16 The Kingdom of Eorin (3)

The three of them made their way to Ildurin's private chambers. There, a teapot and four cups were already waiting for them on the table. It caused the two blondes to realize that their chat in front of the painting took much longer then they originally thought.

"Ildurin, would you mind showing Klyran here your most prized sword?" the oracle suddenly request and then turned to face his new friend.

"Ildurin's sword is special. I always wondered about it, as it was a mere story until a few years ago. I am sure you will understand why I am so curious about it", he then said to the Ryan, who only nodded.

Without another question, the King went to fetch the Aesthir, which he kept in an adjoined room in his chambers, where he also stored his most valued possessions. While the younger blonde has wandered into the second room, Klyran went and sat on one of the chairs at the table. There was no hesitation in his movements, like he was a guest of the King on a weekly basis. He poured himself some tea and smelled it, trying to remember if he has encountered any of the plants used there in his short stay in this world. Some, he recognized from his time in villages, others from the forests. He greatly enjoyed the smell and held the cup in both his hands, making it look rather small. Steam rose from the water, yet the Ryan found no difficulty in sipping the hot tea. He even seemed rather pleased by the temperature.

While Ildurin was out, Aldryn also approached Klyran and sat in a chair near him. He followed his friend's example and poured himself a cup, but could not do much more then lift it.

'Amazing how he can drink it... I can barely touch the cup without burning my fingers.'

He was amazed by the Ryan's resistance to the element and almost felt bad for him. Klyran's stay in this world would have been much more pleasant if only the gate opened in the North, not the South. But then, maybe it was meant to open in the South, maybe the two of them were meant to meet that way.

"Keep thinking that way" the fox then commented, "If you truly felt bad for him you would have sent him North yourself."

"Shut it... I do feel bad for him. I even gave him my cloak and used a spell on it. And I am bad with spells" the blonde huffed.

Aldryn came out of his thoughts when he heard Ilduring return to the room. He carried out a sword by its handle, wielding it with one arm.

'Is that?!' Klyran exclaimed in his mind and his eyes widened, 'How is such a thing possible?!'

The King's face showed obvious confusion, not understanding why the priest might need the Aesthir for. It also took him a mere glance at Klyran to notice his reaction, which made him stumble a bit.

The young man's eyes were no longer of human nature. In place of the black eyes that Ildurin already gotten used to see, stood darkness. Klyran's eyes no longer possessed a sclera, iris or pupil, the black colour covering them from one end to another. Just like Aldryn, the King quickly noticed that the white spots in those eyes seemed to slightly move, as if following his movements. It was amazing, Ildurin then thought and looked at the oracle for an explanation.

"Klyran here…is not exactly of human nature", the priest said with ease, clearly amused by the situation.

Ildurin took pride in the fact that not much could surprise him any longer in this lifetime. He spoke and fought with a Kenman, a race that was considered extinct, he helped save the life of a Thrae and even defeated one. He also carried in his hands the legendary sword of Aesthir that was a mere fairytale when he was a child.

"What are you?" he asked his new acquaintance, fully ignoring the other blonde.

It caused the black haired creature to look at him, clearly surprised. Klyran obliviously expected Aldryn to be the one to do the talking. He then looked at his hands, as if the question made him aware that something was happening around him. His eyes then danced to the apostle, who gave him a toothy smile and pointed his finger toward his own eyes. It caused Klyran to lift his own fingers toward his eyes.

"I am sorry. You must have been surprised", he suddenly said, as if his eyes were not that of a beast that the King has never encountered before.

"That still does not answer my question", he said and gripped his sword, thinking that perhaps that was why it was summoned.

"Klyran is a Ryan" Aldryn quickly said and rushed to stand in front of his friend, shielding him from Ildurin, clearly seeing the intention to kill in his eyes. It took the words a few moments to register in Ildurin's mind and then his eyes widened in shock.

"What?!" the King then yelled in surprise, never expecting that piece of information.

"Klyran… is a Ryan", the oracle said again, more hesitantly.

Aldryn begun to think that maybe his actions were not the best approach that he could have taken in that situation. Though he had to admit that he never expected Klyran's eyes to change back to their natural colour.

"You are realizing your mistake just now? You lacked tact your whole life, what made you think it will work this time?" a voice in the oracle's mind mocked.

"I was just as surprised as you to find out", he quickly told Ildurin, ignoring the Thrae, while trying to comfort his friend.

The King then swiftly approached Klyran. He looked him in the eyes, but this time, not in surprise, but awe. Now that the initial shock wore off, he could see just how amazing those eyes were. They reminded him of a clear summer night.

"You are the one who came through the waterfall of light", he then said and did not even needed to see a nod of confirmation.

"Were you also the one to kill those humans in the forests?", Ildurin continued to ask.

"I did not meant to", Klyran said and blinked, causing his eyes to turn back to their human self, "I did not know that my language would cause such a reaction."

Those words caused Ildurin to grow confused again, not fully understanding how a language could kill someone.

"Klyran speaks the mother of tongues. Do you remember the cave from ten years ago? The letters on its walls, the same ones that decorate your sword. We could not repeat or redraw them, no matter how hard we tried", Aldryn then spoke up, sitting back down in his chair.

"How did you learn the human language? I understand now what Aldryn was doing all those months. But how?" Ildurin asked again and set his sword on the table, noticing how Klyran's eyes followed it.

"Apparently the language of the Old Religion is very similar. At least the core of the words are. The second part and the grammar is different, but Klyran managed to understand me most of the times. I could also understand what he was saying in his own language, though it did caused me a headache", the oracle explained and started sipping on his tea.

"Do you think I could listen to it?" the King then addressed his friend, both ignoring their other companion, who was too busy staring at Aesthir.

"With the sword", the priest said and glanced its way, "Perhaps."

The apostle was not certain of his words. While it was true that Aesthir could gift its owner immortality and heal any wounds, a part of him still could not help but doubt. If the powers of another Ryan was thrown into the mix, he wasn't sure if the sword would come on top.

The two continued to chat for a few more minutes until Klyran interrupted them, taking them both by surprise.

"Where did you get it?" the Ryan asked and pointed to the sword.

"It called to me a few years ago", Ildurin said, "This is Aesthir. The sword of the High King of men. The one meant to protect mankind from Thraes and other dangers."

"It is said that the sword was given to humans by a Great God, who took pity on them. Since humans were the weakest of all the species that were created in this world. It is said that the Great God blessed it with some of its own powers", Aldryn then continued.

"What do you mean it called to you?" Klyran then asked and extended his arm toward it, grabbing it only after he saw Ildurin nod his approval.

"I believe that it showed me a dream when I was still a prince. Made me run after Aldryn into Gilton to meet the Kenman. When the two of us met, we fought. I won many tournaments and gotten much stronger since then, but that Kenman is not someone who I think I can ever defeat. He is the strongest swordsman of this world and no one can convince me otherwise. But after our fight, he told me that my Destiny awaits me, but it is too soon and I should not rush. That all will be revealed to me when the time will be right."

During this story, Klyran showed extreme interest toward the Kenman. He then looked at Aldryn, who only smiled at him. The oracle knew of the Ryan's wish to become stronger, so he knew the knowledge of the Kenman's skills would intrigue him.

"Then one night, five years ago, I had another dream. I dreamt of a cave and a beast walking around it. It was the place where Aesthir remained for thousands of years after its former master passed. Though how could an enchanted sword send me dreams is beyond me" the King then laughed and looked toward the celling, remembering the quest that felt like it happened a lifetime ago, when only five years passed.

"An enchanted sword will never be able to do such a thing. But this one is more than capable of it" Klyran said, surprising Ildurin.

The Ryan then traced his finger along the blade, causing foreign letters to appear in a light blue glow. This caused both the apostle and the King to jump, startling Klyran.

"Did it never do this before?" the Ryan asked and raised his hand, so it no longer touched the metal.

"It does this all the time, but only when I am using its powers" Ildurin explained and Klyran only nodded, "I always wondered, could you tell me what is written on the blade?" he asked and looked at the letters that could now be seen on Aesthir.

"The weak that defended against the strong shall receive my blessing. And thy heart shall become a Harth" Klyran read from one side and then turned it around and continued.

"And the feeble shield that defended the weak, shall become an unbreakable sword that strikes for their sake", Klyran then finished his translation after examining the sword from both sides.

"Amazing. So the Great God from the story was the Ryan", Aldryn said suddenly, also looking at the sword.

"A Harth? What's that?" Ildurin asked confused, as he never heard of such a word before.

"It's the... soul of my kin", the Ryan said and then paused, "Kind of."

"It's a sort of power that they can manifest as deadly weapons and each of them is unique", the oracle then explained.

"Really? Can you show me?" the King then exclaimed excitedly and turned to look at Klyran.

"I was born without a Harth", the said and then dropped the weapon on the table between the three of them.

"I'm sorry" said Ildurin when he noticed the shadows that fell over his new friend's eyes.

"Use it", Klyran then suddenly said.

"I'm sorry?" the King asked, unsure if he heard it right.

"Use the sword. I wish to check something", the Ryan spoke again, not bothering to elaborate more.

Still unsure of his actions, Ildurin gently grabbed the sword. He then looked at Klyran in confusion but didn't hesitate to summon Aesthir's strength. The letters on the sword glowed again in the light-blue colour. Ildurin's skin also seemed to radiate in it. Even his eyes changed, the blue colour changed, becoming lighter, to the point where it matched the colour of the letters on the sword.

In that moment, Klyran used his skill again, to observe Ildurin.

[Character Information]

Name: Ildurin

Race: Half-Human, Half-Ryan

Occupation: Swordsman (Level 20), Archer (Level 8), Knight (Level 10), Knifeman (Level 8), Dual Wielding (Level 5), Combat (Level 16)

Strength 20

Magic 6

Physical Defence 20

Magical Defence 20

Vitality 20

Agility 20

Accuracy 20

Luck 13

Noticing the sudden change, Klyran turned his head to Aldryn.

"Can you let the Thrae possess you for a bit?", he asked.

Despite having been near the Thrae, the Ryan never bothered much to observe it. But this time, he was almost excited to see the transformation. With a small nod, the blonde transformed.

[Character Information]

Name: Aldryn, ??

Race: Half-Human, Half-Thrae

Occupation: Spearman (Level 18), Swordsman (Level 5), Archer (Level 8), Lancer (Level 11), Knifeman (Level 10), Dual Wielding (Level 7), Combat (Level 19)

Strength 20

Magic 14

Physical Defence 25

Magical Defence 20

Vitality 20

Agility 16

Accuracy 20

Luck 9

"As I thought", Klyran suddenly said, confusing both blondes.

Then, in an instant, the Ryan took his own form. The wings spurted out of his back, along with his tail. While horn grew out of his forehead. It fascinated both his friends. Aldryn could not help but marvel at the sight, despite having seen it once before. While for Ildurin, it was a whole new experience.

[Character Information]

Name: Klyran

Race: Ryan

Occupation: Swordsman (Level 2)

Strength 28

Magic 19

Physical Defence 23

Magical Defence 25

Vitality 24

Agility 27

Accuracy 7

Luck 9

This time, Klyran was the one who felt astonished.