My Five Yandere Goddesses

"By The Ears of an Urban Elf"

Second Age of Elyndros

7th of Februarius, Year 10980

Havencrow City - night time.

The heavy wooden door of the tavern creaked open, spilling a faint glow of firelight onto the shadowed street.

Cael stepped into the night, the quiet air brushing against his cheeks like a cold whisper. The world of Elyndros slumbered under the twilight, but the stars - silver and humming with celestial energy - twinkled restlessly above.

He took a deep breath of the cool Havencrow air. It smelled faintly of iron and magic, of wood smoke and ambition.

For Cael, this night was not one of rest. It was the beginning of something. He felt it - like a knot inside his chest waiting to be undone.

He didn't notice the figure standing against the alley wall to his right, half-shrouded by shadows.

The man had long silver-blond hair, combed back with careless elegance, and pale olive skin. His pointed ears were partially hidden beneath a leather hood, but his stance - crossed arms, leaned posture - spoke of predatory confidence.

An Urban Elf.

"I heard what you said in there, little human.," the elf said, his voice sleek as oil and just as slippery.

Cael stopped mid-step and turned, his blue eyes blinking with innocent curiosity. "You did?"

The elf smirked. "Hard not to. I've got good ears. It's a race thing."

Cael offered a gentle, hopeful smile. "Do you… want to come with me, then?"

The elf raised an eyebrow, amused at how easily the boy offered trust. He tilted his head, letting the moonlight glint off his violet irises.

His name was Kareth. Kareth of the Vilewood Lineage. Banished long ago from the Elven Courts for crimes best left unspoken.

Kareth saw a perfect opportunity.

"I might," he said with a casual shrug. "Always looking for adventure. Especially the profitable kind."

He pushed off the wall and fell into stride beside Cael, who seemed genuinely happy to have someone accompany him. The young mage had no idea he had just invited a snake into his garden.

Urban Elves were a cautionary tale in Elyndros. Once highborn warriors and sages of the eternal forests, they were now exiles and criminals. Twisted by their own desires, they embedded themselves within human, dwarven, skinchangers, seamen society, pretending to help, always waiting for the perfect moment to twist the dagger.

Kareth had done this before. Many times.

He'd travel with a naive rookie adventurer. Win their trust. Learn their strengths. Wait until they wandered too close to danger - then disappear, let the monsters feast, and return later to loot their corpse.

And Cael, with his boyish face and bright eyes, was the easiest mark yet.

"I'm Kareth, by the way," the elf said as they walked through the outer gates of Havencrow City, entering the vast woodlands beyond. "And you're Cael, right?"

Cael nodded politely. "Yes. Nice to meet you."

They passed through winding dirt paths, where glowing fungi lit the trail like scattered fireflies. The moon loomed high over the Kindred Forest, a sacred stretch of wildland said to once be blessed by ancient nature spirits before being devoured by greed and time.

Inside the thick and mysterious Kindred Forest.

"So what class are you, Cael?" Kareth asked, slipping his hands into his dark cloak.

"Enforcer," Cael replied, softly. "A Celestial Mage."

Kareth stopped walking.

"…Excuse me?"

Cael turned. "That's what I was told when I joined the Hunter's Dogma."

"A celestial mage?" Kareth repeated. His eyes narrowed. "You're joking."

"No. I only have one spell right now," Cael said honestly, pulling open the corner of his tattered inventory scroll. A flickering glyph glowed on the parchment.

He lifted a hand.

A small barrier spell formed - a transparent dome of light magic, barely enough to deflect a thrown rock.

Kareth's lip curled.

A celestial mage was a title granted to those gifted with cosmic affinity, the rarest and most powerful type of magical inheritance.

Celestial mages were chosen directly by the gods of Elyndros. They could level armies, rewrite matter, and collapse mountains… eventually.

But this? This was… laughable.

Kareth's gaze lingered on the faint shimmer of Cael's barrier. He's a fraud, he thought. Or worse - some divine mistake. That made things easier. His smirk returned.

"You'll get stronger," Kareth said, clapping him on the back. "You've got that… sparkle about you."

Cael gave him a hopeful glance. "You really think so?"

"Absolutely," the elf lied.

They continued walking for hours, crossing over a wooden bridge that swayed with the breeze, through the moss-drenched corridors of ancient ruins, and past the corpse of a fallen treant - the size of a carriage, long since petrified.

The silence between them was broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves and the haunting calls of nightbirds.

Kareth glanced at the map Cael carried. They were closing in. Once they reached the Silent Marsh, he'd 'get lost' on purpose. He'd already picked the best ambush spot - a hollowed cave just west of the marsh's edge.

But then -

A scream.

A woman's scream.

Shrill. Sharp. Full of terror.

Both Cael and Kareth froze.

It came from deeper in the woods. Just to the east.

Cael instinctively turned toward it.

"We have to help her!"

Kareth raised a hand. "Hold on. Could be a trap."

"But what if it's not?" Cael asked. "She might be in real danger."

The way he said it… So genuine. So certain. Kareth hadn't heard that kind of moral clarity in a long time. He scowled.

"Fine," the elf muttered. "But if this is a bandit ambush, I'm blaming you."

Cael nodded and sprinted forward, pushing through the underbrush, guided by instinct and heart.

They burst into a clearing lit by broken moonlight.

As they broke through the underbrush, the scene unfolded before them:

A young human girl, no older than twenty, was tied up like an animal, roped from ankles to wrists, tossed over a log. She squirmed in vain, eyes wide with terror, tears streaking her dirt-smeared cheeks.

Around her were red goblins - short, grotesque creatures with leathery crimson skin, jagged yellow teeth, beady eyes, and crude weapons. They laughed, snorted, and barked in glee, circling their prey.

The Red Goblins of Elyndros

The Red Goblins are among the most vile and despised races in Elyndros. Small in stature but overflowing with malice, they are known for their twitching, hyperactive movements, shrill laughter, and warped cruelty. Their skin is a dark, sickly crimson - almost as if forever soaked in blood. With jagged teeth, bulbous eyes, and clawed fingers, these creatures live for chaos, sadism, and survival through domination.

They are not warriors of honor nor monsters of noble wrath - they are scavengers of flesh and soul. When not engaged in wars for territory, Red Goblins turn their violent lusts toward the most unspeakable of acts: female capture and breeding. Human women and mermaids, in particular, are their grotesque obsessions. They infest forests, caverns, and corrupted ruins, building breeding dens where their victims are imprisoned, force-fed raw meat, and bred endlessly to create more of their kind.

To many, Red Goblins are a living nightmare - an ancient curse that should have been purged from Elyndros long ago. Even hardened warriors hesitate when hearing of a goblin nest. To encounter them is to see the face of depravity, and to spare them is to curse the innocent.

Cael's face paled.

He'd heard stories.

Stories of red goblins kidnapping women. Stories of hellish pits beneath the forests and mountains where they bred their victims to death.

Stories of the Seawives of Liorae, mermaids dragged from the coasts to serve as breeders in stone cages.

And a girl, once from Havencrow… bred to death over months.

"No…" Cael whispered, horrified. "I can't let this happen."

He turned to Kaleth. "Help me."

Kaleth scoffed. "Help her? Why? It's a waste of time. She's already gone."

"But - "

"She's no one. A peasant. You'll die trying to save her."

Cael clenched his fists. There was a trembling in him - but not of fear. Of conviction.

"I'm not strong… but if I turn away now, then I don't deserve this power. If I die, I die doing what's right."

Kaleth narrowed his eyes.

"You're an idiot," the elf muttered.

Cael stepped forward, drawing his magic dagger, its simple hilt glimmering faintly.

Then he charged.

The goblins shrieked and turned.

With a wave of his hand, Cael cast his weak barrier, placing it over the bound girl. It shimmered, barely holding, but it was there.

Then, from the left, a larger goblin, at least half a man taller than the rest, barreled into Cael.

CRACK!

Cael was thrown back like a ragdoll, crashing into a tree. Pain shot through his ribs. His HP plummeted.

The red goblins laughed, shrieking like children.

The large goblin stomped toward him, club raised.

Cael tried to lift his dagger. His vision blurred.

The goblin roared -

Then froze.

A glimmer of light.

A magic arrow pierced through its heart.

The large red goblin let out a gurgled cry and collapsed in a heap.

All eyes turned toward the trees.

The goblins hissed, screeched.

Cael blinked… blood dripping from his lip… eyes struggling to focus.

Someone… had just saved him.