The rest of the elves instinctively lowered their bows just slightly, curiosity cutting through their tension.
Their eyes darted toward the satchel Luca was holding up, expecting something grand or dangerous.
Yet, to their confusion, it looked entirely ordinary.
A weathered shoulder bag of woven forest fiber, the kind any elf might use to carry herbs, scrolls, or dried berries.
There was nothing special about it. Nothing that screamed danger or significance.
The elves exchanged puzzled looks, whispering quietly among themselves.
"Is he trying to trick us?" One muttered.
"Maybe there's a weapon inside." Another said.
"It's...just a bag." Someone else whispered, confused.
But before the tension could ease, a sharp, startled gasp cut through the murmurs.
It came from Leona.
The matriarch's eyes had widened the instant she got a proper look at the bag. Her bowstring slackened in her grip, and she lowered her weapon just slightly as she leaned forward, trying to see it more clearly.
For a long, tense moment, she said nothing.
Then, as realization dawned in her eyes, her expression changed—her lips parted in disbelief, her pupils trembled, and even her ears twitched faintly.
Her fingers, still gripping her bow, began to shake.
And then—her composure broke.
With a sudden, almost feral motion, she pulled her bowstring back once more, this time fully drawn, the arrowhead gleaming as it pointed straight at Luca's head.
"HUMAN!"
She roared, her voice trembling with fury and something deeper—fear, perhaps.
"TELL ME WHERE YOU GOT THAT BAG! NOW!"
The force of her voice made even the wind still.
Her usually cold, controlled tone had cracked, replaced with an anger so raw it startled even her soldiers.
"If you lie to me." She hissed. "I will shoot you where you stand. Do you understand me?! Tell me the owner of that bag is alive! If anything has happened to her, if you've harmed her in any way—"
Her voice caught mid-sentence. The rage in her eyes was burning so brightly it almost hid the grief flickering behind it.
Even Nyx—normally calm, teasing, ever so unshakable—had gone still. Her eyes darkened, her playful smile fading entirely as realization dawned.
The gentle warmth in her face vanished, replaced by the quiet fury of a serpent preparing to strike.
"Earlier..." She said slowly, her gaze fixed on Luca. "My nieces mentioned that you had done them no harm...and that you had some purpose for visiting our village."
She paused, each word deliberate.
"They said you seemed like a man worth listening to—that you were calm, respectful, perhaps even kind."
"Because of that, I intended to stop whatever bloodshed might have occurred before my sister ordered everyone to shoot you and hear what you had to say. I had thought we could talk peacefully."
Her tone then dropped lower, more venomous.
"But now that you've shown that bag, everything has changed."
A cold wind seemed to sweep through the air as she took another step closer to the edge of the platform, her voice steady yet terrifying.
"I hope, for your sake, that the next words you speak are the truth." She said, her tone trembling with restrained fury. "Because if I hear the wrong words come from your mouth..."
"I will not let these arrows kill you quickly."
"I will make them shoot you through your legs, so you'll live long enough to feel every second of what comes next."
Her gaze flickered, her voice lowering into a threat that sent shivers through even the bravest elf present.
"And when they drag you away, I'll make sure to torment you in the worst ways possible for every breath until you've paid for whatever you've done."
Her final words came like a whisper laced with venom.
"And since I really don't want to get my hands dirty, I pray you haven't harmed the one that bag belonged to."
The crowd of elves erupted in murmurs again, this time with fear and anger twisting their expressions.
They didn't understand what was happening—but Nyx's and Leona's reactions were enough to tell them this was no ordinary matter.
Even Luna and Lulu, who had never seen their aunt angry before, took an instinctive step back.
Lulu gripped her sister's hand tightly, whispering.
"I've never seen her like this…"
Luna could only nod silently, her chest tightening.
For all her mother's coldness, her aunt had always been the calm one—smiling through arguments, finding humor in chaos, speaking with wit even in crisis.
To see her so furious...it was terrifying.
Luna finally stammered out.
"A-Auntie Nyx...whose bag is that? Why are you both so angry? What's happening?"
Nyx's expression softened for a brief moment as she took in the two trembling girls. She inhaled slowly, steadying herself before she finally answered.
"That bag…" She began, her tone heavy with emotion. "That bag belonged to the previous matriarch of our people."
The crowd froze.
Leona's arrow didn't move. Her expression twisted, grief flashing beneath her anger.
Nyx's voice grew softer, sadder, as she went on.
"I remember it well. She used to carry it everywhere—when she went gathering herbs, when she traveled to meetings, even when she walked through the forest to bless the springs."
Her lips trembled slightly as she finished.
"That bag...belonged to your grandmother."
A wave of shock rippled through the gathered elves. Gasps echoed across the treetop bridges.
"The Grand Matriarch's bag?"
"Then this human. Did he…?"
"No...No, it can't be…"
The realization struck all of them at once—the human standing below was carrying the personal satchel of their former matriarch, the woman who had led them for nearly two centuries.
What did that mean?
Had he met her?
Had something happened to her?
Had...he killed her?
The elves' eyes hardened. Dozens of bowstrings drew tight again, the air vibrating with mana and fury.
Luna and Lulu stood frozen, torn between confusion and fear, as every elf in the village raised their weapons once more—this time with far more conviction than before.
Yet amidst the chaos, Luca stood calmly in the center of it all, lowering the bag.
"Finally." He said, spreading his arms slightly. "I get to speak."
The words stunned everyone. Even Leona faltered for a second.
"I've been trying to do that from the very beginning." Luca continued, his tone still light despite the lethal atmosphere. "All I wanted was a chance to explain myself before getting turned into a porcupine and it seems my time in the spotlight as finally arrived."
He then slung the satchel back over his shoulder, and looked at Leona and Nyx with a much more serious gaze.
"I'm guessing..." He said slowly. "...that your mother—the previous Matriarch—has been missing for a few weeks now?"
Nyx's eyes narrowed, but she nodded.
"Yes." She said softly. "She left a letter before she vanished. It said not to worry...that she was going on a journey. One that would 'save us all.'"
Her voice trembled slightly, the memory clearly paining her.
"She didn't say where she was going or what she meant. Since then, no one has heard from her. We've searched, but...nothing."
Luca nodded, his expression understanding.
"Then I can probably fill in the blanks for you."
Leona's voice cracked with restrained fury.
"Did you meet her? Was she captured by humans? Tell me...what happened to her?"
"Calm down." Luca said, raising both hands gently. "Nothing like that happened. She wasn't captured. She wasn't harmed."
Then his tone deepened, taking on a quiet gravity that made even the leaves above seem to still.
"Tell me..."
He said, his gaze locking onto Leona's.
"Did she ever mention something called the Hero Summoning?"