Chapter 17

The Journey Begins

William's perspective

My father stood tall and severe as everyone gawked at him—heck, even I stared at him. His idea was reckless and a little bit stupid.

Why the hell would we go to Asgard?

"You want us to go to Asgard?" Azrael asked in a mocking tone.

My father nodded in confidence, making a straight face. "Yes. It will provide great cover, and our enemies won't even think we are there."

"I hope you're joking, father," I voiced my concerns, to which he responded with a big smirk and then a wink.

God, I hate that wink.

Azrael seemed shaken about the idea; her face itched with confusion and vexation, but Lord Dimmal had other thoughts. "Is there a specific reason we should head there?" Lord Dimmal asked to everyone's surprise. More than anyone, Azrael was visibly taken back. I don't think she was expecting a Dragon Lord to be open-minded about heading to Asgard.

"Think about it," my father answered, tapping the floor with his bow-staff. "Most of the Blight is heading south to the Capital due to the evacuation. More people and riders, more bodies for the Blight. North would be much safer to travel across on foot."

"No, no, no, we can't just head north!" Thomas finally voiced his concerns, yelling out loud. He was tensed, shocked by the turn of events as he almost punched a hole into a wall. "If everything you said is true, Zarmen Forest is also Blight Territory up to the border. Then there's Asgard. We haven't been the most graceful neighbors with all the wars. They aren't going to take the sight of a few dragon riders very well."

Azrael stood up. "Especially with me there. What do you think will happen if Asgard gets ahold of the next ruler of Drakelene?" Azrael's eyes widened, etched with worry. Of all the people here, she had every right to be worried. She was a princess heading into her people's enemies' territory.

Looking down at my lap, Aurum slept peacefully. Her warmth made me feel relaxed. I wasn't sure if I was feeling relaxed or her. Regardless, I am glad that I have her.

My attention is pulled away as Azrael yells at my father. "I should kill you for thinking of taking me to Asgard."

My father raised his voice, "Goddess, are you dense!" I was taken aback. I never heard him use the phrase, goddess, before. "Think about it. Who said anything about going to Asgard itself. I'm implying that we go to the nearest Guild Hall, which is in the Kingdom of Asgard."

Turning to my father with a confused look, I looked up at him, "Why?"

Lord Dimmal stood up slowly. "Wait? Are you thinking about what I am thinking?" He proceeded to approach my father, gesturing towards the map. "Utilizing one of the Guild Halls in the Kingdom to contact the one near the capital?"

My father clapped his hands with a big smile of relief and satisfaction. "Of course. Each Guild Hall is connected to each other worldwide, in almost every city and kingdom. Each Guild Hall can send each other letters or resources if needed." My father made a smug look as he leaned on his bow-staff. I watched him run his hand through his hair, ensuring it was still slicked back. "We sneak to the border of Asgard. Find the closest town. We get into one of the Guild Halls and use my connections; we'll send an emergency letter to the Guild at the Capital for the King."

"How will that help us?" Thomas made a good point; there's no way a letter can get the King to help us. "How does sending a letter to the king help our situation?"

Lord Dimmal answered, "There is supposed to be a grand meeting for the kingdoms. If we are lucky, we can get the King to attend."

"Then sneak into the king's escort when the opportunity shows up," I said, still in disbelief about this plan.

"And leave before anyone knows the difference," Lord Dimmal finished what I said.

"That's assuming nothing happens on the way," Azrael says, looking more uneasy by the minute. "What would happen if we were spotted?"

Lord Dimmal sighs heavily. "I'd rather deal with people than the Blight. Besides, flying is dangerous with the Blight Riders around."

"We didn't see any Blight Riders nearby," Thomas argued.

"Even so, if we are going to sneak into Asgard, we must stay out of the sky." Lord Dimmal exhaled heavily as if he were reliving an awful moment. "Asgard has artillery and magic that can take out flying monsters. It takes seconds for them to drop us out of the sky."

I gulped silently, feeling myself tense up. The idea of getting shot out of the sky wasn't a good feeling.

"Even more reason to not go," Thomas spoke. Azrael remained quiet, looking down at her hands as she contemplated the right choice.

Thomas soon went quiet. This was a hard decision—hell, I don't even think I knew what to choose. This was Asgard, not some backwater country or Perrin or Elaine. The weight of the decision was heavy on all of us, and the tension in the room was palpable. Asgard is one of Kalo's superpowers, and we plan on sneaking across its borders.

It's Asgard, one of the superpowers of Kalos, and we are planning on sneaking across its borders.

"If you want to go straight to the Capital, that's one you. Gwyn, Will, we moving?" Lord Dimmal bellowed out with extra enthusiasm in his voice.

My father approached me and responded, "Yes, we are." He pulled the map closer to me and tapped on it. "Will, how far?"

I felt my brows furrowed as I glared at my father. "Really? Now?"

"Yes, now."

Scoffing at my father, I leaned over for a better view of the map. It showed the country of Drakelene and all the nearby countries and kingdoms. Luckily, Drakelene was surrounded by water but was trapped by Asgard and its mountain terrain from the north. The terrain was all over the place in the so-called country, Kingdom of Asgard. It had farmlands, extreme mountain ranges, lakes, and dense forests. If I recall correctly, the ether density there was thick as well. Which would make the wildlife and the environment more dangerous.

Looking at our location, Hearthglen, right under the Zarmen Forest, just north of us, and the border to Drakelene and Asgard, I made a brief guess. "I say about a four-day run. Maybe two or three if we run through the night."

I remember my father teaching me how to read maps. But before I could find more information on the map, my father wrapped it up and put it away. "You heard him. Let's grab up what we can here and head out. Will, grab some armor if you can."

We are really going through with this, right under the enemy's nose.

With that, I did as my father said, following him as he and Lord Dimmal left this depressing area and prepared to embark on our journey. Or would it be a mission? I couldn't really tell. All I know is that Azrael and Thomas stayed to think over what they would do.

My father helped Lord Dimmal and me out of the underground room. "Lord Dimmal, see if you can find any camping gear around. There should be something left over," my father ordered.

Lord Dimmal nodded. "On it. See if you can find anything else. Something that could ultimately carry everything, so our gear doesn't slow us down."

I grunted in shock and frustration, gritting my teeth as my father raised my arm and his hand to show off our storage devices: my freshly cleaned, rusted golden bracelet and his silver ring. "We got storage devices on standby," he said.

"Oh, how convenient," Lord Dimmal responded as he searched for supplies.

I pulled my hand away from my father's grasp forcefully. I didn't appreciate how casually he could be when he manipulated me as if I were a puppet.

Time flew by, that was for sure. It was nearly morning when we left the destroyed home. Now, it's almost past noon. Azrael and Thomas decided to join us on our journey to Asgard, but I have no idea why they chose.

Lord Dimmal was setting up an area for us all to meet up just outside the destroyed Guildhall in the middle of the street. All sorts of bags were laid out on the rubbled-filled road, all being packed and prepped. A few were already attached to Azrael and Thomas's dragons; food, water, tools, blankets, and camping gear.

My father had me change out my clothes and equipment. Now, I was donning brown boots that reached past my ankles, and my black pants were slightly baggy; the right side covered my boot itself, while my left side had a bandage wrapped around my shin, keeping my pants from covering my other boot. My father was persistent about me keeping it on despite me trying to brush it off. He also ensured I got knee guards made out of silver-enchanted metal. My pants were tightened up by a brown belt as my new brown cotton long-sleeved shirt. It bunched up occasionally as I kept my sleeves rolled up. I equipped elbow pads of the same material to ensure my sleeves don't unroll. Same as my new silver spaulders. Sadly, only one left was enchanted, so I had a mismatched set. I ensured my non-dominant arm got the most protection as I used a basic silver spaulder. I did enjoy my new leather fingerless gloves; they were nice and smooth and didn't stick to my skin as much. Finally was my scabbard, still on my back as it held my Blight Rider Sword. The scabbard was held up by a new belt wrapped around my chest.

Walking back to the group, Thomas argued with Azrael about joining us as they climbed up on their dragons. It seems that dragons didn't care much about joining as much as their riders, but they were concerned with all the baggage they must now carry. So much so that Lord Dimmal has difficulty tightening the straps on Azrael's dragon.

"Will! Get over here real quick," Lord Dimmal shouted, making me sigh.

Walking towards him, I could clearly hear the two nobles arguing. "We should just fly back over to the Capital. It's stupid to think these peasants know what they're doing," Thomas yelled out, tugging on the reins of his dragon, Razarin. The dragon rumbled a loud, high-pitched noise out of irritation, stomping its feet.

"Lord Dimmal seems to be going along with them," Azrael rebutted as she struggled to keep her dragon still due to Lord Dimmal tampering with the saddles. The dragon constantly growls and hisses each time he pulls on its straps.

Throwing his hands out, Thomas says, "He's no longer a lord since he has no dragon! He's no better than these peasants."

Walking over to Lord Dimmal, my dumbass accidentally opened my mouth, "We are standing right here, less than ten feet."

"Quiet peasant," Thomas hissed.

I stood my ground, "Make me."

Thomas' eyes flared with anger as he hopped off his dragon. I hear Azrael telling him to stand down, but Thomas doesn't care. He walked up to me, standing slightly taller, making me look up at him. "Know your place, peasant."

As Thomas tried to shove me onto the ground, I gritted my teeth as I repositioned my footing so I could keep myself up as I grabbed his arm. Curling my fingers, I punched at Thomas's good-looking noble face. All that was heard was a loud crack as I punched Thomas's nose, sending him tumbling backward. His dragon hissed at me, but Thomas told it to stop.

Thomas cradled his nose with both hands as he winced loudly, almost whimpering. Watching him like that, a noble, actually made me smile. As he looked up at me, It was clear as day that I broke his nose. "You broke my fucking nose."

Thomas made me reach behind me for my sword when he went for his, but Lord Dimmal caught him before anything happened, shoving him toward Razarin. "Lady Azrael, control your servant, or next time, I won't get involved." Lord Dimmal hissed as he pulled me towards Azrael dragons.

Thomas struggled as he sat on the ground to tend to his injury as Azrael went quiet. She obviously wasn't happy but didn't want to make things worse. Or maybe she doesn't know what to say, so she just goes along.

"Will pull on this," Lord Dimmal said as he guided me to the strap he was struggling on. The dragon wasn't pleased at the idea of carrying gear.

Grabbing it, I pulled on the strap as the dragon roared in pain, startling Lord Dimmal and me. "Sorry," I said out loud as I turned to see the dragon looking down at me. Its eyes glared at me angrily, almost like a cat that didn't approve of its master rudely waking it up. I slightly lowered myself out of instinct, concerned that the dragon may actually eat me.

"You didn't need to be that rough," Lord Dimmal says as he ties down the strap. I press my hand on the dragon, hoping to appease the great beast.

The scales were smooth like an eggshell. It was obvious it took good care of its body. "Wasn't trying to hurt the dragon, my Lord," I responded.

"I ain't a Lord, William," Lord Dimmal sighed as he tied the straps, much to the dragon's whining. "Not anymore."

Before I could ask why, I felt Aurum calling me through our bond as I turned to see her running over to me with my father.

"As I expected, with no fiend in sight from our destination, if we are going to run, now is the time," my father explained. He proceeds to take the site of Thomas. "The fuck happened to you?"

"I happened," I answered as Thomas finally stood up, using his dragon's reins as support.

"Making friends already," my father chuckled. "You all ready?"

Lord Dimmal nods as he climbs up onto Azrael's dragon. "Yes, unless someone says otherwise."

"Good, let's go," my father says as he turns around to lead us toward our target.

Before I followed, I went over to Aurum and scooped her up. She squealed at me, complaining about what I was thinking. "Lord Dimmal, can you hold on to her for me."

I can see that Lord Dimmal didn't find being called Lord, but he said yes and took Aurum into his arms.

With that out of the way, I followed my father as Thomas and Azrael dragons tagged behind us. Walking past the ruins of Hearthglen, we made it past the north gate. Approaching the hills that lead to Zarmen Forest, I halted.

"What's wrong," my father asked.

Running over to the side of the road, I took out a sword from my storage. It was the sword that I spent my whole life using. "We honor the dead, right?"

Lord Dimmal was confused, "thought you weren't religious?"

"We aren't, but Cira was," my father answered, saying my mother's name. "We honored the dead by leaving something to remember them by."

I could hear the two annoying tag-along nobles sighing or groaning. My father patted my shoulder as I sank my sword into the ground. Time seemed to slow down as I let go of the handle of my old sword. It clearly showed that my home and everyone I knew were gone.

Guilt started to rise as I turned around to head to Asgard. As everyone followed, an odd sensation—a fast, soft, twitching beat—rose in my head. Then, soon, a screen appeared before me.

[Status Magic Activate]

[Kalos watches over you]

"What the hell?" I said out loud, confused about what I was seeing.

"You got it, too," my father said.

"Kalos watches over you? Ya," Azrael yells up.

"Come, I'll explain," my father says as he jogs. "It's an old myth that Kalos is a living thing, capable of watching or blessing whoever or whatever it wants. This would cause Status Magic to activate."

Following behind my father, I could hear the dragons making the ground shake behind us. I finally got the chance to ask about status magic. "What is status magic, father?"

Before my father could speak, Lord Dimmal answered. "Status magic is a phenomenon that occurs when a descendent of Adam is affected by madness. Most people, if not everyone, is a descendant of Adam from the First Age."

My father then butts in, "status magic will only stay active as long as the individual is experiencing madness. Once the madness goes away, it deactivates. No one truly knows why it activates in the first place. But let's focus on the task. Will! Set the pace."

I groaned very, very loudly. I didn't want to set the pace, but we had no choice as we approached Zarmen Forest.

It's a four-day run to Asgard.