Chapter 4: Leaving Home (Part 1)

The cold white emptiness filled Nic's vision. His head, or more accurately in his current state, his entire being hurt. It was akin to feeling sore after a long day of exercising. Of course, he currently doesn't have a body.

"I guess this is what it's like to be dead," Nic spoke as he felt around the area he was in. While he heard his voice, he believed this was just him hearing it in his head. After all, he couldn’t talk since he had no body.

The biggest mystery was why Nic even still had a conscience. He had always assumed that when he died, that would be it. There would be nothing else after that. Yet here he was. Thinking, seeing, and talking. What was next? Was he about to meet one of the gods people always talked about?

“Gods? Death? What are you even talking about, boy?” A familiar voice came from the white room. Not even a day later, Nic was once again hearing the voice of his ancestor, Noah Verilo.

“What? Are you here to guide me into the afterlife in some sort of joke?” Nic spoke into the white void that surrounded him. They were just two disembodied voices speaking to each other in the ethereal nothingness of this space.

“Again, what are you talking about? You aren’t even close to death.” The voice sighed tiredly.

“What? But I absorbed too much Irradiation for my body to handle.”

The voice of his ancestor went quiet. The sound of nothingness deafened the consciousness known as Nic Verilo.

“And then you activated the purification ability in your blood… Don’t you remember this?” When the voice of Noah Verilo finally did speak up again, it asked a question related to something that Nic had no involvement in.

“Purification… ability…?” The confusion in Nic’s voice was strong enough to cause Noah Verilo to groan in annoyance. Nic had no idea what was going on. His plan from the beginning had been to sacrifice himself to save not only Aria but his parents and the rest of the people that lived in S-012. He had no way of activating the purification ability after Aria had unintentionally cut his previous meeting with his ancestor’s memory short.

“You… don’t remember anything that happened in your village…?”

“Hmmm? Well, I remember creating my plan and charging in and executing said plan. But that plan also ended in my death.” Nic responded cooly as the memory of the day played through his mind. If he had his body, he would’ve shrugged at the end, signifying his lack of care and that his plan involved him dying.

The voice of his ancestor went quiet yet again. This time for much longer. Because he occasionally sighed or hummed, Nic thought he was thinking.

“Ugh! Well, either way, the fact of the matter is this, descendant of mine. You’re still alive. Someone must have externally caused your body to go through some huge amount of emotions, even while you were unconscious. That’s the only way I can think of someone awakening another person’s magic. Who it was, and what they did, you will have to find out when you wake up.”

“I’m alive? Are we just in my head again?” Nic had a feeling he knew who had caused him to awaken to his magic, though he was embarrassed to think of the ways that they could have done it.

“That’s right. Now, normally when one awakens their magic, they are conscious and remember how to do it.”

It was a basic magic principle to born magic. Even Nic knew this much, though he was only taught it by Aria while most people would learn it through school. When someone is born with magic, they must first awaken to it before they can use it whenever they want. In order to awaken to one’s magic, one must simply go through a moment of extreme emotions.

For most people, this happened in moments of extreme duress. Events such as watching a loved one die in front of you or wanting to surpass a rival were the two most common moments in which this happened.

“But what happened to me is different?”

“That’s correct. In your case, you were unconscious when your body awakened the magic lying within you. Because of this, your body may remember it in the future, leading to you not passing out for days on end next time. But your mind doesn’t. This means you will have a much harder time remembering how to even activate your magic. You will most likely need to experience another awakening, this time staying conscious throughout it.”

“I see,” Nic thought about what his ancestor was saying. It overall made sense. If he couldn’t remember how it felt to activate his magic, he would most likely need to experience something akin to an awakening again in order to feel what it is like. One thing that Noah said stuck in Nic’s mind more than anything else. “You said that I have been passed out for “days on end”. How long have I been passed out for?”

“Hmmm? Oh, that. Well, us talking is only possible because you are slowly regaining your consciousness. Of course, I’m stuck with you so I don’t know exactly how long it’s been, but if I had to hazard a guess… four days? Maybe five?”

“I’ve been asleep for nearly a week?” Nearly an entire week had gone by since Nic executed his plan. Yet for him, it felt like the blink of an eye. One minute he was surrounded by the murky darkness that was the Irradiation maelstrom that had formed on him. The next he was in the white emptiness that was his mind.

“Yes, and as I said, you should be waking up sooner rather than later. I’ve said everything I planned on saying, so I will leave you to your own thoughts until you wake up. Remember, you will need to experience another awakening to be able to use the purification magic again. I wish you luck and… thank you for doing this… what I could never do.”

In an instant, the white space was devoid of conversation yet again. Nic could tell that his ancestor was no longer there. He was once again alone in the emptiness. Hopefully, he would wake up soon. He wanted to see her again. He wanted to apologize. For everything.

He wanted to see her smile again. To feel the warmth of her hands, to hear her talk again, her sweet voice echoing in his ears.

Nic hoped she would forgive him.

Aria sat on a chair next to her bed. She had brought it in from the eating area so she could stay by his side as long as he was asleep. She had to be the first person he saw when he woke up. No one else could take that hope away from her.

Nic Verilo was asleep on her bed, tucked under the blanket that covered it to keep him warm while his body rested and healed. What he had done two days before had taken a large toll on his body, according to both Mr. Chapman and Rust. Rust had arrived in the former Rad-Town the previous day.

Both of them had spent most of their time meeting with a council of townspeople who were trying to decide the future of the former Rad-Town. No matter what they decided, Aria knew where she would be when the dust settled.

That day, in the Town Center, Mr. Chapman had offered Aria the chance to bring Nic to Sanum with her. He would make sure that the boy would be able to get in, no matter what. When she heard the offer, Aria had been ecstatic.

Even so, Aria turned down Mr. Chapman. She quickly realized that she couldn’t make the decision herself. If Nic wanted to go, he would need to make the decision himself. And Aria? She would go where Nic went. If he chose to go to Sanum, then she would go to Sanum. If Nic chose to go somewhere else, she would go with him. The only place she wanted to be was by his side.

As for Jack Cariatal, the Vision was unable to restrain him properly, and was injured because of it. Aria didn’t know the full details, but Mr. Chapman had told her that the Vision had been in a relationship with Jack. Another member of the Sanum Hunters eventually fully restrained him and took him back to Sanum to face trial. As for Aria, she simply never wanted to see the man again, because of what he forced Nic to do.

A soft knock on the bedroom door took Aria out of her thoughts.

“Come on in.” She quietly called out to the person who had knocked. She didn’t know who it was, and was hoping they weren’t here to bring trouble to the sleeping Nic. She didn’t turn around until she heard the door softly close.

When she did turn around, she found a slightly older woman standing by the door. Nic and her shared a fair few qualities and looked very alike. They had the same murky blue eyes and facial shape overall. The only stark difference between the two was their hair. While Nic’s was Brown and shorter, the woman’s was stark black and quite long. She wore a simple outfit consisting of dark pants and a dark long-sleeve shirt. Her eyes were tinted red, undoubtedly due to crying at the loss of a loved one. In her hands was a folded pair of pants and a shirt.

When she saw her, Aria quickly stood up and gave her a small bow of the head.

“Ah, Mrs. Hea- I mean, Mrs. Verilo. Did you want to see Nic? I can leave if you want to be alone. Just say the wor-” Aria greeted Nic’s mother, fixing herself mid-sentence. She quickly offered to give the woman some space if she wanted. Aria didn’t know how to approach her interactions with the woman after what had happened. However, Nic’s mother didn’t care about any of that. She cut Aria off mid-sentence with a simple, loving, hug.

The embrace caught Aria off guard as her face was buried in the shoulder of the woman. She had been prepared for her to be cold. Prepared to be understanding about the fact that the woman had just lost her husband and her son was in a coma. Prepared to keep her distance if she needed to. And yet all she had been met with was a loving embrace, shattering all of that preparation.

“Don’t be so formal, Kayla is fine.” There was a sweetness in her voice. Hearing it, Aria’s mind raced toward her own mother, who had just passed away. Her body convulsed, growing heavy as she fought back the tears threatening to pour from her eyes. Her hands found purchase in the shirt of the woman who had wrapped their arms around her.

The warmth of the woman threatened to break down the walls she had created to hide her own struggles away from others. She wanted to be a rock for him when he eventually woke up. She thought he would need it. So much would be heaved upon him the minute others learned that he was awake.

“I knew it.” The sweet voice offered a silent whisper. Aria’s body froze. “Just let it all out. No one else is nearby and Nic is still unconscious.”

“What’re you…” One of Kayla’s hands reached up and began stroking the back of Aria’s head, stopping her mid-sentence.

“Wendy… your mother, she sacrificed herself to save you, didn’t she?” Aria tried to push herself away from Kayla, but the warmth from Kayla’s arms held on tight. “And then Nic tried to sacrifice himself to save everyone in the Rad-Town, including you.” Aria struggled against the weakness in her legs that continued to grow as Kayla spoke. “You went through a lot that day. Maybe even more than what I saw you go through. And you have kept it all in since then. Just let it out now.”

The gates snapped. The walls crumbled. Aria fell to her knees as the tears came rushing out. She buried her face in the collar of the woman who quietly sat there, supporting her. The two stayed like this until Aria had no more tears left to shed. When she finally calmed down, Aria scooted back a bit and quickly bowed her head.

“I’m sorry.” Aria didn’t know why the apology had left her mouth. It sounded hollow, even to her. When she lifted her head again, Kayla’s lips were turned into a soft smile. Kayla reached out and cupped part of Aria’s face with her hand.

“There’s no need for you to apologize, Aria. As long as you want to stand at Nic’s side, you’re already a part of our family.” Aria’s face grew hot after hearing that and furiously shaking her head. She stammered trying to give a response only to hear a small giggle coming from the woman in front of her, stopping Aria.

“Mrs. Ver-, uh, Kayla is something funny?” Aria cooled down as she asked the question.

“It’s nothing. You just remind me of my younger self. I guess Verilos really have some pull that affects certain people.” Kayla Verilo, Nic’s mother, stood up, grabbing the pile of clothes that had dropped out of her hands earlier. She put them on the bed next to the sleeping Nic, a small smile passing on her lips as she gently stroked her son’s forehead. “These are a fresh change of clothes that Mrs. Carnie made for Nic. When he wakes up, please make sure that he changes into them.”

“Mrs. Carnie… made them…?”

“Mhm. She said it was thanks for Nic saving her husband. What he did in the Town Center… He absorbed the Irradiation in everyone, including Mr. Carnie.” Kayla continued stroking Nic’s head as she spoke.

“Does that mean…?”

“Mr. Carnie has been cured of his Irradiation Sickness.” A small chuckle escaped Kayla’s lips. “To think that an ability that wasn’t supposed to appear in our family for another two centuries would appear within Nic. Samuel and I, always tried to talk Nic out of his ideas of gaining this ability. We knew the level of despair that it would bring when Nic would be unable to reach it. After all, Samuel was the exact same way when he was younger.”

Nic had always complained to Aria about his parents when they had spent time together. Every day he came bearing tales of a new argument that they had. And here his mother was, explaining their side of the story.

“So you did all of that… because you didn’t believe it was possible? But why did you think that?” Aria was confused about one thing. As far as she knew, the book only ever stated that they needed to go to the place where their ancestor had lived. It had never stated the 500-year requirement.

“Aria, why do you think that Samuel and I set down here?”

“Huh?” Kayla finally stopped looking down at her son and turned to face Aria once again.

“Samuel and I were born in a village to the East of here, at the base of the World End Mountain range. We came here to visit the building that was specified in the journal. There we met that Dwarf, I think his name was Rust, who told us about the time requirement.”

“You’ve met Rust before?!”

“So you met him as well.” Kayla lowered her head. “It was because he told us what he did that we decided to try and keep everything from Nic. But despite that, he managed to do all of this. And you were at his side the entire way. If I had to guess, you had something to do with why Nic managed to do it.”

Aria shook her head and put up her hands to stop Kayla. She knew the truth. She had nothing to do with it, no matter how much she had tried to train Nic. Everything was thanks to the Wind Spirits.

“I, sadly, had nothing to do with it. Nic was able to do all of this because the Spirits agreed to help him out.”

“Spirits?”

Aria nodded before whistling and holding her hand out above the blanket covering Nic. It quickly began to shuffle a bit before stopping again.

“It’s alright, she’s Nic’s mother, she won’t hurt you.” The blanket wiggled again before a small green blob flew out from underneath it. It floated up and landed on Aria’s hand. Ever since she had poured her magic into the little blob, it had been more than happy enough to float around her while Nic was unconscious.

“That’s… a Spirit…?” Aria nodded her head as Kayla asked about it.

“To be specific, this is the wind spirit that has been lending Nic its strength. Because of it, Nic was able to gain the abilities of the Verilo bloodline two hundred years early.” Aria held out her hand, and the spirit with it. Kayla slowly put out her hands and the spirit jumped from Aria’s and into hers.

“You’re the reason?” Aria was sad to admit that she was a bit afraid that Kayla might try something rash. But her fears turned out to be unfounded when she saw a few tears fall out of the corners of the woman’s eyes.

A creak came from the other side of the only door leading into the room. Hearing it, Kayla quickly put the Spirit down on top of Nic’s chest. It sat there, seemingly confused at why it had been put down. It tried to float back up into her hands, but Kayla quickly turned around and took a step toward the door.

“I should get going now.” In the blink of an eye, Nic’s mother had her hand on the door, ready to open it.

“Ah- Kay- ahem, Mrs. Verilo… One more thing.” Aria reached out her hand instinctively. She wasn’t sure why, maybe she was trying to stop the motherly figure in front of her from leaving. Maybe it was the question burning in her chest, hoping for an answer.

“Again, just Kayla is fine, Aria. What is it?”

“Mr. Chapman, he has a plan…” Aria’s voice faltered. She wasn’t sure how to approach the plan itself.

“Ah, yes. He wants Nic to head to Sanum when he goes back after the funeral, correct?” Kayla looked up slightly as she paused to think. “I think Nic should go. It would be best for him to get out of this place.”

Without giving Aria a chance to respond, Nic’s mother opened the door and walked through, leaving Aria alone with the unconscious Nic once again. She walked over to the side of the bed and sat down. Reaching out, Aria grabbed Nic’s hand and held it tight.

When the emptiness of the world finally gave way to his normal senses, the first sense that Nic experienced was his hearing. Two people were talking near him. One had a sweet voice that Nic would know anywhere, no matter how long it had been since he heard it last. The other was a man’s voice. It was low and smooth, familiar to Nic, yet he couldn’t quite place who it belonged to.

“... to Sanum if he wakes up while I’m gone!”

“Quiet down Aria, or do you want to wake him up already?”

The two of them were in a heated debate it seemed. So much that Aria was raising her voice in exasperation. At least that’s what Nic thought it was. At the very least, he could tell she was annoyed with that little bit alone.

“Aria, I’m leaving in two days. A decision has to be made by then. Would it not be most beneficial for Nic to hear the details of my offer as soon as he wakes up so he has the most time to decide for himself?”

“You! Huh? Lil’ Spirit? What are you doing? What’s gotten into you? Why are you so excited?” As she was speaking to this “Lil’ Spirit” Nic suddenly thought of the lesser wind spirit that had been helping him. If the two were the same spirit, then Nic was sure to be outed as being awake again.

Sure enough, as he opened his eyes, the little green blob was excitedly bobbing around above his head. As if it saw him open his eyes, the blob dropped down, landing on Nic’s nose. It seemed to spread out a bit like it was trying to encapsulate Nic. Seeing this, Nic let out a small chuckle.

“Hey there, buddy. Is this supposed to be a hug?”

“Nic!” Hearing him speak caused Aria to ecstatically call out his name and rush over to his side. She threw herself on top of him, wrapping her arms around his head while she pressed it into her own shoulder.

Unbeknownst to the girl, this single action of joy on her part caused immense dull pain to shoot through Nic’s entire body. He struggled to open his mouth to say something, and when that didn’t work, he tried to move his arms only to find them heavier than the heaviest rocks.

“A… Ri… A…” Nic struggled to say her name, his lungs being crushed under the pressure of another person laying on his injured self. Hearing her name, Aria pushed herself slightly off of Nic and looked down at him.

“Hmmm? What’s wrong?” Aria’s hair was pulled into a ponytail with a black ribbon. It was hanging down past her face, the tip of it tickling Nic’s nose.

“Sore… Pain…” Everything around him was getting to be too much. His sore body was in pain as the woman he had spent the better part of the past two years with lay on top of his upper body. At the same time, a pleasant scent was wafting into his nose. But the sweet voice that came out of her mouth made Nic question whether or not the pain was such a bad thing if he got to continue to hear it.

“Huh?”

“And you said you didn’t want me alone with him! The minute he wakes up and you go and immediately cause intense pain to the man!” The male voice from before called out to Aria. Its provocation caused her to fully get off of Nic so she could face the speaker.

A heavy weight on his body lifted itself off. While some pain lingered, Nic finally was able to take a deep breath again and catch his breath.

“See, the moment you get off he finally is able to breathe again.” The man who had been in the room had seen Nic take his deep breath and immediately used it to his advantage. Ordwell Chapman finally walked into view and gave Aria a small flick on her forehead despite the glare she was giving him. For some reason, Nic thought that the two were a lot closer than he thought they should be. “He taxed his body heavily pulling the stunt he did. I imagine his entire body feels like it is bruised currently.”

That wasn’t too far off as far as Nic was concerned. It was actually a fairly good description of the amount of soreness he felt. It also helped explain the dull pain he felt when Aria put herself on top of his upper body. Aria turned back around with a concerned look on her face.

“I’m sorry, Aria, but Ordwell is pretty much spot on.” Nic looked over from where his head was lying to look at the two of them fully. Weirdly, they were in almost matching outfits. Aria, on top of having her hair pulled back with a black band, was in an all-black outfit. It was a style Nic had never seen her in before. A long black dress with a light black jacket covering her upper body. Ordwell was in similar nice clothing, an all-black suit that looked to be of extremely high quality. Even just looking at it from a distance, Nic could tell that it most likely cost a fortune. “What’s with the outfits? Is something happening?”

He saw the change in Aria’s face instantly. Where once she had held concern for him, now only sadness covered her face. Her head swung down, holding itself lower than it had before as she stared at a place Nic could not fathom.

“Before we get to that, Nic I have something I need to talk to you about.” Ordwell’s response drew Nic’s attention.

“Is it about the “plan” you two were arguing about earlier?” Nic was fairly certain that was the case. But what that plan was ultimately was not known to him.

“No! Mr. Chapman, not right now! Not when that is today!” Nic felt something comfortably warm wrapped around his hand. When he looked down at it, he found Aria’s hands there, gripping his tightly. She was shaking while she spoke, no, while she yelled at the two of them.

“Aria, how many times do I have to explain this?! I’m leaving in two days. Nic should know what I want of you two as soon as possible so he can have time to think about it!” The hands gripping Nic’s tightened. She was looking at him, pleading for him to tell Ordwell to wait. Pleading for more time. But it was a plea that fell on deaf ears. Nic agreed with Ordwell. If he only had two days to make this decision, he should know sooner rather than later.

“Ordwell,” Nic could see the pain in Aria’s eyes as she heard the tone in his voice. “What is this plan of yours?”

“In two days, I’ll be heading back to Sanum. When I do, I want both of you to come with me. You will both be let into the city without a problem and promptly put into the magical university in its new year. That starts here in just about a month.”

Nic took a second to absorb everything that Ordwell had said. He didn’t understand why Aria was so upset at Ordwell telling him this now. Wasn’t this a shortcut to exactly what she had wanted? The two of them would go together to the place she wanted to be. Shouldn’t he accept this offer? Isn’t that what she would want?

He did have a few things he wanted to know before he readily agreed.

“First, isn’t getting me into the city going to be a problem? I’m a Verilo, after all. I would imagine the general populace wouldn’t appreciate me being around.”

“Ah, that’s fine. We’ll most likely give you a false last name. Once I give the okay, most people will stand down.” Ordwell waved off Nic’s concerns with a simple motion of his hand and a few sentences.

“What about my mother and father?” Nic knew something was wrong the second the sentence left his mouth. Aria’s hands squeezed even tighter as she continued to simply look down. Ordwell on the other hand awkwardly looked to the side, trying to find something to change the subject with.

Neither of them were prepared for the door to burst open. Standing there was Nic’s mother, in a similarly clad black dress. She had propped herself against the door frame, breathing heavily. Nic could see the red in her eyes even from here, the wholesale mark of crying.

“I heard he was awake!” She stammered to Nic’s side, rushing to hug him when she saw his eyes open. Aria stopped her, shaking her head.

“His body is still sore, physical contact like that causes him pain.” Upon hearing that, his mother edged back a bit before leaning in and placing her lips on his forehead. It caught Nic off guard, as she hadn’t done it in years, but it was still nostalgic to him.

“Samuel would be so proud of you.” Nic’s breathing stopped. Would? Why isn’t he proud now? Nic was confused.

“Would…? What happened to father…?” His mother stood up and looked at Aria and Ordwell, shock clearly on her face before it quickly turned to rage.

“You didn’t tell him!?”

“Kayla, we didn’t have the chance to, we were just about to get to it.” Aria offered up an explanation only to flinch away after looking at Kayla’s face.

“What happened?!” Getting impatient and scared of what they would tell him, Nic raised his voice.

Why was everyone wearing black? What happened to his father?

Nic knew the answer to both. He knew they were connected. But he refused to believe it. He had finally achieved the goal his family had held for so long. It was a goal that his father thought impossible. Nic wanted to hear his father’s voice as he congratulated him. Nic wanted to hear his father tell him that he was proud of him.

“Nic… your father and Wendy, Aria’s mother, were both killed by Jack in his attack on the place,” Ordwell spoke succinctly and without emotion. He stated the facts as he looked away from Nic, unable to look at his face.

Nic tried to say something but his throat had closed itself. There was nothing for him to say. Nothing he could say. Everything seemed to slow down around him as his brain worked overtime.

Maybe this was just some bad prank. Some awful joke that Aria didn’t like and that’s why she had been looking so down, forced into it. His dad was waiting just on the other side of the doorway, waiting to come in and tell him it was all a joke.

It was all excuses.

“Nic…” His mother reached out a hand, but he looked away. Pushing through the pain and soreness, Nic flipped his body onto its side, facing away from the three people at the edge of the bed. He felt his eyes grow warm before something slid down one of his cheeks.

“Did he at least hear about Ordwell’s offer?”

“I told him about it, Mrs. Verilo.”

“Nic… You probably don’t want to hear this, but I want you to take that offer. And I know your father would want you to take it as well, ok?”

Only silence responded. Soon, Nic’s mother and Ordwell left, leaving Nic alone in the room with Aria. Nic heard her bring a chair over and sit down next to the bed. The next second, he felt something warm on his back.

“No matter what you choose, Nic, I’ll be by your side.” He didn’t know if he even believed what she was saying. All he wanted to do was be alone. His body simply wanted to let everything out.

The day after he woke up, Nic had been able to stand up and start walking. With the help of Aria, he had even made it out into her family’s dining area to eat some food. But everyone noted the same thing about him. He felt like a lifeless husk. Since learning of his father’s passing, that’s all he had been like. Aria wasn’t even sure that he had been thinking about Ordwell’s offer. At least not until he told her that night that he was going to take the offer.

And so that brought the two to the morning of their departure, two days after Nic had woken up. They stood outside of Aria’s house, separated and talking to their respective remaining parents. Aria’s father was going over everything with her, making sure she had everything she needed.

“That seems like you have everything.”

“I know Papa. I’ll be fine. I’m just going back to Sanum.” She gave a smile to her father, hoping to reassure him.

“I know, I know. And if you ever need anything from me, I’ll just be a carriage ride away.” Her father gave her a long hug before letting go and turning to the man standing next to them.

“Ordwell, promise me that you will do everything in your power as leader of that City-State to keep my daughter safe. I already lost Wendy, I don’t want to lose Aria as well.” While her father stood sternly, his opponent simply gave a small chuckle and held up his hands in submission.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Kayde. How long have we known each other? Didn’t I used to take care of her for you two when you were out on assignment?”

“Do I need to remind you who sent us on those assignments? Taking care of her was the least you could do after sending us away for extended periods.” Even though Kayde spoke with a scowl covering his face, there was no one else he trusted more to watch over his daughter.

The two had known each other for much longer than Aria had been alive. As far as she knew, the two of them had known each other since Kayde was younger than Aria was now. And her mother had met them not much longer after that. Because of that, when Aria was born she spent a lot of time in the Chapman household. She even had two important friends she had made there.

A young man came up to the three of them and bowed his head slightly. When Mr. Chapman motioned his head, the young man walked over and started picking up Aria’s bags. He quickly took them over to the carriage that was waiting on the main road nearby.

As Aria watched the courier walk to the road, he passed by a stout older gentleman who was heading their way. He wore some worn-down clothes and had weathered gloves covering both hands. Rust-colored hair topped his head, drawing attention away from his completely white eyes. Aria already knew that he “saw” through the small stone hanging from a cord around his neck.

“Mr. Rust!” When Aria called out to the Deep Dwarf both her father and Mr. Chapman turned in the direction she had been looking. Upon seeing the Dwarf, they both gave him a slight nod. Mr. Chapman used the opportunity to walk off to Nic and his mother, striking up a conversation with the two of them. Aria’s father stayed by her, suspicion towards the dwarf in his eyes.

“Ah, Miss. It is good to see you again. Though before you say anything else I must apologize. If I had just told you about the Hunters heading even a bit earlier, some lives may not have been lost.” After greeting Aria, Rust leaned into a low bow as he apologized. Uncomfortable with the gesture, Aria quickly put her hands up to try and stop the Dwarf.

“It’s fine Rust, really. If you hadn’t told me at all, I’m sure there would have been more casualties than there were already. Besides,” Aria looked down at her own hands as she talked. “Mama died protecting me. If anyone’s to blame for her death, it’s me for just standing there.”

“Aria that’s no-”

“Miss you sho-”

Both Rust and her father spoke up at the same time. Aria cut them off with her hands, shaking her head.

“I simply said ‘if’. Mama made her choice, and I have no intention of demeaning it by being sad all the time.” Aria sighed slightly and looked over at the other group of people where Nic was. “I just wish some other people would be like that as well.”

“So the young Verilo is still stuck at the passing of his father?” Rust was also looking at Nic as he spoke. He had yet to actually visit him, in large part due to the mass amount of work he had been handed as soon as he arrived in the town. As soon as the town leaders had found out he could expertly create stone structures quickly, he was put to task turning the once dirt roads into stone ones. He also was in charge of turning the walls to stone. In the future, as the newly formed City-State, named Aric, grew, he would demolish and rebuild the walls, ever-expanding the amount of land protected.

“Mhm.” Aria nodded as she answered Rust’s question. Even if he had started walking again and could talk with people, the death of his father was still greatly affecting Nic. No matter what Aria said or did, nothing changed in him. It was the grief that was suddenly forced onto him. She was unsure if she could even do anything to help him at this point.

“Well, let me see if I can talk to ‘im myself. You go on ahead and get ready for your trip to Sanum, Miss.” Rust motioned towards the carriage before walking off himself.

Aria shouldn’t interfere with the conversation happening there, she knew that. So she looked back at her father once and gave him another hug.

Kayde walked by her side as she approached the carriage. The attendant that had grabbed her bags earlier had also grabbed Nic’s and was busy fastening them to the top of the carriage. The weather was nice, with no clouds in sight. It was unlikely that their bags would get wet and damaged during the trip to Sanum.

“Alright, Aria. Remember that I’m always willing to make time to see you or come visit if you need me to.”

“I know.”

“Don’t get into too much trouble while you’re there, we don’t need another incident like with Jack.”

“Dad, I got it.”

“Oh, make sure to tell Sarman and Yuuki that I said hi.”

Aria was walking up the small steps to get into the carriage while talking with her father. She knew everything he was saying already, he’d been on repeat all night. The two names he said caused her to stop. She found her arm shaking slightly as she thought about the two people who held those names.

“I will…”

She stepped into the carriage before turning around and giving her father a final smile. Closing the door she sat on one of the seats situated on the back side of the carriage. She leaned against one of the walls, letting her mind wander into the deeper recesses of her memories.

It had been six years since she last saw either Sarman or Yuuki. Aria wondered if either of them would even recognize her. Better yet, would she recognize them? Or would they be strangers when they first come face to face again in the future?