Chapter 33 - Recollection

The seemingly simple bottle, held in the old man’s thin-veined hand, was now suddenly all the more alluring. Arnest hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a sweet fragrance that wafted out of the opening and perfumed into the surroundings. Usually the wines he had tried before all had a sharp, unrefined scent that triggered his gag reflex, but this smelled more like the nectar of an unknown fruit.

Arnest inched closer to Maest, inhaling the intoxicating fumes. Within breathing distance of each other, Maest placed the bottle in Arnest’s hands. He took one last investigative sniff, before sipping a little bit.

After a few moments of letting a couple drops to linger on his tongue, Arnest’s eyes widened. The burning sensation found in most wines was completely mellowed out. There was only the flavor of grapes with a strange sweetness added to the mix that danced on his tastebuds. He quickly took another swig.

This time he felt a familiar sensation. The same feeling he gets when he manipulates spells. Mana rushed into his stomach and stretched out from the center of his torso, towards his limbs. His entire body felt ghostly, lacking any form or weight. He touched himself to confirm he was still there.

“How does it taste?”

“Strange…” Arnest said, looking at the bottle, “but delicious.”

“Good. Then drink the rest of it.”

Arnest proceeded to down the rest of the wine.

When Arnest was done, Maest then pointed towards himself. “Look at me and try to sense something.”

“Why?”

Maest clicked his tongue, saying “Just do it, you’ll understand soon.”

Arnest directed his gaze towards the elderly man. In seconds, the bright room suddenly bled into nothingness and became a white void.

“Can you hear me?”

The question sounded out in Arnest’s mind in the same voice and tonality as his inner thoughts.

“Hello? Anyone there?” This time the voice sounded different and all the same while, recognizable.

“Who are you?” Arnest called out aloud.

“Young lord, it’s me! Marcus!” A silhouette of the elven officer’s body formed. Pointed ears, armor and all.

“Marcus? How are you talking to me right now?”

The silhouette didn’t answer, but instead morphed into a tall robed figure. “Apprentice, are you doing well?”

“Master Whitebeard?”

The silhouette changed forms again, into another robed figure but this time much shorter. It’s body seemed quite thin and it’s hands looked like the end of a crooked branch. “Why haven’t you finished taking over Lanex, Arnest?”

“Grandfather?” Arnest reached out towards the shadowed figure. When he was about to touch it, it disappeared into the blank void.

Another familiar voice sounded out behind Arnest. “I think I understand you a little better now.”

Arnest turned around and saw Instructor Maest, who was still sitting in his chair, with his hands calmly clasped together on his lap. “So you’re planning on taking over Lanex for some elven princess?”

Anxiety filled Arnest’s face and beads of sweat started to form along his forehead. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t have to play dumb.” Maest held up another bottle filled with the purple tonic and said, “This Mente Wine allows you to read other people’s minds, among a few other things.”

Arnest boiled red. “Instructor, it’s not as bad as you think.” he said, trying to salvage the situation.

If people knew that he was helping the elves, he knew it’d probably not end up well. It’s one thing to be a human who aspires to conquer Lanex but to do so for the elves, who already conquered the humans in the mainland, carries an entirely different meaning. They enslaved those humans, so if the elves took over Lanex, they’d probably think they’d become slaves too.

“I already know what you’re thinking.” he said, pointing at the bottle. “Frankly I don’t really care what you want to do.” Maest downed the bottle.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and said, “I just want you to promise that you’ll always remember to do what’s best for Ralom.” Maest then smiled and continued, “After all, you’re a Raloman now, even if it’s only been a short while.”

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Arnest hurriedly answered, “I promise.”

“Now that’s settled…” Maest said, pointing to the lower wall, behind Arnest. “There’s a case of Mente Wine over there. Take it back to your room and make sure to drink one bottle a day.”

Arnest walked over to the crate and lifted it up. He then walked towards the doorway but turned around, parting his lips but before the words could come out, Maest said, “I know what you want to ask, but it doesn’t really matter right now. You need to concentrate on honing the power of the Mente Wine. Once you can read someone’s mind, come see me.”

Nodding his head, Arnest started to walk out but Maest called out again. “Also, remember to keep the wine a secret. You’re good at this sort of thing, aren’t you?”

“Understood.”

Arnest headed back up the dozen by dozens stairs and eventually reached his quarters. He dropped the wine crate down on top of the table, before throwing himself on top of a cot. Pulling over the covers, Maest’s words resonated in his mind, reminding him of the wine. Arnest unwillingly rose out of bed, grabbing the crate and shoved it in towards the unseen corner of a closet. Then he finally allowed himself a moment's reprieve, laying into his cot, and mind drifting off into dreams of a void.

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“Can you hear me?”

“Hello? Anyone there?”

Arnest thought to himself, “Is Maest testing me again?”

The darkness bloomed into a botanists paradise, a lush open field surrounded by a forest, with a sun at it’s apex. Arnest was on his back, watching smoky clouds pass by. A young girl leaned over him, blocking half of his view.

“Arnest!”

Her hair was long and seemingly black, however under the bright rays of the sun, it revealed it was a shade of the darkest browns. Arnest blinked a few times and stared into her sky clear eyes.

“Marie?”

“What are you doing here? I’ve been waiting all day for you!”

Arnest recognized her voice and appearance but he couldn’t remember anything past the name. The same could be said about this landscape however he couldn’t say how he knew about the cave half a mile north from where he was or that there was a small creek a short walk to the east. Arnest had come to realize this was another one of his strange dreams, which had been a recent occurrence since leaving Fox Village.

“Why are you spacing out? Don’t you want to go watch the tournament?”

Marie grabbed Arnest by both his hands, and with all her strength, lifted him up onto his feet. She started running and sloppily dragged Arnest along. The greenery quickly turned into a dark tunnel with a bright light at the exit, as they ran towards the shouting and cheers.

“Hurry! Before the tournament ends!”  Marie shouted, increasing her pace.

Blinded for only a second, the scene changed instantly again. Arnest was sitting down, overlooking the stadium from a studio area up above, and still holding hands with Marie who sat next to him. People were roaring with an intense vigor, spraying their drinks and dropping bits of any food they waved in their hands.

“Young majesty, the final round has begun,” a suited man from behind said, informing them.

Arnest’s gaze drifted down to the center of the ring, where two naked men were fighting. At least from a distance they looked like men, but after looking for a while, Arnest was able to make out their characteristics. A lightly paled skinned man, with golden hair and pointed ears defended with a short sword while a muscular ebony toned man continued to bash with a kite shield. The elf was obviously not a man but the other fighter could’ve passed for being human if it wasn’t for the long thick pointed tail that ran down from his spine.

After a strong blow, the elf tripped and fell onto his back, while the ebony tailed demon slowly walked towards him.

“KILL THE ELF!” screamed the entire stadium.

Marie, who was sitting at the edge of her seat, joined in, screaming “Kill the elf!”, which made Arnest turn towards her in surprise.

The demon lifted his kite shield and dropped the pointed end onto his neck, severing the head from torso. Blood splattered all over the ground and the elf’s head rolled to the side as his lifeless body twitched. Everyone started cheering even louder, a deafening dark delight filling the air with a slightly relieved anger.

Marie looked towards him, smiling ear to ear.

“Wasn’t that fun to watch, Arnest?”