**Crackle** a candle was lighten up

"Kariya, goddess of the sun..."

a man asked about a goddess that is named "Kariya" the goddess of the sun. becuase of a myth.

a man answers with a dirty hoodie on and said... "Ah, yes Kariya I'm sure you all know." and the man answers again "... the name of the greatest goddess in the continental mythology."

the man with the dirty white hoodie told why kariya became the goddess of the sun and why he is so popular among the villagers and soldiers even in the palace.

The very first Light to fall on the Snow-covered mountains and the barren lands. she came down from the heavens bearing fire, which she bestowed upon humans, allowing them to create civilizations of blood and iron.

After Descending to earth, kariya was worshipped as the sun goddess. today, she is worshipped as the goddess who watches over the knights. the goddess of war and immortality who brings them home from war victorious.

every knight shouted.

"with the blessing of the sun of goddess..."

"...we shall burn everything that defies her!"

...but, like all fantasy anthology, the story always has a dark side....

did kariya only bringed victory and glory?

^^^or does this story has it own share of darkness?^^^

...well if it did......

would anyone cared if they found out?

a man was walking to the forest with boots and a blue hoodie and the forest is covered with snow

^^^who in their right mind would be willing to test their fate to find out...^^^

......the hidden truth?...

^^^to be continued...^^^

...Author: Vlad hoshin...

...Writer: Píngguǒ...

...Author: Vlad Hoshin...

...writer: Píngguǒ...

one day the forest was on fire everyone was running away the fire covered the sky with thick black smoke, a boy was running and running and barely breathing and he has blood all over his neck and all he can see and hear was people screaming and the forest being in fire and the sky was pitch black.

a man suddenly screamed "AHHHH!"

a guard rushed to the room because he heard someone screamed and it turns out that it was the master, hildegar.

"Master Hildegar!"

and it turns out it was all just a dream.

the guard saw the master crying and gripping his pillow because of the nightmare that hildegar had. the guard also saw that the master also was trembling so hard.

"Master Hildegar, wake up!"

hildegar smacked the guard's hand

and hildegar screamed, "AHHHH!" becuase he was so shock that somebody suddenly touched him.

"Master hildegar...!"

hildegar has finally woken up, but he's catching his breath but he's all calm down now.

a voice was shouting into his head saying

"Hello, is anyone out there?! go get the pyshician..!"

and he saw himself his face was covered in blood and he saw a guy with a hoodie and the voice suddenly fades away and also the guy with the hoodie on, he doesnt know who that guy is.

he looks through the window and seeing the sun shining through his eyes

and he suddenly cried quietly due to the nightmare that he had.

**TIME SKIP**

in the evening of the same day, in the village

in the linderman store a guy is being shouted by a named "Jenkins"

"Again... I already told you Mr.Jenkins I cant help you with that."

the reason why mr. Jenkins is shouting to the man cause the man that he bought was stinky that came from the northreans.

"you did not store the herbs properly, you can't expect us to give you an refund mr. Jenkins.."

Mr. Jenkins was angry that he shouted to erkin the one who sold the herbs to mr. Jenkins.

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW HOW I STORED THEM?! HOW DO I KNOW THAT YOU JUST GAVE ME A BAD BATCH, ERKIN?"

erkin was surprised that Mr. Jenkins suddenly shouted at him

"What?!"

erkin was struggling with Mr. Jenkins that he could not speak properly.

"o-o-of course I didn't...! why would i ever do that?! I told you the herbs came from the north, so you shouldn't store them anywhere warm..."

Mr. Jenkins Sighed deeply with a disappointed face.

"hmph"

and Mr. Jenkins suddenly spoke

"I just cant trust anything you northerns say...!"

erkin flinched and he was so shocked that Mr. Jenkins would say that in front of him

a loud noise was suddenly heard by erkin and Mr. Jenkins and it was so loud, Mr. Jenkins suddenly saw, Ms. Anneta

Mr. Jenkins was so nervous, Ms. anneta shouted Mr. Jenkins name.

"Mr. Jenkins!! how could you say that in front of erkin?! unbelieveable!"

"A...Anneta it's just..."

"Look! I was standing next to you when erkin explaining how to store the herbs properly! Quit harássing him and go home!"

Erkin called Mr. Jenkin's Name that erkin is so worried about Mr. erkin. and told mr. Jenkins how to make it beautiful and the smell would smell amazing, and harvest some of it.

"Oh! Mr. Jenkin!"

" You'll be able to salvage some of it if you just cut off the rotten parts sorry, sir...!"

Mr. Jenkins left the store.

and ms. anneta spoke to erkin and sighed

"...Erkin, The problem with you is that you're too nice."

"Thanks for the help, anneta. but I feel guilty towards the owner since I still need your help dealing with customers. I know there's alot of criticism of hiring a northerner...."

"everyone should be great that your working here. I've never seen anyone

who knows herbs as well as you, erkin!"

"I cant still believe that they're still picking sides and calling people "northerners"..."

"haha"

erkin suddenly remembered what Mr. Jenkin's said and he suddenly felt quite sad.

erkin looked at the window and deep inside his kind and thought he says to himself...

the days of the northern nations and the southern kingdom ended of mormerrata... many years ago.

My home, the north... used to be federation of various villages, coexisting deep inside the mountains.

^^^but, after the war, its was conquered by the kingdom of mormerrata, leaving only traces behind.^^^

after successfully bringing the north to it knees.

^^^king mormerrata has named himself^^^

^^^"the conqueror"^^^

however, none of his victories would succeed without "her" by his side...

the "witch" of the sun, hildegar aelius...!

wielder of light and fire, she is said that she has been blessed by the goddess kariya, the sun goddess herself.

the angel of death in cantalus, the subduer of the north...

in the north, among her many names, she was known as the "witch of the sun"

^^^but in reality she was closer to a knight than a witch.^^^

her light magic was powerful enough to burn down a mountain and her inhuman ability to recover made her almost immortal...

^^^fantasticks either worshipped or feared her great power, so she concealed her true identity from those not close to her.^^^

some say she is a very tall, old woman

^^^other say she is so sensuous and captivating that both man and woman find themselves bewitched by her.^^^

...one thing for certain is that she has fought In battle in such a young age....

...and after receiving land and title, she is now living in a secluded life...

..."actually I dont care any of that."...

...the witch of the sun, she......

anneta suddenly spoke right into his ears that made him startled

"by the way, did you heard the news, erkin?"

"H...Huh?!"

"Apparently the royal family is inquiring on physicians, apothecaries, and even filthy sorcerers from every region was is in search of something!"

"AHEM! since one of my sister is one of the knights of the order, I told her you're the best in the capital if they're looking for a talented pharmacist!"

erkin suddenly laughed and said...

"Haha, I dont know what the knights are looking for, but I am honored that you think of me that way."

Anneta was suddenly stunned and made her heart beat faster because of erkin's smile and cuteness.

erkin and anneta heard the creak of the door and the ding of the bell they saw two suspicious man wearing a hoodie with swords.

the two suspicious man entered the store and anneta was so confused erkin and anneta all did was stare at each other.

the man who has a purple hood spoke and asked. while the other guy with the almost black hood was suspiciously looking around.

"is the the linderman store?"

erkin answered

"yes... yes, it is. the lindermanns aren't here right now."

the person that has a black hood suddenly spoke out of nowhere.

"I heard you sell herbs here, do you handle them yourself?"

"Yes. we only carry a few, but we have regular customers who come from time to time. is there something your looking for?"

the two if the man with the hoodie on stared at erkin and said

"...you must be a northerner."

erkin was in shock when the men suddenly said that, infront of him

erkin looked at the guy whose standing beside to the man who has a purple hoodie on, and erkin looked at the man's sword. but the man hid his sword by covering it with his hoodie.

(in erkins mind)

"... This men..."

and erkin answered without being scared he just answered confidently.

"...How Can I Help You?"

the two men looked at each other and they nodded at the same time.

"..."

"we are in need of your skills."

a man gave erkin a random piece of letter and the man said

"if you would like to hear our offer come to this place tomorrow."

"and if you meet our expectations, you'll be rewarded handsomely."

the two man that offered erkin left the store without hesitation. but both of them suddenly were weak in the knees because of how terrifying the men's are.

"T...that was scary-"

"Yeah..."

anneta suddenly yelled

"what's going on today?! first Mr. Jenkins, now those weird looking hooded jerks! why people are so obsessed with you... being a northerner!"

erkin didnt do anything but think with the sword that he saw with the men earlier.

(erkin's thought)

it was hidden in their cloak, but a sword like that...

^^^belong to a knight of the order!^^^

^^^the royal emirk knights...!^^^

elite guards of the royal family...

what kind of task has the royal emrik knights looking for someone like me?!

what does the mormerattas want from me...?

erkin looked at the paper that the men earlier gave him and he squeezed it into his hands and said to his mind...

"This might be..."

"...the chance that I have been looking for!"

^^^To be continued...^^^

by the way, we update every Saturday or Sunday.

and we write every Tuesday and Wednesday, the novel will get released on Saturday or Sunday. but if we encountered a problem with the publishing we'll try again and re do everything. (btw the photo is a unfinished drawing I got lazy so I just putted orange and putted white as highlight -.-)

btw If anyone wanna chat on WhatsApp (Vlad)

just enter the the name Vlad Hoshin or just scan this QR CODE.

Vlad Hoshin is available anytime. but if he's sleeping obviously he won't see your messages lmáo

in middle of the night erkin was walking alone and followed what the two weirdly men said, to go to a place where he can be rewarded nicely.

erkin was trying to look for the people but he did not see any people around, so he thought he got the wrong address.

but suddenly someone spoke and said

"Stop Right There." the man with a luxury clothes came closer and closer to erkin. and the men spoke again.

"Thank You For Coming, Pharmacist, my name is Griselda elva."

..."My Master Is in need of your help"...

erkin was curious why is her surname "Elva"

and she thinked that she is Ms. Anneta's Sister.

(Mind)

"Griselda Elva...? if her surname is elva, She Must Be Anneta's Sister, the royal emirk knight...!"

"As u thought, I'm dealing with someone powerful enough to command the royal emirk knights..."

erkin realized that he's talking to royal emirk that is powerful enough to command the royal knights, so he answered.

"...how can I service?"

Elva Answered really fast without no hesitation.

"it's not very difficult. just listen to the symptoms that I'm gonna describe and offer me the best remedy that you could think of."

Erkin was felt ill after the emirk knight said that she'll "describe" it and not see the patient itself.

"Excuse Me?... it would be better if I see the patient myself..."

the emirk knight answered

"That will not be possible."

erkin was confused why he's not allowed to see the patient himself

"...?"

The emirk replied really fast that he didnt answered erkin's question. and the emirk just explained what the illness and asked if he got any medicine for the illness.

"Now, Let me tell you. The Patient is fine when the sun is up, but when the sun sets, the patient burns in pain."

"Once Night Falls, their body cools as if nothing happened,"

"But then Dries Up and hardens starting with the extremities..."

"are you familiar with this illness, and do you have a medicine for it?"

erkin wasn't really familiar with the illness, so he just answered.

(Mind)

what an outrageous explanation.

"is this supposed to be riddle?"

the emirk was annoyed and replied.

"I'm not the type to joke around, northerner.."

erkin was scolwed that he putted an bad-tempered face. So He Just answered the emirk without any hesitation.

"I can't say for certain...I have heard a few times of an illness that involves hardening of the body."

"But never a condition that improves when the sun rises and worsens when it set. you could be dealing with sorcery not an illness..."

the emirk spoke really fast and had a annoyed face on her face that she doesnt care about anything to his explanation if it's a sorcery or an illness.

"I didn't ask for your speculations. Do You have a remedy or not?"

"Since I cant identify the illness, I wont be able to offer you something that remedies the cause, but maybe we can offer you a symptomatic treatment..."

erkin reaches for his bag and opened the bag and grab a treatment that can maybe cure the disease

and erkin said all that he has

"Angelica Root"

^^^... "Elm Leaves"...^^^

the emirk spoke suddenly

"You know quite Alot, for someone like you your so young."

"My Parents were Pharmacists, so I know the basics of different herbs."

"Are They Skilled than you?"

"I'm sure they were. But they were killed in the war eight years ago."

erkin grabbed something and said.

"Here, You can have these."

"they're dried lousewort shoot, decoct it over a weak fire for and feed it to the patient. be sure not to boil it. if its urgent make the patient bite it."

The emirk knight was confused that she said

"I've never seen this in my life..."

"That's because these herbs came from the "North" maybe that's because you've never seen them before."

"My business here is all done, that's all I can help you, it's up to the patient if he or she doesnt want to use it."

erkin walked away and returned to the village while Elva He was watching him go away, and then Elva Spoke...

"it's sunrise, Master Hildegar... you dont have to come out here yourself."

A woman with a clean and luxury hoodie came closer to elva and said

"What Do You think, griselda? do you think it'll work this time?"

the beautiful woman removed her hood

"...Master Hildergar."

"He sounded Confident, Did he not?"

"But if he finds out who he's treating, he may bear a grudge against you, so you must be careful. there are many who are after your life both inside and outside of mormerrata"

"No one even knows your identity or the fact that you've grown weak."

"Especially a Northerner."

Hildegar suddenly spoke, and elva was shocked. that she paused herself.

"griselda, did you see his eyes?"

"His eyes? why, do you recognize him?"

Hildegar Putted her hood back on and kept moving forward and just said to elva that it was...

"No... It's nothing."

**Time Skip**

in the early morning in the village he was helping the lindermann but he was dazed.

"...rkin!"

"I told you to put that back into the store!"

"o...oh! right, y-you did, sorry Mr. Lindermann."

Mr. Lindermann just laughed

"Haha, you've been daydreaming alot lately. is there something in your mind?"

"Or... A lady that you fancy?"

"N-no, it's not like that! Mr. lindermann!"

"Haha! this fellow."

"..."

(erkin's thought)

...dame griselda. I have never heard of her before until she took the herbs. she would had run our of herbs right now...

there is no way that I could reach her... I wonder if the patient recovered. it seemed like a good chance for me to draw closer to the royal family. but maybe it was just a wishful thinking after all...

(end of the thought)

when the sun rised and it set, master hildergar was burning again.

she was screaming and suffering because she was burning when the sun sets.

elva heard hildergar scream, so elva dashed into the room to help her master in need.

"Master Hildergar..!"

"ughh... Ahhhh...!"

Hildergar was trembling and shaky badly.

"She was fine The past few days..!"

a random woman that works for the royal family said...

"She has not taken any medicine since yesterday! even she thought she has been recovered..!"

"where is the medicine?"

"We ran out since yesterday, we only have what the court physicians have prepared...!"

"Then bring those right aw-..."

Hildergar shouted and refusing to take what the court physicians has prepared for her. she just ordered elva to bring erkin to him

"No!"

elva was surprised.

"Master Hildergar!"

hildergar was catching her breathing and ordered elva to bring the pharmacist northerner. (erkin)

"The northerner...! BRING ME THE NORTHERNER!"

^^^ TO BE CONTINUED...^^^