Gate: Journey In The New World Vol I

Disclaimer: I don't own Gate or Nihonkoku Shoukan as it belongs to its rightful owners.

Arc 1: Lands of Rodenius:

Chapter 6: Her Survival

Koan Forest, Koan: Village of the Elves

It was often the dank and intense atmosphere that would always greet her every time she visited the certain big round structure located in the heart of her village. Only a few days after a squadron of dead Imperial troops was discovered just a few miles away from the village, the village elders called for another meeting.

Tuka Luna Marceau quickly found herself inside the wooden dome structure, finding her own seat and taking in her surroundings. The interior of the meeting place was designed in the style of a colosseum, with several wooden seats arranged in a circular pattern and, finally, a large space in the center where the main meeting between her father and the elders was taking place.

The place was currently packed with most of the Koan forest's Elven villagers, all eager to find out what the decision would be this time. This meeting was just one of many held over the course of several weeks and months. However, it appeared that more villagers were becoming concerned about the recent events happening.

"What do you mean we can't do anything!?"

"Hodor, how many times do we have to tell you that your claims are often bogus!"

"Do you have not faith?"

Tuka could feel the tension spreading across the small dome as her father and village elders had been arguing for about an hour.

Looking into her father's eyes, she could only see the rage that had been building up since the beginning of the meeting. She had not seen that side of him since her mother's passing.

It was very different than what the rest had perceived him to be all these years. Some just wondered if this were one of his sober-ish moments.

There were about six village elders that sat down on their fancy long tables as if they were about to sentence someone to his/her final fate. A kind of image that was a bit strange for a small village like Koan.

To look superior perhaps?

It was almost as if they were trying to imitate the lost glory of the Great Elven Cities of Legends.

Each of them had their own unreadable expressions as they attempted to listen to the man's explanation and pleas. Some of them were interested enough, and some were not really buying into his claims.

To their eyes, He was not the kind of person to trust that easily.

Hodor Marceau firmly stood in the middle as he faced them one more time. As the one in charge of maintaining peace and order in the village, he didn't hesitate to finally show that certain toughness within him as he was confident and hopeful that the elders would be convinced this time around.

All eyes were on him for the past hour. He could tell that the majority of the villagers that he'd worked so hard to protect, were slowly losing their trust in him. He understood that and it was the only thing that he had regretted.

"For the last time, I'm telling you that we need to evacuate as soon as we can!" He warned, looking straight at them in the eye.

"For the last several weeks, Squadrons of Imperial troops have been spotted roaming near our village." Hodor explained." And today a whole dead squadron of them was discovered just miles away from the east."

"This just shows that-"

Though as he was about to continue his words, He was cut by one of the Elders.

"You said the whole squadron of those Imperial soldiers were all dead when you and your men found them." The elder questioned." Tell us, why were they dead in the first place?"

A brief silence befell the whole room as the blonde elf slightly looked down.

"Don't tell me they died because of your drunken stupors." One of the Elders commented, causing laughter amongst groups in the crowd and the fellow village elders as well.

That one aspect of him was pretty much unavoidable. Even the Elf himself was not ashamed to admit his past actions.

He slept with a number of women throughout his years, and occasional drunkard, that would sometimes go off the rails when facing unexpected conflict, though, for the man himself, that doesn't erase the fact that he still cared for the well-being of his home and his own remaining family which was his daughter.

He wanted to fulfill that promise to his late wife.

He didn't realize how hard it was to redeem just by himself.

The Elf man felt his daughter's presence as he moved his eyes around for a moment and spotted the young blonde girl watching from one of the seats, who had a serious but worried expression.

"We don't have a clue how those soldiers were killed, but the only thing I can inform you is..." He trailed off as he brought up numerous scrolls and placed them all on the table.

"Upon further investigation, we discovered scrolls and other valuable information revealing that Imperial soldiers had been scouting our territories and planning to invade and thus claim the Koan forest for themselves." He elaborated. "It's only a matter of time before they send an army here."

Loud chatters amongst the crowd grew, many of them began to feel worried, some were already panicking. The idea of a full-scale raid and invasion of the Imperial Army was horrifying but a bit farfetched at the same time.

The village's defense system was truly weak and for numerous times had gone through several attacks but only involving the beasts that roamed among the lands. The last attack happened about a month ago when a massive boar-like creature with huge tusks found itself in the village began wreaking havoc, destroying the houses located on the ground. It took at least more than 15 Elven archers to slay it, due to the strength and durability of the creature.

What more if an Imperial Army had attacked the place?

"Silence please!" The Lead village Elder half-yelled, and in an instant the crowd shut their mouths up.

"Hodor, How can you be so sure about this?" The main Village village elder asked." There's no such thing as an invasion from the Empire." He argued." This forest has been thriving and in peace for hundreds of years and you know that very well that it's impossible for any army to invade us."

The blonde elf man gritted his teeth in annoyance. He knew where this was going.

"Besides, the dead squadron of Imperial Soldiers might just be rogue soldiers that were blinded by their own greed and ambition." One of the Elders voiced his opinion.

"It's very common for them to be so."

They were well aware of the rumors circulating outside of the forest. Rumors of treasures and unimaginable riches deep in the heart of the Koan forest were made up over time and that eventually encouraged a lot of thrill-seekers to venture out to the forest only to get themselves a lot or leave empty-handed. That was completely ridiculous to the Koan villagers and now that things were getting more worst than they had thought.

"Even if there is a so-called invasion, they won't be able to take down the whole forest as-" The Elder was cut from his sentence.

"You always depend on the Forest God, even though she had not been hearing your prayers for years now," Hodor spoke with little rage, receiving shocked expressions from the crowd and the council of Elders themselves.

"Look! I don't care if the Goddess of Fertility will protect everyone or ask the Sun God to summoned his Emissaries." He explained." but what I'm informing you people here is try to be practical for once!" He raised his voice in frustration.

"I know you're all very hesitant of me because of my past or what I've done before, but for the sake of the lives of the villagers, please listen and reconsider!" He added.

Silence took over the big room once more. Nobody dared to speak up.

The Elf man took a deep breath and sighed." You know, what should I go even further?" He said, taking a glance again at his daughter.

"You people won't even believe if I told you that the Flame Dragon has woken up from its slumber." He gave a slight shrug, his statement bringing back the panic once more to the rest of the villagers.

He began to wonder to himself if it was still worth it to explain everything he had learned to the rest. One of his colleagues, who was an elven scout had spotted the legendary beast reputed to only exist in stories, flying across the region a few days earlier. According to the scout, his one and only advice were to get everyone evacuated as soon as possible.

He brought his attention back once more to the Village Elders and eyed them.

"I'll leave this all to you and decide whether you want to stay here or not." He explained, placing one more scroll on the table before leaving." Besides, all the information is right in front of you." He added.

"You don't have to worry or wonder about me, I'm not gonna let my own family perish to incompetent decisions."

With that said, the man left his post without any further comments, though he would be back, later on, to attend to a few more matters. Though, right now he needed time to create a backup plan.

At the same time, the silence which dominated for the rest of the time had been finally broken as the conversations and chatters were immediately formed amongst the stunned villagers.

Tuka watched as her father silently walked out of the meeting. She always knew from the start that this wasn't going to last long. From her point of view, the village elders were nothing but people who were afraid of leaving the place of their ancestors.

A place that was already losing its blessing.

"Can't you believe that a scoundrel like him would say things like that?"

"If he chooses to leave and he is free to do so, besides there's nothing for him outside of this forest."

"The Nerve of that man."

The young elf girl could hear the various thoughts and comments from her fellow villagers. It was just so negative that she could not handle it and had to abruptly leave the premises and head towards a place where she could process her own mind.

There was no point in staying here.

XXXXXXXXXX

Awhile Later

Truth to be told, the settlement of Elves in the Koan forest had been existing for hundreds of years now, as long as when the Goddess of Fertility had blessed the lands of this continent.

Tuka had spent much of her life in this place, from the day she was born. If had the chance, She would go to lengths just to keep the life of her home flowing. Being trained by her father at an early age, she was a prodigy in the art of archery. As much she wanted to be part of the small police force, where her father was the chief and in charge of protecting the village, her father himself did not allow her to be a part of the group.

Of course, she was a bit disappointed, sometimes even considering that she will do better at leading it than the older elf.

She never bought the idea of having a validation nor a kind of approval. Fortunately, she was able to realize that she could contribute without joining them, and rather choose to help and train young Elven boys and girls on how to defend themselves when their lives are placed at stake. Also as a result of that, those young elven kids were able to learn to stand up for themselves.

A small smile crept upon her lips. It was better than recapping all that had transpired during the meeting with the village elders.

After her father's meeting with the elders, it had been decided that in order for everything not to go on a chaotic route where it could lead to some villagers possibly protesting. The elders finally made their decision and gave the villagers their own choice whether if they wanted to leave or not.

Lo and Behold something came up and opened the eyes of the village elders. Her father's words were like a knife through their hearts and it gave them the feeling of fear for the first time and brought them out from their own disillusions.

With the decision engraved in the minds of villagers, some families had finally taken up matters into their own hands as they began packing their things up and left their treehouses one by one, finally realizing the real danger that was about to come anytime soon.

The young elf girl herself was a witness to the scene as long the departing villagers formed long lines from the main plaza, carrying what they could find bring from their homes, although one of the major problems was that there was not enough wagons or carts to store their belongings, as half of these families were forced to carry heavy loads of bags.

She belonged to a community of Elven people who lived mostly on the trees. There were also Houses located on the ground but more were built above ground and bridges were constructed to connect to different areas of the village.

Tuka could hear the sorrowful sobs of children and their mothers. This place meant to them so much and seeing them leave it just like that was very heart-wrenching for them and to her as well.

The old make-shift playground where those children spend a lot of time was filled with this kind of depression and quietness.

She fought her emotions as she leaned on a certain tree's trunk. She immersed herself in the peace around her and felt the windy atmosphere that blew by the forest. The afternoon sun was still going strong as one of its rays found itself shining upon her.

She couldn't recall what exactly happened prior to her going in this spot but she remembered going to her house, grabbing a few things, and disappearing from the public eye once again. She just wanted to be alone for a while, she didn't want her mind to get distracted by the things happening around her.

Still resting on the foot of the tree, she brought her attention to things she had brought, which was revealed to be her own bow and arrows, and lastly a small harp which she often used to play since she was a little girl.

The elf girl closed her eyes as she began to play her harp producing a soothing and beautifully haunting melody.

The memories soon began to flood back as she played the instrument. A small smile formed upon her lips as she recalled the days of her childhood. Her mother was an absolutely gorgeous and caring person and she was very thankful to have spent whatever time she has before she went on to the afterlife.

Small tears would soon begin to show up. There was a time she wished that she'd taken her mother's place instead just to let her live. Fortunately enough, her father took her in and raised her to be the best daughter she could be, despite his out of personality antics, He genuinely did care for his own family.

As time passed by, she still continued to play the melodies on harp. Though, every moment the memories would slowly change as it would then turned into strange images and visions to which she was not familiar.

The once image of her happy family had been replaced by death and destruction and this was not the first time.

Lands ravaged by war.

Fallen bodies of soldiers and civilians alike scattered everywhere.

Unimaginable magical explosions rocking her whole world.

and being of powerful force and its armies emerging from the pits of the underworld.

The last image she saw was a red emblem that she only heard and learned in myths told by her mother.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Tuka!"

The elf girl was suddenly brought back to her reality as she opened her eyes quickly and heard a voice calling from nearby.

"Aldon?" She muttered the name of her friend as she found herself staring at those wonderful blue eyes.

A teenage elf boy with goldish-brown short messy hair, Aldon was a childhood friend of hers and fellow archer who she had trained with since she was a little girl. Donning a simple brown elven attire, the boy gave a friendly grin.

Tuka clumsily placed her harp down and immediately stood up in a hurry.

"Sorry about that!" She gave a nervous smile and apologized.

Her childhood friend smiled." It's alright, I just had a feeling you'd be here."

"I thought you already left with the rest?" She raised both eyebrows as the girl was surprised to see him still here.

"Well, there had been some short delays, so I figured maybe I could at least say one more goodbye." He simply explained, staring at the blank space, with a mixture of sadness and regret. His family was one of the villagers that had made the decision to leave their home.

Tuka remained silent as she tried to absorb her friend's statement. This was also a ringer for her that things weren't the same as before and that times were finally changing. The two continued their discussion as she accompanied the teenage elf boy towards the location where the caravan of Koan's villagers was currently making their way out of the forest.

"S-so does your family have a place to go to?" She asked, giving him a look of concern.

"Yes, we have relatives living in Qua-Toyne, and so far that's the only place we know other than..." He trailed off seemingly giving up to finish his sentence." Well, you know." He sighed.

The elf girl simply understood what he was trying to convey; all she could hope for was that the journey would go smoothly. She was aware of an increasing number of incidents in which bandits or Imperial soldiers ambushed defenseless travelers. She needed to remind him one more time to keep himself safe and protect his family.

Aldon just chuckled."Don't worry Tuka, I'll keep my family safe and myself as well." He said, while his childhood friend just rolled her eyes, not taking his statement that seriously.

"I guess, you and Uncle Hodor will be leaving the village soon?" He followed up a question.

Tuka slowly nodded." Yeah, once my father finally deals with some unfinished things here, and then we'll be good to go." She let out a small smile." And I guess, we'll be heading off to Qua-Toyne as well." She added.

There was a hint of excitement in her eyes as she was eager to also start a new life at a different place. She always liked the idea of adventure, and this was the first time ever she was going to a faraway place from here.

"Figures..."

It didn't take long enough as the two finally reached their destination, which was the end of the forest. Most of the departing villagers were now on their way to the vast countryside.

"I guess this is it," Aldon said, facing his childhood friend, who was trying to keep her emotions intact.

Tuka could feel the tears once again falling from her eyes. She tried to toughen her facade and show more courage than she ever could, yet it was just so overwhelming for her that she wouldn't be seeing her friends and the people she grew up with all throughout these years.

"Hey." The voice of her friend called her out as the elf girl looked up and met his blue eyes once more.

"You don't have to cry like that Tuka." Aldon said, giving a small smile." I know you're much tougher." He encouraged the slightly sobbing girl and gave her a pat on the shoulder, to which she responded with a slow nod.

"Tuka, whatever happens after this, make sure you protect yourself and your father." "Says the teenage elf boy." "Promise me that you'll fight back and survive whether if this so-called flame dragon or Imperial soldiers attack our home." He continued, looking her in the eyes.

Quietness took over the area they were in.

Tuka didn't verbally respond after that, but instead pushed herself and gave him a huge embrace. She hugged her childhood friend as tight as she can as she also continued to remind herself that this was not the last time she was going to see him.

Aldon smiled as he warmly returned the hug back.

"Don't worry, We'll meet again soon."

Those were his final words before leaving the girl to rejoin the rest of his family. It wasn't long before the adolescent vanished from her sight, the teenage elf boy heading towards the setting sun along with fellow villagers.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Find herself alone once more, Tuka headed back towards the village.

She did not bother to leap through the giant branches of Koan Forest, as she instead to chose to walk until the end.

Holding the small harp, while her bow and arrows were attached on a makeshift holder behind her back, the girl tried to sort her mind out once again. She had to admit her final meeting with her childhood friend made things a bit better for her. For starters, it gave her hope that they'll be a new place for her and her family to call home, and other than that, she had a newfound reason to continue on living.

A small smile formed around her lips, as she was now determined to help her father and that they could finally leave the village for good.

As she walked along the main path leading to her village, she could sense the air slowly changing, It was getting denser every second passed.

The sunset was still at large as the reddish-orange colored rays penetrate through the forest for one last time. The girl stared in her direction as she could imagine herself heading to a huge dark void ahead.

She would soon hear faint voices of people screaming around her surroundings. The voice calling for help as if it came from the bowels of the underworld.

Around this moment, it already felt like a nightmare that had emerged from the deep recess of her consciousness. Her world was beginning to change and unbeknownst to her, a dark force had finally arrived and claimed her home.

In a blink of an eye, a powerful shockwave burst through the direction she was heading to and nearly sent her flying away, if not for the three that caught her while she was in mid-air.

She felt a quick sting of pain on her back when she hit the huge body of the tree she crashed into.

"What the..."

Tuka muttered opening her eyes as she immediately recovered from the ground. As soon as she looked into her front, her eyes widened in shock as a massive fire has engulfed the forest from a few distances ahead.

"Oh no." She let out a mutter, instantly remembering the village and her father.

She quickly picked up her things and made a dash towards her home. Her mind was overwhelmed with confusion at the same time as she wondered what had exactly happened.

The prior peaceful atmosphere had now been replaced with despair. She could now smell the strong burning scent of wood and flesh mixed together as she entered desolation.

Jumping from tree to tree to further sped up her journey, she was beginning to hear the actual distant screams of the villagers and she was beginning to realize that things were not as they seemed to be, and as she neared her destination she heard someone yelling out to her name.

It didn't take long enough for her to reach the village, and as soon as she laid her eyes on the entrance, a horrified look overwhelmed her face.

Her fears had finally come true as the source of the massive fire was indeed from the village itself.

Rows of Treehouses engulfed in flames and the other houses from the ground were all destroyed and currently burning caused by that one mysterious explosion not long ago.

Her body began to tremble as she quickly wasted no time searching for her father as she ran through the burning ruins of the village. Desperation was growing in her eyes as she looked everywhere, trying to find any clues or signs of the man.

The first sight of the burnt and dead bodies of the remaining villagers soon greeted her. She even accidentally stepped on one dead villager whose body was blown in half. The top body burnt beyond recognition while the lower half was semi-burnt.

She dug deeper into her memory and remembered that the man had returned to the small dome of the council of elders, for yet another meeting. She glanced towards a certain direction and realized that she had to go through several more obstacles to reach the place as the original path was already blocked by the fallen wooden debris and burning trees ahead.

Though, without hesitation and for believing that her father was still alive, she still continued the search.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Tuka arrived shortly at her destination as she was able to find a path that led towards the site of the small council dome.

She stood there on a connecting bridge towards the main site which surprisingly survived the destruction. Once reaching the place, the teenage elf girl proceeded to investigate further while praying that the scattered mounds of flesh and bits of organs did not belong to the man himself.

For the time that had passed, she didn't bother to speak up nor she had said a word aloud. She thought it would be useless to shout out her father's name and that nobody would respond after.

Though there was a part of her that had continued to give her the encouragement to do so and with no other options left, she mustered enough confidence and shouted.

"Father!"

Her powerful voice echoed throughout the area, as she waited for a response. She could feel her heart beating fast as she moved her eyes around.

Then a few moments later, a familiar voice finally responded.

"Tuka!"

The elf girl's ears straightened as she searched for the source of the voice. She began to turn her attention to all her surroundings, trying to locate the right direction of the voice.

Her father's voice kept calling, attempting to lead her somewhere else. Sure, it wasn't in the main ruins of the small dome, but it was nearby.

Her investigation paid off quickly, as she tracked down and eventually found the source of the voice. The girl jumped onto a second connecting bridge and made her way to an area with a small shed that had also survived the devastation.

Arriving at the site, Tuka wasted no time as she rushed towards the shed and immediately opened its only door.

She almost cried when saw him.

Finally to her relief, she found her father alive but had sustained some serious injuries. The elf was covered in bruises, and blood covered one area of his leg.

"Father what happened to you!?" She worriedly asked, not wasting any time in checking her father.

Hodor mustered the courage to draw her daughter's attention while hiding in an empty shed. He couldn't recall what had happened on the way back to the council meeting; everything happened so quickly that he didn't have time to process what was going on around him. It was only these massive fires that appeared out of nowhere and descended on the structure followed by a huge mysterious creature that further destroyed the place.

"Don't worry about me, I'm alright." He managed to let out a few words, attempting to assure his daughter before coughing up.

He was lucky enough to have anticipated the attack but at the same time, he couldn't move properly because a random sharp piece of wood had struck him on the leg when the unexpected blast had occurred. He too was caught by the surprise and still had not figure out yet the real identity of the attacker.

Was it a mage hired by the Imperial Army that had infiltrated the village in disguise and had cast a powerful explosion of magic along with a tamed beast?

A stray dragon that came from the northern mountains?

Or something more sinister?

The older elf forced a smile, He always believed in her determination, though as he was about to speak his daughter had beaten him into it.

"No time for explanations! We need to get out of here as soon as possible." Tuka firmly said as she proceeded to assist her father in recovering from his current state. The girl acted as the latter's support as she placed her injured father's arms on her shoulders as she tried to help him push through outside the shed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once outside there were still greeted by the eerie silence that radiated around their surroundings.

As much as many questions going around her head and wanted to ask, Tuka chose to keep her mouth shut and focused more on finding a way out of her now destroyed home. Along the way, she kept taking glances at her father just to make sure he was alright, she could not use her healing magic right away due to the fact that danger was just around the corner, and it did.

Eventually, Tuka had spotted another way out through a certain towards the north, she gathered enough strength and made a jump to lessened the time. She safely landed on the ground alongside her father who was cooperating well with her so far.

"Are you alright father?" The elf girl briefly asked, receiving a weak nod and smile from the older elf.

Tuka returned the smile back as she encouraged her father to make a final push as they were already on their way out of the forest.

"I'll protect you, no matter what happens." She muttered to herself, now more determined than before.

However, in the midst of their uninterrupted escape, there was a series of loud noises that suddenly shook the ground.

It sounded more like giant footsteps that caused these mini-earthquakes, and whatever is causing those sounds, is heading straight for them. Not long after the girl saw a giant body of mass emerging from a few distances away.

It was enough for her to realize that she had to make a move quickly as possible.

By then her instincts reacted as she pulled her father away from their current position to avoid a powerful fire that burst through the forest, incinerating several trunks of the giant trees nearby.

Soon after, a huge beast in the form of a menacing blackish-red dragon emerged from the smoke as it gave a deafening roar, that also produces a strong shockwave.

When she saw this malevolent being emerge from nowhere, a semi-surprised Tuka immediately reacted by picking up her father again and dash away from it. Thus a mini cat and mouse chase game followed thereafter.

Koan forest was definitely a massive forest that covered a large chunk of the countryside. Akin to twenty football stadiums that it would be a freaking messed up chase scene already. From an above-ground perspective, one could see multiple trees already falling down, hinting how powerful of a type that dragon was.

Everything was falling into chaos, Large trees went down simultaneously.

The Elf girl found herself in dire straits as she jumped from tree branch to tree branch, trying to outmaneuver the beast; however, the only consolation prize for her at the moment was that she and her father were still alive, but the enemy had remained in the toe and showed no signs of giving up. She could feel the tension creeping up on her from behind, prompting her to reconsider another strategy for finally breaking free from this cycle. Fortunately, an idea popped into her mind that would eventually help her throughout this struggle.

By this point in time, the dragon was finally reaching into its prey if not for what happened moments later.

As soon as she finally had her plan fleshed out in a matter of seconds, Tuka proceeded to chant a small spell, as moments later, her surroundings were engulfed in a huge cloud of fog which in return had surprised the beast.

The Elf girl took the opportunity to dash away from her main path, successfully evading the beast for a while. Not long enough, she found a perfect hiding spot where she would eventually place her now semi-unconscious father for the time being.

Tuka gave a small smile, as she cast one more spell of illusion around the spot where her father was now resting, in order for the beast not to detect them.

The girl took a deep breath as she realized where this was going. The rage she had been harboring had taken its toll, and that beast would pay for what it had done to her home.

The girl stood up with determined eyes, knowing what she will do next.

XXXXXXXXXX

The beast staggered when it entered through the fog, it suddenly found itself crashing towards a tree in turn breaking the tree's trunk in half.

Not more than a second, the dragon recovered and began gritted its teeth in anger. It had just lost contact with its final two preys as it was something that the beast will never forget.

It began to search the area smashing every tree in its way and also using its senses to detect any signs of the two elves that escape its grasps.

The beast was desperate for food, having its great mother still not returning had left it with no choice but to search for food by itself.

As it made its way through the forest, the beast finally sensed its first sign. Its massive ears stood up as it heard unfamiliar sounds to that of a haunting soft melody playing all throughout its surroundings. Sometimes the melody would be accompanied by the small sounds of someone moving amongst the trees and bushes. Furthermore, the volume of the melody began to increase as seconds passed, creating this chaotic auditory hallucination for the beast.

Desperation eventually made its way as the beast became wilder and wilder searching for the source of the sound, destroying more of the forest, the beast followed the traces of the sound until it finally arrived at a certain endpoint.

There was a wide cliff located at the northern part of the forest which overviewed a massive body of water in the form of a lake.

The mysterious sound had ended exactly where the beast had arrived. Confusion would soon overtake it, as there was nothing to be found in that area except for a small harp near the edge of that cliff, which had unknowingly entered a trap.

Soon enough, the beast felt a presence from behind.

"Looking for me?"

A voice then called out.

The dragon quickly turned and saw the elf girl standing just a few meters away. The beast growled as it immediately decided to charge at its prey though if not for two sharp objects that hit both of its eyes taking away its vision.

As soon as she made her presence known

Tuka quickly equipped herself with two of her arrows and fired them directly at the beast, one hitting the left eye and the other hitting the right eye. It was a known weakness of ancient dragons, be it small or big of a size.

The dragon roared in pain as it found itself being incapacitated, though it was able to unleash one more fury as began to spit out the fire in different directions, thus creating a small chaotic scenario in the area.

"Damn!" The elf girl cursed to herself, as she jumped from her current position before the massive mass of fire descended.

The small plan that Tuka had intended was disrupted because of its reaction. Now it gave the girl more obstacles to deal with as she attempted to evade the napalm-like fire that came out from its mouth. It was one hell of an experience for her as she almost got herself engulfed by the fire.

As for the beast, it still managed to detect her presence through its sense of smell and began to chase throughout.

Tuka did what she had to do, as one mistake could be meant the end for her. She was covered in her sweat but paid no heed to the smallest distractions that bothered her.

Though, in the heat of that moment, her mind was focused on locating that final weak spot.

All she had to do was to tire the beast out until it stops breathing out fire and

it finally happened while she was in mid-air.

When the dragon tried to smash the girl with its massive claws, it failed as the girl evaded it once more, and by the time its claws met the ground, Tuka quickly took the opportunity and jumped on top of the claws as she headed towards its arms, by which time she took another leap and found herself in mid air and right in front of its face.

It wasn't long before her hard work and prediction came true, as the beast finally stopped, and while her world was slowing down, she took the only opportunity she had as she quickly drew out one more bow and directly aimed it at the dragon's mouth, she closed her eyes for a brief moment, as she silently chanted several words casting a specific spell on her arrow, and soon after a light engulfed it.

The now enchantified-arrow flew with high velocity and in less than a second that it was able to enter and hit the back of the beast's mouth.

Moments later, the beast widened its eyes as it felt a very sharp pain in its mouth; it did manage to scream for several moments before its insides were overwhelmed by strong lightning magic coming from the arrow itself, as it spread out to different parts of its body, electrocuting and killing it in the process. The beast staggered backward before collapsing on the cliff's edge, falling to its final demise and crashing into the body of water.

Silence finally took over once was the small battle was finished.

The whole area was completely devastated as numerous small craters can be seen all throughout the ground.

Tuka landed safely on the ground as her overall body was battered and exhausted from the whole ordeal. Regaining her composure, She took a quick glance at her quiver only to discover that she had used up the majority of her arrows in the process though only except for one, though at the back of her mind, it was all worth it.

The girl exhaled all of the tension that had been building up inside of her with a deep breath. When peace returned to her surroundings, she wasted no time in retrieving her small harp and returning to the forest to pick up her semi-conscious father and finally leave this place once and for all.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The advent of a flame dragon's unexpected attack on the Koan Forest and the destruction of the village had completely change the situation. The village itself was totally gone for good rendering the two elves completely without a home to go.

Moreover, the attack had decimated the remaining Elven population of the village, and including its Elders, who mostly depended on their own divine faith in a Goddess which no longer exists in the memories of many people.

A pity.

Being the only survivors of the onslaught, Tuka was able mustered up the last of her strength in order to assist her father, who finally awoken after the battle, out of the forest. Though, before that, the elf girl had made sure that his injured leg was treated properly, as she was able to cast a little bit of healing magic that she only knew and then bandage the wound up with a piece of her clothing.

Right now, she found herself in the last area of the forest, as she could finally see the empty plains ahead.

Along the way, she was able to finally let out all her emotions whilst assisting her father. She was silently sobbing all throughout their quiet journey. She even wondered how she even managed to survived and even escape the wrath of that flame dragon.

Was it even a flame dragon to begin with?

The legendary beast of the fabled stories?

It was too small to be a flame dragon in the first place but more powerful than what she had expected, something that really confused her until now. Though, she only recalled having heard of a certain tale of an apostle that can resurrect and control these powerful creatures.

It gave her a shiver when bringing that thought out. Although, what's more, important is that she was able to eliminate the beast as best as she can.

Soon after, the pair finally reached the end of the forest and a vast view of the empty landscape along with the sunset had greeted them.

Relief soon poured out towards Tuka as she managed to save her father and as they narrowly escape death.

By then she could finally focus on searching for a much safer place or better, a certain village which was located a few miles ahead from where she was standing right now.

"Coda Village, my daughter." Her father spoke for the first time.

"That's the nearest place we could go to."

The Elf girl slowly nodded in response, absorbing the information that her father provided.

It was the only thriving village near the Koan forest, according to her knowledge.

She recalled having been there a couple of times, though it was just mere occasional visit and sightseeing when her mother was still alive.

Having no other choice but to remain here in the empty plains waiting for help to arrive, the elf girl made her final decision as she gathered up the energy to assist her father as they set out on their journey towards that village.

Coda village, as her father had clarified, was not far from here, and she was confident that they would arrive in time before the night took over, and in the meantime, they wouldn't have to worry about being killed and eaten by the beast.

Along the way, Tuka started humming a beautiful tune that her mother used to sing to her.

It was the only way to keep herself calm and as well as bring some comfort to herself and to her still injured father as well. The two were on their own for now as they head off towards the sunset.

Unbeknownst to them that a certain blue-skinned apostle of Hardy had witnessed everything that had transpired until now from afar. A small defeated smirk crept across the draconian's lips as she fled the scene after the event, marking her words that she would return once again.

Apparently, this was not the end of the story.

The highway was strewn with dust and dirt, and it was fraught with danger. Tuka had expected it, but she had no choice because it was the only way to reach civilization in time.

Nobody would believe what the elf girl had seen today, let alone killing a beast that was reputed to be difficult to dispatch. Only a few handfuls of elves had been able to slay a powerful type of dragon using the most powerful weapons they possessed, such as magical staffs, blessed swords, and halberds, but Tuka, a young elf like her, only needed a bow and several arrows to slay the beast, just simply figuring out its weak points, an idea she had learned from her father before.

She didn't know whether luck was on her side during that time, but despite different pieces and causes that played a part in this unexpected victory, she would live on to tell the tale.

A tale of her survival.

CHAPTER END

AN: So that kind of wraps it up for this chapter, I was originally going to include Tuka in one of the main chapters, but since I wanted to adjust her story and background for a bit, I eventually wrote a stand-alone chapter for her. Also, I was actually planning to get her separated from her father, but I thought it would be interesting if her father survived all the way through or did not sustain amnesia.

I wanted to portray Tuka here as a very strong and resilient character, in contrast to the original canon Tuka, which had a mental breakdown earlier in the series. I'm not sure how this adjusted character of hers will result in the future but I'm quite excited to see how this would turn out for her.

Also, Some scenes were also cut in the chapter because I felt the scenes did not fit Tuka's perspective.

This chapter is also kind of a practice for me on writing battle scenes and fight scenes. I never really knew this would be that tough and another thing to clarify is that the dragon that attacks Koan village is not The actual Flame Dragon.

Also, I apologized for any grammar and spelling mistakes since English Is not my main mother tongue. Moreover, I am also not a member of any military organizations so if there are any mistakes regarding military-related matters, please pardon me for any mistakes. With that said, Thank you very much for reading the chapter and your support! I really appreciate it!