Chill Winds

Rory tried to gather his courage. It felt like his stomach was about to escape his abdomen and plummet through the ground though…

Still, emboldened by Jahreszeiten's encouragement, he held a fist to his mouth cleared his throat.

"So… was that your objective assessment?"

The knight turned to look down toward the Druid. "Pardon?"

Perhaps he had been too circumspect, but the absence of affirmation left Rory's confidence quickly escaping like hot air through an open window in winter. He gathered himself for one more attempt.

'If this doesn't work, I'll give up and crawl in a hole, I think.'

Rory buried his fingers in the thick fur around Winter's neck to hide that they were trembling. He asked, "Do you have any interest in beautiful men? Or were you perhaps hoping I would turn out to be a woman?"

'What the hell am I saying?!' He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. 'That was too forward! And why would I bring up being a woman? I don't want to know his answer!'

Aurelius couldn't recall any time in his life when he'd been more panicked than now. Maybe the instant right after blocking the arrows shot by those bandits? His vision was even beginning to go dark and spotted, and he feared he might faint.

'Cecilia, I admire your courage. This is horrid. I think I'll die.'

These immense waves of emotion were entirely contained within the young Druid, of course. The outside world was still as calm and quiet as it had been a moment ago. Nothing disturbed the hills aside from chill winds and the dull thudding of horse hooves.

The deer herd moved silently like ghosts.

Atop his own steed, the Arc Knight looked utterly undisturbed. Rory prayed that was simply because he was covered head to toe in dark metal armor. Beneath the sleek contours of his steel helmet—painted the same color as his ebony horse—was he at least a little bit flustered?

A moment of silence passed before Augustus's reply. A moment which threatened to shred Aurelius's poor, racing heart.

"…I apologize if I offended you, Druid Glorianus," he finally said.

'… Dammit.'

Aurelius realized he had, in fact, not been forward enough.

"No, I'm not offended," he sighed.

'Actually, I was a little bit. For a moment or two there.'

"And please, you can call me Aurelius. Or Rory, if you like."

"Very well then, Druid Aurelius. I'd like to hear your plan to negotiate with Vulkan, if you don't mind."

'The moment has passed,' Jahreszeiten sighed. 'Why didn't you just speak clearly? 'I'm interested in you. Are you interested in me?' Like that.'

'I don't think my heart could take it,' Rory lamented.

'Why doesn't it beat like that for me, I wonder. Well, I'll be making use of that body you like so much regardless.'

'A-anyway, how am I supposed to explain the plan to him? You wouldn't even explain it to me.'

'Ask him about his surname,' Jahre replied, 'and about the arrival of the winged dragons.'

Somehow, Rory had an ominous feeling about it, but he shook it away. He looked up at the Arc Knight who was waiting patiently for his explanation.

"Jahreszeiten has told me that you're pivotal to the plan, actually, but he wouldn't tell me why. He said I should ask you directly instead; about your last name and the moment the winged dragons first appeared."

Augustus Kaiser gripped his reigns tighter, and the air suddenly seemed colder.

"… Is it really that important?" he asked in a reluctant tone.

Aurelius swallowed anxiously and nodded.

"Haah…" the knight sighed heavily and held a hand to his faceplate. "Fine then. I assume you've heard about the Alba Empire."

Rory nodded. His teacher, Justinian had ensured his education was well-rounded and encompassed more than just sorcery.

About a thousand years ago, the Alba Empire sailed across the sea and colonized the continent they were now standing on. Their people and culture spread rapidly, but it became unsustainable to govern their colonies across a vast ocean, and instability back on the Empire's homeland caused all contact to soon cease. There was no longer any connection between the two landmasses.

"I'm not of Alban descent," Augustus continued, "I was born and raised in one of the surviving Diutisc tribes that never mingled with the Alba people. My ancestors lived in this land before its spirits were lulled to sleep, and according to family legend, one of them was a Druid. I share the Diutisc surname 'Kaiser' with him, and your Spirit recognized it."

'Really?' Rory asked.

'Yes, Vulkan's Druid before I was put to sleep was named Johann Kaiser. We were neighbors, after all, so we met a few times.'

"I didn't realize," Rory commented. "I suppose that's why you were so quick to accept that I'm a Druid."

The knight shrugged, "Growing up alongside dragons, I had to believe in the stories my family passed down for thousands of years."

That gave the young Druid pause. "You grew up beside them? I thought…"

Augustus shook his head. "In the stories my family passed down, Vulkan commanded his children to protect my family in his stead until he awakened. My tribe lived in frequent contact with them. I even rode on the back of one once. They would come by in the winter and keep us warm with their fire breath. In the summer, they sometimes delivered large game for us to eat. When I was little, one dragon caused a fuss by taking our hen's eggs to warm herself out of maternal instinct."

Rory listened to the fantastical stories with wide eyes, trying to imagine giant lizards doing any of those things.

And with how fond the knight sounded as he reminisced, Rory wondered just how he became known as a dragon slayer who hunted those very creatures he grew up with.

"What happened?" the Druid asked gently.

The knight was silent for a moment. All warmth had vanished from the voice behind his helmet.

"They suddenly grew wings one day and learned to fly, and at the same time, they burned my tribe to ash. Everyone who lived there is dead, except for me."