Chapter 67 - The General Bids Farewell to the High Elf
Nathan Evenhart:
The initiation period of magic training with my elven teacher had co to an end. Adrihna was only there to teach us the basics of our elents, and it was up to us to continue the journey on our own. However, she told that she would always pass through our territory and help us if we had any questions. A part of felt sad to say goodbye to her, and I couldn't wait to see her again to show her more of the spells I would create. During the ti we spent together, I grew accustod to her strange personality. In part, it was because I saw myself in Adrihna.
A High Elf was soone who had renounced parts of their emotions, especially the concept of love. This was influenced by their long lifespan, which made them solitary beings, living far beyond the lifespans of others.
I saw myself in her, not as Nathan Evenhart, but as Emperor Icarus. When I beca a dictator and brought peace to the people I ruled, I felt like the loneliest person who ever existed. I isolated myself in my palace and didn't even require servants. I didn't need to eat, sleep, or love—I had beco immortal, but that ca at a high and bitter price... my human emotions. I couldn't get close to anyone because, little by little, the soldiers who fought alongside were dying of old age, and with each death, a part of died too. The General Icarus died with the people who knew him, and to the new generation, I was only Emperor Icarus, soone unreachable.
My solution was to befriend the Titans, and that's when my nickna, the Lord of the Titans, was born. They were beings who would live as long as I did, but at that ti, we were all dealing with our own hatred. They were imprisoned, tornted in unimaginable ways, and I had lost soone important to . I had lost the only person I ever loved… and it tore apart. When I invaded the realm of the dead to try to find Helen's soul… there was nothing left to save. My friend and first love had been killed by the blade of a God, and with that, her soul ceased to exist. I beca a God to bring her back to life, and I sacrificed my humanity, and in the end… it was all in vain. The only thing left inside was hatred and fury at my own existence and my own failure. My only goal was to avenge her, and to do that, I would kill every last God. I fulfilled my promise and erased all the gods of that world, including myself… the last remaining God.
This story… is for another ti, because I never want to be General Icarus again… I want to be Nathan Evenhart.
***
Adrihna t us at the castle's entrance. She was about to depart in a carriage along the private road that wound through our territory, passing through the protected forests. It was the sa road that had brought to the Evenhart territory. This road cuts through uninhabited areas and is guarded by a massive stone wall. The wall has a small fort where so soldiers keep watch and control the gate. My teacher was going to use this route because it was the easiest way for her to continue her journey to the Elven Kingdom.
Gathered there were , Chloe, my mother, Aunt Margie, Adrihna, and Kinue.
"Teacher… thank you so much for everything you've done for both of us," Chloe said, her voice trembling with emotion as she jumped up and hugged Adrihna tightly.
Adrihna seed unsure of how to react and awkwardly returned the hug, but I could tell she was struggling with it.
"Child… you know I’m not good at showing emotions," she said, hugging Chloe back.
"I don’t care," Chloe replied.
"You're also squeezing a bit too tight..." Adrihna added.
She does that to you too? No wonder I call her the little monster.
Chloe finally released my teacher from the tight hug and turned to look at Kinue.
"Lady Chloe… you're staring at …" said a shy Kinue.
Chloe huffed and then jumped, wrapping Kinue in a tight hug.
"I told you, just call Chloe" said the little monster.
The two spent so ti emotionally talking about how they would exchange letters and discussing the next ti they’d et. We would see her from ti to ti, and later, we would all live together in Apsalon when we were older. Kinue was two years older than us and would be studying there first, but she was excited to say that when we arrived, she’d be able to help us out.
"Lady Adrihna, thank you so much for advising on that discovery," said my mother.
Adrihna looked at , then at her.
"That’s my job, so no need to thank . In fact, I'm a bit glad that the people I was searching for turned out to be you Evenharts."
She was searching for people? What does that an?
The two of them exchanged glances and sighed.
"Don’t worry, Katherine. I’ll report to the council and the ‘family,’ and you’ll have all the support you need to handle any problems. I’ll make it clear once again: if you need anything, let know. I’ll be the contact bridge between you, and if anyone dares to do sothing… including the highest authorities in this kingdom… if they dare to set up any kind of aristocratic trap… they’ll be picking a fight with the ‘family’ and all its people."
My mother and aunt nodded in agreent with her words.
Family? What are they talking about?
The three of them looked at .
"And about the issue with his Gem, do you really think that’s going to happen?" Aunt Margie asked.
"Issue?" I asked, startled. "Is there sothing wrong with ?"
The teacher crouched down to et my gaze.
"There’s nothing wrong with you, child. But I suspect that the abnormal flow of your mana and your difficulty in mastering the Wind elent might be a symptom," she said.
I looked at my mother and aunt, who were watching closely.
"What symptom? Is there sothing wrong with ?" I asked, worried.
"It’s okay, Nate. It’s just sothing temporary," my aunt reassured .
"I suspect that your Gem might be dedicating itself to awakening the Special Eyes," Adrihna said.
Special Eyes? Am I going to have those?
"It’s just a suspicion, but it’s still sothing to keep an eye on. I don’t know what kind of Special Eye might co from soone with the mana of a High Elf mixed with a magical human. I didn’t even know it was possible for soone like that to awaken Special Eyes, but seeing your mother and Kinue with their special elents… you’ve proven to that anomalies exist," the teacher explained.
She stood up.
"If the top mana specialist says it’s possible, then it’s just a matter of ti until it happens," Aunt Margie said.
"I’ll be visiting you all often, so I can help Nathan when the Special Eyes awaken. The process might be a bit painful, at least it was for and my brother," Adrihna added.
"What should we do when that happens? Do we inform the kingdom?" my mother asked.
Adrihna placed a finger on her chin, thinking.
"That’s beyond my jurisdiction, so I’ll leave it to you to decide if his Special Eyes awaken. Until that ‘discovery’ becos official, you still have to obey the laws here. In the Elven Kingdom, that kind of thing isn’t reported, but here, humans are obsessed with such things," she said.
I didn’t fully understand what they were talking about, but I got that I might have Special Eyes.
"Is it a problem if I have Special Eyes?" I asked.
My mother walked over to and gently stroked my hair.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, my son. But in this kingdom, there are people who are obsessed and might even try to buy soone’s eyes.”
“What? What do you an, buy eyes?” I asked, panicking.
My mother saw my distress and tried to calm down, but it wasn’t working.
“They say it’s possible to transfer the possession of Special Eyes to soone else, but no one knows how or if it’s even true. So nobles are obsessed with these things and attempt surgeries to acquire soone’s eyes,” my aunt explained, but that didn’t reassure at all.
Seeing my confusion, Adrihna stepped in.
“That’s an impossible procedure to perform, but because your human species is compatible with other races for reproduction, there might be a higher success rate for transferring these eyes. However, it’s just a superstition and has never been proven successful,” Adrihna explained.
But the fact that people even try to acquire soone’s Special Eyes… that didn’t put at ease.
“Is that why the Grand Duke asked to be inford if we awaken the eyes?” I asked.
My aunt ca over to :
“No, the royal family of this kingdom just likes to know who has the eyes. Each pair of Special Eyes can have a completely different power, and they just want to catalog the people who possess them. They catalog those who have Special Eyes,” my aunt explained while subtly giving advice, which I understood.
Better keep quiet if I happen to awaken Special Eyes…
“Don’t worry, Nathan. No one would do sothing as barbaric as trying to take soone’s eyes. If they did, they could render the eyes useless and lose a valuable soldier. What your kingdom does is simply catalog people to try to ‘invest’ in their future,” Adrihna clarified.
My mother approached us.
“That ‘invest’ really ans making you bow down even more…” my mother grumbled.
“There’s no need to worry, Katherine. Nothing will happen. Rember, I’ll be close to him at the Academy and will keep an eye out for any potential ‘recruitnt pressures’ from the royal family’s army. And if anyone ever dares to lay a finger on either of you… you already know who they’ll be dealing with,” my teacher said, reassuringly.
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