New Manteau 

A cold night had arrived for the Kingdom of Alynthia as the waves crashed against the seashore. The wind whipped around furiously the city of Manteau, southern part of the continent that the Kingdom sat on. The city normally would be bustling with residents going in out of shops if not for a serious winter storm that captured it. But nestled in a cabin in a warm bed, Liv slept. On a table near the bed, some hot soup had been placed, near it some medicine, cloth, bandages, and a certain necklace with a blue gem at the center. 

Phillipe felt the night air come in through the window. He closed it to prevent a draft. He saw her sleeping there and felt her forehead. She looked peaceful. He moved a little strand of hair that had settled in front of Liv's face. Phillipe knew she had been through a lot in the recent weeks. He first discovered her encountering a pair of beasts eating their way through the humans in the Valforian forest.

Their meeting didn't just happen by chance. He had gotten a call of wolf attacks in the areas around New Manteau. He was sent there by his chief commander. To track and respond. Since then, he helped her fight off several beast attacks in different cities. They hadn't met back up until now. The sudden attack by these creatures he knew wasn't random. They were sent here by others. People who wanted to go after the King. Her father pulled out all his resources to stop these attacks. He did this by enlisting the Royal Guard to stand at posts designated throughout the city of Manteau.

"The King doesn't know about you, does he?" he asked the sleeping Liv. "What can you do? Hmmph. Better, he doesn't. What I've seen of the King. You wouldn't have wanted to see." He remembered a cold bitter scene in the city of Denbrook. He remembered seeing several men downed by the super wolves as they were calling them, and one of the trained men cornered one of the beasts in a shop. 

The beast was injured but was still defending his territory. He caught one of the trained men by the leg and was dragging him back to the shop. But the trained men were only going to use shock restraints to restrain the creature and then place them in the dungeon. But their Commander wanted them to put down no matter the cost. "Put them in the holding cells and use the treatment to do it!"

"But sir, we've already used shockerz on it. It doesn't faze it!" Said the soldier.

"Do it again! And again! Again! Until it is no longer moving!" exclaimed Leonidas.

The trained men are a little hesitant. But they advance on the creature. The creature growls at them with sharp teeth bared. It moved with quickness away from the men and before either of them knew it had escaped the shop. But outside the King's men were waiting for it, with shock guns. It was a collection of shock nets that were released sapping the creature of its energy. The wolf lay there unable to move but still alive. It looked at the trained men getting ready to put it in its restraint. The human side of the creature murmured something as Gustav neared it. "You won't get away this! There will be an answer..." With that an on-field guard kicked him and they placed in the restraint and locked the door on the truck.

In the toasty home of Phillipe Gustav, he made some warm cocoa down in his kitchen and brought it up the bedroom to drink it and watch his young friend. He could see she was worried about something. Her face was stressed and not in a good position. Phillipe hoped that whatever it was, it would pass away quickly. But looking at the marks on her hands, face and body that would be a hard task. Inside her mind she was battling with pain and hurt and disappointment. She was dreaming.

 In the dream, she was walking down a long corridor. But then the corridor expanded to an open area where she heard different voices all coming at her. Big and small voices she hadn't heard before. It was an open meadow with birds, and chirping sounds. The meadow had lush foliage all around.

All around her she saw people she hadn't met before. Olivia felt she knew them. There was some connection to them. They were hundreds of them. Families of blue and olive-skinned elves in a collection around her. She couldn't believe it. "Who are you? What? Where am I?" They were talking but she couldn't hear them. It was all muffled. Those people disappear. She kept walking until she felt the crunch of leaves underneath her feet. Or what she thought were leaves. Then she heard her mother off in the distance. "Come to me. I'm right here. My spark." 

"Mom, Mom?" Olivia runs into the dark barely lit forest.

 "I'm right here, by the shade of this oak." She heard her mother's voice, but she couldn't find her. She searched for any sign of her mother while holding on to her necklace as she ran. Hearing the crunching of the leaves. The crunching gets louder and louder. "Momma, I'm coming! Where are you?!"

She kept running until she arrived, and she fell on her knees exhausted. "Mom...Momma I'm here. I'm..."

 She looked at someone she hadn't seen before with a staff. He looked like a warrior from their elven clan. He had a smirk on his face. She looked at her mother. She had been badly beaten. Amarie had bruises and blood on her forehead and neck, and her leg looked like she had twisted it. Olivia looked at the warrior. And wanted him to help her. 

"What are you doing? Get some help. My mother needs help." She turned back to her mother and touched her face. 

"Don't worry. I'm gonna get you some medicine and..." Her mother smiles. "It's okay, my spark. There's no need for that." 

 She handed her something. It's a picture of someone she doesn't yet know. She held the picture in her hand. 

 "Live, my little spark, live."

 The warrior turned around and with a heave inserted his staff in the chest of her mother. Olivia stumbled back. "Noooo!"

The shock of seeing her mother with the staff in her sent her over the edge. A spark of blue light is emitted from her body and hands strike the warrior. He went tumbling back dead in the chair by a lightning bolt. And then she woke up. 

"Ahhh..." She sucked in her breath as the cold air hit her. The tracker who had let her sleep there, rushed over to calm her. 

"Calm down princess, I ain't got enough bandages for the both of us." Phillipe held her arm down, so she didn't tear the intravenous fluid out of her arm.

"You!" she screamed.

"Yes, me." She looked around her and noticed she was in a strange house. With medicine sticking out of her. "How did you find me?" asked Olivia.

"I knew you were close by, so I took my horse for a little reconnaissance and there were rumors that was a body floating in the bay. So I got a local to tell me where. And I brought you back here and treated your wounds." replied Phillipe.

She looked at her arm and legs. They were bandaged but were healing.

"Thank you. I didn't expect you would do that." said Olivia.

"It was not easy. This medicine was not cheap. But I got it." replied Phillipe.

"All gods and goddesses put favor on you, dear sir." He stared at her in a peculiar way.

"It sounded like you were having a quite a dream there. You remember what it was about?" Olivia thought for a second. "I don't think I can talk about it."

"...Really?" asked Phillipe.

"It's personal. I..." She said.

"Olivia....this whole thing is personal. We've got armed soldiers from the sky attacking villagers that look just like you. We've got the King placing his elite shock squads in the line of fire. Your father has basically put all his resources to eliminate these people. He doesn't care what happens after that. There's no surrender for him." said Phillipe.

"My...father. He and I have different views on things. He's being cold and he doesn't understand what I'm feeling right now." explained Olivia.

Phillipe observed something he hadn't before on her face. He seems to notice a spark in her eyes. She looked away from him, thinking he might catch her unawares. She turned herself away from him. 

"Look I'm not usually a mushy, emotional guy but I know when we all need a time out. You need to speak to him. Before this gets worse." insisted Phillipe.

 "No...! My job is to find my family, my heritage is out there. My dream had proved..." She remembered how her mother looked when the warrior stabbed her with the staff. And the smirk that the warrior had. A fire ignited in Liv as she tried to get out of the bed. 

"Wait, Princess...! You'll pull out your cords, here..." asserted Philipe. "I don't care. I have to find my family." She replied.

Sweat started to appear on her forehead and face. Her breathing quickened. She started to notice things. "I'm right here...My spark." She started to see things that were not there. She heard her mother's voice. "Find me." replied the voice.  

"Princess, I'd advise you to sit back down or..." She tried to stand up from the bed and she fell. Phillipe had to lift her arm to put himself under her to support her weight. He moved her back to the bed. 

"No. No. Take me to the chair next to the window. I'll be more comfortable there." said Olivia. 

 "Alright." He sighed. 

He settled her in the old comforter. "Can't you see? If I don't find the last pieces of my family, I'll never be whole. She was a part of a tapestry that I was piecing together of my whole life. Ever since I got this necklace, from her..." She touched her neck and then notices it was gone.

"Where is it?" She asked.

 "Where's what?" asked Phillipe.

 "My necklace." responded Olivia. "Oh, you had it in your hands after you got it here. And I put it on the dresser." said Phillipe. "Give it to me." He placed the half blue and half red necklace around her neck. It clicked and it fit. She felt his breath on her neck. She observed him. And she saw his kind and endearing eyes, for the first time. She touched his hand. He had a course but well-toned figure and manicured hands along with a gruff voice. She smiled at him. 

"Um, don't get me wrong, I understand your quest, she was your mother, but isn't King Leonidas, your father, the King?" asked Phillipe.

"My father. He is my father. He is Alynthia's King, but he does not, control me. And I shall not let him distract me from my purpose. I must find the leader of my elven brothers and sisters. My dream told me this. If I don't find out how to heal my heart. Then I can't heal anyone else." stated Olivia.

 "But princess..." She pushed him away.

 "You can't move tonight. It's too windy out there. The snow is piling. I agree with your mission wholeheartedly, but you can't move from this chair." said Phillipe. She motioned for him with her hands that she seemed to be getting sleepy. "Well, all right, I know you want me to get out of your hair. I'll take this soup and..." replied Phillipe. "No, No... leave it. I 'll munch on it later." She said tiredly.

 "Okay. Just chill okay. You've been through a lot. I don't want to have to go through what I went through trying to get you here. I have to eat myself. I'll go downstairs and put on a cup." She smiled at him. He graced her cheek softly. Olivia felt an emotion she never thought she would again. For a hard to deck skilled tracker, he sure was charming. 

She noticed him eyeing her before she asked him another question. "I wanted to ask you something. The ingredients for the medicine where you got the salve. Where did you get it?" Olivia asked.

 "Oh...It was a small outskirts shop in New Manteau."

 "What was it called?" asked Olivia. 

 "The Blue Phoenix. It was a small shop. It was just as you get into the city. There was a cute old woman, Freya, you would have loved. Very friendly. But don't ask about her husband. She'll get a crazy look in her eyes, and she'll run you out of there. Believe me I know!" She smiled amid a mini yawn. "Okay. I'll get out." He relented.

Pretty soon he turned the lights out. And then went downstairs.  After he closed the door, she tried to get up and put on her cloak which had been cleaned and dried. It was brown with beautifully decorated small houses on it. She had it over a warm sweater, which was over a plain blue shirt, jeans, and short brown boots. She saw her sword sitting there in its base, twinkling in the moonlight. She took it and swung several times. Getting used to the feel of it. She swung quickly on both sides of her nearly knocking over a plant. 

"Sorry. Sorry my brave friend. I must complete my quest." She placed the sword in the sheathe of its holder with a clamp.

 "And I can't have you stop me or slow me down."

She took out the map showing the Kingdom of Alynthia territory and known outliers and placed it on the nearby desk. There were parts of the city that were cordoned off because of the storm and open areas where she knew she could just ride. But she needed other areas to stay. She was headed for the luminous, monstrous mountain. 

Scars Bone Mountain. A mountain that sat off in the distance in the snow and the ice. A journey more treacherous than any she had ever encountered. She knew this would not be easy but she had to keep going. She grabbed the warm soup with bits of iguana she got from her bag. She crunched and gulped it down. It tasted rather chewy but smoothly consistent and it would settle her stomach for now. She scarfed a few more chunky gobbles of soup down and grabbed her bag with the map and her sword. 

She opened the window. Wind blew out the window with a frozen bluster. She put her cloak on she was wearing over her head as she felt the wind go past her in the leaves. She climbed down the second flight of the tracker's home. She couldn't help but think it was sort of wrong of her to leave him, but she knew she would be back, with more help for them.

She hit the ground and her body still hurt but she saw her gray and white-haired beauty, Silver heart near the ice pond. She graced the animal on the mane and hopped on. She knew for her dream to continue that it had to be brought into her present. And she knew the infamous Lyriel Lilhanya, the ancient elven warrior queen would help her do that. She had to climb that mountain.