Horizon's Edge

by TurtleMe

  Grandpa Virion’s voice suddenly popped into my mind. He was the one that confirmed that Sylvie was a dragon. From what he told me and what I’ve read, while dragons were extraordinarily rare and powerful, it didn’t mention about them being higher beings, let alone Asuras.

  “So are the dragons written down in past texts actually deities?” I inquired.

  Windsom faced me, letting out an impatient sigh. “No. While there are lesser races that have descended from us deities, it is rather offensive to compare us. I will put aside the biology lesson for another time, but there are general facts you do need to know. While there are special exceptions due to innate differences in each clan, in most cases, deities have three main forms. The humanoid form that I am in currently, a draconic form which is most likely the form that Lady Sylvia had used to pass down her will to you, and a third form which integrates both humanoid and draconic aspects.”

  “Then you’re saying that Sylvie has a human form?” I couldn’t help but point a finger at my bond in exasperation.

  “Yes, but Lady Sylvia must have cast a seal on her own daughter, because the mana signature that she is producing is not nearly the same as it should be. Arthur, how did you come to meet her?”

  “Before Sylvia was killed or taken away by the black horned demons, she gave me a stone that turned out to be what I figured was an egg,” I clicked my tongue. Explaining this made me recall some unpleasant memories.

  “Black horned demons?” Windsom tilted his head.

  “It’s what I described them as because of their appearance. From what you told me just now, though, they seem to be what you call the Vritra clan.”

  “Haaaa, indeed, the Vritra clan is known for their prominent onyx horns… While this was one of the most probable outcomes, it also means that there is very little hope that she is alive. Arthur, Lady Sylvia undoubtedly put a seal on her child in hopes that the Vritra clan would not be able to find her.” For once, there was a twinge of emotion on Windsom’s face that wasn’t annoyance. I could see the sadness glazed over his eyes as he took a moment to gather himself.

  “So does that mean deities are usually born in a humanoid form?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  “Yes. Our draconic form uses up a lot of our mana so we spend most of our time in our humanoid form. However, just like how I can shift into the form of a smaller animal, Lady Sylvia’s daughter seems to be in that form to conserve energy.”

  “You keep referring to her as Lady Sylvia’s daughter, but she has a name. It’s Sylvie. I named her after Sylvia. Also, is it possible for Sylvie to turn into her humanoid form now?” I pointed out.

  At this, Windsom merely shook his head before responding. “Most likely not. The humanoid form is the most natural for us, so if Lady Sylvia’s— Lady Sylvie, was able to transform into this form, she would’ve done so already.”

  There was a torrent of questions flooding my mind now that I knew for a fact that Sylv was an Asura. Imagining her in a human form was hard enough, but what did it mean for us since we were bonded? Did Asuras bond to each other in Epheotus? Although Sylv was the one that initiated the bond, it wasn’t something that I can imagine doing to someone that looked like a human.

  I knew Windsom would say something along the lines of, ‘I’ll only tell you what is necessary for you to know right now,’ so I pushed those thoughts aside and pressed on what we talked about earlier.

  “So since Sylvia, the daughter of a very important figure to you deities, did give her will to me, that makes me automatically involved in this upcoming fight that you guys are most likely going to have with the Vritra clan and co., right? Also, the fact that Sylvie, the granddaughter of the so called very important figure, is bonded to me begs another question… Are you planning on taking her back to Epheotus?” My eyes narrowed as I tried to read Windsom’s expression.

  “Yes. Dumbing it down quite a bit, that is the essence of what I explained to you. You may or may not have figured out just how mysterious and powerful Lady Sylvia’s powers are. Even if you were able to unlock some of the mana arts only she could use, I doubt you were able to tap into a fraction of her true abilities. Arthur, even Asuras would drool in greed at the thought of receiving Lady Sylvia’s powers. While even she wasn’t able to fully control them, her powers had...have the potential to outstrip her father’s.” There was a look of longing and respect in this Asura’s eyes as he explained all of this.

  “As for taking Lady Sylvie back to Epheotus, while that was indeed our immediate choice, we have decided on a different route. Arthur, we will be entering into war with the Fallen Clans, the forces led by Agrona and his Vritra clan, soon. After the last war, both sides sustained immense casualties and had no choice but to settle for a truce. Agrona agreed not to touch Dicathen, but in return, we had to give up the Continent of Alacrya to him.

  “While our forces may have stronger powerhouses, they possess too many unpredictable factors with the experiments they had time to hone during this period. The truce is losing its power as the Fallen Clans continue to grow their troops. We have already found traces of Agrona’s troops in this continent. While the upper echelons of Epheotus would never verbally admit it, we need help and your future potential can play a crucial role in this. As long as you, Arthur Leywin, agree to be our ally, there would be no need to separate you from Lady Sylvie.”

  Even though Windsom was asking me for a favor, the way he looked at me dead in the eye made me feel like he was presenting me a role of the highest honor.

  He had me. There really wasn’t much of an option for me to choose. If I declined him, he would forcefully take Sylvie away and Dicathen would still most likely end up becoming war torn. With that, my family and friends would be in danger whether or not I became their ally.

  He was basically implying to me that I was going to be involved in this war one way or the other. The choice was up to me on how directly I wanted to fight against our mutual enemies.

  Letting out a scoff, I agreed. “Since this war involves the entirety of this continent anyways, I would be an ally to you whether I agreed or not today. Rather, what you were asking for is if I can be a pawn that would in your control.”

  “I can’t disagree with your statement. You’re wise for your age, Arthur,” Windsom smirked. “I take it by your answer that you agree to our proposal. This war will change the entire balance of this world. If Agrona and his forces are able to take over this continent as well as all of its resources. There will come a time when even Epheotus will be in danger. That being said, we will need to prepare you. Your mana core is rather well developed for your age, which is a good sign. Training you will have to come after you’re able to at least reach the white stage. With the resources we will provide you and your comprehension skills, I can’t imagine it to take too long. After that, we will need to take both you and Lady Sylvie to Epheotus to train under the most optimal cond—”

  “Hold on, I’m going to Epheotus? Your home? The land of Asuras?” I nearly shouted, flabbergasted.

  “Of course. Do you think that my master will stand idly now, knowing that he has a granddaughter? Arthur, you are the last one to have seen Lady Sylvia. On top of that, she has passed on to you, her mana signature. You may not realize what that means but to us Asuras, it would be metaphorically pulling out your own mana core and giving it away. If she was forced to a state where she had no choice but to do this, we have no choice but to assume she has passed away.”

  “...”

  “There isn’t much I can help you with directly for now except provide for you some resources to strengthen your mana core. During this time, I also have things to investigate and prepare for. I will continue to drop by from time to time and check up on you, whether I let you know I’m there or not will be at my discretion.”

  “Okay, since it seems like this whole meeting is coming to a close, can I just ask you one thing?” I held my hand out to stop him.

  “Go ahead.”

  “How come it
took so long for you to find me? If her mana signature basically transferred onto mine, wouldn’t either you or the Vritra Clan have pinpointed me pretty easily?”

  “Because of that,” Windsom pointed at my arm. “When she first passed on her will, or mana signature, to you, it won’t show right away. You probably went through a phase where you had to get your body accustomed to it, right?”

  I just nodded at this.

  “Well after it did, I’m not sure how shortly after her daughter was released from her seal but when you put one of Lady Sylvia’s feathers around your bond insignia, it hid the presence of her will. I’m sure you only put that on your arm to hide the insignia mark or maybe because you thought it made you look cool—”

  “It was to hide the insignia mark,” I immediately replied.

  “Nevertheless, you did well in doing this.” Windsom shook his head. “Let me take you to where you were actually headed to now. I’m sure the elf princess misses her prince dearly.”

  Even though his face stayed straight, I could feel the sarcasm in his voice. Sylvie and I wordlessly followed the Asura as the room we were in began distorting once more.

  WINDSOM’S POV:

  As I watched the child and his bond go through the gate, I couldn’t help but let out a strained breath.

  Every time I see her, a mixture of emotions would boil up inside of me, making it difficult for me to stay calm. I wonder how Master would feel when he sees her. I can imagine how conflicted he might feel seeing the child of his precious daughter and the man that did that to her...

  There would come a time when we would have no choice but to tell Arthur about his bond. About Lady Sylvia’s daughter and the lineage she holds…

  Chapter 85: Elven Kingdom

  ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:

  “Ugh…”

  I stumbled coming out of the teleportation gate as I pressed my fingers firmly against my temples to keep my head from popping.

  Sylvie scampered next to me, happy to be out in the open again.

  “Kyu~” She let out a big stretch on the grass before looking up at me, signaling that she was ready.

  ‘That man was scary, Papa,’ Sylv’s voice rang in my mind.

  “Yeah, he didn’t really come off as easygoing to me either,” I responded.

  The place we landed at was a familiar one. It was near the area where Tess first led us to in order to get inside the Kingdom of Elenoir. Of course, this time, we were going to have to knock on the front gates like most people. It wasn’t too much of a problem to get inside the Kingdom now that the three races were more or less in harmony.

  Every time I thought of the word ‘race’ I could hear Windsom saying in his annoyingly serious voice how we were the lesser races.

  As much as it irked me, he wasn’t wrong. Compared to the Asuras, even I could see the innate differences between him and me, and from what he led on, it didn’t seem like he was the strongest of Asuras either.

  “Well, I guess you know who your mother is now, at least.”

  “Kyu?” ‘Mama? Aren’t we going to see Mama right now?’

  “No, not that Mama. I mean, Tess isn’t your mother! Sheesh!” I exclaimed.

  Sylv only tilted his head as she looked at me in confusion before scampering around again, leaving me flustered at my bond.

  As we made our way to the front gate, following alongside the outer walls of the Kingdom, we passed the occasional carriages and wagons followed by people either transporting the goods inside or guarding it.

  The economy was rapidly changing since the union of the three races. Opening up borders so that merchants can travel and trade with each other had led to a lot of unique goods becoming available in all three kingdoms. Once we reached the entrance into the kingdom, there was a line of people either riding horses and mana beasts or on carriages waiting to go inside.

  Sylvie hopped on my head as I got to the end of the line beside a group of what looked like mercenaries most likely trying to sell the raw material they managed to obtain.

  “Ey! Looky at the lil’ brat! Why you so far from your Mama lil’ boy? You lost?” A rather tall and thin, almost emaciated, man in a leather armor too large for him, hooted as he bent down.

  “Roger, you’re going to make the boy cry with that ugly face of yours.” A girl that looked to be in her early twenties jumped off the end of the carriage she was sitting on and pulled Roger back.

  “There is nothin’ wrong with my face!” Roger lashed out at his female cohort. “Besides, this brat looks to be some sort of rich noble brat! I betcha if we bring him back to his parents, they’ll reward us big time!”

  “You haven’t said anything. Are you lost, boy?” another man, one that looked to be in his early thirties with a body built like it was meant to wrestle elephants pushed aside the drooling Roger that was staring at me like I was a moneybag, asked.

  “No, Sir, I’m not lost. I have some business here,” I replied.

  “Business here my ass! Don’t go try sounding all snooty tooty. I bet you just ran away from your Momma. Duke, let’s just grab this twerp and take him to the Guild Hall,” Roger smirked as he slowly made his way towards me.

  I let out a sigh as I contemplated whether it was worth the effort to shove this bag of bones into the ground.

  “Grrr…” Sylvie, who was perched on top of my head again, stood up, baring her teeth at the malnourished mercenary.

  These fools were actually thinking of basically kidnapping a child here in the open…

  While my stance remained the same, I imbued a thin layer of mana around my body just in case.

  “Roger, Duke. Leave the boy alone.” A hoarse voice came from inside the carriage.

  “Erk. It’s the boss.” Roger froze in his tracks with a reluctant expression.

  “Tch. Let’s head back to the carriage, Roger,” Duke clicked his tongue and gave me one last curious glance before turning his broad back to me.

  I just rolled my eyes and stayed put in the line for travelers without carriages that need to be inspected first.

  —

  “Sorry, Boss. I know you how you like to keep face, but this time, it would’ve been a totally legit excuse! I mean, all we would do is just keep the brat from talking and eventually, we would’ve just put him in the Guild Hall and sacked in a nice reward.”

  “Sir, while Roger isn’t the brightest guy most of the time, I think he was right in that boy was actually from a wealthy family by his uniform and the peculiar bond on his head. If you didn’t stop us, I think we could’ve—”

  “Fools! You think I was protecting the boy? I was protecting you two dolts from him!”

  ““...””

  “Both of you guys are mages, yet you still couldn’t see the clear differences in power? Even I wasn’t able to sense the level his mana core was at!”

  “But Boss, even if the boy was a mage, he couldn’t have awakened more than a couple of years —”

  “Shut up. Just know that if you guys had stepped out of line just then, even I wouldn’t have been able to save you.”

  —

  After the first moment of reluctance in letting a possible runaway child into their kingdom, the guards erased their doubts when I showed them the Xyrus Academy crest since showing the Royal family crest might attract a bit too much attention for my tastes. Before entering, however, the elven guards did give me a stern warning that the use of magic was prohibited in all but the most extreme cases.

  I didn’t have the time to explore around much while I was being trained by Gramps so seeing all of this was new to me.

  The city that we had entered was bustling with an almost chaotic mixture of people from all around the continent, laughing and haggling around different stands and small shops. The Elven Kingdom of Elenoir was different from the Human Kingdom of Sapin; since the entire Kingdom was walled off, the cities were more like giant districts rather than separated settlements.

  Since the royal family’s tree castle
was located in the far end city of the Kingdom, it took me a couple of hours of travelling via a small transport carriage.

  The driver dropped us off at the border just before the castle since no just anyone would be allowed directly inside. A major difference from the last time I came here was that there were now guards around the parameters of the castle as well. While I’m sure they always had guards and security, they weren’t so blatantly placed to ward off intruders like they were now. Again, most likely an outcome of the Kingdom opening its doors to the other races.

  “Stop. Little boy, I think you’re a bit lost,” a burly elf held his hand out and warned. He looked at me curiously before stopping his gaze at Sylvie who was now next to my foot.

  “No, I know exactly where I am. If you’d be so kind as to let me through, it’d be much appreciated,” I replied without taking a second glance at the guard while pulling out the compass with the Royal family crest Grandpa Virion gave me back then.

  “How do you have this?” The burly guard squinted his eyes in suspicion as the other guards gathered around me.

  “I thought that having this compass meant that a member of the royal family entrusted it to me.” I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

  When was the last time I was ever given a smooth passage these days? Starting from the teleportation portal to the mercenaries and now here.

  “This brat. Is he being sarcastic with us?” Another guard growled.

  “Sigh… just please inform either Princess Tessia or Elder Virion that a boy named Arthur Leywin is here to see them. They’ll know who I am.” I took a few steps back and leaned back against one of the stone statues that was in front of the manor.

  “BOOOM!”

  All of a sudden, a part of castle exploded and chunks of the building fell down on top of us.

  “What the hell is—”

  As the other guards jumped out of the way to avoid the debris, the one that questioned me didn’t have enough to time react after turning around.

  I heard him click his tongue as he focused mana into his body, positioning himself between me and the falling piece of the castle wall.