According to Sora, we made excellent time when we stopped for the night. Sitting across from one another at the fire, with Kato at her left, we began to talk about our future goals for our sojourn into Xadria. Marishka laid in the tent, already asleep.
“I’ll need to meet with my informants when we arrive.” She explained as she adjusted the embers in the fire with a stick. “While I do that, you should be able to locate the local guild hall and register yourself.”
Kato hummed as her gaze met my eyes. “I’m familiar with Xadria’s layout, Milord. If needed, you may ask me to aid you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I nodded to Kato, accepting her words with gratitude. “I’ll register as soon as I can, but I want to check on a few things.” At Sora’s questioning/hard stare, I narrowed my eyes at her. Frustrated anger bubbled within my chest at her silent demand. A popping sound pulled my attention downwards; my hand clenched tight enough for my knuckles to be white and strained. I closed my eyes and released a breath, the tension in my shoulders loosening as I rolled them. Opening my eyes, I met Sora’s questioning gaze with determination. “Where is Kacee’s headquarters?”
Sora narrowed eyes, meeting my simmering anger without hesitation. “I don’t believe that you should do that.” She spoke evenly, sternly. Next, to her, Kato remained silent, not reacting at all to our interaction. “It has not even been a week since you’ve awoken. You haven’t fully adapted to your new powers. You’re not ready.”
“And I won’t be ready if I hide.” I retorted heatedly, a warmth growing in my chest. “If I’m to gain the respect of my Generals, then I need to be stronger than I am now.” I pointed back in the direction of Del. “There’s a pretty big difference in power between a fucking Dragon and three middling bandits. The only way for me to grow is to gain more experience and fight.”
“I know that.” Sora did not buckle beneath my glare. “But you cannot grow if you’re overwhelmed by the opposition.” She kept her voice even, her gaze level. “Even before your change, you had immense potential. A potential that made you a Hero King candidate.”
“Potential will mean nothing if I’m not ready,” I answered her, leaning forward as I clenched my fists. “It’s been a year Sora. The others have had a year to get better with not only their weapons but also their Affinities. If I have to fight them, then I’d rather not do so with year old techniques and skills.”
“Your Affinity makes that worry, null, Joseph.” Sora rebuked my complaint with cold logic. “Your evolution made your body stronger. The only weapon you need is your mind.”
“The evolution didn’t make me stronger, Sora.” I refuted her, baring my teeth in frustration. “I fought them,” I stated as I opened my hand. “I fought them, and it was like brushing aside children.” Then I closed my hand and clenched it. “I felt stronger after the fight when I defeated them.”
Sora and Kato stiffened at my words, eyes widening before narrowing. “What do you mean?” The Witch asked me, glowing amber eyes studying me intently.
I paused, unsure of how to explain. “It's difficult to put into words.” I frowned and shook my head. “After I defeated the bandits, it felt like I became stronger like I could exert more direct force behind my attacks. Or move faster. Or react quicker.”
Sora hummed at my answer, turning her intense gaze to a flickering flame. “Your predecessor, while his Affinity is unknown, had a…secondary ability that allowed him to ‘grow stronger.’” She sounded as if she put quotations around her words. “He could strike ‘bargains’ with others. Once he fulfilled them, he would gain ‘strength’ in proportion to the grandiosity of the deal forged.” She motioned to the flame. “The bargain formed with Beastkin would’ve afforded him an unprecedented level of ‘strength’…” Sora turned her critical gaze towards me, a frown on her face as she studied me with narrowed eyes.
“So…” I started, crossing my arms as I leaned away from the fire. “My ‘gift’ for becoming the Demon Lord is essentially becoming stronger the more I fight?” I let out an incredulous scoff. “Like ‘experience points,’ I guess?” I couldn’t help the disbelief that bled into my tone, despite the life I now lived. “I wish could call it ridiculous…” I shook my head ruefully.
Sora pursed her lips. “I know not what ‘experience points’ are, but your assumptions are not far from my thoughts on the matter.” She cocked her head to the side, studying me. “The only question is how your strength grows from…conflict.” Her lips twitched as if holding back a smile. At my questioning stare, she shook her head. “How is your growth measured? Is it a set rise with every battle, or does it scale off the difficulty of the struggle? Does there need to be a risk of injury or death?” Sora narrowed her eyes. “Or is your subconscious influencing it?”
“I wish I knew,” I answered with a low voice.
“No.” Soralynn’s voice sounded stern, surprising me with its intensity. “You’re not understanding, Demon Lord Joseph Blaine.” She grabbed my undivided attention. “This is the Demon Lord’s role in the world. Forcing innovation and growth from the other races on Verum.” She slapped a hand onto the log she sat upon, cracking it from the impact. “Countless lifetimes of peace have turned the denizens of Verum into slothful, selfish sycophants who believe that they are entitled to the riches of the world without effort.” Disgust marred her beautiful features, her lips curling and nose scrunching as she glared towards me. “They have stagnated and moved backward in societal growth, for there is nothing to push them, no one to punish their arrogance.”
She pointed to me. “What is the mother of invention? The source of inspiration? The need to progress?” Sora sneered. “Ambition? No. Greed?” She scoffed, letting out a mocking laugh. “Clearly not. No. It is conflict.” She turned her eyes to the stars in the night sky. “When there is an obstacle that stands in your way, it is your instinct to break through it. To surpass it.” Sora slammed a fist into her open palm, causing an echoing smack to leap into the night. “To destroy it. That is a Demon Lord’s reason for existence. To be the obstacle that humanity needs to progress; to eternally move forward under the fear of destruction.”
“So I’m to start a war and force humanity to try and stop me?” I asked her, disgust in myself building. Had I …accepted this?
“No.” Sora snarled; eyes glowing as she glared at me. “War destroys and mars the land irrevocably. War leaves nothing behind to grow, to thrive, to become more in the ashes of what’s left.” She shook her head violently, hair whipping around her head. “Simple conflict. Force them to rise and match you. Meet them in the middle and break away at the opportune time. Never letting complacency poison them.” Her lips parted into a savage smile. “Your duty, the duty that has fallen onto your shoulders, is to find that balance, that constant equilibrium. How far is too far? When is it best to step away? Why do they need your threat?” She held her hands open and off to each of her opposing sides, palms facing up. “Your duty is balancing the struggle and the respite that humanity needs to prosper.”
I sat there in stunned silence, basking in the words that Sora had spilled all over me. I blinked as I took in her words, having difficulty coming to terms with what she had told me. “If the Demon Lord is necessary, if I’m necessary, then why don’t people realize that?”
Sora snorted in evident disgust. “Because humanity fears what they cannot understand. Something like the necessity of an adversary is a concept they will never accept, let alone understand. And they hate what they fear.” A cruel smile grew on her face as she shrugged. “Humanity will always try to destroy what they fear, what they hate. Because they cannot control it; they cannot embrace it. Humanity is a self-destructive force that needs to be guided by an outside entity; otherwise, they will bring about their end.”
“And I’m that ‘outside entity’?” I mused, both in response to her words and introspectively.
“Yes,” Sora stated gently, her intense stare measuring me. “You were chosen because Penemue felt you would best be able to both handle the weight of this task and the true meaning behind the duty.”
“That’s a lot of expectations to put on a single person.”
“You are not alone, Joey.” Sora demurred, a gentle smile growing on her face. “You are a King, with an entire nation at your back. We will be your support. Your pillars.” She reached forward and grasped my hand; clenched tight enough for it to hurt and my knuckles to be white from the exertion. She gently opened it, placing her palm against mine and clasping our fingers. “We stand with you, just as you stand with us. So do not fear that you’ll be doing this alone.”
Her words still froze me, causing my heart to race. This…this had become my role? Someone who had to maintain a precarious balance between war and peace? Well, it’ll be an adventure, that’s for sure.
“Okay. This topic is heavy.” I stated with a laugh, trying to bring levity to the moment. “Let’s talk about it more tomorrow. That’s when we reach Xadria, yeah?” Sora nodded, slowly pulling her hand from mine. I quickly grasped it again, trying to fight off the shakes I could feel coming. “Let’s talk itinerary. I need to know all the important places I need to see or reach.”
Sora’s eyes hovered over our hands before they looked up to reach mine, her smile shadowed by the flickering embers that danced beneath her face. “Okay, then. Let’s talk.”
----------------------------------------
We approached the entrance gate to Xadria early that next morning. A stone wall stretched into the horizon for as far as I could see, with low hanging parapets that framed the armored guards that patrolled along the top of the wall. Sora and I came to a slow stop in front of a tall stone gate, protected by a pair of knights clad in bright silver plate mail.
Upon seeing us approach, the knights called out to us. “Hold!” We did as he asked and watched as one of the knights walk up to us. “What brings the two of you to Xadria?” He wore a set of plate and chainmail, a sword sheathed at his waist and a shield at his back. The front of his helm was pushed upwards, revealing his tanned features.
Sora handed him the toll to enter the town. “Personal and business.” She answered with a smile. “I’m meeting some old friends, and we’re registering with the guild.”
The knight put the coins into a pouch resting at his hip, nodding to her words. “I see.” He hummed as he waved us onwards. “I wish you a prosperous time in Xadria. Please, take your time and enjoy the sights.” He spoke with a deadness to his voice, as one could hear from a telemarketer. It took everything I had to keep from laughing as Sora, and I spurred our horses into Xadria proper.
As we passed through the gates, the trellis falling back behind us, I couldn’t help being silent as I took in the medieval metropolis that I found myself seeing. Stone, marble, alabaster and other varieties of rock seemed to have been used to build the various structures within this…this city. The roads were evenly paved, framed by immaculately carved beams of wood; densely packed earth comprised the streets, filled with both foot traffic, carriages and solo horses. Sounds echoed all around us, consisting of people talking amongst themselves, whether from bartering over goods or merely talking about their days.
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“This is where we’ll part for now.” Sora’s voice pulled my attention to her; our horses have come to a slow stop at a fork in the road. She had turned her horse towards the left, Marishka peeking around her from her seat in front of the witch. “My comrade is down this road.” She motioned down the road with an incline of her head. “The Adventurers guild, though, is further down that road.” She then pointed down the opposing route. “Should you need more directions, remember that Kato is familiar with Xadria’s layout.”
“Take care alright,” I said to her. A wry smile grew on my face, lips parting playfully. “I’d hate to come charging in to help you.”
A laugh escaped, reminding me of calming bells. “We’ll see.” With that, she turned away from me and urged her horse down the road. Watching her go down the road a little more, I turned my attention to the other path and urged my horse forward. I looked around at the moving crowd and came to a decision. My eyes scanned my surroundings until I found my objective.
Not five minutes later, I walked out of a set of stables and slid a ticket into the pocket of my jacket. I had checked Kel into a stable and paid for a bath and food for her so she could rest from the journey here. In the meantime, I had decided to walk on my own so that I could go around on my own. I just had to not look like a gawking tourist as I made my way through this medieval city. As I stepped into the thoroughfare, Kato manifested around the corner and fell into step next to me. She still had her skintight armor, but she wore a brown cloak over it, her half-mask hanging freely.
“Do you wish for me to lead us to the guild hall now?” Her voice, soft, as we walked along the dirt road.
“No.” I shook my head in the negative. “I know it’s in this general direction, but I want to experience Xadria properly before diving right into business.” She hummed at my answer, inclining her head in a faint nod. At that, I stepped into the flow of foot traffic, falling in line with my fellow pedestrians.
Honestly, as Kato and I made our way down the dirt road, I couldn’t help but remember a trip to a Ren Fair that I went to with Maggie and our mother. The loose cloth clothing and pants on the men and the flowing, simple dresses on the women. The ambient sound of chatter and the echoing thud of footsteps gave off music all on their own. The smell of dirt and smoke from a distant forge; along with food from the various stalls that Kato and I walked past greeted my nose.
“Do you know where Sora’s going?” I asked Kato as I faced forward.
“Lady Soralynn is meeting with a comrade to learn more about our expedition,” Kato explained with a low voice. “She’s also making sure that our people learn of new developments, keeping them informed.”
I hummed and nodded at her answer. “Okay. What’s in Xadria?” At Kato’s curious incline of her head, I chose elaborate. “Things to do, places to go, people to meet. Things like that.”
Kato hummed and nodded at my explanation. “Xadria is the mercantile hub of Veritas. This city has anything and everything your average villager can imagine.” Her answer both told me everything and nothing simultaneously, but I kept that to myself, merely letting her response at her own pace. “However, the biggest draw to Xadria is the Guild Headquarters that resides here. It is the busiest one on Verum, boasting the most registered Adventurers and enlisted Mercenaries.”
“Mercenaries? What’s the difference between the two?” I asked her.
“Adventurers take any job, from bodyguarding to hunting to exploring lost ruins.” She paused and motioned her hand to the side. “Mercenaries, on the other hand, almost exclusively take on combat jobs.” I frowned at her explanation, not seeing the difference. Kato hummed loud enough to be heard as if trying to find the right words. “Mercenaries only act when they are guaranteed payment, which is why combat jobs are their exclusive choices; while adventurers are those who take joy in seeing the world and payment is a bonus to doing what they love.”
Understanding filled me upon hearing such a simple explanation. “And the Royal Family want their Knights to show a more positive image by being more available than mercenaries.” Kato inclined her head to my answer. “But what makes people choose one over the other?”
Kato didn’t reply immediately, facing forward as we walked. “Aside from personal preference, I cannot conceive a plausible answer.” Her voice remained below a whisper, causing me to strain to hear her answer.
“I suppose we’ll have to see for ourselves then,” I said with a grin. “Let’s get to the guild.” Kato nodded to my statement and sped up her pace to begin leading me towards our destination. We walked in companionable silence, weaving amongst the tide of the sea of people. I kept an eye on our surroundings as we moved, checking out the various buildings that we passed. Buildings made of stone, of wood, of different materials, with straight and triangle roofs and the occasional chimney were what I saw while sticking close to Kato.
People of all sorts of appearances walked around us, from men and women to adults and children. I tried not to stare as I took notice of a few people that appeared to be more than human. Those with faintly pointed ears; those were shorter and stockier than others; there were even people with anthropomorphic animal characteristics. What little I saw told me that it wasn’t obvious, in-your-face societal differences between the different species, but that was also the case on Earth, from what I could see. Though, I had no idea why I searched for that, considering my current situation exuded far too much danger and future uncertainty to snoop about common prejudices.
We finally came to a stop in front of a large, four-story building. The front two corners of the structure appeared to be white, alabaster pillars with a stone foundation around the outer edges. The wood that comprised the front of guild hall appeared a faint brown with framed windows flanking the front, double doors, from which some individuals in a variety of armors and wielded an array of weapons. More windows indicated the floors above the first, with shadows flickering across them repeatedly, depicting a seemingly busy day. Above the front door, an elaborate sign with a material I didn’t recognize decorating it. As I stared at it, a piercing migraine pinched from my temples, causing my eyes to water. A grimace escaped me as the symbols on the sign seemed to shift and twist until they became legible.
‘Xadria’s Guild Hall’
Nausea squeezed my stomach as I could finally read the words in front of me. It remained until a few calming breaths allowed me to settle my stomach. “Milord?” Kato’s concerned voice pulled my attention from the nauseating sign. Swallowing, I shook my head and motioned forward. She pinched her lips and grunted in affirmative.
“Let’s head inside.” After nausea had passed, I gathered myself and walked through the still open doors as they began to close from a previous group’s exit. My footsteps echoed silently into the boisterous hall. Several wooden tables filled with laughing and eating people filled the majority of the first floor. Along the leftmost wall rested a raised stone counter, manned by a trio of individuals, two men, and a woman. Next to the bar resided a rounded, square bulletin board covered with sheets of paper and a menagerie of different styles of writing. On the ceiling above us, several lanterns illuminated the room with a pleasant shine of the light. “Shall we get registered?” I smiled playfully at Kato, who cocked her head to the side while stoically studying me.
I snorted at her response and led us over to the front desk. Once again slipping through a sea of people, I managed to reach the counter and saw that two of the clerks, the men, were already occupied with people handing over sheets of paper and bags. Walking over to the only free clerk, I saw that there sat a younger girl, around my age or a little younger, dressed in an immaculate, dark navy-blue vest with a long-sleeved white shirt beneath it. Her dark blonde hair tied tightly into a severe bun with a trio of single strands of her bangs hanging over her forehead. She wore a pair of glasses with perfectly round lenses in front of her pale brown eyes. I approached the counter where she stood and cleared my throat. “Excuse me.” She didn’t respond, reading through a book, faintly chewing on the feather end of her quill. “Um, excuse me,” I spoke up, placing my hand on the chilled stone counter. She still didn’t respond.
Kato began to show hints of agitation if the shift of her stance and clench of her fists told me anything. I glanced over my shoulder and shook my head at her, though she still did not relax. Facing the clerk once more, I cleared my throat and clapped my hands loud enough to catch her attention. She squeaked and jumped at the sudden sound, throwing the book and the quill into the air. Her eyes flickered to me, widened, but they quickly looked to the now falling book. At my sides, I heard someone curse, but I paid it no mind. As the two items fell, I threw my hands out and swiped the quill out of the air first. When the book came within arms’ reach, I grabbed around the spine, snapping it shut and holding it before it could hit the stone counter.
The young woman reddened as she studied me, whether, from embarrassment or fear, I didn’t know. Regardless of that, I placed the book back onto the counter with the quill atop it and slid them over to her. “Sorry about surprising you.” I did not bring the chaos that just occurred any attention.
“Oh.” She squeaked as her eyes fell onto the book before she shakily reached forward and took it off my hands. With shaky hands, she moved it to space directly beneath the counter. Then, closing her eyes, she clasped her hands in front of her and breathed deeply, exhaling silently. As if centering herself, she opened her eyes once more and smiled kindly, a hint of gratitude in her gaze as she looked to me. “Hello, sir, how may we of the guild help you today?”
“I wondered if my friend and I could register to become adventurers,” I answered promptly, having decided to let what just happened to pass.
Her eyes widened before she furrowed her brows. “You’re not adventurers…?” She mused to herself before shaking her head. “Of course, but first we of the guild prefer to give a brief test to prospective adventurers.” She pulled out a folder and flipped through a few papers before pulling a random sheet out of it. Placing it in front of me, she continued, “This is the basis for the standard mission flier. Registered adventurers must show some level of literacy for them to be able to move forward.”
I reached forward and held up the flier. Keeping my expression masked, I held back the frustrated groan at the curly squiggles that greeted me. Once again, a pinching pain appeared in my temples, though not as intense as before. Before my eyes, the squiggles shifted and bent until it resembled basic English.
“Looking for skilled defenders. Escorts for herb gathers needed. Willing to pay per bushel collected.”
As I finished the flier, I handed the paper back to the clerk and took in her gentle smile. She held another article and offered it to Kato. My escort stepped forward and took the paper.
“Exterminators needed. Goblin camp in outskirts of town. Willing to pay a team to rout them.” Kato read it in a droning monotone, her expression hilariously blank when she handed it back.
The clerk nodded in acceptance to our recitations, smiling proudly at us. “That’s great. You’re already making wonderful progress in registering.” She put her folder away beneath the counter and pulled out two sheets of paper. “If you’ll follow me into the back, I’ll take the both of you to a private room to fill out the guild’s registration forms.” She motioned for us to follow her as she stepped away from the counter. As she did, she pressed a button on the wall behind her, causing a single ding to echo behind the wall.
Kato and I walked around the counter and into a wooden door the clerk had opened. As we followed her through a wooden hallway, illuminated by bright lanterns, I spoke up, “If I have an Adventurer’s Seal for a recommendation, do I need to give it to you?”
The clerk’s eyes widened at that before she calmed herself. “Um, yes. We have an additional sheet to fill out in affiliation. We’ll have to contact the Adventurer affiliated with it to verify, but it’ll expedite the process.” She paused, “Do you know the name of the Adventurer, recommending you?” Her tone, wary as if testing me.
“Relona. A scout I met in Del.”
The clerk gave a smile. “I know Relona. I’m her Liaison with the Guild.” She gave me a searching gaze. “You must have done something great to gain her attention like that.”
I shrugged at her words. “I just did what I felt was right, no more, no less.”
She took my words with a smile, inclining her head in silence. It didn’t take long for us to reach a door that she unlocked and wave us inside. The room had a single wooden table, a cushioned couch and a pair of chairs, with a single bright lantern on the center of the ceiling. “You can write, yes? If not, then I’m more than willing to act as your scribe.”
I shared a discrete glance with Kato, who nodded with a jerk of her chin. “Yes, we can. Thank you.” She held the papers to us.
“I’ll step out to pick up the recommendation form and return posthaste. Should you have any questions, I’ll answer them to the best of my ability.” Kato and I took the sheets and went over to the tables. Before I could reach it, though, the clerk grabbed the edge of my jacket between two of her fingers. I looked down at her hand before meeting her flushed expression. Offering me a shy smile, she whispered, “For earlier…thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I answered with an equally low whisper.
She paused, still not releasing me. She then cleared her throat and let her hand fall, grasping them both in front of her. “Should any of you need anything before I return, simply press the button on the wall.” She pointed to the brass button on the wall, a brass wire stretching from it and trailing along the wall to the ceiling. “Someone will come by and offer you aid. Should you need me specifically, then ask for ‘Aspen.’” With that, she nodded her head to me and walked out of the room and down the hall, further into the building.
When she vanished around the corner, I shut the door and walked over to the table and sat across from Kato. Kato stared at me in silence for a few seconds before finally speaking. “Why are humans so odd?”
“I’ve asked myself that my entire life, Kato,” I said dryly. “And I’ve never found a good answer.”
“Then, I suppose we’ll never find one.” With that final statement, we turned our attention to our registration forms.