Bloodlines of Archaea I. Afira
Ember

I jumped up from the campfire with a gasp. Akuma jumped up shortly after. The sun was beginning to set. With a quick glance at one another, we dashed off towards the top of the hill for the Twilight Leaders. We ran through the familiar forest, not stopping for anything, not for the shout from the rest of the heroes, or the painful twigs which jabbed at our feet from below. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since I had last seen the mysterious creatures. She was the only one on the entire island which I hoped could see how I had changed. My heart raced as we reached the top of the hill just as the sky was becoming completely covered in color. Finally, after much anticipation, the creatures made their way to where we stood at the edge of the cliff. My heart seemed to skip a beat at the sight of Ember. Akuma was equally excited to see his own bonded spirit, Vaitafe. Ember could be seen submerged in the mass of butterflies, glowing the brightest and the most regal of them all. She danced down, quietly commanding the wind to dance with her. Time slowed as she twirled in the light breeze with the grace and beauty of a highly trained ballet dancer. I held out my hand to meet her. She touched down, looking carefully up at me, into my eyes. Hers meeting my own for the first time since I had left. It felt like I hadn’t seen her for years, like a child leaving home and returning all grown up. I could feel her small legs on the palm of my hand. She bowed, touching her small insect chest to my hand, to the point where I could feel her heartbeat with mine. An overwhelming feeling of peace flooded from her heart into mine. I looked over at Akuma, who held Vaitafe himself, looking quite pleased with himself. I could feel the power of our bonded souls sharing the strength of the gods. The rest of the heroes had followed us and were now arriving to where we stood. Ember hesitated for a moment, then dove back into the air, nodding her tiny head at the other heroes and then following her citizens. Vaitafe took a little longer, looking back at Akuma, at me, and then following Ember and the rest of the Twilight Leaders.

“Is it just me, or did I just see you two rush off to go hold bugs?” Onde asked.

I rolled my eyes but continued to look after the many Twilight Leaders as they soared back over the island.

Mare elbowed him, saying “your highness, be respectful of their culture, didn’t you learn anything?”

I hesitantly turned back to them. “It’s okay, it may seem strange to those who did not grow up as we did,” I replied, stepping off the rock. “Each child of island blood is bonded to a spirit of a Twilight Leader. I, myself am bonded to the spirit of the Ruler of the Twilight Leaders, Ember. That was the day the secret of my blood was out and the world knew of my tie with the gods.”

They stared blankly at us for a moment, before Akuma spoke. “The Twilight Leaders are what the village calls those butterflies we just saw. They are believed to be a sort of messenger tribe from the gods and goddesses.”

“Oh, I get it,” Ditio answered carefully after another moment of silence and blank stares. I eyed Akuma, he looked back nervously, but instead of saying something, we just nodded and looked down at our feet for the rest of the walk back to our warm beds which awaited our arrival after we had been at sea for a month.