From which the Demon King had ruled over the land of Mithria, despair filled the air and terror seeped into every soul and mind. Humans, Elves, Beastfolks, Dwarves, and many other original inhabitants of Mithria stood no chance at defending their nations from the Demon King and his nightmarish minions’ unrelenting conquest and carnage. The battlefields turned to mass graveyards of metal and flesh with little to no casualties suffered by the Demon King’s army.
Hope was lost that day, Mithria was about to lose its will to continue fighting back against the Demon King’s indomitable army and was all ready to beg for mercy. Before submitting to defeat, a young mage with the magical prowess of gods and goddesses appeared and swiftly turned back the tides of war. Like a light beacon in a cold, starless night, his presence was the hope that we all were praying to happen. Mithria’s last bastion graced and basked us under his aura of a blazing, shining sun. The Great Magus was able to push back the Demon King’s army back to where they came from and successfully put an impenetrable and ancient seal, hence, ending the nightmare and shaping our world into what it is today.
"And so they say..."
A bearded wizard with fading white hair in a deep red robe and cap said, his old hands closing a dusty book titled “The Legend of The Grand Magus” and returning it to its old shelf.
“Such a tale must have been inspired from a bard’s tale… exaggeration at its finest.”
He sighed and looked down from the balcony of his quiet laboratory in the castle, which he intentionally abandoned for years, collecting dust. He gazes his eyes at the streets of the Kingdom of Nira, filled with joy and laughter, streets busy with civilians and merchants living their daily lives in harmony and warmth. A feeling of longing grew stronger in his heart until a creek of a door disturbed his train of thought, and from the door, a young man with a sharp and tidy attire peeks his head in and sees the wizard.
“Ah… I’m so sorry to disturb you, Grand Magus sir. We were deeply concerned about your whereabouts…” The young man bowed and showed respect to the wizard, before adding with a trembly and stuttery voice “P- pardon me for this, but… the King sent me to inform you that he wishes for your presence to discuss a matter with you, sir…”
The wizard sees that the young man is terrified and bows to him, trembling, a common sight Lento sees in every person who has come in contact with him. Lento tries to smile and laugh, excusing the poor young man in the hope of easing him from his terrified state.
“Is that so, lad? Hohoho, thank you for informing this old bone, tell Ranndun that I’ll be there right away. I was only taking a visit to the laboratory to check on the books, that’s all.” Lento said, stroking his beard while chuckling, trying to appear as friendly and harmless to the young man as he could, but he knew that this wouldn’t work, just like the others.
“C- Certainly! N- Now if you’ll excuse me, sir.”
The young man bowed again and closed the door as gently as he could, not making a noise, and then his footsteps could be heard running down the hallway to inform the king.
Lento sighed once again, questioning when was the last time anyone took him less seriously and treated him like a human being, an ordinary person. It’s a question that left him with no answer, it has been forever since the last time that happened. As Lento looks back at the shelf, at the old book that he read, his feelings get even more bitter.
He cannot linger on this feeling as he needs to be there for Ranndun, the current king of the Kingdom of Nira, whom Lento had served for almost a century. He knows Ranndun has a short fuse and is impatient, unlike his father who was a wise and considerate king.
Lento began to cast a teleportation spell without lifting a finger and instantly transported himself behind Ranndun’s throne. The throne room is quiet and some elite guards are stationed near the doors and entrances of the room. Ranndun can be seen tapping his fingers on the armrest of the throne, looking irritated and stressed, which makes Lento curious as to why he is behaving this way. He has looked over Ranndun ever since he was a child and this time, he is putting on a stressed and uneasy look like he has never seen before, his face showing a man who has a lot of thoughts in his mind.
“You called?” Lento said as he stepped out and tapped Ranndun’s shoulder, alerting the elite guards and also surprising Ranndun, but the guards quickly quieted down again and stood in their original position after realizing it was the Grand Magus, even bowing their heads at his presence.
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“?!?! For heaven’s sake! Must you do that little antic of yours every time you’re called?!” Ranndun yelled while putting his hand on his heart. Lento chuckled in response, feeling amused since Ranndun is the only one who doesn’t shudder in fear or worship him on every occasion.
“Hohoho! Apologies, old habits never die.”
Before Ranndun can be annoyed any longer, quick and hasty footsteps approach the main door to the throne room and open, it is the young man who was sent to fetch the Grand Magus, panting heavily and catching his breath after arriving and kneeling to greet the king.
“M- My king! The Grand… Mag-“ He said with ragged breath, immediately cutting his sentence as soon as he saw Lento next to the king. Lento waves and grins at the young man, confusing the young man as he fixes his mannerisms.
“I- I present to you the Grand Magus, my liege!”
“… I am grateful for your… attempt at fetching Lento, young man… you’re now dismissed,” Ranndun said, putting his hand on his forehead, knowing Lento would pull off a prank like this.
With one last bow, the young man who is still confused took his leave and the gate to the throne room now closed, leaving Lento with Ranndun and his elite guards. Ranndun sighed and looked at Lento, standing up in the process.
“What seems to be the problem, Ranndun? It’s unusual for you to request for this old bone’s presence these days… perhaps you or the prince and princess miss this old man, hmm?”
“…” Ranndun seems unfazed by Lento’s attempt to humor him, he looks straight at Lento in the eyes and with a serious look and tone, says “Join me in the back room.”
Upon hearing the word back room, two elite guards then march next to the both of them. Lento knows that the situation is not to joke around with. Ranndun then leads Lento to the room in the back of the throne with the elite guards following them from behind. There is a heavily fortified door and Lento opens the door using magic, it is a door that he fortified himself, so not even a well-trained mage with super hearing or even the strongest physical power can hear or get in the room by force. He closed the door as soon as the both of them entered, leaving the elite guards to station outside of the room.
In the room, there is only a wooden table and two chairs facing one another. Lento lit up the candle in the middle of the table using his fire magic, allowing Ranndun to go ahead and sit on one of the chairs, Lento followed after and sat on the other chair. Ranndun has a reluctant expression on his face.
“Allow me to get to the point. We might have to prepare for a war with another kingdom”
“…” Lento takes in the sudden information from Ranndun by closing his eyes and crossing his arms. “How did that happen?”
“…” Ranndun went silent for a while, trying to deliver the message as clearly as he could. “Tell me, Lento. What would you do if a peace envoy you sent to a rival kingdom came back in the form of an ear inside the box?” He said, resting his chin on his hand with a serious expression.
“… Is it Kivos?”
Lento knows that some kingdoms in the continent caught wind of the Grand Magus’ age and how it won’t be long until he dies due to old age, and Kivos is the one that has been preparing their military force for the time that the Grand Magus ceased to exist.
“I’m afraid so,” Ranndun answered clearly, with a heavy burden behind the words. “If this keeps up… God knows what Kivos will act next… so-“
Before Ranndun could finish his request, Lento stood up from his chair and turned around towards the exit of the back room. “I shall not do it”
“B- But Lento!”
“I have made it clear before, perhaps you weren’t listening carefully to my vow, Ranndun?” Lento said, his tone filled with disappointment.
“… Of course… how could I ever brush it away… but you’ve got to understand-”
“I. Said. I. Shall. Not. Do. It. We are done here”
Lento glared at Ranndun and then opened the fortified door using magic, opening it, startling the elite guards.
“You should think about this more clearly. Your father didn’t raise you to carry out chaos and bloodshed. I suggest you respect Lodun’s last wish and respect my vow.”
With Lento’s last words, he cast his teleportation spell to his room, leaving Ranndun devastated in the back room and continuing to contemplate in the dimly lit room. Lento sits on a chair by the corner of the room and looks outside the window to collect his thoughts. 78 Years of peace ever since the Demon King was defeated, but conflict and meaningless wars still exist among brothers in the same world. He gazes further and sees the vibrant and prosperous kingdom of Nira, children playing with each other, and the streets filled with joy.
Beyond the city gates, vast and green pastures with little to no harmful monsters roaming around, complemented with a farm in the distance to keep the cattle in and crops planted. The feeling of longing that Lento feels pushes him more to go with the plan that he had prepared for when he had enough of this very life that he is living. Lento looks at his old, bony hand and clenches it. He will only grow older from now on, people will keep fearing him, he won't be able to die peacefully. Finding that the time is right to carry out “that” plan, Lento stood up and...
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The next morning, 2 of the elite guards march towards Lento’s room at the order of King Ranndun. One of the guards stood by the outside of his chamber to keep an eye out and the other one knocked on Lento’s door. “Pardon me, Grand Magus Lento. We come bearing a request from the king. He wishes to have another audience with you, Grand Magus sir.”
There’s no response coming from Lento’s room, even after the guard knocks yet again to hopefully grab Lento’s attention, it fails and leaves the guards with odd confusion. Lento would never still be asleep past early in the morning and that is a well-known fact in the premises of the castle, so the guard who knocked on the door opens it, only to find that Lento is nowhere to be found. “We have to inform the king! THE GRAND MAGUS IS MISSING!”