Lathal looked on at Zycor who managed to wrap lightning around his right arm and begin to solidify it. “Good. Now, give the form more definition. The more clear the manifestation, the stronger your hard magic will be.” Lathal coached.

Zycor, strained due to using both gravity and lightning magic simultaneously, took a deep breath. Then, with a shout from deep within him, he gave the unrefined lightning a defined and clarified form. As lightning surged forth from it, Zycor asked as he caught his breath, “So… what now?”

Lathal smirked as he put his hand up. “I want you to throw the strongest punch you can with that fist.”

Zycor looked down at the gauntlet, then back at Lathal. His breathing got heavier, his eyes changed back to slits and he roared, lunging forward with all the strength he could muster. Lathal’s smirk turned into a massive smile. Right before Zycor made impact with his hand, he instantly manifested a blazing gauntlet of his own. Zycor’s fist impacted Lathal’s, lightning and fire intertwining and being thrown around the arena. Lathal’s smile shifted to a frown. He closed his grasp around Zycor’s fist and dragged the boy forward, forcing him to follow his attack through to the ground.

Struggling to his feet, sweat dripping from his face, Zycor stammered, “I-I can still… go on…”

Lathal dispelled his magic and replied, “No, that will be all for today. You should rest up anyways. Your new gauntlets should be ready tomorrow, right? You still have to decide what you are going to do.”

Panting, Zycor inquired, “What do… you mean?”

Lathal rolled his eyes, “It is clear to a toddler that you don’t really have a true destination at this point. You need to think about what you are going to do specifically. But before any of that, you need to sort out your own thoughts and emotions.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“I have been around for quite some time boy, I can tell rather easily when someone is troubled by something. This is especially true when I train them everyday as I have with you.”

Zycor winced at his comment. Lathal sighed, “Well, you have the basics down now at least. All that’s left is for you to get practical experience and fine tune your hard magic. So this will conclude our training.”

He walked off, mumbling something about ‘needing a drink’ while Zycor stood alone in the arena area with his own thoughts. The sun’s setting rays shone over the edge of the cliff, illuminating the empty space Zycor found himself standing. The more he thought about Lathal’s words, the more irritated he got. “What the hell is he talking about? I am fine, nothing at all is wrong with me. For being such an experienced adventurer, he doesn’t can’t read people at all…” He mumbled to himself.

“Lying is wrong, you know? You and I both know he wasn’t blowing hot air.” Zweicor remarked.

Zycor remained silent, refusing to respond.

“Telling yourself ‘everything is fine’ and ‘nothing is wrong’ doesn’t mean it’s true, no matter how much you want it to be. I feel your pain, OUR pain. You threw yourself into training to try and forget and shove those painful and conflicting feelings deep inside. You had hoped that if you trained enough, told yourself those lies enough, they would become reality. But you know they won’t, and trying to bury those feelings just makes you a fool. Though, I am no better because I said nothing to stop you. A part of me also hoped that it would work as well.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Frustrated, Zycor shouted, “And what was I supposed to do, then!? Talk to Baz or Mylon about it!? They probably would have pushed me to go this route anyways! I could have talked to Aisha about it, sure, but that would do nothing but place more unnecessary burden on her!” Mid-way through his rant, he began to tear up, “Aislin might be a good option, but she wouldn’t know what to do! Talking to her would only make her feel frustrated! And Lizali…”

“She… wouldn’t understand. She means well, but is far too naive.”

Zycor chuckled as a tear rolled down his face, “Yeah? And so what does that make us for listening to her?”

“A fool to say the very least, Sir Zycor.”

Zycor looked behind him and saw Nalea standing there. “But, a fool Lady Adria loved dearly.”

Trying to hide his tears as he dried his eyes, Zycor uttered, “How is it possible to have the best and worst timing simultaneously, Nalea?”

She closed her eyes and gave a slight, sarcastic bow, “A goddess given talent I’m afraid.”

Zycor chuckled at her comment, though the pained expression never left. “Sir Zycor, would you mind if we had a chat?”

Zycor shook his head and Nalea picked him up under her arm. She readied herself for what appeared to be a jump, Zycor inquiring, “Uh, Nalea, what are you-.”

“I thought heading to a place to watch the setting sun would be better. You did seem to always make time to go somewhere to watch it when you felt down.” She interjected.

Without further hesitation, Nalea muttered, “Cave. Bulge.” The ground then rumbled and caved in, the excess dirt coming up over the edge of the hole. The excess dirt then quickly snapped back down, launching them into the air, towards one of the closer edges of the chasm. Nalea tapped on Zycor’s head, stating, “You can open your eyes now, we landed.”

Being set down and opening his eyes, they widened at the sight. The setting sun’s rays cut through the fog, making for a breathtaking sight. “You know, Lady Adria would often come and look at this sight herself, even before she found you. I asked her about why she did it once, and you know what she said? ‘I wanted something to share with someone. Of course, I would have to find someone first however, haha!’”

Zycor stared at the rays of light, refracted through the fog, as he listened silently. Nalea continued, “I have been with her for many years. I have seen many expressions, and heard many of her thoughts. However, in all my years serving under her, I had never seen her truly happy until she met you. I am certain that, if she was here, she would have brought you here herself to view this scene with you.”

Zycor’s head slowly sunk down. Tears began to fall as he wept, “What am I supposed to do, Nalea. I miss her so much, and yet I know this feeling won’t bring her back. I have tried to bury this feeling so as to not burden those I have left, but it feels like I have only done the opposite. I feel like I have lost my purpose… I should be angry, furious! And yet, why is it that I can only seem to weep?”

Nalea, for the first time in many years, felt empathy for his plight. He was twenty-one years of age, well past being a ‘young adult,’ and yet the person sat in front of her was nothing more than a boy. A boy who had been in tremendous pain for years. The wounds of his past never healed, simply covered enough to ignore. But now that it has happened again, he is unable to hold back the pain.

She sat down next to him and put her arm around him, “I can’t imagine the pain you are in right now, and for that I am sorry. I wish there was something I could say to ease your suffering. But what you need right now, more than vengeance, more than anger, is to allow yourself to be sad. To let yourself cry, to truly mourn the loss of not only Lady Adria, but the rest of the family you lost. The time that the Velathrian’s and Mr. X pay for their crimes will come. But for now, You have to allow yourself to heal.”

Zycor leaned on Nalea, putting his hand on her back. He gripped her shirt as he listened to her advice and allowed himself to truly feel the weight of his losses. As he cried, he could only repeatedly say how much he missed them all. How he wished he could have introduced them to each other one day.

Although he did not notice it, Nalea had shed a tear herself. Perhaps it was simply her own empathy for Zycor, or maybe she had allowed herself a small amount of the same relief, mourning for Adria in her own way.

They remained this way until the sun had set. Zycor had fallen asleep, his eyes red. Nalea picked him up and carried him down as gently as she could, bringing him back to the inn they were staying at. Silently and undetected, Nalea brought him into his room and laid him onto his bed. She stroked his hair in a comforting manner, then swiftly disappeared into the shadows.