"What sort of occurrence does the Baron suspect of this mere mage?" Meyvil slightly bows in response, gesturing Jon to bow as well.
"Do not jest with me, mage, reports state that your beast rampaged around the forest last night." Scoffs the knight captain.
"Oh dear, so the Baron accuse my Halun for disturbing everyone's dreamy night?" She replied, still bowing down to the knight captain.
The knight captain sheathes his blade and urges his steed closer to Meyvil. A moment later, he only finally noticed Jon behind her when he was close to her.
"Mage, your beast disturbed the welfare of all the inhabitants by the border castle, this including the wildlife running amok and causing damages to the nearby villages." The knight captain sternly said, looking down on her atop his steed.
"Do not toy with me mage, you can not hide the beast in your palms always, so dare tell me the cause of that beast's frenzy that lasted for more than Zakel's light!" The knight captain's voice boomed all over the cave and the forest behind him as a strong gust of wind was formed by his voice.
The knight captain's booming voice resounded within Jon as he suddenly feels an overwhelming urge to obey the captain's command. However, before Jon could say anything, Meyvil used a spell that made him temporarily mute.
"Alright, yes, my Halun went on a frenzy last night and caused a great deal of damage within my domain, however this does not mean it went out and cause hysteria amongst other inhabitants as ya can evidently see before ya that the land is untouched." Meyvil seemingly conceded to the demand of the captain.
"Aye, the forest is clear, but what caused the beast to shake the land?" The knight captain gestured one of the knights behind him to be their second ears.
"I was working on some experimental spells, but I accidentally slipped one malignant spell that caused my Halun to go on a rampage within my domain, lucky enough I was able to block the exit but it took a long time to calm my Halun down." She explains carefully as she slowly raises her head.
The captain examined the surroundings once more and returned to look at Meyvil, her long brown hair smooth and silky enough that made them want to touch it, her silver eyes felt cold yet soothing which confused the captain, and her features made the captain wish that many women looked like her.
"What sort of 'experimental spell' were you making mage?" asked the captain.
"Well... it is something us Sorcerers keep a secret until it is complete, but it is a spell that makes the victim think they were an animal." She hides her face as she replied, not allowing the captain to see her smiling.
The captain remembers one of the many rumors about the mages, and one of which is 'a Sorcerer will never share to just about anyone about their research'. Inside their behemite helm, the captain smiled, feeling that this mage actually trusts them.
They glanced at Jon once again, curious as to when did this hermit of a mage take interest of raising an assistant.
"This boy behind you, state his relation to you? The Duke last said that you like to be isolated, but this does not seem like it." asked the captain again, as the second ear shows interest in the question.
"Sire may have answered in their mind what relation this child is with me, he is my apprentice and he is still new to magic, however, he was in no relation to causing my Halun to go on a rampage, it was clearly all my doing." She assured in reply.
The captain was unsure whether what she has been saying true or not, but because Meyvil has some special decree from the Duke that does not allow anyone to enter the cave unless she says so, the knights would not be able to investigate the inside.
"Are you not hiding anything more from us inside this cave, mage?" The knight captain asked one last time as he gestures the others to prepare to leave.
"None of it sire." She humbly replied.
The captain looked at her one more time, then a moment later the captain let out a sigh.
"I will take your word for it, you mages and your experiments are always chaotic, I will let this pass, never cause anymore trouble for the inhabitants, if you please." The knights then returned to the track towards the border castle to report their brief investigation.
As the knights ride off deeper into the woods, Meyvil removed the mute spell on Jon and sighs in relief.
"I apologize for casting a spell on ya, that knight has the ability to overwhelm people and do their bidding as they please, which meant ya could have told them everything that had happened until now." She pats Jon on the head, happy that both of them were unharmed.
"The fuck happened? I heard someone yelling out something and came here as fast as I could." Vernack huffs and puffs as Bale arrives right after he does.
Jon and Meyvil looked at each other and let out an unrestrained laughter, making Vernack confused even further.
"Go on back in, I will explain to ya!" She walked back inside the cave, everyone following behind her.
****
"You were Grama's apprentice this whole time?" Vernack yells out in shock, he could not believe it at first but the more Meyvil told her story, the more he would remember about Grandmother Bliss telling him and the other caretakers about the story of a mage who worked her way to becoming a powerful Sorceress.
"And Grama was a Prodigy? I only knew that she was a mage when all of us were about to separate on heading towards Creek's End, though I do not get what spell she casted on us." His expression saddened, remembering how Grandmother Bliss raised everyone in the orphanage, had most of her mana soul still retained, she could have wiped most of Supriar's knights.
The three sat silently opposite from each other, contemplating on the times they spent with Grandmother Bliss. For them, they imagined Grandmother Bliss planned all this out all along for the three of them to meet.
"And Jon actually suffers from something called 'Lom's Curse', so many things happened while I was asleep huh?" Vernack softly muttered, sorting out all the information that he was told.
"It is a lot to take in." Meyvil stokes the fire, as she cooks for their lunch.
"But, I assume that the spell she placed on ya was related to that horse there, a spell that permanently controls a beast but that is all I know." She adds.
Silence again. The sound of fire cackling and the ambience of the cave gave a cozy feeling for the three. They seemed to enjoy their company as they remind themselves that they were once under Grandmother Bliss' wing.
"So, what will the two of you be doing from now on?" She breaks the silence after a long while, passing on a plate filled with vegetable stew she made.
"I want to avenge Grama and Chief at all costs!" Yelled out Jon as he jumps from his seat, startling everyone in the cave.
"Yeah, we were taken in by Chief Pyrlord for five northern seasons, he and the others taught us all about the basics of fighting and mana control, but they never mentioned even once of magic circles." added Vernack, cooling the heat from his stew.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Meyvil seemed unfazed by the mention of Grenhutr's hero, but she is happy to hear that the two know at least how to defend themselves, if not, their bones would be suckled by Halungr by now.
"That also explains why Jon could not do mana control, since he has 'Lom's Curse', funny how the Chief would beat the shit out of Jon thinking he was not practicing mana control." Vernack bursts out in laughter, glad that he was not the one that was cursed with no mana soul.
Meyvil joined in the fun as the chaos between the three ensues from this day onward.
****
*Fifteen Days Later*
"Jon, Verna! I will be on my way now, see you when I see you again!" Meyvil and Halungr wave their hands in farewell, packed with all of the objects she used in her domain.
"Do not forget to continue what I taught ya Verna, and take proper care of Jon!" She hops on to Halungr's back and casts a spell on themselves, slowly disappearing bit by bit.
Jon and Vernack happily waved their farewell as well, preparing to leave the domain and head out to the direction where they were suppose to go five northern seasons ago.
"Come on, just as we planned with Meyvil, we have to first find a way to break your curse, Jon." Said Vernack, strapping on the things they will need for their journey.
"Right!" Jon said in reply, as he checks on the makeshift saddle they made for Bale.
"Feels alright, Bale?" He whispers to Bale, rubbing its neck.
Neigh! Bale gleefully tests out their makeshift saddle by running around the cave entrance, after a while, Bale stops before Jon and sees that the saddle is still intact.
"Alright then, let us head on out." Vernack leads the way into the forest, while Jon moves along behind him.
****
As Oran's light pass and gone, the two have travelled several Massus, meeting various kinds of wildlife to hone their skills and trade with passing villagers, asking for direction towards Baron Slies' border castle.
Although they were directly heading towards the border castle at first, but minor quests of their own forced them to detour almost always, which they see as a benefit for them.
A few moons later, they finally arrive at the gate of the border castle, there was a significant amount of travelers, merchants, and refugees from the villages burnt down by the Supriars.
"Blasted things, are inspecting people that hard for it to take this long!" One of the merchants wearing multiple crystal rings and a red necklace voiced out his complaint.
"Aye, this is all because of those damned Supriars, continuously threatening the border to fuel a war, now every country is weary of a single spy coming from them!" A bald merchant wearing a brown robe said in reply.
The two merchants chatted one another loud enough for even the guard's above the high wall can hear them chatter. However, Jon and Vernack minded none of it.
"But alas, it seems like Duke Cristos is avoiding the issues on his border, it almost seem like the Duke is doing this intentionally for something." The merchant with the red necklace loudly sighs out his opinion, and glances at the expression of the guards.
Silence. The guards just continued their inspection and not even budge to the provocations of a simple merchant. The merchant's expectations were not broken, he already had assumed that these guards know none of what is happening in the capital of Cristos.
"I heard that the king of Leisos has better benefits for us traders and refugees than in the capital of Cristos, with five Massus of land free for the refugees to build their new homes safely inside Leisos." The other merchant said, getting the attention of some of the refugees.
"Oi, is that true? Is Leisos willing to give us mere peasants a land?" A middle-aged man carrying his sleeping daughter on his arms was one of those that caught their attention.
"Aye friend! Not only that, Leisos plans to give refugees the support they need for two northern seasons, whether it be wealth, shelter, food, knight and mage scholarships, and employment, the king Leisos has all that answered!" The bald merchant boasted on and on about Leisos that even the guards were annoyed by his repetitive praise.
The refugees at that moment began to murmur to each other, the voices of the two merchants were clear enough for the people from the far back understand what they were trying to say. Many of them started to consider moving towards Leisos than inward to Cristos as they believed that the king of Leisos had plans for them.
"Do not trust them! They are hired by the king of Leisos to lure all you inside his country then be used as slave labors for his own gain!" An elderly lady walks out of the gate wearing a red robe and golden neckline, angrily rebuking the merchants' claims.
"Oho, dear Minister of Foreign Affairs was here all along, please do not mind our tongues, we did not mean to be rude." The merchant with the red necklace bows before the Minister, hiding a chuckle as he does so.
"Everyone, hear me! The Duke of Cristos has already prepared your necessary needs in the capital, this involves no tax for two northern seasons and the old bones like us gets to earn wages per season even after retirement!" The Minister of Foreign Affairs announced with all of her strength, then one of her assistants appear from inside the castle and calms the Minister.
Once again, murmurs between refugees are heard, many showing conflicted expressions, choosing whether they travel another several moons to another country or enter the capital with lesser benefits that are believable for them.
Jon and Vernack looked at each other, as if asking one another if any of them understood what they were talking about.
"What does a Minister of Foreign Affairs do any way?" Asked Jon, scratching his head and feeling tired of waiting in the long line.
"I know none of it, I only know that 'Ministers' are some sort of important figures for a country." Vernack replied, puzzled by the state of the line not moving because of the merchants and the Minister arguing over citizens.
"I wish Meyvil was here, she could have solved both their and our issues right now."
"Yeah, if it was her, I would trust her with everything." Vernack said in reply.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the two finally reached the guards. The spearmen postured themselves with a their chests puffed out, showing their discipline while the Minister is still present outside the gate.
"Halt! State your business before entering the Realm of Cristos!" A large knight equipped with a full behemite-plated armor, questions the two.
"Sire, the name is Vernack, and this beside me is my little brother, Jon. We wish to enter the Dukedom in order to train and fight against the Supriars before a war ensues." Vernack bowed as he articulates his introduction as taught by Meyvil.
"Bah! You and that snot-nosed brat look like you have never even learned how to properly hunt a taldir, much more a Mortal?" The large knight let out a grand guffaw, his laughter as contagious as the common cold, soon after everyone around them started laughing.
The crowd laughed at the two for what seemed like an eternity, then slowly dying down as nothing happened after the knight mocked them.
"So you really wish to fight against the Supriars." The knight stares into Vernack's eyes, he senses the will of this boy in front of him, and he feels a familiar feeling that he would only feel from those who seek revenge.
"Have you killed someone yet, Vernack?" Asked the large knight.
"No, but I have hunted countless magical beasts for the past few seasons, my arrow will pierce through the hearts of every beating Supriar." Vernack tries not to give in to his anger as he replied.
"You, brat on the horse, while I sense that your brother here is worthy enough to fight against the Supriars, I do not sense that in you, it would be best to--" The knight was about to finish his sentence when he hears the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"Felguard Pylot, hurry up will ya! Stop chatting with them and finish your inspection!" Cried out the Minister of Foreign Affairs from the side.
The knight loudly sighs and looked at the two once again, his iris suddenly formed a magic circle and his vision shifts, now he sees the as only lines, with each color representing what type of object he was looking at.
Other than the obvious knives and bow that Jon and Vernack was carrying, he sees no other lines of red on their saddle bag nor on their woven sack bag.
"Alright, the two of you can enter the Dukedom, but if I ever hear that the two of you engaged in a crime, you will face far worse than execution." The knight sternly said, releasing a dominating aura that made the people behind Jon shiver in fear.
"Take this Vernack, show this emblem to a knight in the capital called Felguard Trinida, She will help you get in shape as an archer." As the two were about pass by him, the knight unmoved from his position, whispered to Vernack's ears and placed an emblem into his woven sack bag.
Vernack nodded in reply, and lead Bale along inside the castle. When they entered the castle walls, they see that there were more Rolguards and Felguards in here than peasants who would work on everyday tasks.
Nearby one of the barracks reeked in human dung, while the opposite of that were a group of servants washing the dirty tunic of the guards using the unlimited flow of water casted by a graduate of a local Academia.
The castle was in a sense "thriving" in knights and lower-ranked guards eager for a battle against the Supriars whom have harassed their home for a long time now.
Some Rolguards looked impatient, their eyes seething in bloodlust as time passes without them being able to sever the heads of a confident Supriar riding atop their glorious steed.
"Verna, I guess it was not only us whom have sought revege against the Supriars." Jon said in awe, looking around as he attempts to identify the motivation of others based on their expressions.
"Let us go Jon, I will surely find a way to break your curse, that way we can finally fight together." The two rode onward and a few moments later passed through another gatehouse, directly leading towards the capital.
Unlike the path whence they came in, the path towards the capital was built in patterned stone, surprising the two at the marvelous sight and length the road stretches.