Chapter 6 - The journey and my path
Riding my horse, I walk along the dirt road peacefully, my horse and I fully recovered, as if nothing had happened, though now with a few new things. I reflect on how my encounter with Death ended after accepting to inherit her powers.
“You will receive some blessings. First, since there is mana in this world, I will give you the ability to use it, but how you do so is for you to discover on your own. Fate will no longer aid you, but it will also not stand in your way; at this moment, your destiny is severed, and you are no longer a part of it. If you interfere in someone’s destiny, their fate will update accordingly. Since you are my heir, your own heirs will receive the same blessings, with only one of them receiving it at a time. If the chosen one dies, it will pass to the next closest in the line of inheritance. And now, for some consequences of this same role: those affected will in no way be able to receive blessings from my siblings. They cannot be resurrected by any method, as you will represent death itself. Their souls will dwell eternally in the hall of souls, unable to return to the cycle. If you have no destiny, you will also have no right to return to the cycle of souls, so live well and without regret, as any regret will be yours to bear, both in life and in death.”
“And finally, but not least, you will no longer fall ill, but your life will be longer than that of your peers, with all the consequences that entails, unless you do something to put your life at risk. Just as fate will not harm you, it will also not save you.”
When she finishes speaking, she approaches me, places her hands on my shoulders, and gives me a kiss. I stand frozen, surprised, but I feel my heart race like never before. As she steps back, I see another incredibly beautiful smile and hear a lovely laugh, followed by a phrase that leaves me deeply intrigued: “Perhaps my fate as your goddess, as the one who created death, was also to experience my own creation.” Then she lets out a low laugh, seeming happy, as her body begins to disappear in front of me, fading from the edges toward her head.
When she vanishes completely, my vision also darkens, and I find myself sitting on the same stump, which I never left, by the side of the road, which, from the well-kept stones on the ground, I believe to be the royal road, with a moderately dense forest on either side.
I look again at the bags on my horse's sides to see what I still have to complete the journey. I see only two bags, so I check their contents. The first contains more gold than I found the last time ‘perhaps another gift’ and in the other bag, there’s a warm travel rain cloak and food that seems to last about one to two weeks. ‘At least I won’t go hungry or feel cold at night,’ I think. ‘Thank you, old man,’ I mentally express my gratitude; it’s the least I can do for now.
I mount my horse and continue on my way.
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I woke up with the sun on my face and a lick from my horse right after. 'Maybe I should name him,' I thought. "Ris, from now on, that will be your name." Ris snorted, and I mounted him again to continue down the road. I continued for another two days, sleeping when the sun set and waking up with it on my face.
On the third day of my journey, I noticed a covered wagon overturned by the side of the road. As I got closer, I could see that the horses were gone, and the coachman lay dead in a nearby bush. Entering the wagon, already half-destroyed, I saw two men in heavy armor, also dead. Under one of the seats, I noticed something hidden beneath one of the men’s bodies. I began pushing the corpse aside and found a young woman covered in blood, her clothes in tatters.
Carefully lifting her from under the seat, I saw a large cut on her back. It looked deep, but she was still alive. The blood, which had seemed to have stopped, began to flow again once I removed her from the wagon. I didn’t know if I could save her, but it was worth trying. I took some cloth from the wagon that was no longer of any use and wrapped her in it, pressing it tightly to try to stop the bleeding.
Then, I laid her carefully on the roadside and went over to the men. I started removing their armor and took the pieces that fit me best and were in the best condition. They were a bit large, but I managed to get enough protection for my legs and arms, a chainmail of superior quality, and some solid shoulder guards. I also took a sturdy-looking sword.
I found some silver coins on the men, and as I finished checking everything inside, I noticed a small box tossed in the back of the carriage. I opened it to find a few gold coins, a necklace, and a ring, both with blue stones. They looked like a set. When I held them in my hands, I felt as if I were connecting to something, though I didn’t know what, so I stored everything in my bags and returned to the road.
I looked at the girl on the ground, took some of the water I had left, and cleaned the excess blood from her wound, wrapping her back up in the cloth. I lifted her onto my horse to carry her with me. ‘It certainly won’t be comfortable, but it’s all I can do for now.’
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We traveled until dusk, and I stopped to feed Ris, checking on the girl's condition. I noticed her breathing had weakened, and the cloth I’d wrapped her in was already red. She wouldn’t last much longer.
‘It seems her time is running out; I’ll have to continue through the night. Maybe we could reach somewhere that could help her heal.’
As I continued my journey into the night, I began to hear the sound of running water near the road. I turned and slowly started moving toward it. A couple hundred meters later, I found a small stream. I dismounted, drank some water, and let Ris drink as well. While he drank, I unwrapped the girl and began cleaning her wounds again with the water from the stream. Her body trembled with each wash, as if the pain of cleaning the wound wasn’t worth enduring. Her breathing grew weaker still.
Then, I saw her mouth moving, though no sound came out. She kept moving her mouth for a few moments until I could finally hear, “Put me in the water.” So I did. I picked her up again and slowly made my way to the water’s edge, gradually lowering her entire body into the stream.
At that moment, I noticed her face improving, as if the skin, which had been pale and seemed close to death, was slowly coming back to life, gaining a rosy tone. It seemed that, finding life again, she struggled to rise from the water, still weak. In that instant, I saw her as she came into the world. She was beautiful. I saw her black hair sticking to her wet face, and I watched the water running off her body back into the stream. As I raised my gaze, I met her eyes. I saw a bright, pearly blue with dark purple hues, and then she looked down. Her cheeks flushed, and she kneeled in the water, her hands trying to cover her chest.
“I hope you enjoyed the view,” she said, her voice full of anger. Then, she sighed deeply and fell silent, as if she were thinking deeply about something. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind and spoke to me.
“You pulled me from the claws of death, and according to the ancient laws, one life for another, one soul for another. In this exact moment, I will serve you and have you as my lord. I will protect your life as if it were my own, and just as you gladly saved me, if I must give my life to save yours, I will do so willingly.”
I simply looked at her in silence, unsure of how I should properly react. We stayed in silence, staring at each other. Then, I realized that this wouldn’t end until I said something. ‘I don’t know her, I don’t know if her oath is reliable. After all, words are just words. But since she’s doing this, I’ll play along.’
“I accept your oath.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I saw something leave her momentarily. I noticed her expression harden as if she hadn’t expected me to actually accept.
A few moments later, after what seemed like her acceptance of her new fate, she stood up again. I turned my gaze away from her and went to my horse to see if there was anything that could serve as temporary clothing. The only thing I could find by rummaging through the bags were the leftover food I had been eating in the last few days, the same gold coins, and the rain cloak. ‘I hope the cloak will be enough for her.’
I took the cloak and threw it over my shoulder in her direction. After hearing a few steps, I then heard a voice that truly pleased my ears: “Thank you, my lord.” Upon hearing this, I smiled and turned to look at her again. The cloak covered her fairly well, though her feet were bare, and the fabric almost reached the ground. It was meant for me, after all, but for her, it was almost like a long dress or a very long coat.
I turned toward the horse, thinking of continuing the journey, but something caught my attention as I shifted my gaze. I noticed something that I considered truly disturbing: the water from the stream, which had seemed perfectly normal until now, started to change color.
“What’s your name, girl?” I asked.
“Anry, my lord,” she replied.
“I recommend you move away from the water now, as it’s starting to take on a color different from what it should be, and that’s never a good sign. When nature stops being what it should be, at least that’s what I’ve learned recently.” I noticed she looked confused. She glanced around and apparently didn’t notice anything different, but shrugged and listened, moving away from the water.
As she moved a little further, I saw her trip and fall to the ground next to me. Watching this, I started laughing and extended my hand to help her up. Hearing my laughter, she gave me a dry look mixed with some anger, but still took my hand and got up.
I turned my eyes back to the water and saw something I wish I hadn’t seen: bodies floating along the stream. The longer I looked, the darker I felt, and my stomach twisted in knots. I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. For some reason, almost coincidentally, it seemed like the light of the moons shone brighter between the trees, and I could see the once-clear stream change color before my eyes, from a blue hue to a red one. I was truly scared, as it seemed to be in the direction of the river we were heading.
Seeing my expression, Anry looked at the river and witnessed the same scene I had. She began to tremble. Seeing her shiver, I pulled myself together, placed a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her away, saying, “Let’s go. We must continue our journey and be extra cautious on the road. Things could get dangerous until we reach the capital.” Seeing her nod in agreement, we turned to the horse and prepared to mount again.
Holding its reins, I stopped beside her and said, “Get on. I’ll walk. Your feet won’t handle this journey barefoot.” She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but apparently decided not to say anything, and climbed onto the horse. We returned to the road and continued on our way.
The road seemed quieter, with little wind and few clouds in the sky. Shadows stretched across the forest, and I felt tense and pressured. I took the sword that I had placed on Ris’s saddle and felt calmer holding its hilt. ‘It seems things won’t be as calm as I would like.’