Chapter 175 - The past

"Edward and Gurdan, cover the flank," a large explosion rattled the ground around. Somewhere far from Rosespire, in the territory of Plaustan, five adventurers of which the highest rank was Tier-7 Sapphire fought. An army of goblins was seen making way for one of the villages. By sheer chance, it just so happened that those adventurers came back from an expedition. One of transporting goods and equipment to the front lines. All around the continent, these small fights, and siege by monsters were stopped by the brave warriors. No fame nor glory, the protection of civilians came first, this was the mindset of the high-tier guilds. The untouchables, the invincible; hidden by the overwhelming shadow and expectation by the people, the mid-tier guilds were left to wait and survive off whatever quest was given. Low-tier guilds had the worse, disparities between rankings, popularity, and repute, made many refused to work those low-tiered warriors. The fight to the top was a crude and cruel one, one that only a few managed.

The central guild proposed to assign a ranking to each guild. Similar to the current ranking but for those organizations. A proposal that remained on the table for the guild leader had to decide and figure out what would be best. Since Gallienne was crowned queen, many noble factions came to visit her majesty. This made the workload infinitely more difficult, fancy dinners, balls, and much more. Flattery to inflate her ego, gifts to get on her good side, all were out to get a connection with the new queen.

With a new queen came a new order, she had the right to reorganize and choose who would work by her side without care for birth and fame. Since all was still shaken, an overhaul would only prove to destabilize the provinces. The war between noble factions was a prominent problem. Behind the lies and fake promises laid the true terror of greed and hypocrisy. It came with the territory, with grit and sheer will, the young queen pulled through and dealt with the many conspiracies.

"Here we are," Undrar voiced, they stood before a quiet little restaurant in the commercial district. One close to the town-square, lit by lamps and buildings, the place looked peaceful. Couples walked hand in hand, kids ran around. News about the masked-murderers said that he was gone, vanished without a trace for nobody had been found in the past few days.

One by one, all entered, dressed semi-formally, they walked and climbed up to the first floor. A small room, private and reserved for special occasions, one that Achilles had booked earlier in the day. The reasons to why remained unknown. A large table capable of seating everyone and a small balcony with two seats, waiters arrived to take orders. A few minutes went by, the food arrived, and it took another hour before all finished. Rather than focusing on the food, everyone conversed, many had questions about how Iqeavea was. They pestered without end, Staxius could not but answer. He did so with a smile, a smile genuine and pleasant, Undrar had her plate full dealing with Claudia's questions.

Mid-way, as expected, alcohol was brought in courtesy of Achilles who thirsted for a drink. Avon's sparkly eyes changed to one of a vicious beast, he wanted to get blackout drunk; drink and drink, the atmosphere changed. Music played, Avon, Achilles, and Deadeyes locked arms and did some folk dance from the eastern province.

A gust of fresh wind took many by surprise, Staxius went outside and sat. The others were engaged with bonding, each did their own thing. Axius played and got along with Auic and Lizzie. Reluctantly, Claudia followed the man outside, 'Good luck,' Undrar thought and joined the others.

Fresh air blew from the right, the moon semi-hidden by clouds, the murmurs from the crowd and the barely visible starry night. A night unlike any other for it had someone special, the long-lost sister.

"They sure are lively," sat with a glass of whiskey, Staxius spoke with a casual tone.

"They sure are," she replied hesitantly and took a seat. "T-thanks for rescuing me," she added with a hint of embarrassment.

"Honestly," the voice cold and unimpressed, "-should we get right to the thing at hand," he turned to face her, Adete stood with arms crossed on his shoulder. "I'll be frank, are you my sister yes or no?" direct and not cutting corners, dealing with awkwardness with a stern approach.

"Yes," she sighed; the hesitance felt faded.

"Good, I won't ask for proof," he faced away and stargazed, "-would you mind telling me what happened after I ran away?" the voice friendly and approachable, her mind was set at ease.  

"Sure," she replied faintly, "-the memories from back then are a little vague," a quick pause to gather her thoughts later, the story began. "After you left to help dad, mother and I decided to leave Hidros for a while. War had grown out of control, Dorchester was turned to ruin, the capital wasn't safe, mages everywhere and so were corpses. I know not how, but mother managed to acquire tickets to depart from the continent. I never really asked question so I never knew why the war was fought. Our life began anew in Iqeavea, the city advanced rapidly, technology had merged with magic. Mother had a lot of power and influence; she quickly got a job in the Order. On the other hand, I studied hard at their academy – graduation came quickly. Our family never really had a tough upbringing, money was abundant, I had a lot of friends and mother was popular. Then after a few years, on the day I turned twenty, I got a job offer from the Order to become a member; a spy for the organization. I then joined Whisper, years went on and on for god knows how long. I got married, bore a child, had a family, kept up the identity of a normal housewife but work as an agent. The first few years were tough, mother shut herself off, her mind was solely engrossed into work. Since I had a family to manage, we grew apart. I never really remembered that I had a father nor a brother, mother made sure that I'd never remembered. Sadly, one day, a letter came, anonymous but real, it contained pictures of our past – the joyous ones with you and me and dad. It also had another picture," placed on the table, the photo of Staxius during the fight against Sophie – the combat training. Being taped by the nobles all over the continent, it was leaked.

"It also had a letter, one that describes our childhood and the past I had forgotten. The name Axius came as a suggestion from mother, I never knew what it meant until now. Long story short, that letter was the thing that forced us to reestablish ourselves in Hidros. We arrived here two to three years ago, the search was long and painful. Then, one day, whilst taking Axius to school – I came across a flyer that showed the two-verses-two tournament, call it fate or whatever, but we met. The day you became an adventurer, my other comrade visited you and from what I got told, you were inches away from killing someone," she stopped and drank, "-that's the whole story, details might be missing here and there but that's what I remember." She faced away from the stars; the eyes laid upon Staxius who's face remained stoic.

"Thanks for answering my question," they locked eyes,"-Guess it's my turn, ask away," the eyes blank but the lips smiled.

"First of all, how old are you now?" the conversation changed from deep and convoluted to normal and easy to swallow.

"Officially I'm thirty-six I think, and unofficially I'm twenty," the answer vague at best.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

'Should I tell her my past or no,' Staxius thought long and hard, in the end, Sense-personality was used. He checked thoroughly the information obtained, with no inconsistencies, the lady was his sister.

"I'm waiting for an answer…" she urged.

"Fine, around sixteen years ago I was cursed to an imprisonment spell. My body froze in crystal, I basically died until the day the holy-crusade ended. Since then, my life has gotten rather hectic," he smiled.

"Yes, I know, King of Arda," she whispered.

"Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"I know mostly everything about the current state of things, I'm a spy after all," she bragged, "-I want to know about the past, what happened to dad, what happened in the war."

"…" Silence, the countless years that chipped away at his sanity, the years that forged him into the cold-blooded killer. "I'm sorry, I don't want to go into details, but I'll give you a vague summary since you've been indulgent to my questions," any essential information was blocked, only a faint outline was laid out, the past was something to never awaken again.

"When I ran away to dad, he welcomed me with open arms. For the next few years, my scrawny little body was trained into one worthy of a mage. Thereon, I was taught the art of magic, I never awaken any special elements. Rather than using magic myself, my father taught how to slay a mage. How to kill any sorcerer with a single needle; all the blood and suffering, the countless nights without food nor shelter. Always on the run from the opposition, the fight with me and father side by side. Everything was good till I got mortally injured, my body was altered and made better – the changes have long been forgotten. What I remember is that I had a magical element of my own, one that could be used to make fighting easier. In no way was dad mean or harsh, we always fought with a smile. Trained in the way of the sword as well as other martial arts, I was taught with a good upbringing. Tempest Haggard was and still is my hero, the true warrior I admire. Then the war ended, a year later, dad died. All the knowledge acquired by him was transferred over, I inherited his legacy as a combat-mage. Shortly after came Claireville Academy, to which I presume you know the rest," the story ended, vague but sufficient.

"I was brought up in a lavish environment whilst my brother was brought up on a battle-field," the voice felt ashamed.

"The past is the past, I'm grateful I chose that path. Without it, well just look inside," he pointed backward. People laughed and smiled, they drank without care and had fun. "Without it, I'd have never been able to meet such lovely people."

"You're right," she said in a relieved tone, "-there still rest the question about Eira Haggard," she stated firmly.

"Oh, my daughter, she's currently studying under Director Josiah's tutelage."

"I see, I'd love to meet my niece sometime."

"One day, Claudia, one day," the voice mysterious, he stood, the siblings caught up on the years that had gone by.

"We should probably go inside, I can hear Axius crying," to which the night ended. Not wanting to impose on her brother, Claudia walked to her home in front of the castle. Shoulder to shoulder, he carried both Achilles and Deadeyes to the hotel, both were out.

"How was the reunion," snores filled the rooms rapidly.

"Awkward at best, but normal I guess," the reply unimpressed, "-you better take care of them," he patted her head and left. Undrar watched in awe, Staxius truly changed.

"Impressive," teleportation was used, he stood in front of what used to be the shop. The whole building demolished, frames were already in place. The dwarves worked through the night, each took shifts, the construction went on without interruption.

"Thanks, your majesty," Skokdrag stood as the overwatch.

"I'll be at the magical guild, if something comes up, contact me there."

'Better continue researching those scrolls, the title of Alchemist should be enough to procure me a working quarter for the next two days.'