Aether Chronicles: Birth Of A Legend

Raegar and Yuki were sitting in front of the fire as the others slowly made their way back to the camp. By the time Jasper appeared, he looked tired as he slumped down next to him with a wary smile.

''Little brother, did those things truly scare you?'' the older man asked with a sigh.

''Yes, they were unlike anything I've met apart from the Devil Lord,'' he answered. ''The leader sent out a child to distract me as the rest surrounded me, only to be stopped by the Tier Five.''

He looked toward the Black Gorge and knew the creature was watching the camp before continuing. ''It was deciding whether to kill me or not and decided on leaving me alone so we could travel through there. I'm not certain that we'd be attacked, but that's how I felt.''

When Jasper heard this, he nodded with a stern expression before revealing. ''The commanders want to take the path now that you've cleared out the bandits. Do you think you could accompany us? I'd feel more comfortable with my little brother there.''

Raegar sighed as he glanced at Yuki, who nodded. ''It's the quickest way into the Vaelthorne Duchy. Otherwise, there might be a chance you'd be late for the academy test.''

''Damn,'' he muttered while glancing at Jasper. ''Okay, but have that fool Luthian lead us through. That idiot can get taken first.''

His older brother chuckled before ruffling his hair and spoke with a smile. ''Get some rest, we'll leave camp in an hour.''

Following that, Raegar turned to Yuki with a serious expression. ''I'll protect you and your mother, but if anything goes wrong, run for the other side while I keep them off the caravan.''

''So you're still going to help?'' the young woman asked with a smile.

''We are the highest, and they are the lowest. We must lift them as high as they will go. Anything less is simply not worthy of our name,'' he quoted with a chuckle. ''Mother's teachings have always stuck with me.''

''You're doing it for the soldiers and Blackwood staff?'' she questioned.

Raegar smiled before nodding. ''Yes, Dawnfire Commanders are known for not caring about troops of the lower noble houses, and Father respects his, so it's the least I can do for the training.''

Yuki agreed and the two of them started chatting while the soldiers went about taking down the tents. While sitting there, Saki approached with a worried expression as she asked. ''Are we traveling through the Black Gorge?''

''Yes, but stay in the carriage and don't come out,'' he responded. ''I'll be on the roof to protect it from monsters.''

The mature woman nodded with a relieved smile as she joined the two after pushing Yuki closer to him. This made her cheeks go red just before she started making tea for them all as she daydreamed.

An hour passed in relative peace as the Dawnfire Soldiers took the front, and the Blackwood Guards surrounded the carriage. Raegar was sitting on its roof while scanning their surroundings.

Once the caravan entered the mist-covered gorge, his stomach dropped, and his Aether rushed out, washing over the surrounding landscape only to find nothing. He was confused but shrugged as the soldier's heads were on a swivel.

Nothing happened at first until Raegar spotted something moving toward the Blackwood Guards. He vanished from the roof while summoning his daggers, only to block a swipe from one of the humanoid creatures.

His arms felt the strain but he shocked the humanoid and hit it with a Lightning Blast that sent it flying into the mist. Without waiting, he cast Hydra Blades made from fire and threw them into the air.

Raegar used his Aether to control the weapons to fly around the Blackwood Guards and carriage, which warded off the creatures. He noticed one of the creatures moved in, but the blazing weapon took it out.

The men and women stood stunned, their faces pale, but they quickly rallied into formation, bracing for the inevitable ambush. Moments later, anguished screams tore through the ranks of the Dawnfire soldiers, shattering the tense silence.

In a blur, Raegar vanished from sight, only to reappear midair above a monster. It was poised to lunge at a mounted soldier. He descended, driving his blade into its skull with a sickening thud, the sound echoing as it crumpled.

Moments later, one of the Hydra blades rushed toward Jasper and took out another two humanoids. Following that, he started killing the monsters while pushing himself to the limits, as some of them were strong.

By the time the leader enemy leader let out a screech, prompting the remaining monsters to retreat as he dismissed the Aether Weapons. He noticed the Tier Five creature was staring at him for a few seconds before vanishing into the darkness.

While standing there, Raegar heard an apologetic voice coming from behind him. ''I'm sorry for doubting you, young master. I never expected them to be those creatures.''

He spun around, his eyes narrowing as they landed on Luthian, his brother's second-in-command. A flicker of irritation sharpened his tone. ''I have no reason to lie, but I'm curious, what are they?''

The older man moved close and whispered as he didn't want the soldiers to hear what he was about to say. ''In the east, we call them the Watchers, humans from an ancient empire that was lost to history.''

''What turned them into these horrible creatures?'' he asked.

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Luthian looked nervous but took out a book and handed it to him. ''Your brother told me you like to read. This is everything my cousin documented before they got her. It was a bad time for my family, but I managed to save her work.''

Raegar reached for the book and was about to start reading when the man held up a hand to stop him. ''Wait until we set up camp. It'll be easier then.''

He nodded while putting it in his storage ring before speaking. ''Alright. Thank you, I'm sure this will be useful to me.''

''I'm grateful that you're unlike most young nobles that would have gloated or punished me for being a commoner that became a commander in the Dawnfire Empire,'' Luthian explained.

''We are the highest, and they are the lowest. We must lift them as high as they will go. Anything less is simply not worthy of the Blackwood name,'' Raegar quoted while watching the caravan preparing to continue on the Kingsway.

He looked back at the Black Gorge before concluding. ''My parents taught me that whether commoner or noble, we are all the same, we live, we love, and, in the end, we all face the same fate, death.''

Luthian nodded with a friendly smile as he returned to his brother, who was organizing the soldiers. He then noticed Yuki stepping out of the carriage with a relieved smile as she spotted him.

The cat woman rushed toward him and gave him a tight hug while whispering. ''I'm so glad that everything went okay. I thought those creatures were going to swarm us.''

Raegar chuckled before returning to gesture as the soldiers screamed out for the caravan to move. He ushered the smiling maid back into the carriage and jumped on the roof while he started gathering.

Sometime later, Aether was pouring into his body like a flood and filled up his pools, causing the strain to make him sweat. When he was finished he opened his eyes only to realize he felt tired.

'Overuse, maybe?' he mused while looking at his shaking hand. 'No, it's an Aether blockage. I need to move up to Mist to increase my pool size.'

Following that, the Black Gorge faded into the horizon, which made him feel better but something in the pit in his stomach said he would see the Watchers again. Hours later, a rest stop appeared in the distance.

'Finally!' he internally celebrated. 'Maybe I can get some noodles like the stop near Ravensguard.'

Moments later, Jasper and Luthian rode up to the carriage, and his brother spoke. ''We'll rest here for the night. By midday tomorrow, we'll reach Grandfather's estate.''

''Okay,'' he replied, hopping off the carriage as Yuki and Saki stepped out.

Jasper and Luthian greeted the women before explaining the plan. With their agreement, the caravan continued its journey down the road. Once they arrived at the rest stop, he noticed it was busy.

Merchants rushed around while Dawnfirians kept order to the chaos. While Raegar took in the sights, Yuki appeared with a smile. ''Young master. Would you like to get a room in the inn? It would be nice to sleep in a comfortable bed,'' she suggested.

''That sounds good,'' he replied. ''I need a bath; washing in lakes and rivers is nothing like relaxing in hot water.''

Following that, Raegar took out a small pouch with a dozen gold coins and gave it to the older woman. ''Get the best room for us and rent out one for your mother and Edmund. Can't have them sleeping in a tent while we stay in the warm.''