Grimoires & Masters - Chapter 16.

On a trotting horse, with soft rays of dawn, the pair of siblings were bound for the Kingdom of Dreams. The journey would last for nearly three days if they took the shortest route, and they had less than two days remaining on the Aura of the locket that Aoun was wearing.


The two weeks that they had spent inside the Devil’s Paradise were blissful, and their most cherished memories.


Once they had tasted each other’s bodies, there were no restraints left. They indulged in their lust for a good part of the day. And with every touch, they grew more familiar with each other.


“85-92,” Elena reminded him once more and giggled happily.


“Shut up…” He sighed and squeezed her.


“Okay…” She mischievously nodded. It was clear that she would soon bring it up again.


The two of them fought for a total of nine times in their Paradise, and Aoun lost every time.


Aoun had trained with the best of his ability but failed to awaken his Flareonova. He grew quite masterful with his Elemental Control, but sadly, his opponent was Elena. Her Rune rendered useless his Rune, and his Elements. What it always came down to was Physical Combat, and the cheeky her allowed the Bloodline Ability to work.


Elena could now use Flareonova without any stress for ten minutes, she would start feeling a little tired after fifteen minutes, and she reached her limits when the mark touched the twenty-one minutes. And to recover each minute of her Falreonova, she had to rest the ability for at least an hour.


One of the benefits of Falreonova was that once you have used it for more than ten minutes, it would leave you in the same state when you had activated it. That meant that all the tiredness Elena felt after pushing it over the mark of fifteen minutes vanished once she deactivated her Falreonova. It left her in her prime state with both mana and stamina replenished.


She was, arguably, the most talented in the history of the Zaryven Bloodline. Aoun failed to recall any one of their ancestors that could use Flareonova for more than twenty minutes as a Novice Master.


“Eeno eeno…” Chino suddenly tugged his hair and pointed in a direction ahead of them.


“What is it?” Elena curiously asked.


The little monkey appeared in her arms and then made a gesture by placing its hands on its heart and swaying left and right.


“A treasure?”


“Eeno!” Chino nodded.


“Is it dangerous?” Aoun frowned and asked.


The little monkey tilted its head confusedly, turned to look around them, and then shook his head.


“Alright…”


Aoun could feel that Chino was not sure of the dangers, it only knew the place of the treasure.


“Guide the way.” He smiled at the little fellow.


“Eeno!” Chino appeared back on his shoulder and formed a luminous green shade of wind ahead of them.  


Ray changed its course and followed the lead of the Chino.


Aoun looked at the map on his Grimoire and took a sigh of relief. They were not moving away from their destination, only taking the longer route. He could afford that. They had ample time on their hands to get out of the Whispering Forest.


He chose to take a roundabout and not head to the border of the Whispering Forest that connected it to the Kingdom of Dreams. There would be several checkpoints on that path, and it would incite the curiosity of people if they found two little fellows coming out of the forest.


Ray kept following the shade of wind for nearly two hours before they arrived inside the ring of Spectre-Tress with black trunks.


“Eeno!” Chino jumped off his shoulder and reached for one of the trees, whose leaves were shining in green light like the rest of the Spectre-Trees.


Aoun and Elena stayed on the horse, waiting for Chino to show them the treasure.


The little monkey reached its small arm inside the hole at the bottom of the tree, making its crown shiver, sending a rustling of leaves.


Their hearts pounded in fear as their anxious eyes stared at the tree, but to their relief, it did not do anything more. The Whispering Forest had not started whispering.


Chino found a little vial inside the tree and happily appeared on his shoulder, making them once more marvel at its Blink. The ability was quite convenient.


Aoun took the vial from its hands, and the coldness of the glass made him curious.


The liquid inside the vial was purple and red, shimmering brightly. Even if he held the vial steady, the liquid kept wiggling inside it.


The congealed liquid was about four to five tear-drops, but it formed into one single dose.


“It’s a Purple Potion,” Elena whispered, but her voice contained her amazement.


“Not just any Purple Potion, it is the Lifestar.”


Aoun did not doubt what it was. But just to be sure, he pulled the cork, and a heavenly scent assaulted their senses together with ice-coldness.


“Yes, it is the Lifestar.” He carefully closed it after nodding.


Elena had never been allowed in the Royal Treasury, but he had once entered it with his Grandfather. And that was where he saw Lifestar before.


“Thanks, Chino!” He smiled and planted a kiss on the little monkey’s head.


“Eeno!”


The little fellow happily cried out before forming another shade of wind and pointing in a direction.


“Another one of this?” Elena asked alarmingly.


To their disappointment and relief, Chino shook its head.


“Let’s go…” Aoun smiled and made Ray follow Chino’s lead.


He carefully stored the little vial inside his Blood-Ring. And only after the scent of it vanished, did he take a deep sigh of relief.


Lifestar was a taboo, but it was miraculous. It was a Taboo because one needed to shed innocent blood to create it. And it was miraculous because it could heal any injury if consumed within a few minutes of sustaining it.


No matter how grievous an injury, as long as your brain and heart were not destroyed, it could heal any other organ and even the lost limbs.


Needless to say, Lifestar was ridiculously expensive and rare. Back in the Royal Treasury, there were only six vials of it. And if a Royal Family such as that of Zaryven could only have six of those in the Treasury, it meant that the chances of a normal person possessing it were close to zero.


“How far is it, Chino?”


Elena couldn’t bear but ask after the six-hour marked was crossed. They were closing in on the edge of the Second-layer of the forest now.


“Eeno!” Chino pointed again in the direction and made several gestures after that.


“So we are only halfway there…” Elena nodded.


Aoun did not understand what Chino was telling them, but Elena was its Master, she understood what it wanted to convey.


“Slow down, Ray.” He ordered the horse as soon as they exited the second-layer and entered the first layer of the Whispering Forest.


Hunters and Mercenaries only dared to enter the first layer of the Forest, and that was why he did not want to seem anxious to the onlookers if they passed them.


Fortunately, they did not come across any people. And several hours later, they stopped in front of an ordinary tree, covered in snow, and only standing a few meters tall.


Both Aoun and Elena got off Ray when Chino stood on the ground, jumping at the same place.


“We have to dig?”


“Eeno!” The little monkey nodded at him.


He sighed and shook his head before retrieving an iron-sword from his ring. These swords were dispensible, and since he did not have a shovel, he had to use it.


Aoun carefully dug at place Chino pointed at. He was not using his aura and mana here, in fear that he might damage the goods. And to their relief, it did not take him long before he felt his sword touch something.


Whatever was hidden here was not hidden very deep, just a couple of feet under the layer of snow. It either meant that the thing was not precious, or that the owner did not have enough time to hide it properly. He hoped that it was the latter.


“What is this?” Elena curiously asked.


They both had been inspecting the item for the past few minutes.


“I have no idea.” Aoun shook his head. “Chino, is it very precious?”


“Eeno!” The little monkey seriously nodded.


Aoun looked again at the black colored diamond-shaped crystal case in his hand. Other than several mystical inscriptions in gold, there seemed to be nothing too special about it. The case was not heavy, despite its sturdy body. It was as big as a backpack, and it had decent enough space inside it.


“What is it used for?” Elena asked the little monkey.


“Eeno eeno…” And the little fellow shook its head, telling that it didn’t know.


“It’s okay…” Elena smiled. “Thank you for finding it for us.” She lovingly patted its head.


“Eeno!” Chino happily cried out and appeared on her shoulder. It rubbed its head against her cheek and then looked at Aoun.


“Thank you!” Aoun couldn’t help but smile at it.


“Eeno!” It nodded its head, telling him that it was happy.


Aoun placed the diamond-shaped case inside his Blood-Ring.


“How far are we from our original route?” Elena asked.


“We are seven hours off.” Aoun checked on his Grimoire and answered.


The map only marked the Desolate Desert, Auron Valley, and the Whispering Forest.


Aoun could only imagine what their travel would be like without such a detailed map. But he was also glad that Mel hadn’t given him more pieces of her life-map. He wanted to explore lands together with Elena and create his own life-map.


“How much food we have left?”


“A meal.” Elena smiled at him. “Want to hunt?”


“We will hunt if we find anything suitable on our way.” He nodded and then walked over to Ray. He stroked its mane and planted a kiss on its head before climbing it. “Let’s go.”


Elena quickly climbed up and sat with her back against his chest. And Chino climbed over his shoulder before leaning near his head and closing its eyes.


The pocket watch told him that it was the fourteenth hour of the day, which meant that they still had four hours before the sky would darken in this part of the world.


The days in the world of Aurora were thirty-six hours long, and in the Empire of White-Winter, Kingdom of Dreams, and The Wild North, day and night each had eighteen hours.


The four-hour window was just enough for them to leave the Whispering Forest if they traveled fast. Though it was risky, he wanted to get out of the forest before nightfall.


Ray had understood his intentions without him voicing them. It ran fast as the terrain of this forest allowed it.


Aoun thought that Elena would keep a look for Beasts to hunt, but she drifted off to sleep in arms within an hour.


The light of the day diminished little by little, and when they were nearly out of the forest, Aoun made Ray slow down. He put away his locket inside the ring and shook Elena woke.


“Princess,” He softly called out.


“Mhm?” She lazily asked.


“Look.” He looked at the target, and Elena looked at it through his eyes.


“Mine!” She called her dibs and then climbed off the horse. “Daggers or Arrows?” She smiled and asked.


“Daggers.” He chuckled and nodded to her.


Aoun watched as Elena disappeared inside the woods, and then he turned the horse to flank their target from the other direction. He aimed to drag its attention to him, and he got it as soon as he was a hundred meters away from it.


The orange-eyed Stag with a red coat was peacefully grazing on the snow grass under a tree before sensing him and slowly receding behind the tree, trying to hide. And when it sensed his eyes had locked on it, it turned around to run away.


Elena had been waiting for this, from the cover of the tree, she ambushed it, and before it could understand what had happened, her dagger had slit its throat in one clean move.


The stag crashed in the snow like a sack, with warm blood draining out of it, creating clouds of steam in the air.


Aoun approached the body slowly and then got off the horse before crouching and inspecting the cut Elena had left on it.


“Clean…” He appreciatively nodded.


Such a clean cut was painless, the Beast had gone numb due to heavy loss of blood, and died without registering what had happened to it.


He waited for the blood to completely drain from the body, and then he took out a wrap from his ring. He wrapped the stag in it and put it inside his ring.


Now they had to find a place with water to camp by, and there he would skin it.


“You’ll be cooking!” Elena put her dagger back in its sheath and sweetly smiled at him.


“Of course!” He readily nodded. “I don’t want to sleep on an aching stomach.”


“Hmph..” She pouted in protest but did not say anything.


If there was one thing in the world that Elena was not good at, it was her cooking. She could have been decent if she tried, but she did not even want to try it.


Their mother had been upset about it with her. But despite all the insistence, she refused to learn to cook. And then their Grandfather had stopped everyone from pestering his favorite grandchild about it.


“I can cook better than you if I try.”


“Try then.” He grinned.


“Don’t want to…” She pulled a tongue at him. “And I love the food you make. Why should I give up on that?”


“It isn’t as if I would make you cook daily.” He sighed and shook his head.


Aoun placed his hand over the pool of blood that dyed the snow red. A black-flame emerged from his hand and engulfed the area that was covered in blood. The darkness devoured what he commanded it to devour and then receded inside of him, leaving the snow as white as it should be. No trace of blood was left, not even its smell remained.


“That’s convenient.” Elena enviously looked at him.


It was his turn now to flash a proud grin at her.


“Let’s go.” He picked her up in a princess-carry and jumped before landing on Ray.  He took a deep sip of her lips and separated from her softness before she could drive him crazy.


“Scared?” She teasingly tried to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in another kiss.


“Yes,” He chuckled and nodded before turning her around and making her sit properly. “Behave, for now.”


“Hmph…” She wasn’t pleased, but she knew that now was not the right time for these things. “Let’s go, Ray.” She calmly ordered the horse.


Ray neighed and moved slowly before gaining a heart-thrilling pace. The trees here were less crowded, giving it more freedom to display its speed.


They made it out of the Whispering Forest in a little over an hour. And now, they were traveling through a rocky terrain surrounded by rocky hills all around, with only their tops covered in snow. The place they were in was a valley called the Snow Spring. And they did not know why it had this name.  


The map on his Grimoire was now showing the terrain that he was walking through. It covered everything that he could lay his eyes on, but it did not map anything that was out of his range of sight.


Inside the valley were several hot geysers, spewing out tons of water now and then, and the valley was constantly covered in white clouds because of that.


Mystically, the water did not stay on the surface and was quickly drained under the terrain, going who knows where.


“Look!” Elena suddenly pointed to left ahead of them.


There was a Snow-Leopard with white-colored coat and grey spots, dragging a stag up a rocky hill. It was agile, and its brilliant blue eyes were ferocious.


“A Desolate Beast.” Aoun palely smiled.


The leopard was stronger than Ray and Maya, a Desolate-Blue. And possessed enough power to grievously wound him or Elena. But right now, it was taking its food away from them.


With Ray under them, and Chino calmly sleeping on his shoulder. A Desolate-Blue Beast would not attack them on its own. It was suicide.


“Want to bully it?” Elena devilishly smiled.


“No thanks.” Aoun shook his head right away. “Let it eat in peace.”


He had no reason to push a Beast that could potentially harm them. The risk was not worth it.


“If we caught it, we could sell it.” Elena smiled and said.


The Snow-Leopards were common in this part of the World, but they were not as common anywhere else. If they caught it and later sold it in the south, they could get a decent amount for it.


Her words reminded him that the money they had on their hands would eventually exhaust. They had only brought a portion of what belonged to them, what they had earned through various Royal duties. And one of the things that they had to learn were ways of making money.


“Let it be.” Aoun shook his head. “It is its lucky day.” And then his eyes turned severe, and that was when Chino woke up too.


“We will soon be ambushed.”


Elena frowned and looked at what his eyes had caught.


Ahead of them, nearly a mile away, Silver-Hawks left the nests they resided on and circled in the air.  


“Hunters?” She asked coldly.


“Amateurs…” He smiled and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.


For hunters or mercenaries to not take into account the disturbances they would create for the Silver-Hawks, it was a shame and sign of their inexperience.


“You must not use Flareonova.” He warned her.


“I know.”


They could not afford to have people witness the ability and let the news spread in the area that there were two Novice Zaryven here.


“If they attack…” Aoun coldly said.

“They shall die,” Elena smirked and finished his words.