Clay and Kane began the trek down to Central in relatively good spirits. The air cold was enough to keep them up, they had just shared a nice moment with a subordinate as Ewan's words from a few minutes ago gave them something to be proud of, and they were each happy to finally be out of the outpost for a bit as they each were stuck there for Clay's last month. Being cooped up in the Northern Central Outpost wasn't a necessarily uneventful lifestyle however not being able to leave further than the surrounding wetlands... you'd understandably be happy to get out especially if you've already been in such a place for nearly half a year. Both of them had a sense of contentment walking down the trail.
Kane especially had an interest in this trip simply for the fact the man he would be traveling with was Clay Kliff "The Young Knight". Kane looked at the man and began to think back to when had first heard of the guy when he learned of an arrest of a soon appointed Knight. He personally never thought much of him other than laugh at the fact that a "model" soldier would be foolish enough to think he could betray the Military. But the attitude changed when news of pardoning a soldier who committed treason went all around Terrym, and he even thought it was crazy when it was reported that the same man would be serving a probation-like period at the outpost he was stationed at. Despite it being none of his own business Kane who was rather intrigued took it upon himself to do some research on Clay, it would have been easy since his files arrived at the outpost before he did himself.
When he had read through a portion of his file he had an immediate surge of annoyance. Seeing that he was considered "special forces", especially at the age of eighteen Kane assumed he was another kid who was above average at most and who the Military praised as a genius like all the other gifted runts Kane had to deal with in the outpost, but the more he read on the more his opinion began to fluctuate. Yeah, the kid was given special treatment but apparently, he had no choice in the matter. Yeah, the kid apparently was living it up, but apparently, had no place to go before that. The icing on the cake for Kane was further into it revealed a very interesting fact about Clay, as the Millitaries files explained he had a minuscule amount of Aether in his body, not only that but it also stated that he has trouble with manipulating Aether. In any normal case that wouldn't be an uncommon thing, there are plenty of people who can't produce any results with the Aether they possess, but what made the man in the context uncommon was the fact that he was almost a Knight.
The Knights of Terrym is a force anyone can join as long as they are willing to devote themselves to their land. However, the further you go up the more skill and power you must possess to stand among those higher in the chain. While everyone who joins the Knights is considered a "knight" the title of Knight is different than the occupation of one. Most titled Knights are capable of using Imagery to produce feats such as shooting balls of fire, freezing ice instantaneously, or even manipulating wind to levitate items. Any titled Knight worth their salt would be able to produce some sort of effect however, Clay was unable to, yet he was considered to be on their level.
That idea alone interested Kane only one thought came to him as he closed the file after discovering that about the young man. He only had one question that remained in his thoughts "Clay Kliff, just who the hell are you?". When they eventually met he made the decision chose to observe Clay during his first week to try to get a read on him. The conclusion Kane came to was that they might be more similar to each other than they thought.
"Are you good..?"
The question snapped Kane out of his head. Kane felt awkward realizing that the whole time he had been staring down the man as he was thinking back to things that happened months ago.
Kane sighed. "My fault man, was deep in thought I guess." Averting his gaze he then looked to the dull blue sky.
"Are you alright? These last few minutes it seems something has been on your mind."
The still looking up nodded. "I guess you could say that. I was just thinking about how on a more... 'professional' level we connect, so do me a favor and explain something to me." Kane then turned at smiled at Clay.
"So Kliff answer me this... Just who the hell are you?"
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After dawn had broken, the two men still on their way to Central stopped to take a break by a nearby pond a bit off the path they had been walking. The area was mainly covered with gravel, dirt, and moss, melted frost had created plenty of moisture. It had been around three hours since they had departed from the top of the hill into the forest. While they weren't particularly tired since they had only been walking, then would have been the best time to rest and get their fill of rations. As they both sat down on nearby rocks, Kane brought out a large flask full of water and began to chug it down. Clay, sitting next to Kane pulled out his rations from the sack he had prepared and began to ingest bread slowly while taking a few sips from his waterskin.
"Man, that really hit the spot!" Kane then let out a sigh of relief before looking over to Clay and grinning. "You brought bread? I'm surprised you could even swallow that down! My throat felt like sand before I was able to guzzle down all that water."
"It'll get you a long way. You bring anything with you to actually eat?"
Kane grinned as he pulled out a ceramic container that contained dried meat, vegetables, and blocky cubes. He then grabbed his flask and poured the remainder of his water into the container, before putting the container's seal back on and began to violently shake the container as if he were trying to blend everything together. After about a minute and a half of shaking, he sat down legs crossed with the container still in his hands, gripping the container Kane close his eyes before declaring.
"So you really can't do this?"
Clay watched as Kane gripped the container it was almost like waiting for paint to dry; you knew it was coming but was there any purpose in physically waiting for the end result? A few moments went by and eventually, Clay began to see steam leak from the top of the container. Kane then lay the container on a nearby rock and pulled off the top revealing what seemed to be a steaming pot of stew with now juicy-looking vegetables and meat floating in what seemed to be brownish-looking hot broth. Kane then pulled out two cups from the sack and poured the stew into each cup, before handing one to Clay.
"That is very impressive Kane, though my sister used to simply start fires and we would cook over that." Clay chuckled after making that statement. "But it's more than what I can do so I guess you'd be right".
"So you really can't use Aether to heat up things at all? That's like..one of the easier things to grasp when you start to learn Imagery."
"Yeah, it just never worked out for me. I just have a hard time actually understanding it, to be honest."
Kane grinned as he took a swig of his stew. "I get you, honestly! It's like you said your sister could start fires right? It takes me about two whole minutes to boil shit in a pot, don't you sweat it, you're young I know you'll figure out something down the line!"
Clay rubbed his beard and said "You're right thanks" before taking a sip from his stew.
The two men continued their meal of stew and bread until it was time to pack up. They had spent about an hour discussing various things, such as family, weapons, past fights, and goals. Kane was shocked to find out Clay's family were miners in a village in South, and Clay was surprised to hear that Kane had been with the Knights since he was around seventeen. Kane poked fun at Clay for needing a sword as he himself used a staff. The two had such many rebuttals to what the other had to say about each other when it came to this back and forward conversation they were having but they came to have a better understanding of each other as they had this talk.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
More time went by as they walked and eventually, they made it out of the forest into an open field clearing. What Clay saw in front of him as he exited the forest path was the blue sky giving him a panoramic view of the sky above the plains of the field. Kane gave Clay a little wave as if to say 'Come on' as he took the lead walking out into the plains. With the sun now beaming down on them they knew they would be in Central soon.
"We have about... I wanna say two-ish hours till we arrive. Then we're gonna see what Central wants with ya... until then" Kane said stretching his arms into the air as he partially yawned as he spoke. Kane looked back at him, "You mentioned you wanted to be something before you got into being a soldier, you could have been a miner easily so I doubt that was your end goal. What exactly did you wanna be?" he asked somewhat loosely.
"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
"We were getting along so well just a bit ago, nothing wrong with a bit more small talk. Instead of making this awkward just answer the question, I doubt someone like you didn't have any ambitions. Besides, I think you mentioned earlier your father had plans for you but life got in the way."
"My father being a miner meant used to bring back different types of ore all the time. He was a natural at earth-related Imagery so it seemed just right for him to mine for the towns in South. But at his core, he wanted nothing more than to be a blacksmith. He would practice day in and out and even show me the ropes. But it was more of a hobby than profitable but my dad never lost the dream. After my sister and I lost our parents she thought we could fulfill that dream with our combined talent, but things didn't go Being a soldier is something I also always aspired to be honest, and despite being forced into the whole situation it was a dream come true. But I can't help but feel like a small part of me wanted... or wants to be a blacksmith for them. But I want to believe that I was where I needed to be".
"Damn man I asked what you wanted to do, not 'Can you please tell me a sob story~' shit sheesh, but if you truly feel like you made the right decisions then hey what can I say? Was being a Knight what you expected?
As harsh as that seemed to Clay, he brushed off the comment knowing by now Kane just had a crude vocabulary and didn't mean anything by it.. hopefully. But the question did make him think, how did he feel? After everything, even now how does he feel? It wasn't quite anything like he had been imagining as a child, not that he expected The Knights to be completely perfect and free of sin however, he didn't expect to see corruption and deception that often when he ended up being sent off on missions either in the heart of Terrym or outside of it.
"It's a bit different I guess" Clay replied after a few seconds. "We should conserve as much energy as we can, for now, we can talk about things once we rest in Central"
"Alright, whatever works for you man" Kane complied.
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They continued to walk across open plains and eventually in the distance they spotted a wall that seemed to stretch on for some acres. It had been a while since either of the two had been but no one could forget how the walls of Central looked even from distance. It was the afternoon now and it would probably take them some time to settle down so it was in their best interest to get inside the city as soon as possible. They began to hasten their pace to the front of the gate, the closer they got the more noises they heard from the large city. As they got to the gate they ran into four guards at the front of the entrance.
"Judging from the apparel I assume you two are soldiers?" Asked a tall guard.
"Yup we have important business here in headquarters, you mind letting us through?" Kane replied as he pulled out his letter with the Terrym seal that he had received a month prior.
"Very well then, you two have a good stay!"
As the guard said that, two of the guards that were behind him began to draw open the gate. As they walked through the entrance to the city they were welcomed by the sight of a large city full of life resting in a large valley. There were many buildings lined all the way down to the base of the valley. Lights could be seen all around, they could even see the other side of the wall from where they were. Because they had come from the North gate they were at the more uphill location of the city above the rest but that only made the view grander for anyone who wasn't used to seeing such a spectacle. Kane immediately started to scan for places to drink while Clay took time to locate the headquarters in the city, and it didn't take too long to find it.
A large tower stood erected in the middle of the city on a tiny island surrounded by a large body of water. Squinting hard enough Clay could make out a bridge that led to the tower and other buildings around it. That was their destination. Tomorrow they would have to present themselves at that location and Clay would finally get an idea of what they could want from him. Until that time, came though he decided he would enjoy what the city had to offer for the night since it very well could have been the last time he might be able to. Feeling a tap on his shoulder Clay turned around to see Kane.
"Oy, I found a nice spot for us, we can rest up over here for a bit."
Kane pointed toward an inn before walking down the road heading to it. Clay decided it would be a good call and followed behind. As they entered the inn, the two walked up to the bar and took a seat. Clay was surprised to see this Inn had electricity. It made sense that it did, given that Central City in Terrym was one of the first places built meaning its development has been at work since the start of its founding. While electricity was something that you'd be bound to see a lot the fact that it seemed like more places in the city were able to manage it did impress him. After all the last time he was in Central he had to camp outside the city walls. Kane after ordering their room, immediately ordered rounds of drinks and began to down two before pausing and looking at Clay.
"Now that I think about it.. you've drank before, right? The legal age is twenty but you spent that time locked up, I doubt you actually got to try it."
"Believe it or not I had my first drink at nineteen with my old team."
"You mean that straight-edge Krystal let you drink while underage? Who knew the crown jewel of Terrym was a rebel!" Kane then let out a rather hearty chuckle.
"It's less she was a rebel and more of someone who anything she always wanted, at the time she just wanted to relax and celebrate, she considered my sister and I 'deserving' of it at the time."
"Your sister... you mentioned she was two years younger right? So she was seventeen? Man to think two bumpkin runts would end up interesting her."
"I thought the same too, and the more I think on it, the more I wish she never did." Clay then grabbed one of the many drinks Kane ordered and took a sip.
"So it seems you do have a regret eh?'
"Let's drop the topic" Clay responded rather quickly and then finished his drink. "I'll go to the bathhouse before heading to bed, I'll leave you here with all of this"
"Alright man, I'll see you tomorrow then, don't forget to wake me up Kliff."
After his bath Clay unwinded in the room, and his hair fell back down to his neck as he removed his hair tie. The bath had actually been rather relaxing and he was pleasantly surprised at the process of it all, apparently, they had hired a heat mage to handle anything related to well... heat. Clay lay down in bed and began to think about what was to come. He felt like the more he thought about it the more paranoid he would feel. He was about to be reunited with higher-ups of the knights, and yet still had no idea what was going to happen. He was a man with a life sentence and then got pardoned and put on probation, what more could they want with him? What did they want? Regardless of what would happen, he'd have to deal with it. With that final thought, he drifted off to sleep unaware of what was to come.