The Dawn of the New World

Uri obviously had no idea what was going on here, and neither did anyone else for that matter. He and the other teens were far too deep in the forest, surrounded by towering flora on every side to clearly witness Hao Xuan's landing.

All they felt was the initial tremor and the preceding shockwave after he had already crashed, without any idea of the chaos that had ensued in the village due to the strange phenomenon caused by the glyph.

Uri glanced around at the commotion dumbstruck. People from every race were running left and right like madmen, screaming names and asking for help without even an enemy in sight. How was he supposed to find the Elder in this situation?

He saw an older human female standing idly by to his left and decided to go ask her for directions since she seemed the calmest person here.

"Um, e-excuse me, d-do you-" but as soon as he started speaking, she jerked back, startling Uri. Her eyes were a shade of crimson.

"JAKI! Has anyone seen my son Jaki!" suddenly turning towards him she screamed at his face before running off in a random direction.

Uri who was already nervous panicked even more by her over-the-top reaction. He jumped out of the way and stuck to the sides, watching in bewilderment.

"What is wrong with everyone...??" he mumbled to himself watching the mayhem unfold. It was almost like they had completely lost their sense of reasoning somehow.

Without any other option, Uri moved alongside the edges to avoid any dangerous encounters until he found the tents belonging to their convoy. He sneaked in one by one but they were all empty. Only in the second last one did he find what he was looking for.

"Elder Iya!" Uri shouted at the bespectacled man with white cat ears, elated beyond words.

Uri had taken a single step inside when abruptly, he felt a hand on his neck and the ground was pulled from under his feet.

He looked to the left and saw the Black wolf guard's face inches away from him, squinting hard.

"Hmm, he does not seem to be affected, Elder," he said in a gruff voice.

The Elder Iya they both were referring to stood up, fixing the loosely hanging spectacles he waved at the black wolf demihuman.

"Let him down, Kart."

Kart obliged, putting Uri down and moving a step back towards the entrance of the tent where he opened it just enough to peek through, keeping a watchful eye on the situation outside.

Uri examined the inside of the tent, waiting for Elder Iya to speak up first since in their culture it was considered rude to talk to someone older without being asked first.

From the outside, the tent looked completely ordinary. It was barely two meters in diameter but the inside was tens of times larger. It had different rooms divided by various partitions, full-fledged furniture, a large round table with eight seats, and even a cooking station in the corner.

The difference between this tent and where he had to stay for the past week or so was worlds apart.

Elder Iya picked up a scroll from the round table and sat back down, peering towards Uri from above the glasses.

"What's wrong child? I vividly remember telling all of you to not come near the village until we give the go-ahead. What is your reason for disobeying me?"

His voice sounded quite pleasant to the ears but his tone gave Uri goosebumps. He quickly sat down on both knees.

"Forgive my error, Elder. Princess Helena and Princess Inara told me to come here."

Elder Iya shot back to his feet, almost falling over in the process.

"You met the princesses!? Where? When? What did they say?"

Without hiding anything Uri explained the whole chain of events from Hao Xuan to the princesses.

Elder Iya went silent for a short moment, waving his hand afterward.

"Go change. There are new clothes in the first room."

Uri did as ordered and left with large strides. The door to the room he had entered shut on its own and a light blue barrier covered it completely.

Kart walked up to the Elder, getting down on one knee.

"What should we do?" he asked in a low voice.

"What can we do?" Elder Iya replied sharply, "Those two always do things on their own. If they had just brought me in, I could have prepared a little beforehand."

Kart looked left and right, lowering his voice until it was barely audible, "Do you think the ancestor knows?"

Elder Iya nodded, "Of course she knows. She was the one that ordered me to come here."

Kart's eyes opened wide, "Then the rumors are true? What's happening outside and the light earlier. Does that mean th-"

"SHH!" Elder Iya glared at him, shutting him up instantly.

"No matter, go get the others. All we can do is go ahead with the plan.. Tell the barbarians to meet us after everything is settled, I don't trust the humans just yet."