05 meeting erik

A beautiful figure could be seen sitting on a bench in the shade of an apple tree in Vasbrusk Castle's garden. She was a young girl of about 14 years old, with a delicately sculpted face. Her black eyelashes curled slightly upwards like the wings of a butterfly, her nose was small and straight, and her rosy lips were drawn like a Magnus opus.

Her black hair was short and wavy, giving her a fluffy and pleasant appearance. Dressed in maid's attire, she gently stroked the hair of a young boy with purple eyes who was lying in her lap. Her sweet lips opened into a shy smile, and her snow-white cheeks were slightly tinged with red.

"Are you comfortable, Asterios?" she spoke softly, caressing the boy's ears as he responded with a shy nasal sound, trying to hide the red blush on his face with the book he had in his hands. "Hm-hmm."

With a soft chuckle at Asterios' reaction, she calmly observed the garden, appreciating every bit of its beauty. Although it was already 3 o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was shining brightly in the sky, the weather was pleasant. The cool breeze from the sea passed over the fortress walls and fell upon the garden, creating a mild and perfect atmosphere to relax on a sunny day, thanks to the abundance of trees and plants.

Unfortunately, their private moment did not last long, as they were soon interrupted by two figures approaching slowly. Asterios quickly got up from the girl's lap, and the girl nervously looked towards the horizon, spotting Asterios father and a tall man in noble clothes by his side. His appearance was simple, with a masculine face and short black hair.

The beautiful girl also stood up shortly after Asterios, observing Argus with a nervous look, and made a small bow in respect to him before stepping back.

Argus walked past the girl with a slight nod in response to her bow before speaking, "Son, I want you to meet Erik. From today on, he will be your tutor."

"Asterios looked curiously at the man before offering his hand and saying, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Erik."

Smiling at the young boy, Erik shook his hand and spoke with a deep, cold: "It's also a pleasure to meet you, young master Asterios. I've heard many good things about you during my short stay here..." He paused briefly and looked at the book in Asterios hands before asking curiously, "Do you enjoy studying about the war of Arthemis?"

Asterios looked at the book he held in his hands before timidly replying, "Uh... yes, I do enjoy it quite a bit..." After answering, he continued with a little more confidence and vigor in his voice, "My father told me that you and he were comrades during the war..."

Argus, who had been silently observing the two talk, sighed heavily and then turned towards the little girl who was standing still by his side. "Anna, how about we take a little walk around the castle while these two chat?"

"Ah... of course, sir," Anna nervously replied. After that, she walked side by side with Argus, slowly moving away. Her facial expression carried a bitter feeling of having to part with Asterios so suddenly, with one last look at the young boy. She smiled slightly, imagining when they would have time to be alone again.

After turning to watch Argus leave with the girl, Erik turned back to Asterios before sitting on the bench next to the boy and asking, "Well... do you have any questions for me?"

After a slight hesitation, Asterios finally spoke up, "My father also told me that you fought together in Karlva..., but he never talks about the war."

Hearing the boy's words, Erik sighed heavily before speaking in a melancholic voice, "Your father has his reasons for avoiding talking about these things... War affects each man in a different way, and never positively." After that, he began to tell a long story to the young boy, his mind slowly sinking into his own memories...

…

In a large, dark tent illuminated only by candles, three men were engaged in a heated discussion around a table about their next course of action.

"We must hold our position!" exclaimed one of the men sitting to the left of the table fervently. "We have 100,000 well-trained legionnaires. Those damn barbarians won't stand a chance against us!"

Another man, sitting to the right of the table, stood up to respond. "They have 500,000 soldiers! It's suicide to fight at a 5-to-1 numerical disadvantage in open field. We must retreat to Karlva and defend the city at all costs! Our defenses are strong enough to hold them off!"

The man on the left tried to question this statement, but was interrupted by the shrill shout of the man in the center of the table. "Enough! This pointless argument won't lead us to victory." Immediately after, he stood up, addressing the many centurions and legates who were watching the discussion, and asked, "Does anyone else have something to say?"

Unexpectedly, he was immediately answered by a man who stepped forward. Contrary to everyone's expectations, it wasn't a powerful legate who stepped forward, but rather a centurion. He had golden hair, blue eyes, and a youthful masculine face. His Aether flowed uncontrollably through his body, indicating that he was close to a breakthrough.

"centurion Argus, do you have something to add to this meeting?" the man on the left asked, his voice was deep and arrogant.

"Yes," Argus replied, before continuing. "Retreating to Karlva is suicide. The city's grain reserves are low, and we will be trapped behind the walls while the rebel army surrounds the city. We will starve to death in 2 or 3 months." He paused briefly, being cut off by the man on the right of the table. "So what do you suggest we do? Charge forward like madmen only to be surrounded and slaughtered like dogs?"

Looking towards the man, Argus replied, "Currently, they have three options. The first is to advance north, cross the Sinonia River in a costly and time-consuming logistical operation that would take weeks, giving us enough time to gather food in Karlva to last us for years."

After presenting the first option, Argus continued: "The second is to head south, pass through the desolate plains, bypassing our positions, and attack Karlva with whatever remains of our army. This option is also unfeasible, as sending an army into the desolate plains is like turning them into bait for hungry beasts," his last words sending shivers down the spines of the few men who had participated in and survived a military assault against the desolate plains many years ago. They knew all too well how terrible that place was.

"So, we come to the third option, which is to attack directly in a swift and devastating offensive, breaking through our positions and taking Karlva as quickly as possible." He spoke slowly, his voice cold and calm, resonating in the minds of everyone present.

"Their armies are tired and the territories they have conquered are unstable, rebels may rise up in the name of the emperor at any moment, and the rebels will have to deal with two armies pressing them. They are eager, desperate to cut off the emperor's head, crushing any possibility of an armed uprising."

"They will attack, because it's their only option. And defending this passage to the death is our only option."

Upon hearing these words, the man in the center of the room slowly stood up, the attention of everyone in the room shifting from Argus to him. "So be it then, we will stand guard and defend this position," he spoke coldly. "You are all dismissed. Prepare your men, the rebel army will be here tomorrow."

Upon hearing the man's words, everyone left the room.

After leaving the room, Argus walked slowly through the dark camp, walked up to the palisades of the makeshift fortress they had built, and gazed out at the plains on the horizon. It was a dark night, and even with all the Aether focused in his eyes, he could only see up to 100 meters ahead.

"A mighty centurion on watch?" a deep and powerful voice sounded right behind Argus. Turning towards it, he saw Erik approaching with a slight smile. "Well, someone has to do the job, right?"

Hahaha, yeah, someone always has to do it..." Erik responded with a genuine laugh, stopping right beside Argus and silently observing the horizon. "Do you think it could have been any different?" he asked with a melancholic tone.

Hearing Erik's question, Argus pondered for a few seconds before responding directly, "No." After a brief pause, he continued, "Even if Emperor Aurelius had survived the assassination attempt with the original heir prince, it wouldn't have changed anything. The empire has aged, Aurelius was our last great emperor, and with his death, the voices of rebellion would wake up and the empire would fall in the same way."

Erik didn't immediately respond to Argus. Instead, he stared intently at the horizon and spoke with surprise in his voice as he pointed to a knight approaching rapidly, "Isn't that one of our escorts?"

Argus fixed his eyes not on the approaching knight, but on the darkness behind him. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he shouted, "Mage!!! We're under enemy attack!!!" In the next moment, a huge fireball emerged from the darkness, illuminating the dark plains and heading towards the palisades of the camp, swallowing the unfortunate knight without even giving him a chance to scream, and hitting the eastern wall with a powerful roar.

Trumpets resounded throughout the camp as tens of thousands of men rushed out of their tents, arming themselves.

Unfortunately, it was already too late. A flood of soldiers from the rebel forces invaded the camp through the hole opened in the palisades by the fireball, starting fierce battles throughout its extent.

Erik quickly ran towards the many enemies. His Aether exploded, and with a fluid motion, he swung his sword towards one of the enemy knights. His blade easily broke through his opponent's defense, hitting his neck with a quick and clean cut, separating his head from his body, which collapsed to the ground. All that remained were spasms of agony.

Without hesitation, he continued cutting. With each passing minute, an enemy fell in front of his blade, as a small pile of corpses quickly formed at his feet.

The battles extended from the walls to the inner regions of the camp, with large masses of soldiers colliding with each other, while centurions and legates fought individual battles where common soldiers dared not intervene. Erik fought tirelessly for over 20 hours, with his Aether heart overloaded and his veins burning. He knew he couldn't fight anymore and finally stopped his blade, stepping back slightly. His body was filled with deep cuts and on the verge of collapsing under its own weight, held up only by the little Aether that still reinforced him.

Surveying the battlefield, Erik realized that the battle was already lost. The mangled bodies of thousands of soldiers, be they imperial legionnaires or rebels, piled up slowly as the rebel forces advanced further and further, as far as his eyes could see. Looking to his right, Erik saw Argus, a centurion facing an enemy legate head-on. His eyes glowed as his crimson aura dominated everything around him, the veins of Aether in his body shimmering and resonating with his aura, emitting a power that was no longer at the level of an expert.

Erik watched the fierce battle for a few seconds before speaking: "Forced breakthrough...". He smiled, his vision fading slowly as he said: "Damn fool..."

...

"I only woke up a week later in the house of a count from the royal domain of Melintor, who took me as a prisoner of war... Since then, I believed that your father had died..." Erik said melancholically. "By that time, the Empire of Arthemis had already fallen and the emperor and his family had been executed, dividing the empire into three kingdoms: Melintor to the east, Greehold to the west, and Jarkan to the south."

Finishing the long story, Erik looked at Asterios, who seemed completely immersed in the narrative that had lasted for many hours. His face carried complicated feelings of anxiety, sadness, and curiosity, but he didn't ask any questions, just looked thoughtfully at the horizon.

"Hmm... it's getting late, I think it's time for you to go see your father. Our lessons start tomorrow, you're already 8 years old, right? It's the appropriate time to learn about Aether and how to manipulate it," Erik said.

"Okay, Mr. Erik... and thank you very much for the story!" Asterios replied, his expression showing admiration and adoration for the man in front of him.

With a slight wave to Asterios, Erik walked away, leaving the pensive and anxious little boy looking forward to the next day when he would finally learn about Aether."