Radiant Age, Winter, 1126
At the age of twenty, a few days after my birthday, we faced each other on a cold night. Maxwell held his hatchet in his hand.
"Would you be willing to give me a challenge?"
He suddenly asked. Without prompt, he got into his battle stance.
"If this is what you want, Maxwell. Sure."
For the first time this didn't feel like practice. His blade heated up like that time in the past. However, I was ready for it.
"Come at me with everything you have, Feodora! If someone wants to kill you, you can't allow them to!"
We both melted into the shadows. Under the moonlight we appeared, striking our weapons together. His fire spectrum cooled down thanks to me enchanting my blade with water.
"Ah, very good."
We battled in a storm of strikes. Maxwell was heavy-handed but slow. However, the katana he trained me with allowed me to be more agile in my approaches.
"Ha!"
I clashed my weapon with his hatchet and pushed forwards to cut directly at him. He vanished, melting into the darkness to avoid my strike.
"No, you don't!"
I changed my stance.
"He!"
Darkness roared around my body. I could feel him moving about as he danced in the shadows. Once he appeared above me, he yelled in his cold voice.
"Ha!"
His hatchet darkened the color black. He was using his spectrum magic to the fullest in this attack. Maxwell struck down, guiding his weapon right to me.
My feet kicked back, the third form was ready as I sliced upwards, colliding with his weapon. The dark spectrum caused the forest to go black and tremble in fear of out spectrum magic.
Trees exploded in the night from the storm of missed strikes. Our battle turned into a war zone in the pitch-black battlefield. But we could still see one another. We lived in the darkness, embraced it, became one with it.
"There we go! Ha!"
I saw an opening and spun horizontally in the air. I could see the shine of blue in his eyes in the distance as my attack went his way.
Maxwell vanished to where I needed him.
"Sorry Maxwell, I'm not losing tonight."
My eyes turned cold purple as spectrum channeled within me. When I vanished, the ground around me broke apart. Trees were destroyed as my power mounted my will to win. My determination was unmatched tonight.
When he appeared from the shadows in the air, so did I. Our weapons clashed and Maxwell let out a soft but warm and unfamiliar tone as he whispered to me.
"Good job, Feodora."
My blade connected with his hatchet and the aura of dark spectrum radiated from my blade. Midair, he speared to the ground. I fell down next to him. With his hatchet beside him… he watched the stars. My blade pointing at the tip of his skull mask.
"I live another day, Maxwell."
"It was a quick match but that was all I needed, Feodora."
For the first time, Maxwell lied before me. I wasn't the one on the ground. So, I reached out to him as he did to me all those years before.
"Come on, I'll make dinner tonight, Maxwell."
He was chuckling as I walked him over to the cabin and sat next to the fire. We've lived together for over twelve years now. In the middle of the forest, alone, isolated from the world. I was making fried green tomatoes on the stove.
"Anything with cinnamon, Feodora?"
He coldly asked.
"I hate cinnamon. It burns my nose."
"Yes, I remember the first time you told me that…"
We chuckled. This man has taught me everything. Maxwell was my father in every sense of the word. How to cook, hunt, build and control my curse. Everything I knew, I learned from him.
"Feodora…"
His ice-cold voice caught my attention.
"Yes, Maxwell?"
"There are tricksters in this world."
As I pulled the oil off the fire, I looked back at him. For some reason tonight, Maxwell looked tired.
"Tricksters?"
"People who will make you believe things that aren't true. Always be wary of them…"
His tone was melancholic, and it worried me.
"…Okay."
Maxwell leaned on the tree next to him. His skull mask looked up into the bright moonlit sky. I bite at my fried green tomato, and it was delicious.
"Feodora, there is a land ruled by the Radiant Kingdom roughly north of here. I would say around ten days walk away."
Tenderly, he spoke as if talking to a baby. I set my food down to the side… feeling a tad uneasy.
"The kingdom ruled by Radiants? Aren't Radiants a race of people who are powerful, strong, and rule with an iron fist?"
He nodded.
"Yes. They live for thousands of years but they watch over the people who live there as their own. The city is massive, there's a lot of people who live there."
I curled my legs and held them tight. People… I really hated people.
"Then why would you speak of this place. It sounds a little scary."
Maxwell paused as he searched for the stars above us.
"When I go… I want you to go there."
"When you go?"
Confused, I turned back to Maxwell who was gazing into the sky still.
"Feodora, we are creatures of the night. We are destined to be alone in a world where there are so few of us."
"That's right. You already told me this. W-What's all this about, Maxwell?"
He took a deep breath.
"On the outskirts of the Radiant City is a land full of beauty. You can fish, pick fruits, enjoy reading your books… and live a peaceful life in solitude."
I looked at the man intensely and for some reason, he looked older than I remembered. His hair was bright grey, and his body looked as if he could blow away at any moment.
"I like it here though, Maxwell."
"Feodora… this place can't sustain you for much longer."
He cut my wish down with his wisdom.
"There are more beasts than usual, animals are herding elsewhere, and the streams are turning dry. Even your gardening isn't baring fruit anymore."
"T-Then we'll set off tomorrow, alright? I'll start packing and-"
My chest tightened and it felt as though he was pushing me away.
"W-Why are you talking like this? D-Don't you want to come with me? We can live together. W-Why do you sound like you're sending me away, Maxwell?"
He stood up, walked to me, and towered over me. He was always scary… despite how warm it made me feel. His shadow cast over the moon as he took off his mask, showing me that horrible face.
"I wish I could, Feodora. But that day I saved you when you were that pitiable child that couldn't fight back…"
His skull mask fell to the ground, right next to me. I watched it roll on the grass, next to the fire.
"Was the day I died."
His voice echoed in a distant howl.
"What?"
Maxwell touched my head…but I didn't feel it. It wasn't cold, warm… or anything.
"Your wound was too grave for you to live. So, I used my curse and gave you the chance to live and in return. "
It was as if a river of information was flooding through my mind. I recalled all the days I've spent out here. The training, building, cooking, fishing, all of it. I was standing beside Maxwell…
Or was I always…
"Alone?"
The fire was roaring, and I was alone eating fried green tomatoes in the cold. The howls of wolves nearby were the only thing that kept me company.
"M-Maxwell?"
I stood up and looked around. The second plate I put out was still warm but nothing on it was disturbed. When I turned to see the cabin, it looked older than I remembered. Everything about this place told me that one person lived here. A lone girl who was tossed away like trash was always alone.
"Maxwell? Where are you?!"
My voice trembled as I ran about the cabin. I was hoping to see his tall body around the corners, but nobody was around. I went inside; everything was there, everything including Maxwell's things, but they were dusty. As if he'd never touched them since that day, ten years ago.
I walked into my room. Everything was bolted down to prevent me from destroying my room during my night terrors. When I glanced over at the dresser, I recalled the box that was at my bedside. That black box he gave me that I could never open. In a panic and looked at my dresser. There it was sitting stubbornly unopened.
"It's still sealed…"
The box still exuded a dark spectrum. I could feel a different spell captured around the box. I knew what it was by the training and channeled that special element into it. Suddenly, a burst of a silver light sparked from it.
"Chaos element?"
It wasn't just sealed with a dark spectrum, but the chaos element Maxwell warned me about during my training…
With that spell broken, I was able to feed my dark spectrum magic power into it. To my surprise, it opened with ease. What lay there in that box was a note and a bag of money. When I opened the bag, there had to be around a hundred gold stashed away.
It wasn't much…
But it was from Maxwell.
"Money?"
Confused, I turned to the note.
"What is this?"
If you are reading this Feodora, you have gained the ability to live.
When I was just a boy there was a village in the countryside where I lived. It was peaceful and the locals were kind, but I was an outsider because of my curse, how I looked. The marks on my skin horrified the kids and people avoided me.
One day the village was over-ran by beasts, and many were injured, but thankfully they all lived. At least, that's what I initially thought. There was a man who was about to die from his wounds. He was beloved by everyone, one of the kindest individuals one could meet. He even helped me when nobody looked at me.
I had the power to bring him back at the cost of my own life. That was the curse I was born with, Feodora. But I was too scared, and I regretted that choice my entire life. That was until I saw you in the forest that day. Weak, not even at the start of your life, you were alone and about to die.
You were like me. You were gravely wounded, there was no way you were going to survive no matter how I would have tried to heal you. So, I used my curse to bring you back. My only lingering wish was that you'd have the will and power to survive.
And if you are reading this letter then you have shown me that you are willing to live even if I was gone. So, stay in the shadows. We are not creatures who are a part of this world, we only live beneath it.
You are a daughter to me, and I will never forget the time we cherished together, alone in this world.
Love, Maxwell.
My hands were shaking as I clenched the note. But a spell captured the page, and the note got darker. It vanished like smoke to my surprise. As I looked about the room, it was silent. It was like he was never there to begin with. But that wasn't true.
It wasn't.
I thought about the times we spent together. Maxwell was there but like a shadow that vanished when the sun moved, he wasn't there anymore.
He was physically here with me. He was here long enough for me to learn how to live without him. Because I understood how to live alone, how to fight, how to survive…
My body shook. How I tried my best not to scream while I was awake so I wouldn't become the banshee they called me while I slept. But I couldn't hold it in any longer and I…
"Aaaaaahhhhh!"
I screamed.
I shrieked like the banshee they would call me all those years ago. How I hated the sound of my own screams.
"I don't want to be alone. I hate being alone!"
I stood up and looked around. All the memories we'd created together were only my own construction from the beginning alongside his ghost. The countless wooden swords that I made to train with him.
Maxwell was there with me as a spirit. But it felt like his presence would never return no matter how lonely I was.
"That's not true!"
I ran outside to the battlefield where I spent over twelve years together with him.
"Ah?"
I ran to the middle of the clearing and saw my black katana lying on the grass. It was the only memory that wouldn't fade. This signified that Maxwell was beside me. Out of everything, this would be my keepsake from him. If this ever went missing my mind might slowly forget about... Maxwell.
"I don't want to be alone. P-Please don't make me… be alone!"
I looked up at the moonlight.
"I'm sorry I was weak back then. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to survive without you!"
That sacrifice was too great, and I didn't want to bear it on my shoulders. To give up one's life so someone like me could live was…
"Maxwell! Maxwell! M-Maxwell!"
It was his last will to make sure I was okay. It was that night, I truly understood what it felt like to be alone.
I cried to sleep in my cold bed. The night terrors assaulted me as always, and when I woke up that's when I realized something so obvious…
"He never complained about my screaming at night."
It was simple…
It was because he was already gone…
And his spirit lingered long enough to ensure that I would live on without him. That was his curse, to haunt the person for who he gave his life for.
And when his lingering attachment wish was fulfilled, he would pass on just as a spirit should.
I wiped away the tears and stood tall.
"I'll always be alone just like you taught me."
I shut the cabin door. In my hand, a bag to travel. Small tools and things I'll need to survive. I declared my teachings from my mentor Maxwell once more to give myself the determination to move forward.
"Stay in the night, fight to survive and live in the shadows."
As I marched, not as a child but as an adult, I recalled all the meanings to life. The creed to stand by as I journeyed to Radiant City.
"We use illusions of the night to live. We adore the darkness. Our curses hurt people so, don't deal with them because in the end…"
With tears rolling down my face, I left the forest I've known for over twelve years. It was scary, seeing the world without trees surrounding me. The place where I lived, away from people. Alone for all that time. My home couldn't be my home anymore.
"Oh, Maxwell…"
I scorned his name with the utmost sincerity in my heart.
"Now I see why you say being alone is best for us. Only socialize when we need to and stay in the darkness if at all possible. It's because…"
I watched twilight become night as I met the open field.
"It's because…"
In the distance, I could see the open world. It was vast and scary. The vast land was ahead of me, the world I had never been a part of since the day I was born.
"People are stressful to deal with and it hurts getting involved with them."
Thank you, Maxwell, for saving my life and equally showing me, how painful friendships are when they end. With my bag in hand and the dark-silver katana that was given to me by my mentor, I made my way to Radiant City. The place that my mentor told me about.
To find a place on the outskirts, far away from the people of this world.