"Urgh."
…
"Hmm."
…
"Nope, I can't sleep," Raka grumbles as he sits up from his resting spot in a quiet corner far from the other escapees.
Sighing, he looks up at the moon, its light illuminating the area just enough to let him see his surroundings.
He gets up slowly, careful not to make too much noise—lest he accidentally wake any escapees.
Walking toward the swamplands' edge, settling down with a groan. The ground here is cold. Damp moss breathes under his palms, faintly springy, like a really soggy mattress.
He just sits in silence for a long while, letting it stretch.
A dragonfly zips past, its wings buzzing like a tiny engine before settling on a lily pad. A lone frog croaks somewhere across the pond, and another answers in a lower register. The sounds echo throughout the swamp, filling in the silence of the night.
"I guess," he whispers, "out here's kind of pretty."
He leans back on his elbows. Reflections ripple on the dark surface, copying the moon but never getting it right.
"Everything's so calm,"
He shuts his eyes and simply listens to the drip of water off broad leaves and the distant chirp of night birds.
No more shouting slavers, no more exploding crystals—yeah, this was nice. He looked at his palm, opened it, and then closed it.
"I still don't feel sleepy at all," he mutters. "I still don't know if this is a pro or not, though."
It wasn't that he couldn't get tired, but for some reason, he just felt energized—even after everything that happened today.
Another odd thing he noticed was that he felt even more energized after running away from the slavers.
That's not normal
Rubbing his face in frustration, he was angry at the absence of his friends/caretakers. If only Prof. Recca told him the full extent of his abilities before he went to sleep.
Raka chuckled to himself. He knew that wasn't possible. His entire experiment was a massive gamble with unpredictable results. There was no way to predict if it would even work.
But having him and Freya here would have helped calm his nerves…
I really miss you guys…
A frog launches from a log and plops into the water. Raka watches them stretch until they fade into smooth black glass again.
"Fancy seeing you here—"
"Whoa—!"
Surprised by the sudden voice, Raka loses balance and is about to fall into the swamp. Until a firm hand clamps his shoulder, pulling him back before he entirely falls.
"Careful there,"
Slowly catching his breath, he looks up to see his mysterious visitor. Moonlight turns silver against familiar, serene features.
Elder Cora stood before him, offering him a gentle smile.
She tilts her head, a hint of amusement tugging at her lips.
"Couldn't sleep?"
"E-Elder Cora! Didn't expect to see you up late at night."
She gives him an amused look but doesn't elaborate, choosing instead to sit to his right, her knees pulled close as she rests her chin on them.
"You don't have to call me Elder, you know? I can tell you have no association with any nations I ally with."
She chuckles softly, "And getting called Elder all the time makes me feel old… As true as that may be."
Raka was silent for a moment. He needed to choose his words carefully. He was talking to an elf, an "Elder," and worse, she was talking about her age.
His memory went back to his sister, Melody, who told him to just dance around the subject of age when talking with an older woman, or better yet, just change the subject.
Looks like your advice is still helpful, huh, Mel…
"I couldn't do that, Elder. You must be someone highly respected. Calling you without your title just seems disrespectful."
"Please, I insist!" She countered cheerfully.
Too cheerfully…
"A-alright then, Cora."
She smiled at him and turned to look at the swamp. For a while, neither of them said anything, simply enjoying the calming nature.
…
"Are you going to sleep soon?" Cora asked, her eyes not leaving the swamp.
"Nah, not feeling it right now." Before realizing how casual he sounded, "S-sorry, I'm just not that tired."
His nervousness must have been evident because she laughed softly, "Don't be so tense. Like I said, I'm not an Elder to you; I'm just Cora."
"Right… My bad, Cora—"
"So what's your story?"
Ah, so she finally said it. He wondered when someone would ask where he came from.
Though he was glad that Cora asked him instead of Nova. If it was her then… he might just suddenly go missing.
/ - /
"I came from a pretty normal household in America," Raka starts, lowering his voice so no one else hears. Not that anyone else was awake.
"It was just me, my parents, and my two sisters. We lived in a standard suburb. Nothing special."
Cora looks intrigued, she must have not expected him to actually answer her question. Probably thinking that he would just change the subject or something like that.
"Then the war showed up." Another false truth. He rubs a thumb against the edge of his cloak.
"I was blowing out my birthday candles one moment, and not even a week later, half the city was rubble and we had to evacuate."
Cora's brow furrows. "A war, you say? Which one?"
"I don't know." He stops himself, "It just happened and… I guess I never thought about it that much."
She didn't say anything else, but her eyes suddenly had a glint of something he couldn't place.
"We ended up in a r-refugee center." He stuttered as he finished his sentence. Just thinking about that day makes him angry.
Taking a deep breath, he continued. "It was nice… for a while. There was also a nice elf there; I think we were friends, though it's hard to remember."
"An elf? What was her name, if I may ask."
"Her name was Thalya." Cora froze, but Raka's eyes were focused elsewhere. "Don't think she's alive anymore though…"
A dragonfly skims the water; its wings flash silver before vanishing into the reeds. In the hush, Raka hears his own pulse.
"A couple weeks in, the camp got attacked." His hands tighten into fists. " Vel Mahlians."
Just the mention of the godless nation made Cora flinch. She slowly turned her gaze towards him, seeing his shoulders tremble slightly.
Cora's voice softens. "Your family?"
"Didn't make it." He forces a breath through his nose. "My little sister was with me, but I couldn't save her."
…
"Some people found me a day later," he continues. They patched me up and smuggled me to a safer region."Raka smiled as he thought back to his earlier days at the facility.
"Stayed with them for a few months. They… taught me lots of things, helped me get back on my feet." He smiles bitterly, "Almost felt like home again."
Cora frowned; she was sensing a 'but' here.
"Then… same story." He kicks a pebble into the pond, and the splash sounds loud at night. "I've been looking for them ever since. I… hope they're alright."
A thin silence follows. Before a small hand rests on his shoulder, "I believe you can find them."
"Thanks…"
/ - /
Cora was confused.
After Raka agreed to tell her his origins, she had expected many things. But his turning out to be a war refugee was not one of them.
There weren't many still ongoing wars at this time. Especially not in "America".
That part completely threw her for a loop. Because just "America" didn't exist anymore, both North and South America had been integrated into Arche's nations a long time ago.
Even though the name was changed to "Old America," it was interesting to hear that Raka referred to Old America as just America.
He was hiding something, that much was obvious. But there was something else that was odd about his story.
No major Vel Ma'hl attacks have been reported in many years.
Lastly, he spoke about Thalya. She hadn't heard that name since—
"So that's my sob story," Raka said, shrugging one shoulder. "What's yours?"
Cora was surprised, but quickly composed herself. "Very well, "
She shifts her weight, getting into a more comfortable position. "I am what you would call a High Elf. A more… Powerful species than regular elves, most would say.'"
"Ah. High Elf explains a whole lot," he murmurs.
"I suppose." She chuckled.
"I was traveling north to investigate a village that vanished overnight. Let's just say they were plentiful in resources, so my companions were worried."
She sighed, "Someone wanted to capture me. Slavers, as you've probably guessed." Cora brushed a hand through her hair, as if irritated at recounting the memory.
"They were smart; they knew they couldn't beat me head on, so they wore me down. They orchestrated every enemy and hardship I faced on the way to the village. Then they used sealing chains to disable my magic and mana regeneration."
Raka winces. "Yikes, that's rough."
"Pfft—! Hahahah!"
He flinched at her sudden laugh. "W-what's so funny?"
She wipes tears of her eyes, "That was an interesting response to someone's story of being kidnapped and enslaved."
" Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean—"
"No Its alright, I take no offence." She turned to him, "Though you should take attention to not say such things in front of the others,"
Raka nodded quickly, his eyes avoiding hers. "S-so, I'm guessing Nova saved you, or you escaped alone?"
"Yes, Nova found me and released me along with others that were enslaved."
"Wow…" He murmured.
"I understand your first impression of her was not good, but I assure you, she's a good child."
"Respectfully, everyone is a child compared to you, Cora."
She chuckles at his response, before turning to him with a teasing glint, "Are you calling me old?"
"Nope!"
"Hahahaha!"
/ - /
Raka covers a sudden yawn with the back of his hand. "Guess I finally feel tired," he mutters. "Turns out talking to someone for a while takes a lot out of you, huh."
Cora responded with a chuckle. "It does."
"Alright then, I guess I'll head to bed. It was… a nice chat. Goodnight, Cora," He turns to leave, feet squelching lightly in the moss when her voice stops him.
"One last question," she says. "What was your life like before?"
He pauses. "Before the merger, huh?" Cora's breathing hitches. "It was… boring. Classes, chores, arguing over who used up the Wi-Fi… But I'd trade this mess for boring in a heartbeat." He lifts a hand in farewell. "Night, Elder."
She opened her mouth, but no reply came out. Her smile has vanished, replaced by a glass-still stare.
But the merger was over five hundred years ago…
But before she could continue her thoughts, she heard the branches overhead rustle, and a familiar presence started to make itself known.
A hooded figure drops beside her, making almost no sound. Staring at the direction Raka just left.
Cora stares at the figure before sighing, "Are you satisfied?"
The figure pulls their hood down, revealing emerald eyes that shine in the moonlight. Nova.
"Even if he showed no hostile intentions, he is still suspicious. I won't let my guard down so easily." She said, resolved.
Cora shook her head but made no comment. Her mind was so clouded by Raka's odd mana and massive mana pool that she was blind to the fact that he was just as lost as them.
"Did you overhear our conversation?"
She had to ask.
"No. I merely observed his actions and watched for any mana fluctuations." Her answer made Cora inwardly sigh in relief.
Nova pulled her hood back up before walking back to the camp. "I'm going to make sure he actually goes to sleep. Are you going to be out here for long?"
"No, just a little longer."
She nodded before chanting a spell and jumping back into the trees. Her presence was almost entirely invisible to her.
Almost.
Cora had already regenerated a decent amount of mana; while not much, it was enough to allow her to sense Nova's presence and spells.
After ensuring she was far away, Cora relaxed and tiredly dragged a hand across her face.
"Fate works in mysterious ways…" She murmured.
Sitting in place for a moment too long, she finally stood up. Taking one last look at the swamp in the light of the night.
"Raka… You truly are an enigma."
/ - /
Morning rolled in fast enough.
A thin layer of mist clung to the swamp, and weak sunlight bounced off the puddles. Raka was already up; it turns out he didn't need that much sleep after all.
Their camp looked exactly how you'd expect for a group running away from slavers.
Most of the escapees were still bundled under shared blankets, huddled together. They had little besides those blankets and a handful of beat‑up satchels.
So Raka made himself useful: shaking mud off bedrolls, tightening loose straps, and cleaning up thrown blankets.
As expected, Nova was already up and about not long after him.
She stood on the edge of the camp, inspecting the "barrier" she had put up. He didn't know when she had done that, but he wasn't going to ask.
Her hair was pulled into a messy knot, and it looked like she had not gotten enough sleep.
Their eyes met momentarily, and Raka offered her a "Morning." She didn't reply but acknowledged his greeting with a nod before focusing back on her barrier.
Looking back at the group, he also saw Mina and Korin, the lynx twins, helping out some escapees.
He considered saying hi to them, but somehow, the two knew he was staring and sharply turned their heads toward him, making him flinch.
Raising his hand, he gave them a small wave. They didn't spare him another glance before turning back towards the others.
So cruel…
Seeing as he had nothing else to do, he was about to return to his corner before spotting Cora.
She met his gaze and offered him a wave.
Even if he still finds her a little unsettling, she is friendly with him at least. He returned her wave.
"Alright, rise and shine, everybody. We will move through the Swampland soon." Nova's voice echoed through the camp.
His first journey with company is about to start.