Chapter 41 - Strider City

The darkness illuminated the light and I was sent spiraling forward into a world of bliss, somewhere deeper and further from where I've ever been. How could I not lose to this ordeal when the world was throwing me under the radar, how could I not lose? What is a sin and what warrants a punishment? What comes forward from the depths of the unknown? I do not know. One day, perhaps, I will. In this time of uncertainty, I will allocate no means to the darkness I wish to find. Darkness, is that right? Is that what I want? The light is fading away as the darkness continues to swallow me whole. Oh how nice and cold it feels. So warm. So cool. What is this feeling? Am I alive right now? It as if I've become the night itself as the wind blows along the barren landscape, sifting through the dirt as it continues forward with a crescent moon to light its path. Oh the moon, why are so bright? I am the night, and I seek to stop your light. Give up cruel moon, succumb to my power. None of this anymore, none of that silver glow. End it all now, I can wrap around yourself. Oh, are you angry now? Oh, are you going to do something about that? Oh, Oh, Oh, what are you going to do, you pathetic piece of rock. Oh, Oh, O-Oh, what is this? What is this orange light? Why has the sun come out from its slumber? No, no, no, this isn't right. No, no, no, stop it now! I am tired of this nonsense, don't kill me yet! You dastardly bastard, I'll get you one day. I'll get you one day! I'll get you one day…But when will that day come?

On a dirt trail that lead around the dense forest and down the mountains, two men had now begun their journey towards the capital city of Efidel. As it were now, the two were dressed in their usual attires, Rosal, with his red hooded robe that wrapped around his entire body, and Antos, who wore a similar indigo robe but didn't place the hood over his face, which was shone to be wearing a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes as his hair was combed neatly to the back.

And so, the two went onwards, eventually crossing a wooden bridge that separated the mountains from the more flat landscape, where another village had been built closer to the sandy coast. But the two hadn't any intention of staying at this village and only went towards a man with a horse and a carriage, who would now take them towards yet another village some miles North of here.

Now, in the carriage, Rosal was free to look upon the meadows of flowers and butterflies as they passed by. The skies, too, were quite clear today with hardly even a single cloud to be seen.

In due time, the carriage arrived at the other village where Rosal and Antos immediately went towards another carriage driver and paid him as well to take them to yet another village, Nouth-East of here.

And with many days of travel, using this manner of travel, the two had eventually made it to the city of Strider, named after Lord Strider Stronghold, the first, and which was currently under the management of Lord Strider Stronghold, the third – Antos' father.

"Do we really have to stop here?" Antos complained as they walked towards the city of stone, which was more or less built within a huge mountain range that was to be found there.

"Yes, we do. We can't keep paying carriages to take us all the way to the capital. We'll need a personal driver to be willing to do that." Rosal replied and continued forward towards the great city, which was said to be second to none but the capital city of Efidel.

Essentially, this place was a natural fortress, surrounded by a range of mountains that were conveniently connected in a circular manner with the city itself being built in the center of said mountains.

And to boot, due to the rundown direction of the mountain's water, a great river that ran along the insides of the range, having been formed through the process of erosion over many, many centuries.

So not only did this city have running, fresh water, but it also had a wide open field where cattle were reared and crops planted, which were, of course, used to supplement the people with food.

And going along the road, which was built within a tunnel, Rosal could see the wondrous walls that separated the spotted villages from the main Kingdom within, where the richer (Gifted included) persons lived.

Rosal, himself, being the first borne of Lord Ratuna firestone, didn't mind that division much but Antos, from the fierce look in his eyes, seemed troubled by it.

"What's the matter?" Rosal asked the tall man as they continued along the road, towards the stone walls.

"Don't worry about it. It isn't something someone like you would get." Antos replied as he placed his hands within his pockets and continued walking.

"Try me, what's bothering you?" Rosal persisted.

Antos gritted his teeth and looked towards a crowd of villagers who eyed the two men as they passed. "You see the way they look at us, with eyes of vengeance." Antos began.

"That's to be expected, considering how segregated Strider's population is. Unlike the capital, where for the most part, anyone could live in the Kingdom, Strider has an unspoken rule saying that only Gifted and persons of high birth or status can live within the actual city." Rosal said as they neared the large, iron gates in front of them.

The two guards posted in the little hut looked at the two, primarily at Antos, and then they immediately opened the gates and bowed the two men in.

Upon entering, Rosal had noticed that, unlike the capital, this city was not divided into three layers. It was more like an oversized Royal courtyard with beautiful, large houses lined along the various roads and streets with the castle itself being placed at the far end of the city.

"Yeah…" Antos said to Rosal in reply of his lengthy explanation. "And rightfully so," the large man went on as they all continued down the road, and towards the castle as guards saluted and bowed them on. "My father's ultimately classist and believes in Gifted supremacy. Because of that, all the villagers hate him and in turn, they hate me as well. Even though that bastard and I, don't get along at all. But that's not what bothers me…" Antos looked back at one soldier who had been glaring at the two, as soon as they walked past him. The tall man also noticed more soldiers glaring from behind as well, but when they noticed Antos' eyes, they all straightened themselves and pretended as though nothing had happened. "These guys…before they just hated me, but now, they seem as though they want revenge."

And at that, Antos and Rosal made their forward and into the grand castle before them.

~

Silva remained on alert throughout many hours despite no enemies attacking in the past day or so. Tightly, he held the hilt of his sword, whose tip was wedged into the muddy earth, as he sat upon a grey rock on top of the hill, where the small village of Rustal was to be found.

Yet again, he had failed to be of help to the Gifted. The entire reason that he had volunteered to come here was because he wanted a chance to redeem himself. But alas, he was still unable to be of much help even in the human realm.

The boy downed his head for a brief moment, his silver hair falling along his face, before raising himself upright again to once more keep a watchful eye. But to his surprise, in the mere moments that he rendered himself unable to see, Eon now appeared before his self.

"You could take it more easy, you know?" the man said as he sat on the grass beside the boy. "Your name's Silva, right?" Eon then asked as he reached forward his hand for a shake.

Silva removed a hand from his sword and shook the man's barrier coated hand. "Yes, it is. Silva Relic."

"Eon Stronghold." Eon said before he released his grip from Silva's hand. Though, of course, Silva already knew of Eon's name. Heck, the boy would find it hard to believe if someone didn't know his name.

"In that last fight, you gave it your all. That much should be enough." Eon said as Silva was pondering in his mind.

The boy looked at the man, who sat flat on the muddy ground, with wide eyes. "Did he really mean that?" he thought to himself.

"Don't push yourself too hard." Eon said as he rose from the ground. "It's true that you aren't strong enough to fight demons and malice beasts alone, but that's why the Gifted are here. We're meant to be protectors of the human race, not dilly dallying royals that we've forced ourselves to become. Honestly, the mere fact that a normal human like yourself is forced to try so hard, shows that we've failed our roles as guardians."

And at that, Eon walked away to leave Silva to his thoughts. "Hmph, but you're wrong about that." Silva said to himself. "I'm not a normal human. If anything, I'm a failed Gifted who couldn't even obtain the power of my late mother."

With that in mind, the boy braced himself once more and continued to look over the small village with watchful eyes.