Mahokako

Mahokako nudged a glowing crystal shard aside with their apple stick, making room for a new sapling. Before this orchard, the stick was for tripping up sentries, not tilling soil. Before the sweet strawberry milk they sipped at noon, their nights tasted of metal and the ozone from the wizards' fortress. They were once a whisper, a blade for hire among the powerful magicians of The Crystal Highlands of Armaria, retrieving forbidden artifacts and silencing rivals. But one mission led them to a chamber where a soul was being unwoven, thread by thread, just to power a monolith. They walked away that night and never looked back. These days, they squint at the sunsets, not for targets, but to gauge the weather. The suspicion, however, never left their eyes.