The Arks

A small girl with a flower garland danced around with her other friends. Nova gave them a small jewel.

"Thank you!" shouted the girls as they continued prancing about.

"Do you not greet your subjects?" he asked, as he raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"I have not talked to anyone non-royal until these past few days. They wouldn"t allow me."

"They?"

"My parents. They thought Royals should not interact with commoners."

"Hmph, that"s selfish of them. After all, how could lead a kingdom if you could not understand the hearts of your people? How would you know what would your subjects want?" asked Raiyen.

Nova froze, unable to give a proper answer. It was true, how could she have failed to see that?

"You missed a bunch of things. When you return, be sure to remember what it feels like to be living a proper, non-royal life. A life of bliss and happiness. Get a real taste of working, go hate or love someone. That"s how you live like a human," said Raiyen, picking up an apple to bite.

"Without luxury?" asked Nova, holding an orange.

"Without bounds."

"It"s the town"s norm for star gazing," explained Raiyen as the crowd began to gather at a small empty piece of land in the heart of the village.

As soon as dusk fell, the entire backdrop of the village changed as well. The sky changed from blue to orange, followed by a dark shade of blue. The stars started to appear, shimmering as it tore open the night sky. Like a huge slash of stars.

"Why isn"t there an attraction of people around here at my time? This could be great for guests! I don"t recall this village being around here at my home," said Nova, seemingly captivated by the sight before her.

"The village here would be later destroyed, no denying it. The survivors would live on, build their lives back up in another area. That"s how they lived around this time. A small settlement would be bound to fall in a couple of years. It"s just the way it is," explained Raiyen, looking at the rest of the villagers.

"So that"s how you live..."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You go around different times and witness so much. And there"s always something wrong. You meet and greet others from different times, and then, you leave. I... I don"t even know you, and I trust you with my life," said Nova, eyes wide with shock.

"This is my life. It"s not fun, as most people would think. Its like school; at first it looks interesting, exciting even. After a while, it gets boring. Then, it gets painful. The stress would get to you."

"It"s like being Royal as well..."

"Well, it"s the same thing for us Time Mages. Our day is a normal person"s month or even years. We run through time, meeting new friends, seeing new sights. But soon, we won"t feel stressed, we would feel sad. Heartbroken," explained Raiyen, gazing at the night sky.

"Then why do you continue?"

"If I told you that I"m suffering now because of my Time Element, would you take it away from me?"

As she wanted to reply, Raiyen shot a fierce look at the girl.

"The cost would be that I would"ve never been born," finished Raiyen.

Nova looked down.

"Why? You"d just live a normal human life. A bit boring, but it would be better than suffering like this," explained Nova, tilting her head.

"You would a.s.sume that I would live a normal life without Time Element?"

"What do you mean?"

"Time Mages aren"t made by handing over knowledge of the element, unlike the normal path. We are born out of time. Time Mages are also called the Children of Time. Quite literally, in fact."

"I will not question why," sighed Nova, standing up.

"You took it in faster than expected."

"Well, I"m a princess from the future, talking to Time Mage and having Memory powers. Somehow, that explanation doesn"t seem too perplexing compared to the other things I"ve learned today."

"Shall we head to the future then?" asked Raiyen, putting on his hood.

As they slowly made their way towards the Old Chapel, the Giants were back from their ch.o.r.e.

"Mav!" yelled the Time Boy.

"Thought you"ve popped back to the Time Portals," said Mavislin, smiling.

"We are about to," replied Nova, catching up.

"Well, you can do the Hopping in your room. The "you" now is out on a mission, so you were lucky. Try aiming for a time in which you are not around this area, that would reduce the signs of Time Poisoning," explained Mavislin, leading them to the Founders" bedrooms.