The light breeze caressed the two men's hair, carrying with it the scent of fresh grass. The silence of the plain, soft and deep, accompanied their simple exchange.
Grace: "All things considered, you're doing pretty well."
Nolan, a slight smile on his lips, without looking away from the horizon: "You too managed to hold your own on your first day of testing."
Grace, a light laugh in his voice: "Haha, the plain is so beautiful. It inspires a song that I'm dying to sing soon in inns or in front of my soldiers."
Nolan, a mocking eyebrow raised: "You should have become a musician then, not a knight, if you like songs."
Grace, closing his eyes as if savoring his own words: "You see, singing is like a kind of story... but with melody." Telling with unspeakable delicacy. Even the darkest stories can seem soothing... with a song and a beautiful voice."
Silence returned, punctuated by the rustling of leaves.
Then, softly, Grace began to hum. A wordless melody, sad and beautiful at once. And in that suspended moment, neither Nolan nor the world said a word. The sun continued to warm the earth. The wind continued to blow through the grass.
It was midday, and the sun, now at its zenith, spread its brilliant light over the vast plain. The warmth, gentle but firm, bathed every blade of grass in a golden glow. Nolan stood calmly, his footsteps barely crunching on the greenery, and walked towards a fruit tree standing nearby.
This tree was colossal, its thick roots buried deep in the earth, and its broad trunk seemed to bear the weight of the sky. It rose several dozen meters, majestic and silent. Its branches snaked upwards, like arms reaching towards the light, and bore a strange fruit.
Hanging like inverted clusters, these fruits were small, round, pale white, almost translucent, and sparkled in the sunlight. They were piled on top of each other in a strange order, as if nature itself had arranged them to form a work of art. What connected them was not a simple stem, but a thin, shiny, supple black leaf that delicately ran through each cluster, holding them together in a curious harmony.
Nolan made a swift gesture with his hand, mimicking a firearm. Two thin beams of energy shot from his fingers, cutting through the air with a low hiss before neatly severing two hanging clusters of fruit. The fruits fell slowly, carried by gravity as if hesitant to leave their perch, then landed softly in his outstretched palm.
He kept one for himself and walked toward Grace, the second fruit in hand. When he reached within a few feet, he tossed it casually. Grace caught it with ease, a satisfied smile playing on her lips, then bit into it greedily.
Grace: "Oh yes... nothing like a ripe fruit freshly picked after a fight."
Nolan: "It's raigin. A well-known fruit in this city, sweet, light... pleasant to eat."
Grace: "They give us this kind of fruit in the capital, Xianpang." Over there, they come in all colors. Reds like fire, pearly greens, and even purples that shine at night."
Grace gazed at the sky while savoring his bite, while Nolan stood beside him.
Nolan (gazing toward the horizon, a hint of curiosity in his voice): I'd like to know... as a knight... what kind of threat you actually face?
Grace (crossing her arms, her gaze a little lost in memory): It depends. Sometimes we're sent to stop bandits... scoundrels who plunder merchants and terrorize the roads. But sometimes... he pauses, his jaw slightly clenched... sometimes we face much worse things. Specters.
Nolan (raises an eyebrow, intrigued): Specters?
Grace (nods slowly, her tone deepening): You surely know the ancient history of our world, right? The kind you hear in old tales, when the fire crackles and the curtains are drawn.
Nolan (thinking): I know a few details, yes. But nothing specific.
Grace (with a hard, almost distant gaze): The war between good and evil has existed since the dawn of time. And it has never ceased. The Cursed Hand... its servants seek to corrupt hearts, to break wills. And in the midst of all this, there are the specters. Dark, demonic entities... They don't live, they prowl. They feed on the souls and life energy of those they encounter.
Nolan (his face slightly tense): I see... It's frightening. And are there many of them?
Grace (meets Nolan's gaze, with heavy seriousness): Far more than we want to believe. Many innocent people have already lost their lives because of them. And the only thing preventing them from invading the kingdom... is a protective spell. An immense enchantment, forged by several powerful mages. Without it... he takes a deep breath... the city would have already collapsed. The screams, the blood... this would be our daily life.
Nolan, slowly chewing a piece of raigin, looked away toward the horizon where the sunlight gently reflected on the plains.
Nolan: "And this spell... is it permanent? Or does it need to be revived?"
Grace: "It's maintained. Every month, a circle of mages meets to stabilize it. They draw on the region's magical lines."
Nolan: A protective spell... Does it cover the entire kingdom? Or just certain areas?
Grace: Mainly the capital and the large neighboring cities. The countryside and remote areas are more vulnerable. That's why knights are often sent on patrol: to spot weaknesses before disaster strikes.
Nolan: And if this spell were to be broken...
Grace: It would be the apocalypse. Specters aren't just monsters to be slain. They're like intelligent mists, capable of manipulating emotions, reviving the most painful memories... Some even feed on regret and sadness.
He paused, his gaze somber, then continued:
Grace: "...the specters will pour out like an oil tide. We've had incidents before. During a mystical storm three years ago, the spell wavered for a minute. A horde of specters entered the outskirts... Ten knights died that day, and a hundred civilians."
Nolan: "It makes me want to know more about these mages. If their protection falls, then the entire kingdom is vulnerable."
Grace: "They are discreet, but essential. They are called the Aegis Pillars. They live in a citadel to the north, within the Circle of Irian. It is said that some have fused their essence with the spell itself... literally giving their lives to maintain the barrier."
Nolan: "It is a heavy burden to bear..."
Grace: "Every role has its weight. Knight, mage, blacksmith, or even peasant. But in the face of darkness, every light counts."
Nolan (arms crossed, looking thoughtful): Your last mission... was it fighting wraiths recently?
Grace (shakes his head, a hint of weariness in his voice): Not really. It was something else. A case that had nothing to do with wraiths, for once.
Nolan (intrigued, tilting his head slightly): What was it then? Bandits... with a large source of magic, perhaps?
Grace (sighs, then replies in a calm but serious tone): Pretty much, yes. You know, we usually set up these sorts of small bases all around the kingdom to monitor the region. One of these bases was attacked. Violently.
Nolan (narrowing his eyes): Given the magical barrier that keeps the wraiths out, it couldn't have been them, right?
Grace (nods slowly): Probably not. Miraculously, only one of our soldiers survived. He was covered in wounds... but he held on, just enough to tell us what he saw. According to him, they encountered a group... with extraordinary magical powers. And these guys deliberately spared him.
Nolan (in a harsher tone): To send a message, I imagine...
Grace (stares at Nolan with a dark look): Exactly. Rebels, terrorists... call them what you will. The point is that the kingdom's upper echelons are on alert. The very idea that such a group could have infiltrated despite the magical protection... it's chilling. An attack could happen anytime, anywhere. Even here.
Grace (watches Nolan for a moment, her gaze serious but tinged with a hint of curiosity): You really care about protecting your kingdom, huh…
Nolan (straightforward, his voice calm but full of conviction): As a citizen of this kingdom, it is my duty to care about mine.
(He crosses his arms, his gaze hardens slightly.)
I imagine this news was kept secret from the people, wasn't it?
Grace (nods slowly, looking down at the ground, as if bearing the weight of this truth): Of course.
If the rumor had spread… there would have been panic.
Merchants would have fled, travelers avoided the region, and the people… the people would have lost all faith.
(He raises his head, his tone more serious.)
In the worst-case scenario, a demonstration could have broken out. Against the kingdom. Against us.
Nolan (quietly clenches his fists, a long breath escapes his lips): So it's all about silence...
Nolan (determined, his eyes shining with a glint of curiosity): As for the Pillars of the Aegis… I'll go learn more about them.
Grace (serious, almost worried): Be careful not to get into trouble with one of them.
It could cause you unnecessary trouble.
The members of this order are silent… very protective, almost detached from the world. Their mission is their whole life. And believe me, they're closely watched by the kingdom.
Nolan (relaxed, a slight smile on his face): I'll just go to the Irian Circle, learn more. And who knows… maybe form a friendship with one of them. Or several.
Grace (bursts out a short, hearty laugh): Haha… you're really sociable, aren't you?
Nolan (shrugs, with a hint of mischief): Having friends in different circles is always an advantage.
But really... it's magic that intrigues me the most. I need to understand this world, Grace.
Grace (standing slowly, her armor emitting a subtle metallic clink): Well... it's time for me to go, Nolan.
Until next time.
(The two men shake hands firmly and respectfully. A silence falls briefly, filled with a budding camaraderie.)
Grace (whistles in a short, confident tone).
(An icy breath sweeps across the plain as a majestic polar bear, Orkinés, appears on the horizon. Grace climbs nimbly onto its back, without another word. The bear leaps into the snow, gradually disappearing over the horizon.)
(Nolan stands there, alone in the middle of the plain, his eyes raised to the gray sky. A cold wind lifts his cape slightly as he murmurs to himself.)
Nolan slowly set off along the path leading to town. His footsteps sank lightly into the damp grass of the plain, and each stride seemed to echo in the silence that only the winds dared to disturb. The sky, pale and cloudy, let in a soft, diffuse light, giving the landscape an almost unreal hue.
He crossed the vast expanses without slowing down, his gaze fixed straight ahead. Neither the distant song of birds nor the rustling of the wind in the tall grass was enough to divert him from his path. He knew where he was going… but he still didn't know what he would find there.
Soon after, the forest loomed before him—tall, calm, ancient. The trees formed a ceiling of dense foliage, and a scent of moss and damp wood hung in the air. Nolan plunged into it without hesitation, his step firm and his eyes curious.
As he walked between the thick trunks, something caught his attention. A narrow passage between two trees, almost hidden behind a curtain of foliage. Intrigued, he approached slowly and parted the branches.
Behind it, an unexpected sight revealed itself to him: a hidden, peaceful river, winding between mossy rocks. The water was so clear, so pure, it looked like moving crystal. He could clearly see the bottom, the pebbles, the fine algae... and his own reflection, clear, as if he were looking in a mirror.
Nolan knelt at the river's edge, fascinated. The gentle sound of the water sliding against the stones was almost soothing. For a few seconds, he lost himself in his reflection, as if that face in the water wanted to tell him something.
Nolan (whispering to himself): A place like this... hidden in the heart of the forest. As if nature itself wanted to show me something.
Silence returned, except for the lapping of the river. The air seemed fresher here, almost magical.
Nolan felt his stomach twist slightly. His hunger, subtle at first, had become more pressing as he walked. It wasn't surprising: he hadn't eaten anything since dawn. He glanced around, then toward the river. The clear water seemed perfect for finding fish.
He calmly took off his coat, carefully folding it before placing it on a large, flat rock. Then he took off his t-shirt, revealing a finely sculpted torso, marked by the strains of a life of survival and constant effort. The fresh forest air caressed his skin, making him shiver slightly. But it didn't bother him. He felt alive.
Walking slowly to the edge, he entered the river, letting the icy water rise up to his calves. A sigh escaped him. The cold was awakening all his senses.
Staring at the clear surface, he watched for movement. A few small fish swam peacefully, oblivious to his presence. He watched, his muscles tense, patient.