1. 1
Chapter 1: The New Journey
Once upon a time, in a kingdom shrouded by black mist, there lived a group of young
elves named Lan, Rin, and Lilly. They were locked in an attic long ago for fear of the powers
they were born with. None of them had known about these powers since they were locked
away at a young age, but the elders of their tribes did their best to hide the secrets behind
their abilities. Knowing that they couldn’t survive on their own, the three girls were placed
together in Louis’ attic. He was a gentle elf soldier who cared for them very well. He gave
them everything they needed to be happy, and even made a window for them to view the
world from. However, each girl had to wear a special bracelet that drained most of their
strength so they could barely move. They were happy together, but they were very tired.
One night, when the silver moon shone brightly on the village, a mysterious figure
appeared before the girls.
“What I offer you is freedom,” said the half-masked figure. “If you do as I say, I can
help you escape from this eternal prison. You know not of the world around you, nor do you
know of the unjust treatment you are all receiving. Now, come to me and I shall free you
from your shackles of despair.” He extended his hands out to them; his fingers curled upward
like the talons of a hawk.
Almost immediately Lilly started walking toward him, her arms stretched forward
longingly. “Wait, Lilly!” cried Lan. “This could be a trap. Remember how Louis warned us
about the outside? He could be one of them!”
The mysterious man chuckled. “Silence. You are foolish to question an Elder, and you
always have been Lan.”
“How do you know my name?” she asked as she backed into the corner of the attic.
“I am an Elder. I have been watching your progress, as well as Rin’s and Lilly’s.” He
lowered his hands to his sides. “You have all been very good children, and it’s been hard
watching you all suffer in this single room, while the world around you is changing very
quickly. You all have been placed here because of something that each of you possesses;
something unique and dangerous if you are unable to control it properly.”
“What do you want with us?” asked Rin. “We’re very happy here and haven’t done
anything to show you that we’re sad or frustrated by anything. Louis is an amazing person
and has been treating us better than anyone else ever could.”
“Anyone else? Then, tell me, who else has ever bothered to take care of you?” The
Elder stood still, with only his fingers tapping against his legs. “There hasn’t been anyone
else in your lives. You don’t even know about this room, or the contraptions set up around it
to keep you here.”
“Why aren’t you coming closer to us, if you really want to help us?” asked Lilly.
“You’ve only been standing at the door the entire time, but haven’t tried to do anything to get
closer to us. That’s really suspicious.”
“How observant of you.” The elder waved his hands around the air slowly. In front of
him appeared to be small ripples of water spreading from the area his hand touched toward
the ceiling and floor. “This is why I don’t get closer. It senses anyone’s presence that doesn’t

2. 2
belong here and quickly drains their energy. Haven’t you ever noticed that Louis never comes
closer either?” He stared at the girls silently. “Well, enough of this nonsense. You must make
your decision now.” The Elder raised his hands to his side, chanting a strange song, then a
green light glowed behind him. The girls all began walking toward him. He smiled as they
came closer. “This light is only meant to help people understand their desires. If you see it,
you will act only as your heart is telling you. Fear not, for I have come only to set you free.”
He extended his hands to them once more.
As they stepped through the barrier, a small alarm began to sound beneath. The Elder
reached for the bracelets each of the girls had. With the wave of his hand, the shackles
vaporized and each girl felt like an enormous weight had been removed from their bodies.
“Now, hurry outside. The guards will be coming and certainly won’t be happy. I will
be out shortly after you, but for now I must take care of some other things.” The Elder
punched the wall quickly, revealing a portal to the forest gates.
“We can’t do this,” said Lan. “We haven’t been outside and don’t know what to do by
ourselves.”
“There’s nothing to worry about,” the Elder said happily. “No harm should befall you
by just stepping out to the gates. And if there is something dangerous… you’ll be able to
handle yourselves in any situation if you work as a team.” He opened the door and began to
head downstairs. “Just use your head Lan. You have been born with a great deal of wisdom.”
He disappeared from their view.
“Lan, is everything going to be okay?” asked Lilly. “I still don’t know if we can trust
him. Besides, I’m really scared to go outside.” Just then, a cannonball blasted through the
window where they used to often sit.
“Well, it’s better than staying here to die,” retorted Rin as she jumped through the
portal.
“Wait!” cried Lilly. She stared desperately at Lan before Lan smiled at her and
jumped through the portal. Lilly took a few deep breaths before she pursued them. As Lilly
reached the other side, the portal shrunk and vanished in the night air. The three girls stood
staring at the gate, pondering about their new situation.
“Well, this is definitely interesting,” Lan said. “I don’t know about Elders, but he
seemed he really wanted to help us, so I don’t mind being here right now.”
“But, he’s the reason our home was attacked,” protested Rin. “Any decent guy would
have blocked that ball with his body to protect us. He ran away knowing what was going to
happen to us!”
“Enough of your nonsense,” groaned Lilly. “It really looks like we were the targets
anyway, so he did help us.”
“How do you know he was helping us?”
“Just take a look over there.” Lilly pointed toward one of the few visible houses over
the wall. Various projectiles assaulted the sides of the house relentlessly, and soon the roof

3. 3
collapsed in a pile of fiery rubble. “If we were in there any longer, that would have been our
end.”
“If I were him, I’d have just let us all stay in the tower peacefully and never bother us
with these stupid things,” quipped Rin. “For all I know, he’s probably standing on the burned
remains making some toast.” She walked over to the grass and grabbed a pebble that was
barely visible. She tossed it as hard as she could toward the ruined house, but it hadn’t been
able to clear the height of the wall. The pebble bounced off the wall and hit Lilly on the
forehead.
“Watch what you’re doing you little freak,” Lilly said, standing as she began to smile.
Rin grinned back at her. “You know what? I think I’ll have to teach you a lesson. Come
here!” She started chasing Rin into the forest area on their side of the wall.
“Well, this looks like it will definitely be fun,” Lan said to herself as she walked
toward the other two. “I wonder how soon we’ll meet that Elder? He has something very
mysterious that I just can’t quite understand.” She looked up into the night sky, just above the
remains of the house. The moon shone a strong fluorescent silver, casting a variety of
shadows along the ground. “I don’t know where we’ll meet him again, but something tells me
it will be in this forest.” She stared at her wrist where the bracelet had been removed, and
could see a very faint glow protruding from the area toward her hand. She then turned toward
the forest, and began to run after the others.

4. 4
Chapter 2: The Awakening
It was dark in the forest. The three girls could hardly see the path in front of them, and
grew tired from walking such a long time. Lilly sat on a large rock by the river, dipping her
feet in to soothe the sore muscles around her ankles. Rin jumped in and sat until her entire
lower half of her body was covered in the water. Lan pressed grass together firmly in a
circular shape until it resembled a cushion, then sat on it to watch the others.
“It’s been a while since I had this much fun,” said Rin. “I’m sure glad we aren’t stuck
in that room anymore. The air is so clean compared to that.”
“Yeah,” Lilly agreed. “I’m happy too. Hopefully we don’t have to go back there to
face everyone about this mess. They really don’t seem pleased with us getting out. Maybe the
Elder can explain when we meet him?” Lilly slowly reached in her hands to the water to feel
the gentle brisk flow of water over her arms. She began sinking the rest of her body into the
water, laying on her back until she was floating; her eyes glazed over with the same shine as
the moon above them.
“Lilly, what’s wrong?” asked Lan. “Stop that, and get out of the water. It’s very
dangerous if you do that. I don’t want you getting carried downstream and away from us.” As
she reached for Lilly a strong gust blew by and the water suddenly splashed violently. “Lilly,
get out now!” It was too late. She was pulled with the water down the river quickly and went
out of view. Lan turned to Rin, but the same thing had happened to her. She floated along
after Lilly, leaving Lan alone at the side of the river. Panicked, she looked around for
something like a rope; anything that could be tied to make a makeshift life vest. She saw
something gleaming in the pale light of the moon; a silver string hanging from a tree branch.
Lan ran to the tree and reached for it happily, grabbing with all her might and pulling, but the
string hadn’t come loose. As she looked at it more closely she realized it resembled a rope
more than a string; a very thick rope that was warm. She attempted to pull on it again, but
nothing happened.
Rustling came from the top of the tree as 4 pairs of eyes stared down at her. She
released her grip from the rope and tried to run away, but discovered that it was very sticky
and her hand was attached to it. She stared back at the eyes as the creature descended. Its
fangs stretched out as it drew closer to her; its hot breath blew toward her face with an acidic
smell coming out. She breathed deeply and stood still, her eyes still watching the movement
of the creature. It landed on the ground beside her, all of its eyes pointed at her as it stretched
its mouth greedily in anticipation of its next meal.
Lan screamed in a high pitch tone, making the creature cringe from the sound. At that
moment she reached to the ground and grabbed a large handful of dirt with her free hand and
tossed it at the creature’s face. Each of the eyes had been covered in the brown dust, and it
cried in agony at the feeling of losing its sight. It began to flail its jaws, hoping to get a taste
of the girl so it could begin its feast. Lan tossed a stone to the top of the rope where it became
stuck. The rope vibrated and the creature immediately ascended the tree, chopping at the rope
with its fangs to get the stone. The rope fell loosely on the ground, allowing Lan to move
about freely on the ground, despite having her hand still stuck on it. She ran toward the river
as fast as she could, then suddenly fell over. Something had caught the rope. When she

5. 5
looked back, she saw the terrible creature coming toward her, one of its legs had grabbed the
rope.
With her heart pounding, she could only watch as the creature drew closer. Suddenly,
she heard a voice whispering in her ears, “You have not yet gained the power, but your
wisdom and courage are unrivaled. I shall help you, if you wish.” Lan nodded her head
desperately, pleading for help. Her hand began to glow the same green light she had seen at
the beginning of the forest and the outline of a figure appeared before her. It signaled for her
to follow it as it ran toward the creature. She pursued it and did everything it did. She was
soon directly in front of the creature and slid under its belly, whipping the rope at each of its
legs as she passed by. The creature fell over with a large thud, the rope grew tight as it got
pulled by the body. She climbed on top of the terrible creature and raised her hand, still
glowing as it held the rope. Following the directions of the figure she clenched her fist tightly
as she felt a mysterious energy flowing into her hand. Its appearance had changed as it
glowed brighter. It was a scaly, reptile-like hand surrounding her own. It grew heavy and she
swung it down with all of her might. Her fist had connected with the creature, passing
through the center of its body without stopping. The creature shrilled as its body was filled
with that same light protruding from her fist. It twisted in agony as it disappeared in the light.
Lan fell as the creature vanished beneath her. She grabbed her hand that was glowing
as it felt unstable, and watched as the scaly hand regressed into the light that began fading
away. The rope caught on her hand had also disappeared along with the terrible creature. She
sat speechless on the ground, nearly forgetting that Rin and Lilly were whisked away in the
river. The mysterious voice spoke to her again, “Excellent. You have proved your potential.
If you wish to save your sisters, follow them down the river. They will be waiting for you on
the other side”.
“How do you know where they are? Who are you?” There was no response. She
looked around for some kind of clue, an answer that might be able to show her what was
talking to her. A rustling came from deeper in the forest and more eyes appeared from behind
the leaves in the trees. Lan ran to the river, still afraid to jump in after seeing its power being
used on the others. She turned around and saw many more of the same kind of creature
rapidly coming toward her. She took a step back and slipped into the water. It was much
deeper than she had anticipated as she had her entire body covered with water. The water had
constricted her limbs, leaving her unable to move. She began to lose consciousness as she
floated down the river. Her arms and legs floated gently to the top as she closed her eyes.
When she woke up, the land was very unusual. There was no longer a river, her
clothes were dry, and she felt much more energized than she had been earlier. Trying to get
acquainted with her surroundings Lan stood and walked. Only the smell of sulfur and burnt
stone was around. The air was heavy with a grey smoke. Lan climbed up the small hill in
front of her to get a better view of the new terrain. A hot red liquid flowed steadily through
the center of the path at the bottom of the hill.
“That is called lava,” came a familiar voice. She turned around to see who was
talking. She couldn't see anyone, but the voice continued. “You have passed the first trial. It
was an excellent display of your aptitude, and I have decided to test you yet again.”
“Why are you doing this to me? I just want to see Rin and Lilly again.”

6. 6
“You want to, yet you cannot protect them in your current state. What would you do if
one of those creatures attacked them? By yourself, you are in no position to help them. I am
offering you a chance to gain the power to protect.”
“Who are you? I haven’t seen you yet, nor do I know what you’re trying to
accomplish.”
“Me? That’s a bit difficult to explain at the moment. You’ll believe me more after you
finish this test.” The voice began chanting in a low tone, and the ground started shaking.
“Your second trial is about to begin. Take careful notice of your surroundings, and avoid the
lava. It would be very painful to touch it in your current state.” The chanting stopped and a
crack formed in the ground nearby. The lava started flowing out of the crack and started to
fill the ground beneath the hill. Lan heard a faint roaring coming from the distance and saw
something flying over the center of the mountain. As it went in circles she caught a glimpse
of its hands. It had the same green scaly fists she had noticed when she fought the creature
earlier.
“Is that what I’m supposed to see?” Lan asked herself. She felt the ground tremble
underneath. Averting her gaze, she saw the same glowing figure standing on the ground, on
the other side of the lava pool that had formed. Feeling a need to get closer, she ran down the
hill without thinking. As she approached the lava she saw the figure walking away, but its
feet were different. They were similar to the flying creature’s she saw earlier. She stopped as
she reached the edge of the lava, the heat being unbearable for her to stay close. She retreated
up the hill a little as she continued to watch the figure. It pointed to its feet, then toward its
heart.
Lan was puzzled by the actions and stared longer. The figure simply repeated the
actions in a rhythmic manner. Lan concentrated her attention on her feet, then on her heart.
Nothing had changed. She tried again, and had the same result. She stared back at the figure
to notice anything different it might be doing. After watching it for a few minutes, she finally
understood. Lan stood and concentrated her attention on her feet, then placed her hand over
her heart. She felt the warmth of energy under her hand. She felt the energy gathering in her
hand, then swung it quickly at her feet. Lan’s feet began to glow the same green light and
were soon covered by scaly green armor. She stepped next to the lava and felt nothing. She
took a deep breath, then stepped completely into the lava. There was only a slight tingling
sensation as she stood there.
The figure she was watching slowly faded away, pointing in the direction behind
itself. Lan walked through the lava puddles until she reached the other side. She felt tired
since the armor was very heavy. As she collapsed on the ground the light faded from her feet
and the armor disappeared. “Is this what I’m supposed to do?” she asked herself. “If I learn
this, will I be able to protect them?” Lan dragged herself toward the tree nearby and sat under
it, breathing strongly as she struggled to hold up her torso. Her stomach growled as she
looked for something to eat. On the ground was an apple that had fallen from the tree. She
took a bite of it and felt very satisfied. Her energy came back as she finished off the fruit.
Deciding that they would be necessary, she climbed the tree and grabbed a few more apples
for the rest of the journey.

7. 7
Lan noticed that the lava was getting higher, so she sprinted down the path the figure
had pointed toward. At the end of the path was a cliff. She tried to look for a way around the
cliff by walking in one direction, then the other. The wall it created was too large to climb
over, and when she turned around the pathway she took to get there had vanished. It felt more
like a hole than it did a cliff. She looked for the figure to see if she could get a hint for this
part of the trial. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found. The top of the cliff was too high
to see clearly, so she had to think of a way to get out by herself.
Lan thought of the image of the creature in the center of the mountain. She tried to
picture how it moved, what did it use to get around the area. She could see the wings on its
back in her memory, how they moved with a certain grace that even birds did not possess.
Lan focused her attention on her back and held her hand to her heart. She paused, unable to
think of a way to reach her hands toward her back. Then, Lan took her other hand and held it
parallel to her first. She swung both hands back quickly and felt the energy flowing into her
shoulders. There was a new feeling she had not experienced before. She crouched on the
ground as she looked up at the top of the cliff and imagined how she would get to the top.
She began moving the large wings surrounding her, flapping in a motion similar to
how she had seen earlier. Lan went into the air at an amazingly fast speed and soon went
higher than the edge of the cliff. Soon she was higher than the clouds, and she could see the
land very clearly. The figure she was looking for was standing on a tower balcony in the
distance. She burst forth, going as fast as she could so she could talk with the figure. She
heard the sound of cannons in the distance. One hit one of her wings and the wing reverted
into a ball of energy that returned to her heart. Unable to balance with only one wing, Lan
aimed to get herself as close as she could to the tower without hitting the ground.
More cannonballs flew at her. Without thinking, Lan extended her hand toward the
ball to stop it. The ball collided with something else she had created; a large green shield had
appeared in front of her hand. The cannonball bounced off it and dropped toward the ground.
Lan hadn’t, however, understood that the other wing on her back had also disappeared. She
plummeted toward the ground, spinning as she block one ball after another. The shield began
to crack and grew smaller with each successive hit it received. Right before landing Lan
aimed the shield at the ground. Upon impact it completely shattered and the energy shards
were reabsorbed into her body.
Lan stood, shaking from the new experience. She watched the tower from the
distance; the glowing figure waved its hands as a storm cloud appeared above its head. Balls
of fire rained down upon the ground, bursting as they collided with the soil. Lan watched the
figure carefully, staring at its hands until she could see clearly. She focused her energy on her
hands, then held them out gently. They were soon covered by scaly green armor with warmth
at her fingertips. She ran toward the tower with the figure, evading the splashes of fire from
the flames that already reached the ground. Once she was close enough she reached her hands
into the air as a fireball came overhead. She felt an enormous weight push her down as the
ball pressed into her hands. Lan grabbed the ball and swung it at the base of the tower. It
rolled against the ground like a bowling ball and struck the base, making the tower collapse.
The figure leapt from the tower just before it hit the ground, landing on the ground in
front of Lan. “You did very well to get here, Lan,” it said. “You definitely have the potential,
but you aren’t quite strong enough yet.” The figure quickly turned toward her and extended

8. 8
its hand. A sword appeared and it began to swing at her. Lan reached out as she had before
and her shield appeared. She blocked a few swings of the blade.
“Good, your reflexes are very quick. However, you need to be able to do multiple
things at once if you wish to protect anyone.” The figure continued swinging as it pointed
toward the ground. A fissure opened along the path and lava came trickling out. Lan focused
her energy on her feet to make the boots, but her shield disappeared. The sword struck the
edge of her shoulder and the impact sent Lan flying. She grabbed her shoulder desperately as
she tried to hide the pain. The figure flew after her, using the same wings she had, still
grasping its sword. It thrust the sword deeply into her shoulder and pinned her against the
hillside.
“This is your final test,” it said. “A soldier must never let the enemy corner her. What
do you do when that enemy is much stronger than you?” The figure became more visible as
its glow concentrated into smaller areas. The figure looked like the flying creature Lan had
seen earlier, except she appeared to be more human-like. The woman was covered with a pale
green armor, a shield in her right hand, while wings extended from the backside of the suit.
“I told you I would say who I am at the end of the trial.” The woman pointed toward
the sky, and the flying creature came soaring down. It landed with a strong thud that shook
the earth. “I am this creature, or rather, this creature is what I used to be.” She pet it as it
stared at Lan.
“What is that? I’ve never seen one before,” Lan replied as she struggled to stay
conscious.
“This is a dragon. It’s what I’ve come from, and what you have inherited.” The
woman reached for her sword and twisted it as she pulled it out. Lan dropped to the ground,
shaking from the sight of the dragon. “Lan, you must embrace what you were born with. This
power is meant to protect you and all those you care about.” The woman pointed the sword at
Lan, smiling as she lifted it up above her head. Suddenly, Lan thrust her hand toward the
woman and a sword pierced her armor. The woman fell back, shocked by Lan’s sudden
change of character, but grinned as she landed on her back.
“Well done, you’ve finally found the answer to this trial.” The woman’s body began
to glow as she reverted to her original form. “This is only the first time you have seen me. I
will be back, and we’ll have plenty more time to play then.” She started sinking into the
ground. “I am Caterina. Remember my name well.” She disappeared as her light vaporized.
“Do not forget what I have taught you, it will be very valuable in the future.”
Lan fell face-first on the ground, her sword disappeared from her hand. She felt a
strong burning in her shoulder from the cuts made earlier. “Caterina, huh? That’s a pretty
name. Where have I heard that before?” Lan asked herself as she passed out on the ground.

9. 9
Chapter 3: Doubt
Lan woke slowly with the feeling of a warm blanket wrapped around her. She opened
her eyes to see that she was no longer at the mountain, and there was no wound on her
shoulder. Sleeping beside her were Rin and Lilly.
“Was that just a dream?” She scratched her head then felt her chest. She couldn’t feel
the energy anymore. “Maybe, I just got really tired and had a strange dream?” She lay down
on the blanket, then turned to her side. Something had poked her from her shirt pocket. She
reached in and pulled out 3 light green apples. They appeared to have the same hue as the
dragon. “That definitely wasn’t a dream then.” Lan stood up to get a better view of the new
environment. They appeared to be in a small cottage room in the middle of the forest. She
went to wake up Lilly, but then the door opened quickly.
“Don’t disturb them yet!” called the Elder. “They need their rest and mustn’t be
aroused yet.” He stood on the other side of the room, staring at Lan. His mask was removed
so she could get a better view of him.
“Louis? Are you the Elder?” Lan stepped closer to him. “It is! I’m so glad you
weren’t hurt in the attack on your house.” She stopped and turned pale. “I’m sorry about your
house. If we hadn’t been locked up there, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Oh, that? Don’t worry about the house. It actually wasn’t mine, nor was it really a
house.” He walked around the edge of the room until he reached a window facing East. “That
wasn’t my house, nor was it anyone else’s.”
“What do you mean? We all clearly saw it and felt everything inside it. It was
definitely real.”
“That’s what the others wanted you to think.” Louis scratched his chin. “Well, how
should I say it? That house was just an illusion. A trick of the mind that appears to be as real
as you or me.”
“Then, what about the cannonballs that attacked us? We heard the glass shattering as
they came through the window. Surely those must have been real.” Lan looked out the
window toward the same direction Louis was watching. The trees shook lightly with the
movement of various animals.
“Of course, the things that had attacked you were real.” Louis looked at Lan.
“Everything you have experienced since leaving that domain has been real. The things I am
sure you have met in the forest resemble what we used to call spiders. The large creatures
with multiple eyes.”
“How did you know I ran into one of them?”
“Taking a look at your hand, it was pretty easy to tell.” Louis grabbed Lan’s left hand
and turned it toward the sunlight; there was a small, dark line running from the side of her
thumb to her pinky across the palm. “These are remains of the burn marks from its webs.
Remarkably, I see no further harm. This means that something else must have happened to
you while you were in the forest.” Louis stared at Lan after releasing her hand.

10. 10
“Actually, there’s something really strange that I need to tell you.” Lan rubbed her
hands together nervously. “I met someone very strange in the forest. She helped me slay the
spider, but disappeared after it was gone. She also directed me to follow Rin and Lilly into
the river.”
“River? In this forest?” Louis was perplexed. “There shouldn’t have been a river in
the area you came from. By any chance, did you meet Caterina?” Louis frowned as Lan
nodded. “I see. Well then, your survival after the encounter with the spider was not a
coincidence. I’m glad you are doing well after meeting her though.”
“Who is she? Caterina knew about Rin and Lilly, and said a lot of things that have
been bothering me.”
“That’s something I cannot truly answer for you.” Louis opened the window and a
gentle breeze blew in. “You see, Caterina is neither alive, nor dead. She’s an Elder, in a
sense, but not completely.”
“You aren’t making sense. What do you mean she’s an Elder, and somewhat dead?”
Louis sighed. “She’s your mother. She was also born with a special latent ability that
you have inherited.” Louis pointed to Lan’s heart. “In there is a great source of power if you
understand how to control it. At the time your mother learned how to use it, the Elders
wanted to test her. After seeing her performance, they grew very frightened of her strength.
They decided that she was too strong to be like a regular Elder, so they ordered her
execution.”
A creature came rushing in through the window, about the size of an 8 year old child.
It bowed to Louis, then to Lan. “Hello stranger,” it said to her. “I’m Yakimon. It’s very nice
to meet you.” He reached his hands out to Lan’s and gently shook them.
“I’m Lan. It’s very nice to meet you.” She tilted her head as she examined the creature
more closely. “I’ve never met anything like you before.”
“I’m not really sure what I am, but I was made a long time ago. Master Louis found
me and cared for me when I was injured, so I want to help him as much as I can.”
“Yakimon is a type of feline. He looks like what our ancestors have called a cat. Of
course, he has been badly injured, so he doesn’t really resemble a cat anymore. Yakimon
assists me by finding various objects within the surrounding areas and helps assemble them
here.” Louis walked over to the table and picked up a small ring. “This is what I used earlier
to help you escape that prison. It’s a ring that makes portals appear on any surface it makes a
hard impact with. Yakimon found it only a few days ago and I’ve been testing it out to make
sure it works properly.”
“Is that why you came to get us then? Only because he found something helpful like
that?” Lan glared at Louis.
“No, Lan. The answer is not as simple as you would think.” Yakimon reached into his
small shoulder bag and handed some things to Louis. “You see, what I get from Yakimon are
only raw materials. I make them myself while here. Please, sit and I’ll show you.”

11. 11
Lan sat on the stool beside the desk as she watched Louis and Yakimon take various
objects off the desk and fit them together in different ways. When either of them was satisfied
with the results, they exchanged the parts with each other and had the other examine them
carefully. When they were finished, the new gadgets were placed on the desk in front of each
of them and Louis waved his hands over them. A familiar light glowed around his hands and
Yakimon followed quickly, producing his own light. Louis handed one of the gadgets to Lan.
“Here, try it and see what you think.” He stepped back as he allowed her to study the
newly made tool. “The only thing you should remember is that shape is the most important
thing you should have when constructing a parafact.”
After a few unsuccessful attempts at using the new gadget, Lan handed it back to
Louis. “Here, I don’t know how to use it or what it’s supposed to do.” She crossed her arms
and watched as Louis twisted the knob near the top and pointed the object at the wall. A faint
light flickered a couple of times on the wall. When the light was turned off, a circle remained
on the wall. “So, what does that do? It only made a light that seems delayed.”
“Good, you’ve noticed something unique about this object. This light will attach to
anything it touches and make it visible if the object happens to move out of sight, or tries to
hide its presence. A very good item for those going out on an adventure.” He handed the stick
to Lan. “Here, this is what we used to call a flashlight.” He picked up the next gadget and
handed it to Lan. “Try to figure out its use now that you know a bit more about these.”
Lan turned the small trinket in her hands, looking at each detail as carefully as she
could. She noticed 2 holes in it; one at the front, and the other near the top. She held the front
hole to her lips and blew. A loud sound came out, followed by a sudden dimming of the
room.
“That was called a whistle. It was a very popular item among children as a toy, and
they would often be used to signal the start of competitions.” Louis took the whistle and
waved it by the window. The overgrowth of vines receded from their view and the room
became lighter again. “As you can see, this lovely device is used to control vegetation. Not
only useful in using vines for protection, but also for growing a quick meal if you are unable
to find other sources of food.” He handed the whistle back to Lan.
“Master Louis, I think you should warn them about the parafacts.”
“Of course, I nearly forgot.” Louis signaled for Lan to follow him outside. They
headed downstairs and went outside. “The parafacts are interesting because they work very
well when they work properly. However, you should not rely on them too much. The abilities
of each are unstable and the results will be random.” Louis looked into the sky and watched
the clouds float by. “Use them at your own discretion, but just remember to focus on your
own strengths more.”
“I want to ask you something about Caterina.” Louis held his finger to his lips and
pulled Lan into the building. “How did you find me after I was injured? I definitely wasn’t
nearby the forest when this happened.” She paused for a moment, staring at the desk. “What
happened to the dragon?”

12. 12
“Lan, you never left the forest. Yakimon found you by the river side and brought you
back here after he found Rin and Lilly. What you experienced may have been nothing more
than a dream.”
“If that was a dream, then what are these?” Lan pulled the apples out of her pocket
and handed them to Louis. “I ate one of these and felt a lot of my energy come back.”
“These apples are very rare,” Louis said as he turned them carefully in his hands.
“They only appear in the Allosteric Plains.” He passed them back to Lan. “Their only
purpose that we know of is to replenish any spent energy. The effect, however, only lasts
temporarily and will drain you of the rest of your energy once it has worn off. They too must
only be used in extreme circumstances. Perhaps, this was not a dream after all?”
They stopped talking when they heard a noise come from the other side of the room.
Rin had been listening, propping her head on her arms, swinging her legs gently back and
forth. “Lan, it sounds like you’ve got something interesting. Show me!” She stood up and
raced over to the desk and picked up the various gadgets. “Cool, what’s this do?” she asked
as she pointed the flashlight at herself and twisted the knob. A bright pink light shone on her
for only half a second, then the light turned itself off.
Lan tried to stop herself, but couldn’t contain her laughter. “Rin, you look so silly
now,” she said as she pointed to Rin. Rin rushed over to the mirror and watched her new
reflection. “No way! What’s wrong with this thing?” she asked in disbelief. Rin grabbed at
her hair and pulled out a small strand to take a closer look. It was pink from the tip to the
root. “Why am I pink?”
“That, dear Rin, is one of the kinds of side effects that comes from using parafacts.”
Louis walked over to the mirror beside her. “I presume you heard everything we had been
talking about before we stepped outside?” Rin nodded. “Well then, parafacts are not to be
used as toys. They are real tools that come with a range of side effects that you will only
discover over time. As for the flashlight, it would be safe to say that something definitely
went wrong, and it appears that it dyes only hair pink.”
Laughing came from the floor under the remaining blankets. Lilly stood up slowly,
hiding her large grin behind her hand. She walked over to Rin and threw a blanket over her
head. “There, now you don’t have to worry about looking different.” She walked over to
Louis and looked at his suit. “Louis, you look very different like this. I’m glad you’re safe
too.” She turned to Lan and raised an eyebrow, and Rin joined them pulling off the blanket
only enough to see them.
“Don’t worry about it; I’ll tell you later.” Lan turned to Louis to avoid their gazes.
“Well, we’re free now and need to know what we should do next. You took us away from our
home and put us in danger, so it’s your job to fix it.”
“Certainly,” Louis agreed. He handed the flashlight to Lilly and the whistle to Lan.
“Take these with you as they may come in handy. You’re true journey starts now, and it will
require great effort on each of your parts to complete.” He opened the drawer of his desk and
pulled out an old map. “Lan has already begun her awakening process. It is now time for
Lilly and Rin to do the same.”
“How do we do that? By going back to sleep until we wake up properly?” jeered Rin.

13. 13
“Of course not, otherwise you could all do that by chance and escape the tower
yourselves.” Louis unfolded the map and pinned its corners onto the edges of the desk. “You
will all go here. This is the land of Papipupope, a territory of relatively scarce exploration.
You must seek out the gorilla leader and ask for his aid. He shall direct you toward Ain, the
Elder who escaped our land many years ago. She will help you awaken Rin’s power.”
Louis took the ring from the desk and handed it to Rin. “This is a very important
parafact. It is one of the most dangerous and must only be used with special care. To use it,
think about the name of the place you wish to go, or picture what it looks like if you know
what it looks like. When you do that and hit any kind of surface, a portal will open to that
place and you may go as you wish.” He turned his hand toward the wall and tapped it a
couple of times. “Here, I think, would be an excellent location to create the portal. Now,
gather your courage and find Ain.”
Rin dropped the blankets and grimaced as she slipped on the ring. She punched the
wall quickly and the portal opened. “I can’t wait to see my gorillas!” she shouted as she
dashed through the portal. Lilly followed her quickly and Lan jumped through as the portal
started to shrink.
“May you never run into Caterina in Papipupope,” Louis said to himself. He turned to
Yakimon and held out his hand. “You did well to hide that one in front of them. It is now
time to continue our preparation.” Yakimon handed a glittering, silver tube with a rough outer
casing to him. He waved his hand and Yakimon hurried out the window. Louis pocketed the
tube and headed outside. He held it up to the sky, looking through the opening toward the
clouds, and it began radiating a multitude of colors. Louis grasped it in his hands, feeling a
new power surging through his arms. He looked toward the forest, smirking as he walked
toward it, and the trees began shaking as he entered.

14. 14
Chapter 4: Primate Symposium
The three girls landed with a soft thud on the beachside sand. The water splashed
gently as the waves reached the shore. Many animal cries could be heard coming from deep
within the jungle. Rin ran to the edge of the forest, gazing at the gentle swaying of the tree
branches above.
“Lan, Lilly, look at that!” she pointed to the top of the tree through the branches.
“That must be a gorilla.” She reached into Lilly’s pocket and pulled out the flashlight, then
aimed it as carefully as she could at the gorilla before flicking the switch on. The light
surrounded it, causing the gorilla to become dazed and it began jumping through the branches
into the depths of the forest.
“Good, let’s follow it,” Lilly said as she began charging into the forest. Very soon
after her entry, the branches beneath cracked and Lilly started slipping down a hole. Rin
grabbed her hand and pulled as fast as she could. They watched as the branches fell down,
farther and farther into the hole and disappeared into the darkness.
Lan came into the forest and stepped next to the hole. She looked down and squinted,
trying to see if the bottom had anything of interest. “Rin, hand me the flashlight,” she said
with her hand extended.
“Looks like somebody’s trying to be a detective,” she retorted. Rin reluctantly took
the parafact from Lilly then gave the flashlight to Lan, and they looked down together as the
light was turned on. In the few seconds it worked, they could see the bottom had been
covered with a thin layer of sticks pointed upward. A large insect body was embedded on the
sticks, its legs stretched upward as if it were trying to reach the top in its last desperate
attempt to escape.
“Alright then, it looks like we’re not going to be walking over here anytime soon,”
said Lan as she turned and helped Lilly stand.
“How will we find the other gorillas if we can’t get past the forest?” asked Lilly.
“Simple,” Lan said as she looked up. “We’ll use the trees if we don’t know how to get
there by land.” She walked over to the tree the gorilla was hanging from and began grasping
its bark firmly. Lan tried to climb, but wasn’t able to get more than a few centimeters off the
ground without slipping back down. She grabbed the tree and tried again, this time from the
other side; still she fell, unable to get a decent hold on the bark.
“Lan, if we can’t go up, what will we do?” Lilly pouted. “I don’t want to walk
through there after what happened already. We have to think of a different way to get up
there.” Lilly kicked a small pile of dirt over the hole and watched as it piled over the spikes at
the bottom. “Look, even the gorilla you got earlier with the flashlight is disappearing,” she
said as she pointed to the fading light in the treetops.
“Well, these are plants, right?” Rin inquired. “So, let’s use this to help us!” She
reached into Lan’s pocket and removed the whistle. Rin blew into the whistle and watched
the trees carefully. She became impatient after not seeing an initial reaction, so she blew
stronger and longer into the whistle, staring at the trees again.

15. 15
“Rin, you need to be careful. We don’t know how the trees will respond to the
whistle. Let’s just go back to the beach to rethink a way around the pits.” Lan grabbed Rin by
the wrist and started pulling her back toward the sand. “Rin, I know you want to keep trying,
but hurry up. We can’t wait here without having a plan.”
“It’s not me,” Rin replied while giggling. Lan turned around and saw a vine wrapped
around Rin’s waist. “Looks like I’ll be the first one to the top. See you later!” The vine
catapulted her into the air and other vines continued to pull her out of view. More vines came
down and wrapped around Lilly and Lan, then sent them up in the same fashion.
Lan landed last on the branches. Lilly and Rin were already standing still, clutching
the side of the tree for support. The branch they were standing on was thick, but rounded, and
the bark had been smoothed from considerable use. Lan attempted to walk forward, then
began to slip as she turned back and leapt for the stem of the tree.
“Well then, this is certainly different than what I imagined,” Rin taunted. “You think
we can still make it to the other side any better this way?”
“It’s better than walking through the ground where we can’t see the holes,” Lilly
responded. “At least this way we can see if we’re going to fall to our deaths.” She pulled
gently on the vine still hanging above her. “Maybe we can use these? They seem strong
enough to help us move around.”
“And how would we do that?” retorted Rin. “It’s not like we can just tie them to our
bodies like how we got up here. We don’t have wings either, so we’re not going to fly
through here.”
At that moment a large rustling came from the tree nearby. A young gorilla came
walking out onto its own branch and looked toward the distance. It caught sight of the
glowing larger gorilla and became excited. It grabbed a vine from the branch above itself and
ran along the branch to the edge. It jumped off and swung in a large arc over to a distant tree.
Once it reached the other branch it released the vine and ran along the branch to the other side
of the tree where it continued its journey to the glowing ape.
Rin grabbed the vine above her and beamed at Lan and Lilly. She ran to the edge of
the branch and jumped, gripping the vine with all her might. She swung low and disappeared
in the cluster of leaves below. Rin came bursting through the blanket of green, smiling as she
was covered in leaves. As she reached the next branch she let go of the vine and landed on
the edge, running toward the trunk to get better footing. She waved to Lan and Lilly, then
signaled for them to follow.
Lilly went first using the same vine, then Lan followed. As she went under the canopy
she saw a young gorilla with its hand caught in one of the vines hanging from the tree, it was
crying as it tried to pull away; the plant held strong like a firmly tied lasso around its limb.
When she reached the top of the tree she stepped onto the edge of the branch and looked back
down toward the lower parts of the tree. Lilly grabbed her arm as she started to slip off and
flung her toward the trunk where Rin was waiting.
“Lan, what are you doing?” asked Lilly.
“I saw a trapped baby gorilla somewhere lower on this tree. We need to help it.”

16. 16
“That’s impossible. We couldn’t go down even if we wanted to.” Lilly walked over to
Rin and nudged her. “Say something. You know we can’t do it.”
Rin rolled her eyes then slowly turned to Lan, wrapping her arm around her neck.
“Alright then. Let’s say you saw the gorilla, yeah? Well, what can we do about it? There isn’t
anything we have that can make us magically go lower on this tree, right?” She winked at
Lan then rubbed the tree bark with her hand, with the sunlight shining off the smooth metallic
surface of her ring. She grabbed Lan’s hand and whispered in her ear “think about that
gorilla, and we’ll get to it soon.” After Lan closed her eyes and concentrated, Rin punched
the tree bark and a portal opened up. She pushed Lan through and called to Lilly “Ladies
first. All ladies and children go first.” Lilly walked toward the portal and began to step
through. “Well, our lady, Lan, already went through, so our child, Lilly, is going next.”
“If I’m a child, what does that make you?” Lilly laughed. She looked back through
the portal as she made it to the other side.
“I’m the greatest b—” Rin’s voice was cut off as the portal closed. Lilly and Lan
watched the trunk of the tree revert to its original form. The young gorilla watched in awe,
unable to move from the sudden shock. Lan turned around and quickly reached for the vine
and started pulling. Each time Lan pulled, the vine retaliated with a pull of its own. After a
few tries it wrapped around Lan’s wrist like a snake and began coiling down her arm toward
her shoulder. It started constricting and Lan let out a shout of pain, as did the young gorilla. It
began gnawing at the vine around its hand without any other reaction. Lilly stood motionless
as she watched the two struggle. Soon, another vine reached down from the branch above and
wrapped around Lilly’s stomach. It tightened quickly and pulled her off her feet.
Lan watched as Lilly started to ascend the tree with the vine, staring as she struggled
to move on her own. Lilly gasped for air and fell silent. Lan felt frightened and angry at
herself for not being able to do anything. She shook as she watched Lilly disappear into the
branches above. Just then, she felt a pulsing sensation running through her body. She looked
toward the tree a few meters away and saw the silhouette of someone very familiar. Energy
pulsated from the figure and began to form into Caterina.
Caterina lunged over the gap between the trees and landed gently on the branch next
to Lan. “You see now? You have the heart to save others, but you lack the resolve. You
aren’t able to help those who need it because you aren’t even able to help yourself.” She
walked over to the young gorilla and began stroking it on the head. It immediately stopped
chewing the vine and turned to look at her; its eyes filled with fear as it met her gaze. “You’re
useless when you still can’t even start to use your power.” She reached into Lan’s pocket and
retrieved the apples. “You’re also a thief, stealing from my garden. Go, save your sister if you
have the courage. If not, I’ll give you a new reason to finish awakening your abilities,” she
said as she grabbed the gorilla by the scruff of its neck. It started shouting as it began to glow
orange, and the smell of burning fur filled the air.
“Stop it! The gorilla didn’t do anything,” Lan begged.
“If you don’t like it, why don’t you stop me by yourself?” Caterina held her other
hand to the gorilla’s throat. A small blade started to extend from her fingertips, reaching
toward the trapped animal.

17. 17
Lan screamed in rage and felt her body pulse stronger with energy. She opened her
hand that was caught in the vine and twisted it, bursting the vine into small shreds. Lan flung
her arm toward Caterina. The woman smiled as she vanished into faint traces of energy that
dispersed throughout the air. Lan’s hand caught hold of the vine attached to the gorilla
instead and burned through it, releasing the gorilla from its deadly grasp. The primate
immediately scurried up the tree to get away from the danger. A few seconds later the vine
grasping Lilly dropped her onto the branch, leaving her looking lifeless and very still.
Lan reached down to Lilly, feeling for a heartbeat and breathing. “Lilly, get up. We
still have to find Rin. She couldn’t come down with us and we need to help her.” Lan held
her ear closer to Lilly, listening for any sign of her consciousness.
“Lan, your breath smells like burned popcorn,” Lilly whispered, laughing as she
opened her eyes. “What happened? I know I was grabbed by the vine and passed out, now I
see you with this weird green thing on your arm.” Lilly reached out to touch Lan’s left arm.
The armor disappeared as her hand pressed upon it, and the energy retreated into Lan’s
shoulder.
“This is something I don’t know how to explain yet, but I think it’s what Louis wants
us all to be able to use eventually.” Lan rubbed her shoulder; still sore from the weight of the
armor. She stood up and grabbed Lilly’s hand to help her onto her feet. The two of them
looked around at the trees surrounding themselves. The smell of smoked hair still filled the
air and some of the branches above them started to rustle. Soon, a small gang of gorillas
descended the trees, the leader looked quite angry as it held onto the smaller gorilla with
burned fur from earlier. It grunted and slapped the branch a couple of times, and the others
charged toward the girls. They grabbed Lan and Lilly and rushed down the trees, directly to
the bottom. They began poking at the ground with a long sticks until the sticks easily went
through, then lifted Lan above their heads and tossed her to that area. The leaves burst open
and a giant hole was revealed. Lilly screamed as Lan disappeared into the dark void beneath
her. The gorillas lifted her next and threw her to meet the same fate.
Lilly fell at a fast pace, tears leaving her eyes as she looked up at the disappearing
light above her. She closed her eyes and embraced herself for the spikes below. She landed
with a large thud and heard Lan grunt. The tree spikes below them cracked, and the two of
them continued to fall further into the dark. Lilly felt Lan’s arm wrap around her, then
something grew underneath them again. They landed with a large thud, and the thing beneath
them shattered. The only thing Lilly could see was a green glow beneath her that soon
retracted to a point that was parallel to her head. She could faintly see Lan’s outline from the
light.
“Lan, if that was you, thank you.” She stood and brushed the dirt off herself. Lilly
looked around and tried to get a better view of the area. It was useless; they were completely
enveloped in darkness. She reached her hand out to the glow of light on Lan before it
disappeared. “Lan, I have an idea. Let’s use the flashlight on me. If I glow, I might be able to
see better down here.”
“That’s dangerous though,” Lan protested. “What if you turn pink like Rin did?”
“We have no choice. I can’t see where you are either. We have to do something to get
out of here.” Lilly released her hands from Lan’s shoulder and felt for the flashlight in her

18. 18
own pocket. After grabbing its handle, she pulled it out slowly and held it above her head.
She pointed it down and pushed the switch. A few seconds of light shone on her and she
could see the area clearly. After the light switch turned itself off, Lilly was still able to view
the surrounding area as though there had been a strong daylight inside.
“Lilly, you’re glowing like the gorilla. Can you see anything like that?”
“Yeah. I can see better than when we were up there.” Lilly grabbed Lan’s hand and
dragged her toward the open cave. “Lan, you have to see this, it’s really cool.” She held up
her hands to Lan’s face and covered Lan’s eyes with her fingers before slightly opening them
to let Lan see through the gaps.
“Wow, I’ve never seen so many unique stones like this.”
“Not what I meant. Look to the right.” Lilly guided Lan’s eyes toward the right side
of the cave. A large gorilla statue sat there covered in dust and vines, a few bugs crawled
along its surface. The statue gave off a pale grey aura with a saddening look on its face. Lan
stepped closer to the statue, gazing at its facial expressions with a mix of curiosity and terror.
“Lan, watch out,” Lilly cried as she yanked Lan away from the base. As Lan fell back
a ball of green liquid passed through the air from the left side. A startled insect had sprayed at
them and was standing with its tail high above its head. The ball hit a nearby stone and burst.
The slime that came out oozed down to the ground and turned everything it touched into a
dark gray color; the surfaces shined the same as the stones near the entrance. The other
insects became alert and started rearing their tails in the air, aiming at the girls.
“Well, now would be a good time to run. Lilly, you guide me through the dark.” Lan
grabbed one of Lilly’s hands, then started running.
“Left. No, more. We need to turn sharply now!” They hurried down the corridor as
they listened to the splash of liquid coming from each of the insects behind them. Lan and
Lilly hurried down the various paths until they reached a dead end. Behind them hissing
could be heard as the bugs came closer.
“Any way out that you can see?” Lan asked.
“Nope. This might be the end.”
“How about up?”
“There’s a small hole, but it isn’t big enough to climb through.”
Lan held out her hand and pointed it at the ceiling. A small ball of fire launched at the
ceiling and exploded, causing the dirt above them to collapse. Lan twisted her hand and
created a shield to protect them from the falling debris.
“Well, it’s open now,” Lan chimed. “Let’s go. Hold on tight.” Lan spread her arms to
the sides and made her wings appear. She grabbed Lilly with both arms and took off toward
the opening made above them. The rest of the ground started to collapse and the insects
shrieked as they retreated once more into the cave. At the top Lan could see a faint light. She
flew toward it, happy that their escape plan worked.
“Next, let’s find Rin.” Lan said as they made their way to the top.

19. 19
Chapter 5: Monkey Madness
After the portal closed, Rin quickly thought of Lan and Lilly then punched the tree
trunk again. A new portal opened and she jumped through as quickly as she could. After it
closed, Rin looked around and saw her new surroundings. A field covered in grass and
flowers, with the hot sunlight radiating over the land. Rin held up her hand to shade her eyes.
“Where are they? This doesn’t look like the forest.” Rin saw a creature grazing in the
fields in the far off distance next to a house. She thought for a moment before pounding her
fist to the ground. Nothing had happened except her ring started to glow very faintly, then
returned to normal. “Well, things could be much worse than this,” Rin said to herself before
she headed over to the house.
As she approached the house the strange animal stared at her and stopped eating. It
was drooling and looked happy to see her. Disgusted, Rin knocked on the door and tried to
ignore the creature. There was no answer, so Rin opened the door and went inside. The house
was empty, except for a small stool placed in the dark corner of the room. Sitting on it was a
single candlestick with the wick burned out. Rin felt a draft of cold air as she watched the
room and turned around. The creature was standing behind her with its tongue hanging out of
its mouth.
Rin panicked and ran into the house. The creature cried and pressed its face into the
room, pushing against the doorframe until it cracked. After that, the creature rushed into the
room to follow Rin. She went around the room a few times, trying to open the windows as
she passed them. The creature came closer and pointed its head at her. Rin ran to the doorway
to get out, but she hadn’t realized the opening had shrunk. She could barely squeeze through
the opening and pass through, while the creature was trapped in. She looked back at the door
and the house started shaking. The creature cried out as it watched her through the shrinking
door. Rin felt sorry and grabbed a nearby stone, then attacked the sides of the doorway. The
wood cracked more and the doorway widened. The creature happily ran through, then the
house twisted in place, collapsing on itself, then it disappeared under the ground.
The creature brushed its head under Rin’s hand and rubbed against her happily. Rin
laughed, then rubbed its head. “Well, looks like we’re both stuck here for now. I guess we’ll
have to find shade from this sunlight before we can figure out what to do next.” Rin started
walking in one direction, with the creature following closely. Together they walked under the
blazing sunlight; Rin used her hand to shade her eyes, while the creature walked in her
shadow.
After walking a while they came upon a small village. Rin dashed toward it excitedly,
calling out for anybody present to come out. After standing in the central market area, she
realized that the town itself appeared abandoned, just like the house she had seen prior. The
creature following her slowly stepped onto the ground, glancing around as it made its way
closer to her. It let out a low moo as it brushed against her side. They stood together, staring
at the broken windows and empty houses lining the road.
There was a sudden noise coming from the building directly behind them.
“Whoever’s there, you better come out now!” Rin called as she watched for the cause of the
sound. There was no response. “I mean it, you better come out, or I’ll force you out,” this
time she trembled as she spoke. A little more rustling came from the scraps directly in front

20. 20
of the house. A small monkey jumped out and stared at her with large eyes. Rin stood
breathless, still trembling as she watched the creature; tears filling her eyes.
“C-C-Cute!” she screamed as she dashed toward the monkey with her arms spread
wide. The monkey shrieked and scrambled around the building with Rin closely pursuing it,
followed by the creature. They were soon out of the village and running across the flat plains
again. “Wait for me, my jellybean!” Rin called as she continued chasing the monkey. They
made their way over a hill and the monkey rolled down it faster than Rin could move. It
sprinted at the bottom of the hill and disappeared behind the line of trees.
Rin stopped at the bottom of the hill to catch her breath, and the creature stopped
behind her. Through the space between the trees Rin could see a beautifully decorated
mansion with flowers spread across the yard to create a pathway in the grass. The creature
behind Rin mooed loudly then charged between the trees to get to the grass. Rin stepped
cautiously through the area and walked down the pathway to the door. She knocked on it,
peeking through the window to see who would answer. The mansion had many decorations
lining the walls with fancy furniture occupying most of the space in each room.
The door swung open, and Rin fell forward. She held out her arms to shield her face.
When she looked up she saw that same monkey sitting at the door, grinning as it watched her
movements. “You really live here?” she asked, half expecting a response. The monkey closed
the door and walked slowly toward the hallway, signaling for her to follow. She went with
the monkey down a few hallways, and made her way up to the 4th floor. At the end of the
hallway was a different looking door than the others she had seen in the house. It was rimmed
with a light gold border of elegant waves that looked like a turbulent ocean. As she
approached, the frame changed its color to a bright pink.
“Well that’s cool,” Rin chimed as she brushed her fingers through her hair. The
monkey stopped at the door then turned to Rin. It motioned for her to lean closer to her, as if
it were trying to say something. She bent close to the monkey only to feel a short, sharp sting
coming from the backside of her head. “Ow, that hurt,” she cried as she reached for the
painful spot. The monkey grimaced as it pulled its hand back with a few pink hairs. It
climbed the sides of the door and deposited her hair samples into a small slot at the top of the
door. The door sounded a brief alarm as it slid open, then the monkey slipped inside,
swinging from the top arch to enter. As Rin stepped inside, the door closed behind her.
“Welcome home, Rin,” called out a woman. Rin looked toward the backside of the
room where a woman sat on her throne. The woman stood up and walked closer to Rin, then
brushed Rin’s hair away from her eyes. “I’m so sorry I had to be gone, Rin. It seems you
were finally able to escape your dreaded fate.” The woman embraced Rin, crying as she did
so.
“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Rin asked as she tried to pry the woman’s arms off
herself. “The only people I know are Lan, Lilly, and Louis. Maybe you got confused since
you are stuck breathing monkey air,” Rin chimed as she watched the monkey climb upon the
woman’s shoulder.
“I am Ain, your mother,” the woman said as she brushed her tears away from her
eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time to come back home.”

21. 21
“Why didn’t you try to save me if you were really that worried?”
“I couldn’t,” Ain responded as she dried the rest of her tears. “The Elders made a
decision to lock you away with your friends, and I was powerless to stop them.”
“You’re an Elder too, you could have said something, or tried to do something.” Rin
turned her back to Ain.
“I may have been an Elder at the time, but I wasn’t as strong as the rest. They all
agreed with each other and took you from me by force.” Ain rested her hands on Rin’s
shoulders. “I had to run away before they could harm me like they did to Caterina. If I had
stayed, or tried to return, I would have been killed.”
Rin set her hand on Ain’s, then turned around to meet her gaze. Her eyes were
sincere, and full of sorrow. Rin held slightly tighter onto her hand then hugged her as a sign
of understanding. She could share the pain felt by their original departure returning as she
held onto Ain. Rin’s own eyes started tearing up and she wept lightly onto Ain’s shoulders.
After a while she let go of Ain. “I’m happy I can meet you now, but I really want to
get back to Lan and Lilly. They must be worried by now.” Rin rubbed her fingers on her ring
hoping that something could happen.
“Lan and Lilly?” Ain inquired with a puzzled look. “Oh, I remember them. You were
all quite young when you were taken away. Caterina’s girl was Lan, and Kitchii’s was Lilly.
It’s been such a long time since I heard their names.” Ain bent down enough to make eye
contact with Rin. “How did you get out?”
“Louis helped us escape.”
“Who’s that? I’ve never heard of anyone named Louis while I was an Elder”
“He’s an Elder. We lived in his attic since we were little, and he took care of us. He
seems very smart, and strong.”
“Please be careful, I don’t know who that is. It’s very difficult to be accepted as an
Elder, so the number of people doesn’t often change. He could be tricking you.”
“We trust him though. Louis has been kind to us since the first day, and he still helped
us once we got outside. He even gave us these parafacts,” Rin exclaimed as she showed the
ring to Ain. Ain turned the ring carefully to inspect it, then returned it to Rin.
“Is this how you were able to get here?”
“Yeah. I actually came here by accident. I was trying to get back to Lan and Lilly
since we were separated, but it brought me here instead.”
“I don’t think it was an accident,” Ain said as she stood up. “I think you were
instructed to find me.”
“How did you know? Louis said that I need to begin the awakening process, just like
Lan.”

22. 22
“There are no coincidences when people meet. It is always guided by fate.” Ain
walked to the entrance of the room. “What worries me is Lan’s awakening. Do you know
what she is capable of once she has mastery of her abilities?”
Rin followed her to the door. “No, I don’t even know what she can start doing either. I
haven’t seen anything. But, whatever it is, I want to do it too!”
“It seems that you might have to learn our family’s abilities, even if just to protect
yourself when the time comes.” Ain turned to Rin and grasped her shoulders. “Rin, do you
trust me?”
Rin hesitated before answering. “Well, yes. I trust you.” As soon as she had answered
she felt a sharp sting on the back of her neck. She quickly lost consciousness and fell into a
heap on the floor. The last thing Rin could see was Ain smiling as she brushed Rin’s hair
away from her eyes.
When she woke up, Rin was in a dark room. Her arms and feet felt heavy when she
tried to move them, then heard the clanking of chains. She sat still, listening for any other
sound in the room. “Ain, where are you? What happened?”
A faint whisper came from somewhere outside the room. “I’m so sorry, Rin. I need to
shelter you from Lan since you don’t have any way to protect yourself yet. If you can start
your awakening and escape, that will be a sign that you are capable of handling yourself
properly when you meet her again. Until then, you will remain here.” Ain’s voice trailed off
into the empty room.
Rin sat stunned at the words, shaking with aggravation at what had happened. Her
vision had slowly adjusted to the darkness, and she was able to see that she was locked in the
same room Ain was waiting in when she got to the mansion. She saw the monkey sitting on
the arch above the doorway, grinning as it stared at her.
“Hey you, pipsqueak. Come down here and help me out. I’ll give you a banana if you
do it,” Rin called to the monkey. It hadn’t responded. “Well, I’ll give you much more. Just set
me free, and I can get anything for you with this ring,” Rin continued as she waved her hand
from her side. The monkey cackled as it held up its own hand to show the faint outline of a
small circle. Rin quickly turned her head to see her hand, but the ring was gone.
“That’s it, I’m not going to be nice to you any more, you jerk!” Rin yelled angrily.
She started making different gestures with her hands until she saw a reaction from the
monkey. “I got you now,” she quipped as she continued the gesture. She laughed as the
monkey grew angrier on its seat, but didn’t move off it. “I see it now. You’re sitting there to
keep these chains intact, right?” Rin laughed as the monkey frowned. She continued making
the gesture with both hands in an attempt to have the monkey lose its will to stay still.
Instead, the monkey turned its back toward her and sat quietly.
“That’s not fair!” Rin cried out in disbelief. “If you don’t see me and move, how can I
ever get out?” She sat watching the monkey’s backside, trying to think of a way to get it to
look at her again. The monkey began swinging its tail from one side to the other. Rin
pretended to be the monkey and imagined moving a tail of her own to copy it. Suddenly,
there was a clicking sound coming from the chair and her limbs felt lighter. She turned her
head over her shoulder to see what happened. Coming from the backside of her chair was a

23. 23
large tail that had smacked a lever nearby. A smile spread across Rin’s face as she realized
that she was able to control the tail. She turned back to watch the monkey. She imagined
imitating its movements a few more times, hearing successive clicking from other levers
behind her as the tail moved. With the last sound the chains had become completely undone.
Rin stood, grinning as she swung her arms around freely.
“I’m coming for you,” she whispered as she tiptoed to the doorway. The pillars on
this side of the door were very plain and smooth. She tried grabbing the pillars to climb, but
she slid down immediately. She pictured her hands being similar to the monkey’s and tried
again. This time, she was able to grip the pillar very well and climbed it hastily. When she
reached the top the monkey was already gone. The ring had been set down on top of a piece
of paper. Rin put on the ring, then opened the letter.
“Dear Rin
I’m so sorry to have caused you all this trouble. I’ve understood for quite some time
that Lan would be able to awaken her powers before either of you. It was very painful
to lock you in this room, but there was just no other way I could have you learn how
to use your own abilities. Be careful, Lan really will be dangerous in the future if she
loses control. If that happens, you must do whatever you can to stop her. Without
having been awakened, you would not have had the ability to do so. Even now, it still
might not be enough. Take caution, and go find Lan and Lilly.
Love,
Ain”
Soon after reading the letter Rin heard a scream coming from downstairs. She quickly
pocketed the letter, then slid down the column. There were no switches around the door, nor
were there any contraptions that could open it like there were on the other side. Rin panicked
and started pounding on the door. It trembled with each hit and gave off a very loud thud. In
desperation she stuck her fingers into the small gap under the door and lifted. The door slid
with ease, so Rin dashed through the opening before it shut again.
The hallway was cluttered with various objects that had been torn from the walls.
Small spatters of blood had been mixed with broken vases on the floor. Rin followed the path
of destruction down the hall, then down the stairs, being careful not to make too much sound.
As she reached the first floor, the hallway looked vastly different. There was no more paint
on the sides, and the rooms resembled small indentations in a mountain side. When Rin took
her first step on this floor, the entire house began to shake. Rin saw the front door begin to
shrink.
“Not again,” she whined to herself. She ran to the entrance and began pushing on the
sides. This doorway had been much stronger, so it continued to shrink despite the amount of
effort she put into opening it. Rin began pounding on the doorframe, making large cracks
each time. Without thinking, she moved to the wall and hit it. A large hole had formed from
her last hit, then she jumped through it to get outside.
The ground was bare and appeared to have its plants uprooted. The house slowly sank
into the earth, with only the roof visible after it had stopped moving. Rin sat breathlessly on
the ground, watching the remains of the house sticking out. She reached into her pocket and

24. 24
looked at the letter again. This time the letters were a different color with the sunlight shining
on the paper.
“Rin,
Thank you for also taking care of my cow and monkey. Without your help, they
would both be gone. Go to the abandoned town and find the building my monkey was
searching. Hidden in a pile of bricks will be a special container with ointment made
from the cow’s milk. Take it on your journey, and use it as you see fit. There’s
nothing else I can tell you, or do to help you, so please be careful. We’ll meet again
someday, so please don’t worry.”
Rin folded the letter and headed back to the town. She started digging through the
piles of bricks until she heard a metal container being hit. Rin reached into the pile and pulled
out a small rounded can. She set it into her pocket and stood back up. Behind her there was a
loud mooing sound. Rin turned around to see Ain’s cow.
“I’m so glad you’re safe Ms. Cow,” she said as she walked toward it. Rin stopped
after she realized something was wrong. The cow had not been moving, and there was excess
drool dripping from its mouth. Its eyes were dark green, and its head had small horns
protruding from it. The cow lowered its head and started kicking the ground. It charged
toward her, tripping on the loose stones in the ground as it tried to reach her. Rin grabbed the
cow by the horns and stared it in the eyes. It gave off a foul smell as it began to shake its
head. One of the horns scratched the side of Rin’s hand. She screamed as she felt a strong
burning pain before the area began to glow the same green color as the cow’s eyes.
Rin quickly climbed the side of the building to reach the highest floor and applied
some of the ointment on her wound. She watched as the cow attacked the building
continuously. She couldn’t stand it any longer and thought about Lan and Lilly. She punched
the floor and a portal opened up.
“I’m so sorry Ms. Cow. I’ll be back to save you later if I get to see you again.” Rin
jumped through the portal and the world around her disappeared as it closed. “Soon, I’ll find
you guys again,” she said as she closed her eyes, thinking about Lan and Lilly, and how she
can show them what she had learned.

25. 25
Chapter 6: Lilly’s Helplessness
“Lan, how much farther do you think we should go?” Lilly watched over Lan’s
shoulder as they soared through the sky, heading back toward the beach they first made
contact with. The day had already passed to evening, with the sun setting over the lake. Lan
hadn’t responded as she grew steadily more tired of bearing both of their weights. They
began gliding down toward the sand, then Lan’s wings vanished, and they began to fall. With
her last bit of energy, Lan created the shield to protect them from the impact. It shattered as
they hit the ground, then they rolled onto the cooled sand.
“Lan, are you okay?” Lilly asked as she poked Lan repeatedly. There were only soft
grunts in response. “We still haven’t found Rin. I’m worried about her, but I’m more afraid
of what’s happened to you.” Lilly dragged Lan over to a nearby boulder and set her against it.
Then, Lilly searched for items to create shelter against the breeze.
After 20 minutes she had some long leaves and branches from the nearby forest. She
set them up and made a miniature tent around the boulder. She entered the tent and placed a
few thick branches at the entrance. Lilly turned and sat next to Lan. She sighed deeply and
closed her eyes to rest for a little while so that she could regain her strength.
“Thank you, Lilly,” Lan whispered as she reached over for Lilly’s hand and squeezed
it gently. “I’m sorry we couldn’t find Rin. It’s all my fault.”
“Don’t think like that. If it hadn’t been for you, we would have been gone a long time
ago. Those gorillas were really strange.”
“Yeah, if it hadn’t been for me—” Lan paused before she could continue. “You
wouldn’t have had to be thrown into the pit. I should have just listened to you and let the
baby gorilla fend for itself. I’m sorry I made all of this happen.” Tears started rolling down
Lan’s cheeks. “I promise, I’ll make up for this somehow. Just wait a bit longer for me to get
better.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Rin is doing fine on her own for now. She’s probably
just hiding in the trees, playing with the gorillas. Besides, she has the ring and can easily get
away from danger.” Lilly started dozing off. “Lan, please don’t worry. There isn’t anything
else we can do today, so let’s rest here.” Lilly barely finished her sentence as her
consciousness faded away.
Lilly awoke in the dark. The light from the flashlight had already faded. She reached
over to her side and realized Lan had vanished. Lilly moved to the door of the tent and
opened it. The outside air had been heavy and humid. Everything was in complete silence, the
water movement hadn’t even made a single sound. Lilly trembled as she looked around for
signs of anything nearby that might have taken Lan away. The sand by the tent had been
untouched; all signs of her own movement had been erased with the strong wind from earlier.
She returned to the tent and saw that the whistle was laying where Lan had been. Lilly
grabbed it, and put it into her pocket. She then headed outside, taking small steps at a time as
if she were trying to not wake a terrible beast underground.
Lilly saw some bubbles floating along the top of the dark water. She headed over
there and called out “Lan, is that you? You shouldn’t be swimming at a time like this. I was
really worried you headed back to the forest to look for Rin by yourself.” Lilly sighed in

26. 26
relief as she approached the water. She froze in place as she realized something else had been
under the surface instead. There was a loud hissing sound as the creature stood from under
the surface; the water splashed strongly with the movement of its tail. It looked around as the
water stopped dripping from its eyes, then stared at Lilly in fascination. Lilly looked back
into its eyes, unable to figure out what she should do.
Lilly accidentally sneezed and caused the creature to grumble in anger. It raised the
tail above its head and aimed at her. Lilly turned and ran down the sand, back toward the
forest. She heard the swinging of its tail, and a large glob of black goo hit the land in front of
her. Lilly stopped, her heart beating fast, then ran around the outside edge, being careful not
to touch the ooze. She reached into her pocket and quickly blew into the whistle multiple
times. The insect stepped out of the water onto the sand, then started chasing her. Lilly ran
into the darkened forest, not thinking about the pits that lied ahead. She stepped onto a group
of branches that collapsed underneath her, but hadn’t fallen. A few vines grabbed her wrists
and yanked her up quickly. The insect continued following her until it hit the same branches
and fell down the hole. It shrieked as it soared down the hole to the pikes below. Louder
hissing could be heard beneath, and black slime spurted up, spraying the edges of the hole
and the grass.
The vines released Lilly near the top of the trees. She rolled onto her side, grasping
the branch beneath her tightly. Lilly cried out for Lan and Rin in vain. She curled into a ball
and sat still, grasping the whistle tightly in her hands. Lilly rocked herself to sleep along the
side of the bark.
The next morning Lilly woke to find a banana and some oranges on her lap. Without
thinking about any possible danger, she quickly ate them. The citrus from the oranges was
refreshing, which allowed her to think more clearly. “Lan, Rin, are you there? Whoever
brought these to me, thank you so much.” Something on the branches below started rustling.
Lilly backed herself to the trunk. Suddenly, Yakimon crawled onto the branch, stood up, and
dusted himself off.
“Hello there Ms. Lilly. Master Louis sent me to look for you since none of you had
returned yet. He was worried something might have happened. Is everything okay?”
Yakimon reached out his hand to Lilly. “You look quite frightened. I’ll take you back to
Master Louis so we can get everything fixed.”
“I can’t, not without Lan and Rin. Rin disappeared yesterday, and Lan was gone late
last night.”
“I understand how you feel, but there’s not much we can do right now. I was lucky
enough to find you.”
Lilly pushed his hand away, convincing herself it would be best to stay here and
continue looking for Lan and Rin. Yakimon frowned as he reached into his bag and pulled
out a small trinket. He set it in Lilly’s hand and looked her in the eyes.
“Master Louis said not to let you be in danger. If you need help just flick this open
and push the button inside. It will instantly bring you back to his house in the forest.
Papipupope is a dangerous land that nobody really knows much about.” Yakimon turned to
start climbing down the tree bark. “Oh, I forgot to mention. We’ve been contacted by Ain.

27. 27
Rin is safe and doing well. She already started her training, and I’ve seen Lan searching from
the skies for you two. Rin will show up when she’s ready, and I will get Lan’s attention when
I find a better spot.” Yakimon descended the tree and disappeared under the thick canopy
below.
Lilly watched the branches as they slowly came to a stop. She turned the small box
slowly in her hands, examining the intricate details engraved onto its sides. She pocketed the
box, then looked around for a long vine. After finding a suitable one, Lilly pulled up the end
of it and tied it around her waist. Then, she held onto the vine as she descended the tree.
Lilly went as far as the vine could take her, then untied it from her waist. The
branches on this level of the trees closely intertwined with each other yielding a walkable
path. Lilly slowly made her way across the path until she reached the opening on the other
side. As she walked through the floor beneath her suddenly became harder and colder. In the
distance Lilly could hear the sound of running water and a few gorilla huffs. She gathered her
courage and stepped into the darkness, wielding her flashlight. She flicked it on and saw
some crystals light up. They reflected the light upon each other down the pathway, deep into
the hollows of the cave. Lilly set her flashlight into her pocket and continued down the
illuminated path, through the various twists and turns, climbing and crawling when
necessary.
When she reached the end of the path, there was a small waterfall flowing nearby the
exit. Lilly stood still, looking for some way to make it across safely. On the other side she
could see gorillas walking around making a lot of sound. Suddenly, the young gorilla Lan
saved earlier had stepped in front of the entrance. It peaked inside and stared at Lilly. The
gorilla looked around its surroundings, then entered the cave. It slowly walked into the water
and stared more at Lilly. It extended its hand toward her in a kind gesture, as if calling out to
her. Lilly took a deep breath and started walking in the water toward the gorilla. She held out
her hand toward it, afraid to step any further with the strongly rushing water on her ankles.
As she stepped forward, she grabbed the gorilla’s hand. Lilly began slipping, then fell into the
water. The gorilla slid and was pushed slightly ahead of her. They floated toward the
waterfall and fell.
Lilly pushed the gorilla above herself as they fell farther into the cave. They hit the
water below with a strong impact and Lilly lost consciousness; still gripping the gorilla
tightly as she felt its weight crush her into the pool of water.
When she woke up Lilly was staring at the top of the waterfall from a far distance.
She was soaked in water and was shivering. The bottom of the cave was cold enough that she
could see her breath. Lilly sat up and looked around for the gorilla. It was standing at the
other side of the cave, its arms reaching out to block the entrance. Lilly walked over to it and
tried to peak around the gaps in its arms. Dozens of insects were swarmed on the other side,
each shaking its tail as they danced in front of the gorilla. Lilly stood frozen, terrified at the
sight. She looked up and realized the gorilla had already began turning to stone.
Lilly backed away quickly and ran toward the other opening she could see. She
dashed down the pathway, deeper into the chasms of the cave. Lilly quickly flicked on her
flashlight as darkness eclipsed her. Toward the end of the pathway there was a deep drop.
Gasping from her run, Lilly turned around to see if the creatures were following her.

28. 28
“Really? This is too much,” she said as she huddled closer to the ground. Lilly swung
her legs over the edge and lowered herself as much as possible before letting herself go. As
she released her grip on the ground she felt a funny, cool sensation around her fingers. When
she hit the ground below, Lilly rubbed her fingers to stop the strange feeling.
“It’s really cold,” she murmured to herself. “I think I went too far down in the cave so
I can’t feel them anymore.” Lilly quickly reached into her pocket and flicked on the light
again. She let out a scream as she realized her right hand had turned to stone. There was black
ooze dripping from the fingertips, marking the ground before her with a shiny luster. Lilly
trudged forward, pressing her stone hand against the wall of the cave to support herself. She
soon came upon a large, hollowed out room with a variety of ores protruding from the walls.
At the center of the room was a mini shrine with piles of purple powder placed carefully into
cloth sacks. As Lilly approached she felt her body grow heavier. She fell over as she lost her
ability to walk. Lilly dragged herself as close as she could, and eventually gave up when her
arms grew too tired.
As her eye-sight faded away, Lilly held up her head to see the shrine again. Someone
was standing there, mixing small bits of the powder together, followed by a strangle liquid
being added that changed the color of the solution to a vibrant blue.
“Lan, Rin, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be more helpful,” Lilly cried as she lost the strength
to hold her head up. “Please do what you have to without me. I can rest here because I know
you will find me someday.” As Lilly’s words trailed off she felt a final sensation on her hand.
With her eyes glazing over, Lilly could see a light coming from her palm; the box Louis had
given her was opened. Lilly lost all sense as everything went black around her.
“Louis, what do you think will happen to Lilly?” Lan asked.
“It is hard to say,” he responded, scratching his chin. “She will recover in her own
time, but we cannot rush anything. It would be best for you and Rin to wait for her before you
go on.”
“I can’t wait around that long,” Rin exclaimed. “I need to go out and try out my
abilities more. I also have to find Ain again, I don’t know what happened to her, but I know
her house has been destroyed by something.”
Louis stared at Lan and Rin for a couple minutes, contemplating their words. “I
suppose you are right,” he said while reaching into the drawer of his desk. “There are many
things you need to do to prepare for your next encounter with the Elders, and sitting around
here will not lead to anything good.” He pulled out a new object; one that was rounded like a
crystal ball. “This should be of some use to you on your new journey.” Louis handed the ball
to Rin.
“That’s neat. What does it do?” Rin asked as she turned it in her hands. There was a
small switch on the bottom with purple paint covering it. As Rin turned the ball over the color
changed to a lighter pink, then red color.
“That object is what we used to call a snow globe.” Louis pointed to the switch. “This
was supposed to have a stand so that it could be watched for a long time without having to
hold it.”

29. 29
“So, what’s it do?”
“Press the switch, then give it a good shake. You’ll find out soon enough”.
Rin followed the directions and shook as hard as she could. With each passing of the
ball back and forth the ground trembled in greater increments. Soon the room was shaking
and objects began to fall off the shelves. Lan and Rin were, however, unaffected by the
trembling. As Rin held the globe still while releasing the button, their surroundings began to
quiet down. “Woah, that’s really cool. I want to do it again!” Rin exclaimed.
“As I said before, you should be cautious of using the parafacts. One small mistake
will cost you much more than you can anticipate.” Louis returned to his desk and pulled out
the map. “If you wish to train better, there is a perfect location for you to go. Many strange
things have been happening there and the villagers have requested help. Heed my words; this
land is very different from what we are used to. Everything is governed by their rules, and
you must follow them carefully.”
“What kind of rules? Like, I can’t show my pink hair?”
“No, nothing of that sort. It is a village of carpenters. They live by what they build.
You must do the same as they do.” Louis brushed off various papers that were scattered on
his desk until he found a small scroll that was tied up. “This will give you basic directions, so
please use it once you are there. It has been written in their language, so you can only read it
in their land.”
“So, what is it called?” Lan asked.
“Craftopia.” Louis walked over to the wall and patted it gently. “Well, have a go and
let me know what you think. If you run into trouble, just remember to use your heads. You
are very capable, and I believe it an excellent opportunity for you to improve yourselves.”
“Wait, shouldn’t you tell us more before we go?” Lan stepped toward Louis. “You
haven’t told us yet what we have to do while we are there. What’s the point in going to help
without knowing if we can do something or not?”
“You will see what the problem is when you get there. Essentially, there are some
strange creatures that have been attacking the village every night. The only ones being
attacked are the people, not the plants or animals. You need to find the source and stop it
before the problem escalates.”
“Sounds interesting,” Rin remarked as she hit the wall. A portal opened with a strong
white light on the other side. “Thanks for the training,” she called as she ran through and
disappeared on the other side.
“Well, I suppose I should go too. Thank you for watching over Lilly while we go
away.” Lan stepped through the portal, looking back teary-eyed as the portal closed.
Lilly groaned as she rolled weakly on the floor. She tried to support herself on her
arms, but fell over. “I’m so weak,” she muttered. “Why can’t I be like them? If I was
stronger, I could do so much more for them.”

30. 30
“That is not an issue to concern yourself with.” Louis walked over to Lilly and helped
prop her up against the wall. “Everything will happen in its own time. You can only wait and
recover for now.”
“Louis, can you please teach me how to become strong like you?” Lilly looked
toward his feet, unable to lift her head any higher. “You’re so strong. Nobody needs to
protect you. But, look at me. I’m really useless.”
“No one is useless, my dear Lilly.” Louis knelt in front of her to make eye contact.
“You are as useful as anyone else could possibly be. If you want to become strong like me, I
will teach you when you are ready. Until then, rest here where nothing can bother you.”
Louis stood back up. “I will be making preparations, so I will not be here for a short while.”
He walked over to the door and looked back at Lilly. As he closed the door, he saw a smile
spread widely across her face.

31. 31
Chapter 7: Craftopian Disarray