The Trek

The paladin marched on ahead of Ojero, moving at a constant speed. As usual, he was covering more ground than a normal man would by using time magic.

Although Ojero was lagging behind, he found that the time magic was helping push him forward too.

He would regularly feel the world rush around him and appear a few feet ahead of where he was. Each time it happened, he was both impressed and reminded of how far he still had to go to achieve a similar level of power.

These thoughts both saddened him and relit the fire of ambition in his heart, spurring him on to continue walking behind the large armored paladin.

The long grass of the plains rubbed against his pants, and if not for the recent events in his life, Ojero would have loved to enjoy his walk through the beautiful field.

The sun was bright in the sky above him, the smell of plantlife and the fresh air was all around him, and the tall mountains stood as tall imposing beacons in the direction of his travel.

The mountains, known as the Riotian Mountains, marked the border between the Everentile Empire and the Kingdom of Riote. It is widely believed if not for the mountains, the Everentile Empire would have already invaded and conquered Riote.

Instead, the two nations had built a friendship with each other based mostly on neutrality. Riote would not intervene in Everentile matters, and vice versa.

Ojero's father, Quasar, had even been trying to pursue a royal marriage between Orpham and an Everentile princess, to try and bring the two nations closer together to secure Everentile help in the war with Avar.

Ojero smiled when he remembered his brother's constant embarrassment when they found themselves on the topic.

Rumors often reached the household about the princesses beauty, which meant Ojero had a brotherly obligation to give unending grief to Orpham about her.

A particularly strong gust of wind broke Ojero out of his reminiscing, bringing him back to his current reality.

This time, however, the sadness did not come as strong. He now had a goal, a purpose to march on, and it kept him fueled.

For hours, Ojero and the paladin marched on, neither stopping for any reason. Not a single word was spoken between them.

Ojero didn't speak due to a small amount of resentment he held for the paladin, and the paladin didn't speak since he saw no benefit to it for now.

The mountains grew larger as they approached them, and Ojero began to finally realize their majesty.

They stood tall and imposing, the snow white tops glistening in the sun, but also seemed to dare adventurers and hikers to try and scale the sheer cliffs.

The plains the two were walking through slowly began to turn into a small forest. Tall pine trees began to appear around them, and wildlife began to fill the silence with their sounds.

Ojero saw squirrels and rabbits running across the tree branches and the forest floor, always staying away from the two.

'How it must feel to be like those animals. Free to run around and do whatever you want, dumb enough to not understand anything of important.' Ojero thought as he watched them.

A part of him envied their ignorance, but an even larger part of him pitied them. They would never be able to amount to much.

While he was thinking that, a different way of thinking appeared to him.

'Is not amounting to much really that bad? Living a normal life, with normal responsibilities. It's not grand, but it is… happy.'

"An average life is not bad, but it is not memorable, child. Millions of people can live an average life, and do, because it's easy. They have happiness, they have love, they have life, but they lack ambition. They lack LEGACY. That is the true goal of life; legacy."

Ojero didn't know why, but each word the paladin spoke resonated with him deeper than anything he heard before. It was like a part of him demanded he listen, demanded him to understand.

'Legacy? Maybe there is something to that.'

Ojero didn't respond to the paladin, and remained silent as he watched the animals run around. He wanted to say something to learn more, but his pride wouldn't allow him to be so open with the paladin quite yet. Not after what he had done.

They continued the rest of the trek through the forest in silence, with the sound of leaves crunching under their feet to accompany them. The ground slowly inclined up as they walked by more and more trees.

Eventually, they reached the end of the forest, and a sheer edge of stone stretched up far above the two, making a wall. The cliff was far too steep for them to attempt to climb it, and Ojero began to question the paladin's decision to go here to climb the mountain.

They stood there for many minutes, and Ojero was just about to speak up about their stupid decision, when the paladin walked forward and placed his gauntleted hand on the mountain side.

A green light surrounded his body and moved swiftly to his palm.

The mountain began to rumble loudly, the local area shaking violently. Birds and animals alike scattered, running away from the area.

Ojero himself almost lost his footing.

'What in Multos name is this psychopath doing!?'

Then, silencing Ojero's aggressive thoughts, the mountain side began to move. The wall began to slide down into the earth in front of their eyes, revealing a long lit passage within.

It wasn't massive, only big enough for a few men to walk side by side, but it seemed very long.

"This 'psychopath' is opening us a path. If you would prefer, I am certain we could attempt to climb the mountain the normal way. However, I warn you, ice trolls are not very friendly with intruders, and have a very fond taste for human flesh."

Ojero gulped at the threat and lowered his head in shame at his quick jump to insulting the paladin.

Without looking back, the paladin walked forward into the tunnel, soon followed by Ojero.