《The Swordmaster’s Blight》


 Summer Rain

    A warm summer night turned cold at the hands of a fool courting death.


    Kael had never thought that he would step out of the mountain for the first time since his seclusion to find a missing person.


    Even then, he spared no time looking at his surroundings that had grown unfamiliar in the span of time. Heavens, he even had his eyes closed shut. He sped through the lush vegetation with his eyes closed, his trusted blade-his life and soul- clutched in his right hand. The rain poured on him, his every step followed by a splash.


    What should have been the model of a descended god resembled an incarnation of hell.


    His features could be barely seen in the dark, so one may think that he was crying. However, it was just blood dripping down his face, mixed with sweat and grime. The white parts of his robes were dyed a dark crimson, which were hidden by the darkness. A devil shrouded in mystery, a spawn of absolute destruction, that was what he looked like in the darkness. However, the only thing the darkness could not hide was the putrid stench of death that exuded from him.


    Looking at him, one would think that he was the grim reaper playing a game of hide-and-seek with an innocent mortal.


    After all, what sort of an idiot looks for someone with their eyes and mouth shut tight?


    The running man came to an abrupt stop. He strained his ears, but the faint breathing he had been following had ceased. With a deep breath, Kael finally opened his eyes, the green tint in his eyes popping as more blood trickled down his face. He lifted his hands, found a white spot in his crimson-dyed sleeves and used it to wipe some of the blood on his face.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± he sighed, back straight, face the same as it was before. Perhaps one could delude themself into thinking that his tears were disguised by the rain and the dark.


    However, it was clear as day on this starless night that he was unaffected.


    He turned around, ready to walk back up the mountain and take a well-deserved bath.


    Gasp


    He whipped around in a flash, closed his eyes once more, and faster than the drops of water sped towards where that slight sound came from.


    Splash


    Gasp


    Splash


    The sound of hyperventilating resounded in his ears.


    Gasp


    Splash


    Where the sounds of raindrops sounded the most abnormal, where the gasps were at its loudest, and where the smell of death was the strongest, Kael found a pool of crimson next to a sturdy tree.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    However, he found that the moment he saw the blood pool, diluted by the rain, he heard no more gasps.


    But he still heard the sound of breathing.


    Drip


    The patter of the rain disguised the sounds of a singular drop, making its way into the pool of crimson.


    Drip


    The translucent droplets disguised the singular crimson bead that dripped down like morning dew.


    Kael calmly observed the sparkly crimson beads drip down, face betraying no emotion.


    He closed his eyes, letting the forest and rain envelope him for a while.


    Hiss


    He opened his eyes once more.


    He craned his neck up slightly.


    A branch extended right above his head, and in the cover of the dark it almost seemed like it was not there at all. In fact, the only reason Kael noticed this branch was because of the glistening crimson of the figure that lay on the branch, and the drops of blood from it.


    Kael squinted, trying to make out its shape, when two azure beads emerged, looking him straight in the eyes.


    The beads moved closer and closer to him.


    Kael just moved there, unflinching.


    The figure slowly uncoiled around the branch.


    The beads ended up right in front of his face, a portion of its body still attached to the branch.


    Kael moved at last, grabbing the figure with his left hand in a swift motion.


    Hiss


    The figure struggled, but was clearly severely injured, so it was all futile effort in the end.


    Something glistened, and Kael felt surging pain in the hand that held the figure. Even so, he stood there, unmoving.The azure glow was still looking straight at him, but it began to flicker.


    Eventually, the glow was gone, replaced by the darkness of the desolate night once more.


    Kael felt for a pulse and let it go, letting its half-coiled body dangle on the branch as he took his sword and rooted it on the ground blade-first. Then, he took a step and got onto the sword¡¯s hilt. He then leisurely uncoiled the body on the branch.


    Bending down, he then took a vial from his coat pocket and bent down, collecting the bloody water before it was completely washed away by the rain.


    After he was done, he took his sword and the half-dead creature and made his way back up the mountain for his well-deserved bath.


    After a short hike, Kael jumped over the walls of the village and had to sneak into the clan headquarters through the back door. He had no intention of being bombarded with questions looking fresh out of hell.


    Kael was used to sneaking into his own residence.


    He slid behind the trees, scaled walls like jumping hurdles, and broke into his house through the window. He found it easier to do than usual as the village and clan headquarters were devoid of people. Who in their right mind would come out after all that?


    He sped through the garden and the pond outside his residence, scanning the surroundings for signs of people who may have come looking for him.


    When Kael climbed through the window, he closed his eyes once more, silently praying that his worst nightmare would not come true.


    He then sighed, sensing the presence of someone else.


    ¡°Kael¡­I see you¡¯ve come back empty-handed.¡± The solemness in the voice could be told even in the pouring rain.


    Kael turned around to look at the person in his house. He was one of the few people that he would turn around and look at, and he respected him very much. He appeared as a greying middle-aged man, but one look could tell one that he could snap their neck in an instant and do it a hundred times more. He was the Yerr Clan leader, after all.


    ¡°Lord Felt, I deeply regret my incompetence.¡± Kael¡¯s monotonous voice made it difficult for Felt Schradinger to tell if he was grieving or not.


    ¡°Never mind that¡­we are all to blame.¡± His voice cracked slightly, and he cleared his throat, turning away from Kael. ¡°Even the sky is mourning him.¡±


    He tilted his head slightly and looked at Kael with a thousand words in his eyes that would not come out of his mouth. ¡°I suppose you need some rest as well. It has been a terrible day. Rest well, Kael.¡±


    In the blink of an eye, Felt disappeared without his usual dramatic antics.


    To see even the Clan Leader like that, Kael¡¯s frown dipped a bit lower as he climbed into his house.


    Looking out the window, even he could not help but sigh.


    The weather, the situation, it was all too depressing.


    Kael closed the curtains and lit a candle before he even removed his muddy, bloody boots. He was oblivious to it, leaving stains over the wooden floor of his abode. He then reached into the pocket of his jacket and took something out- the creature from before.


    Kael had his jacket¡¯s pockets enchanted, so a wide array of things were in store within that small pouch. He took the creature out head-first, but as he tried to pull the remainder of its body out, he realised that it was taking way too long.


    He just kept pulling and pulling and pulling.


    At long last, he managed to pull out the entirety of the creature. Its body sprawled across the entirety of the table. Kael tilted his head, blood rolling down from his crimson-dyed hair. He held the creature in his hands- tight enough so that it won¡¯t wake up but loose enough so that it would not die. However in the process, the blood from the snake flowed onto the table and smeared on his hands.


    Now that he was in the light, he could finally take a good look at his catch.


    ¡°A snake¡­?¡± Kael thought out loud. He then quickly shook his head.


    ¡°What kind of demonic snake could take up so much space? This snake could be used as a rope to descend to the village¡­¡±


    A/n: Hi, I¡¯m a new writer planning to see if my works appeal to people. I¡¯m sure there are gonna be LOTS of mistakes in both plots, grammar, and too many things I can¡¯t even count¡­and I would deeply appreciate criticism as much as I would appreciation. I hope you guys enjoy this passion project of mine because I guarantee that you¡¯re all in for a WILD ride.

 Scales and Sadness

    Kael desperately tried to think, but he found himself distracted by something else¡­


    A part of him whispered tthat he was only acting so interested in a simple creature to cover the ache in his heart, but he forced himself to brush it off.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t even that close to him, though the least I could do is try to find his body when the weather clears up.¡± he consoled himself in that same monotonous voice.


    Kael looked at the creature¡¯s unconscious body, took a whiff of the surrounding air and realised that the creature would probably be sound asleep by the time he returned from a bath.


    Kael stripped off every bit of clothing, his usually stoic face wrinkling in the sheer disgust of the smell. Taking in a bucket of water, he recited a simple heating incantation and watched as steam rose from the water, arousing old memories. Kael tried to dismiss them as he got into the water, but his mind got the better of him.


    ¡°Kael, how have you survived without knowing this spell? It¡¯s so easy!¡±


    ¡°I am the swordmaster, not the spellmaster, I¡¯ll have you know.¡±


    ¡°Tsk, tsk. How disappointing. Wait¡­does that mean that you¡¯ve been washing with cold water all this while?¡±


    ¡°My affairs are not of your concern.¡±


    ¡°Sheesh, for such a renowned figure, you sure do lack some common sense. Here, let me teach you the incantation.¡±


    That innocent smile and those light, harmonious chuckles would never be heard again. Whatever would the desolate Yerr Clan do without that dazzling touch of mischief?


    Kael buried his face under the water, closing his eyes tightly. He counted, using the suffocation and numbers to get rid of those accursed memories.


    The past is a memory, the future is a dream, and the present is the only reality.


    Kael recited this line inwardly as he always did.


    Clang!


    It seemed that Kael need not attempt distracting himself as a distraction had already descended from the heavens for him, adorned in a silver platter.


    Kael hurriedly stepped out of the water that had already turned a dark brown from the dirt, and scrambled for his clothes.


    Opening the bathroom door, he expected to see many things. Some of them were reality.


    He expected the creature to wake up, and it was indeed awake. Its azure eyes glowed even in the candlelight, looking straight at him.


    He expected something to be broken. And true enough, the vase on the table he left it on was smashed into smithereens.


    However, he certainly did not expect the reptile to tilt its head with a rose in its mouth, azure eyes blinking, looking like an innocent girl about to profess her love.


    The snake had visibly shrunk. What had once looked like a massive jungle vine, taking up the entire space of the table now looked as harmless as a garden snake.


    Kael stared at the snake, and the snake stared at him.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    It took a few awkward seconds of mental processing until Kael registered the situation in front of him. Hours passed in the span of a few seconds.


    Kael snapped out of his shock, cursing at himself for being so slow.


    No matter how much bullshit had happened in the past day and night, he had to stay on guard.


    How could he just take in a random creature and leave it alone?


    After all, it could be a remnant of the demons¡¯ siege.


    Kael summoned his sword, holding it up in front of it in a defensive stance. He inched closer to the creature, one careful step after another. The green of his eyes pierced through the azure of the reptile, his gaze unbreaking. Whenever the snake moved, Kael¡¯s sword hand twitched as his muscles told him to cleave the snake in half, while his gut feeling told him that it meant no harm.


    But he knew better than to trust his gut feeling after all this.


    The snake in turn held his gaze, but did something absolutely absurd- it inched closer towards Kael, as if it understood his intentions, but Kael¡¯s instincts took over.


    The snake slithered towards him, and Kael¡¯s hand moved on its own- the sword moved so fast that one could only see its glistening silver blade and a flash of the emerald hilt. The sword¡¯s force caused the candle to flicker, leaving the room in darkness for a split second.


    ¡°Oh shit,¡± Kael thought, ¡°I killed it.¡±


    Kael bent over the table, silently reprimanding himself for killing an unknown creature without even observing or identifying it. It looked like it had some intelligence too. Its eyes were rather pretty- he might have even been able to sell it in the town for a good price. The village needed repair funds anyway.


    He observed the reptile on the table. It lay motionless, no sign of breath. The rose remained in its mouth even in its last moments, and its azure eyes had finally closed. However there was one thing that Kael found strange¡­


    Why were there no new wounds?


    Kael did not decide to bring some random creature to his abode on a mere whim. He brought it as there was a creature that did not flee in the face of the demons and was somehow able to survive the effects of the demons¡¯ barrier without the Yerr Clan¡¯s protective enchantments. He brought it back because it was still conscious despite having bled so much that a crimson pool could form from the red-stained morning dew-like drops.


    So how could it have died just by the force of the sword?


    Kael¡¯s right hand gripped around his sword as he used his left hand to check for the snake¡¯s pulse when he saw the snake stir.


    But it was too late.


    ¡°Shit.¡± he cursed.


    As he had guessed, the snake was playing dead. It was quite an intelligent creature. The creature had moved the moment his hand approached it, and human blood spilt on the pristine wood of the table.


    To put it simply, the thorns on the rose in its mouth scratched Kael¡¯s finger.


    Instantly its azure eyes flew open and it dropped the rose in its mouth. It slithered towards Kael and turned its head left and right, as if looking for something. It then stopped, its gaze fixated on the slight prick on Kael¡¯s left hand. And as if realising something it started turning its head left and right again.


    Kael stood in confusion. It was just a prick so he awkwardly rubbed his bleeding finger on the table, thinking that the out-of-place crimson smudge would blend in with the wood of the table.


    When he looked up again, he saw the blue reptile slithering all over the table. It oddly resembled a human pacing around.


    Kael observed the reptile for a while.


    Its scales glistened, the dark blue a splendour to the eyes, its tail fading into a more greyish-blue shade. Its bright azure eyes reflected a river in the daylight, its scales reflected the ocean at night. Although it had shrunk and looked rather harmless, it truly was a majestic creature.


    But the most absurd thing of all is that the snake seemed to share characteristics similar to those of humans, and it was rather intelligent.


    Kael¡¯s mind was in turmoil but he revealed nothing as he silently stared at the snake.


    ¡®It seems harmless and humane. And the rose¡­was it trying to thank me?¡¯


    After a long while of ear-shattering silence, Kael moved. He reached out his hand toward the snake that was slithering all over the table. Sensing his movement, the snake stopped and stared. Its azure eyes fell on his palm, travelled up his arm and landed on his face.


    Slithering towards his hand, it slowly coiled itself around him. Kael held his breath as he felt the scales slide against his skin, and tried to look away from the snake¡¯s piercing gaze for some reason. He was clearly the one who let the snake on his hand.


    So why did he feel like he was getting devoured?


    The snake¡¯s entire body was on Kael¡¯s arm, and its face was only inches away from his. Kael folded his arm so that he could see the snake¡¯s entire face, and the two azure beads.


    ¡°...Can you understand what I am saying?¡±


    No response.


    Kael felt a surge of embarrassment. ¡®I can¡¯t be like this just because someone died¡­what am I doing, trying to talk to a snake?¡¯


    Hiss


    Kael broke free from his spiralling thoughts and calmly looked at the snake.


    The snake¡¯s tail was moving left and right, and it hissed, as if giving him affirmation.


    Kael immediately walked out of his residence, wanting to head east down the familiar hallway as did everyone who had encountered something unfamiliar. He did not look anywhere but at the snake. However, the snake¡¯s tail suddenly stopped moving and it looked at him, unmoving.


    Then, ever so slowly, it shook its head. If it could speak, it would probably be saying ¡°I am sorry for your loss.¡±


    Kael was confused for a second, and thought ¡®Even that cocky Spellmaster is going to get a headache as bad as mine-¡¯


    He abruptly stopped in his tracks. He finally broke eye contact with the snake looking at the glorious paintings adorned on the walls of the corridor. A portrait of the Clan Leader from decades or centuries ago stared at him, and he stared back.


    ¡°Right. The Spellmaster¡¯s dead.¡± he whispered under his breath.


    ¡°Mister Kael?¡± A chirpy voice rang out.

 Remembering the Dead

    Kael looked in the direction of the voice and saw a golden head before a face. A girl who was young enough to have a face full of innocence but old enough to have a well-developed body stood in front of him, blue-ish green eyes shining.


    ¡°Such a depressing voice, I knew it was you, Sir!¡± The young maiden chuckled.


    She was smiling.


    She did not know.


    Kael saw that she was donned in the morning training attire, the pale grey robes that all clan members wore before they came of age. She had probably fallen asleep thinking that there were no casualties after the demon invasion, that both the villagers and clan members were all fine, that repair costs were the only concern.


    ¡°Pela.¡± Kael said, meeting her eyes. The snake on his hand also turned to look at the young girl, azure eyes glistening.


    ¡°What is it, Sir?¡± Pela tilted her head and asked. She tried her best to keep his gaze, but her eyes kept wandering to the snake on his hand, looking at her as well. She clenched her fists, resisting the urge to ask about the snake. She knew that he was in a bad mood from the demon invasion and did not want to get a standard ¡°mind your own business¡± from him.


    ¡°Forget it.¡± Kael said. He did not want to break the news to her before the formal announcement. Seeing the girl¡¯s eyes wander between him and the reptile, he sighed. ¡°While I was out in the mountains last night, I found this thing. It somehow remained conscious despite the demons¡¯ barrier, so I picked it up.¡±


    Pela shook her head. ¡°This snake looks familiar. I¡¯ve definitely seen it somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Where did you see it?¡± Kael asked, expression deadpan but voice containing traces of curiosity.


    ¡°Hmm¡­I think I saw it drawn in a data log I borrowed from Master Thalorin. I think he¡¯d be able to recognise this creature. You should ask him, Sir.¡±


    Thalorin


    The words pierced Kael, making his scalp go numb. While Kael was not paying attention, the snake in his hand was shaking its head slowly. Pela saw this, and felt a surge of emotions for some reason. She felt puzzled by so many things; Sir¡¯s excessive solemness, the mysterious snake, and most of all¡­


    ¡°Anyways, why were you in the mountains after the invasion, Sir?¡±


    Kael could not answer that question, for he did not want to lie to his own student.


    ¡°...I do not know myself.¡±


    He sighed and trudged towards the deceased Thalorin¡¯s residence, leaving Pela even more perplexed as she just stood there. After a brief moment of contemplation, she called out to Kael¡¯s back.


    ¡°Sir! If you¡¯re looking for Master Thalorin, he''s not here right now.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± He said, not loudly, but loud enough for Pela to hear.


    Pela brushed the ominous response off as the Sir being on edge due to the previous night¡¯s events. She was about to make her way to the assembly grounds, when she felt a gaze on her. She then turned around in Kael¡¯s direction, only to see two azure beads glowing in the distance. As its stare slowly faded away, Pela could not shake the feeling of unease, even as she walked further and further away from the Sir and the snake.


    Kael walked as fast as possible to the deceased¡¯s residence. It was still raining, but the famous herbal garden was especially cold, having lost its owner¡¯s warmth. Kael was about to walk out into the rain from the shade when he felt something rub against his shoulder.


    The snake looked at him and held his gaze. It shook its head vigorously, slapping its tail against his skin.


    ¡°That¡¯s a bad idea.¡± It seemed to be saying.


    But Kael could not care less. He just wanted to get in, borrow a few of the Spellmaster¡¯s books, and get out.


    As he took long strides, he braced himself to face the downpour. However, he was met with a mere drizzle. For the first time in a while, Kael thought himself lucky.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    He walked hurriedly, eyes deliberately unfocused in a way such that the famous Spellmaster''s herbal garden was all but a multi-coloured blur, and that the mahogany door was the only thing in sight.


    The moment the flat wood shone in front of him, Kael came to a halt. He was about to reach for a doorknob or hack open the door when he realised- the door, just like everything in that accursed man¡¯s residence- was enchanted.


    ¡®Why did everything here have to be enchanted?¡± he thought.


    He paused. The question seemed extremely familiar, and he found another memory seeping into his mind against his will.


    ¡°Why did everything here have to be enchanted?¡± he asked.


    To that, the dark-haired man who stood by his side simply shrugged- his shoulders lifted up and fell down in his usual carefree manner, his shoulders light from carrying no burden. His blue eyes teared up as he stifled a yawn.


    ¡°I just felt like it- I am the spellmaster after all.¡± he chuckled.


    Kael wanted to gauge the cocky bastard¡¯s eyes out.


    ¡°You do realise that even Lord Felt can barely get through the enchantments right? What of the students who you keep sending on needless errands?


    The man pouted dramatically, looking rather silly and extremely immature- but that was how he always was. ¡°You barely speak, but when you do, every one of them stabs through my beating heart like daggers descending from the divine. You barely spare me any sight but when this poor soul meets your eyes, meteorites-the pebbles thrown by the deities blind me with no regrets-¡± he was abruptly cut off by a sword glare.


    Kael was planning to let him ramble on with the first half, but seeing that his blabbering had taken the form of spontaneous poetry, he could not help but lift the sword almost an inch from the hilt.


    ¡°Ah, being able to keep even me in check with but an inch of a sheathed sword- you truly are the Swordmaster.¡± Thalorin chuckled. ¡°And for one, the old man does not struggle getting through my enchantments. Do you know how many times I¡¯ve seen him sitting in my house? Spiritmaster my ass! He¡¯s definitely a master sorcerer in disguise!¡±


    Kael shot him a glare and sternly said, ¡°Do not insult Lord Felt like that.¡±


    To the Swordmaster¡¯s dagger-like words, even the cheerful Spellmaster could not help but sigh.


    ¡°Anyways, I know your magic ability is pretty bad-¡° Kael sent him a glare, but it was ignored. ¡°- Sojust in case you ever find yourself unable to break my enchantments-¡± Thalorin put his hand on his head and yanked. He then opened Kael¡¯s palm and put something inside, guiding Kael¡¯s fingers to close around it. ¡°-keep a lock of my hair on your person at all times. All my students have one too¡­wait, don''t look at me like that, don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t go bald!¡±


    Whenever Kael had any business to do with Thalorin, he would bring the small pouch that contained the singular brown lock of hair. But in the flurry of emotions and with all the snake business, it had completely slipped his mind.


    He kicked the door in a fit of anger, but then felt rather embarrassed and turned his back on the wooden door that stood there, laughing at his stupidity and forgetfulness. For some unknown reason, the laughing voice was rather similar to Thalorin¡¯s.


    Creak


    Kael immediately turned around, and could only stand in silence.


    The door had opened.


    He did not have Thalorin¡¯s hair, blood, or anything related to him.


    How the hell did it open?


    All he had was the ghost of a prodigy and a snake on his shoulders.


    Wait¡­his shoulders?


    Something pricked the back of his neck. It was the snake¡¯s neck. It seemed like the snake had gotten comfortable with him, making its way up from his arms to his shoulders. It was slapping its tail against him as if to say, ¡°snap out of it and just head in.¡±


    Perhaps Kael was imagining it, but he was able to perfectly understand what the reptile was trying to convey¡­or perhaps he was just assuming things in his jumbled up mental state.


    Kael muted his thoughts, blanked out his mind, and headed into the house with no second thoughts. He had no time to spare for the useless pondering either.


    The door shut behind him the moment he entered, and Kael wished nothing more than to open it once more and leave.


    The layout of the house was similar to his own, with a living space, a bedroom, a kitchen and a washroom. However, the decoration was vastly different. Kael spared no effort into aesthetics, simply placing the necessary furniture and calling it a day. The Spellmaster, however, took it upon himself to meticulously design the house, with luxurious carpets and rugs made of animal fur, paintings adorned on the wall. The scent of old parchment and a whiff of scented candles made the residence look so warm even though its owner had gone cold. It had only been half a day, after all.


    The snake was coiled around Kael, squirming around, as if wanting to look around. This action applied pressure on his neck, strangling him. Kael tried to suppress the itch that grew, taking a few gulps and trying to shift his tongue. However, one could do nothing against nature, and Kael ended up coughing awkwardly, sounding forced and in inconsistent intervals.


    The snake seemed to notice this, and quickly stopped squirming, uncoiling itself slowly. It turned its head away from Kael, refusing to look at him or even move anymore.


    Now that Kael¡¯s airways were unblocked, he decided to carry out his purpose, not willing to sniff the dreaded scent of artificial lavender for even a second longer. He spent no time in reminiscence, and scanned the room for books that could aid him.


    However, the residence was truly way too messy. Kael could guess that the Spellmaster was researching something before the demon invasion, engrossed in his research and had left his residence without the chance to tidy up. Books were left everywhere, half-opened and the ground was littered with metre-long scrolls.


    Books that would never be finished, scrolls that would never be kept with the same hands as the one who had procured them. A house that will never be cleaned, frozen in time forevermore.


    Kael sighed, and decided to take a seat at Thalorin¡¯s desk, considering tons of scrolls were piled up on the left corner of the desk. At the centre of the table was an unrolled piece of parchment and a, neglected and leaking ink. The spellmaster probably did not even have time to return the quill into its inkwell before running off to his own demise.


    Kael was ruffling through the unopened scrolls on the left, sparing no thought to the half-written words on the scroll. However, he then heard a light tapping sound on the wood. Turning to see its origin, Kael saw the snake slapping its tail against the table impatiently, right over the half-opened scroll.


    Kael paused. When had the snake slithered off his shoulders? He eyed the reptile as it squirmed a bit, as if fidgeting. He gazed deep into its azure eyes, as if it would give him answers. The snake stared back, undaunted, ¡°You¡­want me to read it?¡±


    To that, the snake moved its head down then up. A nod.


    Kael squinted and tilted his head. ¡°I seriously need to find a book or two about this thing¡­¡±


    He diverted his attention towards the half-opened scroll with ink smudges where the quill was left. Words were written on it in the odd handwriting of the spellmaster. His handwriting was sometimes pleasant to look at, the words big and clear, but sometimes utterly illegible. It usually depended on his mood, but really, he had a really unique handwriting that one could recognise at a single glance.


    His eyes scanned the familiar letters font in the midnight-black ink.

 Conspiracy Theory

    ¡°The four dragons who rule the world each have their own agenda. The Lord of the Earth, the Wyvern does not meddle in the affairs of mortals, but is a reassuring hand in times of inter-realm turmoil. The Lady of Fire, the Phoenix, rarely makes an appearance but leaves her trail of spark in her wake when she does. The Master of the Wind, the Harp, prefers to remain unseen by all eyes, yet they watch over us and let the wind flow. The Monarch of the Seas, the Serpent frequently makes appearances, winning the hearts of the mortal realm with his benevolence time and time again, his every public battle and demise enough to fill up a book longer than the Divine Inscriptions. The dragons are said to be humanoid beings who may or may not live among us. They can change their forms, but their original look is supposed to be a humanoid figure with horns and varying features.


    The strongest of the four dragons that rule the natural occurrences of this world is said to be the Wyvern. The source of the world, the ground, soil and non-conscious living beings were under his regime. Since his birth, he has been said to not have died a single time. His true form was very much similar to the depictions in folklore- a large beast of thick flesh and wings similar to those of evil sprites, with a snout and reptile-like eyes.


    Then there was the lady of fire, the Phoenix, guardian of the Everflame that watched over us in this otherwise cold world, the shining ball of fire in the sky. She has the ability to burn the world to nothing but cinders, yet she guides us with never-extinguishing warmth. Her true form is a large bird enveloped in fire, with a luscious tail made of embers with ruby eyes.


    The Harp, the one who lets the wind flow is a unique dragon. It is said that they simply follow the wind, and none of their actions have ever been recorded, any information simply unknown. However, folklore depicts their true form to be a humanoid being with snow white wings and horns, playing the Harp while watching over the mortal realm and glaring at the Underworld.


    FInally, the one who lets the rivers and oceans flow, the Serpent. His whereabouts are mostly known, with many public presences throughout the mortal world and has suffered many deaths before the humans¡¯ eyes. His true form is said to be that of an enlarged snake with glistening blue scales and eyes bright enough to light one¡¯s path at midnight.


    Consolidating the information on dragons after analysing ¡°Deities, dragons, and demons¡± it is clear that the dragons vary much from the deities, as they have an unrestrained influence on the mortal realm. Furthermore, there have been recent Demon Invasions in the five rifts, with the area¡¯s respective factions struggling to hold back the forces. The Quarts Faction has suffered severe wounds from encountering a singular enemy, the Underworld¡¯s ruler, the Undertaker¡¯s aide, which has caused much harm in the North. The Jeril Tribe have suffered casualties from recent legion attacks, but despite the overwhelming number of demonic kind, they were still able to hold them back. The other factions, the Yerr Clan included, have been working tirelessly to deal the rift before the demons come to them.


    However, in light of the recent events, it is impossible for the demons to invade through all of the five rifts despite the season being the time for renewing the enchantments and seals, making the sealing weaker. I believe that there is a third party aiding the demons in their cause. As I mentioned above, the dragons are all divine forces- yet they are unrestrained and cannot be touched by even the Divinity. Unless there are more divine beings who have been undiscovered by us foolish mortals, then at least on of the dragons should be supporting the demonic cause.


    When the Quarts Faction was attacked, it was said that a day before the invasion many changes in the land, windspeed, water currents and firepower were observed. The Former Faction Leader¡¯s son has released a public statement after his father¡¯s demise claiming that they were doing damage control for a moderate earthquake in the region when they were attacked. It might be no coincidence that the Quarts faction is based on worldly elements as well. The wind-based sorcerors of their end were stunned to find that there was barely any wind blowing, stunting them. The earth manipulators could not control the tremors that shook during the invasion, the fire-based fighters could not even light a spark, and the water manipulators found the currents in a usually calm stream so violent that it could rip a person into shreds. From this, is it not obvious that a divine being is pulling the strings from behind?¡±


    There were a few strokes of his pen at the end, probably to form another word that was left unfinished due to the calamity that approached. Kael stood with the scroll in his hand, staring at the forever incomplete piece of writing. One could not think of it any way other than a final will of sorts.


    Kael re-read the text multiple times, his frown deepening with each passing word.


    ¡°The dragons¡­¡± he thought out loud.


    The dragons were merely those who ¡®took on the burden of the world¡¯, and had no motive to get involved in the demons¡¯ affairs. The contents of the scroll were¡­plausible, but the mortals knew too little of what was going on with the divine to come to conclusions.


    Where did Thalorin even get this idea from?


    It was quite a shame that he had no chance to finish the thought.


    Kael deep in thought when his eyes suddenly flashed with realisation.


    ¡°You¡­¡± he looked straight at the snake, which was stretching its entire body to look up at him. This sight made Kael slightly taken aback. It seemed like the snake was¡­observing him the entire time he was reading the scroll¡­


    ¡°Why did you point at this? It¡¯s just some useless theory of a dead man¡­are you trying to prevent me from finding out what you are?¡±


    It was a reasomable theory, but still just a theory, and it had distracted Kael from his real objective.


    The snake immediately rattled its tail and turned around, as if not willing to entertain him anymore. Kael thanked all the gods and goddesses for not having to entertain the reptile anymore.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    But why did it look¡­mad?


    Kael brushed off the thought of the stupid reptile and headed to complete his main objective. There were numerous bookshelves in the living area, and Kael brushed his fingers over the covers, trying to find a book with the word ¡°Beast¡±, ¡°Monster¡±, ¡°Mythic¡±, or ¡°Creature¡±.


    While skimming, the word ¡°Beast¡± inscribed in a gaudy red font caught his attention. Instinctively, he used his index finger to pull out the book buried in a pile of its kin. Kael dusted off the cover, the specs of grey resting on the title flying all over the room. He then read the title.


    ¡°Beast in bed: Volume four, limited-¡±


    The book flew across the room.


    Perhaps it was an unlucky day for the poor thing, but the reptile that almost died alone on a cold mountain mere hours ago, that almost got its throat slit minutes ago took a direct hit from the book.


    If it were a human, perhaps it would yell ¡®WHAT THE HELL!¡± or ¡°OUCH!¡±, but it was a snake- so it merely hissed sharply, perhaps an unspeakable curse in the snake language.


    Kael¡¯s face was, in this scenario, not stoic as ever. His eyes darted left and right in confusion. As flustered as he was, his face did not turn red- perhaps that was because of the tan, or perhaps his experience of schooling his expression had reached such a mad extent.


    Kael then realised he was being foolish and quickly calmed down. One could say that his ¡®fit¡¯ hand only lasted seconds. He desperately did not want to do it but, albeit disgruntledly, he walked to the other corner of the room and picked up the unsightly book. He looked away from the onscenely named book with an obscene cover and obscene content and placed it back on the shelf- the dead may be obscene but the dead was still dead.


    He continued scanning- until his eyes landed on a hand-written log titled ¡°mythic beasts records¡±. Despite the book having absolutely no chance of being obscene from the title, Kael still tilted the book from the shelf and peeked at the cover before taking it out. Just in case.


    The book was as big as thick as his palm. Kael, who had no desire to go through page after page of probably useless content just to find an answer about the absurd reptile, decided to take the book with him anyway.


    Before leaving, he eyed the table with the incomplete scrolls of the Spellmaster and his reference material. Out of impulse, he swept all the paper into his embrace, carrying them along the corridor where he came. Little did he know, he had left behind a half-conscious snake, which was injured from his own actions, and it was trailing behind him. It really deserved a sincere apology.


    As he was walking, he noticed that after half a day of a relentless thunderstorm, the rain had finally come to a stop. It was truly a mystery- the rain had started the moment Thalorin stepped into the battle against the demons at the Rift.


    Kael remembered vividly when students from the Yerr Clan laid dead all around him, as if forming a summoning circle, as if he and Lord Felt were the last hope. The rain that poured without warning drenched everyone, and the blood of the innocent poured down the mountain like a stream of crimson horror. On the golden gate at the peak of the mountain stood a silhouette, radiating a luminescent blue light from him. Thalorin had specialised in water-based sorcery but none knew of his true prowess, nor Kael¡¯s or the Lord¡¯s.


    From the highest point, a yell pierced the hearts and ears alike.


    ¡°STAND DOWN!¡±


    Hearing the familiar voice of authority, the Yerr Clan¡¯s members all switched to defence. They protested, ¡°MASTER THALORIN, WE WILL LOSE IF WE DO!¡±, ¡°SIR THALORIN, COME DOWN AND HELP!¡±, ¡°THALORIN, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?¡± Unexpectedly, the last yell was his. But despite all the protest and confusion, everyone did as he said. He was the Spellmaster, after all.


    Thalorin threw something down in a swift motion. Objects fell from the sky, a gift from the divine.


    ¡°HEALING AND BOOSTING POTIONS!¡± The Yerr Clan¡¯s members rejoiced. The Spellmaster was adept at alchemy, and this was renowned among the clan members. Replenished, re-energised and motivated, the clan members all stood sturdy in their defence.


    ¡°HOLD YOUR GROUND AND EVERYONE GROUP WITH THE SORCERERS. SORCERERS, FORM A LARGE-SCALE COMBINED BARRIER!¡±


    Everyone shuffled towards the sorcerers, who summoned light from their palm for the others to identify them. They had already begun forming a barrier that rose up from the ground like a wall, and then enclosed everyone like a dome. Kael himself was unable to use strong barriers, so he was obliged to stay in the shade.


    There was buzzing among those in the barrier. One would expect it to be full of questions asking ¡°Why are we in this formation?¡± or ¡°What about Master Thalorin?¡± But instead, it was full of realisation and terror. ¡°Master Thalorin¡­why is his silhouette different?¡±


    There was something on his head, and Thalorin seemed a bit taller than he normally was. Blue aura gathered around him, and he was obviously reciting an incantation- which Thalorin never did. The aura around him deflected the long-rage attacks of the demons, until finally, a glistening sabre the size of half a man came flying towards him.


    ¡°CLOSE YOUR EYES!¡± This time it was the lord¡¯s voice.


    Even with closed eyelids, the Yerr Clan could tell that there was blinding light in the dark midnight, and the sound of gushing waves deafened everyone.


    ¡°You can open them now.¡± The lord rubbed at his eyes.


    When everyone opened their eyes, they saw a mostly empty remnant of a battlefield- with twitching humanoid and beast-like figures here and there. The demons had been pushed back. By one single man. How?


    ¡°I¡¯M GOING TO GO GET THEIR LEADER! HOLD YOUR GROUND! FOR THE YERR CLAN!¡±


    Normally the last verse would evoke the ground-shaking chants of the clan members. However, apart from the part that some of the loudest among them were deceased, everyone stood speechless. Not at the display of strength or because of grief.


    But because everyone understood that that was the last thing that Thalorin would ever say.


    That would be the last time they saw him.


    As Thalorin¡¯s back faced his clan, as he jumped down from the golden gate and headed into the dark forest, cloud-piercing, ground-shaking screams chased him. The clan members were all family. They were going to lose their family, so they cheered to send them off peacefully. It was supposed to be a cheer, but many actually yelled with tears. They were going to lose their family, so they screamed to grieve with each other.


    Everyone knew that Thalorin was different, some thought that he might have colluded with demons, some thought he engaged in sacrificial ceremonies. But they still cheered.


    Because he was family.


    When Thalorin delivered the final wave of his large-scale attack that killed almost half the legion of demons sent their way, he had already been pierced through the stomach by the sabre. When the stupid Spellmaster ran into the forest to ¡°seek out their leader¡±, he never returned- and neither did the demons. Kael noticed that much. However even after he vanished into the night, the rain continued, strong as ever. Kael did not run down the mountain in search of lost hope.


    ¡°THALORIN WILL COME BACK!¡± The lord had yelled. ¡°ON MY NAME AS THE LORD, HE SHALL NOT DIE!¡± His voice erupted the loudest.


    Those who were crying stopped their tears. Those who had began grieving slapped themselves. A cheer erupted once more, this time in glory and not grief.


    Because it was Thalorin. Thalorin dying was like the sun rising at night. To think he would die was insulting him- and he was too nice of a man to insult.


    So they all convinced themselves that he was goi n to come back and joke about demon genitals.


    Before Kael went in search of a body either cold or warm with blood, Lord Felt whispered in his ear.


    ¡°His soul¡­his aura is different.¡±


    The morale from before had faded.


    The words sent chills down Kael¡¯s freezing body.


    So even after the demons ripped him apart, gashes and bruises adorning his body, Kael- wincing in pain in the rain- ran down the mountain in search for the spellmaster. He may be a demon, he may be dead, but he may be alive.


    And that sliver of a chance was what he had searched for the entire night, to no avail.

 Save the Snake

    ¡°Master¡­Thalorin¡­¡±


    The weak voice that whispered a taboo caused Kael to vigorously snap his head in the direction of the voice, snapping out of his thoughts as well. The snake that hung on its neck was strangled by the sudden action, and was uncoiling itself.


    Kael looked to see a young man staggering along the corridor, face aghast. He had the face full of youth, but the expression of an old man. His body was well-built and muscular, and a crossbow was slung behind his back.


    ¡°Riven.¡± Kael said thoughtfully. Another one of Thalorin¡¯s prot¨¦g¨¦s. His expression said all he needed to know.


    Riven looked up at Kael. His pale green eyes were glistening, wet with tears that refused to come out before the door was closed. His face portrayed an expression of despair, and his normally dishevelled brown hair was slicked back, wet by the storm. The corridor smelt like rain, a smell which he liked, that always put a smile on his face. And yet, here he stood.


    It was obvious that Lord Felt had broken the news to them.


    ¡°Sir Kael¡­¡± Riven looked at him dead in the eye. ¡°At daybreak, we went to bed because Lord Felt said that everyone was fine. Sir Kael¡­did he lie?¡±


    The innocent, hurt words that came out of the boy¡¯s voice stabbed Kael straight in the heart.


    ¡°Riven¡­¡± Kael began, but had no idea what to say. He had no idea how to comfort people. What if he sounded like he did not care for Thalorin? What if he sounded like he did not put in enough effort?


    ¡°Sir Kael¡­he said you went to look for his body. Did you even find a trace? A finger? A sleeve? A lock of hair? A bit of blood?¡± Riven¡¯s voice cracked with every question.


    Kael felt a lump in his throat, but felt that it would be too embarrassing to swallow it and let the young boy know that he had failed through his Adam''s apple.


    ¡°The rain washed away every choice. I shall head out again this evening once more.¡±


    At this, Riven¡¯s expression changed sharply. ¡°Sir Kael¡­did you even leave the mountain?¡± He said, the spite evident in his voice.


    Kael internally sighed, he knew that this would happen. Why did he have to phrase things so nonchalantly?


    ¡°Of course I did. I understand that you are in grief, but this is no excuse to talk to your elders disrespectfully. Go back to your room, there are no duties for the next few days.¡±


    Kael did not look at Riven¡¯s face as he walked past him. However, he felt something tugging at his neck. It was the snake, trying to look back at the young boy, strangling Kael in the process.


    ¡°Nice snake. At least you brought something back.¡± Riven sad, the anger evident in his voice. It was followed by the sound of a door slamming shut.


    He should not have been so harsh. He was Thalorin¡¯s student, after all.


    It was not too late for an apology, but Kael just walked faster, closed his eyes and let the winds take him.


    When he got back to his residence, he closed the door as quietly as possible.


    ¡°Nice snake. At least you brought something back.¡± the words rung in his ears on replay.


    He put the snake and the reading materials on the table. The snake stayed still, staring back at him with the azure eyes.


    ¡°Fuck it all.¡± He sighed.


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    At that, the snake snapped its head towards Kael, as if he had just said something unbelievable.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather come empty handed than with a pitiful excuse.¡± He spat like poison. At this the snake coiled, as if hurt. However, Kael paid no attention to it and continued.


    ¡°I should have gone down the mountain instead.¡± He said, gazing out of the window.


    ¡°...Do you think he¡¯s dead?¡± Kael turned to face the snake. The snake, in turn, just turned its head away from Kael, mad at him for insulting it. Kael, however, just thought it was unintelligence.


    ¡°...what the fuck am I doing, asking a bloody snack?¡±


    The snake blinked twice, as if in disbelief. It then opened its mouth slightly, as if it were letting out a sigh, and slithered towards Kael. The standing human saw this and asked, ¡°what in the Underworld are you doing?¡±


    The snake¡¯s azure eyes moved circularly. Was it rolling its eyes? It climbed up Kael¡¯s leg and coiled itself around his shoulders, brushing its head against his neck. Was it¡­trying to give him a hug?


    Kael did not know what came over him, but he sank to the floor, his back on the wall behind him. There was a strange desire- like an itch that could not be scratched in public- to scream. Kael had been suppressing this urge since he heard the signal bell for the demons, but it had suddenly become unbearable.


    ¡°THAT DEADASS SPELLMASTER! WHAT UNRULY COLLUDING DID HE DO?¡± Kael was a considerate man, even in despair. More so to himself, but he set a sound-proofing barrier around himself and the snake. It was pitiful, basic spell, but it helped him save face. It was then that he remembered something.


    ¡°FUCK! EVEN THIS GODDAMN BARRIER WAS TAUGHT TO ME BY HIM! WHAT WAS HE THINKING? WHAT THE HELL IS HE? THAT PIECE OF DONKEY SHIT BETTER COME BACK ALIVE ON HIS OWN ACCORD BEFORE I-¡±


    The words ¡°before I kill him¡± were at the tip of his tongue, but he held them back in respect of the dead.


    The snake was just¡­there. It did not move nor blink, as if processing an astounding revelation. It planned to remain in that position for a long while, until the thick air had thinned out.


    Unfortunately for the snake, Kael was one with a significantly short temper. Under the cover of the pitiful sound barrier, he grabbed an antique bowl- the only decoration in the house- and hurled it at the ground. The shards scattered on the polished wooden floor with a clang. It harmed nobody, but the pitiful snake recoiled.


    Moments passed in utter silence. Kael had obviously not calmed down, but he himself had found his actions a bit excessive, and he felt bad for the little reptile that had gotten caught up in his mess. ¡°...Forgive me, I lost my temper for a moment there.¡± There was a hint of frustration in his voice.


    In response, the snake slapped its tail against Kael¡¯s back, the lingering sting fading away with the anger.


    Just then, a knock sounded on the door. ¡°Kael, I heard something. Are you alright?¡±


    At this, Kael stiffened up. Even though he cast a soundproofing barrier, Kael was terrible at casting even basic spells, so even the barrier could only muffle sounds. He could already imagine the Spellmaster¡¯s smug face in the Spirit Realm, laughing over his incompetence.


    The snake looked at Kael with a condescending look, as if he was the worst abomination to ever be born. But Kael was too busy to notice as he got onto his feet and quickly sweeped the broken shards of glass under the rug. It hurt him to be so disorganised, but he was just that desperate.


    He half-opened the door, in an attempt for the visitor to not notice the unusual lumps in the carpet.  ¡°Lord Felt, what brings you here?¡±


    At that, the man at the other side of the door looked taken aback. ¡°What do you mean by that, Kael? We decided to set out to go find¡­his¡­uh¡­traces.¡± Lord Felt swallowed awkwardly, his Adam¡¯s apple bobbing. Kael knew that there was a lump in his throat that big.


    Distracted by everything else, especially that goddamn snake, Kael had forgotten that he and the Lord had decided to search for any signs of Thalorin¡­alive or dead once more, now that the storm had cleared.


    Lord Felt seemed to notice something and added, ¡°Kael, you must have been quite occupied to have forgotten¡­does it have to do with that snake?¡±


    At this, Kael finally turned to look at the snake. But for once, its azure eyes did not immediately meet his. They were fixed on the Lord, an unknown emotion glistening in them. Noticing this, Kael¡¯s instinct told him that there was something extremely off about the reptile- just the thought of it being a demonic manifestation sent shivers down his spine. But alas, the matter had to wait. He had a probably dead man to find.


    ¡°Yes, my lord. It was an unfamiliar species and I thought that it should be investigated as soon as possible.¡± Kael blinked three times, seemingly natural. However, if one knew him well enough, they would know that he rarely blinked- as if he feared an attack in the seemingly insignificant amount of time it took for once to close and reopen their eyes. For Kael to noticeably blink thrice in a row, even with an appropriate gap, was obviously code.


    ¡°It¡¯s related to an external enemy¡± was what three blinks meant. In this context, the Lord got the message, ¡°the snake might be related to the demons¡±. Lord Felt betrayed no sign of his realisation of the information and merely nodded. ¡°It is best to keep it under surveillance then- I suggest we place it under the tamers¡¯ care while we¡¯re out.¡±


    ¡°The tamers are all out surveying the state of the creatures on the mountain, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Then just leave it in the care of a student. Some of them might prefer to be kept busy in this situation.¡± He sighed. ¡°That boy that Thalorin liked, what was his name? River? Let the snake be under his care.¡± He then began massaging his nose bridge, obviously exhausted.


    Kael was about to blindly agree to whatever the lord asked him to do when he paused. Riven¡­didn¡¯t he just deal with his outburst? There was no way that he could just shamelessly prostrate before his doorstep and ask him to take this goddamned snake under his tutelage, could he?


    He would much rather have switched places with that damned spellmaster. Life requires too much life to keep living.


    ¡°Let the goddamn spellmaster deal with all the shit! Let me finally take a break in the spirit realm!¡± He thought. However Kael¡¯s face, stoic as ever, never betrayed anything of the thousand complaints running through his mind.


    However, Kael was a good follower. He had never refused anything that the lord said, be it suggestion nor order. To live up to the title of a wonderful servant, Kael merely said. ¡°Yes, my Lord.¡± To which he replied. ¡°I¡¯ll see you by the foot of the mountain.¡±


    As the door shut close, Kael wanted to strangle the snake, cut it into pieces and make a new Yerr Clan delicacy out of it. Roasted Reptile has a nice ring, doesn¡¯t it?


    Kael yanked the snake off his shoulders. The snake flinched, and it felt wind brush against its scales as it plummeted into darkness- it was placed in a box. The last rays of heavenly light shone above it before it was slammed shut by the lid of despair.


    ¡°Goodbye, bitch.¡± Was the last thing that it heard.

 The Poet

    Kael was truly diabolical at the moment. He hurriedly dipped a quill in ink and grabbed a piece of parchment, frantically writing. However, even in such a rush the characters he wrote were all neat and orderly, evenly spaced, there was no smudge and no ink was spilt. The parchment did not fold and the quill was returned to the inkwell. Truly a perfectionist. Hearing all of these unnatural sounds, the snake noticed a bit too late that it might be turned into Roast Reptile.


    The snake then felt it being lifted off the ground, and this feeling of lightness continued for a while- until the speed it was going at was so great that the snake was smashed against the walls of the box. Instinctively, it shrunk even more so that its tail would not smack its own face. Then, the box was heavily dropped, and the snake was holding on for dear life.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die, you bastard!¡± Is what if would have said¡­if it could speak.


    But by the time it felt the embrace of a surface, the snake had given up on everything. It was fully prepared to be brutally crushed like a fruit fly buzzing around a hungry, homeless man. Unexpectedly, it had survived the daunting journey.


    But it was tired. It had just received fatal injuries, then got threatened multiple times by a human, then got almost killed again. The snake made a mental note to bite Kael¡¯s fingers off when he saw him again¡­if he saw him again. With a rough idea of what was happening, but still a sense of anxiety, the snake just decided to sleep- sleep made everything better. It curled into a ball inside the dark box, falling into unconsciousness in the cover of false night.


    While it was in sweet slumber, unbeknownst to it, the lid of the box opened, the heavenly light filling the box. Opening it was a youth with pale green eyes and yellowish-brown hair. His eyes were red- perhaps he was sobbing for the past three hours. He took the parchment that was attached to the lid of the box.


    ¡°Riven, do me a favour. Take care of this snake for me. Also conduct some research on it if you can.¡± Riven read the words. He was in a daze, and could not remember the snake that Sir Kael had was identical to the one before him. So instead of the taken aback expression he would have had, he merely cursed, ¡°what the fuck.¡± But nonetheless, he carried the box with the sleeping snake into his dorm, while wondering who had such perfect handwriting.


    The man with perfect handwriting was speeding down the mountain, jumping over rocks and using his sword to cut through vines. There was a paved path and stairs that led down the mountain. But there were too many people there to witness the Swordmaster jumping down flights of stairs and too few people to give way for it. This route was not exactly a shortcut, and was indeed quite a hassle to go through, but it was faster this way.


    At a certain point, Kael inched closer to the stairs, and began leisurely walking down the long flights of stairs. There was barely any sweat on him- he looked like the epitome of leisurely and nonchalant, and that was the objective. When Lord Felt caught sight of him, not realising of his actual ¡®usual antics¡¯, said, ¡°Kael, I see you¡¯re still at your usual antics. As leisurely as ever, I see.¡±


    Most would see the smiling face of Lord Felt and think that the Yerr Clan wanted the Spellmaster dead for decades and the ¡®search parties¡¯ were all a formality for rumours not to spread. Kael was quite confused as well. But unbeknownst to the man who was mothering a reptile, the mighty Lord of the Yerr Clan was smashing things in his room for a solid hour- and his wife was crying, praying to the divine that Thalorin would come back home. He even put on a bit of his wife¡¯s makeup to cover the redness at the rim of his eyes and paleness of his face. He was a leader, after all. And a leader could show no weakness.


    ¡°Forgive me, my Lord.¡± Kael said, monotonous as ever. Like a puppet controlled by demonic energy. Lord Felt would never admit it, but he had in fact once investigated Kael for this very reason. He was too monotonous, stoic and lifeless- the characteristics of a demonic puppet. However his investigation was futile of course as that was just the way that the Swordmaster functioned.


    The Lord sighed heavily, and closed his heavy eyes for a few seconds before saying ¡°Kael, why don¡¯t you just call me Felt. Because now, you¡¯re the only man who can. And I really do want to hear my own name sometimes.¡±


    Kael paused. The only people who could call the lord by his calling name were himself, Thalorin and the lord¡¯s wife. However, Kael never took it upon him to get intimate with anybody- so he referred to him by his title to put some distance. But with the Spellmaster¡¯s demise, the only man who could call his name was Kael. His wife was out the mountain on errands most of the time as well, so there truly was nobody who could utter his name.


    Well, too bad then. It was not his concern.


    ¡°Forgive me, my Lord.¡± Kael said as a finality, ending the discussion. Lord Felt had a glimmer of hope, a very small ray. But hearing this response, even though that ray of light had been replaced with utter darkness, he was not surprised and merely chuckled.


    The awkward silence from there perched itself upon the two¡¯s shoulders at they made their way down the mountain. In truth, they were not likely to find anything. What Kael¡¯s sharp senses could not pick up the previous night could not be picked up on the day, unless something entirely new emerged. And any traces that might have been left were washed away with the sorrowful rain.


    So the two fools walked foolishly, retracing the path that Thalorin had disappeared too into the dead of the night. But the two were walking quite leisurely, so it would take quite a while to reach the dense part of the first at the foot of the mountain. Lord Felt decided to break the silence, as he knew Kael would not open his mouth otherwise.


    ¡°Kael, Thalorin once said something about you to me. I find it quite the observation.¡± Hearing the taboo word come out of the Lord¡¯s mouth, Kael was taken aback. Of course, he did not show it on his face, but he felt heavy when the name was uttered.


    Kael looked at the lord, awaiting a continuation. The Lord chuckled lightly but heavily at the same time. ¡°If my memory serves me right, these were his exact words¡­¡±


    The sunset reflected upon the crystal clear water of the river. On the riverbank sat two men, idly chatting amongst themselves. From their hands extended a type of taut wire- they were fishing.


    If one were to look upon them, they would guess that the two were just good friends who were merely leisurely fishing. However, none would guess that the two were actually junior and senior who spoke with no honorifics, and were currently in the midst of a heated battle.


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    ¡°Goddammit¡­why the hell are none of these little shits coming to me?¡± The aged man on the right cursed, obviously frustrated. Next to him was a bucket filled to the brim with fish. Any fisherman would say that that was a feat in itself.


    However, that would be until they looked to the left. ¡°Haha, none can defeat me in this aspect. I guess I have some sort of¡­affinity with these sweet creatures. You call them little shits and curse at them but I, a kind and gentle soul, embrace the beauty of their existence.¡± Ironically, the moment he said that a fish was heading towards his bait it swam towards the aged man, and he promptly took the moment that it bit down on the bait. This caused the youthful man to yell ¡°FUCK THIS LITTLE SHIT.¡±


    The aged man just stared at him smugly. No words were needed to express what he wanted to say.


    Kind and gentle soul, huh???


    The young man stared daggers at him. ¡°I could use a spell and blow up this entire lake right now.¡±


    The aged man smiled innocently and answered. ¡°I could tear your spirit out of your body, rip it to shreds and use them as bait on my rod.¡±


    A second passed. Two. Three.


    The two men burst into laughter. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so frightened, I might have wet myself.¡± the young man howled.


    The aged man laughed heartily before he suddenly stopped. In all seriousness he turned to the young man- ¡°Well, I shall grant your wish then.¡±


    Before the young man could even process the words, he realised that he had come into contact with the crystal clear water of the river. The water seeped into his clothes, and he truly became wet. Fortunately he was a good swimmer and promptly rose to the surface, and made a rush for the feet of the aged man, yelling ¡°YOU¡¯RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS, FELT!¡±


    ¡°Respect your elders, Thalorin!¡± Felt laughed as the young man¡¯s hands passed through the legs of the old man- the legs were an illusion. In truth, he was sitting crossed-legged with his fishing rod long abandoned at his side.


    Thalorin sighed defeatedly, climbing back up to the riverbank, drenched from head to toe. ¡°You¡¯re just jealous of my voluptuous catch, aren¡¯t you?¡± Thalorin sneered, holding up the large fish on the ground. The fish had golden scales, and was half of Thalorin¡¯s height. It¡¯s eyes had no pupils- the fish was known to be blind.


    Felt sighed, admitting his defeat. ¡°It seems rare-  I myself have no idea what kind of fish it is. But, you have a greater affinity for water¡­perhaps that¡¯s why you managed to get quite the catch. The fish were basically asking for it!¡±


    Thalorin merely hmph-ed pridefully and slung the golden fish on his shoulder, while carrying the two filled buckets of fish he caught. Felt grabbed his pitiful, singular bucket and walked at his side, as the two engaged in idle chatter.


    ¡°Perhaps Kael might know what kind of fish this is- he¡¯s always reading.¡± Felt observed the golden fish on Thalorin¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°He might, and it¡¯s always the most earth-shatteringly BORING books ever. What do you mean, you couldn¡¯t hear me yell your name because you were engrossed in reading fucking ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HERBAL PLANTS???¡± Thalorin shuddered at the thought¡­or maybe it was the fact that he was completely drenched.


    Noticing the shudder, Felt asked ¡°...Can¡¯t you just cast a warming spell to dry yourself?¡±


    Thalorin shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ve got to make a point that the almighty Lord of the Yerr Clan would bully a sweet junior.¡±


    Felt snorted. ¡°You¡¯re the only person who dares to say such a thing.¡±


    Thalorin¡¯s blue eyes were locked on Felt¡¯s brown ones. ¡°When in distress, the pupils dilate. When in boredom, the eyes lack spark. When one is displeased, their eyes become hideous. And you-¡± He chuckled lightly. ¡°Your eyes look less ugly when you¡¯re teased and laughing, rather than being called some ¡®almighty lord schlord¡¯¡±


    Felt smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as an insult against a senior- off to the guillotine you go.¡± He said that lightheartedly, but in reality, with Thalorin¡¯s high energy it was impossible to evoke calm within someone. Anyone by his side will be laughing, snorting, or smiling meaningfully. He always brought about the best in people and made people feel the best about themselves. No wonder there were piles of love letters slotted under the door of his residence, despite the price of parchment these days.


    Felt then paused, feeling curiosity creep up his tongue. ¡°Thalorin¡­what does Kael call you?¡±


    By the sudden change in topic and mood, Thalorin was shocked. But despite that, he closed his eyes and pondered for a few seconds, trying to remember before answering ¡°...he doesn¡¯t really call me by name. I think the closest I can get is him saying ¡®You foolish Spellmaster!¡¯ Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°He refuses to call me by name either¡­even though he¡¯s been here for quite a while. Probably almost a decade¡­I think that he doesn¡¯t do it out of respect, either.¡± He sighed. He just could not figure out anything about Kael. He and Thalorin were about the same age, but could not be more different. While he cared for both of them deeply, he found Kael to be¡­forcefully detached. It could be said as his nature, but it seemed off.


    Thalorin sighed. ¡°Kael¡­that guy¡­he¡¯s like a mythic beast. You could have all the money and status in the world and manage to buy one, but it depends on who you are to get it to be your familiar. It cannot be forced. He certainly feels trapped here. He¡¯s only here because he has nowhere else to go, probably. Given the chance, he would run out of here first thing.¡±


    Felt looked conflicted. ¡°Your analogies¡­never cease to surprise me but¡­they always seem to make sense.¡±


    Thalorin smiled. ¡°I am a master poet, after all.¡±


    Felt pondered for a moment before adding, ¡°Why do you say that Kael feels trapped here? He was the one who chose to stay when I took him in.¡±


    Thalorin shook his head. ¡°I have no idea what happened before my arrival, but what state was he in? If he had a favourable situation in the outside world, why would he even stay?¡±


    Felt gave it a quick thought before answering, ¡°...yes, that makes sense.¡± He sighed. ¡°That boy¡­whatever do we do about him¡­¡±


    Thalorin just smiled at that, and then his eyes widened slightly, as he does whenever he ¡°gets a stroke of inspiration¡±. He then quickened his pace so that he was in front of Felt, then turned his body so that he was facing him, walking backwards.


    ¡°The sword tears, the eyes glare. Clad in white, what a sight. A story untold, words like gold. Hearing him speak, it brings you to your feet. Melodies like the wind, strings plucked on a whim. Secrets unfold, words heavier than gold.¡± He then nodded to himself, clearly satisfied.


    Felt was more than accustomed to his junior breaking out into poetry. However, there was a part of the poem that stumped him. ¡°What is this about melodies?¡± he queried.


    At that, Thalorin chuckled, ¡°The esteemed swordmaster of our humble abode is a master musician. I was at his residence to ask him for¡­something I forgot, but anyways, he cast a really pathetic barrier spell which I could hear through and was playing the lyre. Spirits above, I almost thought that a demon possessed him- but it was very pleasing to the ears.¡±


    ¡°...that is rather unexpected.¡± Felt could not help but be shocked at this sudden revelation. A swordsman playing a string instrument? Were his junior¡¯s fingers alright?


    ¡°I thought so too. Kael¡­he really is secretive. The only thing we know about him is that he¡¯s a survivor from the Jelaire war¡­and¡­and¡­THAT¡¯S ALL?¡± Thalorin was too fed up to even think about it.


    ¡°You know him for three years, I know him for ten. Yet, we both know the same.¡± Felt sighed.


    The grand stairs leading up to the mountain were in sight, and immediately both spell and spirit masters used a concealing spell to hide the buckets of fish, fixed their clothes, and closed their mouths. The fishy smell from both of them was replaced with a scent of mild fragrance. The arrogant Spellmaster who was walking backwards took his position a few steps behind the Lord.


    Not a hint of a smile remained from their previous banter as they professionally but rather


    depressingly, in Thalorin¡¯s opinion, they made their way up the stairs as members of the Clan and residents of the village greeted them with the utmost respect. They probably thought that the two masters were out on an official errand. Oh, how little did they know.


    They were not Thalorin and Felt anymore, they were the Spell and Spirit masters. Junior and senior. Subject and Lord.


    As they always did.


    Hearing that his two comrades had been gossiping about him behind his back, Kael was not pleased. But of course, what could he do? Curse at a dead person? Harass the lord? So he just remained silent, wondering what the point of this discussion was.


    It was probably along the lines of ¡°Kael tell us why the fuck you¡¯re still here.¡±


    Kael sighed and acted oblivious, ¡°What is the reason for divulging this to me, my Lord?¡±


    Lord Felt closed his eyes, weary. ¡°That was two days ago.¡±


    The moment the words left the lord¡¯s mouth, it was like someone shackled him in the depths of the dungeon and gave him cruel lashings on a whip, striking old wounds. Kael realised that the lord had not told this story to simply earn his sympathy.


    ¡°It was the last time he came down the mountain¡­the last time he uttered his ridiculous poetry.¡±

 Gossip

    The words nibbled at his mind, feasted on his heart.


    The last poem¡­about me?


    You bastard.


    You wretch.


    You fucker.


    You-


    Kael internally screamed curses, but he soon ran out. His face, stoic as ever, revealed nothing. To avoid suspicion, he lifted his head lightly and uttered ¡°What a pity.¡± He even shook his head to convey his remorse.


    Lord Felt went silent. He dared not open his mouth again. Just what was this junior made of? Did he not care? Was he related to Thalorin¡¯s murder?


    He would never guess that the pitiful young man was just absolutely horrendous with any word that was not a curse.


    The two surviving masters made their way through the dense forest without exchanging a word, much to Kael¡¯s relief. Until¡­


    ¡°The snake. I saw it here, my lord.¡± Kael surprisingly broke the silence.


    The Lord then bent down, took a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped it on the ground. When he looked at the originally snow-white handkerchief, he saw a horrific smear of brown and red- the remnants of bloodstains on the soil.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take this back and see if I can identify what type of creature that peculiar reptile is.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, my Lord.¡±


    They both came to a halt, and the lord surveyed the area. He then swiftly unsheathed a dagger attached to his belt, and used it to cut a long, thin gash along his arm. It did not graze any vitals, and yet quite a bit of blood flowed out from it.


    Nobody but the sword and spell masters had seen much of the lord¡¯s spirit manipulation in practice. The blood dripped onto the wet soil, and the crimson faded and got absorbed into the dull brown.


    He closed his eyes, focusing fully. Kael noticed that the rustling of the leaves got slightly louder. Kael knew that the lord was inwardly reciting an incantation- spirit manipulation was no easy feat, after all.


    Then, from the ground a translucent figure emerged. It was humanoid on the surface, but its head was snapped, perpendicular to the neck. The entire head was only hanging by a vessel, which was why it could be summoned. Through spirit manipulation, any spirit with its head intact could be influenced.


    The Lord just stared straight into the figure. Kael used to feel uneasy seeing the carcasses talk, but he had long since gotten used to the gruesome, inhumane way they talked. Their voice was raspy and sounded disgusting, while liquids and foam flowed out from their mouths. Some even started spasming mid-speech. It was truly horrifying, but all in a day¡¯s work.


    ¡°Human¡­blood¡­scary¡­snake? Mother.¡± It had a bloody coughing fit in between every word, but each of them were more incomprehensible than the last. Fortunately, the lord was an expert- so he merely nodded and dismissed the poor soul.


    ¡°Apparently a while after he heard some human voices and some other noises, he detected a large amount of blood and hatred. He said there might have been a snake here, and if there was then it probably was a mother.¡± Lord Felt said nonchalantly, completely unaffected by the bloody display. ¡°Does this match with your knowledge?¡±


    Kael shook his head. ¡°I heard no voices or unnatural sounds in the forest during my search, and the snake I brought back is a male¡­¡±


    Lord Felt sighed. ¡°This always happens¡­the spirits just cannot be used for proper interrogation, they¡¯re too unreliable.¡±


    Kael sighed heavily, and closed his eyes, trying to pick up on any slight sounds.


    Birds chirping. Leaves rustling. Dew dripping. Water gushing. Animal noises.


    Kael¡¯s eyes flew open in realisation. ¡°Why are there land animals here?¡±


    The Lord was just as surprised, ¡°The land is contaminated by demonic energy right now¡­and both water and land animals should have fled already. Kael, where is the sound coming from?¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Just as the two were getting into position to break into a sprint, an eagle circled over them, making the ears of the Divine bleed with its mighty call. The two looked up to see its silhouette blocking the sun.


    ¡°It¡¯s a message. Come here!¡± the Lord held his hand out, letting the faithful messenger bird to perch on his muscular arm.


    Kael approached the large bird and used his fingers to delicately remove the parchment tied around its leg. The parchment was rather crumpled, he noticed. This was not a matter to be taken lightly. Without making contact with a single bit of the Lord¡¯s skin, he removed the parchment and unfolded it.


    The handwriting was the first thing that Kael noticed. It was rather unsightly and definitely rushed, and the sender probably did not not have a proper surface to write it on. The letters glowed in an ominous red- the writer used their blood, and it smudged at the corners. With some struggle, Kael managed to read it. His pupils contracted and he stood in place, reading the three simple letters on the parchment.


    ¡°What does it say?¡± The Lord, in full seriousness, looked over Kael¡¯s shoulder. ¡°...I can¡¯t read that.¡± He sighed.


    ¡°Thalorin was seen.¡± Kael said, and spared no time wallowing in sentiment. He immediately turned his back, taking long strides back up the mountain. Lord Felt stood rooted for a brief second. He knew not what to make of the situation, but made his way up the mountain hurriedly, overtaking Kael.


    Kael wanted to sprint up the mountain and slap the shit out of the Spellmaster as soon as possible. But he had to maintain decorum. What would he become if the students who saw him as a saint and his bitter colleagues who wanted him off the master position saw him desperately chasing a glimmer of hope? That would be absolutely pathetic, and that was the last thing he wanted to be.


    Felt wanted to sprint up the mountain and embrace the hell out of the Spellmaster as soon as possible. But he had to maintain decorum. What would he become of the spies from the Quartz faction, the students who saw him as a saint and his bitter colleagues who wanted him off the Lord position saw him desperately chasing a glimmer of hope? That would be absolutely pathetic, and that was the last thing a Lord should be.


    So instead of running for a friend, the two men took long strides, walking fast but leisurely, with no expression on their faces. The Lord longed to sprint in yearning for a youthful man to call out ¡°Felt¡±, and the Swordmaster longed to sprint in yearning for a youthful man to¡­he had no idea.


    That bastard better be there. Kael chanted.


    May the Goddess of Luck smile upon this soul, may the Demon Lord, embodiment of death not claim the soul- Felt recited.


    But they looked like they were about to patrol an area rather than find a dear friend.


    As Kael walked through the looming gates, he thought. ¡®What the hell am I hoping for? That bastard¡¯s as good as dead. Don¡¯t get hopeful. In the first place, he was annoying as hell. Wasn¡¯t it I who wished for him to be buried six feet under as soon as possible? But¡­without him, most of his useless tasks and student lectures have been assigned to me. I don¡¯t want to deal with the fucking brats, so he better come back. And set up the barrier around the Clan¡­I swear everyone here is illiterate in sorcery¡­myself included. Nevermind, just don¡¯t hope for anything. It is what it is, no matter the result.¡¯


    When the two finally arrived at the main area of the clan, they were greeted by the hustling of students and masters alike. Students followed behind their mentors, helping them survey the area. They were too busy to even notice the Lord¡¯s arrival. However, there were two innocent figures standing right in front of them, obviously awaiting their arrival- Riven, Pela and another of Thalorin¡¯s proteges, Vivian. ¡°Greetings to the Masters.¡± The three said in unison.


    Kael could not help but glance at Riven. Sure enough, his eyes were red around the rims. He was also fidgeting, as if he had something he had to see but could not. Kael gave him the snake to keep him busy from the grief and because he was adept at taking care of beasts-


    ¡®Wait a moment¡¯, Kael thought.


    ¡®Where the fuck is the snake? That thing can¡¯t be left alone!¡¯ Panic flashed in Kael¡¯s eyes, but his expression remained stoic as ever. He moved not a single inch, but he felt a headache creeping onto the surface. His fingers pulsed, resisting the urge to rub at his temples and nose bridge.


    ¡°Sir Kael, Lord Thalorin, as you must have read already, we caught sight of Master Thalorin a while ago. And, Lord Kael, forgive us but¡­¡± The calm voice that rang out belonged to Vivian, who was a skilled sorcerer who Thalorin thought had ¡°enough potential to give him the Jeril Tribe¡¯s renown swordsmen a run for their money.¡± She was level-headed and held her ground, even in such a daunting situation. Her red hair flew in the wind as her light brown eyes held Kael¡¯s gaze. Truly a mature beauty. ¡°-The snake you entrusted with Riven had fled¡­it was only in its pursuit that we caught a glimpse of Master Thalorin.¡±


    She was skilled at manipulating her words. Her phrasing was directed in such a way that it could convey the message that ¡°Sure, Riven fucked up but if he didn¡¯t then say goodbye to your Spellmaster, darling.¡± At least, that was how it came across to Kael.


    ¡°It is what it is. Punishments shall be decided later, tell us exactly what happened, with not a detail short. Do not beat around the bush as well. Bring me to where you last saw him and talk as you walk.¡± Kael sternly said. The coldness in his voice made Pela shudder and Riven avert his gaze. Only Vivian nodded steadily, as she began to tell the tale. ¡°Well, after RIven got the snake¡­¡±


    Riven took the snake in, perplexed. But he was experienced at handling mythic beasts, so he decided to see how hostile it was first. He peered into the box, seeing that it was fast asleep. He then carefully closed the box, and placed a thousand-page thick notebook on it. However, unlike before, he poked holes in the box for the snake to breathe and dropped some hydrating seeds in the box- in case the snake was hungry or thirsty. He then heads out, setting to the girls¡¯ dormitories to seek out Pela, who was not a fan of reptiles but somehow sent him a snake.


    As he headed there, he saw Pela and Vivian walking, and stopped them, expressing his concerns. ¡°Pela, why do you want me to take care of the snake?¡± Riven asked. At that, Pela was perplexed.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± she said, sniffling- she was still mourning her master¡¯s death, and was confiding in Vivian- ¡°I¡¯m not in the right state of mind, could you repeat?¡±


    ¡°Pela¡­did you send a snake to my room?¡± Riven knew the answer before the shaken Pela weakly shook her head.


    ¡°...There might be something going on. Riven, take us to your dorm.¡± Vivian quickly said. She seemed totally fine- because she was by Pela¡¯s side this entire time. The emotions of grief have yet to process as she was still basking in the business of the day. When night came, she herself knew that it would be one of silent tears and sleeplessness.


    The three made haste to Riven¡¯s dorm. When Riven opened up the box, Pela had immediately connected the dots. ¡°This is¡­the snake I saw on Sir Kael this morning¡­¡±


    As soon as the words left her mouth, Riven froze. He gritted his teeth, fuming ¡°That bastard! He has the gall to send me that accursed snake?¡±


    Vivian stared at him in disbelief. ¡°This snake is clearly not normal. You¡¯re telling me that you saw it once, then proceeded to not remember it in the span of a day? Is your head alright? And watch your tone! Sir Kael could slice you into minced meat with his sword sheathed.¡±


    Pela jolted in a realisation as well, ¡°This snake has weird markings on its head and its scales shining in a deep shade of blue. It could very well be a demonic entity and you LEFT IT ALONE?¡±


    Riven could not handle the assault any longer and refuted loudly, ¡°HEAR ME OUT!¡± and proceeded to tell them about the morning¡¯s encounter.


    After hearing the entire story, the two girls nodded their heads.


    ¡°Wait¡­Sir Kael was unfazed by Master Thalorin¡¯s death? But¡­Master Thalorin was always boasting about how close they were¡­¡± Pela said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that either Sir Kael never considered him a friend, or our Master just has some loose screws.¡± Vivian chuckled.


    This was how it always was, Thalorin¡¯s proteges gossiping about their own master and about everyone on the mountain. Thinking it was a normal day, the disciples all laughed heartily, not in reminiscence but in usual antics. But then the laughter began to fade, replaced with the ashen faces of realisation. The silence stretched on for a while.

 Wrath of the Youth

    ¡°Notice how I said that he ¡®has¡¯ looose screws, and not that he ¡®had¡¯...¡± Vivian continued. It was a simple phrase, but the moment the words left her mouth, Riven and Pela¡¯s eyes glistened. The former turned around in an attempt to wipe them without anyone noticing and the latter just wiped them with her sleeve normally.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s dead, either.¡± Pela stated confidently. ¡°And if he¡¯s on the brink of death, I swear on my last breath that I¡¯ll bring him back.¡±


    Riven smiled sadly. ¡°You¡¯ll bring him back with the herbs of his own garden, huh? We¡¯ve got to get stronger. Not to save Master Thalorin, no he certainly doesn¡¯t need it. But to be strong enough for him to tell us what the fuck is going on!¡± Riven¡¯s eyes lit up with motivation.


    Vivian and Pela nodded firmly and smiled.


    As they were engrossed in their conversation, the exchange was broken by the sound of something ripping followed by a thud on the ground. When the three turned to look at the sound, they were all rooted to the ground in confusion.


    The petitle snake that was trapped in the box- it was now the size of half a man. Its blue scales glistened in the daylight, and its azure eyes were focused on the three. The curvy silver markings that ran along its head reflected the light to create a beautiful, divine being. It was eerie but enchanting at the same time.


    However, the situation did not make it look very charming. From shifting sizes, it had ripped large holes through the box and the book had fallen on the floor. If the snake was trying to be covert, it would not have just stood there and just fled. In fact, it was even heading towards the three grieving proteges.


    The moment it started moving, Riven aimed his crossbow at it, Vivian summoned a blade of ice, and Pela was reciting incantations. Noticing the hostility, the large snake stopped. Since the three were sitting down, the snake was easily larger than them. It couldn¡¯t even be called a snake at this point.


    The snake shook its head, seeing them. Riven gripped his crossbow tighter, ready to aim, when Pela stopped reciting. ¡°Wait, the snake might be trying to tell us something.¡±


    The moment she said that, the snake began nodding.


    The three looked at each other. ¡°What do you want?¡± Vivian asked sternly, trying to assert her authority over a predator. She truly was treating it like an unintelligent creature.


    The snake blinked a few times, and waved its long tail. When nobody said anything, it started slamming it against the ground, as if frustrated. But Riven, as unintelligent as he was, relied on his primal instincts and interpreted that as ¡°I¡¯m going to eat you!¡± And his fingers instinctively let go of the bowstring, and the arrow flew to its target.


    However, Riven had no intention of killing the snake, so the crossbow was aimed at the snake¡¯s tail. The snake attempted to dodge, but the box it was stuck in prevented it from doing so, resulting in a direct hit. It let out a long hiss, both a whimper and a threat.


    In truth, the snake had no malicious intent. It woke up in the middle of the emotional conversation between the three proteges and was merely listening in. After a while, it realised that it had to escape the box and could not just sit here listening to idle talk- it had to find Kael or Felt. But when it tried to escape, the box prevented it from moving efficiently. Sensing that the three humans were nice people, it tried to request them to remove it- only to lead to this fate. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    It truly began to resent humans. First Kael chokes it, then the proteges treat it like some uncivilised beast and reopen the wounds that the swordmaster gave it. It was truly enraged!


    Making a mental note to bite Riven when it next saw him, the reptile waved the part of its tail that was not stuck in the damn box and quickly fled. It truly did look like the snake was saying, ¡°Goodbye, bitch.¡±


    The three proteges, after more arguing, realised that the snake, or whatever creature that was, left a thin trail of blood in its wake. Following the trail using Pela¡¯s surveillance skills, the three found themselves halfway down the mountain, using a very steep path. They even found the box that the snake was stuck in, discarded and tumbling down.Then, on the mountain which only sounded of creatures in the sky, a humane grunt suddenly sounded.


    ¡°Fuck! Urgh¡­¡± It sounded.


    The untrained Riven and Vivian could not pick it up, and Thalorin, who was already in the deepest part of the forest, did not have such a long hearing range. However, Pela who specialised in non-offensive tactics heard it loud and clear.


    ¡°To the left¡­I heard a person¡­grunting¡­¡± She gasped out every single word, and broke into a sprint.


    The moment the other two processed the words, they both knew why Pela looked so shaken, and they themselves began to wear the same frantic expression. The three sprinted through the canopy of trees and knee-high grass without making a single sound- it was one of the first things that their master had taught them.


    When Pela came to a halt, the other two stopped. She stealthily crouched down, like a tiger lurking to catch its next prey. She then led the other two, crawling in the direction of the sound. But when she finally got close enough to see where the sound came from¡­


    A man sat at the foot of a tree, gripping one of his body parts. He grunted as he tore off the surrounding grass in an attempt at a makeshift binding. The blood trail of the snake had long faded, but around the main was a puddle of crimson. The unkept black hair of the man flew in the wind, and his face was covered in various scars and layers of grime, so much that it was hard to make out his features. They could not see much, as they could only see the side of his face- but his body was in full view. His upper half was bare, ridden with bruises and dirt while his muddy pants were rolled up to the knees.


    Seeing this, all three proteges thought the same thing.


    ¡®Master Thalorin?¡¯


    However, one of them could not keep his thoughts in his head and silently uttered the name. But even the whispered breath of Riven made the man jolt. His head snapped in the direction of the three. At that moment the proteges all saw two azure eyes piercing into their souls from where they were in the grass. As if in realisation, the man¡¯s features relaxed and he shook his head, smiling sadly.


    Then, he disappeared into thin air, leaving the three proteges mid-lunge towards him.


    Noticing the emptiness of the place where the man was, Riven fell to his knees, Pela persistently tried to trace the man¡¯s location, and Vivian surveyed the blood and the pulled out grass that was all that remained of the mysterious man.


    The man was no mystery, actually.


    He was none other than their master, the Spellmaster of the Yerr Clan, Thalorin.


    ¡°And it was indeed Master Thalorin.¡± Vivian concluded the recount of what happened.


    The Lord squeezed his eyes shut- they were weary and stung, and closing them prevented a new layer of wetness from enveloping them. He just wanted to turn back time to the previous day and stand in front of the rift, waiting for the demon bastards to come through. It would bring him less pain.


    If that was too much to ask, then he just wanted to sleep. He cared not for nightmares or trauma- he was too old to be unfamiliar with the vermin of bad dreams. He just wanted to sleep.


    But he was the lord, so he opened his eyes and opened his eyes to say something smart. ¡°Bring us where you last saw him, if the man was injured then there should be blood samples that we can use to investigate.¡±


    The three were just about to take their first stride, when a cold voice caused them to flinch and freeze. ¡°Stop.¡±


    Both the lord and the three fledglings turned to look at Kael, whose expression, stoic as ever, almost revealed a trace of unease.


    ¡°Follow me.¡± He said, not directing his words to anyone. He just turned and began to head in the opposite direction.


    When he said this, Pela widened her eyes in shock, Riven ground his teeth and Vivian glared at the cold back of Kael. Riven had just earlier complained about Kael¡¯s lacklustre attitude towards Thalorin¡¯s disappearance. At the moment, Thalorin¡¯s beloved proteges decided that it was because he cared not for their master.


    But now, the three thought the same thing.


    What if he had something to do with Master Thalorin¡¯s disappearance?

 Woof!

    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. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    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.

 A Fortunate(?) Encounter

    The townspeople had a complex relationship with those who dwelled in the forest. Many inhabitants of the forest, other than those under the care of the Yerr Clan, were human traffickers, drug peddlers and many other criminals who aimed to ¡®do business in peace¡¯. Every now and then, a deranged soul would kill a Yerr Clan member, steal their uniform and besmirch their name at the town. Because of this, at the border of the town and the forest there was strict security.


    ¡°...I am a member of the Yerr Clan.¡± Kael said for the tenth time. ¡°And get your filthy hands off of my hound!¡± he snapped at a guard who was trying to restrain the beast. He did it not for the dog but for the guard¡­what would happen to his reputation if it tore his head off?


    ¡°We cannot let in anyone from the forest just like that, can we? This creature, I saw the bloodthirsty look in its eyes when I tried to restrain it. I see the sword strapped at your side. The guards are quite familiar with those of the Yerr Clan as they frequent here, but I have no recollection of seeing you.¡±


    Kael rubbed at his temples¡­he was developing a grand headache.


    ¡°And, sir, your attitude truly does not seem like that of the clansmen-¡±


    Kael stared right into the guard¡¯s eyes. ¡°What part of me does not seem like a clansman?¡±


    The guard seemed to be quite convinced that he had caught a criminal in disguise. ¡°The clansmen are humble and patient- dignified as well. I have yet to hear any of them curse so vulgarly. Let¡¯s not mention that if we were to say the same thing to any of them, they would simply state their title and we would let them through. You¡¯ve been here for a while, yet I do not even know your name nor title?¡± He said arrogantly.


    Kael¡¯s fingers were itching to unsheathe his sword and thrust it into the man¡¯s chest. Did this guard think he was undignified? Kael leaned forward and whispered into the guard¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Do you think I did not know of our usual customs? Do you take me for a fool? If I were to state that I am the Swordmaster Kael Lachiel, would the townspeople not rush to grovel at my feet and disturb me? I know, for that is what happened to both the Spellmaster and Lord, is it not?¡±


    His subordinates were never keen to return to the town. The Lord was sought out by ambitious parents who wanted him to name their children, to bless their children, to touch their children. There was also the occasional lady who was ¡®willing to become his mistress¡¯. Thalorin, on the other hand, was sought out by young women who were eager to throw themselves on him. Local nobles would arrange meetings with him to discuss marriage proposals- leaving the man quite irritated.


    And Kael? He had yet to arrive in the town since he had become Swordmaster.


    The guard did not move an inch, and the look on his eyes made it clear that he was even more sceptical of Kael¡¯s identity. He was quite composed in contrast to the situation- and the other guards who were trying to surround Kael.


    Kael¡¯s eye twitched. He was tired, hungry, and very irritated. He might as well behead everyone here out of spite and truly become an outlaw. However, he was a civilised being, so he decided to concede and forsake his blissful rest. Just as he was pointing his feet in the direction of the forest, the sound of heels echoed.


    ¡°Release this man immediately!¡± A feminine voice rang out, exuding authority and a bit of entitlement. Kael felt the bitter taste of foreboding.


    Upon hearing this voice, the guards all released a ¡°tsk¡± in unison. They hesitated for a moment before they knelt one by one. Only the guard who was being heard at sword point by Kael was standing, at a loss on what to do.


    ¡°Milady, he has one of our men¡± A brave soul said after much silence.


    Hearing that, Kael quickly sheathed his sword. His face was cold as ever, but only he k could feel the heat creeping up his face. ¡°How did I forget to withdraw the sword¡­¡± he cursed at himself inwardly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. He¡¯s not dead, is he? I have a feeling this poor soul just wants to enter. Since when have we not welcomed our protectors from the mountains?¡± The lady finally came into view, and she laid her eyes upon Kael as well.


    She was a stunning woman, and was obviously an elite. At first glance, Kael appreciated the woman¡¯s boldness and inwardly gave her a nod of approval- he had assumed that the woman¡¯s attire meant that she could fend herself well enough. He noticed that her bare legs were well-built, which would prove her to be efficient in running and dodging swiftly. However, after a few more seconds Kael just wanted to slap her for her half-assed behaviour.


    She wore a tight-fitted dark blue dress that stopped right around her knees, and a heavy pelt coat of a white tiger on top of it.


    Kael was stupefied, ¡°was she not afraid of being dragged into alleyways?¡± he thought.


    Even if she were to try to flee, her sharp heels that matched her dress would surely be a hassle to run in. The heel was so sharp that it might as well puncture the ground. Kael wanted to chip it off the heels¡¯ edge and keep them as a last-resort weapon. He wanted to teach this brazen noble who came without guards the horrors of this world- he was secretly plotting to take the pelt off her shoulders and use it as a rug.


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    Perhaps it was how the rich were. They feared nothing. They answered to no one.


    Just as he was planning his grand ploy¡­


    ¡°Your gaze is rather obscene I see, are you not grateful?¡± The women asked. She used a finger and twirled a strand of her light brown curls around her finger. Her hazel eyes stared straight into Kael¡¯s soul.


    Kael¡¯s fatigue made him barely able to keep his eyes opened. He currently was very focused on the lady, analysing her head to toe while his eyes were half-opened and looked like he was squinting. He just realised that he probably looked like he was ravishing the sight of the woman.


    ¡°What am I? A barbarian?¡± Kael knew what the nobles relished all to well. They wanted the interior to bow their head and whisper them sweet words.


    But Kael did not want to entertain them.


    ¡°Just let me go. I am unfamiliar, but part of the Yerr Clan nonetheless. I cannot be denied access.¡± Kael hissed.


    The woman smiled deviously. ¡°Yes, I know that you are innocent. Guards, let him through.¡±


    Kael returned the woman¡¯s sharp gaze. ¡°Do you truly have that much faith in me?¡± He questioned before the guards could move an inch.


    The lady chuckled. A typical noblewoman¡¯s laugh, but it sounded odd. ¡°Of course I do. I had a hunch. And everyone in this town knows.¡± She smiled sweetly but it did not meet her eyes. ¡°My hunches are always right.¡±


    One of the guards huddled to open the gate, while another theee pointed their blade at Kael. ¡°Do not speak imprudently to the Lady.¡±


    Kael did not care and just walked to the open gate, while his hound shrunk itself to the size of a mere household pet and followed behind him. The two exuded a cold air of arrogance and authority. Kael passed the lady and asked. ¡°My lady, may I know who you are?¡±


    Kael merely wanted to know her title and which family she was from.


    The guards¡¯ were about to dash and restrain Kael for the rudeness, but the woman just held out a hand. She chuckled once more. ¡°If we meet again, you shall find out. And I have a hunch that we¡¯ll see each other again soon.¡±


    With that, she walked into the expanse of the forest and disappeared into the mist, while the swordmaster strolled into the bustling city. Neither looked back or wondered even a second about the other. But both knew, somewhere in their hearts that they would see each other again.


    With Kael¡¯s back to the blasted gate, he could not help but think about the people at the gate. The Swordmaster¡¯s poise was dignified and graceful as always, but his thoughts seemed more like a degenerate.


    ¡°Those bastards! Kill me if I were some crook in the woods! Who do they think I am?¡± He raged inwardly. ¡°And that lady¡­curse the underworld, who is she? She appears, says a few words then leaves? Was she looking down on me?¡±


    Sensing his irritation, the white hound at his side began to slowly distance himself from him. Naturally, the Swordmaster notices this. ¡°Don¡¯t want to be with me? Scram then!¡±


    The hound whimpered, and its ears drooped. Normally, it would disappear immediately. However, it continued to follow the Swordmaster for some reason.


    Kael was too caught up in his miserable predicament to waste any more energy on the hound. In fact, he had no more energy to stand.


    Even with his bruises and aches, even with his fatigue, the Swordmaster stood straight and looked forward with that unapproachable look on his face.


    By the time he reached the inn, Kael found himself unable to speak a single world. He merely took out a few coins and slid them on the table as he stared into the innkeeper¡¯s eyes. The innkeeper shuddered, unable to hold the overwhelming stare. He felt extremely uncomfortable but still had to do his business.


    ¡°G-good sir, would you like a luxury room?¡± The innkeeper thought that the man before him would have to be a noble, a merchant or something of the sort to have such a fierce demeanour. His intuition was right, as Kael was quite wealthy. However, little did he know.


    Kael glared daggers at the man and lightly shook his head. To a stingy man such as him, even the notion of a room upgrade caused him great offence. The innkeeper wanted to run out of the inn seeing this, but he somehow mustered up the courage to hand Kael over the keys to his room.


    ¡°Your room is on the floor above, thank you for your patronage.¡± The innkeeper gave a sheepish smile.


    Kael said nothing and left, his hound following him. The innkeeper half-opened his mouth to say that animals were not allowed, but he thought better of it and let the good sir have his way. This way perhaps the innkeeper could keep his life.


    Kael trudged to the staircase, where he faced a grave problem. He could barely stand, how was he supposed to climb? The beast following him made a sound akin to a chuckle. Normally, Kael would have threatened to eat it but he was too busy trying not to collapse.


    As he went up the stairs, Kael felt the muscles in his legs pulling. With every step he took, his vision blurred even more. The weight on his head and shoulders had doubled by the time he was at the top of the stairs. The damn stairs were endless, he thought. However, his back was still straight.


    In front of the door of his room, Kael tried to insert the key into the keyhole, but dropped the key multiple times. Each time the beast picked it up and looked up at Kael with sympathy in its eyes. The beast looked up at him with the keys in its mouth, yet Kael felt it was looking down on him.


    Kael¡¯s patience was at its limit as he took the key and plunged it into the keyhole, aggressively turning it clockwise twice. He then flung the door open, kicked off his shoes and immediately crashed on the bed. He had not even closed the door, and the poor beast had to stand on its hind legs to retrieve the key and close it for him.


    Kael¡¯s body immediately sunk into the soft expanse of the mattress, and his head was cradled affectionately by the pillow. It took less than a second for him to succumb to slumber, sweet as honey in the bitter life.


    While Kael slept peacefully, the hound leaped onto the bed and curled up at his side. It too, was weary from its master¡¯s endless abuse. It was just about to follow its master into slumber when it felt a strange presence. Its ears perked up and it bared its teeth, eyes looking all over the room.


    Its steps did not make a single sound- it did not want to wake its tired master. It did not growl, but released a dense aura that coated the room.


    No threat was any match for the centuries old beast.


    Detecting sharp movement within its perception realm, the beast lunged in the direction of the movement- under the door. It made not a single noise, and had successfully captured its target within its paws.


    It opened its paws only to reveal¡­


    A snake skin?


    Its grip on the skin immediately loosened.


    The beast pointed its snout towards the dead skin, and as soon as the scent wafted into its nostrils, its ears lowered and its tail loosened from its rigid state.


    The carpet on the floor rustled, and a large presence suddenly appeared. Even when it sensed the presence of a third person in the room, the beast was no longer guarded against it. It was as if it had complete trust in its presence.


    The silhouette of a person appeared before the hound, stroking its fur as it licked them. The oversized dog regarded them as a delicacy and savoured every taste. The person eventually pushed the beast away and said in a hushed whisper.


    ¡°Did you know?¡±


    There was not a single candle or lamp lit in the room, and the curtains were all closed. It was pitch dark, and yet the person¡¯s blue pupils were still seen in the dark. The person¡¯s gaze was fixated on the man sleeping peacefully.


    At that, the beast¡¯s tail began wagging, and it was so excited that it was almost going to yelp. At that, the person held out a finger to their mouth, signalling the beast to remain silent. The beast complied, completely docile.


    However, Kael¡¯s keen hearing had already picked up the slight noises and had begun to rouse.


    ¡°Don¡¯t reveal me.¡± The person winked at the beast. ¡°Just act natural.¡±

 A Cycle of Misfortune

    ¡°What¡¯s all the ruckus?¡± Kael grumbled. He sat up while rubbing his eyes aggressively.


    ¡°What in the Underworld¡­¡±


    Kael was met with the sight of his faithful hound wagging its tail joyfully. But that was not what he was looking at. What drew his gaze was the familiar scaly figure trapped in its jaws.


    The hound just sat still and wagged its tail. It had a strange look in its eyes- rather smug it was.


    ¡®Perhaps it was just another reptile with shiny blue scales that can be seen in the dark¡­¡¯ He thought.


    ¡°Is that¡­¡± Kael squinted to try and prove his suspicions wrong, that it was just a normal pest. Just when he was perplexed about his lack of clear vision, he realised.


    The room was still dark as the Underworld¡¯s punishment chambers.


    ¡®Goddamn idiot¡¯ he thought as he got up to light one of the lamps. However¡­


    Fsss the flame of the match he lit extinguished in a few seconds.


    Zzp Kael tried to light the match again.


    Fsss- Zzp.


    Fsss- Zzp. Crack.


    ¡­The match broke.


    Kael clenched his jaw so hard that his teeth were about to break. His left eye was twitching as he played this endless ballad with his arch nemesis.


    He could not help but think if he had done anything to offend the Lady of Fire. Lady Luck as well¡­


    Sending Kael¡¯s growing anger, the hound began to lose its smug look and became increasingly worried. After all, its master would turn to it to vent his anger. Being picked up by such an aloof yet punishing master, Lady Luck truly never smiled upon the hound. Upon reaching this epiphany, its ears drooped slightly.


    ¡°Little shit!¡± The words never failed to make the mythic beast shudder. It, too, had learned the habit of clenching its jaw from seeing its master.


    This cycle of misfortune reached the poor snake, who was being crushed close to death. Ever since it had the honour of that unfaithful encounter with the Swordmaster, its luck had only decreased by tenfold. It found itself finally recovering from its mental and physical wounds, when the man¡¯s shenanigans had ensnared it once more.


    The mild claustrophobia it had developed being trapped in the box as Kael ran and the closing wounds from Kael¡¯s pulverising were worsening from being trapped in the beast¡¯s fangs. It had a whole view of the hound¡¯s mouth as once more, it had been unfortunate enough to be picked up head-first in a frenzy. It was a luxurious view, lavish enough to see the sharp fangs penetrating its scales before it felt the sting in the exact same location the Swordmaster tackled it. If it even dared to squirm, it would only rip open to the closure of its life. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡®Lady Luck never smiles upon me.¡¯ The snake thought bitterly, crying inside a little.


    Kael reached out into the box for another matchstick, only to be met with emptiness. Kael¡¯s expression did not change in the slightest as he flipped the box and shook it to see if any remaining matchstick would come out. Since his endeavours had failed, he calmly clenched the box and threw it out the window with all his might.


    However, the window was closed.


    CRACK!


    The window broke into countless shining shards, illuminating the moonlight. What a beautiful sight, but certainly not worth the fee. Kael felt as if one of those shards had flown into his ears and began digging at his frontal lobe.


    To make matters worse, a voice came from downstairs to lodge in another shard.


    ¡°You bastard! What in the Unseemly Tyrant¡¯s name are you doing? I let you sleep in my inn and this is what you, do you-¡± The rest of the words were too hard on both the ears and heart, so Kael drowned it out. The sound was approaching closer, though, and the Swordmaster was out of legal options.


    The hound was not surprised, and it knew what to do in situations like this. It immediately dropped the snake. Like an albino steed of the most revered warrior approaching to turn the tides on battle, it assumed a battle stance and took a leap of faith. Where? Out the damn window.


    ¡°Awooo!¡± It let out a valiant battle cry as it landed perfectly on its fours. Then, it did what its kin did best. And this dog, in particular, was a master in this sacred art of the fearsome hounds.


    ¡°Arf! Arf! Arf!¡± It yelped like a ravenous street dog with rabies chasing after a young lad on a bicycle running an errand for his father.


    ¡°What the- this son of a-¡± The innkeeper¡¯s curses were very accurate. The hound was a dog, after all, and so was its mother.


    Kael stood in the centre of the room in a night robe with lifeless eyes. A vein was bulging on his neck and his jaw was still clenched.


    He looked down at himself and sighed as if grieving.


    ¡®Is the floor going to cave in next?¡¯


    As he looked down, he caught wind of a shadow of a figure in his peripheral vision. Before the Swordmaster could dwell upon it, his hands had already caught his prey.


    ¡°PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE! I MEAN NO HARM!¡± The snake cried.


    Hisssssss- was all that came out of its mouth. The snake wanted to bang itself against a wall. It forgot that it could not speak the human tongue.


    It suddenly felt tired of living.


    Kael wasted no time. He took his coin pouch and turned it upside down, dropping the little coins he brought with him- just enough for a room and a meal- and left the coins there as compensation for the window.


    He then took the snake and stuffed it into the pouch. He grabbed his coat and swiftly put it on him. The pouch containing the reptile was shoved into the coat pocket.


    The snake really could not escape its newfound claustrophobia.


    Unhurriedly, Kael opened the door and walked down the stairs out the inn.


    He looked out the window by the stairs, only to find the poor innkeeper breaking his back with a frying pan in his hand, chasing after the hound.


    ¡°You bitch!¡± ¡°Arf!¡±


    The sounds were melodious to Kael¡¯s ears, while the snake writhed in pain hearing the noises of two dogs cursing at each other. Every time the snake squirmed, Kael would give it a quick slap with the back of his hand.


    Stoically, Kael sauntered down the stairs. Most miscreants in an inn would flee through the window or the chimney at top speed. However, the Swordmaster leisurely made his way towards the lobby and left through the front door. He faced no obstacle in doing so.


    As he walked outside, he came across the ferocious dog chasing the pitiful human in circles. He made a mental note to give the dog a treat in the near future. Kael ignored them and just made his way to the streets.


    ¡®The Dog will find its way to me somehow. Let it play for a while.¡¯ Kael disappeared into the sunrise with the poor snake in tow, abandoning his loyal beast for another. His mind had gotten back on track, forgetting his grievances with Lady Luck and focusing on the mystery of the snake and of course¡­the Spellmaster.


    At the same time, the hound delivered its finishing blow with a large bite to the innkeeper¡¯s bare leg. At the moment, two shrill howls erupted in the starry expanse.


    ¡°Awooo!¡± The hound let out its victory cry.


    ¡°Owww!¡± The innkeeper let out a howl of pain.


    The hound eagerly trotted back up the stairs to earn a few headpats from its master. However, the room has long been empty.


    Stark betrayal cast across the hound¡¯s face. It¡¯s tail and ears drooped as it let out a low growl.


    ¡°Grr¡­.¡± That night, it swore an oath under the rising sun¡¯s beckoning.


    The next time he bids for me, will I show? I swear on my honour as a hound I shall not! Even if I get treats!

 Running Errands

    The man who had applied for a week¡¯s leave sauntered back into the gates at daybreak a mere day of respite.


    No rest for both the wicked and righteous, it seems.


    In his right pocket was a suspicious bulge. Kael had already rehearsed his answer if someone were to ask about it.


    ¡°It¡¯s my coin pouch. Being a Swordmaster pays well, doesn¡¯t it?¡± He would say with a light, charismatic smile.


    Kael replayed the lines in his lines and came to a deadpan retaliation- how could he say casual words with a charismatic smile with a deceased¡­lost¡­whatever colleague? People would surely be at his necks for it.


    In his mind flashed the resentful gaze of Riven.


    ¡®That boy already has enough reason to believe I¡¯m behind his disappearance¡¯ he sighed.


    He had been accustomed to losing lives in battles, both against humans and Demons. When blades were drawn, lives were always lost- Kael had long come to terms with that. Thalorin was not the only person who died in the Clan, yet all the ruckus was solely for him.


    Surely there were people grieving over their lost friends and comrades, yet all everyone cared for was the stupid Swordmaster.


    The memorial was supposed to be held after the deaths were tallied and bodies found- there was no fire, so surely all of them would be present. Yet it had been two days and there were still rotting corpses out in the wild as all everyone cared for was finding the damn Spellmaster. It irked Kael off to no end.


    Especially since he knew that if Thalorin himself saw all of this, he would spit on his Clansmen¡¯s faces and holler at them. The man sacrifices his life for his clansmen only to see them neglecting the others for him. Such blasphemy!


    And worst of all¡­everyone was in denial about his death and how he died. Who¡¯s to say he was not colluding with the Demons-


    Kael shook his head slightly. He did not want to grow suspicious of a fallen comrade. Let him rest in peace as a hero, rather than live on as a traitor.


    He looked up. It was day, but the silhouette of the moon was still present. It was a deformed, circular shape. Almost a full moon but not quite.


    That meant the full moon was today. And the Lunae.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    The first full moon after one¡¯s passing is the Lunae. Full moons were when spiritual activity were the highest, and the souls of the departed would say goodbye to the mortal world one last time before they head into the afterlife judgment. Be it the Spirit Realm or Underworld that they end up in, all souls had the right to visit those they left behind at least once more.


    Lord Felt was the Spiritmaster- he could easily summon Thalorin¡¯s souls along with the other deceased and let them say their farewells face-to-face. It was also used as confirmation for whether or not someone was truly dead so that the Clansmen could find them before they actually died.


    But even if Thalorin had survived that night, he would have starved or thirst to death by now unless he had reached the town- but if he had the informant would have let them know. He was either dead, or kidnapped and tortured. Kael hoped it was the former.


    The elderly and injured of the village did all sorts of odd jobs while the warriors of the clan shuffled left and right cradling bulky items. The administrators and non-combatants all dabbled in matters of their expertise or aided the villagers in their tasks. It was truly a sight to behold.


    They were all outcasts who formed a family, after all. The sight lifted the corners of Kael¡¯s mouth ever so slightly. However, hearing some unfortunate words did not let the smile last.


    ¡°Mister Kael! You¡¯re back? Never mind¡­Lord Felt needs help with setting up the formation!¡± A passing messenger yelled as she hustled. It was Pela, it seemed. Pela studied healing arts and was a rising medic of the clan- which had no relation to the Lunar preparations. Therefore, she volunteered for the arduous task as the messenger and ran around the entire expanse of the mountain¡¯s summit.


    Kael took long strides to the central square, sighing. The bulge in his pocket had begun squirming against him relentlessly, making him extremely uncomfortable. He almost regretted even bringing it back once more.


    He walked to the central square. It was a wide, barren field that had been paved. It was mostly used for¡­anything, actually. At the moment, there was a gaping formation drawn in chalk at the Center. The Lord was bent squatting down with the chalk in his hands. He drew lines on the ground, but at the slightest error, he used the edge of his palm to wipe it, with the aid of his sweat.


    Kael saw him erase a line three times by the time he had walked towards him. He peeked down. The Lord¡¯s back was drenched in sweat, so much that his shirt now clung to his skin. He grunted in frustration and wiped the line once more.


    Kael squinted and tilted his head. He tried, he really did, but he could not see what went wrong with the chalk.


    Perhaps that was why I¡¯m not drawing the formation, he realised.


    The Lord sensed his presence yet did not speak in fear of distraction. Having lost hope over drawing the formation, he decided to take a break and engage in other matters. ¡°Kael.¡± The Lord said. ¡°I thought you were taking a week¡¯s leave? You¡¯re back soon.¡±


    ¡°I saw the almost full moon yesterday night, it was then I realised the Lunae was today.¡± The statement was a half-truth. He had gazed upon the moon and was already planning on heading back way before the situation with the snake occurred.


    As if sensing him thinking about it, the snake squirmed again. Kael sincerely wished he had just beheaded it that night.


    The Lord stood up and dusted chalk off of his robe. His greying hair shone in the light of the Everflame. He gave a soft smile. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re here, you might as well help.¡± He then pointed a finger at the chalk in his hands. ¡°I know that you just came from the town but¡­could you go there and get more chalk?¡± He smiled sheepishly.


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Were the words that left the Swordmaster¡¯s lips but he meant none of them.


    What did he really mean? Well, the plethora of relentless curses was really too much to decipher. Even at the foot of the mountain did the string of curses continue.


    Kael banged his head against the walls of his mind. It seems the Fates were all going against his agenda.


    The snake¡¯s as well it seemed, as it had continued its squirming, fighting desperately against suffocation. It pitifully breathed the little air that entered the pouch.


    It was unsure of its survival, but did it even want to live through such a fate at this point?


    And so the two sauntered to the town and back, and the next time Kael reached the summit, the sun had already set and the sky darkened.


    It was going to be one hell of a night.

 Grievances Begone

    The mountain range loomed over mankind as the Everflame took its leave. Yet the Lady of Fire extended her blessings to the cold nights, the passionate burning flames giving way to shine on the crystal-like sphere of silver hanging above the mortal¡¯s heads. It gave not much warmth, but still lit the way for those lost in the night. Luna no longer hid amongst the curtain of clouds and revealed all of herself to all life below. It was an invitation, a beckoning.


    There is light, so let the night bustle.


    The Swordmaster recited a poem in his mind as he cascaded the steep stairs to the summit. The trees rustled as the spirits brushed past, all heading towards the gate of the clan. The cool air sent him into a dazed calm and he relished the words playing in his head. He walked leisurely- he feared that he would be burdened with more tasks if he arrived even a second early.


    The only problem was that the voice reciting the poem was not his own.


    ¡°There is light, so let the night bustle,


    Luna speaks,


    Branches rustle.


    Before the castle, a virgin sings.


    Her tunes bless these ears,


    But she never catches these eyes.


    It is the elusive I desire.


    It is one in perpetual ire.


    Oh, Luna please tell,


    Did you put me under this spell?¡±


    Kael did not try to push out the voice for once. In fact, he cherished the memory that could never be recreated by that cool, light voice. It was a voice that refreshed one after a tiring day, that would make you talk for hours on a sore throat. Why else would there always be a crowd around the Spellmaster when he recited his newest works. The Swordmaster knew that at the news of his death, young women from all over the nation would sob endlessly at the death of the heartthrob. A scholarly young man with soul-touching poems who fights valiantly against the demons. Women yearned to be his bride, and men to be his brother.


    And so, for each step he took upwards, a new verse resounded.


    ¡°Every day I pray,


    You will look my way.


    I ask not a blessing,


    In my misery never-ending.


    A mere gaze, however fleeting,


    Will make my heart sore.


    Oh, Luna tell me please,


    Why did I fall victim to thy tease?¡±


    Although Kael would never accept it, there was a part of him that liked the Spellmaster¡¯s poems. It all lied in the interpretation. The lovesick interpreted them as romance, the religious took his writings as devotion. Even the poem he was inwardly reciting, Luna¡¯s gaze could be taken as either. But Kael was neither religious nor interested in matters of the heart.


    So why did he like the poems?


    Because he felt that reading one of such poems was a look into the Spellmaster¡¯s head. The Swordmaster was not one who was profound at the ways of words and wit- reading people¡¯s intent and emotions was not his forte. But the words before him were written clear as day, easy to understand just by lingering on it for a few minutes. There was no facade of insincere words in the passionate poem or the poet. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He cared not whether Thalorin was hopelessly in love or was fervent in seeking refuge with the Mother and Luna. All he cared about was the minor details. The fact that he liked the tune of the young girl carrying a basket who sang in front of the gates of the mountain. The fact that he was in a predicament that could be described as ¡®never-ending misery¡¯. TThe fact that the jolly Spellmaster was head-deep into an obsession, a yearning with one who grants him nothing but ¡®perpetual ire¡¯ that none knew about. Or cared about. Maybe he was the only one, maybe there were thousands more, who knew?


    But at the end of his train of thoughts, Kael firmly shook his head and said that he was just getting sentimental about his deceased colleague. He would repeat this chant of denial again and again, until it became ingrained in his mind and one with his soul, until he wholly believed his own sweet lies.


    But this denial gave way to a new problem¡­


    Am I getting attached to the people of the Yerr Clan? So much that I would think about a deceased colleague even after a night¡¯s sleep? Pathetic¡­


    The tranquil face present moments ago vanished, leaving a deep frown in its wake.


    At long last, the summit was in sight. The first thing that greeted him was a large bonfire in the middle of the central square, surrounded by markings with words scribbled in between the lines. Wind bellowed, ten times more fierce than the calm breeze of the mountain slope. It was a good sign, it showed that the surrounding spirits were being drawn to the fire.


    Kael¡¯s clothes were flying though, and his skin felt like it was being slightly grazed by the howling winds. Yet the flames barely swayed and stood steadfast. The villagers, and the clanspeople were all standing a distance away from the fire, while a select few stood closer. Last minute touches were being done, and the lord¡¯s head turned every few moments to make sure the markings he drew so painstakingly using the chalk remained intact.


    Kael had long grown used to the insistent squirming in his coat pocket. Therefore, he became all the more aware when it had ceased its actions.


    The Swordmaster was sighed in relief and-


    The squirming before was probably just the snake shaking its tail around. But now, it was beginning to use all of its energy to try and break free. The only reason the snake was trapped in a mere coin pouch was because Kael found it surprisingly docile. However, it seemed that it had finally borne its fangs.


    As if in a rut, it used its fangs to try and tear a hole in the coin pouch in desperation.


    Normally, the Swordmaster would not care much. However, this was not a normal situation. If the snake could bite through the coin pouch, it could bite a hole into his coat. If it could bite through his coat, it could bite through his pants. If it bit through his pants then-


    The normally dauntless man shivered slightly.


    The gears in his mind immediately began spinning like clockwork, and his fingers inched towards the pocket of his coat. He reached his fingers inside lightly, as if testing the waters.


    Too late. The pouch had already been viciously bitten through. Seeing the hand of the man, the snake immediately made use of the golden opportunity. It lunged at the fingers that were retracting and slithered up the hand.


    The stunned Swordmaster really wanted to act on his primal instinct- he wanted to shake his arm really hard until the snake was sent flying. However, doing that in such a solemn time would be extremely rude¡­as if he was not already harbouring enough resentment from the clanspeople.


    So the Swordmaster bit his lip, tearing off a part of skin in the process, as he let the reptile slither up his body and curl up at his neck. He had half expected the snake to jump off and run¡­slither as far away from him as possible. He really could fathom what was going on with the snake¡­could reptiles have mental problems?


    The cool scales of the reptile rested against Kael¡¯s collarbone, and its head was perked up. The most odd thing was that it kept hissing in his ear, even louder than the wind.


    Hiss, hiss hiss hiss¡­hiss!


    To him, it was a mere animal¡¯s noise. But to the snake, it was letting go of the pent-up frustrations it had for the past few days. Even a foul-mouthed person like Kael¡¯s face would go pale if he could understand what the snake was saying. The worst part was that it never stopped, and just kept letting out sounds that tickled his ear.


    He really needed to go read Thalorin¡¯s animal guide as soon as possible.


    But before that, there was Lunae.


    Kael walked towards the lord with the fruits in hand. He would never admit it, but he had chosen each and every fruit carefully, making sure not a single blemish was on it, that each fruit was neither raw nor overripe. The scrutinising seemed to pay off, though as the lord had gawked at his haul.


    ¡°Such heavy rain and you¡¯ve managed to procure such fine fruit?¡± The lord smiled and arranged the fruits neatly on a golden tray adorned with incantation carvings on the side.


    Kael had bowed at the words, not saying another word. In the process, the snake¡¯s head knocked against the back of his skull.


    Kael grit his teeth and stood in silence after that- he had never bore spite towards the reptile before, but now he had developed an unshakable grudge.


    The snake saw the resentful gaze of the man it was perched on and wanted to shed tears¡­or whatever the reptile equivalent of that was. The snake was being thrown into one situation.


    But on the bright side, at least it could breathe fresh air¡­but for how long more?


    The snake seemed to learn what it truly meant to be in an abusive relationship.