While we were running a bit beyond the usual clearing, something unusual was about to happen.
As we ran a bit beyond the usual clearing, something unusual was about to happen. A strange encounter. The kind of event that seems written by fate, not by routine. Ravenscroft and Leo. Two key figures in my life. Two men who, in theory, shouldn't know each other... but for some reason, they already did.
I always knew it was possible. That eventually their paths would cross. Maybe at a formal dinner, with wine and awkward anecdotes. Something calm. Expected. But as my teacher once told me: "What must happen, will happen... when you least expect it."
And that moment had arrived.
We ran into Leo by chance, in an area where we rarely passed near the lakeside house or any usual path. Both men stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing each other. Their faces were serious, unyielding... but in their eyes, there was something that betrayed them: a spark of recognition, confusion... and perhaps, something more.
Before I could process the tension, Leo was the one who broke the silence.
"—John?" he asked, approaching with steady steps.
"How long it's been since I last saw you, Leonard," replied Ravenscroft, raising his hand to shake his.
And then, everything exploded inside me. A whirlwind of unanswered questions: How long have you known each other? Why did they never mention it? How is it possible that both of them have been in my life without crossing paths... until now?
My teacher, noticing my bewilderment, was the first to say something.
"I have known your uncle for quite some time." We have worked together on some projects... but I never imagined finding him as your relative.
"That's impossible," I said, my voice a little louder than I intended.
Leo, as if he knew that reaction was coming, joked:
—Of course not. In such a big world, you come across more Drakes, Leos, and Johns than you can imagine.
He tried to downplay it, as if it were just another coincidence, something anecdotal. But for me, it wasn't.
"Running before training?" he asked, changing the subject.
"That's right," replied Ravenscroft, without losing his composure.
"I remember when we used to do the same before embarking on a good adventure..." —laughed Leo.
—They were good times —my teacher nodded—. You should train with us one of these days.
—I appreciate the invitation, but... lately, I haven't had much time.
—Are you perhaps getting old?
"Look who's talking," Leo replied, laughing, "an elf talking about old age."
They both burst out laughing. Warm. Accomplice.
As if the years and shared experiences were there, invisible, whispering in their ears.
But while they laughed, I was sinking into an ocean of questions. Who were these men really? What did they share? What secrets were they dragging? Maybe I should have suspected it. Maybe those looks, those pauses... they had already tried to tell me before.
They said goodbye casually, as if nothing had happened. Leo even invited Ravenscroft to dinner at his house that very nite. Curious, because my teacher already had plans to do so. But now... the dinner would have a different tone. For me, and probably for my parents as well.
Maybe Leo would step in and smooth things over with Mom and Dad, as he has done before. "—Yes... that will happen," I told myself, wanting to believe it.
But there was no time to process anything. Ravenscroft intensified the training as if nothing had happened. He was more demanding, less rest, more movement. Maybe he also needed to escape the moment. Or maybe he just didn't want to give me the space to think.
***
At dinner, everything seemed normal.
Too normal.
Dad was smiling as always. Mom was laughing with Leo. Even Thomas, with his boundless energy, didn't notice anything unusual.
Was I the only one who felt that something didn't fit?
I didn't know how to react.
Should I be happy that my two most important figures met? Or annoyed, because they hid it for so long? Maybe excited to imagine all the stories they shared, the adventures of which I might have been an indirect part?
I didn't know. I only had one thing clear: I was confused. And no one seemed willing to explain why to me.
And then, Leo broke the balance with news as unexpected as it was unrelated to the topic, but big enough to silence everything else:
—I heard from a very reliable source that His Majesty Charles plans to completely reform the imperial calendar.
The looks turned toward him, puzzled.
"In five years," he continued, "the days of the week will be reduced from eleven to seven." The months will go from forty-four days to thirty or thirty-one. Even an additional month will be added, bringing the total to twelve. The year will have exactly three hundred sixty-five days.
The silence was immediate. The expressions varied between surprise, disbelief, and fascination.—Imagine everything that will change —he added enthusiastically, raising his glass—. Records, festivities... ages. Drake, for example: with the new calendar, you would already be around seven years old. Not five.
—The new calendar will be known as "The New Era."
That last sentence seemed to mark a before and after. As if suddenly everyone understood that they were witnessing something that would go down in the history books. The conversation then shifted toward the future: the changes, the possibilities, the symbolism behind such a radical measure.
But I could barely hear them.
While the others animatedly discussed what was to come, I remained trapped in what had not been said. In what didn't fit. The calendar could change, the world could turn toward a new era... but I still couldn't understand when my life had begun to transform without anyone warning me.
***
In the morning, once again, my whole body ached. Walking? It hurt. Breathing? A little. How long will it take me to get used to the pain? But there was another kind of pain, quieter... and harder to ignore.
What really weighed on him was the other thing: the persistent confusion about Ravenscroft and Leo. A different discomfort, one that doesn't heal with rest. A mental pain that didn't show on the skin, but throbbed with the same intensity.
Tired of thinking so much, I decided to let myself be carried away by routine. At least chess would demand all my concentration, and that meant less space for unanswered questions. Although, of course, with Ravenscroft... even chess could hurt.
So I met with my teacher, as usual, to continue our chess training. Everything seemed to be following its usual course... until some heart-wrenching screams shattered the tranquility.
—Help! Please!
Instinctively, I searched with my eyes, looking for where they were coming from. I was about to run toward the sound... when I felt a firm hand on my chest. It was Ravenscroft.—Stay here —he said, with a grave and authoritative tone I had never heard from him before.
I froze. Something in his voice brooked no argument.
Ravenscroft advanced alone. The screams changed: they were no longer asking for help... now they were screams of pain. A shiver ran thru my body. In less than a breath, silence descended like a slab over the forest.
When he reappeared, he was helping a trembling young woman, with tears running down her face. The girl could barely stand. The torn dress, the vacant look. She said nothing, but her eyes... screamed. He barely managed to bow before fleeing, his figure disappearing among the trees.
My body tensed. I didn't understand everything... but something in me knew that it wasn't right. That look wasn't one of fear, but something much worse.
My teacher returned to me, his stride firm, but his eyes... there was a contained rage in them, a silent contempt that I had never seen him show. When he was close, a heavy pressure enveloped me. Instinct screamed at me to move away. I took a step back without thinking. He noticed my reaction and, in a blink, the tension in the air dissipated as if it had never existed.
"I'm sorry," he murmured.
I swallowed hard. My voice trembled when I asked, "What... what happened there?"
Ravenscroft exhaled slowly, as if releasing a burden. "That girl was almost attacked," he said, his deep voice laden with an anger he could barely control.
—Attacked? How... attacked, master?— I asked, confused.
For a moment, he fell silent, carefully choosing his words.
—It's a delicate matter, but I think the time has come for you to know the reality of this world. Come... let's talk in a quieter place.
We walked away to the clearing where I used to train in magic. There, under the open sky, the world seemed less oppressive... but the shadow of his words did not disappear.
"Tell me, Drake..." How do you see this city where you grew up? —he asked as he sat on a rock.
I thot for a moment.—Well... more than a city, it has always seemed like a village to me. Small. Without anything really exciting.
Ravenscroft sighed, as if that answer were the one he feared or expected.
"I understand." But you must start to see it for what it really is: a city —He leaned slightly forward, his gaze locking onto mine— You only see the streets you know, the nearby houses… But in the corners you never look at, in the shadows you ignore... things happen that you can't even imagine.
I shifted uncomfortably.
"What kind of things?" I asked, knowing I wouldn't like the answer.
"Do you remember what I told you about the parents of the hero Charles Von Mondragón?" he began.
—Yes, but what does one thing have to do with the other?
—Their union was forced
—Ah, my mother already explained that to me, about arranged marriages. I know it's serious but merely political.
He nodded, but his expression darkened.
"Your mother explained the kinder version to you." Politics was just a facade. The truth is that their union was... forced. In the worst way.
I swallowed hard, a knot forming in my stomach.
—Worse than an arranged marriage? —I whispered.
Ravenscroft nodded slowly.
—She was attacked —he said in a low but firm voice—. When a person is forced to surrender their body against their will... it is the most cowardly and vile act that exists.
I felt my heart pounding hard in my chest. It was such a brutal concept... so foreign to my world of games and training... that I could barely process it.
—Just like that girl today... —he continued— that queen also suffered the same. And in this city, as in any other, there are despicable beings capable of committing such atrocities.
Her voice turned bitter.
"Sorry for taking away a bit of your innocence," he added, "but there's no worse blind man than the one who doesn't want to see." I want you to be aware, Drake. Be strong... and never close your eyes to the truth, no matter how hard it is.
I clenched my fists, a shiver running down my spine. What kind of world was this? How could there be so much darkness in broad daylight? Pain. Confusion. Disgust. I didn't understand it... but now I couldn't ignore it anymore.
—Master… —my voice was barely a whisper—. Did your family... suffer something similar?
Ravenscroft calmly shook his head.
—No. And it will never happen. My race, the elves, do not lack instincts, but we despise cowardice. We do not tolerate acts of that nature.
He fell silent for a moment before adding, more seriously:
—But that's not the only thing you should know... There are more ways in which ambition corrupts blood —he said with a tone that anticipated something equally disturbing— The union between family members
My forehead furrowed in confusion.
—Relatives?
—Yes. To preserve power or lineage, some families unite cousins, uncles, even... parents and children.
The disgust I felt was immediate.
"It's not something we support," Ravenscroft clarified, "but you should know that it happens." That in this world, sometimes, power matters more than love, more than blood, more than reason itself.
His gaze softened slightly.
—In my case... my wife and I are distant relatives. A voluntary choice. A bond of love, not of imposition. But not everyone is that lucky.
He remained silent, allowing me to digest his words. The wind whispered among the trees, as if the world itself respected that heavy conversation.
"The life is not a pretty tale, Drake," he concluded. Not everything will be fair, not everything will be noble. Keep this truth in your heart. Not to lose hope... but to protect it better.
I nodded, even tho my mind was still tangled in the gravity of everything I had learned. Today, my world had suddenly expanded... and with it, the shadow that accompanied it.
—And finally... this is not theory, nor philosophy. If you ever come across swordsmen or experienced adventurers...
"What should I do?" I asked.
—Avoid them. Run if necessary. With your level, no matter how much you advance, you will only reach the advanced rank. For them... that's barely a warm-up.
—What if I don't have a choice?
—Then get ready to die. But do everything possible to prevent that moment from arriving.
And while magic finally seemed to start opening the doors to its world for me... the real world decided to teach me the price of ignoring it.