Hey guys, here is the next update of this fic.

Enjoy the read.

Chapter Cover: Shinji holding his sword on his back as he was looking forward.

Chapter Seventeen

Valdes Village

Yael Salvatore was seating by herself.

The young woman had a light frown upon her features as she was gazing down at the stone that was in front of her. She still couldn't understand how Minotaur had gotten his hands upon that stone, but something tells her that Minotaur barely understood what he really had in his palm. While this stone can only be used by someone of the Salvatore bloodline, she knew the whole reason Minotaur kidnapped her was so that she could use the stone to help him find the Dragon Heart.

But Yael could count small mercies that Minotaur didn't know what the stone truly was or what it was truly capable of. Her mother once told her about the stone long ago and she had never realized that she would have to see one of them truly in front of her like that.

While the stone can only be used by someone of her blood, could she have used it's power to fight back against Minotaur? Maybe if she was trained to use magic.

Yael had little training of magic in her youth but now…

She heard the approaching footsteps and glanced upward at the man that had just entered within her tent. Bartholomew was dressed in his normal clothing thought he still had his blade at his waist. The man had a curious expression upon his features as he entered within the room.

"You wanted to speak with me?" he asked, a curious tone in his voice.

Yael smiled lightly.

"Yes," she said, "Thank you for coming so quickly."

Bartholomew waved her thanks away, "It's fine...I'm mostly worried that something had happened."

Yael looked down at the table for a moment before meeting the older man's eyes. She then placed the stone that she was observing upon her lap upon the table in the middle of them. It was still seating within the clothe that she wrapped it in. Bartholomew's gaze turned toward the stone, a curious look upon his face.

"What is that?"

"What do you know about the Primal Stone Bartholomew?" she asked.

The man's eyes widened lightly.

"T…The Primal Stone?" he repeated shocked.

"So, you do know of it," Yael observed.

"Only that it was destroyed years before the fall of the Royal Family," Bartholomew told her, "But your mother told me a story that it was something of unimaginable power."

Yael nodded.

"You're are right in thinking so," she said, "But the Primal Stone wasn't destroyed as you might believe. One could say that the stone was broken apart into several pieces…Six pieces to be exact."

Bartholomew stared at the fragment that was upon the clothe in front of them.

"Then…do you mean that this…?"

Yael took the stone fragment from the clothe and as soon as it made contact with her skin, a glow started to shine from within the depth of the stone. Yael stared at it, for a few moments before looking at the older man. Bartholomew had a shocked expression upon his face as he observed it within her hand.

"This is the Fragment that contain the Earth Element," she said, "If I was a skilled wizard, I could have used this to turn a desert into a forest. Each of the Stones contain an element of the Primal within them. Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Soul, and Celestial."

She turned her gaze toward the stone in her hand.

"How did you managed to get this?" Bartholomew asked.

"Minotaur had it," she said placing the stone back upon the clothe.

As soon as she had let it go, the stone had stopped glowing. Yael stared at him again, her face completely devoid of emotions and yet there was this flame burning within her eyes, a flame of determination that was so familiar to Bartholomew.

"If Minotaur had this…then…," Bartholomew said.

"He didn't know what it truly was," Yael said, "He thought that it would be a key to lead him straight toward the Dragon Heart. I think we can count ourselves lucky that he was defeat before he could figure out what this stone really was."

"I think I might agree," Bartholomew said, "Thought…I don't understand why you would want me here if you were just going to speak about that?"

Yael looked up at him.

"I want you to train me to use magic."

Bartholomew looked at her, surprised.

"You want to…? But why?"

Yael looked at the stone.

"The Primal Stone has a resonance within itself," she said, "Since all of the pieces were actually one in the beginning, there is a chance that might be able to use magic and be able to…see for a lack of better word where the other pieces are. Since I am a Salvatore by blood, the magic of the Stone might answer to me."

Bartholomew frowned; his eyes seems to be searching something upon her face.

"You're worried about something."

Yael looked at him, feeling surprise rushing through her body.

"I know you well enough to know when you're worried about something Yael," the old man continued, "I raised you remember? Now why don't you tell me the real reason why you want to learn how to use magic in the first place."

Yael stared at the man, shocked that he was able to see through her so quickly. Then, a soft chuckle escaped from her, as she shook her head lightly.

"I can't keep anything from you, can I?"

"Nope."

Yael look at the stone in front of them.

"I think someone gave this to Minotaur," she said, "His attacks had abruptly changed back then and then focused upon finding me for the past five years. He destroyed the previous Dragon Knights. For someone to simply hand him over this stone…either they're not aware of what it truly was…"

"Or someone wanted to make sure you and that stone find each other," Bartholomew said.

Yael glanced up at him.

"That was one of my suspicions as well," she said.

Bartholomew stayed silent.

"There is someone out there who knows exactly what those stones are," Yael spoke out, "And there is a good chance that they're hunting the others as well, wherever they are. If I can learn magic, I can use my connection as a Salvatore to find the rest of the stones before whoever that person is find them…"

"There is a chance that if you do this…you'll draw their attention toward you," Bartholomew told her.

Yael was resolute.

"Then let's hope that the new generation of Dragon Knights will have many members by the time that happened."

Aesyr was seating by the fire while Shinji was lying down upon the ground. They had left Hyades village three days ago and would reach their destination tomorrow if Shinji's was right. Having volunteered to take first watch, the young white-haired woman had simply decided to look out toward the darkness that was around them.

The forest they were in was not as quiet as she was with the sound of running water of the nearby lake. Seating like that by herself, it made her think of the past sometimes. Of the many nights she would spend awake practicing and learning Dragon Slayer magic from Elassan and even find her mind going back to her old friend, Ace.

She hadn't thought about him in a long while, at least, not since she first arrived her in Atlasia. It made her wonder if he was still alive or if he was still okay. She had remember seeing how the people slowly lost themselves to the Dragon magic they had been blessed with and she had seen how they transformed into beasts, bend of destroying everything around them….

She had been forced to kill many of them to stop the bloodshed that had followed.

Dragon Slayer.

There was a time when the name had brought her pride but now, all that she had to remember was the failure that followed it. The people had quickly turned against them when the Dragon Hunter, Acnologia first appeared and thinking of that man, caused Aesyr's scar to itch.

She raised her hand toward her neck and gently touched it. That scar was the only reminder of that time when she battled him to a standstill to save Elassan but it was futile for Elassan had died and all that she had to be reminded of that failure was the scar she now has.

But sometimes…your failures are all you need to keep moving forward.

The next morning both her and Shinji were on the road again, heading toward the village. They were on foot since Valdes Village wasn't as far away as the Minotaur Fort was, but the road on foot was still a little bit long.

But there was something that was bothering Aesyr for a while now…

"Hey Shinji," she called out drawing the young man's attention, "What is a Fallen God?"

The young man stared at her in surprise.

"Why are you asking me now?"

"I have been meaning to ask you for a while now," Aesyr continued, "But now it is a good time as any."

Shinji let out a small hum.

"Well, the Fallen God is a title," he said, "Give to the Seven most dangerous wizards in Atlasia."

Aesyr frowned lightly.

"Do you know them all?"

Shinji shook his head.

"Well, I knew Minotaur was one," he said, "They were a few that gained some infamy over the years. There is the Butcher who had slaughtered an entire village of people by himself, thought no one knew as to why it happened. The Magical Disaster which had caused a village incident…and there is the Mountain, Gregor but he never did anything wrong…he is just that powerful by himself."

"So…they all have armies like Minotaur did?"

Shinji shook his head.

"No," he said, "Most of them prefer to work alone…at least, as far as a I know but whenever the Imperium need them, they answer."

Aesyr blinked.

"The Imperium?" she repeated.

Shinji looked at her, confused upon his face before a light dawned in his eyes.

"I keep forgetting you're a foreigner to Atlasia," he said shaking his head lightly, "The Imperium of Atlasia is the leading body that is governing the continent right now. They are led by the Magisters who are all powerful wizards in their own right and the one who is leading them is the Grand Magister. In the past, the Imperium were only usurped by the Royal Family but then since their fall fifty years ago, the Imperium basically control this country and protect the lands that they have under their control."

Aesyr frowned lightly.

"But they didn't help Hyades when it was attacked," she said.

"Because we were in Minotaur's territory," Shinji answered her, "And as long as it was that way, the Imperium would not interfere after all, as a Fallen God Minotaur answered to the Imperium whenever they needed his power for something."

Aesyr was affronted that something like that even existed.

"That's just…," she said, unable to find the word to describe what she was feeling.

Shinji must have noticed something upon her face for he chuckled.

"Yeah…," he said, "Atlasia had gone straight to hell ever since the royal family fell from power…and there is nothing anyone can do about it."

Aesyr stayed silent for a moment.

Maybe there is…, she thought.

Shinji blinked.

"Hey here is the village," he exclaimed.

Aesyr looked toward the front as well.

In the distance, it was easy to notice the large gate in the distance which was closed. The Gate was colored as a dull red color that was fading, and had some words written upon it in a tongue that Aesyr couldn't understand. The wall were as tall as the gate, made of strong stone that looked impressive in their own right.

However, Shinji was frowning beside her as the duo were approaching it.

"What is it?"

"Something's not right," he said, "I don't think I ever remember this gate being closed during the middle of the day."

"Do they usually leave it open?" Aesyr asked.

"OF course," Shinji spoke out, "This is very bizarre."

"Who goes there?"

Both Aesyr and Shinji looked up toward the voice finding people at the top of the gate. They were all armed with weapons in their hands, mostly farm tools.

"I know that voice," Shinji said, before calling out, "Dan, is that you?"

One of the figures approached toward the edge looking down at the two of them, surprise at being addressed by name.

"Wait….is that you Shinji?" the man, Dan said, "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Your town mayor called me here," Shinji answered back, "Said that you had a problem that you need fixing."

The man Dan laughed out loud.

"You got that right," he said, "Hey you guys down there, open the gate. We've got a Dragon Knight here."

The Gate in front of them started to groan as they opened in front of Aesyr and she's got the first look at the town beyond it. It was completely different than Hyades by miles. Many homes made out of stones and woods lined up the streets that she could see as both her and Shinji entered within the village of Valdes.

"You are a sight for sore eyes Shinji."

A young man was there. He had spiky black hair with a grin upon his lips. His body was well toned and bronzed from being under the sun all his life as his eyes were as black as his hair observed the two of them. He was wearing long pants upon him, and a sleeveless shirt which was red.

Shinji shook his hand.

"Sorry about the welcome back there," Dan continued, "With the way things are going on right now, everyone is a little on edge…huh, who is this?"

His eyes had finally found Aesyr who was standing a little way back from Shinji. The young man glanced at her and indicated her forward and Aesyr did.

"This is Aesyr," he said, "She is a Dragon Knight as well."

Dan's eyes widened in shock.

"Seriously?"

Shinji nodded.

"She was Knighted as well," he said, "Got a Dragon coin just like I did."

"Damn," Dan said looked at her in shock, "And here I thought you were the last one…well great to meet you Aesyr."

Aesyr only gave him a light nod of greeting.

"Dan…why was the Gate closed?" Shinji asked, getting straight down to business.

Dan looked at him.

"I think it's best you speak to my dad about that," he said, "He'll be able to bring you up to speed about what has been happening in the village for the past few weeks."

Aesyr frowned lightly.

"Is your dad the Mayor?"

Dan had a light smirk.

"That he is Aesyr," he said.

Shinji nodded.

"It's been some time since I've seen the old man," he said, "Alright, take us to him…and maybe, we'll know exactly what is going on here."

A new happening...

Next Time: Unexpected Complications

Jacques0 out.

R&R