Ambition

As the brown of Carlos's eyes dimmed into an empty black, he took in the stary sky above.

[Skylar...] Reaching his hands into air and grasping a star, the only image in his mind was his wife's grey eyes. The single crooked tooth she had which he loved, the way her ginger hair stuck against her forehead when she would cook for him, her howls when her unborn child bled from between her legs.

[I am sorry... my lo-] 

His armored arms smashed against the floor as his imagination went black and his body limped into eternal stillness. 

Count Albert couldn't find the words necessary to conclude the duel. He felt no sorrow, but his emotions were just as heavy.

He could only watch as Titus planted his foot in Carlos's corpse and retrieved his sword from his heart.

Titus's weapon was dyed in the essence of the faded, but he himself, was softening as well.

His back was hunched, and his feet were unstable.

His sword was dragged along the floor leaving a trail of two differing bloods in his path.

As he stepped down the stairs of the square and fell to both of his knees before Ashton, he tried to speak but no words were found. All that jumped from his tongue was blood and drowned noise.

Ashton nodded, "Good work Titus Magnus."

His words, as if he spoke for the awestricken and declared the victor of the duel, cut the breathless tension of the garden.

It released a thunderous applause from the souls of the county knights. 

Most of the spectators were second-class, as the first-rate warriors were resting, preparing for the possibility of war. So, Titus's performance especially resonated with them. 

"Make way." Koalt demanded like a drill sergeant, parting the applauding knights behind Ashton.

He had left at the start of the duels second beginning at Ashtons request to fetch a priest and stretcher. 

"Don't worry Lord Ashton, Father Ulyss is the best healer in the county." 

While Koalt and his subordinates carefully lifted Titus's unconscious body onto the stretcher, Ashton was growing uncomfortable.

Not with the condition of his knight but the vibe of Father Ulyss.

He stood motionless, his face was obscured by the hood of his white and gold robes as he hugged a leather Bible of Genesis against his chest.

Ashton's senses couldn't feel him drawing breathe, couldn't see even the slightest shift in his posture despite his enhanced eyes. 

But he could feel his eyes. 

[What does this preacher want...] Ashton thought. He couldn't feel any hostility but there wasn't any warmth or holiness emitted from him either. 

Ashton's guard was up. His mana was not only molded around his body, but his fingers were twitching above the handle of his sword.

When a hand reached out for him from the corner of his right eye, his sword left its sheath, but only halfway.

"Why so jumpy Whey?" Aaron pulled his hand back and took a small step backward as his knights bent their knees and gripped their swords. 

"Stop." He threw his hand to his side for his men to stand down despite his rage.

His gut was turning, and his heart was screaming vengeance, but there was nothing he could yet do.

"Carlos had a wife you know?" Was all he could say. His jaw clenched and his blood was cold despite his burning emotions.

In the core of his being he knew that this was his fault. He sent Carlos onto the stage, but he was completely unprepared for this outcome.

Ashton pressed his blade back within its sheath, "And Titus has a mother." He responded.

"Tchh" Aaron smacked his lips and turned his back on Ashton. "You and I will meet one day... and I look forward to it." 

As Aaron walked away, throwing threats and breaking the fragile decorum he was maintaining, Ashton didn't care, nor did he respond.

He looked back towards the priest, but he was gone. Vanished from sight along with Koalt and Titus.

But they weren't the only ones that had already departed, Count Albert and his family had already left and knights that created the perimeter of the duel had already cleared.

The night wasn't chased away by a rising sun, the moon was still high, glowing a dull and mournful grey as a star it sharded the sky with burned its last.

The estate was hushed, the birds warming their voice to sing along a new dawn was all that could be heard.

It was peaceful but human nature found the moment to create chaos. No body that had witnessed the duel could sleep.

Their minds were racing and replaying. 

Progress vs Tradition.

The duel wasn't just death and honor, it invoked questions. 

Questions that brought Darian Albert to seek his training grounds.

Ashton was the only the person that was able to decline into his bed then rise when the morning birds finally sang. 

As he stood at the foot of his bed, about to bend over and place his feet inside of his loafers, there was a knock upon his door.

None other than Koalt had come to see him, the dark circles under his eyes were telling. Ashton didn't have to ask to understand.

Ashton left his door open and invited Koalt inside, but he declined. He told Ashton that he was here after reporting Titus's condition to Count Albert and was only came to quickly let him know before taking rest.

"Well, are we going to talk with you all the way out there?" Ashton asked while tying his tie, gazing into his reflective image inside of his mirror.

Koalt relented, he had been awake throughout the knight watching over Titus and speaking with Father Ulyss and was eager to finally get to bed.

He started off by stating the injuries Titus suffered. 

All 12 ribs on the left side of his body were broken or fractured.

A puncture in his lung on the same side.

A tear within the bicep of his right arm.

Dozens of cuts and bruises on top of dehydration.

He noticed Ashton's lack of reaction, as if he didn't care, but he continued on.

"Father Ulyss was able to close the hole in the lung. It wore all of his Divine Blessing's power, but it saved Titus's life. He told me his broken ribs would heal naturally over time, but how long it would take depends on his resilience. However..."

Koalt looked down at his feet and hesitated to deliver the bad news.

"Its okay Koalt, I need to know." 

"Well... Father Ulyss said that the loss of blood and lack of oxygen to the brain were the true injuries Titus suffered. It has left his body weak and disorganized, he is going to need bedside care for a while, and he may never wake up."

"I see... Is that all?" Ashton was still unreactive. He only finished his tie then put his suit jacket on over his dress shirt.

Koalt wasn't surprised, he was disappointed. He assumed Ashton saw the people under him as tools, discardable when used up. "That is all." He said with a tight fist, [I thought you grew up to be a decent lord] He thought.

The reality, however, is that Ashton was confident in the recovery process. If it took a healing elixir or if he had to throw Titus into a carriage and take him to meet an Archbishop, he was willing to do whatever it required.

Both options were impossible.

Healing elixirs were treasures near impossible to obtain. Every last vial was in the possession of the imperial family.

They were distilled from the blood of a dragon Emperor Alexander slayed thousands of years ago and could save even most critically injured patients. Healings elixirs cannot be confused with a healing potion used to mend cuts and bruises that any accomplished alchemist could make.

And an Archbishop, somebody holy enough to fix a body so broken, usually never heals another regardless of their influence. Archbishops were warriors. People born with divine energy, capable of imprinting divine blessings onto those that Genesis allowed so that may heal the world in her name.

They were highly skilled and disciplined. While they were born with divine energy, it was a small very faint amount. More than anything it was a strong connection to their goddess. Their divine energy couldn't withstand the power of elite mages.

And Ashton was ready to beat such people into performing a miracle, or to steal from the highest authority in his country if it meant saving Titus. 

Ashton sat on the sofa next to Koalt and asked, "Don't you find it funny?" as he tied his shoes.

Koalt eyebrows raised, he didn't know what to expect "Find what funny?"

"That we still rely on divine blessings to heal injuries of true consequence... I mean 10,000 years ago divine energy and blessings allowed the church to reign over humanity, then Aether came crashing down and riddled our planet in mana... Then magic reconquered the world. You would think there would be a spell that could mimic the healing prowess of the faithful, but there isn't even a basic healing spell invented yet... Why do you think that is Koalt?"

Koalt slumped over on the couch, he was much too tired to try and understand, but he was interested in Ashton's words which made him ask why. 

"Its obvious... we see existing magical theories as a mountain to climb without looking around to see if there are any uncharted mountains. But every once in a while, somebody is born to look for those mountains, and then new theory and spell craft is created from their efforts. It amazes me that freethinking has become so in-between despite what history has shown us. Every single magical theory we have today is just the outlined answer to somebodies' question. Which is why I question everything. I don't want to climb a mountain or simply chart a new one. I want what is forbidden, whatever lies beyond them all."