“Studying hard?”
Samuel looked up from the scrawled notes in front of him and saw who had distracted him. He recognized the mousy-haired figure of Mari, standing before the desk in his late father’s study. She wore a simple blue dress today, and her eyes peered owlishly at Samuel from behind the usual thick spectacles.
Samuel shook his head slightly to clear it, and offered Marie a tired grin. He’d snuck into his father’s old study before dawn, lit a lantern for light, and had begun to review all the notes he’d taken for his classes. Judging by the light streaming into the large window behind him, it was getting close to the middle of the day. A quiet grumbling from the area of his stomach confirmed this.
“I never thought that formal schooling would be this exhausting,” he said, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. “If I had any idea it would be this tiring, I would have stuck to making maps.”
Marie seemed sympathetic. She began to idly pick up the thick tomes that Samuel had pulled from the shelves for reference, examining the titles on their spines. Glancing around, she noticed that her organization was still, to some degree, in place, but it was on the border of becoming chaotic.
“One would think you don’t care for books with the way these are scattered about.” She said in a mock-reproachful tone.
Samuel grinned back easily. He liked that, out of all the other members of the household, Marie had accepted his refusal of formal titles and airs instantly. She had begun to address him as a friend, and Samuel found the change quite welcome. In comparison to Arthur, she was almost carefree. The grey-haired steward still insisted on addressing Samuel by his title, despite his many protests.
A discreet knock at the door distracted them. Samuel began to turn to it and give the call to enter, but the door was already opening. Shigeru stood in the doorway, followed by James, the apprentice cook. Shigeru was wearing more casual clothes than before, though his appearance was still as sharp as before. He stepped into the study without invitation, which seemed to shock James, but Shigeru paid him no mind.
“Good afternoon, Samuel-san,” Shigeru said quietly. “Master Seamus has demanded that we find you and make you eat something before you die of hunger.”
Samuel grimaced slightly but thought he hid the expression well. “Seamus thinks that I’m so thin as to be a day away from death. I’m not that skinny.”
Shigeru nodded, his face blank and noncommittal. “Indeed. You are the image of health.”
Marie let out a snort of laughter at Shigeru’s austere response, and even Samuel grinned. James still remained outside the room, awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He had been trained to not enter a room without instruction or invitation, and couldn’t bring himself to be so formal with the lord of the house, as the other two did.
“Come in, James,” Samuel said, barely avoiding the temptation to roll his eyes. “We don’t want Seamus whacking you with his ladle just because I’m too stubborn.”
A shy smile appeared on the young cook’s face, and he moved forward to the desk, placing the laden tray delicately between the stacks of books there. “Here is your lunch, young master. Nothing too special, just some ham sandwiches and soup.”
Samuel’s nose twitched as he smelled the fragrant scent offered by the covered bowl of soup, and reached for one of the sandwiches. He took a bite and nodded in appreciation. “Any coffee?”
James looked confused at the question. “You wish for coffee with lunch?”
Shigeru sat gracefully in one of the chairs across from Samuel and grabbed a sandwich for himself. “If he had his way, Samuel-san would drink coffee every minute of the day.”
Samuel ignored this, raising one hand to James in an apology. “It’s fine if not. I expect Seamus is busy with preparing dinner. I see there is some fresh juice here, that will be good enough.”
James seemed to deliberate for a few minutes, then his face cleared. Offering a slight bow, he turned to leave the room with haste. “Worry not, young master, I will have some coffee for you shortly. If it is what you enjoy, I shall procure it.”
Samuel tried again to protest, but the young cook was already gone. He instead threw a glare in Shigeru’s direction, as if he had been the one to cause the confusion. The foreign warrior appeared to be immersed in his ham sandwich and didn’t notice. Giving the expression up as a lost cause, he continued on with a thought that had occurred to him that morning.
“Forgive me if it sounds rude, but why are you still here, Shigeru?” he asked.
Shigeru paused suddenly, then finished off the last bite of his sandwich. He chewed for a long while, and Samuel had the sense that he was weighing his words carefully. His eyes glanced quickly at Marie where she sat in another chair, and he shrugged lightly. Despite his casual gesture, he seemed more tense and on-guard then when he’d arrived, Samuel thought.
“I have nothing better to do at the moment. I have arrived in Milagre, which was my goal, but I’m not sure what I wish to do next.”
Marie seemed to have missed the hidden tension in the foreigner’s body. She stood up from her chair and stretched, letting out a long yawn. Exhausted from his studies, Samuel nearly copied her but restrained himself with some difficulty.
“I’m going to my room. I think some quiet private reading is in order.”
Samuel nodded and gave a small little wave of his hand as she left the study, quietly closing the door behind her. Then his head turned swiftly to survey Shigeru once more, and he leaned back in his chair. He propped his feet up on a small clear space of the desk and peered interestedly at the warrior sitting across from him.
“Why are you really here? A man of your passion doesn’t accomplish what you have, then set out on a journey to a different country just to settle down for a while.”
Shigeru raised an eyebrow at Samuel’s sudden directness, but the young mage wasn’t willing to be waylaid this time around. He leaned forward to pick up one of the sandwiches off of the plate and took a bite. It was really very good. He took a first sip of the juice, enjoying the ice-cold taste of the mixed berries.
“It could be that I moved to Gorteau just to escape my country for a while,” Shigeru said simply, also taking a sip of his own juice. “Even… passionate men like to take a break now and again.”
Samuel smirked in spite of himself. He’d seen Shigeru training with the guards of the estate every day, keeping his own skills sharp while giving the other men experience and new skills. In fact, the only time that he’d seen the swordsman taking a break was when he would sit for hours at a time in the grassy section of the courtyard, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
“Sure, life is probably easier as a member of a lazy noble’s guard than it was fighting for your life every day like you did when you were younger,” Samuel said with an understanding nod. “It must have been a kind of hell to go through all of that on your own.”
“I was not alone,” Shigeru said. The response was so quiet, Samuel almost missed it. The foreigner was suddenly pensive, his calm demeanor replaced with a troubled and tired expression. “Were I alone, I would not be standing here before you.”
“Oh yes,” Samuel said slowly. “I forgot, your brother was there with you for all of it.”
He recalled the vague details of the story he’d heard from the bard. Shigeru and his brother had stuck together through thick and thin, undergoing harsh training and beginning to fight back. Samuel tried to recall the name of the brother in the tale, then realized that there hadn’t been one. Until he’d met Shigeru in person, Samuel hadn’t known the first names of anyone involved in the story.
Shigeru nodded. “Reito was my closest friend and greatest ally, yes. But we also had a close group of comrades. Some were friends of my father before he was killed, and others were new faces, who believed in us and lent us their aid. The army that came later was essential, but it was not what saved me.”
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Samuel supposed that he understood what Shigeru meant, but he refrained from commenting. He’d seen and heard enough stories told to know when a tale wasn’t finished. He leaned back in his chair, watching the strange mixture of emotions that was playing across Shigeru’s face, patiently waiting for what he was sure to come.
“If my brother had survived, perhaps things could have ended differently.” Shigeru’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper. Yet despite how softly the words were spoken, they fell upon Samuel’s ears as if they were thunder. He sat, stunned into silence, almost wishing he hadn’t heard them.
“Reito is dead?” Samuel said in a hushed voice. He was killed by your enemies?”
Shigeru looked up to meet Samuel’s eyes, and the young mage instinctively recoiled at what he saw there. A sea of rage, so deep that it sent a cold shiver of fear down his spine. He couldn’t believe that anybody could hold that storm of emotion back and keep their sanity. It looked as if it were on the edge of consuming the swordsman, and causing him to do the unthinkable.
More than a little frightened by what he saw, Samuel could not reply. His mind went back to the sight Shigeru had presented, appearing out of nowhere, three feet of steel sticking out of the neck of his victim. Thinking back on it now, Samuel felt that had been a mild expression, compared to the burning light that was in Shigeru’s eyes now. He tried to swallow but found his throat too dry for the attempt.
“I wish that were the truth,” Shigeru said, his voice choked by the emotion he was clearly holding back with all his willpower. “No, his fate was far worse.”
“What,” Samuel said hesitantly, almost too scared to ask the question. “What happened?”
He was ensnared by an enemy mage. The dry, ancient voice that belonged to Grimr sounded in Samuel’s head. Shigeru jerked suddenly, indicating that he’d heard the words as well. They stole his body and turned him upon his allies. We could not break the charm.
Samuel looked between Shigeru and Grimr, who sat upon the desk suddenly, his eyes wide with horror. He knew then what had happened but still asked his question. “He was killed…. By friends?”
By my hand. Grimr said, his gaze fixed upon Shigeru. The violet eyes, while still as calculating as ever, softened somewhat as they peered upon the object of their scrutiny. Our allies were paralyzed with shock, and if I had not acted, the battle would have been lost.
Samuel took a deep, ragged breath. He tried to comprehend the scene in his mind, but it escaped him. It was too horrible to even consider. If he were to be faced with a similar situation, he wasn’t sure that he could have the courage to act or the strength to take that initiative. Yet Grimr obviously had.
“Why don’t you…” Samuel began but trailed off. He didn’t think it was appropriate to ask the question. Fortunately, Grimr and Shigeru seemed to understand where his thoughts were leading.
“I bear no ill will towards Grimr for his actions,” Shigeru said shakily. “Quite the opposite. He alone had the strength to do what must be done, whereas I was too weak to save my brother from his torment.”
“You’re not weak!” Samuel said, standing up before he realized what he was saying. “You took back your country, took down an evil man, and set your people free!”
“If you only knew what you speak of, Samuel,” Shigeru said, and the mage realized that for once, he hadn’t attached any honorifics to the name. “If it weren’t for Grimr, I would not exist today. It is a life debt I intend to repay.”
“I suppose I can understand that,” Samuel said slowly, settling back into the chair. “But how do you plan to do that? I can’t imagine there are many threats an Ancient cannot deal with.”
There is one threat an Ancient cannot take on lightly. Grimr said, switching his gaze, now as expressionless as ever, to Samuel.
What’s that? Samuel asked back, proud of himself for remembering to reply mentally.
Another Ancient. Grimr said simply, blinking slowly. We are both born of the same power, and so it is very hard for us to kill one another. This, of course, is by design.
“Broaden your response,” Shigeru said quickly before Samuel could reply. His anger seemed to be temporarily forgotten, replaced with an expression of slight annoyance. “Grimr often forgets to repeat, and I miss out on what is said.”
Samuel looked to him, confused. “But how can I communicate to you in the same way?”
Shigeru raised an eyebrow at him. The expression said all too clearly that Shigeru thought the answer was an obvious one, and Samuel decided he didn’t like that look one bit. Isn’t it obvious?
Samuel’s confusion deepened as he heard Shigeru’s voice enter the back of his mind. Then as he thought about it, he realized that, while he’d never considered the possibility, it did in fact seem obvious. If he could project his thoughts at an Ancient such as Grimr, why couldn’t he do it to another human being?
Alright then, Samuel thought in his head, trying to push the thought to Shigeru as well as Grimr. The swordsman nodded in satisfaction, indicating to Samuel that it had worked.
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Grimr said, now in his human form. He’d switched so fast, Samuel hadn’t even registered it. In an instant, he’d gone from a small, four-legged fuzzy creature to a lanky young boy, wearing his tribalistic garb and twirling a long wooden dagger between his fingers almost lazily.
“Ask your question, Samuel,” Grimr said in a lazy drawl. “You’ll have time to learn more about mind-speech later.”
Tearing his gaze away from the wooden dagger in Grimr’s hand, which was practically radiating potent mana, Samuel forced his mind back to the question that had popped into his head. With all the distractions of the last few seconds, he’d nearly forgotten it.
“Why would you want to kill another Ancient?” He asked. “Aren’t you all supposed to be, you know, on the same side?”
“For the most part, that is true,” Grimr said, his expression stony. “But there is one Ancient, an old friend of mine, who has strayed so far from the path that he is poisoning himself and those around him. I owe it to our bond to kill him and set his spirit free.”
“And Shigeru can help with that?” Samuel asked incredulously. Then, realizing that his comment came out as rude, he turned to the foreigner. “Sorry, Shigeru. I just meant-”
Shigeru gave a wan little smile and held up one hand, indicating that he took no offense. “It is an understandable reaction, Samuel. I am a mere human mortal. But there is more to me than meets the eye.”
“Of course,” Samuel said hastily. “You’re a phenomenal fighter. Definitely, the best I’ve ever seen or heard of. But you’re definitely not an Ancient. And you can’t use magic, which I imagine would be necessary.”
Grimr let out a soft chuckle, which caused Samuel to look quickly at him. “What?”
“There are more forms of magic in the world than what they teach at the college, young Samuel. There are countless kinds of magic in the world. Just because they are not acknowledged by arcane scholars does not mean they are any less potent.”
Samuel nodded but didn’t understand. Glancing back towards Shigeru, he tried to study the swordsman for any sign of arcane potential. He couldn’t deny that he was a powerful man, but he’d never considered that he could possess skill in magic. Though now that he looked closer, he could feel a faint sense of power radiating from Shigeru.
It wasn’t clear on the surface, like with the mana that Samuel had sensed in others and himself. That energy was potent but appeared more like a thin mantle of energy that wrapped around the person. This was more of a slow-burning fire that sat deep within Shigeru, pulsing warm and strong.
“I’d never stopped to consider that there could be more to magic,” Samuel said, shaking his head in wonder. “I’ve gotten used to looking at how much mana a person has.”
“That is the one major downfall of the teachings at the College,” Grimr said. “Mages are so proud to have discovered arcane power, that they don’t look beyond to see what else may exist.”
“So can you use this type of magic too?” Samuel asked the Ancient, leaning forward in his eagerness to learn. The uncomfortable feeling from moments ago was forgotten as he was faced with new knowledge. “This… physical magic?”
Grimr studied him for a few long seconds before replying. “That is an apt way to describe what Shigeru is capable of. But to answer your question, I draw a little bit of my power from the same type. The rest of my strength comes from Ahya.”
“So you draw from the world?” Samuel asked, amazed. “That’s gotta be a lot of power you can draw from.”
Grimr’s smirk was obvious as he asked this. There was even, Samuel imagined, something pitying in the expression. “Not from the world. Well, yes, from the world, but to be more specific, I draw power from Ahya herself.”
“She’s an actual person too?”
“She is our world, our guide, our weapon, and our shield,” Grimr said with a raucous laugh. “But yes, she is also a person. The world is an extension of her body and will.”
“I see,” Samuel said, tired of how often he’d said that without truly meaning it tonight. “So that’s more like… Ahyan magic.”
“The ancients are her creations and exist to keep her will alive. As long as we all live, she cannot perish. This works in reverse for some of her stronger supporters like myself.”
“So,” Samuel began, weighing his words carefully. “What is his name, this Ancient you must kill?”
Grimr slouched further as he responded. “His name is Neratas. He is, or rather, was, appointed as the Guardian of Nature. But he has failed in his calling and allowed Corruption to enter his heart. He is cursed, and his existence is poisoning the forest in which he lives.”
“There’s no chance of curing him?” Samuel asked though he was sure he knew the answer.”
Grimr shook his head slowly in response. His eyes closed temporarily as some memory flashed a wave of anger and pain across his face. Unlike Shigeru, the expression was gone in an instant, and he opened his eyes once more to reveal his usual deadpan expression. “I have spent the last hundred years planning and preparing to take his place.”
“There is a specific time of the year, during the highest days of summer, where Neratas is at his weakest,” Shigeru explained. “This is weeks away. When that time comes, Grimr and I will leave you.”
Samuel chose not to comment on the fact that Shigeru mentioned nothing of returning. It seemed like a mission that he did not expect to survive. All at once, Samuel finally understood. He had just gained a glimpse into the cost of the awesome power that these two possessed in such quantity. The path of a legend is a sad one.
Thinking back on this moment in later years, after he had become such a legend, he often reflected just how right he had been then. And how horribly unprepared for it all he was.