Ludwig Mesurii was born from a mistress. His father and his wife failed to produce a son but had two daughters. Therefore, predictably He grew up observing his father constantly fighting his official wife over their choice of an heir. His father wanted his son, Ludwig, to succeed whereas his wife wanted her daughter to succeed. They always fought until his wife passed away. Even on her deathbed, she fought for her daughter to succeed. He had to admire the grit.
The only thing he recalled from his childhood was verbal fights between them which eventually made him value peace over everything else. Thus, when his father abdicated his seat to him, he did everything in his powers to ensure that peace would reign.
When he was notified of the decision to rebel, he was setting down in a nice and cozy two story house in the outskirts of Altzell. In fact, he was having Macomaco tea in his backyard peacefully. Sadly, he spilled the tea upon hearing the goddamned news.
“Please tell me that you are joking,” he said to the messenger as he wiped his lips while looking sadly at the spilled tea. It was an expensive mishap.
“I am afraid not, sir…”
Ludwig was one of few who was aware of the intense preparation the king was undertaking against the inevitable Siwen invasion and he immediately predicted that the rebellion would fail. Additionally, knowing the king’s personality, the future looked extremely grim. The mere act of a rebellion was enough to wipe out the entire Mesurii.
“Haven’t I done enough?” He wasn’t asking the messenger. He repeated, “Haven’t I done enough?”
He ruled the Mesurii for 53 years and he wanted to retire a long time ago. He deeply lamented that no suitable heir existed. Even the great grandson he passed the baton to, he wasn’t pleased with him. He was a short sighted lad who had a knack for being reckless. The only reasons he chose to pass the baton to him was his quick decision making and that he was intelligent enough. Ironically, the lad was intelligent enough to foresee the dark cloud looming over the kingdom, and his quick decision making enabled him to choose a rebellion. He couldn’t have known what Ludwig knew about the king’s preparation. Should he have told him? Negative. He was never going to tell him the inner workings of the kingdom. It was something he would need to learn on his own, which was the burden of being a leader of a house.
Sighing with exasperation, he rubbed his temple. There was no way out of this, he knew. He sincerely hoped that he was wrong. He prayed that the rebellion would be successful and that the Siwen would defeat the Egra.
Alas, neither happened. Just as he predicted, the rebellion was crushed as soon as it began, and the Siwen was counter-invaded after having their main army obliterated. Therefore, the Mesurii house was in tatters, deeply in fear of the dark fate that would befall on them. The soldiers at Altzell had already surrounded the Mesurii house, effectively putting them under house arrest.
Thankfully, Ludwig was not there. Using his old connections as well as his own personal wealth, he was able to get fringe members of the house to sneak out. No one would notice them gone anyway. In the end, he managed to get about seven members to sneak out of the manor at night.
“You are no longer a noble at this point,” Ludwig told the seven people who looked a little thin. Food would have been delivered, but the Mesurii manor had a lot of mouths to feed. “Do not ever claim that you are a Mesurii. Is that clear?”
They nodded. “We deeply thank you, Lord Ludwig,” One of them said gratefully.
“But what do we do now?” Another asked in a desperate tone. Now that their lives were secured, they needed to think about their future. With no money at all, their immediate future was grim. Ludwig himself wasn’t in a position to help them out, either. His personal wealth was limited with a significant portion having already been spent on their release. These fringe members would have been culled under normal circumstances. He insisted on keeping them under their payroll as long as he could.
“It is now time to think on your own now,” Ludwig told them with a look of resignation on his face. “I can no longer help you.”
“Would any noble houses accept us?”
He shook his head. “You are members of a rebelled house. Don’t ever approach a noble house unless it’s your death wish. Go out there and farm.”
They looked at each other and murmured. Not once had they held a farming tool, let alone do any manual labor. They were scared rightfully so. But it was either that or starving to death. The choice was obvious.
“... Go.” Pointing somewhere out, he told them weakly. They reluctantly left his house.
Sighing, he said to himself, “Well, at least the Mesurii won’t be completely wiped out even in the worst case.”
He didn’t expect all of them to survive. There were five men and two women. At least one would survive, he hoped. In some shape and form, the Mesurii bloodline would continue.
Looking around, he spotted a single maid who was obediently standing still, waiting for orders. She was an old maid in her 50s. She had served him her whole life. With over half of her hair already gray, she looked old and battered. In his knowledge, she was never physically abused, but her work as a maid must have taken a toll on her. The Mesurii manor had over 60 members with only 15 maids or so. The workload must have been immense.
“You should leave as well, Petra.”
“I have nowhere else to be, Milord. I would rather die with you than go elsewhere.”
He couldn’t blame her for saying that. Having served him for her entire life, she had no family to return to and she was too old to start a family. She literally had nowhere else to go.
“I am sorry that it has come to this.”
“It is not your fault, Milord. If anything, this proves that you should have never left.”
He smiled bitterly. It was him who wanted to retire.
Since then he merrily waited for a day where soldiers would invade his home and cut him down. He lived long enough, he felt.
One day, he was taking a walk outside. When he was passing by the local market, a traveling merchant was telling a tale of “the hero of the realm” excitedly. There was a small group of people around him, listening to him curiously.
Shrouded in darkness, a lone boy stood atop of a crumbling wall that was Egra. Hordes of demons glowing in crimson red were creeping toward his location. Alas, the boy stood alone; his fate seemingly doomed. Yet, the boy’s eyes displayed a glimmer of everlasting hope, backed up by wind elementals. Green butterflies began forming around him, granting him powers which no mortal could wield. His everlasting hope became a ball of holy light and banished the darkness.
“Hmm…”
He approached the merchant. He had his wagon parked on the side of a road and was selling his goods right out of it. A young girl with crimson hair was busily setting up the shop behind him. They shared no resemblance, indicating that they were not related.
He casually asked him, “Merchant, who is this hero of the realm?”
The merchant looked excited when asked. He busily began to tell Ludwig what he saw back at Dido.
“He is the heir to the Fenchel!” He said, his voice full of excitement. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life! Who knew magic could be so flashy?!”
The heir to the Fenchel…
He recalled meeting the boy once at the royal party a few years ago. He looked to be a harmless little boy at that time. He would have never imagined that the boy would have turned out like this. He had no hard feelings about Loukia being pushed out for …
Loukia…!
He had completely forgotten about her. As a banished member of the Mesurii, he was uncertain what kind of fate would befall on her. What was certain was that she would eventually be kicked out of the cursed villa or outright killed on the spot. More importantly, she would be someone he could still save. But there was an issue with saving her. She was born and raised like a noble lady. Additionally, she was once the wife of Edmund Fenchel. He felt that she was too used to high society to be able to go back to being a commoner. Regardless, she was still someone he could save.
Once he was back to his house, he hired a messenger and sent him to Loukia in Vikku. He had sent her a letter that basically said, “Get out of there and come here.” He was reluctant to write an explanation in case the letter was read by others.
She arrived at his location after about twelve days in a fancy carriage. He assumed that she thought she was coming back to the fold.
What a silly girl…
Just as expected, Loukia looked dumbfounded to find herself in front of a regular two-story house.
“Great grandfather, what is going on?”
Clicking his tongue, he briefly explained what happened.
“Oh my God!” She collapsed to her knees with her face pale as a ghost. “We are dead! So dead!” She cried.
“Calm down, girl. That is why I called you here to get out. I assume you have some money with you, correct?”
“I…,” She trailed off. “I had some but spent most of it repairing the villa… Right now, I have only a few silver coins left…”
“That is better than nothing, girl. Are you willing to live as a commoner?”
She grimaced. “I can’t… I can’t…”
“You can survive if you choose to become a commoner.”
She looked up to him with tears in her eyes. “I’ve lived as the lady of the Fenchel for my whole life. I cannot go back.” There was resentment in her voice as if she didn’t deserve what she was going through.”
Sighing, Ludwig stroked his beard. He sort of expected such a reply from her. He couldn’t blame her, either. She was raised specifically to become the first wife of a powerful nobleman. This was decided when it was determined that she’d grow beautiful. It was no fault of her own that she refused to become a commoner.
“I see… I see…”
A little scheme popped up in his mind at this point. A day before she arrived, he had received a letter of summon. He was being summoned by the king for an explanation. The letter also demanded the current head of the house to be executed. Apparently, the same copy was sent to the Mesurii manor.
This shall be my last dance…
“Loukia, I do have an idea. However, you must entrust your life to me.”
“What…?” She looked up to him with a tear soaked face. He explained to her that he was being summoned to the capital.
“The Mesurii is done. I cannot fathom a scenario where they will survive. But, you girl, you may have a path.”
“R, really?” Her face brightened slightly.
“If successful, you will be able to live as a noblewoman. But you must follow my advice. You must not deviate. You must abandon your pride, girl.”
“What… are you planning to do?”
The royal party was where all available heads of landed noble houses would gather, meaning Edmund Fenchel would be there as well. He was banking on a slim possibility that Edmund may have some feelings left for her. Ludwig had reasons to believe so because the Fenchel house didn’t really press for a divorce. The Mesurii wanted to drag the divorce for as long as possible for money, and the Fenchel seemingly complied. The divorce process dragged on for about a year before it was finalized. Of course, Edmund was not a fool. He wouldn’t take back a divorced wife without a valid reason especially when the Mesurii was in tatters.
On that night before he’d leave for the capital with Loukia, he called Petra to his study. He placed a small leather pouch on his desk.
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“It has ten silver coins,” He told her. “Take it and restart your life.” It was all the money he had left. Knowing that he was walking into a death trap, he no longer had a need for money.
She stared at the pouch for a moment before shaking her head. “I refuse. Please take me with you to the capital.”
“Petra, I will be frank. I am going there to die.”
She revealed a dagger from her belt. “I shall take my own life when you leave to greet the God of Death.”
Ludwig sighed. To be honest, there were too many responsibilities on his aged shoulders.
Haven’t I done enough?
Yet, he was feeling this strange vigor within.
“I forbid you to take your own life. I will permit you to follow me under one condition. You will serve Loukia from now on.”
“Milord -”
“Petra,” He interjected, “I am a man. And a proper man knows when it’s time to take his leave. I feel that my time has come but I won’t go easily. You are now serving Loukia. Take the money also, for I have no need for it. This is an order.”
Tears filled her eyes. She tried to say something but choked in her tears. Instead, silently sobbing, she took the small leather pouch with both of her hands, caressing it in her chest.
“Milord, it’s … just not fair, sir. It’s not fair… You do deserve a peaceful end.”
Ludwig could only smile bitterly.
A man has to do what he has to do.
Their journey to Keviel, the capital, was an excruciating one, not physically but mentally. The closer they got, the more nervous they became. Ludwig remained calm and collected, but the two women, Loukia and Petra, were feeling very uneasy because they had no idea what he was planning to do. The women knew one thing for certain. Once they enter the capital, they wouldn’t leave there without a resolution. It was one or zero.
Keviel was in a festive mood, understandable since their country earned a huge victory against their nemesis. Of course, the mood inside of Ludwig’s carriage was anything but. When it arrived at the royal castle, they expected to be seized. To their surprise, however, they were treated like nobles. Ludwig was donning his finest attire. While Loukia’s dress was nothing fancy, the woman had high standards. Her regular dress was nothing to scoff at. Behind the two, there was Petra in her maid uniform. On the surface at least, they looked like a regular group of nobles.
Fixing his attire, Ludwig walked into the castle with his cane. They were led to a large luxurious suite. Loukia would normally make a comment about the quality of the room, but she was in no mood to make any remakes. Lugwid told them to stay inside and went out to seek Edmund meanwhile. He knew the Fenchel had their own manor in the capital. He even knew its location.
“Yes?”
A butler responded to his knocking.
“My name is Ludwig. Tell Lord Fenchel that I am here.”
Opening the front door carefully, the butler let him wait inside in the main lobby while he went to see Edmund. A short moment later, he came back to the lobby to inform him that he was willing to see him.
“What a surprise,” was what Edmund said as soon as Ludwig entered. “What brings you here?”
“I have a request, Lord Fenchel.”
“Oh? Curious. Go on.”
“Loukia is here with her maid. I want you to take them.”
Edmund looked genuinely surprised to hear that.
“Surely you jest, sir? Why would I take back a woman who willingly left on her own?”
“Because she will be dead if you don’t take her back.”
“Should I care?” His words were cold.
“No, you should not,” Ludwig replied stoically. “You are perfectly justified in not caring about her at all. She tried to kill your male heir after all who has become the hero of the realm.”
Edmund crossed his fingers on the desk. “Then why are you asking this?”
“Because I have no one else to turn to. She will be the last member of the Mesurii. You do know what I am saying, do you not?”
Grimacing, Edmund became silent. Both of them knew that the Mesurii wouldn’t survive. Ludwig being summoned to the capital was basically a stay of execution. It did give him time to smuggle some members out. For that, he was grateful.
“I cannot take her back,” Edmund replied, his face showing complication. “She and I are not on the same page.”
“Will you take her as a mistress then?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. She was once the first wife of the Fenchel. She cannot just become a mistress. I cannot take her back.”
Sighing, Ludwig stroked his beard. “I see. Perhaps, it’s too late then.”
Edmund narrowed his eyes. He found it strange that Ludwig was withdrawing that easily.
“I thank you for allowing this audience. I shall take my leave.”
Just as he turned around to leave, Edmund asked him.
“What are you scheming?”
Without turning back, he replied, “Why do you ask?”
“Your eyes. They show determination. You are planning something.”
“I am,” He said curtly as he left Edmund’s study.
On that evening, the first event was an audience between the king and Ludwig. It was held in the main lobby of the royal castle, which was an extravagant large hall. Two long stairs were located on its back with deep crimson carpet covering it all the way to its grand entrance. There were two large doors on each side but they were firmly closed for this occasion with a pair of guards in full plate standing in front. Finally, there was a large chandelier hanging from its tall ceiling which housed about a hundred candles within.
Karsten Egra was standing in the middle of the point where the two stairs met at the bottom. He was flanked by two guards in full plate. There were a pair of guards on each side as well. Before them, about ten meters away, Ludwig was on one knee with his head down. Noblemen were standing in the back. Edmund was among them. Loukia was there as well in a far corner. Normally, women weren’t allowed on the first day of the royal party. An exception was made on Ludwig’s request.
“Ludwig Mesurii, do you know why you were summoned here?” Karsten asked stoically, no emotion on his face.
“I do not.”
“You do realize that your house has raised the flag of rebellion, do you not?”
“I do.”
“Did you have anything with it?”
“I do not.”
His answers were short and clear.
“I plan to execute the entire Mesurii house. You have one chance to sway my mind. Speak your piece, Ludwig Mesurii.”
“May I stand? My old knees are crying, sire.”
“Fine, you may stand.”
Standing up with a weak grunt, he faced Karsten Egra from a distance.
“My liege, I have no defense for my people, for what they have done is indisputable. You stay loyal or you don’t. They chose the latter.”
Karsten narrowed his eyes, and Ludwig continued.
“Before I speak further, I’d like to know one thing, your highness.”
“Go on.”
“Whose idea was this?”
“Whose idea what?”
“It is unprecedented that I am allowed to speak here. Whose idea was it?”
It took Karsten a moment to answer.
“It was Ewald Fenchel’s idea, the son of Edmund.”
So, it was the lad, huh…
He looked behind to see whether he was there. He was there, next to Edmund. Turning his attention back to the king, he spoke.
“Your highness. I am not here to ask for forgiveness.”
The guards went alert but Karsten waved his hand.
“He is a harmless little old man. Let him speak his piece.”
At 73 year-old, Ludwig was indeed “a harmless little old man”. His back was slightly bent, thus he could no longer stand straight. He also needed a cane to walk. His white beard was mostly bent and out of shape. He wasn’t bald however but his hair was haywire. If he wasn’t wearing noble attire, no one would see him as a nobleman.
“Your highness, what I am about to tell you may hurt your feelings, but it is for your own good.”
Nobles behind him began to murmur at which point Karsten shouted loudly.
“SILENCE!”
Clearing his throat, Ludwig continued.
“Your highness, do you know why the three houses rebelled?”
“I do not,” The king replied promptly.
“They rebelled because of your blatant favoritism. A kingdom such as ours cannot stand with just two houses. You cannot simply favor only the Fenchel and the Flissing and expect everything will be alright.”
Karsten’s face flinched a little.
“I am sure they never thought about rebellion until recently. They understood your favoritism initially. The two houses have been with you all these years after all. But it was your mistake to have continued on with your favoritism.”
A vein popped on the king’s forehead.
“You are a good tactician. I will concede that. However, you lack any respect for life. You chose to sacrifice an entire army for your plan in this war. And I don’t have to mention what happened during the reunification war.”
“Enough.”
However, he continued, “Your methods may work for the time being. However, in the long run, it is going to backfire on you and on the whole kingdom. You must change your ways, your highness. Or there will be repercussions. Mark my words.”
“I said, ENOUGH!”
“I shall not shut up. I am not leaving here alive anyway.”
Karsten signaled guards, and they approached him.
“Elementals of fire, heed my call!”
Ludwig opened his arms widely, and brightly glowing red salamanders that were the size of sweet potatoes began to appear and crawl on his body at once. His cane fell sideways meanwhile.
“Grant this old man’s dying wish! Suck every bit of my powers and grant me the ultimate spell: Sacrifice!”
The guards dashed in at once and thrust their spears into his body. At the very same moment, the glowing red salamanders dove into his body and began to inflate his body like a balloon. The spears pierced his skin, but it didn’t seem to have any effect with no blood gushing out. Knowing his end was near, he looked back to find Loukia pale as a ghost in a corner. She was probably thinking it was all over for her.
You were always a silly girl, Loukia.
Then he glanced over at Ewald who was looking at him with candid eyes. He didn’t seem surprised and his eyes looked sincere, showing unbelievable composure for a child.
Ah, so the boy understands. Not only that, he agrees with me.
When he initially heard of him being “the hero of the realm”, he thought it was a mere made-up story. People loved gossip after all. A broad smile appeared on his face just as his hideously inflated body exploded literally, throwing bits of his flesh awry, blasting away four soldiers who attacked him. His decapitated head launched itself to the air. With rapidly deteriorating consciousness, he thought to his mind.
Elementals…, if this is within my ability…, bless … the … boy …
The explosion made the nobles panic and run out. Amid the chaos, Loukia did not miss the chance as instructed by Ludwig. She dashed toward Edmund, got on four, and grabbed the tip of his pants.
“Edmund, please take me with you!” She begged aloud. No one was paying any attention to them, thanks to the chaos Ludwig created.
“What? Are you mad?!”
“Please! I will do anything, please!”
He growled. If she was caught by the guards, she would be done for. Shaking his head in resignation, he grabbed her upper arm and forced her to stand up.
“Come on!”
“Y, yes!”
A lone salamander on a wall was watching them flee.
…………………..
…………..
………
When Ludwig opened his eyes, he found himself in a pitch black space. Interestingly, he could see his naked body clearly. And, when he stood up, he found that he could stand up straight. Even the back pain was gone. At this point, he quickly realized that -
“I am dead, huh. Of course, I remember now. This means …”
A large golden judgment scale appeared in front of him; It was the size of an elephant.
“The judgment…,” He whispered. He read it from some old book where people would be judged by Gods upon death. No one really believed that it was true however.
“Welcome to the judgment.” A voice sounded. “Your soul is now being judged before being reborn.”
Ludwig bowed toward the judgment scale and asked with utmost respect in his voice.
“Please grace me with your identity.”
“I am the God of Death.”
A feminine voice added, “And I am the God of Life.”
He whispered to himself, “So, it was true… The book was true…”
The God of Life said, “Ludwig, this was your 1,000th time where you requested to bless someone before your death.”
“Excuse me?”
“Every single time you were reborn, you requested to bless someone right before your death.”
The God of Death added, “And you’ve always worked hard to bring your family together. Sometimes, you were successful. Sometimes you were not.”
He smiled bitterly. “I’ve failed this time, I suppose.”
After a moment of silence, the God of Life spoke.
“We shall judge your deeds.”
The judgment scale shone in a yellow light very briefly and It started to lean right.
“You’ve never taken anyone’s life but your own. You do not have much sin to speak of.”
The scale began to lean further right.
The God of Death added, “Your virtue exceeds far more than little sins you’ve committed. Ludwig, you are to ascend.”
The God of Life said, “In all of your lives, your virtue has always far exceeded your sins. You are to ascend.”
“Pray tell. What does it mean to ascend?”
The God of Death explained, “You shall be reborn but not as a mortal but as an elemental.”
“You shall retain some of your memories,” The God of Life added, “Finally, as a reward, we shall grant your request.”
“My… request?”
“Your request to bless someone. We shall grant it. You’ve asked for a thousand times; you’ve earned the right.”
There was one lingering desire in his mind. He felt it was interesting that he no longer had any attachment toward the members of Mesurii, including Louka and Petra. But there was this boy he wished to …
“I would like to keep my eyes on the boy.”
He wasn’t sure whether the Gods would know who he was talking about.
“You will become an elemental. You will be free to do as you please. However, as you’ve always had a fire affinity, you will be reborn as a fire elemental and will be limited in your ability to watch him.”
“Would it be possible for me to become a wind elemental?”
“Under normal circumstances, no. However, you do have a blessing that is yet to be cast. If you cast the blessing of wind on yourself, you will become a wind elemental.”
He felt that the boy didn’t need his explicit blessing. He didn’t know why he asked the boy to be blessed in his last moment also. His memories were becoming hazy. Some parts of his memories as Ludwig were rapidly deteriorating. It was when he realized his body was no more and that he had turned into a translucent green butterfly. The judgment scale vanished progressively as well.
“Ludwig,” The God of Life and Death spoke in unison. “You are now a wind elemental. You’ve earned this transcendent through countless and repeated ordeals you’ve overcome over a long period of time.”
In his current mind, there were only a few lingering thoughts. It was that he wanted to watch over the boy’s life and that it wanted to help him when appropriate. It also remembered Loukia faintly and differently. It no longer remembered her as an adult but a cute child who always dreamed of becoming a princess.
The wind elemental, who was once Ludwig, flew away into the darkness.