Three large men stepped out of the woods at first. They had claw marks on their faces and they had Large weapons with them. One of them was holding an axe that could easily tear off a man's head without much difficulty. The other two held large swords, and the way they glistened told Blaize they were extremely sharpThe men began to walk closer toward them, and Victoria slowly retreated to hide behind Blaize."Just three? We can take them." Julian puffed and proceeded to crack his knuckles. As he unsheathed his sword, three other large men emerged from the woods. They were dressed and armed in a similar manner as the former two.Their unexpected presence made Julian take a step back in retreat."What the hell is this? Is this like a circus night or something?" He yelled at the men who just kept approaching. "What do you want?" Victoria asked but the men did not reply to her. They just kept approaching until Blaize had to draw his weapon. "Stay back! All of you!" Blaize said to the m
"What do we here? A mage? This just got more interesting." The large man said to Blaize and twisted his axe. He seemed to be looking for a Worthy challenge and Blaize was going to give it to him. Blaize still had his gaze fixated on Victoria whose look had turned from sadness at one point to that despair and betrayal. It was like she knew Blaize had a secret that large but did not know it would be that specific.Julian, on the other hand, scoffed, like he knew already and just wanted to confirm it. He also seemed to regret saving Blaize from that arrow.The man growled and attacked Blaize who quickly dodged the attack and blocked another one with a magic shield. The shield cracked down on impact with the axe and energy emitted, knocking both Blaize and the man off their feet. Blaize hit the carriage again, and he wasted no time punching it, causing a mass of energy to hit it and make another slit. He gasped and dodged the strike the man sent his way. More of them followed suit and B
Princess Cecilia watched as the fire Blaize had to make cackled. It was a very cold night, one they would not survive without heat. They had taken shelter somewhere inside the cave and needed the light for more than just heat. They had to know they were in a safe space. All kinds of things crept into the dark."Start talking..." Blaize said to Cecilia as she sat beside the fire. He was standing, and his eyes were on her."I do not like it when men stand over me. It makes me feel like they own me and that is something that cannot be." She said and Blaize scoffed."You have serious issues, do you know that? You are a proud maniac who thinks everything in life should just happen to you the way you want. But guess what? Life isn't that way. There are times when it fucks you up and this moment right now is one of those times." Blaize told her and she just nodded. He was done with princesses."Fine. Whatever."Then she sighed."The people that attacked us are called The Buba tribe. They are
Blaize threaded carefully as he walked towards the mouth of the cave. It was a bit dark, and from where he was, he could hear the footsteps approaching him. The footsteps were steady and calculated, but he could only hear one person walking towards him.Were they alone? Where were the others?He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and walked closer. The footsteps kept approaching and although he was as stealthy as he could be, he was certain that they probably knew he was coming as well. His cover was fully blown when he stepped on a twig and it snapped.Someone yelled and hurled at him, knocking him into the wall. But he recognized the voice."Victoria?"He asked and the person stopped. Blaize snapped his fingers and opened his palm as fire suddenly appeared in it. Victoria took a step back and gazed at Blaize with much suspicion."I am happy to see you alive."He said to her but she did not reply. The old him may have killed her on the spot for deserting him but Blaize at that
Blaize stood close to the mouth of the cave for the rest of the night, keeping an eye out as Victoria and Cecilia slept. He had gone to check on them once and found them sleeping peacefully on the ground. The fire they made had now become a pile of ashes on the ground and the cold that had started blowing in the cave made Cecilia shiver in her sleep.Blaize gazed at her carefully. A princess out there in the woods, all alone. She never should have left her village. She should have stayed there and got married to whomever it was her father chose and that way, she would have been able to save herself from some of the pain she was going through at that moment.But still, if she had not run away, she never would have been able to take destiny by its balls and live her best life. Blaize just needed to keep her safe until they got to the Arynthians. He had a feeling that they would find that very interesting.He drew a rune on the ground, tracing it carefully so as not to miss any detail wh
The morning came quickly, and the silence that swept across the forest was one that haunted those inside the cave. For Blaize, it was a relief that it was daytime. He was never really a fan of the night. He knew that what he could see had little or no chance of hurting him, unlike the nighttime when he had to use his magic to stay conscious of the world around him.Blaize glanced over his shoulder and discovered Victoria was no longer beside him. He trudged slowly toward the deeper parts of the cave. He had fallen asleep along the way, just enough to keep him sane for the day. He walked towards where the fire had been but he could not find Victoria, and neither could he find the princess.Where the hell were they?"Victoria?" He called out but his voice echoed in the cave. He had serious doubts they went that way. Where could they possibly be? Did they not know it was dangerous for them to just walk around unsupervised?"Victoria!" He called again and yet, he was met with the respons
The Riverside was...huge.It looked more like a city than a small village and only contradicted everything Blaize had had in mind about the place. He stood with the women at the hill and watched as people kept shouting at others, trading, and cursing.Little children ran around the square and some women could be seen preparing the nets for men to go fishing with. There were a lot of fruits and meat on display which people quickly went to buy. The sight of that food made Blaize's stomach growl.Has he really fallen so bad that years of Elderien training were wiping already? The old him would not have cared about that meal unless it was finally time to eat. But he was out of practice and outdated. And it put some relief in him to know that he was not the only one surprised by the city.Victoria was speechless! She kept gazing at the Riverside in awe and her mouth was slightly ajar."Wow... what happened here?" She asked no one in particular, but the princess shrugged her shoulders."Wel
A tall, dark man walked towards them, wearing a grin on his face. He was dressed in Normal outfits that showed no extravagance. His hair was neatly cut and so were his beards. As the man continued to approach, Cecilia could feel the tightness in her chest. She could barely breathe, and everything about him made her crazily aroused."Cecilia. How are you?" He asked as he stood closer to them, his shoulders standing at equal heights with those of Blaize's."Ragnar. It is good to see that you have not changed a bit." Cecilia said and he just smiled at her."Come. I was not expecting you. Are these your friends?" He asked while gesturing to Blaize and Victoria."Yeah. Ragnar, meet Victoria and Vector. Everyone, meet Ragnar. The love of my life." Cecilia said and Victoria nodded. She was not expecting that."You must be hungry, tired. I will get rooms prepared for you immediately. Come."He led them toward a table and gestured to Victoria and Blaize to a seat. Before they knew it, food was