|| Book One of the Dragonkind Duology ||
𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙛 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙩; 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣.
For years, dragonkind and humankind had been at war, alternating between short-lived truces and all out...
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The night was clear and surprisingly warm for the time of year, fortunately for them, as they had settled for the night much too far from any towns or villages. They traveled down a path through the less inhabited part of Ormath. Noctifer had insisted it, once again. Darin scowled at it originally but had stopped outwardly objecting to it. Both had their secrets, and it was now a mutual agreement to simply ignore the fact since both were too stubborn to tell theirs first.
It was Iver's turn to watch and keep the fire going, but Darin startled awake as a scream pierced through the night.
"Argent?!" That was Iver, Darin thought blearily, his mind not quite catching up to the situation.
He heard Iver run to where the boy slept next to him—Argent was not where he should have been when he reached over. Now wide awake, Darin bolted upright, his eyes struggling to focus at first. Argent struggled against Iver, who held him in place to stop him from running, as he reached for something—or someone—who wasn't there.
"Affa—" Argent's voice broke with a sob. "Affa!"
Iver looked helplessly at Darin as he approached, and the wizard stood in front of the boy to get a good look at his face. Argent's eyes were glazed over. He was still asleep.
"What's going on?" Noctifer demanded, now standing near them as well. He reached to shake the boy's shoulder but was quickly stopped by Darin.
"He's alright," Darin said, keeping his voice low and calm and hoping the swordsmen would follow suit. They gave control over the situation to Darin as it was apparent he knew what was going on and how to handle it. Turning his attention back to Argent, Darin continued to hush the boy softly, combing his hand through his hair in a calming gesture. "You're alright, Argent. It's just a dream. No one is here to hurt you. You're going to be alright."
"Affa . . ." Argent continued to hiccup, but he was beginning to quiet down. "Please . . . Don't take him away . . ."
It was another few minutes before Darin had calmed Argent enough to gently coax the boy away from the fire and where he originally slept. But instead of simply laying him back down, Darin settled to the ground along with him, resting his back against a tree and lowering Argent's head to his lap. Although he had never been awake in the first place, Argent curled further against Darin, lightly gripping onto the wizard's shirt as he fully slipped back into a fitful sleep. Iver and Noctifer let out a collective breath, carefully moving around to sit as well.
"Who was Affa?" Noctifer asked softly, not daring to speak any louder in fear of waking Argent.
Darin didn't reply right away; he didn't know. Argent had never mentioned a man named Affa before, but he could make a good guess as to who he was to Argent. That, and what had happened to him to cause such a severe reaction.
"A previous caretaker," he said before admitting, knowing that the statement alone suggested something different from the original story, "Argent was a street urchin when I found him." He grinned. "He actually stole my bag which had mana potions in it. It was near the beginning of the mana shortage, so, of course, I chased him until I got my bag back. I invited him to be my apprentice on a whim when I realized he possessed magic."
"I knew something as simple as teaching a friend's son by request wasn't your style," Noctifer chuckled. Darin only laughed lightly in reply, continuing to stroke the boy's hair. Iver, meanwhile, had been watching Darin carefully.
"Darin?"
"Hm?" The wizard gave him a curious look.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead," Darin said with a subtle smirk, "but I won't guarantee a reply."
Iver smiled at that, not expecting anything less, but his face became serious as he asked, "Do you have any children of your own?"
Darin's eyes momentarily widened in surprise, and his hand came to a halt, simply resting on top of Argent's head. "Why do you ask?"
"I suppose . . ." Iver momentarily trailed off, pausing to collect his thoughts. He remembered Amonis saying he first met Darin as a young man, and it was implied he was already traveling alone by then, but his age was never mentioned, either. Both Amonis and Darin had never stated the wizard's age, so perhaps he was older than he looked. He certainly acted older occasionally in an odd way. Darin's still-inquisitive look caught his attention as the other leaned forward, and he decided to explain his reason for asking. "It is how you interact with Argent. How you treat him and how he responds to it. Guiding him when he is already quite independent. I suppose that is what a mentor does, anyway, but this feels . . . It feels as if you have done this before. Raised a child, that is."
Darin regarded him for a moment before leaning back against the tree with a melancholy smile, casting his gaze up into the starry sky. "I have," he replied after a moment before sighing. "That's all I want to say."
The subject was quickly dropped after that. Neither Iver nor Noctifer needed anything else to know what Darin was implying. It was no wonder the wizard never talked about his family or what happened to him in the past, Iver thought. It was highly probable only somber memories remained. Silence lingered for a long while, both swordsmen still wide awake after the previous event. A storm was rolling through in the distance with the occasional flash of lightning and rumble of thunder. They thought the wizard had since fallen asleep, as he had yet to move, but were proven wrong as Darin asked them a question.
"Do you believe in the afterlife?"
The subject of the question startled Iver at first, but he answered truthfully, "I believe in the Three Tiers: Druuo, Amare, and Eten."
"I as well," Noctifer said.
"There is proof they exist with the Faerie Realm being part of Druuo, where the unseelie feast on the damned." Iver offered, thinking Darin was looking for hope in seeing lost loved ones. He chuckled a bit before adding, trying to lighten the dark subject, "I hope my deeds have been proven good enough for my soul to be sent to Eten."
Noctifer huffed a laugh, following suit in the banter. "Don't be too good, Iver, or you might be blessed to live all of eternity in Amare, ascending to god-status."
"Ah, that sounds more like a curse than a blessing," Iver mused. "Being immortal in this tier sounds lonely."
Darin laughed softly at their conversation, murmuring, "It does, doesn't it."
They all talked idly after that, though only for a short while. With a few more hours before dawn and a long walk the next day, they needed all the rest they could get, fitful or not. Argent didn't remember the events of that night when they rose in the morning, and none of the adults brought it up. Instead, they had a quick breakfast before heading off once again.
The midday sun marked their arrival into Weststar, and they would soon realize the world they knew had ended as soon as their feet passed over the threshold.
