Chapter 42 - The beginning of the journey.
The fire in the hearth gave enough warmth to hold the night cold beyond the tightly shut shutters, and the air in the room hung heavy and still, soaked through with the smell of dry wood and cold food.
Bernard sat at the table with his elbows pressed into the surface, recounting events for a long while now in a steady voice, going through what had happened in the Great Forest in strict order.
Elara listened with her hands folded in her lap, while Leo settled beside her with his neck craned forward, and Erik leaned his back against the wall, looking at the floor in front of him.
When Bernard fell silent, Erik kept his eyes on the floorboards for a long moment.
"So...Aren really...defeated the Beast-God?..." he asked.
Bernard slowly nodded, in no hurry to continue.
"And after Aren touched the tree, and that...pillar of light faded...I looked at Aren and saw that the person standing before me was already different."
Elara watched Bernard with unconcealed wariness, shifting her gaze from his hands to his face, until she caught on it a calm, brief smile stripped of its usual weight, and her eyebrows rose slightly.
"Before me at last stood Aren, and the lost look in his eyes was gone...only resolve and certainty." Bernard continued.
Everyone in the room was silent, picturing what they had just heard and in no hurry to add anything.
Bernard grinned, leaning more comfortably on his elbows and letting his gaze pass over each person in the room one by one.
"But beyond that, I was struck by something else, when I suddenly saw the energy itself began to coalesce all across the clearing by the Great Tree. And from that energy, right before my eyes, magical beasts formed...Cortexes...boars...kestrels...And you know what? They all gathered around us, and I gripped my axe, thinking we were screwed...but then every one of those creatures bowed before him."
Leo let his mouth fall slightly open, not taking his eyes off the storyteller.
"Aren turned to the kestrels and said: 'Help the survivors out of the forest.' Then he climbed onto one of them himself...I asked him where he was headed, but he said nothing and simply flew off, while one of those giant birds landed before me and offered me its back."
"Holy shit..." Leo breathed.
Elara turned to him, slowly raising a meaningful eyebrow, and Leo quickly caught himself.
Erik was quiet for a moment before slowly lifting his gaze from the floor.
"By the way...Aren didn't say when he'd be back from the castle?" he asked.
Bernard slowly shook his head, adding nothing to the gesture.
"The queen personally wanted to speak with him, and unfortunately, I wasn't invited to that conversation." he said.
Erik let out a quiet breath, leaning back against the wall, while Elara turned thoughtfully toward the window.
The main hall of the royal castle greeted them with silence, broken only by the brief crackling of torches along the stone walls.
Edith sat on the throne with a straight back, and on either side of her stood Alistair and Ulrich, silent and motionless.
Further back, by the far columns, stewards and lords of the land stood still, awaiting the outcome of the audience.
Aren stood on one knee at the foot of the throne steps, his head lowered, while behind him Aris and Magister Kyle had likewise knelt.
Edith held the silence, studying the bowed figure at the foot of her throne.
"Please, raise your head. I don't want our savior kneeling before me."
Aren slowly rose from his knee, straightening to his full height, while Kyle and Aris remained as they were.
Edith looked at him, in no hurry to continue, letting the silence settle.
"Aren...having heard from you the truth of why Ursus attacked the warriors, and what his true motives were...and about this...titan...I still must ask...You truly want me to drop the charges against the Magister, even despite the fact that he broke our laws?"
Aren raised his gaze directly to her, not looking away for a moment.
"Yes."
Edith narrowed her gaze slightly, reading the certainty on his face, then turned to Thorne. He responded with a quiet nod and a slight smile, saying nothing.
Edith turned her gaze to those still kneeling, her face returning to its former composure.
"Kyle, Aris, rise."
Both rose obediently, straightening to their full height before the throne.
"My duty, as the keeper of the laws of this kingdom, is to judge you, at the very least for conducting your secret activities on the sacred territory of Waldruhm."
Kyle and Aris looked down, their clasped hands tightening slightly.
"However...the duty of a queen whose home and kingdom were saved by this man...likewise tells me that I am bound to honor his request."
Aris and Kyle raised their eyes to the queen, and Edith, after a brief pause, let out a quiet breath.
"I am dropping the charges against you, and dismissing the trial."
Both let out a small breath, exchanging quick glances, allowing themselves barely perceptible smiles. Edith gave them a moment, then addressed them again with firmness in her voice.
"However, remember that all of this is because of Aren. And even if you helped in the battle against the Aisengardians, that would not have undone your violations."
Kyle inclined his head in a respectful bow, not raising his eyes.
"Of course, Your Majesty. I understand this, and I will value your leniency and wisdom. I am grateful to you for your decision."
Aris silently repeated the bow after him, lowering her head slightly deeper.
"It is not me you need to thank and value." Edith replied.
Kyle raised his gaze to Aren's back, then lowered his head again.
"Of course...and I am sincerely grateful to you...Aren." the magister said.
Aren stood motionless, looking straight ahead and not turning toward him.
Edith held a moment of silence, gathering her thoughts before addressing the young man.
"Aren...as the hero who saved our lands, you have every right to ask anything of the crown, within reason, and I would be glad to repay you in words and in material terms alike."
Aren lowered his gaze for a moment, spending several long seconds in silence.
"That is not entirely so, since all of this started because of me. Ursus would not have attacked if he had not been searching for me. And so I do not consider myself the kind of hero the fallen warriors were, those who truly fought for the protection of Waldruhm."
"Nevertheless—" Edith began, but the young man would not let her finish.
"Nevertheless, I do have a request I would like to make...but not as a Hero, rather as a person who needs a little support before a long road..." Aren said.
Edith parted her lips slightly, holding the question back until Aren continued.
"I must set out on a long journey. To lands I have only heard of..."
Edith listened to his words carefully, remembering herself young, kneeling before the Jarl of distant lands with those same words on her lips, before she left on a long journey as a warrior.
"I have heard you...and you may be certain we will give you everything you need." the queen replied.
Aren smiled, inclining his head slightly in a brief bow.
"Thank you."
Edith slowly rose from the throne, turning to the lords and stewards by the columns.
"The royal council will convene after sundown."
Everyone bowed respectfully, and Edith descended the throne steps, after which those present began to disperse.
Aren headed for the exit, passing Kyle, but had not taken more than a few steps before the magister called out to him.
"Aren!"
Aren stopped mid-step, slowly turning to meet the magister's waiting gaze.
Kyle shifted slightly from foot to foot, raising his gaze to the young man.
"I don't want to impose, but...if you truly are setting out on a long journey...allow me to repay you with gratitude in the form of information...at the very least you can count on a man from the Trade League, which has connections with most of Prime's nations..."
Aren looked at him with surprise for a few moments, then smiled, inclining his head in a brief, agreeable nod.
The inner garden of the castle opened on all four sides with stone galleries of overhanging balconies, through whose railings climbing stems of ivy wound their way.
In the center of the courtyard stood an old tree with a wide, spreading crown that cast a soft shadow over the gravel paths.
Along the edges of the flower beds servants moved unhurriedly, tending to the flowers, while above them butterflies fluttered tirelessly, settling on petals and drifting off again.
Aren and Kyle sat at a small table by a bench in the shade of the crown, leaning back at ease, while the conversation flowed without any hurry.
The conversation had covered much ground before Kyle went quiet for a moment, looking somewhere toward the fence.
"I must admit, I did not think titans truly existed...and still do...I had heard something of the sort, but thought it was only the inventions and legends of antiquity." the magister said.
Aren held a moment, directing his gaze above the crown of the tree.
"Bjorg-Var also showed me that in every person who has magical abilities, there is a special particle that allows one to use the energy of the Unified Field for magic."
Kyle smiled, dropping his gaze to the table for a moment, while his hands lay calmly folded before him.
"That particle is called the Pandorum." the magister replied.
"Pandorum..." Aren repeated thoughtfully.
Kyle placed his palms on the table, sitting up straight, speaking evenly and without hurry.
"It was first written about in the last century, in the records of the Republic of Helios. Then researchers began finding religious and historical parallels in the records of other peoples, which led scholars from the Trade League to one single theory, giving it the name Pandorum." Kyle continued.
Aren looked at his palm, holding his gaze on it for several seconds.
"And what exactly makes it special?"
"Do you know what conversion is?" Kyle asked in return.
Aren shook his head silently, and Kyle laughed softly, leaning forward, placing his hands on the table and beginning to gesture.
"Imagine a red-hot sword in the hands of a blacksmith, who plunges it into cold water. What happens?"
"Hissing and steam." Aren replied.
"Exactly. And do you know why the steam appears?"
"The moisture evaporates. That is one of the core foundations of Aisengardian technology."
Kyle nodded approvingly, then continued, still accompanying his words with gestures.
"So, when we plunge a red-hot sword into cold water, the sharp difference in temperature between the heated metal and the cold water causes it to evaporate. The greater the difference, the faster and more powerfully that process occurs. And that, in a sense, is conversion."
"We converted the water into steam..." Aren murmured quietly.
Kyle snapped his fingers in the air, briefly pointing at him.
"Exactly."
Aren let his gaze drift across the garden, turning the thought over, while Kyle went on.
"And the Pandorum is a kind of converter. It transforms the energy of the Unified Field, which permeates this entire world, into magical energy."
Aren crossed his arms, tilting his head slightly to one side.
"But for everyone who uses magic, it is often different..."
Kyle leaned back against the chair, looking at the young man calmly.
"We call them Conductors. They are those capable of conducting the energy of the Unified Field through themselves and converting it into magic. And people without the Pandorum are called Nulls. And yes, magic depends greatly on the type and power of the Pandorum that nature has given you."
"Conductors and Nulls...And what do you mean by the power of the Pandorum?"
Kyle held a pause, interlacing his fingers on the table and lowering his gaze to them, gathering his thoughts.
"The power of the Pandorum determines how much energy of the Unified Field a Conductor is able to convert in a short span of time. The greater the input energy, the greater the output power of the magic. However, it is equally important for the power of the Pandorum to correspond to the physical characteristics of its bearer. As a rule, every Conductor has their own limit on the use of magic, and upon reaching that limit, the Conductor inevitably begins to experience negative effects, collectively called Overload."
"Like what happened when your nose was bleeding?" Aren clarified.
Kyle laughed softly, leaning back again.
"Well done, you're right. You see, despite having quite a decent Pandorum power, I am no longer young, and my central nervous system can barely handle healing wounds as severe as, for example, Sir Aurey's severed hand."
"And what is the central nervous system?"
Kyle paused for a moment, shaking his head with a slight smile.
"To put it simply, the central nervous system is a branching network inside our bodies that connects the brain to the whole body. It is through it that the mind gives commands to the muscles, organs, and limbs. You move your arm, feel pain or warmth, breathe, and all of it passes through it in one way or another. We call it the CNS for short."
"So...it can happen that a person with a powerful Pandorum but a weak CNS can quickly injure themselves?"
"Yes, but it does not always happen that way. As a rule, the Pandorum is closely linked to the overall development of the Conductor's body. And so in most cases, if a Conductor has a powerful Pandorum, their body and CNS will be no less strong. And here we come to a very important point..."
The magister leaned forward again, placing his elbows on the table and interlacing his fingers, looking at his own hands.
"A Conductor is directly and very...very deeply connected to the Unified Field, even when not using magic. The Pandorum grants them the ability to use magic, and with it the stability of the entire organism, which grew and developed under conditions of direct connection with the Field and the Pandorum. And so, it is critically important for a Conductor to maintain a constant connection with the Unified Field, because if that connection is broken, the stability of all the body's processes will be immediately disrupted, which, over a prolonged absence, will lead to irreversible and even lethal consequences." Kyle said, shifting his gaze to Aren at the end.
Aren did not take his eyes off the magister's face, and Kyle looked at him with unconcealed gravity.
"Is that possible?" Aren asked quietly.
Behind them both a quiet voice sounded, breaking the drawn-out silence.
"You already know the answer to that question."
Aren and Kyle turned to see the queen standing a few steps away, alone, with quiet composure on her face and barely perceptible hints of a smile.
"Your Majesty!" both exclaimed, shooting up from their chairs at once.
Edith stopped them with a gentle gesture of a raised palm, stepping toward the table.
"There's no need. Please, sit. I only wanted to ask permission to join your interesting conversation." she said.
Aren and Kyle exchanged glances, then both nodded with a smile, and Edith unhurriedly settled onto the bench between them.
"Your Majesty...you said—" Aren began.
"Just Edith. Please. At least here, call me simply by my name." the queen interrupted him.
Aren faltered, shifting his gaze from her to the table, unable to find the right words.
"But you are..."
Edith let out a soft breath, allowing herself a smile in Aren's presence for the first time.
"What a stubborn one you are. Listen, once I was a warrior just like you. And I walked a road much like the one that awaits you. So let a woman feel the echoes of that past again, in this brief moment."
Aren went still, looking at her slightly tired but warm smile, unable to find words.
"Of course...I understand."
"Good." Edith replied.
Aren composed himself for a moment, looking toward the tree before bringing his gaze back to her.
"So then...you said I know the answer..." he said.
Edith leaned against the back of the bench, then narrowed her gaze toward Kyle. He felt an uncomfortable warmth at his temples, with absolutely nowhere to put his eyes.
"W...Why are you looking at me like that?..." Kyle said, visibly flustered.
"And have I given you leave to address me so familiarly?..." Edith said.
"W...But you said that to Aren..." Kyle began.
"Exactly. I said that to Aren. Do you want to end up in the dungeon again for disrespect to the crown?" Edith said.
Kyle's eyes went wide, unable to find an answer, while Aren sat with the same bewildered expression, not knowing how to react.
The next instant Edith threw her head back, barely holding back the laughter rising in her.
"I'm joking, old man. Relax."
"Old man?...I'm not even..." Kyle began.
Edith immediately cut him off, deliberately dropping her voice into a parody of Kyle.
"Blah blah...you said it yourself: 'I am no longer young, and my central nervous system can barely handle healing such severe wounds.'" Edith added.
Aren stared at her wide-eyed, struggling to reconcile in his mind the image of the cold ruler with this relaxed, laughing woman.
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Kyle sat with a stone face, staring into the empty air before him and finding nothing to say.
Edith moved sharply closer to the magister, bringing her face almost up to his.
"Hey...you've got...well, you know...the thing?..." she asked.
"What?" Kyle did not understand.
Edith said nothing, instead pursing her lips and breathing out a puff of air.
Kyle raised his eyebrows, then slowly turned away, pressing his lips together with an unmistakably reluctant expression.
"I do. But I'm not sharing" he said.
"What?!...You're refusing the crown?" Edith demanded.
"Honestly...this is an abuse of pow—" Kyle began.
A brief bolt of lightning ran across the surface of the table, and Kyle went silent at once.
Edith smiled slyly, watching his reaction with unconcealed triumph. Kyle reached under his robes with a heavy sigh, while Aren watched in silence, not understanding at all what they were talking about.
Kyle produced a small box, opened it, and took out a small, tightly wrapped bundle, which immediately found its way into Edith's hand.
Then he reached for a small metal object, but Edith stopped him with a light gesture.
"No need." she said.
Edith placed the bundle between her lips, raised her palm to her face, concentrated, and between her fingers a brief bolt of lightning snapped, lighting the tip of the bundle.
She drew in a slow breath, pulled it from her lips, and exhaled a thin stream of whitish smoke.
Aren's eyes went wide, and he immediately grimaced and coughed at the sharp smell.
"W...what is that..." he said, covering his mouth with his hand.
Edith laughed quietly, turning to him with a satisfied squint.
"Better you don't know, kid." she said.
Aren said nothing, and Edith, in no hurry with the silence, took another drag.
"So then, Aren. Tell me, do you remember what happened after Ursus produced that energy pulse, the one that made us all lose the ability to use magic?" Edith asked.
Aren opened his eyes wide, remembering that cold and deeply unpleasant feeling, and the paralysis of the first minutes after.
"That effect..." he murmured.
"It's called the Exdurum." Edith replied.
Kyle looked at her with bewilderment.
"Ursus put you into Exdurum?" Kyle clarified.
Edith took another drag and silently nodded in confirmation.
Kyle exhaled, his shoulders dropping, then shifted his gaze to Aren, who in return looked back and forth between the queen and him.
"The Exdurum is one of the most dangerous phenomena that can happen to a Conductor. When it occurs, the Conductor's Pandorum loses its connection to the Unified Field, completely isolating or cutting off. At that moment, as I said, a destabilization of the body's processes takes place, due to which the unprepared are immobilized in the first moments, feeling shock. The speed with which you are able to get back on your feet depends on your level of training and your body's adaptation." Kyle said.
"A good example would be Bernard. It seems he has been through this more than once, and so he was able to get back on his feet quickly. Though I am surprised you were able to join him so soon." Edith added.
"And yet, there are inevitable stages at which certain consequences occur for the Conductor, if the Exdurum has not passed." Kyle continued.
Aren and Edith turned to the magister, who shifted his gaze to the table, unhurriedly tapping point after point across its surface with his finger.
"The first stage is what's called the 'Dormant Phase', lasting a maximum of two days from the moment the Exdurum sets in and does not pass. In this phase, the Pandorum stops supporting certain biological processes, which disrupts the appetite, and ringing in the ears and brain fog set in." Kyle said.
Kyle tapped a finger slightly further along, moving to the second point on the table.
"The second stage begins when the Conductor has been under the effects of the Exdurum for more than two days, and lasts up to one week. In this period, the Conductor's body, accustomed to functioning in close connection with the Unified Field, begins to break down. A cascade of cellular disruptions occurs, due to which wounds stop healing, bones become increasingly brittle, skin cracks and deteriorates, and vision worsens, along with hearing and voice. Also sudden weakness, reduced cognitive function, loss of coordination, and hallucinations."
Kyle tapped a third time, slightly further to the right along the table's surface.
"The third stage is 'Terminal'. If the Conductor's Pandorum does not regain access to the Unified Field within seven to ten days, irreversible processes begin. For example, full degradation of the tissues and CNS, which leads first to partial, then to complete paralysis, brain damage, memory loss, and...death."
Aren listened without moving, not taking his eyes off the magister's fingers on the table.
"So...there are times...when the Exdurum does not pass for more than a week...and the Conductor dies?..." he asked.
Kyle nodded silently, not taking his eyes off Aren and adding nothing to it.
Aren held a pause, slowly turning over what he had heard, looking somewhere toward the flower beds.
"But I have one question..." he said.
"How was I able to continue fighting Ursus, if everyone was still under the effects of the Exdurum?..."
Kyle frowned, stroking his beard and shifting his gaze to the table, silently sorting through possible answers.
Edith took a deep drag, held the smoke, letting the silence stretch.
"Burnout." she said, slowly exhaling a cloud of whitish smoke.
Kyle shot his gaze at her with unconcealed astonishment, unable to gather his thoughts.
"What?...He entered Burnout?..." Kyle said.
Edith silently nodded in reply, not taking her gaze from the tip of the bundle in her hand.
"What is Burnout?" Aren asked.
Kyle cleared his throat, shifting his gaze to the young man with the expression of someone who still did not believe his own ears.
"Burnout is the second most dangerous phenomenon, which also belongs to the list of anomalous ones. It occurs exclusively during Exdurum, when the Pandorum for some reason loses its connection to the Unified Field, and the energy source in that case becomes...vital energy. And usually, the person after coming out of this state dies within a day, if not in the first few minutes."
Having finished on that note, the magister turned his gaze to Edith, who was looking at the table with a crestfallen expression.
"As I recall...King Edmund...during the battle against the creatures of the abyss...died for exactly that reason..." Kyle said quietly.
Edith held a pause, took one more long drag, held the smoke in her lungs, then slowly exhaled.
"Yes...that day...one of the creatures caught many warriors with its pulse...putting them into Exdurum...and to save us, Edmund in a surge of emotion entered the Burnout mode...or as it is also called here...the 'Berserker' state."
Aren and Kyle said nothing, not disturbing the silence that hung over the table.
Kyle raised his gaze to Aren, slowly studying his face.
"But how did you survive?..." Kyle asked quietly.
Aren thought for a moment, sifting through the knowledge Bjorg-Var had placed in him, and found the answer there.
"I believe...when I defeated Ursus...and absorbed his power...the remnants of his vital energy replenished what I had burned through...restoring my body as well." Aren said.
Kyle let his mouth fall open slightly, not taking his eyes off the young man.
"Absorbed?...What do you mean?"
Aren drew breath, already preparing to answer, but did not get the chance.
Edith was ahead of him by a fraction of a second, not letting him open his mouth.
"That is his personal matter." she said firmly.
Aren fell silent, and Kyle shifted his gaze to Edith, who looked at him with the firmness of a ruler, ready to shield Aren's secrets from any questioning.
Kyle sighed with a slight smile, accepting the silent answer for what it was.
"Of course...I am a man from the League after all...and it is to be expected that you don't trust me..."
Edith said nothing, and Kyle shifted his gaze to the table, smiling to himself.
"Ah...if only Maria were here in my place..."
The silence stretched, broken only by the quiet flutter of butterflies over the flower beds.
Aren was the first to break it, slowly shifting his gaze from the tree to the magister.
"Who is that?"
"She is...perhaps the purest...person of all who have ever lived in this world." Kyle said.
Aren let his mouth fall open slightly, looking at the magister with growing attention as the latter continued.
"Every representative of all nations, kings, rulers...knows her name...and her title...'Princess of the Dawn.'"
"Was she a princess in some kingdom? The daughter of some king?" Aren asked.
Kyle laughed slightly, slowly shaking his head from side to side.
"Oh no, she was an ordinary girl from a wealthy family in Port-Celeum. The Deicoin family."
Aren noticed that Edith sat in silence, while in her gaze there was a quiet respect for Kyle's story.
"Maria Deicoin was named the Princess of the Dawn because she possessed an unimaginable wisdom, warmth, and love for the whole world, which allowed her to do the impossible, namely, to unite the interests of all nations and kingdoms of Prime, and make the Trade League what it is today. She became the dawn of the League, and moreover, I have heard that she always conducted all negotiations and resolved even the most difficult conflicts at dawn, while preventing more than hundreds of wars and bloodsheds, creating in doing so both connection and peace across the whole world. In short, Maria was a former member of the Trade League council who managed to forge trade and friendly ties across all of Prime." Kyle said.
Aren listened to the magister without moving, unable to fully imagine the person being spoken of.
"But...how did she manage it?..." he asked.
Kyle exhaled with a quiet smile, shaking his head with the look of a man who knew he had no complete answer.
"Believe me, everyone would like to know the full answer to that question...myself included. She personally took part in all the Expeditions, and was not afraid to thrust herself into the most volatile flashpoints, resolving conflicts in the most varied ways...avoiding the worst outcomes, and reaching the best ones... And moreover, she is the first foreign person in all of Prime with whom the Shogun of the Mist himself agreed to meet in person."
Edith turned to the magister with wide eyes, clearly not expecting to hear that.
"Are you serious?..." she said.
Kyle silently gave a short nod in reply, leaning back with the look of a man accustomed to such stories.
Aren thought for a moment, his eyes drifting absently over the flower beds.
"And where is she now?"
Kyle was silent for a moment, lowering his gaze to his folded hands on the table.
"In the heavens."
Aren went still, slowly sinking into silence alongside that word.
"Some say it was an accident, but others...those who know...they remember that it was murder." Kyle said, clenching his fists.
Kyle slowly exhaled, his shoulders relaxing slightly, then gathered his thoughts.
"In any case, there is no point in dwelling on the past, since now, in the council, one could say her younger sister, Eliza, runs things."
"Does she follow her sister's path as well?" Aren asked hopefully.
Kyle laughed with mild disappointment, looking at Aren with good-natured sympathy.
"If only...however it is far more disheartening... If Maria was the Princess of the Dawn, then Eliza is the Princess of the Dusk. And the Dusk does not mean the end of the League is near...Eliza rules through fear and force, having chosen a harder path because she loved her older sister so deeply that she refuses to allow her mistakes. I think you will see it for yourself soon." Kyle said.
Aren looked away thoughtfully, his gaze settling on the garden flowers.
Kyle smiled again, patiently waiting for him to have his fill of silence.
"So...then, Aren...tell me, where are you planning to head?" Kyle asked.
Aren, without turning his head, continued to let his eyes drift over the flower beds.
"You said the first records about the Pandorum appeared in Helios?..." he said.
"Mm-hm." Kyle replied.
Aren turned to Edith with a question.
"Helios is the nearest nation, beyond the Divine Ridge, to the east, right?" he asked.
Edith silently nodded in reply, adding nothing to it.
Aren shifted his gaze to Kyle, who read the answer in that gesture and smiled with unconcealed pleasure.
"I see...in that case we will tell you about someone we know from there." the magister said.
Aren walked down the long corridor of the royal castle, thinking to himself and looking at the floor, until armored legs appeared before him.
He slowly raised his gaze to find Sir Alistair standing across his path.
"Sir Alistair." Aren said, giving a light bow.
"Aren." Alistair said, returning the bow, then straightened.
"Have you finished your conversation?" he asked.
"Yes, I was just heading to the Merry Ploughman, and then to the Golden Flow, to collect my things."
Alistair nodded silently, meeting his gaze steadily and without hurry.
"Is the queen still in the garden?"
Aren silently lowered his head in confirmation.
Alistair nodded, satisfied, but lingered without moving from his spot.
"Good...and one more thing...Aren..."
Aren raised his gaze to him, catching a slight smile on his face.
"Thank you...for saving us in the forest, and for saving Hart back then, at the tournament. You're a good lad, and it's a shame you're leaving us. I'm sure you would have made a fine and great knight."
Aren smiled in reply, modestly lowering his head and taking his time with the answer.
"Please...I still have a long way to grow before matching your experience."
Alistair laughed quietly, placing a heavy palm on Aren's head and running through his hair with rough tenderness, already moving toward the garden.
"Don't be modest. In the future, self-confidence might serve you well. See you around." Alistair said, not slowing his step.
Aren said nothing, smiling as he watched him until the turn of the corridor, then turned and continued on his way.
Passing one of the rooms, Aren froze mid-step, making out through the gap of a not quite closed door Aurey lying in bed.
He quietly pushed the door open, stepping across the threshold on tiptoe, trying to make no noise.
Aurey opened his eyes, slowly turning his head toward Aren and saying nothing.
With effort he tried to sit up, but his body responded with pain from all sides at once, and his bandaged head grew heavy, making him wince.
Aren quickened his step, immediately placing his hands on Aurey's shoulders, holding him still.
"Hey, stop, there's no need. You should stay lying down. I just wanted to make sure you were on the mend before I leave." he said, carefully settling the warrior back against the pillows.
Aurey sank back with a heavy sigh, not taking his eyes off Aren.
"Tha...nks..." Aurey said with effort.
Aren smiled warmly, taking a moment before replying.
"You are very strong."
Aurey said nothing, continuing to look at the young man with an open, searching gaze. Aren did not hurry the silence, looking at him with a pensive warmth.
"You are...also not from these lands, are you?..."
Aren shifted his gaze to the side, his eyes drifting thoughtfully over the details of the room.
"You know, you are the only one in this kingdom with hair as black as mine...and your magic is special..."
Aurey, without stirring, watched the young man's profile, frozen with a pensive smile.
"I think...you are special too...like me..."
Aurey's eyes went wide, not saying a word, yet not taking his gaze off the young man.
Aren continued, not changing his gaze, still directed somewhere to the side.
"I don't know why I'm saying this...probably because in the moment when I gave you part of my energy...I felt what a powerful faith...and at the same time what a struggle was in your heart...you were overflowing with feeling, though from the outside you seem cold and calm..." he said.
Aren turned his gaze to Aurey, catching in his eyes an unmistakable attentiveness.
Aren smiled once more, unhurriedly straightening to his full height.
"Well...it is time for me to go. Take care of yourself." he said, touching his palm to the warrior's bandaged shoulder.
Aren walked out of the room, slowly pulling the door shut behind him.
The Merry Ploughman held its familiar smell of hot food and warm wood. Selma moved between the tables with quiet composure on her face, setting a bowl of hot soup before Leo, while at the neighboring tables Bernard, Elara, Erik, Ray, Askir, Arswald, and Armund were talking.
Aren pushed open the tavern door, and everyone in the hall turned to him at once, going silent.
He froze in the doorway, feeling the gaze of the entire hall on him.
Their eyes met for a fraction of a second, before Elara smiled at him warmly, first.
The next instant the whole hall erupted in shouts of joy, and from all sides people rushed to Aren, wrapping their arms around his shoulders and nearly shaking him with excitement, filling the tavern with noise and the living warmth of embraces.
By the following morning a small convoy of wagons was already making its way east along the road that led to the banks of the Golden Flow.
The village elder came out at dawn every morning, working his body with unhurried movements on the porch while the village was still deep in its dreams. Morning mist spread over the lowlands along the banks, and the smell of the river blended with the cold air of the early hours.
The elder squinted when the outlines of a small caravan of wagons appeared on the dusty road in the distance, behind which he could make out faces familiar to him.
The candles on the table burned steadily and calmly, lighting the faces of everyone gathered with warm, trembling light. At the big table sat the Greenfields, Bernard with Dara, grandmother Martha, and Aren all together, while around them hung the smell of fresh bread and the warmth of a well-heated room.
The conversation never fell quiet for a minute, and laughter kept breaking over the voices, flowing through the whole house, filling it with that living domestic noise that cannot be bought or performed.
After Bernard and Dara said their goodbyes and left for home, Elara went to put Mia to sleep, leaving Aren to help Martha clear the table.
The old woman unhurriedly wiped the table, lost in her own thoughts, not looking at the young man.
"I did not think I would see you go off to the festival as you were, and come back here so completely different." Martha said.
Aren glanced at her, then lowered his gaze with a quiet smile.
"Neither did I..."
Martha set down the cloth and unhurriedly walked to the young man, not taking her eyes off his face.
Aren raised his eyes to her in surprise when the old woman pressed her palm to his cheek, looking him straight in the eyes.
"But I am glad of what I see in your eyes. You are a blank page no longer...and despite that...you are clearly a clean soul...Stay that way, whatever happens." Martha said with a warm smile.
Aren smiled back.
"Alright."
Later, Aren slowly climbed the stairs to the room where Leo sat alone on the bed, pensively turning small wooden gears in his hands with a troubled expression on his face.
Aren entered slowly, but Leo did not look up, continuing to study the gears.
"Leo?...Is everything alright?..."
"Are you really leaving us?" Leo said.
Aren was quiet for a few moments, then with a slight sigh slowly walked to the bed, settling down beside the boy and directing his gaze somewhere ahead.
"Yes...there is a lot I must do...such is my path."
"Can I come with you?"
Aren laughed slightly, shaking his head with a gentle, almost guilty smile.
"This is a rather dangerous road, my friend. And Elara would hardly let you come with me."
"We could do it quietly...while no one se—" Leo began.
"Leo." Aren said gently.
Leo raised his eyes to Aren, in whose eyes a gentle smile was visible.
"You are needed here."
"Mia may be getting better, but she is still fragile, and Elara needs a strong and hardworking younger brother." he continued.
"We have Bernard." Leo replied, looking at the gears in his palms again.
"Bernard has his own share of troubles."
Leo exhaled, gripping the gears tighter in his palms and fixing his gaze on them.
Aren slowly reached out, taking one of the gears from the boy's palm and examining it with a pensive look.
"Did you carve it yourself?"
Leo nodded silently, still not looking up at Aren.
Aren shifted his gaze to him, noticing how the boy was holding himself together, and hearing him begin to quietly sniff.
Aren set down the gear and pulled Leo close with one arm.
"Hey, what's wrong..."
"I don't want you to go..." Leo said in a trembling voice.
Aren held him tighter, running his palm along his shoulder and resting his head on the boy's head, both looking at the wall in silence.
"It has to be this way, Leo...and you will understand it all soon enough..."
Tears crept down Leo's cheek, falling from his chin onto the wooden floor with a faint ring.
Aren noticed the tears, then slowly rose from the bed and crouched down before the boy.
"Hey...look at me."
Leo raised red, tear-filled eyes to him, saying nothing.
"That I am leaving does not mean we will never see each other again."
Leo said nothing, not taking his tear-filled eyes from Aren, continuing to cry quietly.
"A long but amazing journey awaits me ahead, and I will absolutely tell you all about it! ... We will definitely meet again...and you will definitely show me your new, amazing inventions! And just you wait, maybe when the time comes for me to go further, we will go together already!...Right?" Aren said.
Leo sniffed once more, nodding in approval and dropping his gaze to the floor.
Aren was barely holding back his own tears, then pressed Leo's head to his chest, kissing him on the forehead and stroking the back of his head.
"It hurts me too that I have to go...but this is very important, for me and for all of you...please trust me...and believe that we will definitely meet again..."
Leo cried harder, his breathing quickened, and his voice stopped obeying him, faltering.
"I'll miss you so much..." Leo said.
Aren drew a trembling breath, pressing his lips together and feeling tears run down his cheeks.
"I'll miss you all too...I'll miss you...I will always think of you...and so....so...Leo...please believe in me...and I will believe in you...please...it will absolutely help me on my path...alright?..." he said in a trembling voice.
Leo nodded through the tears, saying nothing back.
Behind the closed door, in the corridor, Elara stood pressed against the wall with her palm over her mouth, while tears fell down her cheeks one by one.
A short while later, having put Leo to sleep, Aren quietly pulled the door closed behind him and came out to the living room, where Elara stood by the night window, looking at the moon.
Aren slowly walked toward her, stopping a few steps away.
"You...aren't going to sleep?..." he said.
Elara gave a slight smile, wiping a tear from her cheek with one familiar gesture.
"How could I go to sleep...at a moment like this..."
Aren let out a slight sigh, stepping closer and carefully taking Elara's hand.
"Elara, I..." Aren began.
"I heard." Elara interrupted him.
Aren fell silent, finding no words, until Elara turned to him.
He went still, seeing her eyes, red and full of tears, yet her face remained resolute.
"But for me...you must promise something else." she said.
Aren looked at her attentively, not moving and not interrupting.
"Promise me. That you will come back. Promise that when you return...you will be the same person you are now. And whatever happens to you...whatever you see...whatever you go through...you will keep faith in yourself, and you will not lose yourself. That you will stay just as kind...and warm...joyful...smiling...foolish and reckless."
Aren held a pause, then nodded with unconcealed seriousness on his face.
Elara held that expression with everything she had, but in the last moment composure left her, and she pressed herself to him sharply, embracing him so tightly, while he held her back just as tightly at once.
"I'll miss you...and I'll wait for you..." she said.
"I'll miss you too...and I will definitely come back." Aren replied.
The next several days flew by in preparations, leaving behind only a vague feeling of slipping time.
By the dawn of the appointed day, everyone who was seeing Aren off had already gathered at the bridge on the northern border of Waldruhm.
The morning was quiet, with cold fresh air and a road heading east beyond the bridge into a misty distance. Among those gathered stood Edith with Alistair and Aurey, at some distance from them Armund, Askir, Arswald, and Ray, and nearby Kyle with Aris, grandmother Martha, the Greenfields, Bernard, and Erik.
Aren checked how his new leather armor sat on him, adjusted his green hooded cloak and the new sword at his belt, felt the pouches, and made sure the bags on the horse were securely fastened and the provisions packed as they should be.
Edith approached him, and Aren greeted her with a short bow.
"Thank you for all of this." Aren said.
"This should be enough for an uninterrupted journey to Helios. So try not to run into any trouble." Edith said with a smile.
Aren nodded with the same smile, saying nothing unnecessary.
Bernard stepped toward the young man, pausing with his eyes on his face.
"Well...I'd like to tell you to be careful, brat...but after you saved my ass in the Great Forest, I'll just say what I've always told you...try to think first, and act after."
Aren nodded, and Bernard held a brief pause, then pulled him into an embrace.
"Come here...I'll miss you." Bernard said.
"Me too...and take care of yourself, Bernard."
Kyle and Aris came next, and the magister took his time with his words.
"The road will be difficult, but interesting. In the no-man's lands, people are always unpredictable, and so know that their behavior and honor will differ greatly from what you have seen in Waldruhm. So keep both eyes open, and trust no one." Kyle said.
"Alright. I'll keep that in mind."
Kyle nodded approvingly, taking a small pouch from Aris and holding it out to Aren.
"These are special potions that will serve you on the road. Mostly healing potions, but also various antidotes and fortifying ones. Use them wisely, and don't forget about them." Kyle said.
Aren accepted the pouch with both hands, lowering his head in a grateful bow.
Next, Elara approached, leading Leo by the hand.
Aren crouched down, looking at the boy, who was doing everything he could to hold himself together and not show strong emotions.
"So then, do you already have ideas about what inventions you'll surprise me with when I come back?" Aren asked with a smile.
Leo nodded with deliberate seriousness, barely holding back the trembling of his lower lip.
"Good lad. And I, for my part, will try to get into the most amazing trouble I can, so I can tell you afterwards about how I got out of it."
From behind him came the deliberately loud clearing of Bernard's throat, cutting him off mid-phrase, which made everyone around laugh at once, and Leo couldn't hold back and smiled too.
"And bring me something...from other lands...if you don't bring anything...you won't see my inventions." Leo said.
Aren raised his eyebrows with a wide smile, looking at the boy with unconcealed warmth.
"Deal, little inventor."
Aren rose to his full height, took a breath, and turned his gaze to Elara, who stood with an even, calm face. They held a pause, looking into each other's eyes while the wind stirred their hair.
"Do you remember your promise?" Elara asked.
Aren nodded silently, not taking his gaze from her eyes.
"Repeat it to me." Elara said.
"I promise that I will come back, and remain the same person I am now. Kind, warm, joyful, smiling, foolish, and reckless." Aren said with a smile, not taking his gaze from her face.
Askir barely held back a laugh, but Arswald immediately smacked him on the top of his head.
Elara smiled slightly, lowering her head, then raised her eyes to Aren.
"Good...I accept your promise." she said.
They looked into each other's eyes a few more seconds, then embraced tightly.
Askir sniffled, barely holding back tears, lowering his head.
Arswald glanced at him, looked away, then turned sharply back, having realized he hadn't quite grasped what he'd seen.
"HEY! YOU WERE JUST LAUGHING!" Arswald shouted.
Elara and Aren slowly let each other go, after which Leo pressed himself sharply to Aren, who stroked his back.
When Leo let him go, Aren turned and slowly walked toward the horse.
Reaching it, he took hold of the pommel, ready to mount.
Elara, standing with the others, could not hold back and called out his name.
"AREN!" she cried, breaking from her spot and rushing to him.
Aren turned, and Elara in that same instant took his face in her hands, kissing him firmly on the lips and pulling him close.
Bernard and Leo froze, staring at what was happening with wide eyes.
"Wow... if a beauty like that kissed me, I'd drop every—" Askir began.
Askir had not finished when Arswald smacked him angrily again.
Elara slowly released him, meeting his stunned gaze for a moment.
Aren grabbed her sharply and kissed her back, while Bernard immediately covered Leo's eyes.
Edith smiled warmly, watching what was unfolding in silence from the side.
Elara slowly let go of his lips, while their foreheads stayed pressed together.
"Come back soon." she whispered.
"Before you can blink..." Aren replied.
When Elara returned to the others, Aren mounted the horse, gave a nod of farewell to everyone gathered, then rode forward across the bridge.
Silence hung over the clearing as everyone stood watching Aren's silhouette grow smaller in the distance.
"Wait, when did he learn how to ride a horse?" Leo asked.
"Good question." Bernard replied.
Aren rode forward, his eyes fixed on the horizon, beyond which new lands awaited.
Slowly, unable to hold it back, he allowed himself a smile.
Ahead of him waited the truth, for which he was ready to go through everything that would stand in his way, and the trials for which he was prepared.
Behind him remained those he loved, and for their sake he was ready at any cost to prevent what Bjorg-Var had warned him of.
For them he would return, whatever happened on this road.
At least, that is what he thought.