Kael took long, purposeful strides towards his residence, and did not look behind a single time to see if anyone was following him. His head was racing with countless thoughts, but it all came down to his inner voice screaming one thing, the message echoing off the walls of his head and splitting into different variations.
In his left ear heard “THE SNAKE! THAT DAMN THING ISN’T INNOCENT!”
In his right ear, “THE SNAKE IS DEFINITELY SOME DEMONIC SHIT!”
Kael had spent too long silently ‘observing’ the snake, he regretted not immediately handing it over to the tamers for verification. The Thalorin they saw…might have more to it than what met the eye.
Whether that was true or not, it was only for him to see.
Nobody else could find out. If not…he would be damned.
Behind him was Riven, who volunteered to follow, asked the other two to follow the lord to collect the blood samples. He clenched his fist to prevent himself from using an arrow to stab the back of the bastard in front of him.
Riven, just like the man in front of him, had much to say but could only say it in his head.
‘Did he kill Master Thalorin? No, no, don’t be impulsive. But…he definitely has something to do with Master's disappearance…’ he debated with himself.
Just like that, the two walked in silence externally but conversed internally, until Kael stood outside his residence. Only then did he finally turn behind to see Riven, who was looking somewhere in a daze, deep in thought.
“Wait outside.” He said before slamming the door in his face.
This only riled Riven up even more.
“He has something to hide…if not why all this secrecy?” He muttered under his breath. When he was about to open his mouth to say more, the door opened again, causing him to flinch.
Kael saw the boy jump. His gaze penetrated the boy’s soul, sending shivers down his spine.
“Thalorin coddled you all too much.” He said simply, and was about to extend his hand to Riven.
Riven thought that the Swordmaster, who was known for his cruel demeanour would easily resort to violence and pushed Kael’s hand away, jumping back. There were many emotions mixed in his eyes, which were glistening with tears from rage.
“You speak in past tense. With such finality. You-” Riven was about to throw accusations, before he realised that the man he wanted to curse at had disappeared.
Suddenly, he felt something cool in his hand, wrapped by his fingers.
The Swordmaster was finally in sight at the corner of Riven’s eye, but only his cold back.
“Pass it to the Lord with the other blood samples. I want a report as well. Make haste.”
And soon, even his back was out of sight, leaving the poor boy standing pitifully.
His face began to show colour, and soon flushed a deep red as he realised that he had a long, long way to go.
Kael let out the sigh he had been holding in only when he was far away from his residence and the foolish boy. He was rather taken aback by seeing the boy push his hand away, like a child trying to defend themself against a slap.
‘Did he…think I was going to hit him?’ He felt rather disturbed at the thought.
Was his notoriety that bad for a child to think that he, who just wanted to give him the vial, would try to lay a finger on him?
On the windows of the building, Kael saw his reflection. He found the sight of himself pitiful yet frustrating at the same time. He had no desire to connect with the world but also wanted everything to be in tune with him- he was truly a terrible person.
The usually cheerful courtyard was desolate. No child dared to go out and play on this mournful day. No kites or paper figures flew in the sky or floated in the pond. The garden with lush vegetation consisted of withered flowers from the storm the previous night, but Kael liked to think that they were mourning for Thalorin.
He thought that everyone on the mountain was a fool.
Thalorin was dead.
What the proteges saw was an apparition caused by a demonic beast- the snake.
It would all be proved with the vial that contained the snake’s blood. If the blood matched that of the blood left by the apparition, then he would personally go hunt the snake and dig out its azure eyes. It would make a nice keepsake.
But Kael knew that he would spare no effort into convincing the people of the Yerr Clan of the sure death of Thalorin. Everyone here seemed to have flowers and rainbows floating over their heads, eyes clouded by the blinding sun from looking up to see the ‘hope’ in everything. The inhabitants of the mountain were an optimistic lot, surely for the worse.
He knew that everyone would wait with bated breaths until the next Lunae. On the day of the full moon, when the spirits grew the most restless, the Lord would definitely try to summon Thalorin’s soul. He himself claimed that if the summoning was successful, he would recite the last words of Thalorin and hold his funeral that night. They would let the deceased Spellmaster rest peacefully, and drink the night away in his honour.
And if the summoning failed, it would be a worse scenario. After the siege, everyone had a secret doubt in their heart that Thalorin had ties to the Demons. The aura around his body…the changed body proportions…whatever it was, it was not normal. The man seemed more like an aged prophet who had foreseen a calamity rather than a brazen saviour.
Kael felt himself spiralling into these useless thoughts and shook his head slightly. He suddenly felt a strange pressure on his head, shoulders and facial muscles. His frown deepened and eyebrows, which he did not know where even raised in the first place, dropped. His eyes struggled to stay open, and were watering slightly.
The adrenaline rush of the past two days had worn off.
He needed some goddamn sleep.
He immediately turned towards the path down the mountain, asking a random youth he found to pass the message to the lord that he would be absent for the next week.
He wanted to return to his residence, but he would rather not remain on this stifling mountain for so long. He already was forced to sit in a cage with an open door, a hunter aiming his arrow to the exit.
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In the past two years, he had only left the mountain a handful of times. He realised that he might have gone in and out of it in the past two days more than he did in two whole years.
‘That damn injury made me so useless...’ Kael sighed, embarrassed to even recall those days where he struggled to get up from the bed and could barely walk to the conference hall.
He decided to head to the town right outside the forest to retire for the night. However, it was too far from the foot of the mountain, and he was only halfway down. Kael felt so damn tired, so he glanced around for any sign of human activity. When he knew the coast was clear, he put his fingers to his mouth and let out a shrill whistle.
He then rushed to the foot of the mountain. He did not want to admit it, but there was anticipation rising in his heart, he was really looking forward to seeing-
At the foot of the mountain stood a giant figure, white fur flying in the wind. Its tongue was sticking out as it panted, like a dog waiting for its master. In fact, it was exactly that- just a bit oversized.
Seeing the beast, Kael felt like he had just been healed. A faint smile danced on his lips as he approached the beast. He swiftly mounted it and tangled his fingers in its soft coat of fur.
“Dog, head to the town.” Kael stroked the beast’s head. The beast then howled before it braced itself and sped towards the destination. What a pitiful creature it was, for its master either addressed it as “dog” when he was in a good mood or the usual “LITTLE SHIT!”
The town was very far from the Yerr Clan, which was deep within the mountains in the forest. It would be impossible for a human to walk that distance in a span of a few hours.
But with this oversized dog and a speed boost from the esteemed Swordmaster, nothing was impossible.
For the first time in a while, Kael smiled. The curve of his lips stayed as the cool evening air caressed his skin and hair as he rode upon the living ball of fur. His hand was subconsciously stroking the beast’s head, which had become a habit. He knew that the moment he stopped, the beast would let out a whine and eventually slow down.
Kael felt at peace. For the past few months, the demon rifts had caused chaos even though they were not near the Yerr Clan. Empires and aristocrats sent letter after letter requesting the assistance of the clan- and it was his job to refuse them ‘politely’ and listen to the senders’ whines when he refused to help them.
Thalorin’s death was devastating, but Kael did not want to dwell upon it. He wanted no false hope and just accepted the slave that the Fates have given him. He received the slap, and was taken aback by the sting. But that’s all. It didn’t change the fact that the slap didn’t kill him- that he was still alive. Kael just wanted to mourn his dead companion by sparing him no thought and living his own life.
‘Thalorin would have wanted…actually, no he wouldn’t’ Kael internally sighed.
And so, the man and his oversized dog sped into the bustling town with the setting sun, leaving behind the world but not abandoning it. The only thing they abandoned was a dead man.
“I can’t believe I have to go back tomorrow,” Kael grumbled. “I should have asked for an extended vacation…but I might as well get slapped by the Lord for such an ‘inconsiderate’ request”.
Just when he said that, he realised something- the dog didn’t know of Thalorin’s death. It was a particularly smart creature, and it definitely had a conscience, but just enjoyed the life of a dog more than a fearsome beast. Although it took Kael as its master, it was also very fond of Thalorin as well.
“Hey…do you remember Thalorin? The tall man with black hair and blue eyes. The one you couldn’t stop licking as if it was fish.” Kael chuckled at the memory. The beast was very peculiar. It looked and acted like a domestic dog, but had a sweet spot for fish. It was very strange.
He remembered that that was why it had crossed paths with the Spellmaster in the first place.
“…when are we arriving?” Kael asked as the spellmaster said “In a while” for the tenth time. He truly wanted to unsheathe his sword and shove it down the Spellmaster’s throat. But if he did that, he would be on the wanted list…again.
“…this is taking too long, where are we even going?” When Kael finally snapped and turned to the Spellmaster, he had a sheepish grin. Kael cleared his throat. Twice. Thrice.
“We originally were supposed to find the demonic beast that intruded the east of the mountain…”
At that, the veins on Kael’s neck bulged. “Then tell me, why are we heading north?”
Thalorin just laughed, as if that answered anything.
Kael wanted to kick him off the steep slope they had been hiking on for an eternity. “You should’ve just told me where we were going earlier.” He swallowed all of the anger he had raging within him, but he still could not hide his spite.
Kael then turned and walked the opposite direction, drowning out his foolish colleague’s attempts at trying to defend himself.
“It’s cloudy…how was I supposed to know?” He muttered the entire time.
After a while, the grumbles eventually stopped. When Kael realised that the Spellmaster was surprisingly soundless, he had to look back to make sure that he was alive. Sure enough, the bastard was gone from his sight.
“Of course he can’t rest in peace without giving me a headache…” Kael grumbled and for the second time, had to retrace his steps. He had even considered the possibility that this entire situation was a delirious nightmare, and that he had actually fainted from anger when Thalorin originally said that they were going on the wrong path.
Suddenly, Kael’s keen senses picked up someone speaking.
“You’re the first animal that hasn’t run away from me…I’m about to cry…”
“Found him.” The Swordmaster just wanted to set fire to the entire forest, sit back and watch the Spellmaster burn to death.
As Kael walked leisurely in the direction of the voice, and wished he had some snacks with him…the one-sided conversation was truly amusing.
“What a large wolf…I don’t remember seeing such a big creature before…what a surprise,” Thalorin’s gleeful voice carries a tinge of excitement. Accompanying it was a few animal noises- mainly howls.
“Can you shake my hand? YOU CAN!? WHAT A SMART CREATURE!”
“Alright, I love you, but you have to get off of me…my companion must be wondering where I am for a while now.”
Kael tried his best to put on his usual expression- one that looked so solemn that one would wonder if he was a widower. However, betraying him was his mouth that was tugging at the corner. This battle between emotion and dignity caused him to look a bit mentally unstable.
And at last, he reached the scene of the crime.
Kael was truly at a loss for words.
A white, furry beast was fully sprawled across the Spellmaster. Under normal circumstances, Kael might have expressed extreme pity for the man getting crushed. However, the smiling face which looked like it was at the border of ecstasy only earned a patronising gaze from him instead.
‘Thalorin, is this what you’re into? You’ve lost the little respect I had for you…’
But most importantly…
“You dog!” Kael snapped.
At that, Thalorin was taken aback from getting cursed at. A confused expression flashed across his face, as he sheepishly said, “Ah, sorry. Animals usually never come near me at all…this the first time one has approached me. I got distracted…”
Kael felt a pang of guilt as he averted his gaze from Thalorin and said, “No, I…meant the beast”
The awkward misunderstanding kept even Thalorin at a loss. “Ah…” he merely said.
Hearing Kael’s voice, the beast immediately sprawled itself across Kael’s feet instead, locking onto its new target. At this, Kael reprimanded. “You dog! Don’t just station yourself there…you caused so much disturbance and think you can sleep peacefully? Get up!”
At this, the oversized dog let out an obedient but pitiful whimper.
Seeing this exchange, Thalorin felt that there was some unspoken history between the two.
Seeing the Spellmaster’s clueless expression, Kael cleared his throat and said, “When I first came to the forest, this dog saved me. Now it won’t stop following me. I think it wants me to pay it back…” he sighed.
At this, the ‘dog’ barked, as if offended by the cruelty behind Kael’s words.
Just then, Thalorin made a sudden discovery. He suddenly knelt before the wolf, and held its paws in his hand- and observed the pawprint.
Kael was confused by his actions at first, but then realised that the markings on its paws were strange- they were bright red and did not have the same shape as normal paws. Its claws were also razor-sharp. It was evident that this beast was no normal wolf.
“Kael…this a mythic beast!”
Mythic beasts were the descendants of ancient creatures- unlike the other commonplace animals and creatures, the mythic beasts did not mutate to the environment and withheld the adaptations of their divine predecessors. Most of them had rooted themselves to a location to produce their offspring and lounge. They were a rare sight, though. The beasts, like many inhabitants of the world, were ‘Immortal until killed’- the nature of these long-lived beings was their struggle to reproduce. And that was without mentioning the vicious humans who come after them, drooling over their fur and tusks, turning a beautiful life form into a worthless ornament.
Kael compared the definition of a mythic beast to the pitiful dog on the ground- ‘wasn’t a mythic beast supposed to be menacing, majestic, and mesmerising as beings with conscience? What is this?’
Kael eyed the beast. It made an odd movement… as if it was shrugging, saying ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about…’
Seeing that, Kael silently cursed at himself for not noticing. However, forest guardian or not, it remained his loyal dog. It even gave a ride to both Kael and Thalorin afterwards to complete their mission.
Now that Kael thought about it, it probably liked Thalorin because of his kindling to water- it was his most skillful attribute. The beast had a palate for fish, after all.
“He has passed.” Kael solemnly said the words. However, the sentence felt incomplete, and he could not help but open his mouth once more. “A valiant death, very fitting for a dramatic character such as him.”
The beast did not react to the words. The nonchalant reaction of the beast stupefied the swordmaster. He felt his face burn slightly as well, for he was expecting the beast to fall apart like a leaf in autumn.
‘This is a mythic beast…god knows how old it is so why the hell would it mourn a mortal? It would very well dance on my own grave’
Kael sighed as he thought of his lost face. He had truly reached a new low to embarrass himself in front of a dog. And so the stone-faced man awkwardly motionlessly sat on the stone-faced dog for the rest of his journey.
However, as the wind brushed his hair lovingly and broke the silence with its serene whistling, Kael’s fingers slightly shook. A frightening thought surfaced to accompany the steady thumps of the beast’s legs on the ground.
‘Perhaps, this creature is just playing dog until I can be devoured.’ he thought at first, but then thought it absurd. If it wanted to kill him, why save him in the first place?
Or perhaps…there was more to the Spellmaster’s life and death than he had ever revealed.
As his thoughts consumed him, the Swordmaster failed to notice two blue beads glowing from a tree. It remained there, unmoving until both the man and his hound were unseen. It then made its way down the tree without making a single leaf rustle. Tracing the path of the man, perhaps it could be chasing after him.