Chapter 1

The first sound Ishwar heard was the cheerful chirping of birds. It was muffled at first, like it came from an enclosed room not too far from him. Gradually, the sounds turned crisp and along with the chirping, he could hear the soft sound of falling water.

A waterfall?

His mind was still in a groggy mess but he heard himself groan painfully when he tried to move. He opened his eyes and could fuzzily make out the wooden ceiling in front of him. He narrowed his golden eyes slightly, letting his eyesight adjust to the sudden light.

He lay in a daze for a while. The long parts of his hair sprawled messily, revealing the faded undercut that started just above his ears and faded downwards. The events of last night came back to him and by the time he'd remembered everything, he had already forced himself up and looked around.

He seemed to be inside a simple wooden house, a residence just enough for a small family. It didn't have that much furniture, only a small wooden table with two wooden stools and the single bed he lay on. On the fireplace, a pot of soup was gently boiling.

He winced slightly when the injuries on his chest were stretched by his sudden movement. He looked down and realized he was no longer wearing his haglendian armor but had changed into more comfortable clothing. His injuries were carefully wrapped in bandages.

Did someone save me?, He thought with furrowed eyebrows. His thoughts were muddled but he remembered he was in the middle of nowhere when he fought against the havoc that night. There were no signs of civilization. So how could anyone save him?

"Ah—You're awake." A figure suddenly entered from the door. "You should lay down a bit more. Your injuries could bleed if you move too much."

The voice sounded extremely warm and comforting, and Ishwar couldn't help but raise his eyes to look. The person was slightly tall and had wide shoulders and a thin waist. He wore a green tunic, black baggy pants, and boots. His complexion was slightly pale, had emerald eyes that looked calm, and had long golden hair that was tied into a high ponytail but still reached up to his waist. When Ishwar looked closely, he could see the pointed ears this person had. The person was an elf.

Upon knowing the person's race, the next thing Ishwar did was look at the back of the elf's hand. He looked for a certain mark - Attendant's Shackles. If the elf had one, then he was an elven attendant. If he didn't have one, then he was an Elvar.

Elven attendants were elves who'd given up their Elvar heritage to live with humans. Many of these elves could be found in human kingdoms and serving human nobles. The Elvar, however, were very rare. Not many people had seen them. They mostly kept to themselves, living in the forests and never revealing themselves to humans. But their abilities were once recorded in old scriptures. Just one of them could turn the tide of war to their advantage.

Ishwar didn't find a mark and right then he concluded this elf had indeed saved him. He didn't know just how powerful an Elvar was but if he went by what he read, then they could probably get rid of one havoc on their own.

"Y-you... You're an Elvar?" Ishwar spoke and found his voice was slightly hoarse. He flinched slightly but forced himself to sit up straight, at least to offer his thanks to his savior. "May I know my savior's name?"

"My name is Vyll…" The elf replied. "…but I wasn't the one who saved you."

Ishwar looked puzzled. What?

Vyll smiled but didn't say anything more on the matter. He turned to check on the boiling soup in the fireplace. "And you? May I also know your name?"

"Ishwar.", Ishwar replied. "My name is Ishwar."

Vyll nodded promptly and poked at the fireplace to put out the fire. "The soup looks about ready." He uttered as he grabbed a small bowl and ladled a small portion to give to Ishwar. "Here. You slept for almost a whole day so your stomach needs to recover a bit."

"A whole day?!!" Ishwar suddenly stood from the bed, his eyes widened in shock. He tried to run to the door but instead staggered and fell to the floor in a daze. He shook his head to get rid of the dizziness and tried to crawl to the entrance.

Firm hands grabbed his arm and slung it onto their shoulder. Ishwar realized Vyll had supported him and is now leading him back to the bed.

"Let go! I have to go!" He struggled incessantly but his tall and buff body couldn't seem to overpower Vyll's more graceful one. In no time at all, he was seated back on the bed and was severely weakened due to his sudden outburst.

Vyll frowned at the blood that seeped on Ishwar's bandages again. "You made your injuries bleed again." He said with an exasperated sigh. "Look. I don't intend to stand in your way but Milady asked me to look after you while she's gone. Please don't make things difficult for me."

Milady? Ishwar's interest was piqued but he immediately pushed the thought aside to focus on the more pressing matter.

"If I don't go, it will be too late. Everyone will die.", He insisted with force but his voice sounded too weak. Instead of conveying his insistence, he appeared more like he's begging for help.

Vyll shook his head but said honestly, "I don't know what's going on but if you're that desperate then it's probably something important to you. Sadly, I don't think you can do much in your condition."

"I just need to get to Sylva's capital."

"Easier said than done.", Vyll scoffed. "You of all people should know how hard that would be, Prince Ishwar Hegadi."

Ishwar tensed, his eyes widening. "H-How.."

"How? There was a royal seal the size of a whole hand engraved on the front of your armor, that's how.", Vyll answered with a disbelieving look. "And you didn't even try to hide it at all. Just— oh never mind. Either way, Milady brought you here to recover instead of bringing you to the dungeons so she at least thinks you're not a danger to Sylva. But if you want to go to the capital, you're gonna have to forget it. After what Haglendi did to Sylva two years ago, no haglendian is safe in our capital. Or have you forgotten?"

Ishwar sucked in a breath, his gaze instantly dropping to the floor in shame. How could he forget?

Two years ago, his father offered an alliance with Sylva. Haglendi had an abundance of ores and thus excelled in the mining business. Sylva was surrounded by lush forests and had numerous sources of springwater - an important ingredient in making high-quality potions. The alliance was supposed to open direct trading routes amongst the merchants. But the king of Haglendi had other plans.

Prince Ishwar was kept in the dark. He didn't attend the formal alliance ceremony and had been strolling around the cheerful streets of Sylva in peace. A large explosion suddenly sounded from the castle. He even thought it was some fireworks display prepared by Sylva to celebrate the alliance. But then Sylva's alarm bells were triggered. In no time at all, Ishwar and his escorts were surrounded by Sylvan soldiers.

"The soup is getting cold.", Vyll said, cutting off Ishwar's memory. He didn't wait for Ishwar's reply and turned to take the bowl of soup he previously prepared. "You should eat some to help recover your strength. Here."

Albeit with hesitance, Ishwar received the bowl and slowly started to eat its contents.

---

Three days passed quickly. With the help of some potions and Vyll constantly changing his bandages, Ishwar's injuries had almost healed completely, leaving five long scars on his chest. He still insisted on seeing the king every chance he got, even to the point of getting into a heated clash with Vyll. But Ishwar never once won.

The first time he was defeated, Ishwar was completely baffled. He was one of the best warriors of Haglendi. He prided in his saber skills. To be beaten by an elf with only one up to three moves wasn't something he liked at all. He convinced himself it was all because of his injuries.

But once, twice, thrice, even up to six times, they clashed. One wielding a curved saber and the other, dual daggers. One with overbearing strength and the other with refined finesse. And every time, finesse won.

Ishwar was frustrated but as a well-trained warrior of Haglendi, he instead took it as a challenge. With each spar, Ishwar figured out Vyll's fighting style and adapted to it. And now, for the seventh time, Ishwar asked Vyll for a rematch.

"Don't you ever get tired of fighting, Princeling?" Vyll sighed in exasperation as he walked to the open space they'd been using as their arena these past few days. "I have other more important matters to tend to, you know."

Ishwar scoffed, his gaze trailing around the small waterfall and river right beside their little arena and the maple forest that surrounded them. There was a faint golden light along the edges of the area they were in, a sign that a barrier had been erected.

It was a simple barrier and it was barely detectable. In fact… Ishwar was completely oblivious to it and tried to escape on the first night, only to be flung back with such a brutal force that he only woke up the next morning and got thoroughly reprimanded by Vyll. He never tried to escape again and decided to challenge Vyll to duels to get him to remove the barrier instead.

"If you let me go to the capital, I won't disturb you further.", Ishwar said as he pointed to the walls of Sylva that towered over them. It was right past the forest. So near and yet here he was, stuck fighting against this stubborn Elvar just to undo the barrier.

"As much as I want to be rid of your stubbornness, NO.", Vyll shook his head. "You'll either end up in the dungeons or end up dead and Milady won't be pleased with either."

Ishwar frowned. Partly because he knew Vyll was right and that he was being stupid for wanting to go there anyway, but more so because he'd been curious about this Milady that was mentioned. From Vyll's strength alone, Ishwar had proven that the blonde elf wasn't an elven attendant. So who was this person an Elvar was so willing to serve? Was she such an extraordinary person?

But as Vyll didn't talk much about her, he didn't pry either. Whoever she was, the only thing that mattered to Ishwar was that she saved him; and if she's purposely hiding her identity, then he won't do anything to cause her trouble.

Still, there's something I need to do and I won't be able to do it if I stay here. Ishwar thought to himself as he shook his head and unsheathed his saber, brandishing it absentmindedly before settling in an unmoving stance. 

"Then a rematch it is.", He told Vyll, his eyes flickering with determination.

Vyll's shoulders droop but soon he too takes his fighting stance, his dual daggers appearing in both hands. He looked extremely graceful but like Ishwar, his expression is just as focused.

A moment of silence befalls the two men. Both are searching for any unguarded openings, their fierce eyes burning with focus. Their surroundings appeared like it's in slow motion, the falling maple leaves almost at a standstill, the rippling waters almost looking frozen.

But before they could clash, Ishwar caught a flash of light from the woods behind Vyll. His eyes widened at the sudden sneak attack but his body moved in a dash, already positioned to block the attack to save the unknowing Vyll.

The ball of light was fast and as it got closer, it exploded into a net that was wide enough to capture both Ishwar and Vyll. Ishwar, who had initially wanted to block the attack, immediately changed tactics. He infused his saber with his mana and in one upward slash, the net is sliced in half and disintegrated into nothing.

"Someone's attacking us.", Ishwar said as he scanned his eyes for any more attacks. "Who are they? Bandits?"

"Nope. They're from Sylva.", Goes Vyll's nonchalant reply.

Ishwar frowned, "Sylva? Are they after me?"

He turned to face Vyll but blinked in surprise at the scene before him. Three unconscious men lay sprawled on the ground, no doubt beaten by Vyll as he was now sitting on the back of one of them in a relaxed pose, playfully twirling a dagger on his fingers.

"They're not after you.", Vyll replied as he stood up and dusted his pants, his daggers disappearing. "They probably didn't even know you were here when they came. Thanks for watching my back, though."

"Y-you're welcome.", Ishwar was confused. "Wait. If they're not after me, then who're they after?"

"Me.", Vyll said, earning himself another puzzled look from Ishwar. "It's a long story. Just don't think too much about it. It's a completely normal thing here in Sylva."

A completely normal thing?

Ishwar couldn't help but look more and more disbelieving. There was nothing normal about what happened at all. Had he thought wrong all this time? He assumed that Milady and Vyll were citizens of Sylva but now he's having doubts. As he grew more and more confused trying to make sense of what happened, another presence stepped into the barrier.

The arrival was soundless but just the presence alone sent shivers down Ishwar's spine, making him tense up. He spun to face whoever had arrived only to have his eyes widen. "You?"