VIII.

There are magical weapons spread across this world. Weapons capable of commanding life and death. Heaven and earth. The sea and the flames.

They are the oldest totems of the entities, forgotten on this world after their departure to somewhere behind the Magic Barrier, where it is not possible to reach them. The weapons, one day, will appear among us, wielded by the great warriors and used in the greatest of wars.

They will be signs of the end of time.

They will also be signs of the beginning of everything.

The entities and our world – Garneg Murvald Babilosche

*

Barsen’s huge arms are crossed in front of his chest, intercepting the entrance to Arthur’s room. In front of him is an elf soldier, thin and young, who faces the ogre with eyes that do not waver, despite the imposing figure in front of him.

-I must warn you that the arrest order was signed by Queen Aetna herself. If you do not get out of my sight, I will be forced to use other means.

-Other means, huh? – Barsen hold the smile that wants to jump from his lips.

-Yes. – He maintains the posture, although a slight tremor indicates his nervousness. – As you can see, we came prepared for a conflict.

The outer corridor is filled with soldiers. In the adjoining streets, more and more armed people were seen in the yard. Although no one entered from the bedroom window, the ogre knew it was a matter of courtesy, since there were soldiers ready for this in the outside.

-What charges were issued in the warrant? – Yvanna forced passage through the soldiers, showing the coat of arms on her clothes, with her hands raised to show that she has no weapon.

-The arrest order was issued by Queen’s orders. – The soldier speaks slowly, as if talking to two imbeciles. – There is no need for justification or formal accusation.

-I don’t believe this. – Irony is latent in the vampire’s voice. – Even in the land of reason there is space for blind obedience? Moments where reasons are not needed for the actions? – She turns to the ogre. – Who would say, uh?

Barsen shrugged.

-Rest assured, lady, that there are reasons. – The elf’s ego was hurt by her words. – I am just not able to tell you.

-And who can tell me? After all, you are invading the room of foreign soldiers, guests in your land. If your words were to be addressed to less civilized creatures, it could be enough to cause an international incident.

The young soldier’s face paled.

-Was that a threat? Madam, I warn you-

-No, boy, I am the one who should warn you. Or, rather, let’s think about this situation. How about the fact that you expected until our commander left the inn for you to enter here with an arrest warrant? Or the fact that you don’t have a good reason for your actions and still marched into this inn with a whole army of soldiers? Not only that, but also did not sent a senior officer to do the job, using a clown dressed as a soldier to deliver an order? You should know that your warning is worth the same as horse shit or a traitor’s kiss. You don’t need to wave the royal order as if it is stronger than my fists or his ax. The number of your soldiers does not scare me. My orders are to keep this boy in the room. You can wait for my commander to return or you can fight us. But I warn you: If you choose to fight, be prepared for the consequences.

The gleam in Yvanna’s brown eyes made the soldier take another step back. Confused, he does not know what to do. His orders were to collect the prisoner and lock him in prison. If there were resistance, the number of intimidating soldiers and a royal order should persuade the guards to let the boy be captured.

Besides, even if they look dangerous, the elf knows he has only two enemies. After drawing his sword, the other would follow and he would be able to subjugate them. It would certainly be a problem, but, if they were not killed…

-Will you disobey the royal command? – He tries one last time.

Yvanna closes her fists. Despite her threat, she did not want to start a fight, since that would involve others. Her eyes are locked on the elf’s and she does not say a word, waiting for his next move.

The young soldier puts a hand to his waist, where the sword is attached. He runs the hand over the pommel. His face turns to the soldiers around him, seeking encouragement, but no one reacts.

Yvanna sniffs and makes a face. She smells a slight scent of death.

As always, she wishes it to be the scent of the enemies’ death.

-Enough. – The voice comes from the window behind them. Yvanna turns and sees Rinlia passing through the frame. – And I thought it was Barsen who would start a war if I were not quick enough.

*

Arthur wakes up to the sound of a door, slamming loudly. The sound scares him, but his body lacks the strength to react immediately. The weakness numbs his limbs and slows down even the movement of the head.

His leg, fractured during battle, does not hurt immediately. As the consciousness is recovered, along with the five senses, an itch starts in his hip and goes towards the knee. Small electrical impulses transmit to the brain the news that something is wrong, and, in a short time, stronger pulsations seem to emit from the area.

Still busy waking up after a long period of sleep, Arthur did not understand immediately that the feeling in his leg is actual pain. A stinging pain, that pulls the muscles and contracts all the nerves, from the foot to the skull.

He tries to move the body in order to stand up but is unable to even pull the leg closer without a painful groan escaping between his teeth. He makes some attempts, based only on stubbornness, but gives up, panting, when he realizes that he is close to passing out again.

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“How many times have I passed out since I woke up in this world?”

He massages the thigh, trying to soothe the pain.

“Before coming here, I had never passed out in my entire life. I thought it would feel something like sleeping, but it’s not even close to that. It is uncomfortable and the head seems to hang up at once. It is nothing like sleeping. It was like… Dying? Yes, at least I think so.”

“So… How many times have I been close to dying since I got to this place?”

A nervous smile emerges from his lips. He looks around and sees the outline of a precarious cell. His back is leaned over one of the stone walls and, above his head, a hole is molded a little larger than the palm of his hand, through which the sunlight enters. The floor is made of irregular-shaped stones. Around him, the other walls are made of rectangular and well-shaped stones, fortifying a cell that is a couple square meters wide.

Looking around, he realizes that someone changed his clothes while he was unconscious – his own were destroyed during the bear’s attack. His shirt is made of a resistant cotton and dyed black. His trousers are nothing more than archaic braided leather. And, for whatever reason, no one bothered to give him shoes.

From the little frame above his head enters some sounds, apparently from horses and people moving somewhere below.

“I must be in some kind of tower.”

 -Hey, is anybody here?

In front of him there is a large wooden door. Even without having seen it open, it is noticeable that the door is at least a palm in width and that it would take the strength of a large man to open it.

-CAN SOMEBODY HEAR ME?!

The door does not answer. And, even if it muffled his voice, anyone on the other side would at least hear something.

-Hello?! – He tries again.

Nothing.

He crawls closer to the door, trying not to move the leg – which, nevertheless, still hurts. The door remains closed. He does not see anybody but hears movement from those who guard his exit. From his cell, he cannot distinguish the sounds from outside.

He keeps crawling towards the entrance, grumbling in pain as he moves forward, uninhibited by the absence of any company.

His leg, in contact with the stone floor, seems to break with each new movement. He swears and whines but keeps moving forward. The mouth is dry, and the stomach is empty. Reason enough for him to move towards the cell entrance, where the appetizing smell of a meal seems to scream his name.

“What is this crap?”

His eyes are contemptuous after looking at the stew of fish and vegetables gathered in a clay pot, in a sloppy mixture that did not favor the fish, nor the vegetables. The attraction generated by the hunger is the only reason why he continues. Arthur takes the pot to the mouth and lets the contents flow down his throat. The mixture is still hot, and he feels the hunger killed by the dubious taste of the food.

Next to the stew is another, smaller pot, filled with water. Just enough to stop his lips from drying out.

-Where am I?

He speaks to himself. The lack of company in the last few days, plus the constant persecution, struggles and blackouts make the loneliness grow in his mind.

-They said… What did that woman say? – His brain is not used to the idea that Rinlia is an elf. – She said that I am in another world. – He looks around. – Well, I think the hopes that this was a dream are long gone now.

He turns his back to the door, leaning on the side and facing the rectangular hole in the wall, from where the light enters. He stays like that for a while.

After some time, a transparent substance floats along with the light and hovers near the floor of the cell. Feeling tired and sleepy, Arthur does not notice it immediately and continues to mumble.

-So, I came to a fantasy world, uh? I can’t even get angry. I’ve been to angry lately. What should I do now? Is there anything I can do?

The substance takes shape and grows inside the cell. Arthur, initially shocked, watches the creature transforming and acquiring a familiar appearance. The fear, which took him at first, vanishes when the image turns into something with human contours. Black-haired. With almond, attentive eyes.

He recognizes the figure of a girl with black hair and a face with Asian features.

-You. – He says. – I think I should thank you. Since my arrival, you were the only one who helped me in this cursed world. Did you come to visit me?

She does not answer.

-What are you doing here? If I remember correctly, whenever we meet, I pass out. Is this what will happen?

She seems to smile. With her head, she makes a negative gesture and approaches, extending her hand. The gesture is familiar.

-Are you sure I won’t pass out?

Her smile expands.

-All right then. Nice to meet you. My name is Arthur.

He shakes the hand in front of him. Is like shaking hands with water. This time, he does not pass out, but feels something coming from her hand. A force that invades his interior and fills the empty spaces. The same thing he felt on the beach when he woke up for the first time.

It is like a light that illuminates his chest, expanding throughout the body, where each illuminated piece strengthens and develops.

Without realizing it, his eyes open and his features become attentive. He puts the other hand on the wall and, with the good leg, starts to get up. The image in front of him weakens and seems to lose its luster, while the constitution of his body seems to invigorate and gain strength.

Without realizing it, he steps forward, towards her. Her figure recedes and weakens. He takes one more step.

The light in his chest dissipates and he falls forward, his leg giving in to the weight of his body and collapsing on the stone floor.

-What? Ouch!

The pain takes him by storm and he craws towards the wall, using both hands to massage the thigh. The fractured bone had barely been fixed by the person who treated it. The poorly made splint hardly left the bone in place and the fall should have made his situation worse.

But that did not happen.

Where the fracture should be, despite the pain, Arthur was able to feel that his leg was no longer in the same critical condition. Although unable to get up again, he could see that the external wound was not open under the bandages. And, internally, the bone and nerves responded weakly to the attempted movement.

The pain inhibited him from investigating further, but this was certainly not the normal development of a recent open fracture.

-What have you done? – He looks at the “almost impossible to see” image of the girl.

She looks dejected and her size decreases. Her contours fade.

-Are you ok?

She nods positively.

-But… You are disappearing. What is happening?

She makes a negative gesture. He tries to understand but cannot do it.

-It was magic? What did you use on me? – She agrees. The shape seems to stabilize, although the color does not return to her.

“Of course, it is magic.” He thinks. “That’s right. This is not my world. This place is different, but that does not mean that there is nothing to be done.”

-The rules are different here… - He faces the image in front of him. The girl looks like an ethereal figure, walking around him, exploring the boundaries of the cell.

“This is not my world. This is a world that wants to trap, hunt and kill me. How many times have I passed out? How many times have I come close to death? If I don’t do anything, how much longer before my luck runs out?

The girl walks. Her image is almost impossible to see.

-Hey. You. – She turns, her black eyes are just shadows inside her transparent face. – The magic you used. Can you teach me?

The almond-eyed girl smiles.

And shakes her head in a positive gesture.

*

*