Hannah gently patted his shoulder and gestured that they talk inside. Cygnus nodded as he followed behind the woman. They returned to the hut and sat down on the bamboo seats that were in there. Elara jumped down from the woman's embrace and went to pour them water before she bid them goodbye and left to play with her friends.
"My husband and I found you and your sister in the forest while we were hunting and foraging for herbs and edible greeneries. You were soaked in blood that we thought you were actually dead. Luckily you still had a pulse and your sister was just unconscious." Hannah explained how they found them.
Cygnus nodded but his hands were tightly clenching his pants. "Thank you for saving us." He mumbled but the woman still heard and it made her smile.
Hannah reached out and gently patted the boy's hand. Cygnus looked up and saw the smiling face of the woman. His tears fell down at the memory of his smiling mother even in that situation. Hannah immediately gathered the boy in her hands and comforted him.
She did not know what happened to them but based on what she observed on Elara and the boy's reaction, it must have been something that was traumatic. Elara would have this sad look on her face whenever the woman would try to ask what happened to them. She would also clam up and wouldn't speak for a day once the topic was shifted to what Elara experienced.
"It's alright you can take your time. You and your sister are safe here. You can stay in this place as long as you want." Hannah whispered to the boy who couldn't stop the tears from falling down.
From that day forward, Elara and Cygnus lived in that place called Amarilyo. They lived amongst the people of that place and learned of their culture. It was very different from the city where they first lived. There were no cities in that place, only villages and towns. There were no kingdoms and people were living peacefully on their own.
There were conflicts but most of it would be easily resolved. Cygnus also learned that a place called Lunaira did not exist in that place. He was confused at first but he started to accept that they were already far away from that place. He became content in seeing his sister living a happy and simple life.
As the days passed, he got used to how they lived in that place. He also got acquainted with their belief of gods. They offer to the gods and in return the gods would provide them with prosperity and protection. It has been like that ever since Hannah could remember.
Their devotion awed and made Cygnus apprehensive at the same time but as the years went on, he too tried to believe in them. In the blink of an eye, Cygnus was now eighteen years old and his sister Elara just turned sixteen. A grand celebration was hosted by Hannah and her husband when Cygnus turned eighteen and a grander celebration was dedicated to Elara's sixteenth birthday.
They were drunk in joy that what happened next caught them by surprise. Villages and towns believed in different gods and it was often the cause of small scuffles between these villages and towns. It never came to mind that raids such as what happened to them were being carried out by devotees of the god opposite to them.
That day, Cygnus was out with the hunters as they were hunting for food for the upcoming winter. They went further than usual so they could hunt more and store food that could last them the entire cold season. They hunted a lot but all of it became useless as they found Amarilyo in ashes.
The huts and the flower fields were burned to the ground. Dead bodies were scattered on the ground and most of them were of the villagers. Cygnus returned to their dwelling and found that it was also burned and that Elara was nowhere to be found.
Hannah was found as she was already on her last breath. "They took the children and Elara. You-you must save them. The gods are watching, you must save them." These were her last words as she drew her last breath.
They buried all the dead and ran after the perpetrators who destroyed their village and killed their family members. Each man was filled with the burning desire for revenge. It took them five days to finally catch up to them. They managed to track them down and find their hide-out.
It was a temple in the middle of nowhere. The journey to that place was not easy as they did not take the usual path to conceal their presence and traces. It was in a place that at first glance could be said to be uninhabited. Along the way, they also heard that that place was a place of no return.
The hunters weren't fazed by what they heard as they continued with their journey. They lost too much that they couldn't wait to tear those people piece by piece. Cygnus looked at the direction of their hide-out with his fists tightly clenched.
'Elara wait for me! I will definitely save you!' He closed his eyes and uttered a prayer to the heavens where the gods were believed to be dwelling. He did not truly believe them but if they were truly listening to the people then he hoped that his fervent prayer would be answered.
They reached the temple and with Cygnus's magic, they managed to infiltrate the place without being detected. They navigated through the path that the perpetrators took until they reached a hidden space below the temple. There were almost no guards in that place as most of them were above.
One reason might be because they were confident that their hide-out won't be breached by anyone. It was this confidence that would eventually bring them down. The space had a path that goes straight and each side of the path were cells that held their prisoners. The path and the prison cells were carved from the earth that was already there.
The place was a bit damp and the smell of earth was overpowered by the smell of decaying flesh. They couldn't pinpoint where the smell was coming but their main priority was to look for the captured kids. They took that chance to check each cell and saw that the people in each cell were already wasting away.
This was a sign that they weren't fed nor taken care of but who would even think of feeding and taking care of their prisoners. They also noticed that the prisoners were mostly children and teens between the ages of fourteen to eighteen based on their body builds. The warriors were already halfway through the path when they finally saw familiar faces.
Cygnus easily destroyed the lock that was keeping the cell locked and the warriors immediately entered to check on them. All of them were fine aside from the minor injuries and bruises on their bodies. Cygnus looked at the group but he did not find Elara.
His heart started to beat loud inside his chest. He did not want to think about it but the absence of his sister amongst the group made it impossible for him to relax. "Where is Elara? Where is my sister?" His voice echoed in that dark and scary place as the children looked his way.
"They took her. We tried to stop them but they were powerful. You need to save her." One of them answered and this sprang Cygnus into action.
The warriors stood and stopped him but Cygnus was already gone. He followed the path without looking back until he reached a wider space at the end of the path. In the middle of that space was a high platform and a figure was lying on it. He could clearly see the blood that was flowing down from the platform.
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