Deep when the night was covered in the blanket of silver veil of moonlight, cold chilly winds were blowing from the distance making the green leaves of plants covered in dewdrops rustle with subtlety.
In the cold and unforgiving night, Valerius stood in the middle of his garden. Small sprouts of green grass covered the plane surface. Some patches of brown dirt could also be seen on the ground looking deeper because of the fresh rain.
Valerius always enjoyed a sight like this except for now. The reason was simple. His ever obedient son had asked him a question. The question which was very hard for him to answer. The question which contained a bundle of truths and lies hidden beneath within the form of his answer.
The secrets of utmost importance? The very description of who he was in the past? His identity? Or the mistakes he left behind?
Valerius wasn't so sure himself exactly how he was supposed to convey all that, all that to his one and only son nonetheless.
He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in frustration. Nothing in his life had made him think this much.
'man, I miss the old times'
As though remembering something bad his expressions fell. A deep frown appeared on his slightly annoyed face.
'Not that much though'
Trying to clear his mind from these unsettling thoughts he inhaled the fresh air deeply. And then he exhaled, suddenly recalling the most important reason for overthinking nowadays.
'I feel …alone, Sophia'
Indeed, there was nothing for Valerius more important than his family. His wife whom he fell in love with at the first site and promised to stay together till death was lying on her bed like lifeless…
'No, she'll wake up …hopefully soon'
He threw all these unnecessary thoughts away with each breath and concentrated solely on himself. No not himself, on something which lay more deep …deep within his soul.
The Anchor which connected him and all the mages like himself with elements around.
The innate mana.
Valerius let out a hand, his breathing steady. Then as though making the world around himself shape according to his will, he called upon his core element.
Elemental mana started to gather around him in dense fashion making the very air in a limited area surrounding him thicker. So much that a normal person would struggle to breathe within.
Then in a split second high waves of flames danced around him raising the temperature. Just like that the faintly lit area with the moonlight before started to bathe in the bright light of fire.
The crimson-yellow flames flickered, then rose high above as though reaching the sky. Tiny sparks of fire covered the whole area falling as flakes of ashes in the next second.
Immersed deeply in the play, Valerius raised a hand. As though answering his call the crimson flames gathered themselves around his open palm then moved in a pattern to take a shape.
The shape of a weapon.
In the next second, Valerius held the long and slender weapon made of crimson flames in his hand, the blade revealing itself bit by bit. And not after too long, the shape which vaguely represented a weapon sometimes ago, revealed itself as a long double edged sword.
The sharp longsword looked deadly, a weapon of mass destruction perhaps. Its handle seemed to be carved as beautifully as was its crimson-red blade. Its sharpness tears apart the very air around it. Whistling wind serves as a proof of its deadly craftsmanship.
Flames danced around its edges waiting to burn something down.
On the red blade perhaps, something shone brighter than the blade itself. As it was revealed slowly, at the middle the unreadable runes made a pattern along the long blade of the sword.
Still looking as ancient and undecipherable as ever. But there wasn't anyone in that town who didn't know the name of the famous sword. It was known throughout the world after all.
One of a few legacies left behind of the fallen era.
One of the very few weapons.
The sword of fire and flames, "Redwyrm"
And to be the bearer of such a weapon wasn't a joke also.
Valerius stood taking a sword stance. Holding the longsword with both of his hands he placed it at his eye level, watching the edges carefully.
Then he moved. Right, left, behind, front, he moved with grace, with elegance. The fire also moved with him, following the trail of Valerius and his longsword.
The sword style was as graceful as it was deadly. The presentation seemed like a dance, a deadly dance of death.
Valerius moved the sword or the sword was moving him. It became quite difficult to tell apart actually. It was like the sword became an extension of his limbs. Allowing the warrior to strike anywhere with same accuracy and impact.
The thoughts however weren't stopping at all. His wife's image kept flashing before his eyes. The doubts he had deep within his soul started to surface.
What if she never woke up?
What if she could never be healed?
What if she…
He trailed off the thought chain, trying to concentrate solely on sword practice.
He moved with precision, like a hawk hunting for his prey. The crimson-red blade rose and fell in a sophisticated manner. The flames around it moved, trailing behind the sharp blade, ready to burn the space into smithereens, wherever the blade touched.
Valerius held the sword with both hands, the dominant hand for the impact and the non- dominant one directing the blow. While moving the blade with utmost precision, he took several steps ahead. The sound of fire clashing against wind mixed with the sharp edge of blade cutting through air as well.
From afar, it looked like a graceful dancer performing their art in the darkest of night. Given that the moonlight was hidden behind the veil of clouds now.
Bright light of crimson flames covered the whole area.
He continued to move in all directions not letting any opening go unnoticed. The sword art he was performing seemed flawless, practiced in battle before and hard to master as well.
Then for the last act, or so it seemed however, continuing the momentum Valerius commanded the core element around him once again. Flames surged and then grew higher. Looming high above behind the caster. For a brief moment of time it seemed as though fire resembled something. A creature or beast perhaps or was it something like a bird.
Whatever it was, the detail was so hard to notice because of the quick movement from the swordsman. He raised the sword, however his arms trembled. The vibration moved along his whole body. The move he tried to perform seemed difficult or dangerous to do at least.
Maybe it was from the fire surging around him or was it due to this intense movement required by the battle art but Valrius was sweating profusely. The exhaustion was to be clearly seen on his handsome face. His dark eyes seemed lightless, due to tiredness perhaps.
The red burning blade fell once again, making the very air around it displace. This time the impact felt …heavy. Like the swordsman performing the blow wanted the ground itself to shatter into pieces.
While the blow was heavy, the ground beneath was in the perfect condition. It was because Valerius stopped his deadly blade just before it could've hit the ground. Even the green grass on which he was standing was left unharmed. The flames also seemed reluctant to destroy the beautiful green lawn.
After the final move of the sword style, Valerius dismissed his deadly sword. The blade was gone as soon as it appeared. Like the flames itself took that into their embrace. Fire was gone too.
Whatever left, was the grassy lawn, the dark night, and exhausted Lord Valerius himself.
Panting heavily he allowed himself to fall on the ground. He lay there catching his breath for a moment. Seems like his little trick to divert his mind from overthinking was successful.
"That felt good"
He did clear his mind of those useless worries for sometime though.
But not for long.
The worry came back as soon he was left with nothing to do anymore.
"For the moment at least"
Which was alright.
In truth, Valerius never truly had the luxury to be completely free from worries. Well how could someone like him live a life like that. The reason, he was one of the two most powerful combat mages of their town. The second to him was none other than his own wife. So the burden of worries was never actually lifted off his mind.
Because of the forest covering the town from the south, the protectors of the town could never rest easy. There was a constant fear that monsters and beasts could attack anytime. It was thanks to the enormous barrier which many of the talented mages weren't even able to see with the naked eye also some towsfolk were oblivious to this information– it was thanks to that huge spell the town remained protected from the bigger threats.
But the barrier couldn't protect them from the beasts of lower classes which often used to attack in hordes. Because of their large number the things could go south really fast.
Therefore Valerius and Sophia always remained on the edge.
However his wife wasn't in a condition to fight nowadays. Hell, she couldn't even be called healthy. The backlash hit like it wanted to snuck the very life out of her. No one however was at fault here. The spells of higher levels had their effects and side effects as well. She knew she had to pay the higher price but she did cast the spell even after that.
Day by day, the worries of him were piling up nowadays.
'Who am i kidding'
The reason, the main reason for Valerius's worry wasn't the attack of some low class beasts or their horde, In fact he wasn't even worried about the protection of the town. Valerius was powerful enough to cut down anything who dared to threaten the lives of his people. The real reason was something he desperately wanted to forget.
The reason he decided to come to a place like this in the first place. Away from kings and crowns, away from people more dangerous than any of the monsters or beasts or even creatures.
'What a headache'
Lying there which seemed peaceful from afar but in reality the peace was far …very far away from his thoughts. Valerius let out a long sigh. His eyelids grew heavier by the minute.
'Nope, not here'
He stood up dragging his tired body and mind into the house. The inside was dark or it felt dark …lifeless for some reason. He ascended the stairs leading to his bed. Valerius didn't forget to check on his son who was long asleep. Playing happily in his dreams perhaps.
No, his son wasn't someone to enjoy himself while his own mother was in this state. Standing outside his door Valerius recalled the argument they had earlier.
'Idiot child. Blaming himself for something he hasn't done'
Valerius let out another sigh and moved ahead to his bedroom. As he opened the door for a moment he stood there taking in the all too familiar sight with dark, lightless eyes.
Before him, his wife lay unresponsive. The only thing calming his heart was her still rising and falling chest. Which meant she was still breathing. Still recovering from the backlash.
Her once beautiful and radiating face looked pale and lifeless. To him however, she still was the most beautiful woman in the world.
"I am back, love" he said, his voice wavering, "August, he really is stupid" He walked towards the elegant wooden cabinet and opened its doors, "he thinks you are in this condition because of him" Valerius placed his hand on a green stone or it looked like one in the dark, which now glowed like an emerald, meanwhile he continued with the complaining, "Scold him good when you wake up ha?"
The moment emerald stone lit up the air around the town shifted simultaneously. The sky flowed like waves and suddenly the whole area felt more quiet, reclusive and …safe.
Valerius closed the doors of the wooden cabinet and muttered under his breath, "when you …wake up."
He walked slowly towards the bed and sat beside his wife silently taking her hand into his. Sitting there only for a short moment, his heart felt heavy, his eyes began to tear up.
His eyes seemed as if wanted to say many more things to his wife but he held back. Held back all his emotions, tears and the words as well.
Then he moved his face closer to the beautiful face of his sleeping wife and kissed her forehead gently.
"Goodnight , my love"
Then he picks the blanket and sleeps into the warm embrace of his beloved or at least he felt that way.
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