Spring always arrived quietly in the village.
When Kael opened his eyes that morning, he was awakened by the sound of birds filtering in through the open window. The tree branches swayed gently in the breeze, and sunlight cast faint streaks across the wooden floor. Everything was familiar; simple, peaceful, and routine.
His mother had already woken up. The steam rising from the teapot on the stove filled the room with the scent of fresh herbs and a faintly smoky wood fire. The breakfast laid out on the small table was as modest as ever: a freshly baked loaf of bread, some cheese, and the honeyed herbal tea his mother prepared out of an old habit from the Eastern Kingdom.
When Kael looked at his mother, he noticed the pallor on her face. Lately, she'd been tiring more quickly, and her cough seemed to last longer than before.
"Are you going to the forest again today?" his mother asked, placing a bowl of hot soup in front of Kael with trembling hands. Her voice was soft, but there was a worry she couldn't hide.
Kael nodded. "You said some plants are more effective this time of year, Mom. I need to gather those purple-flowered herbs that'll soothe your chest."
His mother took a deep breath and sat down at the table. For a moment, her eyes lingered on Kael's hands, on his calloused fingers from chopping wood.
"Don't go too far, Kael," she whispered. "The wind from the northeast hasn't been trustworthy lately. The travelers coming from beyond the border, from the Central Kingdom, haven't been telling very reassuring stories. They say there's a restlessness deep in the forest."
Kael smiled; he thought it was just one of his mother's usual worries. "I know that forest like the back of my hand, Mom."
"It's not about knowing the forest, my child," her mother said, averting her gaze. For a moment, her mind seemed to wander far away, perhaps to that magnificent Eastern city she had left years ago. "The point is, sometimes fate uses the forest as an excuse to find you. Your father… he loved the forest very much, too.
Kael's spoon hung in the air. His mother rarely spoke of his father.
"Aren't you going to tell me more about my father?"
His mother abruptly cut off the subject with a cough and stood up.
"It's getting late, Kael. Come on, let's head back before nightfall."
Kael nodded. His mother had taught him about medicinal plants when he was very young. She rarely spoke of how she had come to this village from the Eastern Kingdom, but her knowledge was far from ordinary. She didn't use light magic; still, she could heal wounds, reduce fever, and restore the body's balance.
"It's not about knowing the forest, my child," her mother said, averting her gaze. For a moment, her mind seemed to wander far away, perhaps to that magnificent Eastern city she had left years ago. "The point is, sometimes fate uses the forest as an excuse to find you. Your father… he loved the forest very much, too.
Kael's spoon hung in the air. His mother rarely spoke of his father.
"Aren't you going to tell me more about my father?"
His mother abruptly cut off the subject with a cough and stood up.
"It's getting late, Kael. You should head back before it gets dark"
Kael nodded. His mother had taught him about medicinal plants when he was very young. She rarely spoke of how she had come to this village from the Eastern Kingdom, but her knowledge was far from ordinary. She didn't use light magic; still, she could heal wounds, reduce fever, and restore the body's balance.
After breakfast, Kael left the house. The forest was right next to the village. Kael had been venturing into this forest since he was a child. He knew which path led where, and which animals lived in the shade of which trees. He recognized most of the plants, too.
Until he saw it...
A purple butterfly fluttered past his eyes. Kael paused for a moment. He had never seen that color before. The butterfly seemed to be slowing down on purpose; as if it knew it had caught Kael's attention. Without realizing it, Kael began to follow it.
One step... then another.
Before he realized it, Kael had walked a long way into the depths of the forest. He had long since left the usual part of the forest behind. The trees here were taller; their branches blocked out the sky, almost completely blocking the sunlight. The air had grown cooler, and an unsettling silence had settled over the forest.
Kael stopped for a moment. Right in front of him, a girl was sitting on a tree stump. She was about Kael's age. Her ears resembled those of an elf, but her skin and hair were different from the elves he knew. She had crescent-shaped tattoos on her face and arms. Her gray hair fell to her shoulders, and her brown eyes sparkled.
Kael was seeing a different race for the first time in his life. He approached in small steps.
"Hello," he said timidly. "I'm Kael."
The girl suddenly flinched and quickly stepped back. Seeing her sudden reaction, Kael froze in place. He slowly set the axe he was holding down on the ground to show he meant no harm.
"I don't want to hurt you," "I just… You're an elf, aren't you? I've seen you in books; your ears are just like they describe."
The girl remained silent for a moment. Then she bowed her head slightly.
"My name is Ashael," she said in a hushed voice. "I'm a dark elf. We're different from regular elves."
Kael was surprised; a type he'd read about in books but had never seen was standing right in front of him. To ease the tension in the air, Kael slowly reached into his bag. He pulled out a small piece of bread and some dried fruit.
"Are you hungry?" he asked, his voice now more reassuring. "I brought this from my village; it's not bad."
Ashael looked first at the offered food, then at Kael's sincere eyes. When she took the bread, the tension between them eased slightly. Ashael's timid posture gave way to a curious gaze. When Kael slowly sat down on the log beside him, Ashael sat down next to him, keeping a distance between them.
As the day went on, they talked. Kael told her about his village, and Ashael told him about her people. She learned that the dark elves lived as nomads and used magic to strengthen their bodies. When the moon rose, Ashael's tattoos began to glow. They didn't even notice how time had passed.
As darkness fell, Kael stood up.
"I come here every day," he said. "I gather herbs for my mother. Should this be... our meeting place?"
Ashael hesitated, but then nodded. A small but sincere smile played on her face.
When Kael returned home, his mother was waiting for him at the door. "Why are you so late?" she asked, her voice worried.
When Kael told her what had happened, the expression on his mother's face changed for a moment. "A dark elf?" she whispered. "In this forest..." She trailed off.
That night, Kael couldn't sleep because of the excitement of his new friend. Days turned into weeks. They met in the forest every day. They played, wandered, and sat in silence. For Kael, the world consisted of nothing but the area around that fallen log.
Ashael was showing Kael those swift spells that transformed dark elves' bodies into shadows; Kael, in turn, was telling him the simple yet heartwarming stories of village life. During one of those long afternoons they spent together, Ashael sat cross-legged on a fallen tree trunk, his hands stretched out toward the ground. Kael watched him with curiosity.
"Everything is so loud in your world," said Ashael, closing his eyes. "The sound of axes in your village, the crackling of burning wood… In our world, everything speaks in whispers."
Kael laughed in surprise. "Are you saying the trees talk?"
Ashael opened his glowing brown eyes. "They don't speak, Kael. They feel. Look," he said, taking Kael's hand and placing his palm on a layer of damp moss. "Clear your mind. Wait until you can hear only the sound of the blood flowing through your veins."
At first, Kael felt nothing—just the cold, damp moss. But the moment Ashael's fingers touched his, it was as if an electric current surged through his body. For a moment—just a moment—he heard a thudding sound coming from deep within the earth. It was like a heartbeat, but it came from deeper still. It was as if the spirit of the forest had greeted Kael.
Kael shuddered and pulled his hand away. "That... that was really strange. I felt like something inside me was speaking."
Ashael tilted his head in curiosity. "It usually takes people years to feel this, Kael. You… you're picking up on things much faster than others."
That day, Kael had realized the existence of spirits for the first time. Ashael, however, found Kael's bewildered reaction amusing. Until one morning…
When Kael arrived at the meeting spot, the forest was quieter than usual. Hours passed, but Ashael didn't show up. One day… two days… a week… Anxiety had taken root deep within Kael. Kael waited for hours at the meeting spot, but he just couldn't hear Ashael's light footsteps. The anxiety inside Kael was gnawing at his very soul.
"Something might have happened to him," he thought. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. Gripping his axe tighter than ever, he plunged into that dark forest—a place he'd never been before, where the trees completely obscured the sky.
By midnight, the forest was no longer the place he knew. There was an uneasy silence in the air. Suddenly, beams of purple light surrounded him. Shadows too fast to follow with the eye were tracing a circle around him. Just as Kael crouched down, ready to swing his axe, dozens of pairs of glowing eyes appeared from the darkness. These were the warriors of the dark elf tribe, their bodies glowing with moon tattoos.
"Tell me, human," said one of them; his voice was as sharp and cold as a sword. "Why do you desire death so much?"
While trying to make sense of what was happening around him, Kael was also thinking about how to escape the elves. He replied in a trembling yet resolute voice:
"I was just looking for my friend."
"A friend? Human, do you realize where you are?"
"My friend isn't human—his name is Ashael."
The warriors froze when they heard the name Ashael. They thought he must be confusing him with someone else. Because Ashael… was the name of their leader's daughter.
One of the elves approached Kael and extended the dagger in his hand toward Kael's neck. Removing the hood of his cloak, he spoke:
"Look at me! Did your friend look like us?"
"Yes, he had moon-shaped tattoos and markings just like you."
Kael's words sent a shockwave through the warriors. It was impossible for a human to speak the name of the tribal chieftain's daughter so casually. The elf could have killed Kael right there, but he also knew the boy was just a child who had no idea what was going on. Hating the gnawing unease inside him, he whispered to himself:
"My good intentions will be my downfall one day."
The elf couldn't just leave Kael there because he had seen one of their kind; they took him to the heart of the tribe. When he was brought before the Dark Elf Chieftain Vaelthar, Kael felt that oppressive aura down to his very bones. Vaelthar possessed an aura so powerful it could shatter a human's will with a single glance. Queen Lunarya, standing beside the Chieftain, was scrutinizing Kael with curiosity.
Vaelthar asked the elves in a loud voice, "Why did you bring a human here!"
An elf warrior stepped forward and knelt on one knee. "My lord, we found him near the tribe. He knew your daughter's name. He claimed to be Ashael's friend."
"Our daughter," said Vaelthar, his voice echoing like a thunderclap. "Did she really spend time with a human?"
When Ashael approached her father, she saw Kael standing before him with his hands bound. For both of them, it felt as though time had stopped in that moment. But the laws of the dark elves were strict. A human knowing the tribe's location was an open invitation to slave traders and the royal armies. The Council proposed erasing Kael's memory. But the price of this spell was heavy; the person wouldn't even remember who they were afterward.
"I beg you, Father, don't do this!" Ashael cried out. "He didn't harm me—we just happened to meet by chance!"
Queen Lunarya scanned the aura within Kael. Lunarya could look into people's auras and understand their intentions. This child did not possess the dark energy of the evil ones; on the contrary, there were unstable fragments of a massive power that had not yet awakened.
Lunarya was in favor of forgiving Kael, but the council vehemently opposed the idea. "My queen, we cannot trust a human. The most sensible course of action is to erase the child's memory."
At that moment, Vaelthar drew his sword from its sheath and extended it toward Kael. Ashael, meanwhile, was pleading with her father through her tears. Lunarya held her husband's arm and whispered, "Calm down, Vaelthar—he's just a child."
Though Vaelthar appeared to be a stern man, he was deeply devoted to his daughter. For a moment, his gaze turned to his weeping daughter. The tribal chieftain knew his wife had a unique perspective; he was certain that if she had seen even the slightest trace of evil within Kael, she would not have let him go.
Lunarya approached Kael with heavy steps. Reaching out her hand toward him, she cast a spell that prevented him from seeing the dark elves. Thanks to the queen's intervention, Kael's life and memory had been spared, but the price was heavy. Kael would never see Ashael again.
When the time came to say goodbye, Ashael removed the silver ring from her finger—one bearing a moon seal—and placed it in Kael's palm. "This is a keepsake from my grandmother," she said, choking back tears. "As long as you carry this, wherever you are, you are my friend. Never forget."
Kael couldn't see Ashael; he could only hear his tearful voice. Thanks to the queen's spell, Kael was transported back to the entrance of his village in the blink of an eye. When he sank to his knees, the deep scent of the forest still lingered in his lungs. He barely managed to walk all the way home. When he opened the door, he found his mother standing there, exhausted with worry.
Kael told his mother what had happened—about Ashael, the tribal chief, and that forbidden friendship. As he spoke, his voice trembled, and he clutched the silver ring in his hand tightly. Seeing her son in such a shattered state, his mother couldn't bring herself to ask any questions; she simply pressed him to her chest.
"It's over, my son," his mother said in a soft voice. "You're lucky to be safe and sound by my side. Now just sleep and rest. Don't think about any of this for a while."
When his mother laid Kael in his bed and left the room, the gentle expression on her face had given way to deep worry. She looked out the window toward the dark forest where the dark elves were hiding.
"A dark elf tribe… And so close to us. Kael, as your half-blood heritage begins to awaken, fate is pulling you right into the world I fled. May the gods protect us, for I cannot hide you in this village forever."
Kael, meanwhile, drifted off to sleep in his room, touching the moon-sealed ring hidden beneath his pillow. That night, in his dream, he saw for the first time six black wings on his back—wings that had not yet awakened but whose weight crushed his spirit.