As the smoke started to wash off from the ground by the strong wind. The elf stood up slowly, eyes full of fury while breathing heavily. She looked around to see the man crushed by the building and the woman stuggeling to get up. However she knew she felt an discomfort in the air, she looked up and there was Ale. Just standing and watching over them as if they were some little ants, his expression stiff but calm. "Figured they wouldn't go out easily." The elf was furious by his stance and dissrespect he was throwing at them. "How dare he? He's just a mortal who barely knows what it means to leave, yet, he he stands. Telling me that I am worthles!" She looked over at the witch. "Will you fight? Or should I consume your mana?"
The witch froze on the spot. "No, no need to get to quick solutions!" She laughed akwardly while shaking. "Then, get up and FIGHT!" She nodded and got up taking a battle stance. The elf picked up her staff and gave Ale a death stare. "Stay here, I'll try to bring him down here, hide somewhere and be ready for an attack!" She nodded quietly as she walked away like a rat. The elf licked the blood coming out of her nose, she smiled and walked back and launched herself just behind Ale.
"Not bad, you needn't call out the spell's name!" She laughed sarcastically, "maybe one day you'll learn this tric too, if you leave for as long as I have." "No, thank you." He looked around the ruins of the building. "Children find my pronunciation of their names funny, I don't want to ruin their fun!"
She laughed again, Ale just spit on the ground from disgust. " 'Fun' with children? They don't know 'fun', the don't even know that they are alive. That's why we use them as fuel, for greater things, for more important matters!" She slowly turned to face Ale, "after all, without us, children would never exist. They owe us their lives!" Ale, without skipping a beat, went up to her and punched her on the face causing her to spin in the air. Even though it hurt, she was laughing by how easy it was to toy with his feelings while being impresed by his power.
"I doubt Cassa had a creature like you as an apprentice. And you calling yourself her student, is the most disrespectul thing you could say in her name." Ale said as he raised his staff, ready to fire again. But the elf's chuckle made him stop just for a second too much. She threw a strong wave towards before he could react, causing Ale to hit his back to smash with the front of the wall. He coughed from the hit and the toxic air that wave had left behind. "The only disrespect she ever got is from herself. She never appreaciated the life of other creatures. Only thing she saw on others was the evilness inside their souls. She considered everybody beneath her," She laughed. "Maybe she was right. Maybe she was right to undermine everybody around her. After all, everybody asked for help, never the opposite. And yet, the fact that a student of hers who has no real understanding of nature of man and magic is speaking about injustices . . ." She laughed again, but this time it felt like a cry for help. "It's ridicolous. Dispite everything, she . . ." She finally lowered her staff and started breathing more and more calmly. "It doesn't matter." Ale kept staring at her as he found strengh to get up while still coughing. She took notice of hm and raised her staff up, "If I ever meet her again, I'll send her your regards!"
Ale and the rest of the group were travelling with Solomon's ship trying to find their way to the pirates that attacked them. While the rest were busy making the ship function, Metus was over the bowsprit looking at the endless blue ocean, blue sky, clouds and listening to the seagulls singing. He just thought what might have happened to those poor men. "Is gold worth more than a human life?" Ale, who made the ship functonal again, took notice of Metus' strange aura and decided to go and ask him. With each step he took the wooden floor made cracking sounds. "What is it little prince? Is the rescue trip not as exciting?" Metus let out a chuckle as Ale sat just behind him. "Everything ok?" He thought for a moment and shook his head. "What specifically is bothering you?" He didn't know what answer to give to Ale. "I think, I hate people!" Ale was taken aback by his answer, especially by the boldness in his voice.
"Why is that?"
"Because they take every opportunity they take just for their own plesure, even if that harms others along the way. How can people be this cruel?" Ale didn't know what to say. Lacking a beard to thoughtfully stroke, he settled for scratching the back of his head instead. Metus continued. "Do you . . .," Ale looked at Metus' eyes, they weren't fueled by anger but by fear. He placed a hand on Metus' shoulder, "go ahead, what do you want to say?" Metus turned around, "when I become king. Do you think, that I'll become like that?" Ale opened his eyes wide, shocked by his response. He then smile and pulled the little prince into a hug. "You get sad by stepping on an ant on accident, how could you ever kill a human?" Metus, whose eyes started to well up like a river, hugged Ale tight. "You really mean it, don't you?" He said i low tone. Ale carressed his hair. "Of course! I contributed to raising you, no? I think I know a child whom I raised for a decade now, or do you think I'm dumb or something?"
They both laughed as Metus started pulling away and started to wipe the tears of his face. "You are right, I guess." Ale raised his eyebrows, "you guess? Well, excuse me your majesty. I'll try to do better!" He said in a sarcastic tone. "No, that's not how I meant it!" Metus blurted out frustarated by Ale's games. As they laughed with one another Solomon called out to Ale. "Ale look, is that cave where we should be headed?" Ale looked towards the direction Solomon was pointing. Even though it was far, far away. Ale managed to get a look of it, he put his hand under his cloack and pulled out a compass with a shining needle which was pointing towards that cave's direction. "Yes continue as you are! We'll arrive in no time now!" He turned to Metus, "don't worry about anything. I promise you I'll always be here to help you, no matter what!" He smiled, "ok. I will do so!
Ale was ejected from the building without difficulty, he hit three houses' roofs before falling on the ground. He laid on the ground just to recharge himself. "Thank god I used my shield spell just in time, this could have turned ugly." He laughed with himself as he held his tummy from pain. He started smelling something, "yummy, it seems like someone is baking . . . hmm. That's weird, it smells like burnt clothing." He looked down at his cloack which was burning slowly. He jumped quickly and tried to stop it from continuing to burn his cloack. When that didn't work, he started rolling on the ground. He looked down, still nothing. "Come on, I don't have time for this . . . ohh, I'm really dumb." He pointed his staff to the end of his cloack and said, "aquam iacere". As the staff threw water to his cloack, the fire started dying out. Leading Ale to take a breath of relief. "That was close . . ." He laughed with himself.
The elf, who was watching from afar, got irritated. "How dare he mock me like that!" With a flickering eye she raised her staff and launched another fire attack, which was much bigger and clourful than before.
Ale looked up and saw the fire coming towards him, he took a quick glance around. "Aquam iacere!" Instead of fighting he decided to fly away from where the fire ball was headed. Which infuratted the elf mage even more whom was throwing fire balls as Ale continued jumping over buildings with the witch chasing him from the ground.
"STAY IN PLACE!" The elf screamed her lungs out. As she burnt every building on her path.
"You need more than that to take me down!" Ale launched himself on the council's building below, just in front of the entrance. The elf was too focused on shooting her fire balls to even see where Ale had gone, so it took some moments for her to understand that Ale had dissapeared. She was standing over the edge looking at the ground, the sceams of the people who were fleeing the city irritated her. The elfe took notice of the witch, who was running towards the council's building.
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" The witch stopped and looked up.
"HE IS INSIDE!"
The elf quickly turned to the small opening that lead to the stairs and blew it up, causing the bricks to fly everywhere and even hit and kill some people who were running for their lives. She threw a firefly to light up the stairs, but there was no sign of Ale. She ran over the edge again and gave the witch a sign to come inside. "This way, he won't be able to get out of here in one piece!"
The witch entered the building slowly, making sure not to take a wrong step that would lead to her dimise. As she walked inside she could barely see, the windows broke from the attacks and were slightly covered by the curtains. She continued walking forward, tilting her head left and right. No sign of him. That was the first time she ever felt vulnable and weak, she knew she was no much for him but her goal was to damage him enough for the elf to finish him off. She was confident that Ale wasn't hiding around here on the first floor so she decided to climb the stairs. Each step she took made a scritching sound that made more anxious, having given enough clues for Ale to locate her. She panicked and started running faster up the stairs and started throwing any spell she could think off. She grabbed another round of stones with her trembling hands inside her cloack. She moved on the halway of the second floor, ready to attack then she heard a voice from above. "You should have checked up the ceiling!" Before she could react Ale threw some magical stones and blew her and the entire second floor up.
The ship was approaching the cave with incredible speed and the crew would arrive there any minute now. Ale is using his magic to boost the ship's speed while Valerious was standing beside him and looking at the young prince. "What was concerning the young prince?"
Ale looked at him then at Metus. "He is afraid."
"By the pirates?"
"No! He is afraid of becoming like them!"
Valerious raised an eyebrow. "Why is he afraid? As a king its only logical that he will go on to do this!"
Ale laughed akwardly. "Come on, Val. His father isn't like that, why will he be like that?"
Valerious turned to face Ale. "Is that so?"
The two locked eyes together. Ale's smile fading the more they held eye contact. "Our king is a good man!"
Valerious laughed mockingly. "Tell me, old friend. Why is he a good man?"
Ale looked down at the floor, trying to find reasons why their king was a good man. "Well, he treats all his servent with respect-"
"So you think people like me and you don't deserve his respect?"
He shook his head. "No, no. I was just giving out reasons as to why-"
"Then you shouldn't mention the bare minimums. In addition to that. I am his advisor and you are his son's mentor, had he not showed us some respect, who would even be 'respected' by him"
Ale let out a sigh. "Why do you think he isn't a good man?"
"Simple, he has profited by the discremination of the system that his family set up! He knows it, his 'kindness' is just an act so the people don't revolt and start to feel more connected to their dear king!"
Ale laughed again while scratching his nose. "You are hilirious sometimes, you know that?"
Valerious remained silent.
"And what? Metus will be a bad king?"
"The young prince? Not if you and I continue to raise him!"
"Me? How have I helped?"
Valerious smiled. "Dear Reemptio, I believe you know what you've given him. The comfort he finds on you, he can't find even find with his own father!"
The ship was just inside the cave. "Well, we will continue this discussion later." He patted Ale as he went to be besides The king and the prince.
"Yeah, I don't think so." Ale said as he stopped his spell and got ready for a brutal fight.
As they entered the cave, the crew could sense an uncomforting aura flying on the air. The guards and Ale were already in attacking positions. Through the sun light, which shone hard inside the cave's water, the crew took a glimpse of tons of jewelery, gold, other reasources and even some bodies. The king tried to cover Metus' eyes, but Valerious whispered to his hear: "he needs to see the cruelty of the outside world, my lord." The king was hesitant, but he nodded and let Metus watch those horrific scenes while holding him by his shoulders. He was suprised to see Metus so calm, even though deep inside he wanted to scream, he knew it wasn't the place or time.
The rest held their guard, observing the place left, and right. While the others were standing on one place, Ale wondered around the ship, looking for any sign of the pirates. "Maybe, the have left . . . or maybe, they are waiting for us to drop our guard." He looked over at his crew, all seemed to be worried, or at the very least they were concerned by the whole ordeal; Solomon, however, was unusually calm, especially for someone who was attacked by these pirates moments ago. Ale approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Is everything okay?"
Solomon looked at him with a blank expression. "Hmm, well, we shall wait and see, no?"
The more Ale looked at him, the more sweaty Solomon became. He started giving small glances up the cave's ceiling.
"What are you . . ." Ale looked up to see the pirates hanging from the cave's ceiling.
"THEY ARE ABOVE US!" Ale warned the others, while the pirates fell from the sky with swords and even magical rocks to threw the crew's way. There were at least sixty pirates attacking from above, as soon as one of the pirates gave a signal by whistling a trumpet, other fourty appeared from behind the rocks throwing arrows to their ship and pulling the ship towards the rocks. Ale looked back at Solomon in fury, who was moving backwards avoiding eye contact, then back at the pirates. One of the pirates stepped forward and announced. "Good afternoon, people of Mistralis. My name is John white moustache, and I want for you lot to surrender, and if the sirens see fit, we may even let you live!" The rest of his crew laughed mockingly, but his threats weren't enough to discarage any of them, excpect the young Metus.
The king stepped forward, while holding the hilt of his sword. "We reject surrundering to a group of barbarians! If fight is that you desire, that you shall get!"
The pirates laughed again, while the ones on the shore continued to pull the ship towards the rocks. The captain, John white moustache, looked at the people on the ship. Three guards, a kid, a king, two men on cloacks and a traitor. He licked his mouth where he had no teeth. "Well, I don't think you can take us on a fight mi good sir. However we'd like to play a game!"
As the pirates laughed again, the king looked back at Ale. He nodded, raised his staff and whispered, "Vim extermina!"
The elf, hearing to the commosion coming just below her made her stop. She leaned closely to get a better sound of the situation. "Did she get him? Or . . . no. I souldn't think like that. Although she was really scared by his past . . ."
"ELAINA!" She called out hoping to hear her voice on the other end. But to no avail. All she could hear were birds and people flying away from this deathzone. She started sweating slightly, afraid she won't hear anything else. She slapped herself hard on the head. "Get yourself together!" She said beneath her teeth. She grabbed her staff, launched herself on the air, and threw her most powerful spell. Destroying the entire building, making it explode like it's a child's play.
She landed on top of another building and waited patiently for the smoke to clean off. She saw blood flying here and there, but didn't give too much notice on it. "At best he is hiding." She observed like a hawk, searching for any clue she could find. She looked at the ground and saw an open sewer gate. Just four miles ahead of it there was another. Her eyes widened as she heard Ale from behind. "My master told me about all her students, she said you used your anger as weapon in matter of seconds!" Before she could even react Ale threw another "vim extermina" on her. Launching her high on the sky like she lighter than a feather. He jumped to the sky and hit her again, and again, and again. Causing her to hit many buildings while also burning from the attack, along the way she broke most of her bones, while she screamed in agony.
A lot of the citizens had stopped, watching this scene unfold, made them speechless. The head of the cities council, was toyed with like a she was just another random. Ale glided slowly with his spell, and landed just in front of the elf. "I told you I would win!" Ale said in a calm tone as he sat on the ground with his hands and legs crossed. The elf attempted to get up, but all she could manage was standing on her knees. Looking down at him as her skinned got fried, she wanted to scream, but she couldn't. Or rather she saw no appeal on screaming, just made her seem weaker than she already seemed. They kept looking at one another, not speaking a word. Just staring, they could only guess what the other was thinking.
When they heard the marching of horsers and cheers of the people from the left, they changed their gaze to see the King, Metus, his advisor, Valerious, and the soldiers that had accompanied Metus to the city. The king and Ale locked eyes almost immidietaly, as Valerious stared down at Ale in an indifferent look. The people surrounded the king, pleading for help. He, however, had eyes only for one person in this city. He got down his horses and approached the elf and Ale. Moving slighty on his left, where the elf was sitting. He stopped just in front of the two of them and finally spoke.
"Long time no see, dear Reemptio!" He smiled at him with sparkling eyes.
It was as if Ale was looking at the kid he once helped raising. "Indead!" He looked him up and down. "You've grown a lot, haven't you?"
Ale laughed, as Metus looked at him.
"You look terrible! Unshaved, dirty clothes, your eyes have small black bags, way to many wrinkles, for someone your age that is!" He said in a concerned tone.
Ale laughed again and scratched his beard. "Well, life happened, am I right?"
The king let out a small chuckle. "What was this comotion all about?"
The elf tried to grab his sleeve, but the king kicked her hand off. Ale looked at the elf, then back at the king. "Because of your 'dream'!"
Metus' expression changed in the blink of an eye. "What about it?"
He swoll his spit down and continued. "Did you know . . . that they used children as sacrifices to gain more mana?"
His eyes widened, his gaze quickly changed towards the elf. "Is this true?"
The elf, who couldn't even talk properly, started saying some giberish as tears filled her eyes.
"No result, and you except forgivness?"
She started crying like a pig as it's being dragged to be killed.
The ship was destroyed by the rocks on the shore; yet, that didn't matter. As all the pirates are now dead. Except one. As the crew thought of ways on how to bring the resources and the dead bodies of the sailors, the fate of Solomon was hanging out in the open, whom was tied up pleading for mercy. Ale kneeled in front of the king, "my lord, may I take care off this worm?" The king looked at Ale, then the rest, then at Solomon, who was tearing up. The king looked back at Ale.
"Please finish-"
"One moment, my lord." Valerious stepped forward. "I believe that after the young prince was introduced to the concept of war and betrayal, time has also come for him to understand the game of justice and trial!"
Everybody was confused by his word so he made things clearer by taking out his sword, walked over to the young prince, kneeled in front of him and, placed the sword on the prince's hands.
"Go ahead, Your Highness!"
The king was hesitant, the guards didn't move, while Metus was looking at his reflection on the sword. Ale got up, and quickly tried to grab the sword off his hands, but Valerious put himself in between to stop him.
"Valerious, have you lost your mind?" Ale asked in a defeated and dissapointed tone.
He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Worry not, my friend. This will strenghten the young prince's will of the kings!"
Ale shook his head. "You've gone completly insane!" He turned to the king. "Your majesty, please intirrupt this nonsense! Metus is just a child-"
"Yet, he is more intellegent and aware of his surroundings than a lot of people that are older than him!" Ale turned to look at Valerious.
"This will damage him, he isn't ready!"
"Then why did you bring him along?"
Ale opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Valerious turned to the king.
"Of course, everything it's up to you, my lord!" He kneeled on the ground while bowing his head.
The king thought for a moment before speaking. "Very well!" He turned to Metus. "Son . . . you have the permission to kill this man!"
Solomon started screaming louder. "THEY MADE ME DO IT! I HAVE A FAMILY TO FEED, PLEASE!"
Metus looked at the sword one more time before walking up to Solomon.
The king cut the elf's head off like it was a bug. No concern for it's life.
"You weren't like that kid . . ." He changed his gaze to Valerious, who was already looking at Ale. "He has made you like himself, hasn't he? I remember when you killed Solomon, you had nightmares for a month, maybe more! Now . . . I am sorry . . ."
"I apologize for doubting you, Reemptio!" He said as he shook his sword so the blood could fell on the ground.
Ale got up and, cleaned his back. "I don't go by that name anymore!"
The king was shocked and raised an eyebrow. "Well, how shall I call you then?"
"Ale!"
The king and the rest laughed, except Valerious, who looked down at his horse's head.
"Well, I don't really like the idea of calling you that. However it doesn't matter." He let his hand out. "I'm sure you've heard about the groups of wizards, witches and mages I've asembled. What do you say you join my cause? Like the old times."
Ale was silent for a moment, he drank from his bottle hidden behind his cloack and, started laughing. The rest fell silent, shocked by his reaction. He cleared his throat before speaking in a serious tone. "I'm sorry, Metus. But there is nothing you could do about immortality!"
Metus' face hardened, Ale continued.
"Life has no meaning, if there is no end!" He took another sip from his bottle. "If you watch a play, no matter how well written and well acted it is, if it goes on and on, no matter what happens, it will eventually lose meaning. It will become boring and-"
"SILENCE!" He ordered, Ale let a sigh out and backed off. "You have NO idea what it feels to be helpless, you could die any minute, yet no matter what you did, no matter who or what you are, you'll die and you'll be forgotten. As if you were an ant. Nothing!"
Ale nodded slowly. "Metus, trust me I understand you better-"
"NO! SHUT YOUR MOUTH! YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ME, YOU NEVER DID." He cried his lungs out, his reaction left everybody speechless, except for Ale and Valerious. He raised his right hand and pointed at Ale. "Where were you, Reemptio?" Ale stayed silent. "Where were you, when I needed you the most? When I needed a shoulder to cry on? Someone, to hold me at night while I cried? Where were you?"
Valerious teared up while Ale started looking at the ground, unable to make eye contact with him.
"I am sorry, Metus . . . I, failed you . . . I am sorry!"
Ale started to tear up as well, while Metus breathed heavily and looked at Ale with eyes full of fury.
"Sorry? SORRY? WILL THIS FIX WHAT YOU DID!?" He jumped to go and slay Ale, before he could come close enough, Ale dissapeared with the air. As soon as Metus realized, he started screaming, and swinging his sword left and right. With the rest being held hostage by his emotions. One of the soldiers approached Valerious. "Sir, should we go and find him?"
He shook his head. "No, you should leave some space for both of them. However . . ." He turned his head towards the citizens. "Were you aware of what the council was doing under our nose?"
The citizens' faces turned white like a sheep. An eldery woman come forward to try and come up with excuses. Valerious looked back at the king, who was sobbing silently. "Your majesty, what shall we do with these . . . creatures?"
Metus looked up, with a tired look on his face, he looked over the citizens. "The children, I want them in the capital to be educated and taken care off. As for the adults . . . you know what to do!"
Valerious smiled and nodded, the citizens started running and screaming like there was no tomorrow. While Ale was hidding beneath the forest's shadow, he waved goodbye to Metus, and left to reunite with Luca.