! We’re gonna be late to the meeting.” 

The woman gave him an annoyed look, frowning deeply before turning her head to the woman once again. “Thank you for that Nini. I hope the reading comes true.” 

“Same to you, ‘Ms. Nomura’!” She smiles, nodding to the man respectfully. His aura sounded incredibly similar to hers, yet his was like an untuned orchestra. “Hope the meeting goes well!”

Before they left, Suniva managed to overhear them whispering to each other. The man with the turtleneck spoke first, she watched him from the corner of her eye. “Since when do you care for corner superstitions?”

“Since I had a bad night and like distractions, Strickler.” His name dripped like poison from the woman’s lips.

“Strickler” huh? That name was familiar, for a very obvious reason. Had that night not been the battle between Jim and Draal, she’d confront, but for now all she could do was burn the image of the two into her mind. Thinking about the situation, she pulled another card, looking into the eyes of the reversed moon. Blinded path and illusions. 

She sighed, getting up and going to her bike. The bright yellow fiery paint glinting under the sunlight, she felt the warm leather and hopped on, riding through the streets until she was off Arcadia. 

☀

When night descended upon Arcadia, the solar sister joined the children in Trollmarket. 

It was the last night of training before the rematch with Draal. Jim moved fast, reacting to everything around him, every blow and every click of mechanisms. It alerted him, it brought a reaction. This was, of course, a controlled environment, and the training there was nothing like the training she knew Draal to have. And yet, it was all the boy would get before such an event, he was ready, though she could tell he did not believe it.

He and Toby improved, her readings often were accurate, more accurate than what she gave credit for, yet there was a pressure on her throat she couldn’t shake off. 

By ending of training that night, she watched as Jim jumped when she approached.

“Ibi siste.” She called out, and Jim’s feet were stuck to the ground. 

He turned around, flushed and annoyed. “Hey! What gives?!”

“I wanted to talk. And you’re not running from me.” She insisted, walking up while shooing Toby. “Remember the exercises I passed you. It’ll make your joints feel better.”

“Thanks Suniva! Good luck Jimbo!”

When they were out of earshot, Suniva unstuck the boy’s shoes. “You been distracted, Trollhunter.”

“Oh, no! Just impending doom on my mind. No biggie.” The sarcasm made the sun wizard cackle, her laugh echoing in the room.

“Get used to it. It’s not gonna be the first time you have to deal with it.” She took her stance, golden armour shining as she challenged him. “On guard.”

He lunged at her, striking her trident with his sword, she defended, then he defended, switching roles in a dance. “Besides this supposed impending doom, what else is occupying your mind?”

Jim went quiet, for a moment Suniva thought she was being too harsh, then he started talking again. “I saw something the other day. In the museum. I swear it looked like the killahead bridge!” 

Suniva’s heart throbbed, she disarmed the trollhunter with a swift move, forcing him down and lowering her voice. “Are you sure it was it?”

He pulled out his phone, opening it on a picture sent to him from Toby’s phone, it was incredibly blurry and darkened. Almost impossible to make out what the image was. There was a faint resemblance, it was clearly an arch of some sort and seemed to be inscribed with something, though it was too hard to tell what it was. 

“I- I know it doesn’t look the part! But I swear Suniva! I swear it was it!” He begged, with desperation and honesty in his voice.

But simply a picture would not be enough, especially not one of that quality. “I believe you Jim.” 

“Really?!”

“Of course! You’re not someone who lies easily. So, I have no reason to not believe you!” She ruffled his hair, undoing her armour. “But I gotta say, you gotta take one battle at a time. Thank you for telling me. I’ll keep an eye out for you, but focus on fighting Draal.”

The boy’s shining eyes dimmed, disappointment clouding his mind. “I will. Okay.” 

“Nice.” She got up. “Forward that photo to me, okay? I’ll take a better look. Tomorrow’s your big night, you gotta rest and refresh. Your life is on the line.”

The boy nodded, moving off just as Blinky, Avaluna and Aaarrrgh joined her in the field. When he left and the doors closed behind him, they turned to each other. 

“He told you about the bridge.” Avaluna stated. 

Suniva nodded. “Did. But what do we do?”

“I mean- The picture was awful. There is no way to say with conviction what it was.” Blinky was dubious, of course, his reputation about conspiracy theories overshadowing his senses. “I know Master Jim would not lie about something so grave… I worry.”

“So do we, Blinky. I told ‘im to focus on his battle tomorrow.” Suniva stretched, tiredness getting to her. “I think it’s for the best that me and Ava deal with it.”

Avaluna nodded. “Did he tell you about the… Woman?”

“What woman?”

“According to Jim, the museum curator changed after hours.” The conviction in her voice was clear, bringing old rumors to the younger sister.

“Changelings? In Arcadia?”

“It seems so.” 

That was serious, very serious. “What does the museum curator look like as a human?”

“According to Tobias’ testimony, black straight short hair, bright green eyes and light skin.”

Suniva’s eyes widened once again, a shiver running down her spine. “I saw that woman earlier. Walking with Strickler into the museum.” The aura, the reading, now it made sense. “When I watched her aura, it was like it was a shattered record put together. Even her reading was… Like a double shot.”

“Strickler’s aura was the same when I saw it.” Both of them frowned. “If they are changelings, then there is a bigger threat about Bular than we previously thought.”

“He’s gathering an army. If the boys were right, which I think they were, then…”

“Then Killahead might really be being pieced together.” Blinky concluded, even Aaarrrgh’s fur rose. “Even then. It would take hundreds of changelings to piece the bridge! We certainly would’ve noticed…” The wizards looked among each other. “We would… Correct?”

“This is the first time me and my sister have seen a changeling in person…” Avaluna explained. “It is impossible to know how many there would be by now.” 

Blinky paced around, biting his fingers nervously. “This is terrible…”

The sun sister stepped forward, stopping Blinky before he went into a full breakdown. “We will take things slowly. For now, we support Jim for his fight tomorrow, then we follow up the supposed changeling threat.”

Her words were calm, calmer than he had ever heard her speak, her confidence had always been an anchor to those around her. The troll sighed, finally agreeing. The only thing they were all sure of is that there was a battle tomorrow which would end up deciding the future, whether they liked it or not.

☀

Trolls started clamoring the arena that night, from all corners of Trollmarket. Bets were being made, people were laughing, some of the more sympathetic and trusting ones actually worried for the trollhunter. Suniva and Avaluna, as well as Blinky and Aaarrrgh, waited at the door. Avid glances everywhere, greeting anyone they knew particularly, comforting anyone who actually believed in Jim.

Draal had walked past them to the other side of the arena, the side of the challenged. He saw the sisters, saw Suniva, usually when he was challenged she’d be warm and excited, now her angry eyes would have melted the crystals on his back if he got too close. So he walked away, huffing under his breath, returning the fire she sent his way. Avaluna sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop them, but thanking it would be over soon.

Jim arrived, more energy than anyone thought would be possible, just as Vendel’s voice started rising through the arena. Avaluna had already explained Jim’s name and Jim’s mother’s name, so that part would go smoothly. They recapped the rules, then a surprising realization came.

“I was reading the book- and it mentions a beast that didn’t have grunknuts but soft flesh under the scales! Does Draal have a weak spot?!” 

Blinky reveled at the notion he was not the only reader (besides Avaluna) to have found use in the books, Suniva herself was more than pleased at him taking the move. 

As Jim was called inside, just as he headed inside, the solar wizard grinned and held the boy’s shoulder firmly. “He does.”

Then the gates shut. 

While the trio of trainer and wingmans watched from the gate, Suniva moved towards the stands, not even realizing her sister had disappeared from sight. 

From above, she watched next to Vendel and other bystanders.

“I hear you prepared him well.” The old goat stated.

“I did what I could. I said what needed to be said. Blinky did a lot of the work if I’m honest.”

The begrudging sigh was never lost on the woman. “Why do you all insist on relying os much on him, I’ll never understand.”

“It’s more Luna than me. She trusts him, and honestly? So do I. He’s been nothing but compassionate and patient, exactly where Jim needed. Like he used to do with Kanjigar and the others.” Vendel scoffed. “I know you’re worried Vendel. I can sense it, everyone can. But Jim’s not naive, neither are we. He will be ready, sooner than you think too.”

The fight escalated, Jim was now running from Draal, screaming at the top of his lungs. Vendell frowned, fearing his prediction was correct. The boy was frightened, running away, cowering. Suniva knew exactly what he believed in, living around him enough to know just how much the elder struggled with change. 

“I know change terrifies you Vendel.” She looked up. “I remember when I dyed my hair, you wouldn’t look at me.”

“It was undignified. You looked like a pink puffler bunny.” 

“You complained about all hairstyles I tried on.” She smiled calmly, picking a curl from her head and twisting it on her finger. “You only liked one… Which is the one I wore when we met.”

The old man’s hands closed in fists. “It suits you best…”

“But it’s not about the hair, is it?” She looked up, sitting on the barrier and watching Vendel attentively. “Trolls don’t change. But humans do. You’re afraid of that.”

There was a long pause, safe for the taunting from Draal and screams from the trollhunter. “Change has done nothing for me.” 

Suniva sighed, keeping watch intently of the battle, she then directed her words to Vendel. “It hasn’t been nice to me either… But change I learned, it’s not gonna stop comin’... So you either learn to accept it or it’ll destroy you.” Jim was on the ground again, Draal approaching menincily. Before the bigger opponent could react, he was kicked in the groin to the pain of all watching. Jim taking the opportunity he had his back turned to hide behind his blind spot, using it to move around. Suniva grinned widely, “B’sides… Not all changes are bad.”

Jim used the arena to his favor. 

A giant axe struck Draal, sending him to the other side of the arena and off the edge. There were collective gasps from the audience, but Draal was still alive, though hanging from the edge. 

A chant began, bystanders urging the trollhunter to finish the fight. 

Suniva knew this was coming, so did Draal when he accepted. Though a chill still made its way down her spine, her eyes glued to the scene. Draal had been horrible the past weeks, nothing like the boy she played with when she was younger, nothing like the little brother she helped to raise, nothing like the friend she trusted. Yet, she knew, she did not want his journey to end there, not then, not yet.

When Jim raised his sword, she watched his aura, it flowed like a flame. Strong, unyielding, angry even. But then… 

The sword came down.

And Draal was still alive. 

Jim helped him off the ledge, bringing him up once more. He was defeated… in more ways than one. 

The action was booed by most of the audience, as they had gone there to see more blood than what had been spilled. The trollhunter stood by his decision, raising his voice to the crowd, beginning a speech of warning about a threat above their heads. 

Suniva knew what he was planning on saying, ready to stop him when thankfully Blinky did, pulling him away as the crowd shifted to shaming Draal instead. 

He’d not be able to face Trollmarket anymore. 

She had not seen such a somber expression on him in a long long time, she pitied him, making the mental note to seek him after the battle. Perhaps now, humbled, he’d recognize what she had meant. Draal might be stubbron, even more than Vendle, but she knew he would honor his end of a deal, even if he hated it.

Winking to a shocked and thoughtful Vendel, she flew down, joining Jim and Toby and congratulating the young Trollhunter. 

“HA HAAAA!! I TOLD YA!! I TOLD YA YOU COULD DO IT!!!” her instincts acted first and she hugged the boy tightly, before realizing and letting him go. “Op! Sorry- force of habit!” 

“No worries-” Jim strained his back, now hurting double. “So… When can we focus on Killahead?”

As he asked, Vendell appeared, calling for Aaarrrgh and Blinky, as well as Suniva. “Right now! Go rest. We’ll handle the old goat.”

Jim and Toby agreed, heading off while Suniva went to talk to Vendel.

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

Questions and Answers

Avaluna sat in her office, now much more decorated, she had just had the visit of a few students and was reorganizing a few files when the brunette boy walked in with a defeated sigh. Avaluna quickly understood, apparently the mission of making sure the goblins didn’t eat Jim’s classmate wasn’t as successful as Blinky had reported, taken the boy seemed beaten up. He sat down on the couch near her table, throwing his head back.

Before she could ask, he spoke. “Did Blinky say anything…? About last night?”

The wizard tilted her head, putting down her files, she sat on a chair near him, true psychologist style. “He told me it was successful, that your friend was not the target and you escaped with your lives.” 

“Did he tell you how I didn’t… I didn’t kill the gnome?” 

Avaluna tilted her head, urging him to continue. The young one vented to her, about his incapability of taking a life, of the weight that decision had on him, about how it seemed unfair to the gnome. The counselor listened, understanding, and saddened. Then he told her of Blinky’s reaction to finding Chompsky in the dollhouse, as well as Suniva. The moon wizard frowned when hearing of her sister’s harshness. 

“... I don’t know… It’s all just so… Confusing…” He sighed once more, pressing his eyes with his palms. 

Avaluna watched with compassion, smiling softly. “Nothing magical is anything but confusing. It is a bit like what you humans call ‘chemistry’, sometimes the same things will have a plethora of different compatibilities which may cause the most confusing of results.” The boy looked at her, dubious, yet somewhat appeased. “Yes, you did not follow the second rule. But there have been others who changed rules in the past, Gorgul The Gentle for one, took six centuries before he ever used of the second rule, many times, his calm disposition disarmed his enemies. Kanjigar himself, most times was merciful with his foes.” She helped him to his feet, smiling softly. “You are the Trollhunter now, you arc with the consequences for your actions. That is not to say your consequences will be negative. Taking a life should not be something expected, if you do not have to, then I see not a reason why you should.” 

Jim take a deep breath, nodding to her with a smile. “Thank you, Miss Lunalima.” 

“Glad to help.” 

She opens the door to Jim, though his shocked expression. She turns around and finds the history teacher at the threshold, his stare towards the both of them was a mix of softness and apathy. Though when his eyes fell on the Trollhunter, it held the same confusion they now expressed.

“Ah! Young Atlas! I didn't think I'd find you here.” As he said so, Avaluna kept a professional stance. “We’ve not had time to introduce ourselves properly, Miss Lunalima. I am Mr. Strickler, social studies teacher. Though I was informally known as the ‘unpaid Counselor’ by my students.” 

He offered his hand for a handshake, Avaluna was always cautious of those, for a foul deal was always sneaking around her work. Though, as there was nothing implied, she shook it, feeling as be held a tad aggressively to her hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Strickler. Indeed we did not have much time! I was quite busy setting up my new office.” 

The teacher turned once more to his student, “Well run along, Young Atlas, lunch time is over. You should be going for coach's class now.” 

“Yeah! Right away!” The boy turned to the wizard, a smile on his lips. “Thank you! Miss Lunalima! Bye Mr. Strickler!”

“Bye Jim.”

“See you in class Young Atlas!” 

Both said their phrases at the same time. 

Then Strickler turned to her once more, still a sympathetically empty smile in his lips. “Would it be alright if I came in? It is a personal tradition of mine to always get to know my new colleagues as soon as possible!”

“Of course! That sounds like a great idea!” Pretending not to see through the façade, she let him in with another smile, closing the door and sitting at the chair while gesturing to the couch. 

Strickler took in the room as he sat, scanning through everything, from the books to the statues and crystals. “Why I see you've made yourself at home already!”

“Indeed, I had quite a few things to bring from Brazil.”

“Oh? You're Brazilian?” His tone was of genuine surprise. 

“Ah! Yes, well. My parents were Greek, but lived in Brazil for most of their adult years. I was raised there, in fact.” Lying about ones past life was easy, when you coated it with a heavy dose of truth. “What about you? Where's the Strickler family's origins?”

“Oh well, most of my family is Bulgarian. Yet myself was born I'm Britain, but after living in America So long, you loose A good chunk of the accent.” He smiled, catching a glimpse of a coffee maker near her desk. “Oh? You brought a coffee maker with you?”

She turned to look at it, understanding the cue she got up to make some. “Ah, yes. I learned the students are not allowed to drink the coffee from the teacher's lounge. Though, for some, I thought it nice to have some available.”

“You are indeed very thoughtful.” He nods, “Would you have espresso perhaps?” 

“Mhm.” She makes her latte, then an espresso, putting it in separate cups. “So? How is the rest of the faculty? I have not had proper time to meet them myself.”

“Well, Ms. Janet works hard as the math teacher and Theather coordinator, however her passion for one is clear over the other. Señor Uhl, the Spanish teacher, has a reputation of being quite brash and strict, but he has his students' best Interest at heart. Coach Lawrence is a bit… Aloof, but also competent in his work.” He lists, quite mechanically.

“Interesting. I cannot wait to meet them better myself.” She sits, sipping from the coffee, the sweetened taste soothing her senses. “You seem rather close to Jim, though ‘Young Atlas’ is quite an interesting choise of nickname don’t you think?”

Strickler turns to her, a bit of a calmly confused look in his eyes. “Well I admit, Jim has become quite a protectee under my tutelage. His mother is single, he is the only one in the house for most of the day. When I found out he was cooking for himself, his mother and best friend? I pitied him, I must say.” 

She nodded, taking in that information, if it was true or not she would question the boys. “Even then, that nickname doesn't sound appropriate.”

“Oh?” He now looks at her, almost a challenging stare. “And why's that?”

She puts the coffee aside, fixing her posture and reflecting his glance. “For one, Atlas held the sky on his shoulders, not the world. Secondly, besides reminding him that he has been supporting his own heaven on his shoulders, the nickname is nothing but quite the cruel joke.”

Through his shattered aura, Avaluna can feel shame and something else, even if it was too shattered to tell. “Perhaps you are right. Perhaps that nickname is not as kind as I intended. However, I do care a lot for Jim. He’s a kindhearted young man. And has difficult dealings as is.”

“Indeed. He’s not confided in me much, however I see in his files he only has his mother as his assigned guardian… I can only deduce of course, however, it doesn’t take much to do so.” Avaluna finished her latte, setting the cup aside, she smiled. “I can assure you, Mr. Strickler, that the boy is in good hands. Same with every other student in the school.” 

The man nodded, a gentle and kind smile on his face. The man got up, also having finished his coffee. “I hope your time in Arcadia Oak’s High is a happy one, our town is truly magical.” 

“Oh, I know. My brothers lived here and that is exactly how he sees it.” She smiled kindly, watching him go out the door. 

Walter stopped, however, noticing the charm on the door. “Ah, I forgot to mention! Nice charm you have.”

“Thank you, it’s supposed to protect against bad energies!” Her smile did not waver as she closed the door. 

Alone again, Avaluna sighed. Returning to her desk, she sat down, now able to think clearly about what she witnessed. 

The man called “Mr. Strickler” had… Something for an aura. It was like he had two creatures fighting, truly, it was as if he was made of two beings. She had never seen anything like that. All the other faculty members seemed normal, yet he wasn’t. She had never seen a soul like that, shattered. It was even harder to read. One part of the soul, it was recoiled, hiding behind the other, which for all she accounted for sounded like a normal human soul. The “normal” human soul meanwhile displayed quite a few emotions.

Fear.

Sadness.

Shame.

Care.

Anger.

Resentment…

Those were simply a few, only the ones she could clearly see at least. Yet there were some, some more complex ones, that hid so far from sight there was no way of knowing. 

There was something really wrong there. 

She needed to know more. 

—

“Alright, this, Toby, will be perfect for you.” Suniva smiled, presenting the redhead with his new weapon. “A warpick.”

The redhead’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped, fawning over his weapon. It was a heavy pick, it had several carvings in it of a serpentine beast which was cut in half by a orange jewel. The handle was smooth metal as well, much like the blade, it was covered in leather for better grip. It’s copper-coloured metal shining through. He held it, getting a feel for the material and weight. 

“Awesome sauseeeeee!!” He cheered, swinging it around and feeling it’s weight.

“It’s right up your alley, heavy enough to cause damage, but light enough that you can hold it with ease. When you learn to use it, which Blinky will be glad to teach you…” They turn to Blinky, who’s continuing to train Jim for the next battle. “Once he’s done with Jim.” 

The redhead frowns as he watches, turning to the sun wizard. “Look… I… Thanks a lot for training Jim and all… But…” His worry was clear in his face. “You’re… You’re sure, like ABSOLUTELY SURE that… That he will make it out of the rematch alive?”

Suniva turned to Toby, blinking a bit in confusion as she did so. She had told them what it meant to challenge a troll’s honor, of course, it was a valuable piece of information to keep from them. The solar sister turns from the boy to the Trollhunter, watching as he skillfully weilded his weapon under Blinky’s teachings to guide the strikes. He was getting better, honing his abilities, learning to control fear. But there was still a lot to get better, and if she was honest, just by watching him, she didn’t know the answer. 

Not when she knew Draal was out for blood like he was.

Returning her gaze to Toby, the sun wizard smiled, though her brow was furrowed. “Right now, friend? It’s too early to tell. But… I am quite certain, by the time danger comes, he’ll be ready.” 

The answer was clearly not what he was looking for, but for the time being, he seemed calmed. The sound of crashing came from the center of the arena, the duo looked only to find Jim had destroyed the dummy he practiced against, impailing it’s “face” with Daylight. Both cheered, and upon witnessing the boy’s tiredness, Suniva called him to rest while Toby took up training with his new war pick. Jim pondered on the choice of weapon, questioning Suniva.

“Like- Are you sure a sword wouldn’t be better?”

“Jim, my boy, if it was my will? You’d not even have a sword t’ begin with!” She admitted as both leaned back to watch Toby train. “Having an amplitude of weaponry range makes it a lot easier to overcome your opponents. They’ll come ready for you and your sword, but they won’t be expecting your squire to hold a pickaxe!”

Although more clumsy than Jim and a lot less prepared, Toby swung the pickaxe with fortitude, striking the new dummy in the arm. There was some reluctance, when mentioned not all his targets would be… Well, inanimate objects, but Blinky’s encouragement seemed to work well as comfort. The boy quickly threw his pick for another swing, embeding the sharp point into the arm of the dummy. 

“He seems to be doing well on training.” The voice of Avaluna startled Jim, who screamed, jumping away and startled Blinky and Toby. Her sister standing as she was unphased. “I am sorry, Trollhunter. I did not mean to frighten you.”

“How- When-?!” He questioned pointing at the moon wizard then in the direction of the Forge’s entrance not too far.

“Oh, I only just got here. Owl wings are quite silent when flying!” She announced, finally retracting them. “May I steal my sister a moment?” 

Suniva frowned, walking alongside her sister to a more quiet place in the forges stands, where they continued to watch the training session from above. 

“Jim has told me what you said about the ‘gnome situation’.” Avaluna began, not looking at her younger sister. “You were quite harsh.”

“He spared a gnome. If he’s willing to do that! What will he do when he’s faced with a bigger threat?” She sighed. “Blinky would’ve told you. He can’t just… Not finish a fight! It’s troll rules! Trollhunting etiquete! As Kanjigar would say.” 

“Yes, but those rules were made in times when fighting was of the essential. When WAR reeked into homes and DEATH rained from every cardinal direction.” Avaluna put a hand on Suniva’s shoulder, her bright eyes turning to the eldest. “Those rules were made for trolls. Trolls that were hardened by the life they lived and even more by the places they were raised. Who knows how history would have turned if there had been more mercy?”

“Well, ‘mercy’ has never done any good by me.” She sighed, watching as Jim rejoined the circle, now fighting against Toby on a legitimate spar. “Mercy could be the end of him…”

“Or, it could lead a better path.” Avaluna watched as well.

For Suniva, it was two warriors fighting, as it had always been. 

For Avaluna, she saw two boys, who had been dragged into a magical world with no better knowledge and that marked a new age of Trollhunting.

“Never in the amulet’s life, has there been a human trollhunter. Perhaps, my sister, this symbolizes that there are changes to our world. A world where there is more humanity in battles.” She gestured to the battle, of the two humans that now spared in the arena. 

Jim managed to disarm Toby, who was laughing as his best friend helped him up. 

“Heh… I remember when we began sparring.” Avaluna mused. “You always won.”

“Well, yes, but you also beat me at every spell! I took ages to get to your level.” Suniva chuckled, but then her features saddened again, thoughtful before she spoke. “I’ll ease up on them. And do a few card pulls.” 

“I think that would be lovely, sister.” 

They returned to gazing at the arena, where now both humans were being given a lecture about Troll history, all while the two continued sparing. It was then they caught a glimpse of Toby managing to push Jim’s sword from his hand, with both celebrating as he did. Suniva herself cheered from the stands, together with Avaluna who clapped politely from where she stood.

—

As they all exited the Forge, there was a distant call by a known crystal back. 

“Suniva!! Hey!! Suni!!” Draal seemed cheerful, completely ignoring the group and instead focusing on the sun-wizard. Who barely seemed to register him there. “Me and the others are coming to the pub! We’re playing Glug-gnome! Come join!”

The Trollhunter and his friend continued on his way with Blinky and Aaarrrgh in tol, only Avaluna remaining to watch the scene, more for the safety of Draal than anything else. Suniva watched as the rest of the group left her vision, before turning a glare at Draal, her lips twisted in a spiteful snare before she flew away, returning to the forge and shutting the door behind her. The crystal back watching in disappointed astonishment, huffing through it.

“You have not apologized,” Avaluna commented. “You know she will not falter on her promise.”

“She insulted my father! And I am supposed to apologize?!” He growled, anger just as fierce as Suniva’s.

Avaluna sighed, approaching and looking the troll in the eyes, “You have also called her a witch. You are not a fool to what that symbolises. I do not agree to what she has said either, however you know far too well your behaviour thus far is also reprimendable and furthermore childish!” 

Draal avoided her stare, he might not have his father, truth be told he lost him far before his death, yet he had too much respect for Avaluna. Her scolds felt cold as ice, and burned like a flame. 

Still, he knew to stand his ground. “When I prove her wrong. I’ll be the one wanting an apology.”

The moon-wizard shook her head, if they looked any more alike, she could swear Draal and Suniva had the same stubbornness. “Mayhaps you will see yourself with less one ally.” 

Walking past him, the wizard goes on, flying to the library. She had research to do.

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

Larimar and Friend

Now, I do not often find myself at need to explain myself, but I suppose it only makes sense I do. This is a one off in a random "what if" Angor survives the Eternal Night just with permanent scarring and trauma. Instead, he finds a friend in a unlikely place.

---

Well, it wasn't exactly a plan to find a troll in the woods one day, as you went to find some wood for a new project. At first, Larimar thought it was some sort of costume, but that's when you saw him eat, just plucking a branch out of an oak tree and munching down on it like a beaver. Then she got, justifiably, scared, taken he was much taller than herself or anyone she knew. However, that was only until the woman saw the little totem he produced, intricately carved, with little nooks and crannies. 

It was really impressive, especially for someone with such big hands. Although at first fearful, it led her to start approaching. Perhaps if she presented him with something, it’d wanna be her friend. After all, even in the city, one should always try to get on a fey’s good side. Well, this guy didn’t look like a fey, but he also did not look human. Either way, friends are usually better than enemies.

It took a while.

Angor was one stubborn creature, as well as hard to find.

Finally free from the café, Larimar collapsed on the bed of her small flat, ready to fall asleep. When a recognizable hoarse voice echoed from the door. 

“Finally you return.” 

She groaned, ready to toss a pillow on his face. “Well one of us needs to make ends-meat.” 

The troll rolled his eyes, sitting on the floor by the bed and tossing a small stone on it next to Larimar. It had been intricately carved with a mountain pattern. “How much for it?”

“Meh, 40 bucks, I think?”

“If it was made from my flesh?”

Larimar gave a good look at it. “It isn’t. This is granite. You’re clay. So 40 bucks.”

He huffed. “Why is your wood more valuable, if it is easily made?”

“Easy?!”  Oh, now she was offended, lighting up her bedside light and sitting up in a way that made him have a smug grin. “Do you know how expensive it is to buy sealant?! The energy bill I have to pay for the scorch tool?! The amount of techniques are VERY expensive, mind you!”

Angor laughed, a cackle almost. Larimar was confused, glaring at him.

“There is your nightly energy. Get up. I cooked.” 

Ah, this was his plan. “Seriously? Dude, I’m tired.”

“You already did not eat breakfast, I heard not of you during your lunch, so either you come willing or I am dragging you out of that bed myself.” He glared at her, a smug grin on his face. “I am not letting you starve.”

Larimar groaned and rolled over on her bed, wrapping herself in the covers. Angor was not pleased by that. With a low hiss, he walked over once again, this time unceremoniously grabbing the woman by the torso with one hand and dragging her in her covers. She fought, but she could do little against her larger housemate. 

“ANGOR, FUCK STOPE IIIT!!!” 

It was only a minute until she was sat down on the couch and served a warm plate of rice and the leftover tuna paste. So that is what he “cooked”? 

“If it sits in the ‘fridge’ for another day it will mold. So you eat it.” 

“Why don’t YOU eat it?”

“Who was the one that insisted on buying the horrible paste?” He glared at her. Right, he didn’t like tuna. “And you also have not eaten.” 

Sticking her tongue out in tease, she started eating, only then realizing how empty her stomach felt. The blue-haired devoured the rice and tuna. It was good, after all, she made it.  

He just reheated the rice and put the paste on it. Either way, she was thankful. Someone did have to be the inventory manager, and she already managed enough as is. 

Angor grabbed a packet of cinnamon sticks, eating them like cookies. 

“You better not eat the entire thing, I was gonna make tea with it.”

“Again, you say that every time we go grocery shopping.”

“And? I meant it! Exactly what time at home did I have in the past week?” 

“If you let me do it I wouldn’t eat the cinnamon you don’t use.”

“Last time, you almost burned the flat down. You heard what Britney said, either you keep off the kitchen or we’re both out of here.” She sat down the empty bowl in the sink, rinsing it before putting it in the dishwasher. “Look, it’s not my fault that you got kicked out of the sewers. SO deal with it.”

He sent toward her a not very polite gesture, which she reciprocated. Angor finished the last bit of the cinnamon sticks, before pulling the carving kit from under tha couch, he moved to the balcony, where he got to carving. Their etsy wasn’t bad, but it was low on business recently, the designs seemed not as appealing as once were. 

Larimar caught sight, sighing, she went together and sat with him, grabbing her own unfinished commission. The bird totem she was making was simple, it was of a parrot, wings closed, feet open as it looked up curiously. The commissioner mentioned their love of birds, how that one was special for they worked with one. Larimar always enjoyed the little history behind the carvings made, she knew Angor did as well, even if he did not take the commissions.

Trauma’s a real bitch.

They sat quietly together, carving like they did when they met. 

“I am off work tomorrow.”

“Which one?”

“Coffee shop and Diner! I only get half the day on the diner, actually but I at least got time to do groceries!” 

“Good, I’ll go with you.” She turned to him, wide eyes in confusion. “What?”

“You. Wanna come with me to do groceries?”

“Yes?”

“Since when?”

“Since you only buy things that spoil.”

“Hey! You like some things that ‘spoil’ too!” She protested, taking another slip from the bird. “And don’t you like, have no idea how much money is worth?”

“And I am not going to find out if you don’t show me.” He glared back. “Besides, I can carry more than you do. And I do not like going to Trollmarket to eat.” 

“Why? Isn’t food there made for trolls?” 

“It is, but for one, I have my own diet. Secondly… I'd rather not come back poisoned.” another look of shock, Angor was swift to explain. “People still remember what I did and seldom forgive me.”

Alright, that was somewhat understandable. Didn’t he also die for them though? Meh, it was hard to understand.

“Alright, fine. I don’t see why not.” 

He nodded, a wide grin revealing he was proud of himself, the reply being a roll of Larimar’s eyes. 

She only lasted another ten minutes of carving, before her hands were becoming too tired to do anything else. So she crawled to bed, slithering under the blankets and leaving her roommate to his devices. 

— — —

One grueling day of taking shit from customers later, Larimar bid farewell to her coworkers, slamming into her roommate on the door. Angor covered himself with a cape and long clothes, the usual attire at the beginning of the night for trolls nowadays. 

The cape covered many of his cracks, his gloves were weighted, soothing some of the aches on his wrists. Larimar was no doctor, but friends said compression was good pain relief for some things. His right eye, perpetually closed after he lost his ocular globe, was covered by an eyepatch. It was quite the outfit, but the woman was not one to say anything, much less judgemental things. 

“You ready?” She asks, tiredly stretching.

“As you humans say: ‘Let's go!’” He gestured to the sidewalk behind him. 

Larimar chuckled, swerving on her heels, walking in the opposite direction. The troll merely rolled his eyes and followed, he was lost in the city since he wasn’t on the hunt for anything or anyone. It was sundown by now, the street lights began to turn on, house lights started coming on, there were more trolls on the streets and fewer humans. Since the “Hearthstone” or whatever died, a lot of trolls started coming to the surface, at least at night, to try to bask in some heat off of the leftover solar radiation. 

Some humans change sidewalks whenever a troll passes by them, not caring about intention or what they seem to be doing. But Larimar kept going, bidding a polite greeting to the other trolls whenever it felt proper. If living in America taught her anything, was that there were many kinds of people, trolls were just people on the taller side. Most of the now fully acquitted troll residents greeted her warmly, some even knew her from the cafe and were especially kind.

Safe to say, it wasn’t the same for Angor. He was often met with cold glares and growls, even hisses, in some cases. Larimar didn’t know much of his history, simply he was disliked, she never understood exacly the extent of what he did to be like that. Besides the thing of allying with an evil witch who honestly might as well have brainwashed him, she was left in the dark, all she knew is he was changing and did not deserve the treatment. 

Their arrival at the market where the woman did most of the shopping was a relief, it was a fairly small market but had good prices and a good selection of items. She had found it at the beginning of her stay at Arcadia and it had never let her down, not even once. So, naturally, the woman became the place's official favorite customer. 

Crossing the double-sided doors, Angor was almost slapped in the face with all the smells. It wasn’t bad, but very strong. Spice racks were on one side, a selection of vegetables on another, drinks, and so on. For a small space, it made very good use of it. 

Someone called Larimar from the register, catching both of their attention. “Larimar! Came back on quite the random day huh!” 

She chuckled, which lowered Angor’s tension. She turned to the troll and explained. “That’s Berto! He’s the market owner!” 

Berto looked from her to the troll she brought along, smiling as he finished wrapping up an old lady’s purchase. “You must be the grumpy roommate! Glad to finally meet you!” He gave a friendly wink, not even looking at the computer as he typed. “Well, Larimar will show you the ropes! Have fun! Mi market su market!” 

Larimar nodded and kept moving, Angor following, watching intently as she picked a basket from a stack and started looking through the items. He could somewhat tell the contents in some packages, mostly the ones with clear containers, however, he was still getting used to the Latin alphabet. The woman knew, so she read the labels as she picked, helping explain whatever he didn’t understand about it and how to pick better. 

Although it was a bit tiring to explain everything, she did admit it was nice having a taller person pick the top-shelf products she couldn’t reach. They were already through most of the list when Larimar noticed people staring, humans, of course. She turned to him, giving him her “how long?” look.

“Maybe half an hour.” 

Daum. She was losing her awareness. “Good thing we’re almost done.”

Finally moving on to the dairy section, Angor noticed something from the corner of his eye, a section of “treats” as he was told. He had momentarily tried some, he could still remember the packaging of the one that did not taste horrible. He was supposed to start eating more, as the healer said, so, at least make it worth while. 

“I’ll rejoin you in a second.” 

Larimar chuckled, watching him go. “One. There.” 

He turned back unimpressed, ignoring the pun and making his way to the shelf. Scanning it, there was no sign of the green package he remembered, nor any of the symbols he remembered. He took mental note to hurry up his learning of the human language. 

A whimper took his attention, right next to him stood a small child, looking at him while clutching the edge of their shirt. For a moment, they stared at each other. Realizing he was likely intimidating while standing, he took a step beside and crouched down. For as young as the child seemed, they understood, approaching the shelf. 

Looking through it, their eyes shone as they found what they searched on the highest shelf. Angor watched with the corner of his eye as the tiny one jumped, trying to reach it, only to fail and almost knocking the other ones below. It was a few more failed tries, before the child gave up. Sad semblance pouting with tears on their eyes.

As they were about to turn away, Angor picked the bag and handed to them. “Here. You wanted it, right?” 

The child looks up, eyes bright and nods, taking it. “Thank you, Mr Troll!” They smiled. “Do you need help?”

Angor was surprised by the question, chuckling. “My… Eye doesn't work very well. Do you see anything vegan?”

The child took the mission with determined eyes, scanning the sections attentive to detail. It was a bit, as Angor was about to give up, when they spoke again. 

“This one’s vegan!” They smile, pointing out a purple bag. “Look, this little leaf means it's vegan!” 

They explain proudly, handing the bag that the troll took. “Ah! I see now! Thank you. It was of great help.” 

The childs chest puffed up in pride as they ran to their parent not too far down the isle, watching the interaction with a soft smile as the child excited about the little conversation. When their eyes crossed, they nodded to him and he nodded back, making his way back to where Larimar stood. She had just picked the last item from the frozen section, putting it on the basket. 

“Oh hey! Got yourself a treat huh?” The woman put the bag in the basquet and continued all the way to the cash register line. 

There weren’t all those many people, some who had so little items the line went fast. He lowers himself to talk to Larimar more quietly. “Is it usually like this? Why do you take so long whenever you come here?”

“Because I do not come here on weekdays and whenever I do, I come at the same time as everyone does.” She explains calmly. 

Then the sound of the door banging open alarms both of them, together with everyone in the store together with aggressive yelling. Berto was still at the cash register, the tension on his shoulders was clear from a mile, he looked around and tried to sneakily gesture everyone to back away. Angor and Larimar stood their ground, the woman put down the groceries and slid them out of the way, Angor himself slowly unwrapped his gloves and passed them onto his friend. 

Not too long the perpetrators came into view, a bunch of teens wearing matching jackets, all with the symbol of horns along the arms and shoulders. It was a gang, a small one, but one nonetheless. The main head carried a wooden bat with him, clearly ready to do some damage. They started telling Berto he owed them, because they “protected the neighborhood from demons”, likely referring to trolls. 

“I never asked for your protection! And neither do I need it!!” He screams at the youngsters. “So get your crew and get out!!!”

The gang wasn’t threatened, instead, they were angry. The one with the bat picked it up higher, ready to strike at the old vendor. 

Well, Larimar and Angor weren’t gonna have it. 

The troll jumped ahead, grabbing the bat and swiftly disarming the boy and taking the weapon. He passed the bat to Larimar, ready to give the group an earful. When he began to feel his skin burning, drying and cracking underneath the purple UV lights they carried. 

He recoiled, hurting and unaware that they could carry those lights, he tried to protect his eye at least, the people behind him all distanced further. He could hear the young child from before yelling to his defense, pleading for the older children to stop. His limbs began feeling stiff, he needed to flee but there was nowhere to go, or else he’d risk breaking something in the shop.

That’s when Larimar appeared again, swinging the bat, she knocked one of the assaulters in the ribs, another one in the leg, successfully disloding his knee, the final one managed to take the bat back but the woman was swift. Still holding onto one of Angor’s weights and swung at the kid’s head, not strong enough to cause any permanent damage, but enough to at least confuse him enough to stop shining the UV ligth at her roomate.

Angor recollected himself, still sore from the onslaught of compressed sunlight. He stood tall, taking the lanterns and turning them off. 

“Get out of here… Before you get more bruises.” He threatened, staring at the fallen cubs. “Your protection is never wanted here.”

The children, now weaponless and injured, looked up at him in fear as he crushed the lights in his palms. They all got up and left, running down the street screaming and dodging any other trolls in their wake. With them dealt with, Larimar turned to her friend, worry taking over her as she saw half his arm was dry and gray. 

“Dude! Are you okay?!” She yelled, running to him and checking the damages. “Man, this looks painful…” He flinched when she touched it, which confirmed her expectations. “You’re gonna get this checked out…”

The troll nodded, turning back, the people were still afraid and some even looked worried. He took the basket with his hand and handed it to Larimar again, then walked towards the exit. She frowned, sighed and took the purchases with it. Took the items with a smile, tears in his eyes. They both noticed it but he did not say a word while packing their things, when it came for time to pay, $0,00 showed on the screen.

“Berto, what’re you doing?” 

He took her hand gently. “You saved my shop. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you both were not here!” He gives a reassuring nod to Angor, showing gratitude. “Tonight it’s on me, alright?”

Confused, but also thankful, Larimar accepted the terms, promising on her mind to at least give a shit load of extra payment next time. As they headed off the store, the child came running from behind a set of shelves, waving their hand and shouting. “Bye, Mr Troll! Bye, cool lady!!”

Larimar waved back and Angor did as well, waiting till out of sight to cringe at the burns. They’d heal, slowly but surely, he just needed some clay to patch up and rehydrate his wounds. The human woman was frowning at him as they walked, he rolled his eye.

“What is it?”

“You promise you will go to get those burns checked!” It was not a question. “I will pester you about it until you do!”

He sighed, wrapping the weights on his hands again. “I will, I will…” 

It was clear she was fuming, furious. “I can’t believe those dickheads… Berto didn’t deserve that…”

“Sometimes people think of glory, instead of actual heroism…” He sighs, looking over the new shallow cracks. “I did not know they could weaponize sunlight like that…”

“Well… It’s more a tool than a weapon for humans… But it’s never usually that bright…” Larimar handed Angor the keys to the apartment. “You can start putting things away if you want. I’m gonna make a call.”

Angor didn’t need much to figure out who she would call. “I’ve seen what your warriors do… I don’t believe it will be effective.” 

Larimar turned with a tiredly soft expression, “Trust me, I wish I had the patience for the police. But they don’t care much for troll matters. However, Douxie said he knew someone who could handle these kinds of things.” 

Albeit confused, Angor let her be, she was stubborn as a mule, after all. He retreated inside, laying the groceries on the kitchen counter, he shut the curtains of the small balcony and laid down on the hardwood floor with his eye on the ceiling. The pain wasn’t unfamiliar, after all it was hard to forget the Trollhunter’s trap. 

It was incredibly well laid out.

Looking back, he felt like a fool. Angry at a whelp for something he did to himself, in more ways than one. Now the pain of his body mixed with the pain in his mind, another torture sinked into his being.

The sound of the door brought him back and he found Larimar coming in, a lot calmer it seemed, carrying a bag different than the ones Berto had given them. Still under his gaze, the human retrieved a bowl from the cabinets and filled it with water, setting the down the heavy bag near him with the bowl. It fell slightly open, the earthy smell of clay quickly taking over his senses. 

His puzzled look reached her, “Turns out Douxie had shit loads of knowledge on what to do. So. I got you some clay from our sweet potter neighnoor! Remember to thank Sally!”

She smiled, moving back into the kitchen and starting to put the items away. Angor huffy chuckles, wetting his hands and starting to apply the clay, it wa an almost perfect match to his skintone. Both continued their selected tasks, till the troll broke the silence. 

“If you get the ‘oven’ going, I know how to make tea with the leftover cinnamon sticks.” 

“Dude, you don’t have to. Also its stove. Oven is where you bake things.”

“Listen to me. I do not have your currency in any capacity. You… Saved me. So. Let me repay you somehow.” He continued, carefully scrapping a squashed piece of clay off the floor. “I’ll pester you until you let me.”

Larimar turned back, weighing her options. So with a small laugh, she agreed. 

He was made “tea maker” that night.

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

Inside Assistance

The rematch was set for two weeks. Training continued in the forge, Suniva teaching all she could about combat, as well as Avaluna and Blinky complementing with their knowledge of troll lore and history. Though, after a fateful encounter with a gnome and the tale of how the spanish test went the day after, it became clear the forge wasn’t the only place where Jim needed assistance. The apprentices of Merlin debated amongst each other, the night growing darker as they walked the empty streets.

“I mean, I’d help but…” He caught movement from the corner of his eye, a trap he had laid out finally activated. “Aha! Finally!” 

In the trap, they found a slithering Hellferno, its frontpaws clawing the slippery bubble, the binding circle around strengthened by hidden stones in the walls of the buildings. It cried out with it’s three jaws open, eyes wild, but frightful. Douxie approached it carefully, hushing it, trying to calm it. 

“Shhh, shhhh, it’s alright you slippery bugger!” He touched the bubble, picking amongst the sigils on his bracelet to confect a spell. “You made a lot problems for the people… Left a lot in shambles…” 

Slowly, a green aura surrounded the bubble, the screaming beast inside stopping, it’s anger dissolving. Avaluna and Suniva smiled, when they met him, he was unable to even lift objects or make illusions. Now, he was able to calm even the most fearsome hellbonrnes. When the creature stopped completely, the star wizard popped the bubble, letting the it down slowly. 

“Aaand bob’s your uncle… See? I don’t wanna hurt you… But this isn’t your plain… There’s nothing here for you.” With more typing on the sigils, Hisirdoux opened a portal, in the other side, there was firey plane where magma ran like rivers and the skies were soot. “Go on… Don’t stand there all gobsmacked!” 

With a contempt roar, the creature slithered into the portal and it closed. He turned around, facing his sisters’ smiles with a bit of a blush. “Well well well. Good to know the Eternal Forests’ magic spreads across all realms.” 

“It doesn’t, but I did do my research when you put me up to post! So… Yeah!” Douxie smiled back to Suniva. “I don’t think I can help you two…”

“Don’t worry, we really only wanted ideas.” The sun wizard agreed, continuing to move around the streets of Arcadia. “Alright… He needs help. But how would we help him?”

“Well, I remember when I was struggling with school, the counselor was my saviour! He knew I was on my own and helped me out a lot!” He mentioned. “Luna, didn’t you have a psychology degree?”

“I do. And it is recent as well! Douxie! You are briliant!” She complimented. “However there is only hoping Arcadia Oaks has space for a school counselor…”

Lucky for her, and the young ones, it did. Apparently it had been on the look for a councelor for a while. 

When presenting herself to the student body, she caught a glimpse of Toby and Jim, their jaws dropped at the sight of her. She wore a simple dress suit, her skirt reached all the way down to her feet and her top was longsleeved, her hair was tied on a bun. Compared to the clothes she had worn when they met, she looked a lot older. 

Not the age they knew she was, thanks to Blinky mentioning she and her siblings were around in the middle ages, but around her 40’s. 

As Avaluna passed the faculty, something caught her eye about one in particular. Mr. Strickler, his aura, it was almost broken. Shattered in two. She would not speak, not yet, but it was something she had never seen before. It was like there were two souls, she had not the time to see it properly as she walked past, but it sent a shiver down her spine. 

Recomposing herself, she took the stage and the microphone. “I am glad to be here. Whatever you need, any weight you may take off of your shoulders with me. My door will be easy to find. And behind my doors, you will always find protection.”

And truth to that, it was. The moon charm that hung from the doorknob leading to “Miss Lunalima’s” office was easy to spot. When they got inside, they found it was a rather simple office, not much had been brought in except an incense holder by the window and a few blankets sticking out of a compartment on the shelves. There was the soft scent of lavender coming out of a mist machine, which sat right next to Avaluna as she read some files. 

“Oh! Hello you two! How may I help you?”

“Avaluna?! Is it really you?!” Toby gasped, trying to whisper and not be heard. “You look old!”

Jim slapped his friend, but Avaluna did not mind, she laughed, fixing the placker on the desk. “It’s Miss ‘Lunalima’, Tobias? I assume? And I am ‘40’ years old.” 

The two looked at each other, than back at Avaluna, she winked, using magic to pull down the blinds on her door. The boys sighed, relieved they were not wrong about her identity. “What are you doing here? Why are you a ‘School counceler’?!”

“Jim, my siblings and I know how difficult it is to juggle life and duty such as being the trollhunter. So, as your trainer and advisor, it is my duty to assist you in any way I can.” She puts a comforting hand on the boys shoulder, then looking at the excited and devious grin on Toby’s face. “No, Tobias, I cannot change grades. I can try to postpone tests and give you some passes in class. Nothing more.”

“Awww…” 

She giggled, moving towards the furniture that kept the blankets and pillows. “If you become too exhausted, come here during lunch break, and I will have so you may recover some rest of what you loose during training.” 

Jim sighed deeply, a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders, sleep had truly become a challenge ever since training began. It was already hard to sleep as was, with training and all the knowledge he now had, he was hardly sleeping. He had been pushing through exhaustion for a bit now, it was bound to show on his homework and if he slipped, his mom would notice. Avaluna smiled kindly, Toby thanked her with a nod and thankful glance. 

“Also, if you need assistance with studying human or troll lore, I’ll be glad to remind you and teach you what I know. However for troll history, Blinky would be most interested in teaching you.” 

Jim finally breathed back in, so thankful he couldn’t put into words. “Thank you… Miss Lunalima… This truly… It helps a lot…” He nods, turning to the door with Toby. “I’m good for today but… I’ll keep it in mind.” 

Avaluna smiled, nodding. “You are fifteen, Jim. It is not your duty to keep the world on your shoulders. You must be honest with yourself and those around you, to unburden yourself with what you cannot hold.” 

The words hit Jim, he stopped, thinking. “Can you… Talk to the theater teacher?”

It made her curious. “What for?”

“I… I'm the lead for Romeo… On the school play… And…” Ah… Yes, rehearsals were after school. It’d be hard to keep up. She could pull him out of it. “And the girl I like is in it… So… I… Well… Can you try to do something about it?” 

Oh… Oh! Well this would make things very complicated. But keeping to normalsy was something they were meant to do. 

Avaluna chuckled. “I will see what can be done. For now, class is starting. You should go.” 

They left, leaving the moon wizard to her thoughts.

—

The nights in Arcadia weren’t too cold, not too warm, perfect to moon watch. The crescent was high above the clouds, it’s energy cascading onto earth through the winds coming from the north. No matter where in the world, the moon chosen was easily guided to it, the best spot on Arcadia was still there. Safe in the woods. Watching the phases change was one of the best moments of her day, besides, her sister insisted she could train the trollhunter on her own for a night.

The white flower that surrounded her clearing, moonflowers, they were a soft reminder of the memories she held in the city. Even though it was much more than what she recalled. 

Times changed, when they did, often Avaluna found herself wondering if she’s changed well along with it. It was hard to tell herself, as although time was on her side, she felt stuck remembering many aspects of the past. 

And it did not help that the past always seemed eager to make itself known.

Heavy footsteps traced the woods beneath her. A shadow walked amongst the trees, leaving heavy footprints on his wake. She knew that shadow far too well, his presence sent a chill down her spine, her heart speeding at the sight of the familiar fur. 

Bular the Butcher was recognizable, even from the furthest of distances.

Looking up at the moon, Avaluna summoned her armour and her wings, picking her bow from inside her purse, it’s tiara appearance unfurled into it’s real stature, the bone white material glistening in the moonlight. A simple press on a hidden button unlocked her helmet, it assisted her to see in the night, but most importantly, it hid her face. Her identity. 

With that, she jumped, silently stalking the figure of the infamous butcher into the night. Her physical eyes weren’t capable of seeing him even through the lenses, however it was easy enough to track down his aura. It flowed from between the leaves like a torrencial downpour. She had no plan to intercept him, confront him, she simply wanted information. 

If she knew his hunting patterns, she’d be able to have Jim and Toby avoid them. It would buy them time, time for them to grow stronger and more prepared. Her eyes were glued to him, to his aura, he seemed tracking, she felt he was looking for something. 

Then, from the woods a sword lunged at her.

It dissoriented her, a black claw gripped her wing, she fell through the leaves, collapsing into the woods. 

Her head turned up, watching as Bular held her wing in his claws. “What kind of creature are you…?”

She could hear him sniffing the air, trying to get an idea. He was too close. With a swift movement, she twisted around, sending a blast of ice on his wrist. He recoiled, letting go of her wing, allowing her to retract it and retrieve her bow. Avaluna clutched it tight, drawing the string, it summoned an arrow that shone just as bright as her weapon. She knew it wouldn’t kill him, but if at least stunned him, it’d be enough.

“Who are you?!” He grabbed his other sword, the one he threw still missing. “Why were you following me?!”

Avaluna kept her silence, hands tight on the bow. Saying anything would make her job more difficult. He took one step forward, she shot at his foot, it released ice spikes that by little missed his leg. The brute roared, breaking the arrow with his sword. By this time, the wizard had another arrow loaded.

“You work for the trollhunter… DO YOU?!” She remained silent. Glaring at him, watching his form, his features. He had not changed since the last encounter she had with him, yet, he seemed different. More scars, more erosion to his flesh. “SPEAK!! OR I’LL CLEAVE YOUR HEAD OFF YOUR SHOULDERS!!” 

His threats did not terrify her. 

He barked too much.

She shot the arrow, Bular tried to dodge but she shot another, landing on his face, right between his eyes. It blasted him with blinding light, when he managed to shake off his headache and turned to the one in owl-like armour, his view was mirrored. The two images of the owl knight ran in opposing directions, both of them seemed so real, both of them sounded right. 

He picked the one which seemed the most real.

He chased after it, the shadows moved and he chased them, all looked like that figure that he had attacked. It wasn’t far he ran into the woods, when the image disappeared, when he realized finally.

The one he was chasing did not leave a trail.

He chased the wrong one.

With a roar, he bowed his head, that foe he had never seen before. He had never heard of a winged creature in Arcadia, not besides the stalkling he summoned and perhaps Strickler. But that was not either of those. That was something else.

He needed answers.

—

Avaluna flew away, finding herself in an alley not far from where she and her sister spent the night. Her armour faded with a soft touch, disappearing inside the charm on her necklace, she walked out and put her “tiara” back on. Before she could take a single step out of the alley, however, a deep voice caught her attention, but it was a friendly voice.

“Ava?” Aaarrgh asked, confused. “What doing here? Why in alley?”

Avaluna took a moment, still dazed from her magic use, she shook her head to focus. “Oh… I… I just landed.”

“Went flying?” He asked, tilting his head and politely offering his arm for her. 

“I was recharging my energy. When I saw Bular on the other side of the forest.” The grubera’s frown deepened. “Worry not. I only wanted to follow him a little. We had a bit of an altercation, but he did not harm me much. I hit him with a illusion arrow and he chased my ghost instead of me. I am fine.” Exiting the alley, she turned, spotting Blinky and the boys walking ahead. “What are all of you doing here?”

“Boys saw weird creature. We going to check.” Avaluna tilted her head in confusion, a weird creature? Of what kind? “Luna wanna come?”

She snapped from her confusion, looking up at him. “I… I could, yes. I suppose I should assist.” 

Aaarrrgh wasn’t good with words, but he knew Avaluna enough to know when she was too tired for something, or perhaps too shaken. “You tired.”

“I assure you I am fine. Fine enough to help. I already missed their training today.” She assured, following towards Blinky, when a heavy hand laid upon her shoulder.

“Luna need rest too. Not like seeing Bular. Aaarrgh knows.” His tone was soft, but assertive. “We go look, no problem. Luna rest. We handle creature. Jim said it dead.” 

Something in her insisted for her to follow, but, she could not say she was not worn. He was right, she did not like the sight of the gumm-gumm prince. Against her logic, Avaluna agreed, heading inside of the library and bidding a good night to the troll and requesting he passes it along to the trollhunters. From the second story window, she watched them go, making sure no one saw them as well. 

Once they left her line of sight, the moon wizard retracted inside, sitting on the guest room bed, she held onto her necklace. The flor de lis pendant was cool and smooth, her fingers lingered a little longer on it. She never enjoyed dawning that armour, even during the great battles, where action was demanded. To her, it betrayed her purpose, the purpose she had set out to master since the beginning. 

It felt like betrayal to her master. 

It felt like betrayal to herself. 

She couldn’t let her mind think of all who she betrayed when she drew her bow. 

Turning to the alarm by the bedside table, she sighed. She was an owl, yet she had to force herself to rest, as there was work in the morning. Her sleep, like many other things, was seldom a time when she could rest.

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

Trollhunting Advisors

The sisters shone, as the pieces of metal projected from thin light, soon the glowing ceased, revealing two sets of armor adorning the sisters. Avalna’s black armour glittered with silver moon motifs and the feathers that adorned most of its plates. Suniva had, on complete counterpart, had fire orange armor, with detailing of sunrays all over it, scale mail covering the edges, while Avaluna had normal chainmail. Both their necklaces were now at the center of their chests, their stones glowing softly. 

The moment that the armour settled, both sisters glimmered a bit before the magic faded. It left the boys mouths agape, their mouths hanging as their jaws hit the floor.

Suniva giggled, expecting that kind of reaction. “So? Ya’ll liked the show?” 

“YOU HAVE ARMOUR TOO?!” Toby gasped. 

“Indeed we do! Crafted by yours trully!” The sun wizard grinned. “Fighting magical wars call for havin’ magical armour, ey?”

Jim watched, amazed, mostly but also confused. “If… You both already have armour… Why don’t you do all the troll… hunting stuff?”

Suniva cackled, while her sister sympathetically smiled. “Oh, Jim, my boy. These? Were made WAAAAY later than yours! We got them after… A few incidents.” The sun sister summoned her wings, flying to one end of the arena, opening a hidden weaponry. “Also, ours are not nearly as strong as yours! You can encompass pure Daylight in your blade! We only have normal magic. Yours was mare specifically to end gumm-Gumms! Not nearly as effective against any threat!”

Her bright eyes finally laid upon her weapon, cackling as she picked up a golden trident, engraved with scales and flame imagery. In the mix of weapons, she similarly found another item she remembered, picking it up and tossing it to her sister. The bow flew through the air before Avaluna used her anemoknesis to gently guide it to her hands, he shining white bow shimmered in her hands, with a swift movement being strung with a magical string that glint like stars. Both sisters stood one next to the other, holding each their iconic weapons. It had been way too long since they had worn it, thankfully.

“Another difference; is that our weapons are not part of our armour. You can summon your sword, if we lose our weapons, they will not be as powerful, but will be dangerous nonetheless.” Avaluna explained, running her hands through her bow. “We will teach both of you how to weild your weapons…”

“Wait- What do you mean both of us??” Toby questioned, looking anxiously between the sisters before settling on Avaluna. “I- I get training too?!”

“Well, do you wish to follow Jim into battle?” 

“Well yeah! I’m the cool sidekick!”

“Do you wish to be a hindrance?”

That brought forth an extremely offended look from the redhead. “What?! Of course not!!”

“Then you need training. Just as much, if not more than Jim. After all, unlike Jim, you do not possess proper armour.” She turned around with her sister. 

Suniva however, glanced back with a smart smile, and a wink. “At least not yet.” 

Both boys celebrated with a high-five before their attention was sternly called to the group of adults. Suniva smiled devilishly, hand leaning on the arena's activation button. Blinky also seemed excited, now having two pupils to train, not only one. 

“Now let us warm up! Five laps around the arena!! ON YOUR MARKS!!” Suniva pressed the button, the center of the arena rose and the axes that lined the walls began swinging. “GET SET GO!!!”

The training was not gonna be starting so smoothly. 

—

Jim stood in the center of the arena, holding Daylight tight in his grip as Blinky corrected his stance, Toby meanwhile, stood next to Suniva as they went through the weaponry for something suitable. As his stance was corrected, Blinky taught the troll hunting rules of hand:

Rule 1: Always be afraid. It was the easiest rule.

Rule 2: Always finish the fight. When it was explained what it meant, Jim’s semblance became grim. 

“I personally never agreed with that.” Avaluna spoke up, “Not all fights must be finished in bloodshed.”

“Sis, ruthlessness is mercy.” Suniva spoke up. “If you deal with the threat, you don’t have to face it more than once.”

“Answering violence with violence will only breed more of it.” She was stern, her sister rolled her eyes. “Kill if you must. But try to grant mercy if your heart calls for it.” 

That lightened up the eyes of the boy, Blinky rubbed the back of his neck nervously before continuing, changing topics swiftly. “And finally rule 3! When in doubt: Kick him in the grongnucks.”

“In the what?”

Blinky tapped the ground, a blade emerged, almost hitting Jim in the croch. Aaargh shivered, the boys both looking uncomfortable by the prospect. Suniva cackled, helping Toby lift a heavy war hammer. “Or, more how we like to translate it: Find a weak spot.”

“Okay! That makes more sense!” Jim agreed. 

From the stairs to the arena, the rumbling voice of Draal sounded. Bloating as he often was, he approached the center of the Arena to the confusion and worry of Blinky and the sisters. 

“Draal! To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“Why! I came to offer my services! A friendly spar! It’s part of his training regime, isn’t it?” His voice was a hidden threat as he questioned. 

Suniva grabbed her friend by the nosering, but found no traces of glug in his breath, she had thought maybe him being drunk would’ve been an answer, but no, he was sober. It only made her anger more justified.

“Just ‘cause it is doesn’t mean shit! You get your ass out of here and stop interru-”

“Why not?” Vendell’s voice erupted from the chairs above, his twisted horns appearing on the stand. “Let them spar! It will test his mettle!”

“He means your character.” The moon wizard explained before Jim’s mind answered for him. “Vendel! He’s not had even a moment’s proper training! It is unfair!”

“So is life. Let. Them. Spar!” 

Draal grinned to Suniva, who glared at her friend, more betrayed than she had ever been. She still tried to get him to back down, following him to his side of the arena. 

“Draal, what the fuck are you doing?! He’s a kid! He hadn’t had any training!” 

“He’s got my armour on.-”

“Not your armour. Are you still going on that?! Get over it!-” Before she could finish, she was grabbed by the waist, Draal grinning as he was readying to toss her to the top of the arena. “WAIT WAIT WAIT–” He stopped, waiting like she asked. “Okay- fine! Just go easy on him, okay?”

Draal huffed, but nodded in her direction with a grin, tossing her to where Blinky and the others waited. The sun wizard stood next to Avaluna and the conundrum, watching as Jim panicked, trying what he could to defend himself.

The crystal back did not go easy.

He would have killed Jim, instead, walked away leaving the boy destroyed and humiliated.

Suniva’s rage was palpable, flaming, her armour lighting up with the blazing heat that emanated from her. She followed Draal, red hair almost in flames as she reached him.

“YOU LIED TO ME!!” She stopped him in his tracks, “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT DRAAL?!?” 

“I went easy on him! Like you asked! You never said how easy!”

“OH NO, YOU WILL NOT PULL THAT SHIT ON ME! YOU ALMOST KILLED HIM!!” 

“But I didn’t! Even though I should have! We’d not have a disgrace like that as a Trollhunter!!”

“OH AND THAT ‘NOT DISGRACE’ WOULD BE YOU, WOULD IT?!”

“YOU AND I BOTH KNOW I SHOULD BE WEARING THAT ARMOUR!!”

“DRAAL HOW MANY FUCKING TIMES MUST I TELL YOU?! IT’S NOT YOUR ARMOUR, ITS NEVER BEEN YOUR ARMOUR AND IT WILL NEVER BE YOUR ARMOUR!!” Draal stared at her, in pain and She walked from one side to the other in the corridor, leaving scorch marks on her wake. “You’re gonna come with me and find Jim and you’re apologizing to him.”

“I’LL DIE BEFORE I APOLOGIZE TO A FLESHBAG!” He exploded, pounding the ground in front of her. 

“I swear your pride is gonna be the death of you!! HE’S THE TROLLHUNTER!! GET OVER IT!! YOU’RE SERIOUSLY JEALOUS OF A WHELP!!” Her words seemed to cause no change, Suniva groaned, rubbing her face. “For all the gods! Kanjigar would be so ashamed of you right now!”

Draal snapped, roaring towards his friend. “DO NOT SPEAK OF MY FATHER YOU WITCH!!” 

He grabbed her, pushing her to a wall. However, it was only a second before Suniva’s blazing armour burned his palms. He let go, growling as Suniva, who also sat kneeling, leaning on her trident, glared daggers.

A witch…

He called her a witch…

“Fine… I won’t speak of him… I won’t speak to you at all until you gain some sense…” Feeling Draals glare on her neck as she walked away, but barely caring for the feeling of betrayal was worse.

—

Jim had left early, he also did not show up the next night for training. So, Avaluna went looking, the coordinates given by Blinky were easy enough to follow and she found the Trollhunter in his backyard, trying to homerun the amulet with a baseball bat. To very little success.

“You will not have much luck with that, young Jim.” She smiled from the fence, leaning on it. 

“Well! I’m trying anyways!” He continued to toss the amulet away, only for it to return and hit him in the face. “GAH!! Why won’t it stay away?!”

“It is now your responsibility, Jim. The amulet’s soul has chosen you.”

The boy rolled his eyes, annoyed, sitting on the stones on his garden. “It’s an amulet. It doesn’t HAVE a soul!”

“Jim, you live in a world where stone creatures are alive and living in the underground, a world where magic is alive and certain people can wield it. And yet, you do not believe your magical amulet has a soul?” Avaluna queried, black wings spread open as an example. 

Jim groaned, laying back. “I can’t do this! You saw what happened!! He almost killed me!! And I just sat there… Like… Like…”

He went silent, Avaluna filling in. “Like a worm?”

“I think the word he used was ‘vermin’ but yeah, pretty much…”

Avaluna chuckled, closing her wings, she picks up the amulet. “I still do not understand the amulet, yet one thing I know about it is that it seldom makes mistakes.”

“Oh yeah? What about that Ulkar guy? Didn’t he fail miserably?”

Avaluna’s features saddened. “I was a good friend of Ulkar before and after he became a Trollhunter. He was… Frightful and hated confrontation. But one thing he was not, was a bad trollhunter.” She turned to the sky, feeling the fresh air of the night and letting the memories wash over her. “Blinky trained him well, in fact, he achieved great things because of it. He was not remembered for much for people did not see him often in the main circles of Old Trollmarket, for he never did grand acts… But little things that went unnoticed. I would know, as I was the one who helped him… The night he died… I had asked him to bring medicine from the river trolls… He was not a good fighter… So he ran… He died just outside Old Trollmarket… But he got the medicine… Saved countless whelps…”

She recalled hearing Ulkar’s screams, finding his remains, feeling horrible. He never blamed her for not having assisted him, after all, she spent the night busy, trying to heal child after child. When they named him “unfortunate” she disagreed, wanted to have called him “unseen” as it was more fitting. But his spirit told her not to, told her it was better that way.

“Each trollhunter has a different goal… Some want to fight, others protect. Each trollhunter is unique to their time. You should not compare yourself to anyone. What Draal did was out of line…” She ran her fingers along the pointers of the amulet. “But if you do bow… You’re only giving him, and those who believe him, a reason to doubt you.”

The boy seemed convinced she handed back the amulet, taking off to the skies, only a shadow on the starlit infinity. 

—

Avaluna had hoped her words had made an impact, when she had regrouped with her sister, she found out her own talk with Draal had not given her the expected result. She managed to cool down the younger wizard before she set off any fires, the older sister then convinced Blinky to give Jim some space to think himself, having reminders of something he wasn’t keen on facing could push him away even further. 

As often, she found herself being the source of reason in chaos. 

The moon wizard faced Vendel after managing to regulate the other trainers, his behaviour and reasoning for allowing such a brawl were unknown to her. He usually trusted their judgement, but to act against their advice like that felt… Desperate. She found him helping a mother patch up her child’s scraped knee, not a serious wound, but she knew it was the woman’s first whelp. 

“Vendell? May I have a word?” She requests, tone was enough for the mother to wrap up and head off with her child. Avaluna had time to smile at them, wishing a speedy recovery before they left earshot. “I am not happy with you, I imagine you know.”

“Yes, I do.” He agreed, cleaning up. “I assume for I permited the spar between the Trollhunter and Draal.”

“Yes.” She sat on a crystal, feeling the warmth of the Hearthstone that emanated from the walls of the Healing Ward. “You knew he had no training. You knew Draal was beyond disregulated. You went against our advice to not let them. Why?”

The old troll sighed heavily, picking up his staff and leaning on it as he leaned on his own table. “People were speaking that the Trollhunter was spineless. That he would not last. He would run. Just like-”

“You and I both know that Ulkar was not a bad trollhunter and furthermore, it was nothing of fault on his training.” She stopped before he made the point she knew was coming. “Draal did not only beat him in the spar, but he shamed Jim, broke his spirit. You did not even give him a single chance to prepare.”

“The boy is not a warrior! And with Bular at our gates! Do you really think having another ‘peacekeeper’ is a smart idea?!”

“What I had believed was a smart idea was to give him time to at the minimum know how to defend himself. But you seem to disagree. Which I do not fault you for.” She stared harshly, coldly, she might not fault but her anger was as palpable as her sister’s. “You know all you did was make it so he would turn his back on us. It matters not, Vendell, if he is human or troll. He has the amulet. It is your duty to assist him, no matter the circumstance. In time, he will prove you wrong of your biases.”

Vendell seemed ready to argue further, when Bagdwella came in running. Both healers were ready to handle any emergency, however the words that left her lips were far from what they expected.

“THE TROLLHUNTER CHALLENGED DRAAL TO A REMATCH!!!”

Both were stunned for a moment, Avaluna’s blood ran cold, she knew Jim had no idea of what it meant. But, at the same time, she was proud. His time to prove them wrong seemed to be coming much earlier than expected. 

[socratesvisitsarcadia]

AU idea: Fates Intertwined

Avaluna had been worn down from the war past her breaking point, she could not bear the whispers in the city nor the talk of a even bigger fate full battle. She meditated for long, trying to find a solution that would not come in bloodshed, when one day, she found it.

She, as the oldest apprentice of Merlin, Chosen of the Northern Wind, Wizard of the Moon, was to marry the son of the gumm-gumm lord.

She was to marry Bular The Burcher.

It pained her for many reasons. She'd be forced to leave her home behind, she'd heard rumor of the brute and knew of the threat upon her head. She confided in Taitan, her closest friend, who she had been meeting in secret. He was a gumm-gumm, that she knew from the moment theu had met, just like he knew she was a wizard. He was the one who passed the massage along. Then back. She confided that she'd be leaving, as she was to be "The apprentices lady-in-waiting", as her real identity was still unknown.

He, as well, confided that he'd be leaving for a higher platoon.

So that night, as her proposal was accepted, she'd be losing her best friend as well.

Unbeknownst to her, upon the day of the wedding, she finds out her best friend of centuries was in reality the prince. And he found out she was indeed the apprentice of Merlin.