Time Flows On

"So what's your deal?" Aurelia leaned back, yawning and trying to catch her breath, watching the other men dance, parrying, blocking and rolling about like they wished to prepare for a war against god. At this rate, watching them, their confidence and form, Aurelia inwardly laughed, for she could almost imagine anybody in the room raising a sword to the minor gods with confidence. Master Bell... he forged weapons, to use his own words.

"Hmn..." William thought, for a long while, before he decided on an answer, pretty, dark curls hiding his eyes from her. "I guess... I feel a bit like a failure? After all, an elf is supposed to be able to wipe out human armies without a weapon, right? Yet..." Chin softly turning up, eyes cloudy. "I've got no magic, and I suppose it's come to make me realize how much respect humanity deserves, for being forced to accomplish all their goals with nothing more than mind, body, and spirit. I may be a failure of an elf- but..." There was a pause, then, for a long moment, and the man looked down, thoughtful, brow furrowed.

"Are you okay?" Aurelia, gentle, touched his shoulder with a couple of fingers. "Not alone, here, remember," She added, dropping her voice, murmuring soothingly as able.

"Well, my family threw me away and told me I'm as good as a human- something elvenkind despise, by and large- a slur, if you will. If I am to he a human, and not an elf, then I will bear the name proudly- and, if one day I manage to cast spells as an elf should, shred the land apart? I will not be part of elvenkind, even then. I will be a magically talented human- and I will stand with this race, because I understand why my kind is hunted to extinction... we deserve the reputation we have. Foror a human to accomplish their goals with body and mind, is there any better place than here to train? A normal elf could build a palace within a day, but humans can do the same over time without any magics at all. Mind, body and soul, Bell shapes us into the best we can be, on a battlefield... but also, morally. While humans don't always need to fight, if you wish to... this is the place to be, whether that fight is against the world- or yourself. For me, guess it's both."

"In the name of the ancestor spirit Gunnhildr," Aurelia sighed, nodding, referencing the line that Master Bell used in lines of thought revolving around a reason for fighting. It was a bit like his mantra, spoken before he entered any serious or stressful matter.

"Speaking of Master Bell," William prosed, playful, with a smug little grin. "You left his quarters this morning, not the dormitory. Want to talk about that, miss~?" Laughter in his voice, knowing.

"No, no no, I do not-" Aurelia replied immediately, tail thrashing suddenly, knocking over a water bottle, embarrassment nearly choking her. "It's not what- trust me-?"

"Hey! Hey, it's alright, I get it." Smirking softly, William flashed a playful smirk. "You're more human than some of the ones I've met, nobody thinks you're a slutty demon here. If you want to chase somebody down, I'm just happy it worked out and you left in the morning, not the middle of the night. Nothing worse than a cold shoulder~"

"Sh-Shut up-?!" Aurelia squeaked, embarrassed, and William broke off into laughter.

===

The succupixie watched. The entire exchange, and she, as a demon, was the only one who could hear their debate, Master Bell and the messenger.

"Scouts know you're harboring an elf and a demon here, old man. We are offering you one chance - you must relinquish them, or our men will storm your gates and cut down each and every student where they stand. This is not my order, so please do not misplace rage... but I have been told to push you as strongly as I can, that we need not spill unnecessary blood." For a moment, then, they stood in silence, Master Bell's jaw tight.

"That we might not spill unnecessary blood. Tell me, then, why should the demon or the elf die?"

"You know why! We can't trust them, either one could decimate forty platoons of men themselves. The moment they go berserk- and they will-"

"Silence your racism for a moment, and answer me as a man. The elf is without magic, and has been thrown aside by his kin, now swearing fealty to humanity. The demon was raped by numerous demons and humans, and only wishes to live independently as a person, with the strength to defend herself. Even her combat style specializes in defense, parries and counters, escapes. Tell me what part of those two sounds like a global threat that is going to annihilate the world, and do your best to contain your hate for those that look different from you."

"Don't give me your white knight bullshit, Bell. We both know demons and elves will turn on a dime- I would spend a billion coin your elf can use magic, and this is a farce to invade our borders."

"Well then, it sounds like our fate has been decided. As such, there is no reason to leave any more of your kind in the world than I must," Master Bell spoke grimly, and before the Starrian messenger could react, his head had hit the grass, just before his knees. This, Aurelia watched, and retreated silently, sighing. The air smelled of blood, already- at least, to her nose.

===

"They want Aurelia and William," Master Bell explained, to all of his students. "I refused, and as such, I will not be allowed to live. I expect that they will come to wage war at nightfall- and whether or not I hand over the two they ask after, I will be killed. With this in mind..." Bell looked at the wall for a long moment, thinking, and sighed. "I would offer you all a chance to leave, and let me die here on my feet without taking my family with me. You have all made me a proud teacher, and I can rest easy, if my lessons live with you." There was a weight in his voice, like an inescapable fatigue, but the middle-aged man stood resolute.

"Your lessons do live with us," One of the young men stood up, speaking boldly. "Family sticks together, no matter the odds. I won't leave you here alone- I say we battle Starria's knights, fight them back and win! Then we can ALL leave, together, before reinforcements arrive!"

"Yeah!" Another man stood. "Master Bell, we won't leave you here to die- family sticks together, be it man or beast. We'll kill those bastards, then take off, find a place where we can all operate safely. For better or worse, your old ass is living."

"Agreed." Aurelia stood, wings twitching. "We'll fight, Master. Starria does nothing but take, so let's put a thorn in their side, then leave together. Your teachings live in us, but it's not time for them to die in ANY of us." Long silence stretched, slowly, and Bell finally nodded.

"As one, then," the teacher spoke, soft.

===

It was not a glorious affair, the battle. Few words were spoken, and there were no cries of battle. No glorious screams and marches, for this was not a battle of glory. The knights knew of their bigotry but believed in it- and the students of Issei Bell knew what monstrosity they were attempting to put down. Arrows rained, blades clashed, and armor crunched- here, the gasp of a dying man, there, the crunch of bone. The students won effortlessly, and naturally, Aurelia and William were primarily to blame as they danced among the enemy with catlike grace faster than any human could, striking down knights before a blade could be lifted.

The earth, as well, seemed to sense the conflict, and graced the land with a dull rain, a cloudy night, to remind all of the heaviness. Aurelia felt no joy in the slaughter... but it was necessary, and so, if it was for Bell... for her brothers here... then she would relish the blood of the knights, and laugh as they gagged on their own blood. It was, the only way, to protect her family...

"I have to, kill them, it's the only way, to protect..." Aurelia panted under her breath, ducking under a blade, and with one savage swing, she found herself being parried by commander of this enemy platoon.

"You have to die, it's the only way," Aurelia snarled, and kicked his knee without warning while he readied a swing. The captain screamed, his knee tearing, bone shattering, and the noise cut off abruptly as Aurelia whirled, cleaving his torso into two, tears in her eyes. Looking around... rain, bodies, death and decay, blood... her family, alive, and the knights scattering in panic. Maybe ten left, of the one hundred attackers, Aurelia slowly walked forward, toward a knight clamoring backward in the mud.

"Throw your sword, and I won't kill you," She spoke, firm, and the knight, to his credit, obeyed, crying, sobbing, flinging his sword into the rain.

"P-Please, they're only orders, if I don't do as they say I'm dead, I'm dead either way, please m-mercy," He cut off with a yelp, sobbing harder as Aurelia sank to one knee and cupped his cheek.

"Whoever you report to... tell them that one day, I will undo the king. You wanted a monster, and now, you've found one. You don't touch my family."

"I'll tell them just please don't k-kill me I swear I'm just f-following orde-"

"Shhhhh," Aurelia whispered, and the knight sobbed, ceasing his speaking. Listening to these sobs, Aurelia sighed, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

"It was the only way- a slaughter, not a war. I'm sorry for what you've lost today. Go, and deliver my message. You won't be killed." Eyes closed for a moment, cupping the soldier's cheek, Aurelia took a breath and slowly turned away.

"I am a monster, and your king is a villain. There is a difference, you understand?" Boots squelching in the mud, Aurelia walked away, certain that this victim would, indeed, deliver her message with fear to share. One day... one day, she'd guide that king to his death.

===

Years later, Aurelia watched in a curious stupor as the assassins fell away around her. Her teacher had returned for one last visit, against her warnings- after two days, she'd decided to follow his journey, but she was too late. Taking Bell's body, she looked down, shaking her head... he was so old, now... but he'd lived a good life, and perhaps he knew that he would die, here. Maybe, he only wanted to die in the place he'd made his best memories...

"You're going to be remembered as a warrior, and a teacher- not a monster." Sighing, eyes wet, Aurelia carried the bloodied old man toward the cemetery a few miles off, smiling tiredly. "People around me have this habit, you know? You died as you lived, though... a stubborn jackass, and the best man I ever knew. Here I am, talking to a corpse, like you can answer... your spirit must have moved on, with no regrets... but if any part of you can hear me... you won't be forgotten, Master Bell." Once again, and hopefully for the last time, Aurelia left the dojo with a trail of bodies in her wake while the ravens began to caw overhead.

===

There were many stories of the devil in Starria's Fae Forest, and there had been for years- but at this point, nobody really knew why. After all, the slaughter of Issei's dragons was over fifty years ago now, and the only ones old enough to know of it well had no reason to ever learn the tale. Some said she was a succubus who slept with men and then turned them into the trees in the forest, and others said she'd eat your children for her supper if you lost track of them. Now, though, a new tale was spreading- of rifts, and of demons invading the lands from another realm... all lies, in order to find an excuse to wage war on Mír, simply for having a demon population.

Well, trust the bastard in charge to mess up- as much as he hated magic, of course he recruited half-witted summoners, and of course the summons went wrong. Seeing her chance, Aurelia tracked the magic, and found a small cabin near the very edge of the Fae Forest... there was a hero, with black and white hair, beautiful green eyes- still stupefied by the summoning process, accepting everything too easily. After observing from a distance, for a while, and watching the young woman get her status band, Aurelia shrunk down to fairy sized, and took a deep breath.

"Starria will want to kill you," She whispered. This summoned hero would fight back- and whether or not she had to interfere, Aurelia would make sure Hina became a weapon against the king. "Sorry I can't let my grudge go, Master... but I did tell that soldier to deliver a warning."