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Right foot, left foot. Right foot again. Stop, catch your breath…1...2...3...Left foot, right foot. Left foot again...How long have I repeated those same words? Not enough for me to get to the other side I guess. I’m literally walking on snow, barely distinguishing up from down, the cold wind felt like needles on my face and my movements slow and clumsy. Everything hurts.Waiting in my home village almost seemed better than freezing to death, almost. Had I stayed there I could have been sleeping in a bed, alongside a fire and warm food in my stomach, sitting in my workshop until the invasion occurred.Staying put until the very last moment seemed as a more logical choice than crossing the human kingdom and playing explorer in unknown lands, all in search of a half-made legend.Some months ago, when a man visited the small village I lived in. He’d tell to any that would listen about Arus, a peaceful land where tens of thousands of magical creatures had been living with no contact with humans for generations. That same man was quite old and stained with hallucinating berry juice, so no one bought it. Still, he gave me a map, which I kept.Not too long after that, the capital fell to an invasion, and so did every important city within miles, farmlands and food routes were assaulted with frequency, the few villages brave enough to combat the attackers were slaughtered. All big cities were total chaos and the massive number of corpses caused illnesses; of course, this also caused medicine shortage. There was little to be done as we heard how the entire kingdom crumbled.It was an impulse, more than anything else. If I die, might as well die after sating my curiosity, or something like that crossed my mind as I packed everything I could, map included.Crossing the chaotic kingdom took me months, and being honest, I doubted even the Ancestors could help me cross the Lions Mountain when winter was less than a week away, but my supplies were limited, waiting for spring was simply I could not afford. Dusk passed and a huge snowstorm took place, I'd be frozen and possibly dead by now hadn’t it been for an empty cave I found. A dry, spacious shelter where no predator could attack me, I lit a small fire and ate some food. Feeling blessed. I’m dreaming. But… I know I’m dreaming. The same dream I’ve had for weeks now: I’m standing afront a bonfire many times my size, the flames colors varies from purple to black, then from white to silver; the heat is enough to make me sweat, but I can’t move a finger. A strange dream, but indeed a pretty one.“…You?” The flame spoke. This never happened before.“…Where are you?” The voice sounds distorted and hurt. I’m here, I want to answer, but I can’t talk, either.“I miss you. Please. Where are you?”I woke up What the hell was that?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The visitor
Screams. Fire. Destruction. Chaos.
I’m in the battlefield again. The ashes and smoke prevent me from telling if it’s day or night. Half of everyone I’ve ever seen in my life are nothing but corpses scattered in the floor, and the other half have probably been taken as prisoners.
It’s over now, but my entire being hurts, specially my right arm: it burns so much I want to peel the skin off. I’m soaked in a mixture of Galran and Demi-Dragon blood. My scales have been punctured, my claws damaged and even my horns have taken some scratches. It just hurts so much.
Why? Why do we fight? How long have I fought?
How long until I can get some rest? How many of my people have already joined The Ancestors?
The ground rumbles beneath me. I look behind and see nothing but darkness. And from the darkness a voice emerges as a hand reaches out for me…
“Champion…”
“Aaah…!”I wake up, everything is dark. I can’t distinguish up from down. I’m scared.I try to get out of my tent, my limbs tangle between the blankets. My adrenaline is at it’s top. My breathing raged. Gotta get out of here… Gotta find an exit…Next thing I remember I’m several meters away of my tent. My senses soothe with the night wind, along with the rustle of leaves, and nocturne animals. The bright glassy sky.Everything makes sense now. I finally recall where I am...I’m Shiro, Black Paladin and Alpha Demi-Dragon. I’m also in charge of the Sky quadrant.Recovering memories after waking up from nightmares gave me a solid sense of reality, strong evidence I was not in that hell anymore.It was all in the past.I take a deep breath and a good look at the sky to know the time: at least three vargas until dawn, and no more than two phoebes and a half for my transformation. Better visit Trigel, just to make sure I wouldn’t repeat ‘The Accident’.I hear some rustling from behind and quickly turn around. Ready to strike.“Who’s there?” I know there’s something in there… I stay still, bared fangs and fighting stance. My blood boiling with a natural Alpha protective instinct.“Chill, it’s just me” A figure emerges from a bush and approaches, I recover my pacific self after recognizing him.Keith. My best friend for nearly twelve deca-phoebes and former right-hand. We’re still not sure of his species, except that he’s an alpha and could be related to a night-class creature. His indigo eyes, pale skin, stealth and attack maneuvers resembled lots of nocturne animals. But when he isn’t training or attempting almost-suicidal challenges he makes sure all the torches of this camp are lit and the campfires are providing enough heat for the families.“I heard a scream, is everything alright?”“Yeah, is just…”“The nightmares got you again. Didn’t they?”“Keith… listen”“Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. But remember, if you want some release. I’m still here” I want to tell him I’m fine or just avoid the conversation, maybe even roll my eyes at him, but-“Shiro” Another voice calls me out.Allura. Daughter of the Red Paladin, head of the Altean guard, and one of my most trusted comrades. Some people thought of her as someone who got her position by family favoritism. But the reality was different.“Your presence is required.” She announces“Is it a security-related matter?” I ask, I want to go back to sleep again and I’m not in the mood to get dragged at night hours for nonsense.“Yes, and it’s important” She glares at Keith for a while, and he gets the message.“Fine then, I’ll go back to sleep. Tell me if you need help” He replies, and then leaves. Something tells me the latter was for me.“Shiro. Please follow me. Don’t ask questions until we arrive” I did as she said. As an Alpha, she hates being questioned about her motives or orders.The awkward silence was not enjoyable though, and I decided to take a good look at my surroundings, to at least get some hints of our path.It seemed like we’re moving to the northern part of the camping. That’s odd, Blaytz is in charge of this quadrant, not me. I’m not even supposed to be here unless there’s an important reason. If anyone sees me and spreads word there’s simply no way he wouldn’t know by tomorrow. And the last thing I wanted was to explain what was I doing with Alfor’s daughter in one of the loneliest, furthest parts of the Arusian lands.From here, I could see part of The Lions Mountain, covered in snow as always. I can’t help but remember how we used an avalanche in a battle strategy, and how the melted ice turned into a small lake which still prevails and even grows during the rain season.Suddenly, Allura stops and looks for something in the rocks. Are we there yet?“Before starting, do you hear anyone nearby?” She asks, almost whispering.I pay attention to my surroundings. Hear nothing and shake my head in denial.“Good. It’s here” She points at a nice-sized fissure and slides in to enter. “I already asked for a guard to come here in case anything happened, it should arrive anytime soon” I hear from her, the voice bouncing on the walls.I haven’t seen Allura this stressed in a while. I don’t think I’ll like whatever this is.The fissure widens little by little, ending up in an incredibly tall cave, walls completely covered by ivy, a small hole in the ceiling lets some moonlight in, drawing shadows and white lights.“Allura, what’s going on?” I ask, already disturbed by the lack of information.“You must promise to not overreact”“I promise. Now would you please tell me now what’s so important you dragged me out in the middle of the night without ever telling me anything?”“Sorry about that, but it was necessary” It better be. I’m tired. She goes to an ivy fenced corner.“One of my guards was on duty, she got too close to the northern frontier and found something… highly disturbing” “A Galra soldier?” I ask. Oh no… Please not again.“Even more rare” She moves the ivy out of the way so it reveals a body.I get closer to get a better look, kneeling next to it. I expected to see horns, fur, scales, feathers or a bitter scent, but I got nothing.“A human?” I look at her, then back to them. “But how?”I inspect him, male, young-looking, light brown skin, maroon hair, long eyelashes, half-frozen clothes made of leather, pointy nose. “How did he get here?” And why? “It happened some vargas ago, one of my soldiers was on duty and heard something, she got closer to get a better look and… found it”I don’t know what to say. I don’t even know what to think. The Lions Mountain is known for being so incredibly cold and dangerous many magical creatures cannot get too close without risking their lives. Only well-trained Galra soldiers have been able to climb such terrain and live to tell, thanks to their dense fur and sharp instincts. But he’s human, what does he have? More important, the nearest colony is on a week-long road.“Shiro are you alright?” I feel a hand in my shoulder, Allura’s voice bringing me back to reality. It takes me a while to process her words, though. “I’m just… quite disturbed about this” I say, standing up “Is anyone else aware of this?” She waves her head.“I wanted to tell you first”“I see” I take a deep breath, still shocked.The human shivers in the floor, the movement is weak and involuntary, he may be dreaming.Or having nightmares.“We inspected his possessions a while ago. He carried many metallic tools, but none of them were weapons, he also had little food and water. So we don’t think he’s an assassin” I know what her words mean: Assassins know better than trying to infiltrate unknown enemy territory without proper climbing equipment or enough supplies.“This led us to believe he fainted due to low oxygen, cold or mere weakening”“If he fell from such place, then he may be injured. We should tell Trigel about this”“Are you sure?” I turn to face her explain myself.“If there’s anyone that can save a human from freezing or malnourishing to death, it’s her. We’ll need him to be alive to obtain answers”“What if he’s a spy?” A spy. It wouldn’t be the first time.“We’ll see when we get there, our priority is to transport him to the infirmary as soon as possible. We don’t know how long has he been unconscious.”I pick up the human and carry him over my shoulder. Allura chose to lead the way and making sure no one would spot us, it’s understandable as Altean guards go on night patrols and it would be far less suspicious than seeing the Black Paladin so far from his terrain. Still, that didn’t mean I wasn’t alert; many creatures of the Water quadrant are known for being expert gossipers, if someone managed to get our scent the rumor would run trough the entire camp in less than a full quintant.It was a long way to the Forest quadrant, Allura was spotted and had brief discussions with nocturne creatures while I hid many times, but we eventually arrived to the infirmary. The place Trigel and many of her assistants lived and worked in. I hid Adam in the bushes, if anything went wrong, I’ll just take him away with me somewhere safe.“Goodnight Shiro, Allura” She greeted us, her voice sounding as calm and rational as always. She was awake, it’s not that surprising: Dalterians see and hear considerably better when it’s dark. Just like I feel whenever the stars align.“Trigel, we need help”“Of course you do, you wouldn’t be with the Black Paladin at this early varga if you weren’t, I assume it is important” She grinned and stood up from the chair she was sitting in “What’s the story?”“A human has entered Arus” Allura said briefly. Being totally honest I wasn’t expecting her to be so direct, but then we don’t have lots of time.“A human? How?”“He tried to climb the Lions Mountain and fainted. He’s freezing and incredibly weak, we thought you could help him”She closed her big eyes for a while, maybe it was just a few ticks, but it felt like doboshes for me.“Can I see him?”“I’ll go” The words came out of my mouth before I could help it and returned with half of his body over my shoulders, I let him down in an empty cot Trigel pointed at.“His clothes are still damp, how long has he been unconscious?”“We don’t know, one of my subordinates found him at dusk.” Trigel unbuttons his coat and places a hand over his chest, then proceeds with the wrist and neck.“His vital signs are below average. Nothing I can’t handle, but can you see this?” She’s pointing at his legs, one of which is twisted in a weird position “He’s injured, and if he really fell from that mountain I’ll better check him thoroughly to make sure he doesn’t have any hemorrhages or broken bones”“So he’ll recover?”“Of course he will. But it’ll take him two or three days to wake up. Until then, I’ll feed him medicinal tea”“Could you tell us when he wakes up? We’re full of questions”“Of course, but more importantly: Shouldn’t you tell the rest of the Paladins what’s going on?”“There’s nothing to say, he’s harmless”“Then, you should have no problem at all explaining your own father what is keeping me so busy I won’t be out for today” Allura gets mad at the snap, and I step in to avoid a fight.“What she means, Allura. Is that the Paladins should know there’s someone new in the camp.“Arus is full of refugees, why should we make a big deal out of one more?” she insisted.“Many deca-phoebes ago, an outsider secretly visited us many times. How did that turned on?” Trigel remarks. A guilty sensation pinches my gut.“Fine” Allura sighs “We’ll let them know in the next Meeting”“Good. I’ll keep him hidden from the rest in the meantime. I’ll let you know when he’s ready to talk”“This means a lot, Trigel-”“Thank me once he’s completely healthy. Allura, take Shiro to rest before he falls asleep right here, I can’t take him back to his tent and cure this human at the same time”“Sure” She answers with a giggle “We’ll leave now, goodbye”“Goodbye”We exited the infirmary, the sky tells me there’s still half and a varga left before sunrise. Good, I can rest some more, maybe without nightmares this time.“Sorry for dragging you all the way here”“I understand it was necessary. Thank you”“We should get some rest. Specially you” She says, patting my shoulder. Right now, she’s so close I catch her scent: the mixture of juniberries and pine. A strong reminder of Altea.“Okey, goodnight Allura”Keith is probably long gone from there as well.I just want to sleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
3
Meeting the Prisoner
When I wake up, everything is dark, and humid, and cold. My arms are above my head and I’m sitting on my legs, with my back bended to the point my head touches the wall behind me. It was difficult to get in a more uncomfortable position to sleep.
*Cling*
"Uh...?" But when I try to move, something restrains me. I can't see, I don't have my glasses on. . . Not like it would make much difference in this darkness. Well. . . Guess I have to use every other sense my body still has. Won’t be the first time.
*Cling*
It’s chained to a wall, possibly metal, and it's been around my wrists long enough to make some scratches. Ugh I hope it doesn’t get infected.
*Cling*
I’ve also been divested of my coat, shoes and gloves, that’s why I’m so cold. Also, I’m thirsty. “Is he awake?” “It seems like. That, or he’s having nightmares” Two voices, both seemingly female, speak not too far from my position. I remain quiet to get any sort of information. “Should I shake him or wait?” “It’s been nearly two quintants. Shake him” It isn’t until I perceive heavy footsteps getting closer that I realize the he they talk about is in fact me. I sit as straight as I can, as I don’t want unknown hands on my sore body. *Cling cling cling* The sound of my shackles is enough for they to stop. “General, he’s awake” “Good” Whatever this is, I don’t like it. I feel defenseless, like a deer in front of a bear. “What are you doing here? Are you a Galra Spy? How did you get past the Lions’ Mountain? Are there more with you?” I open my mouth to say that I don’t know what any of her questions mean
*Cough cough*
Ouch. Is my throat so dry I can’t even talk? How long was I out?
*Cough cough*
The coughing sends pulses to my head. It hurts and makes me dizzy. “Whe. . .re. . . am. . . I” The words come out of my mouth in slow motion, I cough twice right after saying them. Complete silence for nearly a whole minute, I wonder if they even heard anything. “Hira, go with Trigel and ask for medicine” A third voice, this one male, speaks. “As you order” One of them. . . Hira he said? Walks away “Is it safe? We need information first” “He’s too weak to talk. I’m also nervous about this but we need to remember he’s not an enemy until proven” He explains, and then adds “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye here for as long as necessary” They talk between each other for a while, from what I heard, it seems like I’m some sort of prisoner in quarantine. Whoever they are, they seem to have a high status, judging their way of speaking, almost as giving orders, rather than receiving or having them. Something, I don’t know exactly what, intrigues me about the male. I also notice the distinctive accent the woman has. I heard more footsteps after a rather long while. “Thank you. That’s all for today” The man says, his footsteps and voice get closer to me, I get nervous and shrink back when I perceive hot steam on my face. “Be calm, it’ll help you” He says, but I shake my head and keep my lips shut, crawling back until my back hits a wall. “Plug his nose up, he’ll have to open his mouth” The woman with accent says. The sole idea of getting force fed scared me, and I wasn’t going to just drink whatever he had for me, what if it was poisonous or something? “Maybe there’s another option” He says, his voice doesn’t contain the slightest hint of cruelty or farce. Somehow, that scared me even more. “What’s your idea?”
*Slurp*
What? What was that? “What are you thinking?” She almost read my thoughts
*Slurp*
The wet noise tempts my throat. But my mind tells me to stay away. Just as a wave of a sweet smell gets to my nose. That smell isn’t like anything I know, I’ve made tons of scented candles myself and it doesn’t match with any. “It’s fine, it’s not laced, it will help you” He says before taking another slurp I still have my doubts, but if he drank from it. . . Well, maybe it’s safe. I open my mouth, just a bit. “Good, there” The man responds as damp sensation reaches to my lips. I blow to cool the piping-hot liquid, and then slurp at it, repeating the process many times. It’s sweet, and really thirst quenching. “Good, good, help yourself” After a while, he tilts the cup, being careful to not spill it, I just continue drinking because Dear Ancestors, the liquid tastes just as good as it smells, and after finishing about three-quarters of the cup I feel considerably better. “I don’t believe it: He drank it all” She says, surprised. “Told you there was another way” He laughs. So that was what he meant. Suddenly I feel a lot more relaxed than I did three minutes ago. Even with my eyes and limbs out of usage. “Tha. . . Thank you” I say. “You’re welcome” I notice kindness in his response. “What’s your name?” “A. . .” I swallow a few times to clear my mouth and speak “Adam” “Adam. Why are you here? And why?” “I’m looking for Arus” I answer. Silence. “The Kingdom I live is under attack. Someone gave me a map. It said it was located past the Lions’ Mountain. I decided to look for it” I talk too slow for my liking. “Are there more with you?” The woman asks. “I’m on my own” I move my head in denial “The place where I come from considers Arus a child tale. Even the man who gave me the map was told to drink hallucinant berry juice. Never did I tell anyone where was I going” “So right not no one knows where are you, except from us” I nod at her words, as not even I know where am I. “And why Arus, of all places?” She wonders once more. From the two of them, she seems to be more curious, maybe even scared. “Most of the kingdom has fallen, even if I moved to other villages, I knew it’d be a matter of time before I had to settle somewhere else. Arus was told to be hidden from all harm, as well as full of magical creatures and humans coexisting. I wanted to see it myself” “But why?” He insists, but gets interrupted “When you were found, you had a bag which contained utensils, some of them metallic. What for?” “I’m a candlemaker, they’re to collect and work the wax, nothing more” They remain quiet for a while, then the man stands up and they get some steps away. They talk to each other, but I don’t really catch much.
- - - “What do you think?” Allura asks, still half suspicious “I don’t think he’s dangerous at all” I answer with total honesty “The way he speaks is nothing like other humans did” She remarks, confused. I shrug. “It’s been many deca-phoebs. And like he said, no one knows where he went. Maybe he doesn’t even know about the Galra” “What’s your point?” “I think we can let him stay” “Are you sure?” “Think about it: Arus is mostly made up by refugees. One more won’t harm anyone” “This one more is an outsider” “But you’ve heard him. He’s harmless. He has nothing to hide, neither do we. Which means we can move on” “Are you saying. . ?” The concerned look in her eyes speaks for itself. I nod in response and we both exit the cave. - - -
Time passed on a blur after that, one more came and gave me the same liquid I drank before, I didn’t oppose: It was the only source of energy and warmth I’d had access to until Ancestors-know-when. I never really knew what happened to the people who talked to me or where did they go, but with my body sore from lack of movement and the compromising situation I was in I had other problems. I figured out to count how many teas was I given to drink to not lose my track of time even more, and to remember all those magical stories and legends I’d read throughout my life, to kill boredom.
Third cup, still not signal from those two, I tried to get answers by talking to the person who brought me tea. Nothing. Some people mistake elves and alteans because of their pointy ears, aesthetic physique, superhuman abilities and magic. Alteans are told to be far elfin relatives, but they have marks beneath the eyes, and their magic is way more powerful.
Fourth cup, my legs are getting a bit better and I drank the tea without blowing on it, bad idea. The one who brought me the cup touched my forehead with something cold and metallic, I suspect they have armor. Balmerians were told to live in huge, branched caves and had extremely resistant skin, enough to not get harm from arrows or crossbows. More than once considered as dangerous because of their bright yellow sclera, but they’re in fact pretty harmless, unlike Drazans, which looked like bigger, colored bunnies but were easily scared and would attack at the slightest provocation.
Fifth cup, I can now move my fingers without pain or numbness. I suspect the sun is setting as I hear wind currents, which also means I’m not too far from open fields. I just hope they still give me tea at night or else I’ll get weak once more. Half-breeding between magical species was not unusual. Specially Galra half-breed, as legends said they conquered nearly half the lands and bred almost every omega they had on store.
Sixth cup, I’m getting tired but I don’t want to sleep, I still have so many questions. I’ve tried with snapping my eyes open and sitting uncomfortably, but still it won’t be long until sleep wins. It worries me that I may not wake up in this same place. Some water-class creatures could breathe both air and water, some more breathed air but needed to moisten their skin before. . .
*Tap tap tap
tap
*
Footsteps, I can’t tell whose, echo not too far from me. That’s odd, I just got tea, what are they coming for?
*Tap tap
tap tap
*
It’s still going on. My breathing changes and I soon notice warmth dripping from my forehead.
*Tap
*
It stopped. Except for my own heartbeat drumming on my ears, I hear nothing. I close my eyes and relax my body as much as I can, maybe if I feign sleep they’ll leave me alone. I perceive the raspy sound of wood against rock and then. . .
*
Boof
*
A small wave of heat bursts and a dim light passes trough my eyelids. I want to take a look at whatever is in front of me and ask the very same things I did to the third-cup-someone. “Quiznak!”
*
Taptaptap
t
ap
t
aptap
*
Whoever came and light the torch runs away, taking the light with him. I keep my eyes open for a bit more, still puzzled, before slumber takes over.