INTERLUDE ONE
WHO ARE THEY? THIS SOLACE AND HIS BARD.
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Henry Camber
Henry Camber, Cadet of the Black Army, stood in the doorway of the Saints Inn as the two men who would likely become the talk of the entire Ambertin region jumped out the window with a speed that his eyes could barely follow.
The rest of his friends dashed in pursuit, but he could already tell that they had no chance of catching up.
Henry ran towards a serving girl.
“Who were they?” he asked, almost grabbing her to shake the information out of her more quickly.
“I don’t know the name of the bard, but I believe the other man is Solace. The bard went to sit with him, read his note, and then said he had a song written by Solace,” the serving girl said, her tone getting higher and faster as she spoke. She had tears on her face but seemed to have forgotten about them at the prospect of talking about what had just happened.
“Did they look like they knew each other?” he asked. He could already tell this was going to be a big matter, and maybe it could lead to him being transferred from the Black Army. After all, he wanted to grow old and not end up as monster nutrients.
“I bet they do.” She finally seemed to look at him again, and her skin went pale. After all, he was in full Black Army cadet regalia: black from neck to feet, with gold inlay and a red sword sheath and red hand-band with a black scythe round his biceps.
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“H—he shared wine, very expensive wine, with him. People don’t give bards things anymore due to the Yulian incident,” she said, her voice rising in pitch with every word, and her eyes looking like she wanted nothing to do with him anymore but didn’t dare move, her hands quivered by her side.
Everyone in this inn had just experienced a phenomenon that could only be mistakenly created by masters of echo magic. It was an occurrence that had led to war so many times that Henry felt cold sweat on his forehead.
That was a damned Memory Rebirth.
When lost memories or stories of lives are pieced together in an almost correct sequence of events, these memories, once lost at the death of individuals, are reborn. Those who witness this rebirth will carry the memories and emotions. Although a powerful event, it requires a deep emotional connection with the story to make Fantis recognize it. The memories created from such events are some of the strongest memories in the world.
“Tell me what happened towards the end.”
“The colours and characters created by the bard’s echo magic flew back into him and the other man, who I think is Solace,” the girl answered, her voice dropping to a whisper as her eyes darted around. Henry noticed that he was all but a finger's length away from the girl.
He took a step back and nodded. He needed to report this to the Ministry of Principles and hopefully get himself out of the damned Black Army. He loved the stories of the Red Reaper and the Whispering Wraith, but even they retired.
I bet they didn’t want to die as well. Now, who exactly are Solace and his bard? A smile formed on Henry’s face as he dashed towards the Ministry’s building.