Chapter 9 : Advice

A mature woman walked down a slender hall.

Her posture was stiff, and she radiated an aura of coldness and authority in her stride, which would make anybody shrink when placed into contact with her.

3 people stood behind them, their aura was still inferior to the person in front of them but still strong enough to show an air of dominance.

They all walked through the slender hall, not a word spread between them.

Then they approached a room, before knocking on the Petricite door in a rhythmic pattern and watching it open.

The guard who opened it bowed as he slowly backed away to give the four people access to the room.

"Eldred." The woman said to the man sitting at the desk, causing a smirk to appear on his face.

"Tiana.... come on, stop being so cold -" The glance she gave him caused him to sigh.

"Have you found the witness?" Tiana asked, which caused Eldred to become serious.

"No, that's why I brought you here. I want a hunting dog to track him. We have at least confirmed he is in Demacia, but we do not know where."

"How did the interrogation with Sylas go?"

Eldred looked annoyed with his question getting ignored by his wife, but he understood that these are her work hours. "Not a single word out of him, just him laughing like a freak."

"When will he be hanged?"

"He needs to be sent to trial, and as utterly preposterous as it sounds, people are saying it wasn't his fault."

"It's the light-bringers, isn't it?" Tiana muttered. "They just want to use this chance to push mage privileges."

"Highly possible, but they are a charity with a lot of support and have been rooted into Demacian culture for decades. Their no-fly we can swat."

"Back to the question, why don't you get a hunting dog to find the witness, the boy who was with the mage girl?"

"Why are we putting such high priority on him?" Tiana muttered, her face looked confused. "He is not a mage, and his adoptive sister died in front of him, surely that would be enough?"

"Tiana Crownguard showing sympathy." Eldred laughed. "With him, we could make it so Sylas gets sent to the Gallows quickly and it could repress the Lightbringers and finally put an end to that madman."

"Very well." Tiana muttered, "I will put a hunting dog to go and track him."

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Ajel, looked towards the goat's cheese and bread he made with some eggs, before blankly looking down at it like it was some monstrosity.

"Did you sleep well?" Awek asked Ajel, but he could sense the wavering mental state of the boy in front of him.

"How did it go?"

Ajel looked up at Awek, who of course was referring to the blank book.

"Couldn't meditate," Ajel muttered, his eyebags telling him a story for him.

"You have too much going on at the moment, follow me after breakfast and I will show you something."

Noami was confused, but she understood that it was adults' talk and she shouldn't get complicated with it.

Eating the breakfast at a slow pace, Ajel watched as Awek led him out of the door and carried him up the steps to the top of the village.

Ajel didn't say a word, as he watched Awek take him to the peak of the mountain, which was illuminated in the early morning.

Putting Ajel down, Awek took a seat beside him.

The mountain was large, big enough to see the capital city from a distance with Ajel's sharp eye.

Luckily he had a sharp vision, or he would have had to deal with the depth perception lost from losing an eye.

"Meditation is the act of combining yourself with nature. You need to be calm and collected, and sink into your own conscious." Awek muttered, before shaking his head. "You can't do that. Your feeling is conflicted and the only emotion in your head is the one about vengeance and killing intent."

"Then how do you overcome it?"

"You don't," Awek muttered. "For you, your like cloth and your emotions are like blood. The cloth has absorbed too much of the blood, that its colour has been permanently absorbed into the cloth."

Ajel stood in silence as he watched Awek continue.

"You need to accept those feeling, and pass through them just temporarily."

Ajel just stood there in silence, admiring the view.

"You say this like you've had to go through it yourself," Ajel said, which caused Awek to smile.

"Everybody has something they have to go through, Ajel. Im no different. However, what separates them are those who can get through it and those who can't."

"What happens to those who can't get through it."

"The world is an unforgiving place. You either end up dead or partially achieving your dream or die trying to fully do it." Awek stared into the horizon , before looking Ajel in the eyes.

"What is your dream?"

"To avenge my sister."

"And who will you kill?"

"The mageseekers-"

"You're an utter fool, one blinded by vengeance to the point your own life doesn't matter." Awek's tone was disdainful and harsh.

Ajel's eyes opened as he got told the truth.

"You can't see beyond the horizon. If you gain enough power and go and kill the mageseekers , do you know how many people are there, and the consequences of it?"

"The justice system would collapse, and mages, good and bad will roam around Demacia. Do you understand what that would do? you may feel fulfilled but how are you meant to take care of and protect a whole population? will your sister be proud of you?"

Ajel's eyes were empty as he slowly looked over.

What would be his next steps?