“None of that made any sense. Can you explain it again?” Garrote said, taking a big bite of his kebab.

Ever since starting their journey, Trenton had rarely delighted in extravagant meals, preferring to save their rations rather than splurge on something so meaningless. Well, that and none of them knew how to cook, so it wasn’t like they even could make something nice if they tried. That night, however, Walibeld had brought them a wide array of dishes to dine upon, a feast of fresh meats and fruits as a condolence for his absence.

Trenton leaned forward, grabbing another apple to nibble on while they talked, casually caressing Millie’s wet hair. After everything that had happened that day, she’d settled into bed long before them, leaving her and Leo out of conversation for the night, which was probably for the best. “And what’s he doing here?” Garrote said once he’d swallowed, pointing over to Karfice, who absolutely was not paying attention.

“Karfice?” Kiva said, nudging him with her arm.

“Huh?” Karfice replied, shaking himself out of a daze.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you have somewhere to be, family?” Kiva clarified.

“Well, no, not really. I had a home in the city, but it’s not like I can rightly return after what just happened, not that I’d really want to, anyway,” Karfice said, slipping a sizzling chunk of pork belly under his mask. He was still wearing it, even despite the fact that they were completely alone, not a stray soul in sight.

“You’re from the mountains, aren't you?” Walibeld asked, his left eye closed once more. It seemed even with the secret out, he preferred to keep it closed.

“I am. How do you figure?” Karfice said.

“Your name. I assume you’re related to Parifice in some way or another,” Walibeld replied, pulling the bone off a set of meaty ribs for ease of consumption.

“That’s right, but I haven't seen him in some time. Birds gotta fly the nest eventually. I just happened to fly a little sooner than usual. I’m not too fond of the mountains, anyway,” Karfice said.

“The Parafice? You mean the mountain king?” Garrote said, practically spitting out his food.

“The very same,” Karfice said.

“Mountain king? I’ve never heard of him,” Raligoth said, speaking up for the first time in a while. He was with Trenton the whole time they’d invaded the palace, but he hadn’t said a word about it, probably too shocked to.

“He’s an archmage who lives in the mountains. That’s about it,” Trenton clarified.

“And they call him mountain king?” Raligoth asked, eyebrows raised.

“Not a lot of competition for the title,” Trenton shrugged.

“Oh! I’ve got an idea, actually,” Kiva said, sidling closer to Trenton and whispering in his ear. “He should give a fun fact like we all did. If we’re going to be having more people join us, it’s only fair they give a fun fact of their own, and he seems practically full of them.”

“We could just ask him questions,” Trenton whispered back.

“You’re boring,” Kiva pouted.

Trenton laughed, talking aloud now, “Of course, of course. How silly of me. Karfice, we have a little tradition wherein anyone who travels with us has to formally introduce themselves. Just your name, magic type, and a fun fact about yourself.”

Karifce tilted his head back, looking to the open night sky for inspiration, “Yeah, sure. I guess that’s reasonable. My name is Karfice Irving. I use ice magic, and my fun fact is…” Karfice’s head slowly dropped further down until his whole body was lying flat on the ground.

“Is?” Garrote said, prodding the boy with his foot.

“Is that I’m narcoleptic…kind of,” Karfice said, pointing to the side of his head. “I’ve got brain damage all over. The most prevalent symptom is that I struggle to focus and I nod off a lot. It’s not as bad when I’m fighting, the adrenaline keeps me up, but when I relax I always start to fall asleep.”

“You have brain damage?” Trenton said.

“Sure do. It’s the same reason I wear all the clothes and the mask. My body’s pretty scarred, and I’m really ugly, so I keep myself covered, easier for everyone that way. ” Karfice said.

“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” Kiva said.

“Got caught by a beast out in the mountains, among other things. Like I said, I’m not a very good fighter,” Karfice shrugged.

“What’s it like to live in the mountains? I’ve visited from time to time, but it hardly seems a hospitable environment to live in,” Walibeld said.

“It isn’t. Growing crops is practically impossible, so almost all the food comes from various beasts that can survive off of whatever sparse foliage actually grows. It’s most of the reason I don’t live there anymore. The desert is practically heaven by comparison,” Karfice said. “Do you have any other questions?”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“No, I think that about covers it, which means you have to answer my questions now,” Garrote said, turning towards Trenton, Raligoth making exclamations like a school boy hearing his friend get called to the principal's office, “and we’ll get to you in a second,” Garrote pointed at Walibeld without even looking.

“What question?” Trenton asked, confused.

“All of them! What the hell was that thing you did? I’ve never seen you cast magic like that! And what about the tattoos? The golden light in your eyes?” Garrote exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.

“I wish I had better answers for you, but I don’t. I was upset, and I did what felt right. I needed the ground to move and it did. There isn’t much more to it,” Trenton said, half lying.

“Okay, well what about letting the emperor live, and that insane speech you gave in the square? You don’t talk like that. No one talks like that! You sounded like an 8th century monarch!” Garrote yelled, Kiva hiding a smile at Garrote's sudden outburst.

“I was bluffing. The presence holding everyone in place was fickle at best by the time I actually ascended with Leo. I lost pretty much all my energy keeping myself alive. If I had done something as extreme as kill the emperor, the salamanders might’ve been able to break free, and there was no guarantee we’d have been able to escape. I didn’t like it, but I had no other choice. As for the speech, I’m not really sure. You’re right, I don’t talk like that, but it felt natural in the moment, like I was doing and saying exactly what I was supposed to, like starting the revolution was my burden to bear. I’m not sure why, though,” Trenton sighed, frustrated at his own lack of understanding.

“Maybe it was a blood memory,” Kiva said, interlocking Trenton’s arm with her own.

“Blood memory?” Garrote asked, his anger fading to weariness.

“Yeah, a blood memory. It’s not really scientific, but something one of your ancestors felt or did passed down to you. Maybe one of your ancestors really hated salamanders or something,” Kiva clarified.

“Well, it’s not like we can really check. I have absolutely no idea who my ancestors even are,” Trenton said.

“Weren't you from a noble family? I thought they kept track of their family trees,” Raligoth asked, his knowledge surprising given Trenton never discussed it with him directly.

“They do, but we were a first generation noble family. We gained our wealth in my time. And anyway, I was adopted. So they weren't my blood relatives, anyway.”

“You were adopted?” Walibeld said, his brow furrowing.

“Did you not know? Olin told me back in Wyrm’s perch. I think it was what my father planned to tell me the day that Aria fell,” Trenton said.

“No, I had no idea. I never dug much into your family business, and you were so similar to Delis I just assumed that you two were related.”

“No, not at all. Just some weird coincidence, I guess.”

“I wonder…could you give me a bit of your blood? A couple drops would suffice,” Walibeld said, holding out his hand to Trenton. Without a second thought, Trenton sliced open his palm with a stray rock, dropping a small puddle of crimson blood into Walibeld’s palm.

For a couple minutes, Walibeld simply stared at the blood, muttering under his breath as his hands glowed ominously. It didn’t look like anything was happening, but Trenton knew better. The magic was complex and slow, although this spell more so than others. Walibeld had been slowly getting faster as he warmed up to using his aspect again, so seeing him take so long on a spell was both awe inspiring and concerning. Then slowly, whenever he was finished, the glow subsided, all eyes turning to Walibeld.

“That spell is one meant to test heritage, but it’s not exactly anything precise, and your blood is…confusing, to say the least. It feels almost identical to my own blood, with some large gaps, almost like you’re a direct relative of mine whose had segments of his ancestry forcibly ripped out. Or maybe…I’m uncertain. It’s hard to say. In anycase, I know that I have no living siblings, nor anyone of my direct descendance that could have birthed you, so really I’ve not the slightest clue where your ancestry might hail from,” Walibeld said, scraping the dried blood off of his palm.

“He’s related to you, but also he isn’t?” Kiva yawned.

“Like I said, confusing,” Walibeld said.

“Weird, but that means there’s only one thing left to see to,” Garrote said, filling up his cup from the collective bowl of punch. “You have to explain what you’ve been doing all this time,” he pointed at Walibeld, “also whatever is up with your eye.”

“Of course, " Walibeld said, opening his eye again for them to see. “It’s complicated, and I’ve not the patience to explain the exact details, so I’ll summarize. I lost my eye many years ago. To salvage what I could of its function, I used the flesh as a base for a spell, turning my left eye into a vessel for energy. Within it, the swirling patterns that you’re seeing, are the physical manifestations of spells I can cast, the energy within the eye allowing me to cast instantaneously and without risk. The only issue is that it’s limited in use. Every day, I store whatever excess energy I might have to use later, something I’ve been doing for nearly my whole life. It’s vast, but not unlimited. I have about a millenia’s worth of stored energy to use if ever the time comes to pass.”

“1000 years!?” Garrote cried. “You could take out a mountain with that much energy.”

“Close, but not quite. By my estimation, it’d be closer to the whole of the Thalian. But that’s assuming I burned it all in one burst, which I’ve no reason to do. The energy is stable, and I can call upon it freely whenever I please,” Walibeld said, holding his hands up in a sign of peace. “You needn’t worry.”

“It’s a last resort, then, a backup in case all else fails,” Trenton said, Kiva nodding off on his shoulder.

“Precisely, and a closely held secret as well. The only ones aware of its exact function are Era and the Benevolent,” Walibeld said.

“And now we. Aren't we special?” Raligoth, a wide grin plastered across his face.

“Okay, cool and very neat. Now, where have you been all this time?” Garrote said, leaning forward with every word, his eyes wide with anticipation.

Walibeld paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts as he sipped passively from his cup of tea, “Kullisates, if you hadn’t figured, wasn’t in its right mind. The 5th veil was there, riding atop the beast, controlling it with enough adroitness to steer it towards the city. As it turns out, he’s a psychic, and a powerful one at that.”

“Controlling Kullisates? That’s pretty impressive,” Karfice said. Apparently he wasn’t asleep yet, despite the fact that he was still laying down on the ground from earlier.

“So wait, what happened? Did you two fight?” Garrote asked, somehow leaning even further forward.

“Yes, for quite some time. I managed to stop Kullisates from colliding with the city, but it got close. Once we were within sight the 5th veil left, leaving me with my hands full, so he got away, unfortunately,” Walibeld said.

“That accounts for the first couple days, but what about the last two months? What have you been doing all this time?” Trenton inquired.

“Taking advantage of the time I had. I helped fortify Dasellium’s defenses, looked into the problem at hand personally, and contacted several friends for favors or information, among other things. It took me longer than I’d hoped, but I have an idea as to what might be happening, as well as a potential path forward. But that’s all conjecture right now. My first goal is to get you to Avar, pass you off to a former student of mine, and then look into it further,” Walibeld finished.

“This student, you mentioned him before. Is he the same one that can fix Leo and Garrote?” Trenton asked.

“He is, and he’s an incredibly talented fighter. Take solace in his company. He’ll ensure your safety in my place,” Walibeld said.

“Who is he?” Garrote asked.

Walibeld smiled, an unusual sight, “A peculiar young boy by the name of Wimbleton. I don’t think I could really describe him, nor would my words do him justice, so you’ll just have to wait and see.”