The Sol continent was always on the brink of wars erupting, and the Church tried its best to be the middleman and stop them.
With its complete hold over the Gracia Kingdom’s political landscape, wars against the Riveria Kingdom were fairly limited. But, that left the southern Sol uncontrolled on a deeper level and open to madness–something that only pushed it towards more darkness.
Year 5116 of Solis was not kind to the Sorrow Kingdom, as, on the 25th day of the 8th month of the year, The Grand Duchy of the Patch launched a full-scale war on the Sorrow Kingdom. Unfortunately, the King of Sorrow could only defend, for he lacked arms to raise swords, while he alone stood as the only Grand Wizard–as the last defendant.
The man would go down in history for his bravery, strength, and sorrow–for he would save thousands with the stalemate… with time he’d borrow.
This was the world–so fragile and full of powerful people–so facile.
…
“Max, what do you think I should focus on next? My next promotion can be one of two things: either stay in the Holy Land and become Chief Superintendent or leave and become Chief Superintendent Healer of a region?”
Sylvester was going to head out for his next mission today, so he was having his last home breakfast. “Stay in the Holy Land. The world outside is too volatile, and anything can happen. It’s not safe for a woman who’s not well versed in fighting. But are you so confident about getting another promotion?”
“No, I won’t get that anytime soon. I was merely thinking about which side I should focus on. The position of Chief Superintendent is somewhat politicized as it’s selected by voting among other healers.” She explained.
Sylvester thought about how he could help her, as the higher she went, the better it would be for him. “You should use my name to get support. I’m sure no other healer has a son who is also a God’s Favored candidate with the highest talent possible. So you should take my name and, in non-direct words, imply, ‘My son is one day going to be a Supreme Wizard.’ And that will by default pull them into your camp.”
“Won’t that make the higher-ups angry?” She inquired.
Sylvester scoffed. “Tell them the same thing and shut them up. And, mum, even if I don’t try to become the Pope, I will still at least become a Guardian of Light. A strong one at that!”
Xavia quickly imagined her son being tall with a nice beard, looking proud while the people prayed to him as he sang and the halo appeared. It raised goosebumps and made her squeak. “My son will be big and strong… I believe in you.”
‘I hope it was as easy as it probably seems in her head.’ Sylvester thought and kept eating.
“By the way, take these pickled eggs. They are sweetened with honey as well… although they made me vomit, I know you will love them.” Xavia brought a big ceramic jar and put it on the table. It was undoubtedly heavy as it made the wooden table’s legs creek.
‘It made her vomit? If it’s this bad, then why would I like th-‘
“Holy Solis! Why is this so good?” Sylvester was all praises once he tasted merely the juices in the jar.
Xavia made a strange, disgusting face and shrugged. “I have no idea why and where your obsession with honey comes from. I just let you taste it once.”
Sylvester was already eating the pickled eggs, however. “This is really good. I’m going to need more jars of it later.”
‘Oh no! I have created an abomination. I pity his friends who will be forced to taste it.’ Xavia sighed internally and moved to pack other things.
“Take these dried beef strips too. I bought them from the Guild Peninsula. They say that the adventurers take these on long journeys.”
Sylvester didn’t deny the gifts. “Don’t worry about my food, mum. We usually have a whole carriage with us full of supplies. Sometimes we even hunt on the road and eat fresh meat.”
“I wish I could travel with you too.” Xavia dreamily muttered.
If Sylvester was a brainless man, he’d have agreed to her, saying he’d need a healer. But the reality was that she’d be a deadweight on him, always needing saving. And since she was pretty as hell, there was that aspect as well.
“Maybe when I become truly powerful, I will take you on a world tour.” He suggested on the go.
But that meant the world to Xavia. “You will? I would love to see different places one day. Your grandpa used to tell me about the lands of the East and the mystical south.”
‘And then you got enslaved.’ He sighed and got up to leave. “Don’t worry; a promise is a promise. Now I should head out. The rest must be waiting.”
“Take care, Max. And if it takes too long, please send me a letter through the Running Men. I sometimes get anxious when I don’t hear from you for months.” She requested calmly, albeit wanting to hug her son.
Sylvester did it on his own accord as he smelled the anxiety. “Got it, mum. And you ensure you eat well and work hard. I might be gone for a long time since I need to meet Markus’ family.”
Hearing Markus’ name, she felt even more scared, for he was her only family left. Her hug turned tighter, and she nodded. “I will… you too, please take care.”
Pa!
“Meow!”
Suddenly, Xavia looked up, feeling something tapping on her head and the cute meowing voice. But Sylvester quickly moved back and headed out. “Bye, mum!”
He went out and scolded Miraj. “What was that?”
“I pat her head to make her less sad. It always works.”
“Yes, but only when they know or can see you. As of now, most would think it’s a ghost touching them.”
Sylvester and Miraj walked to the stables while bickering. Since Sylvester was the one who drove the carriage, it was his responsibility to keep it. So he tied his white horse and headed to pick up the rest of his teammates.
They slowly rode on the wide roads of the Holy Land, passing by the various scenic buildings. The sky was blue like most days, and the air was colder. Winter was finally around the corner, but thankfully the weather in Holy Land never goes too cold.
Despite the horrifying news from a few days ago, the weather and fresh air helped.
“Chonky, suggest me a good name for this horse,” Sylvester asked, as his horny horse was not so horny anymore and even well trained now.
Miraj looked down at the horse on whose neck he was sitting. “He’s big… white and… Juan!”
“What? Why that name?” Sylvester wondered.
Miraj merely shrugged. “I don’t know. I said the first word that came to my mind. Is it bad?”
Sylvester tried to think of the name and imagined himself calling it from afar. “Juan… Juan Wick? Why did I think of that? That’s one strange name. No, let’s name him Frost. He is very white, after all.”𝑜𝘷𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔
“Frost? I like it. Chonky and Frost will be friends from now on, am I right?” Miraj melted on the horse’s back. But eventually, he’d move to the back of the carriage, find a comfy place and sleep the whole way.
The horse neighed as if it understood Miraj’s words and trotted faster, appearing happy.
Sylvester chuckled while watching the exchange happen. It was good to remind oneself every once in a while that everything could feel happy or hurt. All had a life, but of course, some didn’t deserve it.
“You are late.” Felix barked as soon as Sylvester reached the rest of the team at the exit tunnel leading outside the Holy Land.
Sylvester could see the dark circles under the eyes of Gabriel and Felix. It was apparent they had been doing something in the last few days, or perhaps the memories of a dear friend haunted them. Sir Dolorem, meanwhile, seemed normal, but there were more people nearby, two on separate horses and six more in a common carriage.
The short, chubby semi-bald man spoke from the horseback, appearing to be the leader. “Priest Sylvester, it is an honor to meet you finally. I am Archpriest Harmond, and this is Priest Karl. We’re the head of a healer’s camp headed to Sand City. Sir Dolorem allowed us to ask you if we could join you on the journey?”
Sylvester noted the people in the carriage at the back. From the rank plates, the Archpriest appeared to be an Adept Wizard, while the Priest was an Apprentice Wizard, the same as the rest of the people in the carriage.
‘It’s one of the good things the church does, and I can respect that.’ Sylvester thought, appreciating that in this dark backward world, the Church held healing camps to heal the sick free of cost.
Sylvester glanced at Felix since the latter shared the same authority as Sylvester in theory. “You got any problem with that?”
“Not at all.”
“Fine by me too then. But, Archpriest, our destination is Fallshoot Village, so you will be on your own beyond that point.” Sylvester warned as the Highland Kingdom was not that rich, travelers were sometimes raided by brigands, although cases of them attacking church representatives were rare.
The Archpriest bowed his head slightly. “We shall manage beyond that, Priest Sylvester. You have my gratitude.”
“Good, let’s move then.” Sylvester didn’t waste time and whipped the horses slightly, not to hurt them but enough to make them move fast. Felix sat beside him as he too had a stallion now attached to the carriage–Lady Trash–they had named it.
They were fast on the road soon, traveling on the smooth Holy Road south. They were headed to the sideroad that led to the bridge crossing into the Riveria Kingdom. The route bypassed Goldstown, bringing back hundreds of memories.
Merely in 4 days, they easily entered the Riveria Kingdom, as the Church had an express pass to move freely around the continent.
“Why did you fake the match in the tourney?” Felix suddenly asked, sitting beside Sylvester in the carriage at the reinsman seats. In front of them were Gabriel and Sir Dolorem, and behind were the rest.
Sylvester sighed as he watched the endless farmlands of the Riviera Kingdom with trees on both sides of the roads. He was in awe of the kingdom as it fed the whole continent.
“I didn’t want to discourage you… and trouncing you in front of all those people would have hurt your image. And honestly, I don’t want to lose a friend because other people think negatively about us. I didn’t want any rumors.”
Sylvester could predict what was coming. He could feel a slight hint of sourness and saltiness, signifying there was jealousy. There was also a hint of anger.
But, all of a sudden, it disappeared as Felix said something Sylvester didn’t expect.
“Thanks, brother. You saved me a lot of trouble and… didn’t destroy my self-respect. Of course, I’m slightly disappointed and jealous, but it’s all in good faith. One day, I will surely beat you.”
Sylvester chuckled at the proclamation. “You only lack experience, my friend. We both are the same ranked Knights. Our powers are similar; the only difference is how we move.”
“You talk about experience, but where does your experience come from them?”
Sylvester fell silent and thought of a convincing answer. “Dreams–It’s a pretty great place to train and plan your next schemes. I can teac–Hm? We have company!”
“What?”
“Shh…”
All of a sudden, Sylvester handed Felix the reins and stood up on his seat while the carriage kept moving. He looked left and right at the endless flat agricultural fields. They were still far away from their destination and had just entered the Riveria Kingdom. ‘What now? Why do I smell such extreme… rage and lust… with death mixed in?’
“Prepare yourself, Felix!” Sylvester barked and quickly held up his spear from behind himself.
“Priest Sylvester!” Sir Dolorem and Gabriel receded a little to the carriage and spoke to Sylvester. “It seems we’re being watched and followed.”
“I know, Sir Dolorem… and I think I know who it is. You and Gab go back and tell Archpriest Harmond to maintain distance. I don’t want them to get hurt.”
“What’s going on, Max?” Felix clenched his sword in hand, ready to be unsheathed.
Sylvester looked left and right, trying to figure out how the hell the enemy was keeping up with them without showing up, despite such open fields. “Felix, strike to kill!”
“Got it!” Felix prepared, no more questions asked until they had enemies in their grasp.
Of course, Sylvester knew what was happening now. He had not forgotten that kid assassin and had hypothesized who was after him. Now–he was nearly sure of it.
‘That damn Romel, even after dying he’s so annoying!’
[1] Green City – Imperial Capital of Gracia Kingdom
[2] Sand City – Imperial Capital of Highland Kingdom
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APE TOGETHER STRONG!