Year 2: The Gathering Fires - Chapter 3

150 chapters of The Children of Eris - wow, what a milestone.

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Chancellor Bernaught the Boulder, formerly Bernaught the Haarth-forged, was not the greatest strategist or the wisest monarch in the Free People’s Alliance.

However, he did possess talents that none of the others did and that was his keen discerning eye for the creations and crafts of others. He wasn’t unintelligent, but war reports were not his forte, as he rediscovered whilst reading the documents about the Battle of Oso-ko.

The combined force of heroes and city watch repelled the Scarlett Skulls in a near-wipe out counterattack, but the Demon Emperor’s general Fenrir was strong enough to defeat all of Kayleigh’s team in seconds? He frowned. This does not bode well for our future.

If they’re able to fully master the powers of their Divine Artifacts, then I have no doubt that they’ll shine, but it’s getting them to that point before it’s too late.

“You shouldn’t frown so much, Bernaught,” Queen Dorothy joked with a sincere smile. “It’ll increase the number of wrinkles you have.”

“Not all of us can suck at the nectar of eternal youth like you elves, Dorothy.”

“Oh, pardon me, but I thought you were once quite confident that your handsome charm would last long enough to ensnare me.”

“Don’t bring up moments from my dark past.”

Dorothy giggled as she approached the war council table, taking her seat. At present, only she, Bernaught and a handful of attendants were in the room, for King Alexander and the others were running a tad late today.

“Does the Oso-ko report worry you?”

“A little.”

“You never were a good liar, Bernaught.”

Bernaught huffed. “They have experience, they know their strength and they know their limits, but they haven’t unlocked the full potential of themselves and their equipment. That’s the next stage they need to clear before the Demon Emperor’s full might is thrown at us.”

“If he ever will throw it at us,” Dorothy said. “He might be trying to prolong the war long enough that we’ll all pass away from old age, our heroes included.”

“If that’s how the great continent of Aangapea met its demise, I don’t think I’d be able to rest properly in my grave.”

“If they ever dug you one.”

“My people would.”

“Yes, yours would, as would any other people in the alliance - but I doubt our foe would treat you so kindly.”

“…Then, let us hope that it doesn’t come to that.”

***

“Fenrir?!” Hajime exclaimed.

Kayleigh nodded.

“You’re sure it was them?”

“That’s how she identified herself, Duncan, and…I saw her transform from a wolf into a humanoid.”

“Interesting - so, she’s a shapeshifter?”

“That’s beside the point! Kayleigh fought Fenrir, the Fenrir! The child of Loki that swallowed Odin.” Hajime let out a nervous chuckle as he brushed his hair out of his eyes. “The Demon Emperor has someone like that fighting for him?”

“It’s not just her, remember? King Alexander said that Abaddon the Cruel burnt down the Twin Cities in the east.”

“Wait.” Dread quickly came over Duncan. “Are you saying it’s not just a coincidence?”

Kayleigh shook her head. “Abaddon and Fenrir are both legendary beings from Earth, which means that the Demon Emperor’s other generals might be too.”

“Seriously?! T-then, if he has Fenrir, he could have something like a dragon under his control, like Fáfnir, Jörmungandr or Nidhogg?!”

“Or any other number of beasts and demons from our world. I once heard Kella and Dante talk about someone called Mania too, which means he does have the ability to have actual Gods serve him.”

“Fighting…actual Gods.”

“Well, at the moment, it’s just a hypothesis, but the overwhelming evidence does seem to suggest that the Demon Emperor’s generals originate from Earth.”

“If that’s the case, then why is it those monsters and gods?” Duncan wondered.

“You’d have to ask the person himself that,” Kayleigh said with a shrug. “Either way, the more concerning matter is how indifferent the enemy seems to be about us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Fenrir didn’t bother to finish us off because she said we were too weak, and said she’d kill me when I was a worthy opponent. She even said that the Demon Emperor told his councils not to worry too much about us yet.”

“…Even after everything we’ve done so far, it’s still not enough,” Hajime lamented.

“Sadly, no.”

As Kayleigh trailed off into deep thought, Duncan asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Why did she spare me?”

“Huh?”

“Do you want to die or something?”

“No, Hajime, but, if I were the enemy, I’d want to kill the heroes from another world quickly before they became a threat. Why wait and let us get strong?”

“I thought you said Fenrir wanted you to get stronger?”

“She did, which is what I don’t understand.”

“Maybe that’s just their arrogance speaking,” Duncan suggested.

“Maybe, or maybe there’s something else about our enemy we don’t know yet.”

***

Talon twirled Carnwennan in her hand, staring blankly at the blade as she did.

Again and again, she spun it and remembered the battle against the pirates, of the men she killed, of the blood on her blade.

Yet, despite everything, she felt nothing.

Not disgust, not remorse, nor happiness or joy.

She felt nothing, not even anger anymore.

Of course, after Charledd’s escape, she had said “We should’ve killed him when we had the chance,” to Kayleigh, but that was it.

Why don’t I feel anything?

“Yo.”

Groggily, she looked up and found Dao Chen before her, blank-faced.

“…What?”

“What?”

“How did you find me?”

“Instinct.”

“…Right.”

Talon spun her dagger again while maintaining eye contact with Dao. Dao, on the other hand, had her hands in her pockets and didn’t seem to know what to do with herself.

“I heard about what happened at Oso-ko.”

Talon didn’t react.

“How many did you kill?”

“…No idea.”

“How’d it feel?”

“No idea.”

“…Right.”

“Were you expecting a different answer?”

Dao shook her head. “Just curious was all.”

“…Right.”

Time passed uncomfortably for the both of them, as they both stared at one another, not saying or doing anything.

“So, you can just see through Carnwennan’s invisibility whenever?”

“Apparently.”

Talon let out a small sigh and turned her gaze downwards.

“Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise for it.”

Silence returned at it eventually became too unbearable for Talon. She sheathed her dagger and walked away, not even throwing a goodbye back at Dao as she left.

What was that all about?

***

“The Arts of the Order of Monster Hunters are a great power, but not everyone in the world can use them. They are a rare gift that are difficult to master and even more difficult to learn but, when you do know how to use them, you can have three great weapons at your disposal.”

“Three?” Ewan repeated.

“Your spear, your magic and your Arts.”

“But I can’t use magic.”

“That’s right, but some people can use all three. That said, out of all the summoned heroes, you are the one with the most potential of mastering the Arts,” Dante said confidently.

“I still don’t think I understand how they work.”

“Sometimes, it’s not about understanding something, but rather feeling it. Let me ask you this, do you understand how it is that human beings know how to walk or breathe?”

“I do, actually.”

“But do you need to know those things to know how to do either of them?”

“…Um, I mean, sort of but-”

“Not the theory side of it!” Dante exclaimed. “Yes, we need working legs to walk and lungs to breathe, but we don’t need to know all the scientific reasoning behind it to understand how to walk or breathe, right?”

“R-right.”

“Right. So, when it comes to Arts, it’s more of an instinctive thing that you need to tap into. Rather than try and teach you the theory behind it, it might be easier for you to watch how it’s done first and try to replicate it.”

“Even if I have no idea how to get started on it?”

Dante nodded. “Trust me and try. Now, watch my hand.”

He raised his left hand as Ewan stared at it intently. After a few seconds, it began to shimmer slightly and then, with a mighty thrust of his palm, Dante launched a blade of wind to the side at no particular target.

“Did you see what I did?”

“I did, but I don’t-”

“Less trying to understand and more just trying.”

Ewan sighed a little but tried to do as instructed.

He remembered the shimmering around Dante’s hand, but he couldn’t figure out how to bring it to life.

Do I have to create a mental image, or do I have to try and bring energy from inside of me to my hand or-?

Wait, I’m approaching this wrong.

Back in Oso-ko, I wasn’t even really paying attention while I practiced and managed to generate some energy around my wrist. It was basically negligible, but it happened. What was I doing differently back then?

I saw flashes from my past life, but what was I doing before that?

I was just practicing and thinking about the Arts and then it happened.

…Do I ever think this much before walking or talking?

I think about what I want to say and think about where I want to go, but that’s not the same as actively thinking about it. I don’t have to tell my legs how to step every time I do - I just do it.

When Ewan reopened his eyes, he looked down at his left wrist and saw it shimmering faintly.

“I did it, but…how?”

“Don’t worry about the how - just focus on the end result, or else we’ll be back to square one.”

***

“It’s unanimous.”

“Well, that was to be expected.”

“I do wonder if they’ll be ready in time.”

“They’ll have no choice, Lord Akechi. If they’re unprepared, then they’ll die.”

“I believe the metaphor of a drowning man learning to swim might be appropriate here.”

“Keep your cruel comments to yourself, Hiiragi.”

“…Do not address me so casually, Bernaught.”

King Alexander clapped his hands loudly twice. “Getting back on topic, we must now decide where we shall make our preparations. What do you all think?”

***

“Meow.”

The cats meowed back at Fala’s imitation, making the young hero smile in bliss.

True to her word, once Fala returned to Rhodes, she immediately bought some cats as pets. Originally, she had only intended to buy the one, but she couldn’t bring herself to separate the two young blue sister cats from one another, and so took them both home.

Then, she spent most of her allowance on cat toys, beds, food, accessories and other things from the most expensive stores in the city.

If Fala had the choice, she would spend all day in her bedroom playing with her two little princesses, but duty often called her away. As a result, almost all of Fala’s free time she spent in her bedroom, with the door locked and the windows shut, playing with the cats.

She lay down on her bed and the elder sister, Roxy, immediately climbed onto her stomach and curled up into a ball.

“This is Heaven.”

A knock at her door interrupted her paradise.

With no other choice, Fala stood up and opened her door.

“Hi!” Elysa cried.

“…What?”

“I don’t suppose you know where-Oh, oh!” Elysa excitedly entered the room, startling Roxy and her sister a little. “Are these your cats?”

“Don’t frighten them.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Elysa smiled softly. “I just didn’t know you’d got some cats.”

“Of course, I did. Why else would I spend so much time in my room?”

“You might have been doing what Stephanie does and losing yourself in research, or you could be like Trevor and be cowering away in your bedroom.”

“Is that why you came here?”

“No. I was going to ask if you’d seen Kayleigh, but.” Elysa laughed. “I’m guessing the only people you’ve seen are small and feline.”

Fala nodded. “Do you like cats?”

“I adore them.”

“Then, do you want to play with them?”

“Can I?!”

“…Inside voice, please.”

“Right, sorry.” Elysa giggled. “What are their names?”

“She’s Roxy,” Fala said, scooping said cat easily into her arms, petting the feline gently. “She’s the older sister - the one over there trying to stay as far away from you as possible is Nala.”

“Nala and Roxy - hmm, I like it. Did you name them yourself?” Fala nodded. “Very nice choice.”

Slowly, Elysa approached Nala, making sure not to make eye contact, but also keeping herself low to the ground, trying to make sure the cat didn’t consider her hostile. Eventually, Nala started rubbing herself against Elysa’s leg and the two started playing together not long afterwards.

“Did you ever have a cat?”

Elysa shook her head. “My parents never let me,” she said sadly. “They said I didn’t have the time for one, so they refused to ever even consider the idea.”

“Why not get one now?”

“I considered it and, after meeting these little cuties, I’m absolutely going to tomorrow the second the shops open.” She scratched Nala’s neck which the cat greatly enjoyed. “I’m surprised you got two and not one. Weren’t you worried it’d be too difficult to take care of both at once?”

Fala shook her head and beamed. “I didn’t want to separate them. They’re sisters and…” She trailed off, staring deep into the round eyes of Roxy.

“Happiness is often quite a frail thing,” her mother once tried explaining to her, just after her sister returned home from a terrible date. “Your sister didn’t mean the things she said; she’s just upset and needed to express that. Don’t take it to heart, Fala.”

But she did. Fala shut her eyes and put her forehead to Roxy’s.

Abey, why did you-?

Just before the tears started to fall, Fala remembered that she wasn’t alone and, in a panic, glanced over at Elysa. Like always though, the other girl was still smiling in the same manner she always did.

It wasn’t forced or sympathetic, but it was gentle and reassuring.

“I won’t ask. You did once tell us how you died, but I will not press you and make you uncomfortable.” Elysa put Nala down, gave the cat one final pat and then made her way to the door. “After all, we all have our own secrets.”

***

“Then, we’re agreed. The Great Invasion will take place in the south-east and the Dread Keep will fall before the year’s end.”

The other monarchs nodded at King Alexander.

“We have a lot of work to do and not much time to do it in.”

***

Ten minutes before midnight, Kayleigh snuck out of her bedroom and discretely made her way to another girl’s room.

The castle was all but silent with few lights left on or candles burning - it was the exact same environment she saw every night, but she no longer had to be as careful as she did once upon a time.

During the first month they were at Rhodes, Duncan also left his room in the early hours of the morning to see Dame Chelsea, but he no longer ventured out at such times.

Carefully, along the route she always travelled, Kayleigh arrived at the door and didn’t even bother to knock, quickly opening and closing the door behind her.

Inside, sat with a small smile on her lips, was Akane.

It was a meeting that no one but the two of them knew was taking place.

A meeting they had held nearly every week since they’d first arrived.

“Welcome.”