Regis lays on his stomach on the cold hard floor of his cottage, clenching his teeth. The sound of blood dripping from his back onto the floor is very apparent in the stillness of the cottage. Regis takes a few of his late mother's scarves and wraps them tightly around his body, focusing on where the fresh wounds are. He folds a t-shirt and puts it in his mouth, biting down on it while wrapping his body.
"Argh!" He exclaims while slowly sitting up on his bed. He's sweaty, and his back has 4 holes about 5 centimeters in diameter.
"I'm lucky, aren't I..? I didn't even get nerve damage… It's a miracle that I'm not dead yet…" Regis says to himself aloud. His face is shriveled up in pain, his eyes still bloody because of the popped blood vessel.
I'm… tired… Regis thinks to himself before drifting off into sleep, or so he thought.
[ABOUT A MONTH LATER]
Regis wakes up, feeling extremely malnourished and dehydrated, the pain still sharp in his back. He stands up slowly, and limps over to the kitchen, where there is some rotten food. He does not pay it any mind, however, as he eats it raw and rotten.
Ugh..! Disgusting! He thinks to himself, but forces himself to chew and swallow the food. He chugs it all down with some water. His face is contracted in disgust. Even his eyes are frowning, his nose is scrunched, his face is filled with wrinkles, and his mouth is stretched.
Regis huffs, and walks back to his bed. He expands and contracts his back muscles, and notices that the enormous holes have been healed. Additionally, he feels up his back with his hands, and feels absolutely no scars.
What? My skin… why is it so smooth? I swear I had 4 holes in it when I slept… What happened? Regis thinks to himself in utter confusion. He takes off the scarves he had wrapped around himself and goes to a nearby river to bathe.
After the bath, he returns to his cottage on the outskirts of Shadowveil, and lays on his bed, facing the ceiling.
How… confusing. How did I manage to not retain a singular scar? It just… it makes no sense… Regis thinks to himself, his right hand on his chest while his left hand rests on the bed. His body is still as a fossil in stone, and his thoughts clear as a reflection in still water.
I guess… Now that the bird's been dealt with and I've recovered, I should try and venture out again. Regis plots, packing some dried fruit and water pots in another straw basket.
Urk! The sun is so bright! Regis exclaims in his mind, walking towards the city gates yet again.
As he walks, he buys some blankets, and some extra food and water to make it easier to survive.
So… I can finally know what the world beyond this city looks like, huh… I'm excited! Regis thinks to himself, his face bright, his smile reaching his eyes, upper teeth showing.
He walks out into the nearest dirt road, which leads him into a huge, lush forest.The trees in the forest are tall, 4 meters tall at the very least. But Regis walks into the forest without thinking anything of it. After all, what could go wrong with entering an unknown forest?
"Whoa… so beautiful…" He says as he walks around inside the dense forest.
(Clack) "Huh? What? WHO'S THERE!?" Regis asks before immediately sprinting away deeper into the forest in desperation. A deer comes out of the bushes where Regis heard the sounds from, looking innocent.
"(HUFF…HUFF…HUFF…Sigh!) Am I safe now?" Regis turns his head and looks around the forest, and decides to sit down below a tree, relishing in its shade.
"How… ethereal…" He says to himself, observing his surroundings with great interest.
"(SWISH–THUNK)" An arrow grazes Regis's cheek before embedding into the tree behind him.
"What…" Regis mumbles, processing what's happened to him just now.
"WAIT! WHEREVER YOU ARE! I AM NOT A THREAT! WHOEVER YOU ARE, WHEREVER YOU ARE! I AM NOT A THREAT! I SWEAR!" Regis cries out to the mysterious attacker. His hands are raised into the air, face looking pale but eyes flaring with determination.
"(WHOOSH)" Another arrow gets shot at him, which Regis narrowly ducks under.
"WAIT! I SWEAR! I'M NOT A THREAT!" Regis cries out at the top of his lungs, his arms still raised up in the air. The determined gaze he once had has softened into the gaze of a prey. He looks weak, his pupils dilated out of fear.
"Who are you, and why have you trespassed into our territory?" A mysterious voice asks, that of an adult male, as compared to the 14-year-old Regis's squeakiness.
"I… I swear I didn't know! Please! I'll leave! I- I'll leave at once! Just let me go! I beg of you!" Regis exclaims, his voice shaky, desperation apparent in it.
"Hm… Actually, I have changed my mind. You, human, come with me." The mysterious voice says, jumping down from a tree branch high up on a tree.
What the… pointy ears… green hair… thin hands… golden eyes… Regis thinks to himself.
"Are… Are you perhaps an elf?" Regis asks the mysterious man.
"Indeed I am. I go by Elebor, meaning 'Lonely mountain'. What is your name, human?" Elebor asks.
"I'm… called Regis… meaning 'kingly'… I'm 14 years of age… How old are you?" Regis asks Elebor timidly. He fidgets with his fingers while doing so.
"I am 97 years of age, human named Regis." Elebor says, crossing his hands over his chest. He lifts his chin high, clearly proud.
"You look young to be… 97, Elebor." Regis says, still fidgeting with his fingers, a bit less timid.
"I know, human named Regis! I take great pride in that, you see!" Elebor says loudly and cheerfully.
"I swear I would've thought that you were… about… 27-28 when I saw you just now…" Regis mumbles timidly.
"Huh? Did you say something, boy?" Elebor asks.
"Oh!? No! No! But… Elebor, why did you come down here instead of just letting me leave?" Regis asks, looking up at Elebor, eyebrows furrowed with curiosity.
"Oh, good question, boy! It is because I find you amusing! Come with me!" Elebor says nonchalantly, as if it's the most normal thing in the world.
"But… I'm a human! Won't your kingdom be mad if a human were to live there?" Regis asks, eyes wide with disbelief, mouth agape.
"Ah, they'll understand! Come with me now, boy!" He grabs Regis by his arm and drags him to the elven kingdom.
Elebor stops at a tree with a rune carved on it, and pricks a drop of his blood on the rune, effectively activating it. The tree opens up, creating a rift inside of it. Elebor drags Regis into the rift and they get teleported to the elven kingdom.
"Welcome to the Elven Kingdom in Elahim, the forest of the Elves!" Elebor introduces with a bright smile, his hand loosening the grip he had on Regis's arm, and moving to rest on his head.
Whoa… Regis thinks to himself. Eyes bright, a happy smile on his face. Even his hands are curled up into fists with excitement.
The Kingdom is big, roughly the size of the entire forest of Elahim. It was bustling with elves, merchants, kids, mothers, fathers, hunters, everybody. There was no sense of enmity among them, they were all happy together. Everybody had pointy ears, thin hands, green hair and gold eyes, key traits of the elves.
The houses were all designed to be basically the same. Made up of wood from Elahim. The castle, however, is something that caught everybody's attention.
"Whoa… Elebor, is that the castle?" Regis asks, curiosity etched in his eyes, his expression bright as he smiled from ear to ear.
"Yes, boy. That is indeed the castle where the king and queen, including some of their aides and generals reside." Elebor replies with a smile, observing Regis's curious and gleeful behaviour.
Indeed, what a bright child this human is… and also that dormant power within him… perhaps I should take him under my wing… Elebor thinks to himself, amused. His grip is relaxed on top of Regis's head, and his eyes are bright, as if he had just thought of something great.
"Boy, how would you like to be under my wing and get trained by this elf, hm? Do you like the idea?" Elebor asks Regis, blunt as ever. Without even giving Regis a chance to think of a response, he adds: "You have 5 seconds to decide."
At this moment, Regis quickly weighs his options, and decides to nod and agree with Elebor's decision.