Rage. That was all that Oliver could feel as he looked through what to him seemed a torrent of red, his arms screaming at him to stop swinging them as he felt his axes going through whatever they could reach. 'I'm completely entrenched,' was the only comprehendible thought that went through Oliver's head, and even that was fleeting as it soon was lost again in the torrent of raging emotions. Father, Barbarra, even Nathan was gone, and the man who caused it was still here somewhere, he could feel it, and he wanted no more than to take the axes in his hands and make him suffer the same way he made his father suffer, make him pay for bringing those other two into this event. Even then, however, another thought surfaced into his mind again, one which had started to ebb at the rage surrounding him every time it surfaced to fully sever the last of the tethers in his mind. 'I hope you can see your dream fulfilled like you wanted to, I just wish I could be there for it.'
This time he started to see a sliver of the world around him from the red, and what he saw put a pit in his stomach. A scene of a city, completely demolished as he was cutting through it, and along the edges of the axes the same blood red writing that had covered the original golden symbols, a trail of blood following their arcs as they moved towards their next victims.
-...-
"Oliver, Serphia's calling for you," came a voice, shocking Oliver awake as he swung his fist into the direction of the voice, the force making full contact with Ksalso's chest as the man staggered back a bit, his face unfazed. "Should I give you ten more minutes?"
"…No, it's fine," Oliver responded, picking himself up proper as he looked at his hands, his arms shaking as he remembered the visions of the dream, no, of the memory. "I dreamt of Dresden again…"
"I see," Ksalso spoke, nodding as Oliver squeezed his hands into fists, picking himself up. "Do you need anything to help? I can make some of the herbal teas that Mary had given us for events like this."
"Maybe, if any can work," Oliver responded as he looked to Ksalso, nodding. He then walked over to the desk, where a ring with a green gem seemed to be glowing in a slow beat as Oliver picked it up, looking over the symbol within the gem. After the initial start of their trip, they had been more or less doing the same thing for the next few days, so it was surprising to hear from her so late in outside of the usual times he contacted her to see how things were. "You said Serphia's calling?"
"Yes, she's been trying to make contact for the last twenty minutes," Ksalso responded as Oliver moved to the chair beside the desk, pulling a black shirt off the back and putting it on as he went through the current situation. They had been traveling for several days now and in that time Oliver had been keeping track of Serphia's notices. The fact that he hadn't at this point just showed how much the dream had been affecting him. "It seems like it's something important."
"Obviously," Oliver responded as he rubbed the gem, it's magic activating as a figure of Serphia soon popped up in front of him, rubbing at the bracelet he had given her. "Serphia, I'm here."
"Oliver," Serphia spoke with a start, practically jumping as she saw Oliver in front of her. Then, as she collected herself, she looked him over. "Were you still sleeping when I was calling? I'm really sorry if-"
"It's fine, Serphia, messages over the current matters are better than me sleeping for longer than usual," Oliver interrupted, raising his hand. 'Especially if it means I can get out of that nightmare faster,' he added silently in his head as he lifted his arms to stretch. "So then, what's the situation?"
"Ah, right, I was calling to let you know, there's a group from the west who have been making rounds through the regions around Emerial which we made contact with recently," Serphia spoke as she picked herself up, moving as if grabbing something before a piece of paper appeared in her hand, along with the vision of a desk she was touching before it soon vanished. "They claimed they were under orders from Arlus to help deal with the mercenary divisions situated around the area for the last few days while also holding the signet ring for the prince, and Arlus confirmed it with me when I asked him about it through the communication jewel you gave me."
"A group of refugees aiding in the current situation, is it," Oliver spoke with an almost joking tone to his voice, thinking of the poetic irony of the army. "That certainly helps in the long term, and can make sure those troops can't immediately move like they'd want for the specific date. How did the king react to it?"
"He was surprised but elated at it, actually laughing when he had met with the leader of the group that had come over to tell us about the situation," Serphia spoke as she looked over to where Oliver guessed the table was at for her, though the location couldn't be discerned. "I had asked the prince about it, and he had responded that he was a former general from the West, which was weird since the country is still under some trouble from the new ruler that's sitting on the throne."
"But with the king's reaction, that almost certainly means that the man himself has no ties to the new monarch in the west," Oliver spoke as he looked to his desk, noting a familiar yellow book as he walked over and picked it up, a set of Chinese characters in a picture on the front. "Regardless, with their lack of a proper home at the moment they have the best leeway to traverse and deal with the mercenaries, as well as the fact that this gives Emerial time to prepare for any assault with this choice stunting their preparations. I suppose all that's needed now is to deal with the Eastern army moving to the North, then, and it will place us at an even playing field against the two."
"That's what Arlus thought as well when I asked him about it, though we still haven't seen any sign of them along the borders moving north," Serphia spoke as Oliver opened the book, looking over the familiar title and scribbles he had written on it with his father back when he was a kid: Imperial Warlord. "Anyway, I just felt like you'd probably want to know about that happening over here, I'll be heading back to my rounds now."
"Alright then, stay safe," Oliver spoke as he kept his gaze on the book, Serphia soon fading as he sighed, looking up to Ksalso. "Where's the princess?"
"Training with that blade you had her face you with," Ksalso responded as Oliver looked back to the book, his mind instinctively turning the pages to one of the parts that kept his mind in motion. "Are you sure you don't want to focus on the fact of your memories of that night?"
"Positive, it's bad enough that it shadows over every step I take," Oliver responded with a sigh, looking over the page he turned to. "My anger slipped out again when I was facing those mercenaries in Emerial, especially when I was trying to get information from their leader. I had more options than the bloodshed I caused, but I deliberately carved him up despite this because of what had happened to Isao and Serphia…. How long till we arrive at our destination?"
"According to the map we were given in comparison to the arial travel," Ksalso asked, his eyes soon going dark as the man stared blankly towards a wall before they lit up red again. "From what the areas seem to look like, we'll be there by noon today."
"That's faster than we expected," Oliver muttered to himself as he looked up from the book, staring at Ksalso confused. "Did you find a clear path to fly through and keep hidden at the same time?"
"A wind current, actually," Ksalso responded as the floor in between the two shifted, revealing a map with several locations placed upon it. At one end where Oliver stood, there was a city with the label Emerial, while further along the trail there was what looked to be a set of plains before reaching some mountains, before finally reaching to Ksalso, where a dragon shape shifted in the floor as if it was moving. More importantly, however, were the consistant ripples that seemed to arrive along the mountain line before spinning forward towards the dragon shape, picking up speed as they went. "It seems that there's a good current line to go by which we ended up hitting by chance, so I've been able to go fairly faster along it. With hope, we should arrive at our supposed destination across the frozen lake several times faster than intended."
"Incredible," Oliver muttered to himself as he closed his book, leaning down towards the shaped map as the items on it seemed to shrink. Then, with a sigh he picked himself up. "However, you're clearly going slower than you normally would in a wind current. I'm guessing you're taking this slow so you don't cause any kind of panic to the populace in those areas?"
"Indeed, plus there's some beasts within the area I sensed that could've damaged me if I wasn't careful," Ksalso spoke, making Oliver look to him confused as the entity held out his hand, a black pool forming in the ground between them again before a plate rose up, on it a teapot and an empty cup. Ksalso simply moved his hand under the plate, soon walking it to the desk as he continued. "Among them there was one that also looked as a massive dragon who was living in the mountains we passed over, and it had its eyes on us for a moment before deciding to go on its own way."
"Probably for the best, last thing we need is for the creatures of this land to come after us," Oliver responded as Ksalso poured the tea into the glass as he set the plate down. Oliver then closed the book, sighing as Ksalso finished pouring the drink, lifting the cup and handing it to the man as he took it. "However, the fact the others haven't seen the army moving towards the north is concerning… Can you scout over the area towards the southeast to make sure the force is actually coming? The last thing I'd need is to have put everyone on a wild goose chase about a large army that seems to be nonexistent."
"Of course, I'll send some hawks towards the southeast to confirm the matter, as well as a raven to our destination to warn them of our approach since the last thing we need is them fearing our approach," Ksalso spoke as Oliver took a sip of the tea, the man simply bowing before his eyes glowed red, making Oliver nod as he looked to the book in his hand. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought you wouldn't be joining any fights when you left for here."
"Originally I wasn't," Oliver responded with a chuckle, soon shaking his head before his eyes glowed a light red. "But with how fate decided to treat my student if I sat idle, and after hearing more of the kingdom East of us, there was no way I could be silent. The situation gives me a bad taste that reminds me of the situation back home before the war began, especially with the mind control placed on that mercenary. How can I just watch when I see similar tactics to that bastard that was sent by Isier?"
"I understand," Ksalso spoke as he kept his head bowed, Oliver finishing his tea quickly as he got up. "Do you not want to have the rest?"
"Save it for later, I need to focus," Oliver sighed as he shook his head, looking down at his hand as he noticed it still shaking. "The longer I sit with these memories still fresh in my mind, the harder it will be to remain collected."
With that he walked out of the room, making Ksalso sigh as he stood up straight. "So he's still trying to suppress his emotions," Ksalso sighed, walking over to the desk as the plate and it's assortment faded into the shadows, leaving no trace it was on the desk as Ksalso rearranged the desk back to how it was.
-Training area, Elia-
To other people, Elia would be looking as if she was fighting nothing, but her mind was still focused on the memory of the one sided fight she had with Oliver. Even now she was visualizing it, seeing the blurred speed he swung his axes at her with as she mocked blocks and strikes, sweat furling over her brow as she watched the imaginary opponent strike her side again. "Not enough…" was all Elia spoke as she knelt down, panting as she looked at the area she had been training in. "Still not fast enough."
"There's too much strength in your swings, if you're wondering why you're not getting faster with the strikes," came a voice, making her turn in shock to see Oliver walking in, looking over the area with his hands in his pockets as he whistled. All around the two the sand was shuffled, showing the focus Elia had been working with her combat style since the trail from her went through the entire training area. "We'll be arriving sooner than expected, and should get to our destination within the day if you prepare yourself."
"That soon," Elia asked as she stood up, looking at Oliver confused. Then, registering his previous statement, she tilted her head. "More importantly, you said I'm using too much strength in my strikes. What do you mean?"
"Just as I said," Oliver responded as he pulled out one of his hands, his eyes glowing orange before the shadows under him moved forward and began to rise in a mist around his height. Then, closing his fist the mist condensed, making itself a wall as he placed the first two knuckles on it. "You have an abundance of strength and skill, our training and your ability to register tactics after hearing them is proof of that. However, you pull too much from your strength when your weapon is a blade. This costs the precision and maneuverability which is needed when fighting someone of your strength or greater."
As he said this, he turned around and walked to the pole as Elia looked to him. "Strength can influence speed just as easily as skill though," Elia spoke as Oliver looked to the area, soon pulling out a slim longsword as he looked it over, spinning it a few times to get a feel of the weapon. "Derek even stated that pushing your strength into the weapon can increase its power several times."
"Maybe, but that's if you use that strength at the point of contact," Oliver spoke as he walked back to the wall, placing the blade at the side before he lifted it with both his hands, swinging down as hard as he could to get a resounding gong from the pole, the sword shattering from the strength used as he looked at the broken hilt. "You start with strength immediately with the blade you're using or one of a similar stature, then it will bend and break even if it's a high quality weapon."
"Maybe if it's something not made of Orichalcum," Elia spoke, looking to her own sword resting at the entrance of the area. "It keeps a pristine sharpness despite how many times you can swing it. Including it being one of the strongest metals in this land, it makes it impossible to shatter under normal means."
"Even then, relying on the sharpness of your blade over your own skill will do nothing but stagnate your style and the effectiveness of the weapon," Oliver responded as he held his hand out, his eyes glowing orange again before another sword of a similar shape flew from the wall, going into his hand as he dropped the hilt of the broken weapon as the pieces started to fall into the sand. Oliver then placed the blade on the pole again, this time focusing on the prep before he drew back and swung, cutting through it cleanly before he looked to Elia, holding the blade forward to her. "Even with a blade that seems to cut through anything while having amazing durability, it means nothing if it faces something of equal strength without the proper skill."
"Then can you prove it," Elia asked, looking to the sword on the wall. "My sword has been able to cut through any armor it's faced, and you even saw how cleanly it cut through the head of that best when we first met. Could you claim that it'd still be able to break then?"
"Easily, if it's my own armor," Oliver responded before his eyes glowed red, the darkness from the pole dispersing and circling around him, blocking the sight as Elia watched on with widened eyes. As soon as the darkness cleared, he was standing with a black armor that seemed to be unreflective, the only thing that could be seen from the helmet being a set of glowing red eyes. "This armor was able to endure many things, and could only be cut by light concentrated heavily enough to pierce through seven feet of steel. If you use your strength alone to cut it, the blade will shatter."
"Incredible," Elia spoke, walking to Oliver before she placed her hand on the armor, feeling a cold from it that was surprising before she looked up into the glowing red eyes. "This doesn't seem like the armor of a general, though, it's more like that of a king."
"The design was more to portray a conqueror in hopes of placing fear in my enemies," Oliver spoke as he moved from her touch, walking to her sword before he picked it up, looking it over. "It proves to be a great fear tactic when the only thing your enemy sees from your armor is a set of glowing eyes that they can't discern, especially in dark areas."
With that said, he soon tossed the blade to Elia, who caught it as she kept looking him over before he held out his hand, a black portal opening above him before Erebus fell through in its sheath. "The armor matches your sword, at least," Elia spoke as Oliver caught his blade, looking him over before she sighed. "But I don't intend to cut you down because you asked me to."
"Don't worry, I won't be in it," Oliver responded before the hilt of the sword glowed, and before long Oliver fell from the armor, stepping back as he looked at her with a smirk, the armor still holding the blade. "But you will be striking while I'm in it so I can prove that point before we arrive."
Elia just looked at him confused as he took a few steps back and sat down before he closed his eyes, his body soon slumping as she looked at him. "What do you mean by that," Elia began, walking up to him before the armor held out it's hand, making her jump back in surprise as the red glow of the eyes returned to it. "What in the world…"
"It's an ability I used to implement during the war to ensure I could be in multiple places at once," Oliver spoke through the armor as he drew the sword he held, the black blade seeming to emanate a dark glow as it pointed the weapon at her. "I place my mind into this while my body remains over there, so now you can swing at me to your hearts content without worry."
Elia just looked between the armor and Oliver's body, processing the situation before she shook her head, taking an attack stance. "Fine, just don't be mad if I break your armor," Elia spoke as she drew back.
"You won't," Oliver responded matter of factly as he held up his left gauntlet, a chuckle coming out of the armor as he kept his eyes on her. "I'll even give you a first strike on this armor to prove my point."
Elia said nothing, only jumping forward before swinging down hard on his gauntlet, expecting it to break through easily like everything she's cut through. However, what happened instead was her sword bounding off the armor, a resounding crack being heard from the weapon as she stumbled back from the rebound of the strike. Then, looking down, she saw a long crack in the middle of the blade reaching up to the tip. "Impossible," Elia spoke in disbelief as she looked at the weapon, watching as shards from the weapon seemed to fall from the center of the blade. "No one's been able to craft anything outside of orichalcum to resist the weapons."
"Impossibilities are meant to be challenged," Oliver simply responded as the armor's gaze faded, Oliver's body soon snapping out of it's slump as he picked himself up, stretching as he looked at her with a smirk as she looked back to him, her gaze angry. "Like I said, too much strength will be a detriment to the weapon if you don't understand it proper. Not many things have been able to penetrate that particular armor either, so the fact that it still retained it's shape despite that crack in the middle is amazin-"
"Quiet," Elia shouted, jumping towards him and swinging with the cracked weapon, making him duck in surprise as she started a new torrent of fighting him. Holding his hand out, Erebus flew into it as he blocked the next strike, noticing the anger in her gaze as she pushed him back. "This weapon was a gift from my father for obtaining my position as a general. It's make cost a fair portion of the treasury and it was meant to be passed along the family."
"Then you shouldn't have taken that bet if it's that important," Oliver responded before he jumped back from another swipe, looking at Elia's angered gaze as he held his sword up. "If you want, we can go to Wayland and have it repaired easily! There's no need to go after me for a bet you made!"
Elia just looked at him, her gaze hard before she sighed, sheathing her sword. "…Fine," Elia spoke as she walked over to the katana she had set down, making Oliver sigh before he watched her put the sword down as she picked the katana up, pointing it at him. "However, I demand more than just repairing the weapon. Once the weapon is repaired, you're facing me again."
"Uh, got it," Oliver responded in a confused voice, making Elia sigh as she shook her head.
"Not in the training we've been doing, but the same as we did the first time," Elia responded, looking at him. "No holding back while we're fighting, either. I want to fight you at your best."
Oliver just looked at her confused, before finally nodding. "Sure, whatever you say," Oliver spoke as Elia nodded, walking the katana back to it's slot on the wall, setting it down. "I guess you want to go now?"
"Yes, the sooner the blade is repaired the better," Elia responded, making Oliver just nod before he started walking out of the area with Elia in tow, feeling a strange sense of Déjà vu from this interaction as they walked. As he continued walking down the hall, he looked back behind him to see Elia drawing back her hair and tying it, making her look at him confused. "What?"
"Nothing, you just reminded me of someone just now," Oliver spoke as he shook his head, turning back to the hall and sighing. As they walked, he couldn't help but feel a memory returning to him, one that was happy but still left a pit in his stomach.
-Ten years ago, New York-
"Hey, you're distracted," came a voice, snapping Oliver out of his thoughts as he was looking down at his phone, looking up to see a girl staring at him with a peeved look while tapping her foot. The blonde hair she had was pulled back to show her emerald eyes, completely different from the well brushed formal look he usually saw her with. "You said you'd repay me by spending the day with me, right?"
"I don't see how I should talk with you when you dragged me out on my day off," Oliver responded as he looked at the girl, making her sigh before she reached over and grabbed his phone from him before he could react. "Hey, I need that for work Barbara!"
"Oh no, I specifically wanted you to spend the day with me," the girl responded as she tapped his forehead, making him step back while holding his head in shock. "You're not a mercenary paid by my dad to watch me right now, so I'm expecting to hear some stories from you."
Oliver sighed as he hung his head, holding out his phone. "Fine, I promise I won't pull out my phone again today," Oliver spoke, getting a smug smile in response from Barbara before she handed him his phone back. "Seriously though, I don't want your dad to put a hit on me just because someone sees you and me together and gets the wrong idea."
"I think he'd be for it given how much he likes you," Barbara responded as she started walking off to a nearby restaurant, Oliver following in suit as she looked back to him with a smile. "Who knows, you could be forced to be part of the family instead with how well you helped him out."
"They wouldn't be for a mercenary taking that task, so it's best not to joke," Oliver sighed, making the girl laugh as she turned back to the restaurant. Barbara was someone he had met during his mercenary work and saved, but he hadn't really met her until his trip to New York based on the journal of his original timeline to try and get a job with one of the major mob families in the city. While the families were meant to die down after a while, they instead went on the rise in recent years, more than likely due to the interference of Isier. However, among the families was one that he was apparently friendly with that Barbara's father was the head of, though he hadn't read more than that from the warning that Alegar had given him while he was reading the journal and noting how certain parts were clouded by darkness. 'I sealed those certain parts so you wouldn't affect personal connections you'll later obtain, so just follow the main areas and you'll find them out yourself.' Alegar had told him, and it had proven true when he had gone to his cousin for a divination last year off a promise, meeting a man called Nathan who ended up starting a good conversation with him before they parted as good friends. Later Oliver found the darkness of the pages fading, revealing him to be a major politician in a few years who would aid him in the political field when needed. For Barbara and her father, however, there's only been small bits which have revealed themselves to him, but only that he would end up close with them in some way.
"Maybe if you were a normal mercenary," came Barbara's voice, making Oliver look at her confused before she smiled. "But I think we both know there's more to it than that, given your father. Seriously though, the son of such a famous general taking on mercenary work?"
This made Oliver sigh, only nodding as he followed Barbara in. "We both agreed that I'd do better finding my own plan in it instead of marching in the same tune as he did at my age with how the country has been," Oliver responded, the two making it to a table that seemed it was specifically reserved for them, making him look at it confused as Barbara grabbed his hand, pulling him over. "There's been far too much going on with the current stuff in the government for him to safely say I'd be good in the army…"
"Well right now you're stuck with me for the day and not under a contract," Barbara responded as she pushed him down onto his seat, soon walking to the other side and sitting down as she leaned over to him smiling. "So since you're not in work at the moment, how has your training that you've been taking been?"
"Better, I've started to get a hang of some of the moves I've been learning finally," Oliver spoke as he looked down, noticing there wasn't a menu which made him look over at her confused. "Uh, shouldn't we be looking for something to eat?"
"They're already preparing it since you would've been hiding in your menu only to order the same thing if I hadn't called it in," Barbara responded as she looked at him with a smile. "I told you already, no distractions."
"I see," Oliver spoke, closing his eyes and putting his hand on his head as he processed the event, soon looking back up at her. "What about your end? How was the meeting your father sent you to do yesterday?"
"It was good," Barbara responded, leaning back finally. "I may not want to be part of the darker business my father runs, so it's a good thing he lets me do as I please with the company. With luck, we should have a new turn by the end of the year."
"That fast," Oliver asked, clearly shocked as he looked to her. "Your father said that would've taken another four years if you were lucky."
"I made them a few offers for joint operations in other regions," Barbara responded as a waiter came by, putting some drinks in front of the two. "Why try to overshadow the opposition when cooperation allows for the same results?"
Their conversation continued like that as they talked, any of the tension that Oliver had been trying to keep vanishing the more they talked, and soon it changed from talking about work to just their own hobbies by the time the food arrived. All in all, it was a surprising turn for a day that Oliver hadn't expected, which seemed to always be the case when she was involved.
-Present-
"You don't have anything to blame for this crack Oliver," Wayland spoke as he looked over the blade, Elia and Oliver standing beside him as he tapped the metal in a few areas, his eyes glowing green as he did so. "Whoever made it couldn't set the tempering right, though it's amazing they could even manage to make it into a blade with the heat they were using. If it had faced another sword with the same metal but a stronger build, it would've ended up in far worse disrepair than just a crack through the middle."
"Can you repair it," Elia asked, making Wayland look to her with a rather annoyed look. She still couldn't understand the man in front of her, who she had found testing explosive items when she and Oliver had arrived. "It may not be a good craft to your eyes, but it was the best that could be done with the metal and it was a weapon that my father had commissioned for me.'
"I'd rather scrap it and forge it into a new sword," Wayland spat as he looked over the sword, Isao sneezing as Wayland set the blade down. The boy and his pet had been arriving to this place nonstop to watch Wayland with interest, to the point that Isao and Susanoo even had their own welding goggles to protect their eyes, which strangely fit the two with how much soot they got in when hanging out down here. "I could repair the crack easy, but there's far more impurities than there should be with metal this good. It'd be a crime to allow it to sit like this!"
Elia just looked at him confused, shaking her head. "You could make it stronger," Elia asked surprised, looking to Oliver who just looked at Wayland while thinking over the matter. Then looking over to Wayland her voice was calmer. "How much could you make it stronger if you reforged the weapon?"
"If I can keep it with me for a while, I'd say it'd be more than strong enough to even cut through the stuff Oliver makes in the hands of a master, metal or otherwise," Wayland spoke, making Oliver look at him surprised as the smith looked to him with a smirk. "That'd be a fun prospect, making a weapon that could cut through your weapons of Power or Authority."
"If you can achieve it," was all Oliver responded with as he looked at the blade before looking to Wayland. "How long would it take to make?"
"No idea, maybe a week or two at least to look over the weapon materials alone," Wayland responded, looking over the blade as he tapped it a few more times, each tap actually causing a resonating sound to come from the sword as he chuckled. "Even the sword within the metal is singing to be born anew without all these impurities..."
"Singing," Elia asked, making Oliver chuckle as he looked to Elia.
"It's how Wayland says he really wants to remake the sword," Oliver responded before shaking his head, turning to her. "However, the choice of the blade being remade is up to you since it is your weapon."
Elia just looked between the two, soon sighing as she held her head. "I say do it, if it'll make the sword better," Elia spoke as she looked to Oliver. "My father gave me the weapon since it was made from Orichalcum gifted to us, so he'll more than likely be fine if it's made even better than before. If not, then I'll take the blame for it since it was my bet which caused the blade to crack in the first place."
"In that case, I'll take it as a yes," Wayland spoke before he started tapping the blade harder with the hammer, causing cracks to appear all over it as it fell apart in front of the two, Elia watching on in shock. "While I work on it, however, I noticed during your time here that you use a katana style. Would you like the blade to be made in the same form instead of how it is now?"
"Given how well I've been practicing with it, it'd be great if you can," Elia spoke as she looked at Wayland as she looked at Oliver. "So, what weapon should I get to use while I wait for this one to be made?"
"I think Derek's katana is still in his old office in here," Wayland responded, making her snap her head to him shocked as he looked back up to him. "I made it for him back during Oliver's mercenary days, but Derek just left it on the wall as a decoration since it was considered for an older time. I just need to adjust the hilt to match your hand size so you can use it perfectly, shouldn't take more than a few minutes."
"I wondered where he left that thing," Oliver spoke, making Elia look at him confused before he looked to her with a smirk. "So then, let's head to your master's old office before we arrive."
With that said he took her hand, and before anything could be said the two fell through the shadows, making Isao look over surprised. "Why didn't you ask them to stay," Isao asked as Wayland continued to work on the sword pieces, looking them over as he did so. "Didn't you want Oliver to see the progress you made so far?"
"Not yet, I like to have my work completed when I show progress," Wayland responded as he looked over to the boy smiling. "Besides, this is the first time in a while where Oliver's stuck around someone for so long. It's reminiscent of the old days…"
"Here we are," Oliver said as the darkness shifted in a room, both Oliver and Elia appearing in it as a set of gold flames lit up on the sides, revealing an office as he walked towards the wall, a katana with a black hilt resting upon it as Elia looked at the area in surprise, mostly looking at a desk with a portrait on it. Oliver then grabbed the katana as he looked to the room, whistling as he did so. It was years since he had been in here, but it still had its blue walls and white tiled floor in amazing condition. Out of all the places here, it was among the few that felt as if it came out of an actual office. "I know he was subtle, but he had a surprisingly leveled idea for an office space since this place was made to his designs."
"Is this him in his younger days," Elia spoke as she picked up a picture from the desk that showed two men in it, making Oliver stiffen as he looked at it. "It's such a clear painting… Who's the man beside him. He looks almost identical to you."
Oliver just looked at it with a stiff gaze, making Elia worry if she did something wrong before he sighed, shaking his head. "…It's my father, Lester," Oliver finally spoke, walking over to her and taking the picture, looking at it. "They served together back then, and while this isn't exactly a painting, it is very much a picture. I didn't realize he left this in here when everything was moved to the castle…"
"That's your father," Elia asked, looking at the picture and back at him, looking over the features of the man beside Derek in it an noting the similarities between the two. She also noticed that his voice had become softer when talking about it, making her look at him worried. "I'm sorry, is he-"
"He is, sadly," Oliver responded before she could finish, setting the picture down and turning to the door. "He died in my arms on the day everything went to hell…"
Elia just kept quiet after that, walking out with him as she noticed his body visibly shaking while holding the katana. However, he was trying to keep from showing anything on his face as he finally stopped, unable to move any further before Elia took the katana. "I'll take this to Wayland if you can tell me where to go from here," Elia spoke as she looked at him concerned. "You don't need to push yourself like this, get some rest."
"I'm fine," Oliver muttered, looking at the floor now while still shaking, trying to put his mind together. He didn't expect to see a photo of his dad with that memory of the dream still fresh in his mind, and now it was causing him to shut down as bad as it had back then. 'First that nightmare, and now my father's image, it's like the world wants me to walk on eggshells today,' Oliver thought to himself, pacing his breathing as he was failing to keep his emotions down. As he was trying to calm his mind and even out his breathing, he felt a finger poke into his head, making him stumble back and look up to see Elia with her finger out in front of his face.
"We're to arrive soon anyway, right?" Elia spoke, looking at him with a stern gaze as he just held his hand up to his head. "Don't try to look strong while we're alone here when something is clearly bothering you. Isn't one of the sayings from that book you had me read state that if you don't know yourself then you're doomed to fail every time? How can you know it if you're just sitting on your issues?"
Oliver said nothing as he held his head, feeling an almost instant sense of déjà vu from this as he looked at the way Elia was staring at him. Then, closing his eyes and sighing, he smirked before opening them again. "Fine, I'll get some rest," Oliver spoke as he stood up straight, the shaking of his body feeling far less than it was a moment ago as he looked to the hallway past her. "Derek always made sure he had a room directly across from one of the lifts, so just take the hallway down there and it'll be the door straight ahead. After that press the button with the anvil on it to be taken directly to Wayland, though the location will be the opposite side of the forge you saw on our way down. I'll go try to rest since we'll be seeing Derek again."
"I'm holding you to that," Elia responded, lifting the katana up in a warning before she turned and walked to the lift door he pointed out. When she got in and the door closed, Oliver sighed, feeling an unknown nervous tension leave him as he rested on the wall, holding his head.
'That was unexpected,' Oliver thought to himself, his hand resting on his forehead as he chuckled to himself. 'She did the same thing Barbara did when I started to feel overwhelmed… You chose a hell of a student, Derek.'
-The Northern Kingdom, Dargoth-
"That concludes todays reports," a soldier spoke to a silver-haired man sitting back at a table, his feet kicked up on it as he looked up at the ceiling. Beside him stood an old man, a beard apparent as he looked over the paper report given to him. "The clans north still refuse to cooperate, and the silence in the east is almost unbearable. There's still yet to be a reply from Emerial for extra supplies like requested, as well."
"We'll just have to deal with what we have for now, and hope we can manage communication with the northern tribes," the old man spoke, making the soldier bow before he turned and left. After he did, the old man looked over at the man in the chair. "So then Li, what do you think of the situation?"
"I'd say it's proceeding as expected," the man in the chair responded, his voice calm as he kicked himself off his desk and stood up, looking to the old man with a smirk. "If the East is silent, then they're playing as I expected and planning to either march North or East. We shouldn't expect reinforcements from Emerial due to the snow that's about to roll in, so the next best option is still to gain the aid of the tribes."
"And there lies the problem," the old man spoke as he looked at the map on the table, leaning over it. "They refuse our requests for an audience and the path is too treacherous for a single envoy if we do go… It's at times like these I wish I told Oliver I was here."
"That's to be expected, but he couldn't help us as he is right now," Li responded as he looked to the old man. "You said so yourself, Derek: it's better for him to help himself before he goes and jumps back into a fight for others again."
"Indeed, but I still wish I could've eased his doubts," the old man muttered as he lowered his head, soon looking back over the map. "He has a better handle over the combat styles of tribes and kingdoms than me, who's only ever studied the modern warfare of guns and explosives…"
"And yet you've still managed quite well despite that," Li responded as he walked to the old man, patting his shoulder. "Warfare may change in different areas, but the concept stays the same to defeat your enemy. Your own unique form of combat still shows results that placed you as a general, after all."
"That's true, at least," Derek responded, chuckling before he looked to Li. "What about your son, have you gotten any letters from Isao for his trip?"
"No, and that's concerning," Li spoke, his face stern as he looked to the map. "The scout I sent to look where he last sent a letter hasn't returned either, so trouble may have occurred. However, he has Susanoo, so he should be safe so long as that Behemoth protects him…"
Tic… Tic…
Looking up confused, the two heard a strange sound of something tapping on glass, making them look to the windows of the room. There in their view sat a black bird, rather large in some form but still looking as normal as raven which Derek had seen every now and again. However, the thing which caught his eye the most was the glowing yellow eyes of the creature, making him walk to it surprised. "It can't be," Derek muttered as he walked to the window, Li looking at the bird with a smirk as the older man opened the window. "Ksalso?"
Then, as if taking it as an invitation, the bird flew in and landed in front of the two men, it's eyes still glowing before it opened it's beak, a voice coming out of it soon after. "Derek, it's been a while," the voice spoke in a familiar dark voice, making Derek's eyes widen as the raven looked to him. "I've come to inform you that Oliver and Lady Elia will be arriving within the next two hours. They come with warnings of a potential invasion to the north from the East, and will provide more details upon arrival. Please prepare the city for the arrival of the Dragon's Heart."
With that stated the raven formed into a mist of shadows before vanishing, leaving a red symbol upon the floor where it had left. "Well, I guess we get your former leader after all," Li spoke, soon chuckling as he walked to the door. "I'll tell the men to spread the word that they'll be arriving and to prepare for a surprise, you get yourself collected so you can explain about what they'll be arriving in."
Derek said nothing, only staring at the mark as Li shut the door behind him, his mind processing the information. Then, with a sigh, he walked to the doorway.
Author's note: Yes, I know how long it's been since I last updated, but dammit I'm not good at travel parts when the real fun that I've already finished writing is after them!
