3. Lora
Lora
Wonder brightened Erion’s face as I guided the boat between the timber gates flanking the waterway.
Wooden buildings hugged one side of the river, some perched on poles above the water.
The main road ran along the opposite bank, crowded with supply shops, fishmongers, boatwrights—everything a passing traveler might need.
Wedged between the storefronts sat the two-story inn with its painted sign of a golden fish.
Rope bridges crisscrossed overhead, connecting homes and winding through the gnarled branches of massive trees rising from the banks. Moss clung to every surface, painting the village in green and gray.
Erion twisted in his seat to take it all in.
A smile tugged at my lips. “Welcome to Rootmere.”
He spun back toward me, rocking the boat. “Why is it called Rootmere?”
I huffed a laugh. “I don’t know. Why is anything called anything?”
Grinning, he scratched the back of his neck. “Fair point. How many live here?”
I eased the boat alongside the weathered dock. “About sixty.”
Since we’d left Blightlands behind, he’d been brimming with questions, asking about our surroundings, where I got my boat, how old I’d been when I killed my first monster. I’d spent most of the journey explaining how I tracked the beasts.
He asked about every detail with earnest curiosity, as if the world had become a puzzle he was desperate to piece back together. No questions about the Moon Queendom’s defenses. Nothing about border patrols, valuable locations, or available resources.
If he were a spy, he hid it well, so genuine in his need to understand the world around him.
The planks creaked as I stepped out, one hand keeping the vessel steady. Erion followed, wobbling as he found his footing on the slick wood.
My gaze shifted to the tall candle burning in a glass lantern beside the dock. The flame had burned past the fifth mark after noon. Still some time before the evening meal.
“Where exactly are we?” Erion peered at the village, drinking in every detail. “I mean where in the Moon Queendom?”
“On the far northeastern edge, near the Sun Kingdom border.” I tied the boat to the iron rings bolted to the dock, then hefted the ash-maw’s body over my shoulder. “Come on.”
The scent of smoke and cooked fish drifted through the damp air as I strode down the main road, nodding at shopkeepers and villagers glancing up from their work.
Erion matched my pace, boots thudding against packed earth worn smooth by years of passing feet.
The butcher’s shop came into view ahead, its weathered sign creaking on rusted chains. Fenrith gripped a lead rope, guiding a talanox toward the shop.
The six-legged beast pulled a cart loaded with cuts of meat, its wide nostrils flaring with each breath.
The thick hide gleamed slate gray, except for a patch of white running down its elongated face.
Judging by the barely developed horns, it was a young one, but the massive animal still looked strong enough to pull a house.
“Hi, Fenrith,” I called.
The butcher glanced up, grinning beneath his bushy beard. “Lora, you’re back!” His eyes landed on the rift-hound slung over my shoulder. “An ash-maw! And a big one! Nice catch!”
I beamed. “Thanks!”
He waved toward the shop’s open doorway. “Just drop it on the back table and I’ll take care of it.”
“You always do.”
Fenrith maintained a reliable partnership with us monster hunters. In return for skinning and harvesting the valuable parts, he earned a share of whatever passing merchants paid.
Erion trailed behind as I entered the shop, moving past counters piled with slabs of crimson meat. The back room reeked of salt and blood. Hooks hung from the ceiling beams, stained dark from countless carcasses. Relief flooded me as I slid the weight off my shoulder onto the table.
Erion’s gaze stayed fixed on the creature. “Where did the monsters come from, anyway?”
I worked my shoulder loose, glancing at him. Another innocent question. Everyone, including sunfolk, knew where monsters came from. “That’s a long story. Depends how far back you want to go.”
“To the beginning?”
A soft huff of amusement escaped me as I headed back through the shop. “I guess you could say it started two centuries ago. Back then, the Sun Kingdom and Moon Queendom were united as one, and everyone lived together in peace. But then, a prophecy changed everything.”
Erion frowned as he followed me into the humid evening air. “A prophecy?”
“Exactly.” I started down the road, back the way we’d come. A bitter smirk tugged at my lips as I recited the words taught to every boy and girl across the Queendom. “When sun and moon combine their might—”
He joined in, the words tumbling from his mouth. “A rift shall tear and free the blight.”
My gaze whipped to him. “You remember?”
He rubbed his temple. “Not really… It’s like my memories are locked away behind a wall, but a few fragments occasionally seep through.”
A flicker of sympathy tightened my chest. His memory seemed to unravel at the strangest moments, triggered by random words. Maybe more would surface with time, piece by fragile piece.
“Please continue,” he said. “How did the prophecy change everything?”
Tugging him along, I sidestepped a group of laughing children running past. “The reigning King and Queen, Caelest and Astera, took the prophecy seriously. Sun and moon wielders were forbidden from uniting their magic.”
“Because it would free the blight?”
“Precisely. But they went even further and split the land into two—the Sun Kingdom and the Moon Queendom—and divided all wielders along with them. Anyone who crossed into the wrong domain was executed.” Bitterness crept into my voice.
“Trading between our countries ceased and resources dwindled, leading to harsher times and escalating conflicts. Until about nine decades ago.”
I let the words hang in the air as I slipped past visiting travelers heading for the inn.
He hurried to keep up. “What happened nine decades ago?”
“No one knows for sure, but the main theory is that the Sun Kingdom kidnapped a moon wielder and forced them to combine their powers with a sun wielder.”
His eyes widened. “Didn’t they know that would—”
“Release a blight on the world?” I grunted. “Yeah. But they did it anyway, likely in a twisted attempt to gain more power. But just as the prophecy foretold, they failed and opened a rift to another realm, and monsters started spilling into our world.”
He tilted his head. “So the monsters are the blight?”
I nodded, brushing a stray inky curl from my eyes. “Over the decades, the rift has grown, allowing larger and deadlier monsters through.”
He fell quiet, concern creasing his forehead. Maybe I’d overwhelmed him with too much grimness at once. I glanced around for something to lighten the mood.
As we approached the healing hut, I pointed through a narrow alleyway toward a house behind the storefronts. “That’s where I live with my sister and a few friends. And further down that road is where my father lives.”
Erion opened his mouth to reply, but Corin emerged from the healing hut, nearly bumping into us. Tall, broad-shouldered, handsome in that rugged way that made women blush and warriors nod in respect.
He broke into an easy smile, running a hand through his tousled auburn hair. “Lora, hi.”
I beamed. “Corin! Guess what I caught today. An ash-maw!”
“An ash-maw? That’s cheating.” His eyes narrowed in stern disapproval, but his twitching lips betrayed his smile.
Grinning, I brushed Erion’s arm. “Erion, this is Corin, a monster hunter like me.”
Erion glanced between us. “Another? How many of you are there?”
“In our village? Just the two of us.” I pointed between Corin and me. “Actually, our families are the only moon wielders living here.”
Corin nodded. “But my mother and two sisters are non-wielders, so it’s just my father and me.”
Erion’s gaze landed on me. “What about your family?”
“My father and sister are both wielders. Healers, actually.” I gestured to the healing hut.
Erion’s attention drifted toward the hut, then back to me. “What about your mother?”
The question drove a spike through my ribs. “She… was a wielder too.”
“Oh.” His face crumpled. “I’m so sorry.”
The memory clawed at the edges of my mind—Mother’s eyes locking with mine one last time before—
I shoved it down. Buried it deep with all the feelings I couldn’t afford to indulge.
Corin cleared his throat, nodding at Erion. “And… who is this?”
“Oh, right.” I straightened. “Found him in Blightlands.”
I hesitated, not sure what else to reveal. This didn’t feel like the right time to go into details about Erion falling from a tiny rift, wielding both sun and moon magic.
“Found him?” Corin studied Erion, taking in his torn clothes. “You’re not a monster hunter?”
“Absolutely not.” Erion glanced at me, admiration flickering across his features. “Lora did all the monster hunting when she saved me.”
“I’m sure she did.” Corin smirked. “She used to beat the brains out of me when we were younger.”
I huffed a laugh. “Lies. You’re the one who always beat me to a pulp. The only thing I learned from our training sessions was how to get up again.”
“And you truly excelled at that.” A conspiratorial smile spread on Corin’s lips as he shifted his gaze to Erion. “Fair warning—this one is exceptionally stubborn.”
I gave a dismissive grunt, but the familiar banter warmed my heart.
About a year ago, our training sessions had turned heated, and we’d found ourselves in each other’s beds more than once.
No romantic strings attached, no complications.
But after a few weeks, Corin confessed he wanted a family, children, someone to build a future with.
We both knew that wasn’t what I wanted, so we stopped whatever casual thing we had going and went back to being friends.
One day he’d find the woman of his dreams, and I’d be genuinely happy for him.
As for me… I didn’t deserve that kind of life.
I nodded to the healing potion in his hand. “Filling up on supplies for your father?”