Chapter 81: Night's watch

Under the heavy veil of darkness, everything seemed more threatening, especially this deep into lands far from human influence.

The wrath of the wilderness made things even worse at first.

Before encountering Walmir and Ilan, I thought that each time I was forced to close my eyes would be my last. Jazor was the strongest ally I could hope for in this desperate situation but his sensory abilities were severely lacking compared to mine.

Ilan was similar to Jazor in this aspect. His strength and experience more than made up for this defect, but in the end, he was less adept than me or Walmir at detection.

That’s why I was surprised when I saw Walmir sitting next to the pile of wood we prepared beforehand for fuelling the fire during the night. I usually teamed up with Ilan while Jazor spent his guard’s duty with Walmir most of the time. It was to balance our abilities but also, even if none of us openly admitted it, to keep at least one person from each group awake.

Trust was long to gain especially in these savage lands and although I was confident that our successful partnership was going to continue until we reached the first Advanced town, it was easier to keep these safe habits.

“Don’t make that face. It’s Ilan who asked me to replace him. He wanted to rest a bit. In all likelihood, your expedition wasn’t as easy as you both claimed,” he declared with a knowing look.

I felt his gaze on my most recent wound and simply shrugged my shoulders.

A sudden change of teammate for the night would have warranted an increased vigilance from me a few months ago, but now I was simply glad that Walmir was here during the first shift to help me.

I did feel a bit more tired than I wanted to admit.

After revealing my abilities, I spent a long time hiding any wound or weakness to compensate for Jazor’s obvious weakened state. But now, Jazor was mostly healed and my defiance toward them somewhat appeased.

Together, we watched as the light of the day slowly faded, replaced by the dim glow of the moon and the coldness of the night. My partner tightened his impractical but apparently warm orange cape to fight the cold breeze. It had rained quite a bit these last few days and the sharp bite of the wind didn’t let me easily forget that.

Without any fabric warm enough, I moved closer to the fire while closing my eyes to extend my senses as far away as possible.

Nothing.

Just like many others recently, this night was probably going to be quite calm.

As the number of deviants increased, the attacks we suffered at night strangely decreased. According to Walmir, their unnatural awakening caused by the wrath of the wilderness had probably disrupted their bodies by forcing many of them to ignore their habits and instincts to relentlessly hunt until having no strength left at the end of the day.

Even animals that didn’t awaken as deviants had their hunting habits disturbed.

This theory proved to be mostly true when we started to observe numerous nocturnal animals moving and hunting during the day along with other species they normally rarely crossed paths with.

It made our journey harder and prevented us from avoiding certain fights, but it at least allowed us to have calmer nights. However, as Jazor said, you could never trust deviants so none of us dared to let their guard down.

Walmir made a few strange gestures with the fingers on his only remaining hand and summoned numerous pearls of water that dispersed all around us silently. His peculiar magic for scooting remained a mystery to me even after seeing it more times than I could remember.

It was easy to forget, especially with someone as impressive as Ilan nearby, but this pudgy and maimed older man was far from helpless. His water magic wasn’t as destructive as Jazor’s axe or as fast as Ilan’s magic blades, but his experience and technique more than made up for it. His fencing with a one-handed sword was nothing to scoff at either.

It made me wonder if he was using any kind of magic to boost his physical abilities.

Even with my senses, it was difficult to be sure, but seeing him move that fast and elegantly with such a body was an eye-opener and warranted more than a few questions that I cleverly kept to myself.

For several hours, I kept my thoughts alive and my lookout active to prevent the tiredness of the day from taking hold of me.

“We’re almost there.”

The silence of our watch was suddenly disturbed by the soft whisper of my partner on the other side of the meager fire we continuously nourished these past hours.

His voice was so discreet that I first wondered if he was really talking to me or simply speaking to himself.

His wrinkles reflected in the flames while his amber eyes stayed fixed on this spectacle.

“What?” I mumbled.

“I didn’t really want to say it aloud. Too afraid to give our group even more bad luck than it already had, but now I’m sure we’re going to make it.”

“How far are we?” I muttered with my heart skipping a beat.

“At this pace? No more than three weeks away.”

I widened my eyes a little at his declaration.

It was much closer than I thought.

“Are you sure?” I asked without hiding the doubt in my voice.

It was difficult to appreciate the passing of time with this kind of life. Too many moments filled with blood and despair made me feel as if our destination would forever remain unattainable.

“We made a lot of detours in our journey, but I recognize the place where we stopped when you went to gather water. The blueway between the Great forest of the West and the King’s valley is too expensive for regular carriages. Only nobles or large convoys use it, so I've only taken it a few times over the years. Instead, to leave the kingdom and enter the wilderness, I usually start by bypassing the three fortresses near the southern passage of the kingdom before reaching the first Advanced town. We are currently on one of the many roads I took for years, so I can tell. We’re truly almost there. Just a bit more and we will reach the first Advanced town. From there, bypassing the three fortresses and entering the kingdom will be a formality.”

I flinched a little after his confident declaration.

Just a few weeks away.

After all this time, all these struggles and bloodshed.

I would finally accomplish my goal.

I should feel delighted, even excited by this prospect of success and the closeness of a safe haven.

“You don’t seem that happy about it?” curiously asked Walmir.

It wasn’t true.

I was glad that this journey would finally come to an end.

When I naively started to cross these lands, I never imagined all I would have to endure just to survive. However, I did it. I sent a letter in time to warn my family and will soon once more set foot into the kingdom that saw my birth.

With more scars than I could count and more blood on my hands than I could admit.

But, I would still have made it.

I didn’t know if my relatives were truly safe or if I would simply rejoin a broken family. However, I have already come to terms with this fear. No matter the result, even if it means facing a cruel reality, I had to learn the truth about their fate.

Embrace them if the chance was given, save them if I could, or simply take revenge if this was the only thing left for me.

No, the reason my heart refused to react accordingly to this news simply lay in the carriage just behind us. The image of Alianelle still unconscious continuously flashed in my mind and had already put out any feeling of relief and eagerness.

Why was I reincarnated?

Ever since I unleashed all my power on that cliff that day, ready to die once again, this question I thought forgotten once more haunted me.

Was it simply to enjoy a new life with a loving family?

Was it to accomplish something greater than me?

Or was there just no reason and this life was simply the result of a lucky accident.

Maybe, I would never know.

Maybe, this was the price I had to pay for this reincarnation.

However, I still wanted everything that had happened to me on these lands to have a meaning.

If my journey was soon going to end, I didn't want to be chained down by regrets once again.

And Alianelle forever trapped in her endless sleep because she tried to save me will doom me to everlasting regrets.

“I know a few healers in town, far more competent than a jack of all trades like me. I’m sure they would be able to help your friend.”

I raised my head and widened my eyes at his sudden declaration.

“Was it that obvious?” I asked with my lips pressed in a slight grimace.

“Clear as day, I’m afraid. You have many qualities, but I fear hiding your emotions is not among your strongest gifts,” he chuckled in faint mockery.

“I can’t be good at everything,” I added with a small laugh.

However, my little joke didn’t seem to have the desired effect.

Instead of a similar laugh or a derisive smile, Walmir’s amber eyes fixed on the fire since the beginning of our talk suddenly left the mesmerizing spectacles of the flames, consuming the few pieces of wood left, to meet my gaze.

I couldn’t discern what was hiding behind these eyes looking at me as if it was the first time I was truly in front of him.

“Is there a problem?” I asked tensely.

“No… Of course, not. Apologies,” he added after an unusually long and uncomfortable silence.

“It’s just that I sometimes forget how young you truly are.”

“Where does that come from?”

“The rambling of an old man, tired of this life on the road I guess,” he sighed. “I’m really tired, kid. It’s time I think. I’m going to retire once this trip is over.”

His sudden confession didn’t really strike me as a surprise. The wrath of the wilderness will probably continue for a while and will make any travel inside these lands more dangerous than ever for several years. Just like us, he was lucky to have survived and apparently decided that he didn’t want to push his luck any further.

I wouldn’t be surprised either if Ilan and Jazor made the same choice, for a few years at least.

“What will you do?” I asked after a few seconds of silence only disturbed by the crackling of the fire.

Everything was better than what he was currently doing. I agreed to cooperate with him and Ilan to survive, but each time my eyes landed on these innocent children, I couldn’t prevent a wave of anger and indignation from rising in my heart.

This feeling receded after the secret deal I stuck with him, but this part of my journey still left a bad taste in my mouth.

“Well, life will be tough for sure. The income from the wilderness is huge for the Dorell kingdom so we can all expect some pretty hard times. Fortunately, if everything goes as we both hope, then this last expedition will leave me with just enough money to make other plans. But, honestly, I’m a little lost. I’ve been doing this for so long now that, for now, I don’t know what else I could do.”

“Maybe something you can be proud of,” I suggested crudely.

The silence that followed wasn’t as uncomfortable as I would have expected. I wasn’t as opposed to our cooperation as Paul, but I never hid my true feelings about his profession on these lands.

“You truly are young…” he sighed apparently without any anger after my previous sentence.

“Young doesn’t mean that I don’t realize what will happen to Himara and Seth if they become slaves,” I added sharply.

“True, but it does mean that you don’t know the Dorell Kingdom and its rules as much as I do.”

He made a small pause, apparently pondering what he was going to say. I took advantage of this silence to once more extend my senses as far as possible, but except for our friends sleeping in the relative security of the carriage behind us, not a single soul other than mine was around to hear what he had to say with such a serious expression.

“This kingdom is a land of magic, much more than the other two Human kingdoms constantly at war with each other on the Western continent. Here, it’s rare to cross even a small village without many of its inhabitants able to use magic. This is the wonder of this kingdom that an ancient king created by introducing compulsory basic magic education while inventing barrier magic to guide even the most lost and poorest of its citizens.”

“I know this story.” I interrupted not understanding where he was going with this.

“So you also know that today all this is no more than an illusion. Perhaps it was created to make everyone equal or to give the means to survive to as many people as possible on a vast land where other magical species may suddenly appear. It has certainly made life easier and safer for many people.”

With a discreet wave of his only remaining hand, a small fireball, barely larger than my fist, was sent into the fire, making it roar with life again, but not loud enough to cover his next words.

“However, in the end, nothing is more unfair than magic!” he suddenly declared with an energy I thought gone from his old body and weary heart.

“Barrier magic alone will never allow the birth of a true mage and, without proper teaching, a really strong affinity with the elements or simply without extraordinary comprehension skills, very few can go beyond these regular barrier magic and touch upon the real potential of magic in this world. I’ve seen it so many times… Young men, sure of their magic and their strength only to realize the truth in their last moments. They never truly understood magic. Trust me, the difference in power between these artificial mages and true Saint mages is truly enormous.”

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He raised his eyes once more to cross my gaze and he probably instantly realized that I was already aware of this truth. The face of the mage I killed just before my encounter with Jazor flashed in my head and reminded me that this man, despite being an experienced soldier, wasn’t really a true mage.

“It’s ironic that a power that almost everyone possesses from birth is the origin of so many inequalities. Without magic, the noble houses wouldn’t be able to treat the villages and dispersed towns of this kingdom like they do. Only the absolute power of their trained true Saint mages offer them this,” he concluded.

His unexpectedly long speech from a man, usually so discreet, left me slightly baffled. His words strangely echoed with the ones pronounced not so long ago by Hirillë in the Great forest of the West.

“Why are you suddenly telling me all that?” I asked cautiously. “The world is unfair, true, and… obvious. But what does it have anything to do with your choice to become a slave-dealer? We all choose our paths. If you’re tired of this life then change it. You can’t change the way of the world but you can at least be the change you want to see in the world.”

His eyes widened a little after my short speech. I wasn’t trying to lecture him but simply let out my true feelings, something I had never done around him before.

“Wise and so naive at the same time. Just like you…” he smiled while clutching even tighter his empty sleeve where his left arm should be.

A long silence finally settled between us after these few words were mumbled, apparently more for himself than for me.

I was a little confused by his talk about the unfairness of magic until, after longer than I would like to admit, I finally understood what he meant.

“Do you get it now, Sillath?” he suddenly asked as if he had read my mind.

Maybe I was truly bad at hiding my emotions and thoughts from showing on my face after all.

A simple nod was all the confirmation he got and it was apparently enough for him as a wry smile immediately formed on his tired face.

“Yes. Just as not everyone who can use magic and claims to be a mage is a true mage, my profession is also more than it seems.”

“Are you trying to defend or maybe justify what you did for who knows how long on these lands?” I asked slightly annoyed.

“Of course not,” he immediately denied while slowly shaking his head. “I saw and did things that will haunt me for the rest of my life. This is a fact, but just as the arrogant self-proclaimed title of ‘Magic Kingdom’ only reflects part of the reality, being a slave dealer is just the tip of the sad truth of this kingdom we are desperately trying to rejoin”

“Sad truth?”

“This kingdom is also the kingdom of lies. Contrary to the other Human kingdoms where proper magical education is given to those deemed worthy, the nobles continue to make thousands of young souls believe that they are strong enough to call themselves mages no matter what may happen to the less fortunate of them. They also use people like me as an outlet for public anger and frustration.”

“What do you mean?”

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, apparently not sure if he wanted to start explaining that to me.

“Just that it’s easier to hate and despise us, the executive hands of this sordid business, like your friend Paul, than to ask questions or simply wonder why we are doing something like that. In the end, I and many others are just pawns trying to survive in a world where strength and money are kings. I can’t speak for others, but for me the choice was simple. I just had to give up my honor and morals to ensure the safety of my family and a better future for my sons.”

“But you did make that choice.” I retorted. “Not everyone afraid for the future of their family ends up as a slave dealer.”

“Of course not. As I said, I’m not trying to justify what I did. I just… Listen, all I’m trying to say here is that it’s dangerous to have a bias in this kingdom. Sometimes, you may think that what you’re doing is right or that what someone else does is cruel but nothing is ever as simple as it seems.”

We spent so much time traveling together, but I didn’t know why he specially chose this night to say all that to me. I didn’t know if what he said was the truth or simply an attempt to change my opinion of him to facilitate our future agreement.

However, it was true that for as long as I have known him, I tried to stay as distant as possible from him because of what he was. Ilan was different, he was a former adventurer who became a guard in a small town when his teammates separated before becoming a mercenary when he realized this calm life wasn’t made for him.

For Walmir, the man who chose to use lives as goods, I kept my distance simply to protect myself and my friends. However, after a few weeks spent constantly together, I also started to realize that something in this man made me uncomfortable.

And it’s only tonight that I finally realized what it was.

He never met the expectations I had of him.

He was a slave dealer.

But, he never wanted this life and was ready to abandon it.

Someone like him should be evil and merciless.

Nevertheless, he saved my life more than once by risking his own.

I couldn’t trust him and would eventually end up being betrayed.

However, he fought beside me, earned my respect in battle, and offered us a way to survive when all hope was almost gone.

These two views I had of him conflicted with each other and made me realize why I had this uncomfortable feeling.

It’s such a simple truth but many people prefer to ignore it.

Nothing in this world is completely black or white.

This was perhaps even truer in my old world.

And this duality wasn’t pleasant.

Because in this kind of world, how do you convince a man to change?

How do you convince him to embrace his true self and finally do some good when the whole world is just a mix of grey without any true good solution available for him?

Can I ask him to sacrifice himself and his family in the name of this good?

In the end, what he chose to do with his life after we reached the first Advanced town was none of my business. But, I would prefer if what he said was the truth. It would make his words more trustworthy.

And trust was the issue between our two groups. I decided to trust them as much as I could to survive. I couldn’t know if I was right about him but we faced death together too many times for me to be completely wrong.

“Heavy talk for a night’s watch, isn’t it?” he chuckled.

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because we are almost there. Once we arrive, I will be able to confirm to my employer that I’m the only one of his dealers to have survived. A few days after that, maybe a week at the latest, they will start the grand auction.”

“I already know that. This is what you told me when I asked you what will become of the children. All this talk... This isn’t like you at all.”

“I know but I had to say this. Look at your neck! You make it sound as if it was nothing, but you almost died today too. I don’t know your story, but if I understood correctly you’re trying to rejoin your family somewhere in the Dorell kingdom”

I simply nod.

“And you’ve been away from them for a long time, right?”

Again another nod was all the answer he got.

“Then don’t waste a single day for this auction. Just… go home.”

“I wish I could.” I smiled bitterly. “But I can’t let small children become slaves if I can prevent it.”

“Again… Why do you speak like that?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, baffled.

“You speak as if you weren’t a child yourself. I sometimes forget it, but you are barely older than them and yet you fought beside us, put yourself in harm’s way, and shed blood numerous times to keep everyone safe.”

“I’m strong enough for that!”

“Sure you are, but I saw you risk your life more times than I can remember to save the children or this sleeping girl as if their lives had more value than your own. It’s not normal. A child should value his life more.”

“Say the slave dealer.” I retorted.

“It’s because I’m one that I can say this. Children are valuable and powerless. A dangerous combination that makes them our principal target. But not you. You are strong enough to protect yourself after we reach the first Advanced town. Use what you promised me to buy your trip back to your hometown instead of using it to save these kids.”

The crackling of the fire and the rustling of the wind on the leaves around was the only answer he got.

“You’ve done enough. Think about you for once,” he concluded heavily with almost a pleading tone.

“You want me to abandon them? Are you not interested in what I promised anymore?”

“Of course I am. Who would not? If I had the authority for that I would have already done it, but I can’t arrive empty-handed at my employer if I want to quit afterward. But the truth remains that they were never yours to save.”

“I won’t condemn them to a life of slavery if I can prevent it. I won’t live with that on my conscience.”

“I already explained to you that during this grand auction happening twice a year, a majority of the slaves are bought by the mine to replace the slaves that are set free. If they obey and work well, they will be free in less than ten years.”

“Easy for you to say,” I said with spite, letting go of my temper. “You don’t know who will buy them! They could be auctioned to nobles or simply separated, unable to find each other ever again!”

All this talk about the kingdom and the slave trade was to make me realize that nothing was as simple as it seems at first glance. The magic teaching in this so-called ‘Magic kingdom’ wasn’t as impressive or as fair as it may seem. In the same way, probably not all slave traders were selfish monsters, and being a slave wasn’t necessarily a life sentence. I didn't know why he was spending so much energy explaining all this to me, but I didn't like that he was possibly trying to undo our agreement and make me give up on these children to save myself.

“Of course, it is easy for me to say. I saw the two sides of this world after all,” he bitterly replied after a few seconds of hesitation.

“The two sides?”

“Yes. I am the slaver but I was the slave before that.”

“Wha...?” My next words stayed stuck in my throat after this unexpected confidence.

I didn’t need a mirror to know what kind of face I was currently making or another reminder about how easy it was for him to read it.

“Many years ago, when I lost my arm to the Red murderer and was judged inapt to serve my lord, I was left with nothing. The aspects of the magic I was using to fight relied heavily on my physical strength. Without it, the magics I spent years creating, tailoring, and perfecting for myself lost a huge part of their power and usefulness. I, who was a proud member of the personal guard of a great noble family, was able to exercise my authority as I saw fit on those less strong or simply less fortunate than me, and, like many others, I loved that and abused this privilege. When I was left without my strength, aging and less than a simple man in many ways, my judgment came to pass.”

I ignored his words about the once nefarious Red murderer, which brought back many memories of bedtime stories from my father disapproved by my mother nearly a decade ago now. His confession of his past as a slave completely overshadowed it.

“So, you were really sold as a slave? But I thought slavery was reserved for beastmen.”

“Oh, no... That’s the official version used to pacify the population in major cities. Of course, since the end of the Great War, slavery against beast tribe members is legal and overused by the Humans and Dwarves, but humans are not safe from this fate either. Few nobles take the risk to own human slaves in their estate but nothing prevents them from using them outside the kingdom, in one of the Advanced towns of the wilderness for example.”

“So, that’s what happened to you?”

“Yes. I was sold as a slave and nobody was there to help me. The few friends I had left were too afraid to share my fate. I tried to run away, I tried to die fighting when they went to capture me and I also tried to kill myself. But I failed and in my misfortune, I had the luck to be sold to the mine of the first Advanced town run by Dwarves.”

“The luck?”

“Trust me. This is the best I could hope for in my situation. They are harsh and made us work to exhaustion each day but we have a productivity goal fixed the day we arrive. A kind of debt. The day we pay off this debt is the day we are released, which is something no human owning a slave will ever do.”

“The Dwarf’s way to motivate you and make you work to the bones willingly, I suppose?”

“Exactly. The money they spent trying to control unwilling slaves and the numerous escape attempts over the years made them use this new system and it is pretty effective. There is no stronger motivation than hope after all.”

I couldn’t agree more.

It was the hope that our newfound group would have better chances to survive that made us ignore our differences and fight for one another. Walmir and I saved each other’s life a few times already even if we knew almost nothing about each other, and tonight I learned something I would have never suspected even existed.

A former slave turned slaver.

“How could you accept to become a slave dealer after living through this?” I finally asked, unable to repress this question.

Walmir didn’t seem angry and simply replied with the same calm voice I’ve gotten used to hearing him use.

“With my regained freedom, I tried to become a merchant, but without a noble family to give me their financial support and contacts, it’s almost impossible to succeed. To acquire that, I had to be willing to trade in goods that are more dangerous to acquire. Beastmen was the safest of these potential goods so I became a slave dealer. It’s that simple”

“Just like that?” I asked incredulously.

“Yes, just like that. At first, I consoled myself and nursed my conscience by refusing to sell these poor souls to some nobles with distasteful practices and favoring contracts with the mines in the First Advanced town as I knew the rules made by the Dwarves for slaves were the best they could hope for in their situation just like me.”

“...”

“So, you see Sillath, you don’t have to feel guilty. You can buy these children’s freedom back, but without support, they will eventually be captured again and will probably end up in a place far worse than the mines. Let them become slaves. I know this is cruel. They will spend years of hard labor, but they will be able to grow up, become strong and eventually gain their freedom to live their lives on their own. With the wilderness in this state, they won’t be able to run away there even if you free them anyway, and crossing the kingdom with them will only bring you misfortune no matter how strong you are. Trust me, a promise of freedom is the best a beast tribe member can hope for in the Dorell kingdom.”

I was left momentarily speechless by his words.

“I’ve said my part, Sillath. The six years I spent as a slave were the worst of my life, but I survived. I was able to develop another aspect of my magic during this time and when I was released I was able to find work and start a family. Even if you don’t try to save them, they will have the chance to start a new life.”

If I felt angry after understanding that he was trying to convince me to abandon Himara and Seth, now my mind was simply in shambles. I knew the end of our watch for tonight was close but I was also sure that I would have trouble finding the relief of sleep my body was longing for.

Walmir was right.

I didn’t know enough about the Dorell kingdom.

Simply giving Himara and Seth their freedom and leaving them to fend off for themself was impossible from the beginning. That’s why I intended to take them with me to Tegralle. However, if what he said was true, the chance to safely cross the kingdom with two defenseless beastmen's children was meager. In the worst case, they will be taken back as slaves once more in a far worse place this time while I would also probably share this fate.

For so many years, all I wanted was to be reunited with my family. Now that this once absurd goal was almost within my reach, I couldn’t help but hesitate with this new danger brought to my knowledge. I was ashamed of this selfish desire, of this new fear clenching my heart, but I couldn’t deny its existence even if I knew the kind of guilt I would have to deal with if I were to make that choice.

“How could you not have remorses after what you did?” I finally asked awkwardly.

No matter his reasons or the apparent hope for freedom Himara and Seth will receive, the truth about what he chose to do with his life didn’t change. Even so, he was able to talk about it without hiding his cowardice and selfishness.

“Remorses? Of course, I have them. I've lived with them for nearly ten years, but for someone like me who had reached the end of his potential years ago, this was the only way to guarantee a bright future for my family. Maybe a better man would have done things differently. Maybe after experiencing what I have, he would have fought to change the fate of slaves in this kingdom, but I was never strong enough for this. I simply knew that I could either be a good man or a good father, but never both so I made my choice and lived with it until now. It’s almost time for you to make your own choice too.”

“My own choice?”

“Maybe you will become the kind of man able to change this cruel reality with his own strength one day. But for now, you are just a kid who miraculously survived one of the worst events these lands have to offer. You can either be thankful for this miracle and turn your back on these children to save yourself and grow up to become this kind of man or you can risk it all to save them. This choice is yours to make.”

A long silence followed his last words until I finally added with a voice hoarser than I thought.

“You’re right, it’s a heavy topic for a night’s watch…”

“Told you, my young friend.”

“There’s still one thing I don’t understand. Why spend so much time telling me all that? In the end, we are simply partners made to cooperate with each other to survive, so why do you care so much?”

This was the thing I was currently the most curious about.

His entire speech since he started speaking tonight only had a single goal. To make me give up on my plan to free Himara and Seth, forgetting at the same time the promise I made with him weeks ago to use my artifact to buy their freedom.

With a weary, but strangely passionate voice, Walmir slowly answered my last query.

“All these years spent roaming this untamed part of the continent, I saw so many warriors and mages that I could never hope to remember them all. Some were delusional about their strength while others were able to shape the world to their will or make their enemies kneel with a single glance, but in all these years, I never ever encountered someone like you.”

I stayed silent, knowing what he meant even if I was slightly perturbed by the crazed look in his eyes.

“How can a kid be this strong? I have no idea but you have so much potential, that it’s frightening. There will be so many possibilities for you in the future. However, even the highest potential is nothing if it doesn’t have enough time and opportunities to mature.”

“...”

“Don’t forget, magic is endless but Humans are not!”

“That’s why you don’t want me to risk my life for Himara and Seth?”

“That’s right. Kindness is a dangerous thing to show in this corrupted kingdom without the strength to back it up. You seem to not truly realize what someone like you could mean for this kingdom, so let me say it clearly. You, Sillath, are truly exceptional. You don’t realize your true worth yet, but you could change everything. So don’t waste it with misplaced pity.”

Was that yearning, I saw in these eyes that prevented me from opening my mouth to question his statement?

When Jazor and Ilan arrived to replace us, my mind was still filled with this last warning. The plan I made and the determination I had to save these children was surprisingly shaken.

After hearing his story, I realized that I was strangely similar to Walmir. Even if I did a few good things, I was never a hero and never desired to become one. I cursed this world, its unfairness, and its perils many times, but I never wanted to change it for the better.

My only duty was toward my new family that showed me so much support and love in my most desperate years.

With this goal in mind, I just followed my heart and tried my best to repay the kindness I was shown.

That’s why I fought so hard to protect Jazor, Paul, and Alianelle.

However, this wasn’t the same for these children.

I pitied them and their unfair fate.

Because of that, I was ready to act.

Because of that, I accepted to pay the price of their freedom and delay my much-desired return.

But was I ready to risk everything just for them?

I didn’t know and was afraid of the answer to that question that lurked in the darkest part of my heart.