Chapter 52: Chapter 52
Arthur's Point of View
Lestrania Thousands of Years Ago
"Wake up!" Aydan shouted in my face suddenly, and he looked at me in concern. "Are you alright?!" He had taken my hood off and was examining me.
I had broken out into a cold sweat as I felt as if I had run a marathon. Sliding down the wall, my head rested on the stone as I tried to get my breathing under control. Aydan watched me carefully as he stood above me. After a moment, I had finally recovered enough to answer him.
"I should've been a middle-aged man, but I have the feeling I am far older than I realize..." The source of this content is N0veII_bIn
Aydan seemed confused at that and asked, "Should've? How can you not know your own age?"
"The being that transported me here wasn't exactly graceful... My mind, spirit, and the remains of my body were stuck in some infinite void. Who knows how long I was in there for before I popped out in this world..." Wiping my face in an exhausted manner, I continued. "I've tried not to think about it, but my memories are in a haze."
"So, how old do you think you are?" The Great Sage inquired as he watched me closely.
"My age likely no longer exists in such a number that I could actually tell you. For it feels like I've lived through an eternity... Twice." Was all I said in response.
The Sage's face fell at that, and he was about to respond when there was a knock on the door. Immediately, I put my hood back on and looked to see Aydan offering me a helping hand. With a smirk, I accepted and got to my feet. While I brushed myself off, he opened the door with his magic and smiled.
"Hello, Mara. Is something wrong?" Aydan asked the oldest Princess.
To my surprise, Mara merely looked over to me. "It has been some time since you two left to talk. I thought it might be best to come check in on both of you and perhaps offer my insight into Lestrania and the people who live here."
Much to my annoyance, Aydan looked at me with a grin and chuckled. "I'm sure Sir Mordred would be delighted to talk to you, my dear." He then gestured to the area. "Feel free to use the room to talk. I must get a few things ready if Sir Mordred is to aid us in the coming days."
Mara nodded with such grace that you'd think she had practiced the simple movement for dozens of years. "I shall do my best to aid him as well, Sir Aydan. If you need help with informing the citizens, I will be available."
Aydan leaned down and whispered something to her, which made her eyes flicker to me. He had to have used magic because his hands lit up, and I couldn't hear what was being said. Obviously, it was about me, and they wanted it private.
"I understand." Mara replied as his magic dispersed, and she looked to me as Aydan left. "Sir Mordred, it will be a pleasure to help you and serve by your side." The Princess then looked up at me with vibrant, hope-filled eyes. "Sir Aydan says you can be trusted, so trust me when I say, I am here to help you in any manner I can. You need only ask."
The eagerness she had shown unnerved me slightly. "Thank you." I replied slowly. "I will look to you in the coming days for any questions I might have."
Her smile widened. "And I will answer to the best of my abilities." Moving closer to me, she grabbed my hand. "Would you be willing to help me in return?"
"I will leave..." The Elf replied begrudgingly and stood slowly. "Forgive me, Princess."
"Go now and never show yourself in front of me again." Was her reply, and the generic Elf left with his tail between his legs before she looked back to me. "Were you really going to kill him?"
Looking at her, I saw her eyes flicker about as she tried to find mine inside my enchanted cloak. "Had it just been a threat, I would've let it go, but he was sent to kill me. That is not something I would overlook."
The Princess nodded in understanding. "I am sorry this happened, Sir Mordred.??
"Unless it was you who orchestrated this, don't be. You can't control everything that happens, so you don't need to apologize." Holding out my arm for her, I spoke. "Shall we continue?"
"We shall." Mara took my arm, and we were off once more. "We're not too far now." She said after a few more minutes of walking.
Opening a set of double wooden doors, we entered a decent sized room with a large stone table that had many different things scattered about. Tomes, scrolls, maps, plans, and more. Banners lined the room with a pair of wings surrounding a golden crown. Ignoring that for now, my eyes started to look around the table.
Mara removed her arm and pulled a map towards us with her magic. "This is the current map of Lestrania. Our kingdom is quite vast, given that the Elves and Humans have united. With their union, all the land in-between their territories have also been claimed." The Princess explained as she pointed things out. "Unfortunately, most of the Elves' home have been burned down, and now it is overrun with Demons."
"That poses a bit of a problem. Was there anything of importance left behind that the Demons might want?" I inquired.
Shaking her head, the Princess answered. "Not that I am aware of, and Aydan, nor the former Elven Queen, have stated otherwise." Pointing at different spots on the maps, she continued. "We have many different towns and villages all throughout the lands, but we have been cut off. Demons invade towns, take prisoners, and kill the rest. Providing any kind of support has been difficult."
"Why? With magic and Zugal at the ready, I think sending messages would be easy or at least have solid scouting parties out and about looking for Demon movement." I asked her.
"We're spread thin as it is. That Fire Demon you spoke of has been popping up everywhere, and the only one capable of driving it off would be Sir Aydan. Had it appeared here, and he was gone, things would not end well." Mara explained.
"So, you've been using Aydan as more of a defensive unit than helping your people?"
Mara gritted her teeth at my remark. "My brother thought it best that the Capital be defended more than anything else."
Frowning at that, I moved my hand over the map. There was another location that looked like a bunch of large rocks just drawn on the map that confused me, but there were bigger issues at the moment. Mara and her siblings can get stronger. Arceana and Elincia are proof of that. Both are stronger than Ghouls in the future. If training is what they need, I can use that as an excuse to train myself as well.
A smirk came to my lips as I touched the map. "Mara, tell Aydan I request his presence in the council chambers."
"May I ask why?" She inquired with a hopeful look.
"No longer will we only hold the capital and now that I'm here, we can tip the scales in our favor. Lestrania will be nothing without it's people, and there will be none left if this continues." Tapping on the map, I continued. "That leaves us with only one choice." Part of me wanted to be overly dramatic and stab the map with a dagger, but I didn't have a dagger on hand, and I figured these took quite a long time to make. "We go on the attack."
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New Cover Art is out! Hope you all like it! I am going to try to change the Cover Art for every Arc, but we'll have to wait and see if that is possible! Enjoy the chapter!