novelraw Chapter 125 : “Fiwe”
Chapter 125 : “Fiwe”
(Rooga Valemont’s POV)
Warmth.
That was the first thing I felt after weeks of drifting in sleep — the kind of warmth that came not from mana or sunlight, but from home.
Somewhere nearby, I heard soft giggles.
A small voice chanting in rhythm.
“Fiwe… fiwe!”
It took a second for the memory to surface — faint, sweet, and distant.
When Eria was still a baby, I used to play with her every morning.
I’d flick my fingers and cast Light Flicker, a harmless spell that danced like fireflies.
Each time the sparks appeared, I’d grin and say, “Fiwe!” in the silliest voice I could manage.
She’d clap her tiny hands, eyes sparkling, demanding, “Fiwe! Fiwe!” until I gave in and did it again.
Sometimes ten times in a row.
Back then, that word was her favorite.
Her first real word.
Now, hearing it again, older — clearer — made something inside me ache with fondness.
I opened my eyes slowly.
The soft glow of Maori’s grove surrounded me, the golden leaves whispering faintly overhead.
“Fiwe!”
Another spark of light danced through the air — small, gentle, perfect.
And there she was.
Eria.
No longer a baby, but a bright-eyed little girl, standing proudly in front of me with her tiny hands outstretched.
Each time she said the word, a flicker of golden light shimmered between her palms — not wild or unstable, but focused, controlled.
Her brow furrowed with concentration.
“Fiwe!”
Another spark bloomed — brighter this time.
My breath caught.
She wasn’t mimicking me.
She was casting.
“Eria…” I whispered, still half-dreaming.
At the sound of my voice, she gasped and looked up.
Her eyes went wide — and then she screamed.
“Roo! Roo wake up!”
Before I could react, she threw herself at me, nearly knocking the breath out of my chest.
Her tiny arms wrapped around my neck as she laughed through tears.
I blinked, still processing the light that had just flickered between her hands.
“Eria… you were using magic.”
She pulled back, smiling proudly. “Fiwe!”
Another spark appeared — delicate as a petal, bright as a star.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s not just light, you little genius. You felt the mana, didn’t you?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “It tickles!”
Of course it did.
She didn’t have a HUD like I did — no numbers, no progress bars, no guides.
But somehow, she knew.
The mana moved naturally for her, like breath itself.
A gift.
Just like Mother.
“Eria!”
Mother’s voice came from the grove’s entrance — hurried, anxious.
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She had probably come to check on me again, but when she saw her daughter waving her hands, the air sparkling with light, she froze.
“Mother…” I started, but she didn’t hear me.
Her eyes widened, disbelief flashing across her face before joy overtook it.
She rushed forward, scooping Eria into her arms and spinning her around in sheer delight.
“You did it! You really did it!”
Eria laughed, flailing her little arms as sparks of light trailed through the air.
“Fiwe! Fiwe!”
Mother’s laughter filled the grove, light and free — the kind of laugh I hadn’t heard from her in years.
I leaned back against Maori’s roots, smiling softly.
“Guess she takes after you, Mother.”
Selene beamed, her eyes glimmering. “No… she takes after all of us. You most of all.”
I let my head rest against the trunk behind me, the weight of my body finally catching up.
Maori’s presence lingered softly in the air, her voice faint but amused.
“Welcome back, my caretaker. You woke just in time to see new roots bloom.”
I smiled faintly, watching the light from Eria’s small hands dance across the grove.
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Seems like the world kept growing without me.”
My eyes grew heavy again, exhaustion creeping in like a tide.
But this time, it wasn’t the same endless sleep.
It was peace.
The last thing I saw before drifting off again was Eria in Selene’s arms, laughing under the golden light —
and each time she clapped her hands, the air shimmered with tiny sparks that whispered the word I’d once taught her.
“Fiwe.”
(Selene’s POV)
The laughter still hadn’t left my chest.
Even after I carried Eria back from the grove, her small hands still flickering with golden light, I couldn’t stop smiling.
She sat on my lap now, trying to summon another spark — her tongue poking from the corner of her mouth, brow furrowed in the same determined way her brother used to look at books that were far too thick for his age.
Every time she whispered “fiwe,” a soft pulse of light bloomed above her fingertips.
And every time, my heart felt like it would burst.
When I entered the house, I must have looked like a madwoman — hair disheveled, arms full of a giggling child whose hands glowed like lanterns.
Darius looked up from the table, half a smile already forming.
Lyra was beside him, sorting through letters and maps.
“Selene?” Lyra asked carefully. “You look like you’ve just found gold.”
“Better than gold,” I said, breathless. “Eria.”
Darius raised an eyebrow. “What about her?”
“She’s awakened.”
Both of them froze.
Lyra blinked. “Awakened? As in—”
I nodded quickly, holding Eria up like proof of a miracle.
“Watch.”
Eria waved her hands with all the enthusiasm in the world. “Fiwe!”
A shower of sparks appeared, swirling briefly before fading like fireflies.
Darius stood. “By the stars…”
Lyra leaned forward, eyes gleaming. “At four years old?”
I laughed, unable to contain it. “Yes! And with no training at all. She just felt it — as naturally as breathing.”
Lyra set her quill down, a rare smile touching her lips. “A true Asterion gift. The girl sees mana like other children see color.”
Darius chuckled softly, resting a hand on Eria’s head. “She takes after her mother, then.”
I shook my head. “No — she takes after both of us. And her brother.”
That made them both pause.
“She’s four,” Lyra said gently, “and already channeling pure light. That’s rare, even among elves.”
“She’s safe,” I reassured her. “Rooga was younger when he cast his first spell. Three years old — remember?”
Darius’s expression softened. “He nearly collapsed afterward.”
“And learned from it,” I said, smiling faintly. “If anything, it means Eria’s growing in a house where magic is second nature. She’ll learn discipline faster than either of us did.”
Eria was still playing with the light, giggling as small orbs floated around the table.
The glow reflected in Darius’s eyes — that same quiet pride I’d seen the first time he watched Rooga lift a sword.
“Another mage in the family,” he murmured. “At this rate, Valemont will be known for scholars, not soldiers.”
“Would that be such a bad thing?” I teased.
He smiled. “No. Just… different.”
Lyra glanced toward the window, where Maori’s tree glowed faintly in the distance. “The goddess will feel this, too. Her roots drink every spark of new life.”
I followed her gaze, warmth blooming in my chest.
“Then let her feel it,” I whispered. “Let her know the world she protects keeps growing.”
Eria yawned and curled into my arms, the last flickers of her magic fading with her breath.
Her tiny hand clutched the air once more, murmuring half-asleep, “Fiwe…”
Darius kissed the top of her head. “She’s going to outshine us all one day.”
I smiled, brushing her hair aside. “Maybe. But for now, she’s just our little spark.”
Lyra returned to her work, her tone softer now. “A spark that might just light the future.”
I looked down at Eria’s sleeping face and thought of my son still resting beneath Maori’s branches — the boy who had once taught his baby sister to laugh at light.
He had given her this moment.
This gift.
And as the house filled with the quiet hum of mana and love, I whispered a silent prayer to the goddess who listened through the roots:
Keep them burning bright.