Well, another idea that refused to die. Bedivere in Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Let's see how this does.
-SpiritOfErebus
…
"...So, you've done it?"
"Yes, my teacher." Himmel nodded, bowing to another white-haired young man. Despite everything, the young man seemed to carry an air of resignation and old age. He was still wearing an old-fashioned suit of armor, despite the fact that the armor would probably have only weighed down the swordsman's prowess.
"Good." the young man said, patting Himmel on the shoulder. "I've taught you well. You've truly saved this world from strife."
"I still think things would have been a lot easier if you came with us, my teacher." Himmel said, grinning. "It would have been fun, too! You, me, Frieren, Eisen, and Heiter! Together on a long, long journey!"
"It was better for you all to take the journey." his teacher said, sighing. "I'm tired."
"Tired?" Himmel said, scratching his head in confusion. "Have you been traveling, Sir Bedivere?"
"Yes." Bedivere said, looking up at the foreign sky. "Traveling for much too long."
"Would you care to join us in our celebrations, then?" Himmel said, gesturing towards outside the shack that they were currently sitting in. "It's to celebrate our victory over the Demon King! We're even going to get our own statues! How awesome is that?"
The village was alive. There had always been an air of despair floating around. People had always been afraid of impending war. It was less impending, however, and more inevitable. The Demon King had reigned for thousands of years, attacking humanity with his seemingly endless forces. Now that he was dead, it was like a weight had been lifted from the kingdom.
People were happy again. The stars even seemed to shine brighter, as the very world rejoiced for the return of the heroes, victorious.
Drinks were being passed out. Markets were filled with goods. Pleasant aromas wafted over from the food stands and street vendors that filled the paved walkways. The most apparent thing, however, was the people. They flooded onto the streets in numbers that Bedivere only remembered in the faintest reaches of his memory. The good days of Camelot, before everything seemed to go… awry.
It would be nice to relive the past, anyways, now that he was stuck in these foreign lands.
"Alright." Bedivere said, smiling. "I'll join you."
"Great!" Himmel said, his smile widening. "I'll have to introduce my party members to you. Oh, you'll absolutely be friends with them, too."
…
"So, this is your teacher?" the dwarf grunted, sizing up Bedivere. The short dwarf circled around Bedivere, his expression nearly invisible below his long beard.
"And you are… a dwarf?" Bedivere said, looking at the short figure in a viking hat. The question was how he wore a viking hat, specifically. After all, the Vikings probably did not exist here.
"I thought it would be obvious." Eisen said.
"Are you perhaps a member of the church?" Heiter asked, the bespectacled man leaning in to inspect Bedivere's armor. "I believe your armor resembles an old-fashioned version of the paladins of the holy city. Do you happen to hail from Strahl?"
Bedivere shook his head. "This armor was given to me by my former companions."
"Oh? What were they called?"
"We were known… as the Knights of the Round Table."
For a moment, there was silence. As the people paraded in the background, the four members of the hero's party pondered back to their journey, to think whether or not
"Never heard of them."
"...Sorry, teacher." Himmel said, laughing awkwardly.
Bedivere just smiled. "I didn't expect you to know about us. But we were like you all. A group of warriors that went on quests to slay beasts and bring glory to our nation."
"Were you strong?"
"I was the weakest out of all of them." Bedivere sighed. "I'm just an ordinary human, compared to them. The others were truly the backbone of our group. I was… just me. Just Bedivere."
"No, way!" Himmel said. "They're stronger than you?"
"Compared to me, they were truly monsters. If they were the sun, then I would just be a passing cloud." Bedivere said, smiling at some joke that only he understood.
"Is this human strong?" the mage in their party asked, raising an eyebrow. Her short stature made her emotionless face somewhat comical.
"Now's not the time to find out." Himmel said, patting the mage on the shoulders. "I'll miss these little discussions we've had about them."
"We've had ten years of them." Heiter chuckled, acting every bit the calm and polite gentleman. "I don't think I'll miss them."
"...Yeah." Himmel smiled, looking at the town. "Ten years is a long time, isn't it?"
"Our journey was quite short, though." the mage said, nonchalantly.
"Short?" the two human party members said, flabbergasted.
As they continued to bicker, Bedivere sighed.
For him, ten years were but a blink of an eye. Every year that passed had felt like nothing, but every second still felt like an eternity.
Feeling the two swords at his hip, he was once again reminded of his mission. To return the sword to the king.
Suddenly, the night sky glowed rife with color, as arcs after arcs of stars fell from the sky. The sheer spectacle distracted Bedivere from his thoughts.
Despite everything he had been through, Bedivere looked up. He had never seen anything like it. It was something that was truly unique. It was a spectacle of nature that should be impossible in his old world, but it was happening. It nearly seemed like a curtain of light had descended on the dark, night sky.
"The 'Era of Meteors'. A meteor shower that happens every fifty years." Heiter monologued.
"...And a perfect beginning to a new, peaceful era." Himmel smiled. "I guess you could say, there's no better time to be alive, is there, teacher?"
Bedivere just smiled sadly.
After all, living was nothing but a means to an end here. The sword keeping him alive was a grim reminder of his ceaseless duty, and he had never thought about leaving it behind. Dying was not an option.
The silence only continued on for a bit, before the mage destroyed the moment of contemplation.
"It's kind of hard to see in town, though, even if we are on the castle walls." the mage said.
"...Can't you see some people are trying to have a moment." Heiter muttered, nudging the mage. Despite his attempts at being quiet, however, the moment had been utterly destroyed.
"Don't worry." the mage said. "We'll be able to see it fifty years later. There's a place I know, too. It'll be even more beautiful. Meet me back here, and I'll take you there."
"Hehehehe…" Himmel muttered.
"What?" the mage asked, looking at Himmel hunched over the ramparts.
"...Nah, it's nothing." Himmel said. "And yes, let's watch it all together. Want to come along, teacher?"
It was tempting. Distractions were many throughout his fifteen hundred years, and would be a welcome relief as a distraction from his own failure.
But still, he had a quest to complete. Though the hero party had finished theirs, the end to his was still not in sight.
"No, thanks." Bedivere whispered.
Letting the four have their moment, Bedivere turned and marched out of the town. Now that it was peaceful, it would be much easier to journey. After all, Bedivere had not stopped aging. Excalibur was not like Caliburn, which had nearly perfect longevity-boosting magic.
His soul was very, very tired.
Still, adjusting his cape and feeling his armor clank against its other pieces, Bedivere soldiered on. The money he had collected via working odd jobs would serve him well, providing him with food along the way.
It was time to continue.
…Five years since the meteor shower…
It was official. This was actually a different world.
Looking at the map of the world that Bedivere had acquired from an abandoned cabin in passing, he observed the snowy mountains described in the north, and the extreme climate differences in the south.
There was nothing resembling Britain, and nothing resembling even Europe on the maps. Bedivere had seen the Round Table's war maps, and although his memory of those times were slowly fading, he could still remember general landmarks.
However, clutching the map that he had found in the caves below one particularly treacherous mountain range gingerly, the paper shaking gently in his fingers.
He had hoped that this was just some obscure, isolated island that he had woken up on, where the age of the gods had yet to fade away. He had hoped that just by taking a ship, or by walking across an incredible amount of landmass, that he could make it back to familiar territory. He had hoped that his quest could end sooner, that his search could have ended sooner, and that Britain was closer than he would expect, even though nobody had even heard of their legends. Not even the tales of the Irish had made it to these lands.
But there was really… nothing? Was he really separated by dimensions from his final goal?
What kind of mockery was this? He could walk across the earth. He could even make his boats, and sail across the ocean. He had done both several times, in his seemingly eternal search.
For thousands of years, he had marched on. But now, fate was telling him that now, he wasn't even in the same dimension?
Bedivere wanted to laugh. Bedivere wanted to cry. However, he was just too tired for that. Even though his physical body could still walk, he just felt like leaning against something and staring out at nothing in particular.
But he didn't. Looking at the sun to orient himself once again, he resolved to head to the westernmost point in this world.
Perhaps it had just not been explored when they made this map.
…Eleven years since the meteor shower…
Bedivere had reached the southernmost point of the world.
His armor's paint had finally begun to peel, and his white cloak had been torn to shreds by the foliage, and him walking through the paths and the wilderness. Even enchantments didn't last forever. Looking across the cliff, Bedivere could see nothing more than an endless ocean.
Well, that was it.
It was time to go to the north.
…Twenty one years since the meteor shower…
"How… dare… y-"
Bedivere pulled out his sword, his prosthetic arm drawing out his rapier from the creature that had attacked him. There was blood for a moment, and only for a moment. Then, it began to dissolve into motes of magic.
After all, this creature was a demon. Throughout his journey north, there were many, many of these magical monsters that stood in his way.
Now that he was finally near the end of his destination, however, it was very underwhelming. The only thing remarkable about the scenery was the destroyed castle of the former demon king, and the ocean that Bedivere would have to walk to.
He was no stranger to the task.
In the end, there was nothing north to the continent, either.
…Twenty nine years since the meteor shower…
Watching the sea in the distance, at the village closest to the point that was the utmost westward point on the continent, Bedivere finally sat down for a bit. At this point, his armor had accumulated spots of rust. Coupled with some of the dents and scratches that fighting demons had given him, it was in need of repairs.
Borrowing a blacksmith's forge, he began to heat up his breastplate. Watching as the metal slowly heated up, he turned and gave a quick, appeasing grin to the blacksmith that was giving him a judging look.
"None of you knights know how to maintain your armor." the smith grunted. "Well, I'm not an armorsmith anyways, but you should know even less than me. Just let me handle it."
"Don't worry about it." Bedivere said. "I've learned."
"You were a blacksmith?" the blacksmith smirked. "You don't look like you've seen a day of hard labor in your life."
That was mostly Excalibur's work. In his journeys, Bedivere had done a lot. From maintaining his armor, learning how to reforge his sword, and even make small sailboats, it had really been a long fifteen hundred years. Of course, he had spent a lot of time at the beginning planning his ocean travels in order to search for his king, and learning how to make… at least small sailboats… was a very worthwhile endeavor. It was easier than saving money to buy a boat, and he only managed to go to Ireland to continue his search because of his shipbuilding.
But looking down on his hands, they were only calloused in a way that swordsmen were calloused. Everywhere else, his skin was still smooth and pale, like on the day he failed to toss the sword back in the lake.
A jumping spark distracted him from his musings and reminiscence. The metal was hot enough. His chestplate was now glowing a dull orange, and using a hammer, he finally began to hammer the dents down.
The blacksmith watched in silence as well, the monotony oddly calming.
Bedivere ended up staying in this little, coastal village for quite a while.
…Thirty years since the meteor shower…
"So, that's your boat?" the village blacksmith said, looking at the vessel that Bedivere had pieced together himself. With a combination of nails, rope, and a lot of wax that the knight had bought from passing traders, Bedivere had made himself a sailboat of moderate size.
The Knight felt the wood that he had smoothed himself with strikes from his sword, and felt the wax-polished mast.
He had recreated this ship many, many times, when he explored the Mare Magnum after setting sail from Rome. There were countless storms and attacks that he had weathered all alone, and this ship was optimized to deal with said threats.
The ship's storerooms were also stocked. There were barrels of water, along with some fish bait and a fishing rod. Excalibur's longevity-boosting magic was very good at preventing Bedivere from dying, and as long as he carried the sword, he needed less food and water than the average human. Therefore, the stores here would be able to tide him over, so long as he kept collecting water every day from condensation via the ocean mist. Fishing would be able to feed him as well.
Effectively, as long as the boat did not break, Bedivere could sail forever.
Hoisting the last component that he had yet to assemble, the anchor, onto the ship, and tying it to a sturdy rope, Bedivere admired his creation.
"You still haven't gotten it to the shore, yet, son." the Blacksmith said. "Need help?"
"I wouldn't want to trouble you." Bedivere smiled, though looking towards the horizon.
"...Fine." the smith sighed. "You know, knight, you're not so bad for one of the adventuring types. Remember what I said to you a year ago? I take it back now."
"What?"
"The fact that you haven't seen a year of hard labor in your life." the smith said. "It's clear that you've prepared extensively, looking for whatever you want to look for. Just… I hope it's worth it."
"It is my life's quest." Bedivere said, smiling softly. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
"I'll see you off tomorrow." the smith grunted. "Some food would be good to tide you over. At least some spices. You don't know how bad eating fish every day is."
…
The day after that, holding two jars of spices that the smith had been saving throughout the years, Bedivere looked back at the shore, where a small gathering of townspeople had gathered to watch him journey.
Bedivere… most likely wouldn't return.
But he had left the treasures of his travels there. The people there were kind, benevolent people, who had helped him with his seemingly foolish question.
They deserved it.
From his possessions, only the map and many papers, as well as the armor and swords he was carrying, remained. He had no need for wealth, after all.
Sitting on the back of his boat, the sail billowing out in the ever harsher ocean breeze, Bedivere began to man the rudder.
It was time to circumnavigate a continent.
…Thirty two years since the meteor shower…
The Kraken gurgled furiously, its tentacles stretching towards the ship. Its scaly skin and many, many beady eyes looked straight at Bedivere.
Sighing, Bedivere leapt up into the air, channeling his very limited magical energy through Excalibur, and finally drawing the holy sword. The golden sword shone in the bright, ocean sun, even as misty clouds gathered across the scene of battle. His armored greaves kicked off the tentacles reaching for him in midair, as he slashed with the sharp holy sword at the tentacles he had already used as a stepping stone.
Bits of tentacle flew everywhere, and the Kraken finally emerged from the water, making Bedivere's ship bob up and down in the ocean, threatening to be capsized by the waves.
With barely any emotion, Bedivere cleaved through the great beast's exposed head, before stabbing into the eyes of the Kraken. Still twitching, the beast began to sink back into the waves. Jumping on the parts still above the water, Bedivere leapt back onto his sailboat.
It had been two years, and he had still only found islands.
Straightening the sails and wiping off some salt water off his armor, he continued to look into the horizon.
There was nothing.
…Forty years since the meteor shower…
With a heavy heart, Bedivere returned to the mainland. The docks of one of the easternmost cities greeted him. It was a city that he had yet to visit, but he already knew that his king wasn't here.
He had nearly circumnavigated the globe, encountering unfamiliar lands and many, many islands. His ship had sailed west, and emerged east. In his fifteen hundred years, he had learned that the earth was round, and this complete circumnavigation only confirmed it.
It took forty years of this fruitless journey for Bedivere to finally accept…
He was stuck here. In this unfamiliar world.
Absentmindedly, upon hitting the dock, he handed the man that greeted him with a sack of gold coins he had found in one of the islands.
"I want to buy this spot." he sighed.
"O-of course, sir." the man nodded, taking the coins.
Dragging his bag of vaguely magical and valuable artifacts, Bedivere exited his ship.
He was so, so tired. But he couldn't stop just yet. Even if this was another world, if he got here, then there must be a way back.
There had to be.
Nothing would stop his quest.
…
"Son, that's a grimoire. Where did you get a hold of this?" the pawnshop owner said, looking at an ominous bound book.
"Some island." Bedivere said. "I was on a sailing trip."
"I… can't put an evaluation on this." the shopowner sighed. "This is magic, and we all don't understand it. You'd probably need a mage to evaluate it, and what it actually does."
"Can magic just be, like, anything? Are there locating spells or something?" Bedivere asked.
"I have no idea." the shopowner said. "I'm not a magic guy, which is why I'm not buying the grimoire."
"Alright." Bedivere said, an appeasing smile appearing on his face. "Then, how about the rest of the stuff?"
"You're going to need to visit a lot more pawn shops to get enough money to buy all this." the shopowner said, writing down a list of names. "Go to these locations if you really want to convert all of this into money. Tell them Geol sent you."
…Forty five years later…
There was truly nowhere else to go now, to escape this world. This was the end of his journey on foot.
Back in his shack, which was where he had started the journey, Bedivere looked at the town that had barely changed, and sighed.
Despite everything, he was not a mage. He lacked the magical energy to be a mage, or the intuitive understanding and talent of mages that would allow them to comprehend things such as the second magic. He could learn shipbuilding or blacksmithing, but not magic.
He needed a mage for this. But it wasn't like he had an interdimensional spell.
Or… did he?
Dusting off the grimoire, he stopped sitting in his small, ascetic shack, barely furnished by anything except boxes for storage, several armor polishing kits, and a bed.
Perhaps, it was time to go visit an old student. Bedivere was unsure whether or not Himmel would actually still remember him.
…
Knocking on Himmel's wooden door, Bedivere honestly expected more from the house of the hero that killed the demon king. Instead, it was a rather modest home. Sure, it had all the amenities a person could want in this age, but it wasn't particularly large or showy. It was comfortable, and just that.
It was a nice house.
"Hello?" a voice said, slightly raspy, and . "Who's out there?"
A bald head crested over the window, and peered out at Bedivere.
"Wait… are you… Sir Bedivere's son? You look so much like him?"
"No.." Bedivere sighed. "I'm still your teacher. I'm glad to know that you still remember me."
"...How are you so… young? I thought you were human?" the old man behind the door said, finally reaching out to turn the doorknob after getting over his shock.
"It's been a while, Himmel." Bedivere said, waving his grimoire in the air. "Do you mind if we talk?"
…
"...I don't really know where other mages are." Himmel shrugged. "Sure, I've worked with them, but I haven't really done much after I finished my journey. Those connections are all behind me, now."
Bedivere looked at the black, leatherbound book sitting on the table between where the two old swordsmen sat.
"I see." Bedivere sighed.
"How are you still… so young?" Himmel asked. "Did you find a spell?"
"Well, no." Bedivere said. "I cannot die until I complete my quest."
"And does this quest… involve magic?" Himmel asked, looking at the grimoire, before beginning to gently stroke his beard.
"Indeed it does." Bedivere nodded.
"How long have you been alive?"
"...About 1550 years." Bedivere admitted. "My body is frozen in my twenties, but my soul still slowly ages, and despite everything we think, our souls are not immortal. They can still get damaged through wear and tear through the years."
For a moment, Himmel remained silent. He continued stroking his beard and looking out at the horizon, which was past the edge of a city. Bedivere vaguely recognized the spot. It was where he had last seen Himmel, gazing out at the meteor shower forty five years ago.
Then, Himmel's eyes twinkled.
"I do know a mage that will come along here in five years, though. My old party member, Frieren, will come back. We will go see the meteor shower together. Do you… still remember her?"
"The elf?" Bedivere muttered. "I believe I do. Is she the mage?"
"Yes." Himmel nodded. "And she most likely shares a lifespan similar to yours. If you want to find any undiscovered spells that relate to your quest, she should be able to help. As long as you're willing to tag along with her… side quests."
"Alright." Bedivere sighed. "In this world, I have but only time to give."
What was fifty more years to his 1550, if it meant completing his quest?
…At the meteor shower…
The lake itself was beautiful. Even without the meteor shower, it would have looked like a pool of stars. The cloud of stars, dotting the black canvas of the pitch black void that was the worlds beyond this planet painted a brilliant tapestry on the natural mirror.
The meteor shower only added to its beauty, adding streaks of ephemeral white light. The meteors flashed by so quickly, each one appearing over the horizon, arcing over the night sky like it was running late for something, and then disappearing into the horizon once more.
The five people beside the lake watched quietly. Two of them were sitting on the grass. Both Heiter and Himmel were already rather tired from the journey of getting here, while Eisen still stood stoically. Looking up at the spectacle, Bedivere once again allowed himself to be lost
It was Frieren that broke the silence. After looking away from Himmel's bald head and hunched figure, she shuffled over to Bedivere.
"How do you look exactly the same? Are you sure you're a human?"
"Very sure." Bedivere said.
"Is it magic, then, keeping you alive? What spell can… extend somebody's lifespan?"
"...It's not a spell. It's… complicated."
"So, it isn't replicable?"
"No."
The two stood in silence, watching a second wave of meteors streak through the sky, burning through their lifespan on the scenery in just over ten seconds. They were brilliant, but fleeting.
"How long have you lived, then?"
"...Fifteen hundred years."
"You're still pretty young, then. Sure, you're a bit older than me, but you're still young compared to the oldest elves I know."
"No, no." He chuckled softly, his gaze looking at the stars that streaked across the sky every fifteen years."My story should have ended a long time ago."
On the edges of the lake, a dwarf and two old men listened to the swordsman speak with the elf.
"Shouldn't you be glad that you don't die so young? You get to live a normal lifespan."
"Once you miss your moment, or make one mistake, the rest of your years become a journey trying to regain what is lost." The white haired swordsman said, still as young and spry as he was when they last journeyed together, fifty years ago.
"I don't get it." Frieren said.
"You will." Bedivere sighed. "You will."
The knight scratched at his armored arm, looking skyward, but not focusing on the spectacle lighting up the night sky. The elf looked at the human's mystifying expression and turned back, emotionlessly, to look at the same old shooting stars she had seen time and time again.
…
I don't want to write time skips ever again. They're so hard to make coherent, and writing like 200 word scenes keeps grating on my writing, since I don't want to spend too long on one scene, but then I want to make it detailed and interesting to read… but…
Yeah.
Follow/Favorite/Review if you want more of this thing.
-SpiritOfErebus