Kalastros and Haalfrin
Over the years, the young children Haalfrin used to see on the streets of Brandsdale grow up and get their own families. People pass down stories to their children of the crazy dragon that terrorized the town decades ago… and they speak of the gallant archmage who fought it off in bitter battle. They also speak proudly about how, despite the vile monster holding the archmage's apprentice hostage like a coward, the beast was finally driven back.
The 2 dozen families who lost their husbands and fathers on the wall to the dragon were celebrated as heroes by the duke, and their families were rewarded generously by the archmage.
Of course, the kingdom of Alasta has always been skimpy in giving funds to its archmage, as the current king – a 2nd gate mage – has a dreadful fear of anyone who's served in the Threshold (like Kalastros), as he believes they all might be Brancotte spies.
Now, with the huge burst of wealth in the archmage's tower, the city is been revamped, the streets repaved, and a huge new stream of traffic as many businesses and merchants turn their attention to Brandsdale.
Out of this whole affair, it's probably Galver, the king of Alasta, that makes the biggest headache for Kalastros following the dragon incident.
After his kingdom receives a fresh dose of how strong the beings are on the other side of the world gate, the pro-Empire faction in his court gains another grip over his neck, and he spends the next few years strengthening his military to keep a firm hold on his kingdom and dissuade any nobles with errant thoughts.
More than that, the king grows the military in an attempt to convince the court and the public that the kingdom is DEFINITELY strong enough to keep the people safe from the Otherworldly beings and that they don't need to send QUITE that much funding to Brancotte to keep the Threshold up and running.
In this whole endeavor, the king would try to get the archmage out of his comfortable tower and out where the public can see him. He'd try parading him around the kingdom day in and day out, lifting up the old man's hand before huge crowds and majestically talking about how they have a "true hero" in Alasta that can keep the people safe from any more dragons.
This, of course, stresses Kalastros out to no end, since he and Haalfrin know perfectly well that Dakka is the draconic equivalent of a pre-teen child… yet they still barely won.
…
On a happier note, rumors swept around town that a pair of farmers came to the archmage for help. They had with them a huge stockpile of dragon scales, and they weren't confident they could keep it all without getting murdered by bandits, or their local baron finding some reason to confiscate their property and throw them in jail for theft.
In return, Kalastros gave them a huge pension, and they, with all their descendants, moved to Brandsdale and lived without working for decades to come.
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Along the way, Mrs. Chuckna - Kalastros's chief gardener, grows old and dies. Haalfrin is the first to find out the sad news because he saw Das appear above the tower and float into her room.
Unsurprisingly, Das passes like a ghost through the tower walls and finds Haalfrin before he leaves back to the Death Realm.
"Hello, Haalfrinl!" Das greets politely while waving his black Soul Lantern. "It's been a while."
"Oh, hello Das," Haalfrin says back without looking up from his book. He was enjoying the cool spring weather on a bench situated in the garden. He had a clear view of the tower, so he saw Das coming. "Who died this time?"
"Herma Chuckna."
"...Ah... She made good biscuits." Haalfrin frowns a little, but otherwise doesn't react.
Das looks down and smiles, "Ah, Master Kalastros must have rubbed off on you. You weren't the 'reading' sort before."
With a perfectly blank expression, Haalfrin looks up and slowly lifts his book up. Once he turns it around, Das sees that the page is covered in little doodles. Now that he looks twice, he sees that Haalfrin is holding a mana pen in his left hand.
"..." Das doesn't know what to say at first, but with how silent Haalfrin is being, he has time to find his words. "That's very... They say doodling is a sign of creativity..."
Haalfrin looks back down and continues to not engage with Das.
Slowly, Das puts away his lantern and sits down on the bench next to Haalfrin. "Boy... This isn't good. You're just hurting yourself."
"..." ~ Haalfrin.
Das keeps talking, "I don't even see you practicing your sword anymore. What happened to your enthusiasm about being a great mage? Didn't you want to be a great person that your clan brothers can look up to in the Death Realm?"
Haalfrin shakes his head, "You're just saying that because you want me to become stronger. If I'm stronger, I won't die as easily in battle. Stop pretending to be concerned for me."
Das looks down and sighs. "Haalfrin... Sometimes, letting go is the only healthy thing to do. The past is dead, and living in the past makes your spirit dead. You have a life in front of you right now, and you're refusing to live it."
Haalfrin sighs and takes a deep breath. Despite not answering back, Das can tell that he's listening.
So, Das stands up - as if saying that his next words are his final words. "People who wallow in regret over what they could've done a decade ago will, in another ten years, regret what they're doing now."
With that, Das disappears in a puff of black Aura, and he's gone from this world once again.
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That night, Master Kalastros give all of the servants a day off in honor of miss Chukna's death. The archmage himself was never close with the woman, but he's always had a tradition to let all the servants go for a day whenever one of them dies.
With all the servants gone, Kalastros makes his own dinner for the first time in years. As he's riffling through the kitchen, even he is getting embarrassed about how much he's forgotten.
"Which order to put the vegetables in again...?" he mutters as he looks over a plate full of chopped carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes, and next to him is a pot full of boiling soup broth.
He knows full well that different vegetables cook at different speeds, so if he doesn't want any of the ingredients to be soggy/over-cooked, or stiff/under-cooked, he'll need to know this.
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When the archmage takes his first mouthful of soup, he tries chewing and ends up spitting it back into his bowl. "Bleh... It's so slimy..."
With a clang, the old man's spoon drops to the table, and he stands up.
Without another word, Kalastros marches over to Haalfrin's room - determined to make his apprentice cook for him. 'After all I've taught him, he can do this much for me, right?'
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Shortly, Kalastros knocks on Haalfrin's door and says in a low voice, "I need some help making dinner."
Only after saying this does the old wizard open the door.
There, he sees his young apprentice sitting on his windowsill with his legs dangling outside. The boy looked like he was in the middle of meditating.
"Does the meal you're making require a lot of hands to make?" Haalfrin asks casually as he looks at his master over his shoulder.
"... I just don't know how to cook."
Haalfrin takes a deep breath and swings his legs over the windowsill and back inside. He stands up and walks towards the door.
Haalfrin frowns a little at this - not in a condescending way, but in a confused way. "Why would you think I know how to cook? You've never seen me make my own meal before."
Without skipping a beat, Master Kalastros says, "Because you used to go out into the woods all the time and spend hours or days there, depending on how long I'm gone. Anyway, you always take basic spices with you, which means you catch and cook your own food out there."
"... Fine. Let's go."
"Let's go."
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While Haalfrin is copping up the carrots, Kalastros is peeling new potatoes. "So... Haalfrin... How do you like being my apprentice?"
This question is vague enough that Haalfrin doesn't know how he's supposed to answer. "Great? Why?"
"I don't know. We don't really talk much outside of lessons."
"Oh, I see," comes Haalfrin's blank answer. "In case you're wondering, I'm very grateful you took me in as an apprentice, and I'm sorry I'm not very good at the lessons."
For some reason, this conversation reminds Haalfrin feel like he's a failure, despite his master not saying anything criticizing.
Feeling Haalfrin's change, Kalastros asks, "So... any friends you have here? Want me to introduce you to a girl once you've gotten a little older again?"
"Nah," Haalfrin says. "I mostly just spend my time doing my own thing, and I don't really talk to people." In other words, he has no friends. "I'll also have to say no to seeing any girls. I'm not in any position to be getting in a relationship."
"Why not?" Kalastros asks - a little baffled. "You're young, have a great background, and you have a decent enough personality. There's plenty of girls who'd be ok with marrying you. If you're worried about the difference in lifespan, that's fine too. There's just as many girl mages as boy mages, so there's plenty of prospects."
Haalfrin shrugs. "Dunno. I can't quite describe why, but I can't imagine myself with a family." It's not that Haalfrin dislikes having a family. It's just that he doesn't want to leave anything behind or take care of anything in this world - not anymore, anyway.
Of course, he's not going to tell Kalstros that last part.
"What about becoming the archmage after I pass away?" Kalastros asks. "Despite how poorly you think you're doing in your studies, you're actually doing pretty well - not genius level, by any means, but certainly not weak. With your status as a god candidate, you could do a lot of good in the world."
"I'll think about it." In reality, Haalfrin is feeling unwilling in his heart. He's not quite sure why though since he doesn't fashion himself a deep thinker. So, his "I'll think about it" was an indirect refusal.
Kalastros knows this too, so the old archmage calmly notes aloud, "You're still an old man at heart."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Haalfrin is really confused this time.
The archmage doesn't answer immediately. Instead, he continues slicing his potatoes for a good minute. Just before he starts slicing them up, he starts talking again.
"I've noticed that humans go through 3 stages in their life. They start off in the cub faze - weak, irresponsible, and needing to be cared for. Then, the cub grows up into a lion. This is a human at his most powerful. A man is dangerous when he's in his lion stage..."
When Kalastros goes silent, Haalfrin's curiosity only gets stronger. "What's the next stage?"