Chapter Fifty-Nine: Meeting Jade
I still can’t believe my eyes. Jade is here in Magefell. Usually, that would be wonderful news—and it is!—but the news of the Horde scares me. Whatever High Mage Aegon saw in Jade’s warning is enough to put me on edge. According to Jade, though, they won’t be here for at least a month. For me, that’s enough to practice my magic skills. And to talk to Eva.
After High Mage Aegon leaves, Jade and Xavier are left dumbfounded, and I’m sure I look that way on the outside, but inside, I am pensive. Eventually, though, someone has to break the silence.
“So…that was awkward,” Xavier says. “What do we do now?”
“Why don’t I introduce her to the Vanguard?” I ask.
“You would do that?” Jade gushes. “Oh, I’d love to meet them.”
“I’ll go there with you,” Xavier declares. “I’ve been meaning to talk to Neena anyway.”
“What about?”
“Stuff,” Xavier replies defensively. “It’s none of your business.”
“Shall we head out?” Jade asks, beginning to walk away down the hallway. I turn to Xavier and smile, and he cocks his head.
“Where’s she going?”
“I’m not sure.”
A minute later, Jade comes back, red in the face and clearly annoyed.
“You lead the way,” She says. “Clearly, I don’t know the way around here.”
— — —
The sun shines brightly on me and my cloak. As soon as I leave Zenyth, I start to sweat. The humidity doesn’t help, of course.
“I can’t believe you’re wearing armor,” Xavier says to jade. “Aren’t you hot?”
I can see Jade stifle a joke, and she responds seriously. “A little. We can pass by the Ember to drop it off.”
“Does that mean I can see Guilia?”
“Who’s Guilia?” Xavier asks.
“Friend from Erenfeld.”
“Competition?” Xavier nudges Jade, who glares and turns away from him.
“Guilia could be your mother,” She answers finally, and Xavier shrugs.
“Some people like those things. I don’t judge.”
The market looms into view, and I hurry the rest of the way, eager to see Guilia. I was never very close to her, but any remembrance of Erenfeld is welcome, especially such a nice one. When we reach the Ember, Mistress Anan smiles at us and chuckles.
“I see you two have found each other already.”
“We have,” I respond, somewhat stiffly. “Is there anything wrong with that?”
“Of course not,” Mistress Anan shrugs. “Guili is still in her room, but both Robin and the other one have left.”
“Mothe?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you,” Jade finishes, walking up the stairs, inviting Xavier and me to follow her. We do so, and I have a sense of deja vu, remembering the last time I was here, also with Jade. It seems like so long ago, but it wasn’t even a month yet.
Jade knocks on the door to her room, and a recognizable voice comes from inside.
“Who is it?”
“Jade, and an old friend.”
Guilia opens the door, wiping her eyes, clearly just woken up from a nap.
“This better be goo—” She pauses. “Zade!” With a squeal, she embraces me, and I grunt as the air leaves my lungs like an impatient nomad.
“Hey, Guilia,” I say. “How’s life?”
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“Fine, everything considered,” She responds. “I’m a little tired, but I’m alive. How about you?”
“I think I’m alive, but after this hug, I’m not sure,” I wheeze. Flushing, she drops me on the ground. “Thank you. Yes, I’m good. Life is very different here in Magefell, but it’s fun all the same, and there’s always the added sense of danger to everything.”
“Well, get ready for more danger. I assume Jade has told you what’s coming?”
“I have,” Jade tells her. “Zade acted nonchalantly about it.”
“Not true,” I respond. “But I have had to fight a death cult, their God of death, and thousands of monsters, plus a few mages including a High Mage and the Captain of the most elite army in the world, although I wasn’t the one to kill him.”
Guilia’s mouth drops. “Tell me everything.”
“I don’t think we have the time for that,” I respond. “But I can tell you the condensed version. There are two factions of Mages, and I belong to one, the most known and populated one. The other is made of a Cult, led by their God of death, who believes the world is messed up and needs to fix it.
“The Cult killed one of my friends, so I killed some of them in revenge. You must've heard of the Magefell Tournament, right? Well, in the end, the Cult destroyed the arena and brought thousands of monsters to this world. We lost many lives, but with help from my friends, we beat the army. In the process, I was recruited by a Goddess to be her champion in this continent, one of many, to bring down the Cult.
“Now, it is my mission to delay or stop anything the Cult does, and I have magical power that most don’t have, due to being the champion of the Goddess. Did you get that all?”
Guilia laughs, “Imagine if that was true. That would be so crazy.”
“It is,” I reply.
Gaping, Guilia replies, stepping back a couple steps. “Prove it.”
I grit my teeth, and look around. I’m not sure exactly how to prove a Goddess chose me as a champion, not to mention how to prove the Cult exists.
“Well, you know how long it takes to learn magic, right?” I ask.
“Yes, I do. I’ve heard it takes at least a decade.”
“More, usually,” I respond. “Xavier, show her what you can do.”
Groaning, Xavier smirks. “Always me, isn’t it?” He brings three Fireballs to his hands and begins to juggle them. Guilia’s eyes widen as she stares at the Fireballs.
“That is the extent of Xavier’s magic,” I say. “He can do a little more, but not much more, and he’s been here for a little longer than me.”
“What can you do?” She asks.
I grin, my body already flowing with flames and lightning. Crackling, the lightning zooms around me, enveloping me like an old friend. The flames lift me up and tickle my skin, eager to release and devour.
“This is who I can become,” I say, my voice louder than usual. “Do you believe now that I have a Goddess inside me?”
Guilia is speechless. When I come down, the power evaporating, I let her catch her breath, trying not to smirk.
“I think I believe you,” She finally responds, still trying to catch her breath. “But I’m not sure if that is so special. I’ll just take your word for it.”
“It’s true,” Xavier and Jade say at the same time.
“I’ve heard the voice of the God and I’ve felt the power of the Goddess,” Xavier continues, raising his hands to his head, and shaking it incredulously. “It’s something I’d never experienced before. We had to fight mages who wanted to kill us because we disagreed with them. We lost friends to this. One of them was the person we wanted to protect the most. It’s the worst mistake we ever made, and it will haunt us forever. So, no offense, but don’t you dare say you don’t believe us. The story might seem unbelievable, but the dead speak for themselves. Astil is a testimony to this.”
“Who’s Astil?” Guilia asks then looks at our forlorn faces. “Oh. I’m sorry. I believe you, it’s just such an incredible story.”
“Yeah, imagine what it’s like to live it,” I tell her.
“What’s the Goddess like?”
“Beautiful, perfect,” I respond. “Honestly, I don't know her too well, but from the little time I’ve known her, I haven’t regretted being her champion. Anything that can be used against Dautha is welcome, especially someone this powerful and friendly.”
“A Goddess…” Guilia shakes her head. “You’re talking about a divine being that created and rules us?”
“Not exactly. It’s close,” I say. “They are divine, but they didn’t create us. Eva told me she comes from elsewhere and they also don’t rule us. Technically, they aren’t even supposed to interact with us, but they do. They both want our worship but Eva doesn’t want to rule us.”
“But Dautha does?”
“Yes.”
“And you think it’s okay for Eva to ask for worship? She hasn’t done anything to us!”
“Well, she did help us defeat Dautha’s monsters. She is divine, though, so I think asking for worship isn’t wrong. Worship and servitude are two different things.”
“That’s true,” Guilia admits. “But I don’t know if I trust your Goddess completely.”
“You don’t need to,” I respond. “I’m her champion, and that’s enough.”
“And what do you do as this champion?”
“I do all I can with my new power to stop the Cult?”
“And what have you done since the battle?”
I bite my lip. “Not much. The Cult is hiding again in plain sight, and all I can do now is find them.”
“Well, I wish you good luck with that, but I’ll stay away from that for now. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“We’re going to see the Vanguard. You want to come?” I ask.
“I’ll stay here.”
— — —
The Vanguard grounds are now familiar to me. I’ve been able to visit sometimes. Usually, it’s illegal for any non-Vanguard member to enter, but the rules have changed since the Wolf was killed. Now, warriors may bring visitors, but any sort of illegal activity will immediately cause the firing of that warrior.
As per usual, there is a guard standing at the entrance to the ground, glaring at us and sweating buckets. The man straightens when we arrive and begins to talk in the most boring way possible.
“Purpose of visit?” He drawls.
“We’re here to see Yue Zhang,” I tell him. It’s mid-afternoon, so the Captain of the Vanguard has probably already been announced. The man nods and walks away, and there we stand, waiting patiently for him.
Eventually, the man came back with Yue in tow.
“Zade, good to see you,” She smiles. “Who is she?”
“This,” I say, “Is my best friend, Jade.”
Yue’s eyes widen.
“Wow, that’s so cool. Nice to meet you. I’m Yue Zhang,” She says, shaking Jade’s hand. “Wait, why are you here? No offense, but I thought you lived in Arcadia.”
Jade laughs. “None taken. Yes, I do live in Arcadia. I came here with others to warn Magefell.” She looked at the guard. “It’s better I don't say this here. It’s confidential for now.”
“Come with me. I want you to meet my friends.”