Chapter 22 - Frostrest

The rain-clouds, out of energy, left and gave way to the sun once again who shined as brightly as ever. Staxius woke inside the same cabin he passed out yesterday, the floor was cold, the sun made it hot while the wind blew away the excess heat, this hut was a perfect balance. Chest heavy, body aching from all over, head in pain, he woke once again.

"My chest, it's so heavy, Eira… get off already." He mumbled while the struggle to lift himself up continued.

"Hihihihi," Only responds he got was a peaceful giggle, his babe, the snow angel. With all his might he sat, upright with her in arms, the once-troubled and aching heart finally left to rest, this moment was pure bliss.

"Man, this has been a journey. It all began with that faithful entrance exam, then Sophie Mirabelle made me her brother. I entered a prestigious magic school known as Claireville Academy. Wait... after that, my memory, it's lacking… the meeting with Death reaper and finally Eira Haggard, look at her, so cheerful, her smiles sent waves throughout my body. Hold up, she has clothes for once."

"I see that you've woken up," *Cough, Cough.* The elder who took them in entered the hut by lifting a long and large piece of cloth hanging on the door. It took a while for Staxius's eyes to adjust to the light coming from the outside.

"Thanks a lot, sir, you've saved my only daughter, I owe you my life if that is what you desire." Grateful, he smiled. Ignore by everyone except his grandchildren, the old man found himself strangely attached to the uncommon duo.

"Don't worry about that son, I must ask though, is she really your daughter? Her facial figure is nothing like yours." He inhaled loudly after every long sentence; the geezer was weak.

"Yes, she is my lovely daughter, I agree she doesn't look anything like me, that is because she took after her mother, sadly she died shortly after giving birth. We were young and foolish, playing around at night resulted in this youngling here, our future, my only hope, Eira Haggard." He replied, a voice close to crying, eyes dim and sad, his ability to alter his emotions was in full effect.

*Cough, cough,* "Playing around, ha-ha, youth is such a great thing, anyways I came to give you back your stuff, Boron Staxius Haggard, I've personally washed your battered up and still bloodstained suit, time to change."

"So, you know," With a quick smile he asked, "Where are we exactly?"

"Frostrest, look behind you, our guardian mountain, one of the tallest in the kingdom, Brisnet Heights. Anyhow, just get ready and dress that babe up properly, I've given both you and her winter clothing for when you eventually head to the capital, winter is fast approaching." Stumbling out of the hut, the old geezer headed into the village.

"Frostrest, lovely, I've made it someway yesterday, we need to reach Krigi within five months." *Growl,* "Eira, your hungry aren't you, alright let's go look for food." Every time Staxius spoke to her, she gave him her full attention, it was as if she understood what he was saying, purely coincidental or just that the babe was smart, she nodded.

Babe in hand, a backpack nearly empty on his shoulder, no weapons, no food, only a few copper coins he found while looting the dead peasants he found on the beach, he headed deeper into the village. The hut he spent the night at was on a small hill, it overlooked the whole village, you could see up to the forest he came out of. The scenery was picturesque, he could even see the beach if he tried hard enough.

*Inhale,* "The fresh morning breeze, what a luxury, I feel refreshed, now where is Undrar." Having had enough of the waiting, annoyed, Staxius screamed, "Undrar," at top of his lungs. Startled, Eira cried, he momentarily forgot Eira was with him, in a desperate attempt to calm her fury, he swayed her back and forth while softly caressing her whiteish hair which reflected as it bathed in the sunlight.

"… That shout, it can't be… Master?" Undrar, shocked, dropped all the potions she was gathering in hopes of saving Staxius, "He's alive," Nervous, she called back the blackish white portal and jumped, straight for the unsuspecting Staxius who stood atop a greenish hill with only a dirt path leading down.

"MASTER," She shouted, the portal appeared few meters away from the hut, in front of Staxius who stood unfazed. She rushed, not wanting to get himself dirty again, he dodged and kicked her butt which changed her trajectory, she ended up crashing into a bolder. Stopped, she turned around and smiled while tears filled her face as well as blood.

*Chuckle,* He smirked, "Undrar, you're bleeding..." The realization hit, "YOU'RE BLEEDING." Still not feeling any remorse, he slowly eased his way into a safe distance, he crouched down and checked her forehead by lifting her blonde hair, it began to disappear, the scar, it vanished as it left a speckle of dust. Conscious, she hugged Staxius's left side which wasn't occupied.

"I'm sorry for abandoning you and Eira in that hellish forest, I was scared, I didn't know what to do so I ran for the hall of rebirth." Following that, she explained everything that happened.

"It's fine, don't worry about it, you did cast protection onto Eira here so I forgive you, I'll apologize as well, I rushed into battle without even considering your feelings and intentions, I promise it won't happen again, now care to tell me why you shirked in size?"

"Oh, simple, I materialized using the power I had left, at the moment I look like a teenager, but in a month or so I'll grow to be at my full strength."

"And why did you materialize?" The frustration increased in intensity.

"… I thought b-being real w-would h-help you…" She was on the verge of crying.

"Undrar, aren't you supposed to be a demi-god, so why the heck are you close to crying."

"B-because you're m-mean."

"Sigh, listen, I'm not mad or anything, it's just that I'll have two more mouths to feed. Well no matter, don't worry about that."

"Staxius, I'm so sorry, I didn't think me being real was going to be such a burden on you, I apologize, I'll head for the hall of rebirth this instant." Her tone got sadder.

"Wait," Staxius caught her hand before she could summon another portal, "don't leave, let's be together." A grin appeared from the usual stoic face he had.

"B-but, you s-said it y-yourself, I'm a b-burden." She argued even more.

"Trust me, I'll have you repay me somehow," *Foo*

*Gulp,* "O-okay…"

Her mind now at ease, the conversation continued.

"Now then Undrar, you look like a kid, I'd say probably fifteen years old. Calling you Undrar all the

time is a pain; don't you have any other name I can use?"

"Well, bringer of death or dragon of the void are my other names, I understand that said names aren't so subtle. You've promised to give me a normal name once we enter your realm, so get to it."

"A name, how about Viola Undrar Haggard? You're going to be traveling with me, I'll just tell people you're my kid sister or something."

"Viola Undrar Haggard, hmm, so we're officially family?"

"Well yeah, is that a problem?"

"Not really, just took me by surprise, here I was thinking you never trusted people."

"It's true, but an infant and a demi-god aren't classified as people, trusting you both is something I can get by."

"Undrar, or should I say, Viola, I have a question."

"Speak your mind,"

"Why are you dressed like a vampire?"

"Oh, tis the only bit of clothing that fit my… you know, everything else was larger than expected."

"Let's head into the village, I need to apologize to everyone before we leave, I can't be ungrateful to them, I have to get rid of the misunderstanding I caused thanks to the dilemma of me asking for help, don't you agree, Eira?"

Cute Eira replied with a giggle, the party now consisting of Staxius, Eira and Undrar slowly descended the not so steep hill. With the exception of the old geezer's hut, everything in this village was poorly designed, wooden homes on the brink of collapse, the villagers were either working hard in the fields situated not so far or making cheap clothes and accessories. Further inside, the village hall, the only building with an upper floor stood like a flower admits weeds.

The elder stood near the door, he seemed troubled, looking for someone or something, his head went from left to right until the gaze fell onto the clueless party. Using his hands, he signaled Staxius to approach,

"What's the matter, sir?" Staxius asked politely.

"Just enter already," He demanded.

Inside, he recognized most of the villagers, they were the one who ignored him the night before, without any complaints against their action, Haggard quickly apologized. This, in turn, turned all the gloomy faces into one of surprise and astonishment.

"I apologize for the trouble I caused yesterday, my daughter was very ill, the thought of losing her made me desperate, I thank you for letting me stay the night."

"D-don't apologize, it's us who needs to apologize to you, burdened by our own lord who constantly exploits us, we could not see nor help someone who truly needed it." A unanimous yes reverberated throughout the hall.

"I understand, Viola, come here," he ordered, "can you please take care of your niece for a while, big brother has stuff to attend to," he asked, face void of any emotion. Reluctant to let go, Eira threw a tantrum. *Emotional control, sleep.* Eyes feeling heavy, she slept, with a quick nod, Undrar left babe in hand.

"Now then gentlemen, how may I be of service, I haven't been called here only to be apologized to.

The look on the geezer's face says it all, I'm guessing you know that I'm a Boron, however, before we start, I'd like to put this out there, I'm poor, I'm not from noble birth, I've killed people to get this status, now then, let's start." Staxius was back to his prior self, serious, intelligent and cynical.

The truth coming out of his mouth was so bitter everyone could not meet his gaze much less stare at him. Everyone was guilty, they hadn't got the courage to speak until the rescuer spoke out,

"I'll be frank with you young one, I've saved you and now you're in my debt."

"I know that, what do you need?"

"I want you or rather we want you to overthrow Boron Hamon Bayard since he took command, each day has been peril. We get taxed far heavier that we barely have food to get by, most of the strong men and pretty ladies in our humble village has been either abducted or killed. The one in charge of such cruelty is Sten Parcyvell, he's a full-blown sadist with no care for his people. We've lived through this oppression for so long now, I don't think we'll last till next year at this rate."

"Look at these people, being oppressed, it's not my problem but whatever, I want to let off some steam as well."

"Very well, how do you plan on overthrowing this Hamon Bayard?"

"Our only hope is contacting the order, luckily, we've already established connections with one of their mages a long time ago, all he asks is for us to get rid of Hamon. So many men have tried but

all died in the end."

"The Order, mages, I forgot we lived in a world where magic plays a big part, these people are so clueless, that sorcerer isn't going to save them, he probably wants Hamon off the list so that he can raise in rank by ruling over a small village, nothing will change, still better than getting treated like slaves. I'm not that arrogant to think I can rule a small village like this into prosperity, my own livelihood comes first. Like father said, people are tools for someone to use, they are born to be ruled over by someone superior, nothing can be done for them at this point, killing the noble and leaving is smarter than getting involved into a power struggle, Dorchester is about to turn into a war-zone, I have to prepare."

"Very well, I've heard your plea, tell me when and where said noble is and I shall dispose of him."

"Excellent, I was right to ask you this favor, your eyes speak volume and your aura even more so,

Hamon Bayard is currently patrolling the border, he will stop by Frostrest to resupply later in the evening, he's been stationed there for a week now, his l.u.s.t is probably overflowing, we've been ordered to gather all the ladies of the village to welcome him once he's back. You know what that means don't you?"

Excited, Staxius's aura got more sinister than usual, the face blank, unreadable, the resolve to kill anyone who got in his way was incredible. He left soon after, blood-l.u.s.t overflowing.

Back at the hut, Undrar and Eira patiently waited for his arrival, the cloth hanging over the door lifted up, killing intent faded into the void, seeing Eira, the heart, once angry slowly calmed down.

"Let me guess, you've been asked to kill someone haven't you Staxius?"

"Don't tell me you do fortune-telling now,"

"Stop hiding your true intention, I'm here to listen."

"Staying in a coma for more than a year has truly messed my mind up, I forgot all about the order and mages, the sheer agony people live through to get by every day, it brings me shame to have forgotten the governing principles of my ideals, however, now, I'm back." Hidden behind a smile so fake it looked genuine, lurked the true god of death, a cold-blooded killer who's sleeping thanks to Eira Haggard, his limiter.