An Oblivious Hero

I introduced myself to Sylvienne. I told her about my life and what I was about to do when I ended up here.

"Now I get why you were so angry with me. I didn't want to ruin your day. I just... Felt lonely. I always feel weak when I'm alone..." she explained.

She also feels lonely... So I'm not the only one.

"I've heard that much already. So, what's the goal of your journey? Do you know where you are going exactly?" I glance at her, expecting some mundane answer.

"I'm looking for someone," she says, looking forward.

"Someone? A friend?"

She shakes her head.

"A successor," she says as she unslings the mace from her back, resting it in front of her.

The mace looks worn, with marks here and there. It must be hundreds of years old.

"This mace belongs to Zyron, the legendary warrior. My friend..." she says, seemingly pondering. "He was the strongest in the history of humankind. A little reckless, but he was a good man. He didn't have many enemies. The few he had feared him, not for his cruelty, but for the unwavering valiancy he always carried himself with. I joined him to defeat the demons who have been terrorizing our world for thousands of years," she explains.

She runs her fingers along the hilt of the heavy mace. Her touch suggests relevance to her words. It is indeed an artifact from a bygone era.

"When he was lying on his deathbed, he handed me his legendary weapon: This mace, he said with a final breath, shall belong to a warrior who's worthy of its name.”

She grabs the mace and raises it into the air as she looks up, her blue eyes filled with determination. Her hair is blown by the wind, giving her presence a dramatic effect.

"That day I swore to him that I would find its worthy bearer. I've spent the past three hundred years looking for that person. I haven't met them yet... But I'm sure they're somewhere out there, waiting for me to hand them the Mace of Zyron."

"So that's the duty you have. Looking for a hero."

"No. Not just a hero. Heroes come and go. Those who were once heroes may become tyrants if they are tainted by power. I'm looking for someone worthy of the mace, the way they are, without it changing them. Someone with a firm belief and optimism like Zyron was," she says, her face turning serious. "The mace can not be held by just anyone. It is not strength that lifts the Mace, but dignity. In the grasp of its rightful bearer, the weight fades."

Only a rightful warrior may bear the Mace of Zyron. What is this, some Excalibur? Huh... Could it be me?

"Perhaps it's you," the elf looks at me with a suggestive smile.

She extends her hand with the mace towards me. There's no way, right? I might just get super op in another world. I grab the mace as I take it from her. As her grasp loosens on it, my heart starts beating fast. Is it me...?

As Sylvienne lets go of the mace, it slips between my hands and smashes right into the ground, cracking the ground open in a radius of a meter.

"Of course, there's no way it would be you," the elf bursts into laughter, slapping her knees.

I stand there in silence with my hands and knees still shaking from the shockwave. I let out a sigh. This mace really isn't something ordinary. It indeed is the weapon of a legendary warrior that can't be handled by just anyone. I look at Sylvienne, who's still wiping off the tears of laughter. She surely is a worthy keeper of the mace until it finds its rightful owner. I smile. But a supposition appears on my mind as I stare at her. Is it possible that...?

"Huh? Why are you staring at me like that?" the elf dissolves the thought as she asks with curiosity.

"N-nothing. Guess, I am not the supposed legendary warrior," I say with a smile of resignation.

"Maybe just not yet," she says, intending to cheer me up. "But maybe someday, it'll feel different in your hands."

"Who knows?" She lifts the weapon and spins it around effortlessly as she puts it into its holder on her back. "I've seen many things throughout the five hundred years I've lived," she glances back at me. 

I smile awkwardly at her answer. Huh? I notice a bit of calmness in myself as we stand in silence. Our conversation made me forget about my anxieties for the time being.

"About your way back home," the elf speaks with her soft voice, slightly turning her head, "There's a city on the way towards the central lands. It's the heart of knowledge in the world of elven magic. I can't promise you, but we might find something there that could help us send you back to your world. If nothing gets in our way, we'll be there in no time from Olburg. That is, if you stick with me..."

"Guess I have no choice..." I say as I catch up to her.

A faint smile appears on Sylvienne's lips. 

As she takes a step forward, the elf pushes the branch in front of her to the side, revealing the sky. It's the end of the day. The fiery colors of dusk infiltrate the forest with the horizon separating the earth and the sky like an indigo layer. The last beams of sunlight seep into the silver leaves of the twisted trees, scattering them all around.

"We should get going," Sylvienne turns to me, "I want to reach the city of Olburg by midnight."

Sylvienne starts walking forward. I follow her lead. Our footsteps are muffled by the moss as it forms a soft carpet below us on the narrow pathway. The trees around us stretch tall and wide, hiding the sky above us. A light breeze rustles their leaves, ringing them like tiny bells. Their sound fills the entire forest. A group of fireflies appears near us, giving us their dim light. The atmosphere calms my soul as I follow Sylvienne's every step. She moves swiftly on the carpet of moss, carrying herself proudly. Suddenly, I am curious. What kinds of adventures has this elf been through?

"What was your journey with Zyron like?" I ask her, breaking the silence.

"It felt long at the time..." she answers, "But looking back, it feels like a fleeting minute."

"A minute, huh? I guess after living so long, time seems to fly faster."

"Indeed. I was at the beginning of my life at the time, so it seemed like a long time."

Just how long does an elf live?

"It wasn't just me and him, though. Although he was the backbone of the party," she pauses, "Steiner, the dwarf, also joined us. He was a stubborn alchemist who would only work with platinum. Others would mock him for that. But once, we would have almost died in an acid pond in one of our fights against a demon if it wasn't for his platinum-based technique."

She brushes her hand on a large-leaved fern as we walk.

"There was also Adler, the human mage. Normally, humans don't engage with magic. Just like elves do with warriorship. Humans would often laugh at him for his ridiculous appearance when we arrived at a village," she continues with a giggle. "Now that I think of it, he really was a ridiculous fellow. But his spells were necessary for us to purify the world from the demons."

A human mage... Could I do that too? I shake my head aggressively. No, no, no, no, no. I must get home!

"We even had a vampire on our side, Gerome. Most wouldn't trust his kind. Well, not that we had known it from the beginning, he disguised himself as a human. It was only revealed to us that he was a vampire when he sucked the blood of a demon that he defeated. He couldn't stand not trying it," she moves another branch to the side as she speaks. "Most wouldn't trust his kind. But Zyron did. His attitude towards him never changed, even after he revealed he was a vampire. He noticed the noble intent in him, despite his deceitful behaviour. Gerome was sharp and knowledgeable. Vampires are kin to demons in some way, so it was helpful to have someone like him on our side."

The mention of vampires makes me feel a bit uneasy. I'd better watch out for them if I'm gonna stay in this world for a while.

"We were an unlikely group," she says with a bit of reminiscence in her voice. "First, I myself was sceptical about Zyron's beliefs. But he managed to prove that unity was possible. Soon, elves, dwarves, humans, and vampires from all over the world took up arms on our side to fight against the tyranny of the demons. In the end, Zyron's dream came true. Even though his life was just a blink in the grand scheme of history, and the unity broke up after his passing, his name is still revered among the four races," she turns to me with a smile of determination, sliding her hand through the hilt of the mace on her back, "And I shall find his rightful successor, who may do so, once again."

Their oddity brought them together. If they could find their way, perhaps I could, too.

I glance at Sylvienne, her expression quiet but resolute.

"You really believed in him, didn’t you?” I ask softly. “In his dream."

The elf halts and crouches, slightly tilting her head forward, hiding a part of her face behind the armor.

"He was a fool," she murmurs under the heavy armor, "But just the kind of fool the world needed..."

Sylvienne raises her chin. As she ponders, she notices something emerging in the distance between the dense silver foliage of the forest. It's a tower.

"We've arrived," she says. "The city of Olburg."