“Go… Get somebody!” Litheo yelled at the elven girl as a small white barrier wrapped around Tito like a dome.

  “Hey, what are you doing!” Tito shouted as he pounded against the barrier, “Let me out of here, you hare-brained fool!”

  Litheo wheezed out of breath, as he looked at Tito yelling all kinds of insults. All he could think about was how he could have died, if not for this strange barrier that had just appeared around Tito. He stumbled to the ground as he sat down in the grass, watching Tito struggle. A small star passed by the night sky as Tito looked upward at the golden moon. A deer looked at Tito in confusion before grazing the nearby grass.

  “Litheo!” shouted the elder from earlier as she and the elven girl flew on a carpet to him. “I already heard what happened from Thea, you're free to go.”

  “What’s going to happen to, Tito?” Litheo replied.

  “That is none of your concern, now take Thea back to her house and go home.”

  “But-” Litheo was stopped.

  “No buts.” the elder replied as she slowly walked up to Tito, a frown of disappointment on her face. She gazed at Litheo once more as he took Thea and left, noticing the now empty necklace.

  A rooster let out its morning call, as it pranced around outside Litheo’s home. It was a clay and thatch-roofed house. The largest room had a fireplace on the side along with a few wooden chairs. The second room was a small room with a simple oven. The fire had recently gone out, and unleavened bread was lying to cool near it. The third room had a hay bed with a small lamp beside it, and the last room was Litheo’s parents’ room. The sound of small bells rang, as Litheo quietly shut the door.

  It was a bright, warm day outside. The Hyflimia flowers were in full bloom and were all around Litheo’s house. The scarlet-colored flowers all gaped at the sun, eating its warm sunshine. He looked down at his batea once, before putting it on his back and walking down the dirt path toward the village. The wind brushed against the grass, as Litheo continued his ascent toward the village. The village was on the top of a hill, and Litheo’s house was to the west, a little way down. To the east of the village was Vescri Coast, and to the north of the village was the city of Derla, the capital of the small Principality of Muringia. To the south was the frontier village, of Muringia which was called Jeloth. The village itself, to which Litheo resided was the village of, Braviarth.

  As Litheo reached the village he looked at the commotion occurring in the town square. The village was a growing populace, as of now there were around five hundred people who resided in the village. Most of the housing lay to the south of the town square, the bustling markets which were always busy lay to the east near the village gate, to the north laid the farmers who yielded crops for the village, and to the east lay the dock and fisherman along with the coast to which many would use their bateas to sift for shards.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “What’s going on, Mr. Elios?” Litheo asked as he pushed through the crowd to see Tito in a pillory. A small crowd of elves in the front of the crowd screamed all kinds of insults at Tito as they threw rotten fruit and vegetables at him.

  Elios was a tall, muscular man. He had long black hair, which he tied in a bun, and a scraggly beard. He was a well-known fisherman in the village, and most of the villagers liked him.

  “It’s the elder, apparently Tito went around attacking some poor elf girl.” he replied, “Apparently he has a grudge against the elves, and since some kid saved her from being attacked, Tito got caught by the elder.”

  “I knew the fool would eventually get caught, glad it happened before anybody got killed.” Elios sighed putting his hand on his face, “Hey, you got your first shard yesterday right?”

  “Yeah, what about it, Mr. Elios?” Litheo asked.

  “Well, where is it? You promised me you’d show me it today.” Elios inquired.

  “Oh,” Litheo replied as he attempted to lift the now necklace without a shard, “I’m sorry, I promised to show you but… It already fade into me.”

  “What!” exclaimed Elios, flabbergasted, “Did you already merge with a shard?”

  Litheo let out a nervous smile, as he looked at Elios.

  “It’s uncommon for somebody to merge with a shard within a year, but in a day?” he sighed.

  “Please don’t tell anybody about this, I don’t want the elder to send me off so soon to the capital,” Litheo begged.

  “Fine,” Elios exhaled as he scratched the back of his head.

  “I need to go now sir before anybody else notices I’m not wearing a shard.” Litheo looked at Elios, “Thank you.”

  “Come visit my house sometime, we can practice your ability!” Elios waved, watching Litheo walk away.

  The soft, cold wind came back as it blew against Litheo’s face. Litheo could smell the fragrant scent of the ocean, as he squat to his knees and pulled the batea off his back. The chill saltwater softly pushed against Litheo’s feet before the tide pulled it back, as he dipped his batea into the sand until it was full. He grasped his batea firmly as he walked further into the water until it was up to his knees. A seagull flew past Litheo, while he vigorously shook the sand away to see if he had found any remnants of the great Atemios. He looked at the empty batea before repeating what he had previously just done.

  Litheo looked up at a small purple shard he had uncovered within the sand. The shard was seventy millimeters along and had a width of thirty millimeters. He tied it around like a necklace, feeling the cold sharp edge it had at the end. The sun began to tire, as it began its descent downward. The young adult looked at the shard once more before walking back up toward the village.