ATEEZ || Odyssey Of The Dragonlords

3

The twins stare at the letter with huge eyes, shock and confusion plastered on their face. "But.. how? We are no heroes, we are basically nobodies, living secluded in the woods. I don't understand." Sook says, still not believing whatever is going on.

"Well, why don't we just open it and see what it says? I mean, these are our names." Wooyoung stands up to grab a dagger and hands it to his sister. "To you the honors little sis" He says winking at her. Sook takes the dagger and waits for her brother to join her on the bed. "You don't know who is older, it could very well be me." She pouts.

"Nah you will always be my little sis." Wooyoung throws his arms around Sook, pulling her deep in his embrace, leaving her unable to breath. "Woo... you.. are... choking.. me..." "Shhh... just enjoy it" The lilac haired boy answers, not letting his sister go. Sook starts to struggle, but her attempts are futile as she is the weaker one of the two when it comes to pure strength.

She starts to mumble something under her breath, performing an incantation and vines start to grow around them from between the floor boards. One thick vine starts to wrap itself around Wooyoung, pulling him away from Sook, releasing her from his grasp.

She quickly opens the letter, her brother sitting next to her with his screams muffled by the vines, completely restrained. Sook takes out the letter and starts reading, her eyes darting around the paper widening by the second.

"What?!" Sook starts shaking, her free hand covering her mouth in shock. The vines around Wooyoung loosen, enabling him to escape from its grasp. "Sook?! What's the matter, what does it say?" He snatches the paper out of her hand, quickly reading the content, searching for what made his sister react like this.

Dear Jung Wooyoung and Jung Sook,

I sent you and 8 others a letter to meet me at the Sour Vintage. It is of utmost importance that you meet me here as soon as you can. The Oath of Peace is waning and the Oracle has foreseen a devastating future. However, she got a glimpse of the heroes destined to save Thylea from the advances of the Titans. I promise you a sizable reward and more information about the Oracle's prophecy.

What you should know is that the Oracle also has foreseen the first step to take on your own personal journey. As infants, you were both left in the Oldwoods by your mother and grew up not knowing anything about your biological parents. The Oracle can help you find them and learn the truth about yourselves.

Please come to the Sour Vintage, a traditional country inn located at a crossroads, about twenty miles east of the City of Estoria. I will be waiting for you all there.

Yours, Kyrah

"The Oracle can help us find our parents... Oh my god Sook, this is amazing! We finally have a lead!" He faces his sister, eyes already filling with tears. Sook is still shaking from the shock, tears rolling freely down her face. She turns to her brother and both siblings tackle each other in a warm and tight embrace.

Neither of them holding their happiness in as they both wet each others clothes with tears. They both sit there crying for a while, not letting each other go. The warmth of their sibling comforting them in this happy revelation. The letter gives them both hope, hope that one day their family will be complete after 23 long years.

Eventually they leave the embrace, drying their tears, both with red nose and puffy eyes. They smile brightly at each other, before Sook jumps up and grabs the two old papers. "We're going to find you mom, dad." She holds the papers to her heart, eyes closed.

"Come on Sookie, we need to talk to Eratheïs" Wooyoung grabs his sister by her waist, trying to pull her with him out of their hut towards the grandest hut of their community. The hut belongs to the Circle Elder, their leader.

Sook lets her brother pull her towards the entrance of their own humble abode. She slips the pieces of paper, including the letter, in her bag and follows Wooyoung to the Circle Elder.

The Circle Elder's hut is located on a slight incline on the edge of the Arkelon River. Many colorful flowers surround the home, creating a welcoming feeling to anyone who sees it. The twins stand in front of the door, breathing deeply to try and give themselves courage to knock on the door.

They nod to each other and Wooyoung knocks on the door. They hear the voice of an old man on the other side, inviting them to come in. "Aah, Wooyoung and Sook. What can I do for you both this afternoon?" Eratheïs motions them to sit at the table as he goes to grab a kettle of freshly made herbal tea.

"Elder Eratheïs, we have received a letter and are being summoned to the Sour Vintage. We need to go as soon as we can, they have answers to our past so we really need to go." Sook says, while taking the herbal tea from the Elder. She blows into the tea, awaiting a response.

"Hmm, and do you know who sent you that letter and how they figured out about you and your brother?" Wooyoung next takes the tea, handed by their Elder.

"A Kyrah sent the letter, we do not know who she is, but she mentioned the Oracle. Apparently she had a vision about the ending of the Oath of Peace and a devastating future. She foresaw the coming of a group of heroes, and we are apparently one of them. The Oracle also knows about our parents and what we should do to find them."

He takes a sip of the tea, grimacing his face as the liquid burns the inside of his mouth. He immediately puts the cup back down on the table and nudges Sook to give the elder the letter.

"Oh right, of course." Sook grabs her bag and finds the letter, handing it to the Elder. Eratheïs grabs the letter, taking a moment to carefully read the content. "I see." He starts. The eyes of the twins widening with hope as Eratheïs continues.

"It seems you are needed elsewhere." He says, winking at the twins. "Does this mean we can go?" Wooyoung shouts excited. Eratheïs chuckles at the eagerness of the young man. "Yes, you have my permission. Make sure to stock up on your equipment and grab enough food for the journey. Inform both the guardians and hunters of your leave, you may depart as early as dawn tomorrow morning.

"Thank you!" The twins shout in unison. They both quickly down their tea, immediately regretting it since it was still burning hot. Trying to keep a straight face, not showing the pain of the poor decision they just made, they said their goodbyes to Eratheïs and left his hut.

As soon as the door closes, they both start fanning the inside of their mouth with their hands, jumping up and down as if that helps against the pain, and breathing heavily. Realizing they both made the same mistake, they burst out in a painful laughter. Hooking their arms into each other, they make their way back towards the central campfire.

They made sure to stock up on arrows and other necessary items for the journey. They met up with Valindra, explaining the situation and she promised to leave them both a bag filled with food fit for the journey. Next they went to the guardians and hunters to fill them in on their leave.

They spend the rest of the evening together laughing, talking about their past and the stupid things they went through growing up. The twins said their goodbyes to their whole family and turned in for the night, barely being able to sleep due to the excitement of the journey ahead.