Lura
CHAPTER 1
Lura
In a world of magic and the rule of kings and emperors, Alex lived by the forest, which was close to the bustling city of Vazil. Vazil was known for its impressive array of merchants and markets. Alex, however, preferred the solitude of his cabin, which he had built by himself due to a lack of funds. He would visit the city only when needed.
One morning, Alex went out into the woods for some mushrooms. Mushrooms were necessary ingredients for mushroom stew, which was Alex’s favorite. Alex casually picked some mushrooms in the forest until he stumbled upon a strange piece of metal scrap. The metal scrap contained strange writing in a language he did not know. Curious, Alex took the metal scrap and buried it in his pocket to look at later.
As Alex finished picking mushrooms, he returned to his cabin where he found a girl waiting outside. The girl was petite and had long pink hair and sparkling cyan eyes. With a closer look, Alex admitted to himself that the girl indeed looked nice. She smiled warmly.
“Hello!” the girl greeted.
“Uh… Hi,” Alex replied, feeling uncertain.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” she said.
Alex thought, trying to remember her face. “Excuse me, but do I know you?”
The girl chuckled. “I suppose it’s not a surprise. It’s me, Lura.”
It then hit Alex that Lura had been his friend when they were just children, living in another city. They had lost each other over the years, but here she was, standing before him.
Alex invited Lura inside, where she settled on the couch. He busied himself in the kitchen, making mushroom stew and brewing tea. They chatted as he cooked, catching up on past years.
“So, Lura… How’s the family?” Alex asked, glancing at her from the kitchen.
Lura hesitated, her eyes shifting around the room. “The family… they’ve been good,” she replied.
Alex sensed there was more to her story but chose not to press her. He served the tea, and Lura came over to the kitchen, curious.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“It’s tea,” Alex said.
Lura hesitated for a moment before taking a sip. Her eyes widened in surprise. “It’s good,” she said.
“Never had tea before?” Alex asked.
Lura shook her head, continuing to drink. As they ate the mushroom stew, Alex noticed how hungry she seemed.
“So, what brings you to Vazil?” he asked.
“I had a job lined up, but it fell through,” she explained. “It’s tough back home.”
Alex nodded, feeling sympathetic. “So, what have you been doing all this time?”
“Just trying to live,” Lura said, her voice tainted with slight sadness. “But what about you? What are your dreams?”
Alex’s eyes lit up. “I want to learn magic.”
Lura let out a laugh, a sound that felt different from others. “Oh, you’re serious,” she realized. “You’ve always dreamed big, Alex.”
“I mean it this time,” Alex insisted.
Lura smiled at him. “I believe you.”
“Do you, really?” Alex asked, having second thoughts.
“Of course!” Lura said.
Alex sighed before pulling out the metal scrap he had found. He showed the metal scrap to Lura.
“I found this earlier this morning,” Alex said.
“Why do you have this?” Lura asked, as she examined the metal scrap.
“I don’t know, just tell me what you think,” Alex said, waiting for her opinion.
Lura became quiet for a moment before speaking. “The writing on this thing. It’s written in the language of Moralh. It’s more common in the south, but nowadays it’s an ancient language.”
Alex looked at her, intrigued. “How do you know that?”
Lura sighed. “I’ve done a lot of traveling. I’ve seen many things… perhaps too many.”
Alex listened but felt confused. “Does that mean you’ve been to the south?”
“Kind of,” Lura said.
Alex thought about it but decided he shouldn’t ask so many questions. “You must be tired. I’m sure getting from home to Vazil was a big distance to cross.”
“Well, it was about 1300 km,” she said.
Alex’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s a lot. I think you should rest.”
“Rest? I don’t have any place to rest, Alex,” Lura said.
“You can stay here,” Alex said.
“Wait, really?” Lura said, surprised. “Alex, you have no idea how much that means to me.”
It got quiet for a moment. Lura looked towards Alex with a certain face. It was unlike anything Alex had seen. “You know that humans are in no place for something as ancient as magic, do you not?” she said.
Alex nodded and sighed. “So, you still doubt me.”
Lura looked down for a moment, then looked back at Alex and spoke gently. “Alex, no human has ever been able to utilize magic. Magic is not something that a human is supposed to realize.”
