The Journey Begins

After being asked about his past, Sariel told the most important events, starting with him talking about when he was five years old and participated in a big festival in Eribur with his parents.

The main event was a theater play that was executed inside a big building, but it was paid, and since his parents were poor, they had to save for various months.

There was a lot of people at the entrance, so his mother ended splitting up and entered first, leaving her husband and him.

Sometime after she got in, the building started to burn and, since his mother was still inside, Sariel tried to enter, but his father stopped him.

Then, with his arm trying to reach the building, a great blizzard formed from Sariel's hands and extinguished the fire, saving everyone inside including his mother. For that reason, the people started to suspect his power and called him a monster, even going so far as to threaten him and his parents.

Because of that, he ran away from home to protect them and lived in the streets for some time. Until the day when Erish, the princess and next ruler of Eribur, found and brought him to live in the palace, where he learnt to fight and use magic.

Then, he started to help the people, which made then notice they were wrong and slowly begin to admire Sariel, until, eventually, he was able to talk with his parents again.

Sariel also travelled a lot when he was dealing with the problems of the kingdom and the neighbor areas. For that reason, people started to call him 'traveler', or 'traveling hero'.

One day, his parents said he wasn't his biological son. They told how they found him in an abandoned place next to their home and decided to raise him, and the only thing they found with him was the brooch he was using now.

The years passed until, one day, the news about Luna reached Eribur, which made Sariel leave his kingdom to discover more about the 'Silver Princess'.

*****

"And that's my whole history. Obviously, there's a lot of things I didn't say, since they aren't important now, but I can talk about them as we travel."

"I see... That answers all my questions for now, I believe I can trust you."

"Your Highness, there's no guarantee he said the truth. He probably made up everything, and even his brooch might be false."

"If that's what you think, then take a closer look." The traveler removed his brooch and threw it to Raymond.

The bodyguard caught the brooch midair and, in the moment his skin touched the object, the light blue glow from the stone changed to a violet color.

"Why did it change?" Luna asked.

"The brooch's stone is made of a material called Speculum Iris, it's a special gem that change colors according to the Magical Element of the person who touches it. Light blue is the color of the Ice Element, my Element, and violet is the color of Thunder Element.

Raymond remained silent while he carefully inspected the brooch, almost hypnotized by the glow of the stone. It was like a thunderstorm stuck inside the gem, releasing its fury continuously.

However, the bodyguard noticed something that got his attention. Eventually, some golden particles floated in the middle of the thunders, and golden explosions happened when a lightning hit these particles.

"It is indeed real..."

"So, you can give it back already." The traveler lifted his hand open, emitting a brown glow, and, as if it felt attracted by some force, the brooch escaped Raymond's hands and flew directly to Sariel's palm.

After retrieving the item, the traveler attached it again on his clothes.

'Alteration Magic…' Raymond Thought. "This still doesn't prove anything! I've never heard of anyone called Sariel from Eribur. If you were really that important, I should've heard at least some rumors about you."

"This only means you are misinformed."

"Anyway, he is not someone to be trusted, he is certainly hiding something, Your Highness."

"You say this as if you were the biggest example of honesty here."

"I've never hide anything from Your Highness!" Raymond's voice was filled with conviction.

"Really? What about the attack that occurred in the palace some days ago?"

When the bodyguard heard this, he immediately unsheathed his sword and positioned in front of the princess.

"How do you know about this?" Since the beginning, Raymond always had an uneasy feeling, as if telling him to be cautious. However, after what Sariel said, a warning echoed through his mind, telling him this man was way more dangerous than he thought.

Something has, indeed, happened, however he couldn't tell exactly if that could be considered an attack, because when he and the guards noticed the invasion, every assassin was already defeated.

"Attack? Raymond, what is he talking about?"

"Some days ago, a small group of assassins from the Vigil was sent to kill you. You're lucky that I was there, guarding the palace, when this happened, otherwise, you would have found Your Highness dead in the following morning, Raymond."

"Raymond, is this true?"

"Yes…" The bodyguard regretfully answered after hesitating for some time.

"And why didn't you tell me anything? I have the right to know about this!"

"It was necessary to protect you…"

"To protect me? How hiding this would protect me? What would I do if you or my father got hurt? Not to mention the maids who have nothing to do about this! What could I say to their families if something happened?" Luna got even more angry. It was already enough having to live inside the palace for her whole life, now even her closest friend lied to her.

"Calm down, Your Highness. Raymond and your father did this to protect and not stress you. If they have told you about this, you would insist even more to surrender to Ardos, and you would probably try to run from Fordurn, exactly like how you're doing right now."

Luna controlled her anger after listening to Sariel's words. That decision was probably made by her father, and the bodyguards had to obey.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Raymond." Luna felt guilty for what she said. "You would never hide something from me, except if my father forced you."

"Your Highness, I should be the one apologizing." Raymond kneeled.

"Stand up, please. It was not your fault."

The bodyguard stood up, avoided looking at the princess, and resumed the discussion about the traveler.

"Anyway, Your Highness, Sariel and Aegreon shouldn't be trusted. We must return to the palace immediately."

"If I stay, the Vigil will come… My only chance is to follow Aegreon."

"Your Highness is right. I also don't like the idea of having someone from the Council in the group, but it's the best option. That's why it's better if I follow you. My power is at the same level of the Pillars, so I'm the only one who can prevent Aegreon from doing anything."

"Wait, I don't want you to get involved in this. It's a long and dangerous journey, and you would be risking your life! Different from me, you two have friends and family, people who would be devastated if something happened to you."

"Your Highness, my duty is to protect you, no matter what. If you are so decided to leave Fordurn, so I'll follow until the end of the world."

"As to me, I left my kingdom just to help you. It would be a waste to go back after all the trouble I had to meet you."

"But-"

"Also, you're wrong if you think everyone hates you. You have Raymond, your father, and I remember a couple of maids who like you."

Luna remained silent for some seconds. She didn't want to put anyone in danger, especially those two men who had such promising futures. Raymond had, some time ago, received the invitation to be a Vigil soldier, but he refused because of her.

As to Sariel, if what he said was true, then a whole kingdom would mourn his death.

However deep down she knew they wouldn't give up.

"Alright, but, if things get complicated, you'll have to promise me you will prioritize your lives."

"Ok, I promise." Sariel answered without delay.

"Raymond?" The princess noticed he didn't answer.

"I promise, Your Highness." He then looked at the traveler. "However, I will kill you if you dare do something to Your Highness." He said in a scary tone.

Sariel only reacted to that threat with a short laugh.

"Well, since everything's sorted, we should go. Right, Your Highness?" the traveler said.

"Yes, Aegreon is probably returning by now. And call me Luna."

"As you wish, Luna."

"You too, Raymond. We will have to hide my identity, nobody knows my real name, so you should call me by my name, besides also avoiding using formal language."

"Undertood, Your Highness. When we are in public, I will follow this."

"No, Raymond. We will spend more time traveling than in public places. If you don't get used to it, you might slip up and reveal my identity. You should start calling me by my name now."

The bodyguard hesitated for some time and stuttered a lot, but, after some effort, he managed to say it.

"Lu-Luna."

"See? I knew you could do it." The princess patted his shoulder. "Now, let's go."

The princess was the first to leave, however, before leaving the room, the bodyguard could see her small happy smile.

Luna tried for years to convince Raymond to call her by the name, and now it finally happened.

The three left the inn and, when they got outside, they saw Aegreon and a woman wearing black clothes. Three horses also followed then.

It was already nighttime, and the moon was rising in the sky.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Pillar didn't seem to like seeing those people.

"They will come with us." Luna answered.

"I remember you, it's the bodyguard." Aegreon looked at Raymond. "But what about you?" Then, he menacingly stared at Sariel.

"My name is Sariel. It's a pleasure, Aegreon, The Conjuration Pillar."

After hearing this, the Pillar's eyes immediately narrowed, his eyebrows frowned, and he glared with a killing intent at the traveler.

"Leave if you want to live."

"No, thanks. I will follow you to make sure your journey's will go smoothly." Sariel answered calmly, ignoring the imminent danger.

With that answer, Aegreon approached his horse and grabbed his weapon; a black scythe with purple gems decorating the whole blade.

Both extremities had a black skull, and, inside the eye sockets, two stones burned in a purple flame. The serrated blade had a curved shape, and it was big, long and made from a dark material that beautifully reflected the moonlight.

Some type of rotten leather covered the whole scythe, making it a weapon worthy of being wield by death itself.

After this, he took a step closer to the traveler, while holding firmly his weapon.

"I won't say it again." His intimidating tone made everyone scared.

However, Sariel ignored Aegreon's warning and kept staring calmly at him.

Despite his neutral expression, a terrible wave of hostility and danger emanated from the traveler. Furthermore, the temperature suddenly dropped, to the point that clouds escaped the mouths of everyone while breathing, and, in the sky, dark clouds began formed, blocking the moonlight.

His eyes seemed to glow for a second, in the same way a piece of ice reflected the sunlight, and the ground around him started to freeze.

Everyone, except Aegreon, felt pressured by that hostility. Raymond took a step back instinctively and touched his sword's grip, while Shiina stood still and watchful.

The Pillar didn't showed apprehension, but he stopped approaching.

Both didn't move a muscle while staring at each other. No sound could be heard, except for the ice that kept spreading slowly.

After some moments of tension, Aegreon put his scythe on his back.

"If I suspect you might betray us, you will regret."

"Very well. Now, if I'm no mistaken, you are Shiina, the Reaper Fox, correct?" Sariel asked, immediately abandoning his hostility.

In the moment the tension was undone, the temperature slowly returned to normal, and the clouds begin dispersing.

"We-well, I didn't expect to meet someone who knew me. It's an honor." Shiina tried to hide her nervousness.

"Reaper Fox?" Luna asked.

"The Reaper Fox… A well know assassin. People say she never failed any contract. Why are you with Aegreon?" Raymond asked.

"I'm here to help you with this journey. And what you said is correct, I've never failed in any contract, soon you will see."

"One more reason to have me around." Sariel said before Raymond could argue.

"Enough, let's go." Aegreon mounted his horse.

"But what will we do? We are five, but we have only three horses." the princess asked.

"Four." A horse approached Sariel from behind. He was totally white, and his fur beautifully reflected the moonlight. "Luna and I will travel using my horse, while Raymond will ride one of Aegreon's."

"Your High- Luna will come with me."

"Your horse would already be carrying the weight of two heavy people because of your armor. Luna is light, but this will overload and make him become tired faster. I don't understand why you use that armor, considering that, for someone with your power, it's pure waste of mobility and speed. You should throw it away."

Sariel was right. Most common soldiers used armor to protect against common weapons, that's why it was valid, because normal people barely had enough power to use a single spell.

However, for someone like Raymond, who not only could use magic, but also was strong, using a common armor protected against nothing, since any magic attack would pierce the armor like paper. For that reason, most strong warriors didn't use armor since their bodies were way more resistant than metal.

Of course, some armors enhanced with Magic could protect against magical attacks. However, this type of armor was difficult, expensive, and slow to be produced, and most of them couldn't nullify completely a magical attack. For this reason, even most of the Council members preferred to not wear any armor.

"This armor was given to me by Your Majesty! I could never throw away such present!"

"So, the only option is to do as I said."

"I don't a-"

"Or do you want to make Luna walk all the way to the Scorched Mountain?"

"You- You are making me look the responsible for this situation."

"But isn't that the case? This armor isn't protecting you at all, it would be more useful as a door stop. So, the only option is for me and Luna to go together, correct?" Sariel looked to the princess and smiled gently at her.

"Raymond, he's right. Don't worry, he's not going to do anything."

The bodyguard remained silent for some time, without knowing what to answer.

In the end, he just agreed with an irritated grunt, recognizing his defeat.

"Do you want to guide him?" Sariel asked to Luna.

"I don't have experience with equestrianism."

"Then, I will guide him. Shall we go?" The traveler made an exaggerated reverence and offered his hand to help the princess climb the horse.

"Oh, alright... thanks." Luna accepted the help and prepared to climb the horse.

The traveler then looked to the bodyguard and mischievously smiled, mocking Raymond.

His expression was almost childish, which made Raymond even angrier.

Luna climbed the horse and, since she had pale skin and white hair, that animal felt destined for her. Although she was wearing simple clothing, she did look like a princess, riding a divine horse, sent by the heavens to help her.

"Hi, what's your name?" The princess affectionately patted the animal.

The horse neighed gently, apparently answering the question.

"Su-en... It's a different name."

"He chose it by himself." Sariel climbed the horse.

"Let's go." Aegreon rushed once again.

Then, the group departed. Together, they traveled during the whole night, and almost didn't talk to each other.