Ahh, what a beautiful morning.
Lucy looked up from her needlework. Outside, rain lashed the windows and the sky hung low and black. "Dear, what are you saying? It's pouring outside — how is this a beautiful morning?" Hemsworth didn't look at the window. He looked at her. "Because I got to see your face first." Lucy chuckled, with a slight blush on her cheeks that she turned into a smile. Hemsworth stroked her cheek, and as his fingers ran down her cheeks, she looked at him like he was the world, he was her world.
*No — something more. I don't quite understand love, but it was something beyond the world.*
"What did you see in me that made you decide to bear my child? I am just a lowly soldier."
"You may be, but you are also my husband." She stroked her belly. "And soon — father to my... our child."
She leaned closer to him and whispered something in his ear, words that made the second strongest knight, the duke that governs the border of Valmira, smile and giggle like a little wee baby.
Duke Hemsworth stood, full of confidence, like a man about to face the world but certain he will not lose. He put on his armor with the aid of his wife — although he'd begged her not to, she was quite insistent. He sheathed his sword, gently hugged his wife, and left her with a peck on her belly. She waved goodbye with a smile that could melt ice and heal wounds, a proud face — but what the duke saw was her silky honey-brown long hair, eyes that reflected the sun no, there is no sun, the sky is dark — even when there was no sun, her aurora green eyes flickered in light, and that smile, that kept his heart going — a woman he would love with all of his heart.
It had been two weeks and three days since the hero summoning. Elijah had been learning the sword from the duke, and it had become routine for the two of them to spar every morning. Elijah was a quick study — he picked things up as soon as they were taught. In just two weeks he had become proficient enough with the sword to rival veteran knights.
During their spar, Elijah and Hemsworth exchanged blows. Their swordplay was elegant, almost rehearsed — if another had watched, they'd have called it a sword dance, so much so that one could say their swords were perfect. But, abruptly, the duke went on the offensive, and Elijah was startled, loosing his footing — and with that one small slip, he was disarmed, his sword taken.
The duke, now holding both swords, said, "You are a good swordsman, but your sword lacks intent, it lacks purpose. You have mastered the skill, but it's like you have nothing to fight for." He gave Elijah a gentle pat on the shoulder, handed back his sword, and added, before walking off, "I hope you find a purpose soon, as have I." He paused at the door. "Hold onto it tightly when you do."
Elijah, alone now, muttered to himself, "With the things I've heard and was told about him, I thought he'd be more strict, or hot-headed. But he's kind and calm, like some elder. Unlike his reputation — a war orphan who rose to the title of Duke by his merits alone, and his terrifying skill of 'swordmaster.'"
"Elijah! Elijah!!!!" a guard called. "The council requests your presence."
"Oh, okay."
As Elijah walked out of the training room, Hemsworth caught up to him, calling him ELI — a nickname the duke had given him — while ruffling his hair. Elijah hated it, but the duke was older and stronger, and came from a culture that revered its elders, so it wasn't so bad. The twenty-eight-year-old Elijah just smiled and let him do as he pleased.
At the round table sat the duke, Elijah, a scholar, and the knight commander.
"Duke, what are your opinions on the hero?"
"Hmmm." He glanced at Elijah. "I would say he is an excellent swordsman—"
"As it should be — *you* trained him," the commander said.
"No matter how hard-working you are, without talent you wouldn't go far. I dare say, of all the people in my dukedom, he's the only one who could challenge me."
"So — in a fight to the death—"
Elijah's face drained, worry and anxiety flooding in at the words.
"—who do you think would win?"
"Elijah might be talented, but he lacks experience....." He faced the commander with a stern look. "To answer your question: no knight can beat me in swordplay."
The knight commander smiled, a chuckle rising in his throat. "Experience, huh. It's decided — Elijah will join the monster extermination in the Great Forest for training, and I shall accompany him. Duke, you'll remain, to protect the dukedom and the border, in case of demons."
"Commander...?" A pause. "I understand."
"Good. We ride now. Elijah, prepare yourself."
"Yes, sir."
"The rest of you may leave. Duke — stay."
As the others filed out and the doors shut, the duke walked slowly toward the commander. They met in the middle and shook hands, and with a pat on the duke's back the commander said, "How's it been, old friend?"
"Old? Me? You're calling *me* old, you geezer — I'm thirty-four!"
"Seems you've kept your feisty attitude. Now, to the point—"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"You made me stay because you knew I had a baby on the way."
"I still can't believe it — the brute, got yourself a wife, and even got her pregnant. How did you even convince her with those scars on your face? She must be an amazing woman — or a crazy one. Go, stay with your family. Once we're back from the extermination, let's hold a feast."
"You meat-loving elder."
"Me? Wherever do you mean — am I young?"
"Yeah, fifty-ish young. But really — thank you."
"For what?" the commander said, a smirk creeping onto his face.
Hemsworth only smiled, turned, and left the room to find Elijah waiting in the hallway.
Alone now, the knight commander's face fell. A tear slid down his cheek. He shut his eyes, willing it to stop, but it wouldn't. He sank to the ground.
"I'm sorry..." He sniffled. "But at least this way, you won't lose anything. My only friend." He bowed his head in shame.
Outside, the knights and a handful of squires had gathered with their horses — seven knights and three squires in total, not counting Elijah and the commander.
"Elijah! Hey — are you really not going to wear any armor?"
"Hems—" (Elijah's nickname for the duke) "—nah, too heavy. I prefer being light."
"Is the fact that I praised you going to your head? Fine. Just be safe. Wouldn't want my best student to up and die on me."
"You mean your *only* student."
"Whatever." He turned. "Hey, Eric! Watch him for me."
"It's *commander* to you. And I don't let anyone out of my sight." A pause, then, louder: "Soldiers — we return victorious!"
As they set off, Elijah waved back to the duke, and the gates shut behind them.
Hemsworth *ran* home in excitement, his home — not a mansion, not an estate, nothing grand, just a house with everything he needed inside it. He burst in to find Lucy waiting. She embraced him, and him her, like a child starving for attention and warmth, and for twenty seconds he was one. Then he knelt, hands shaking as he stroked her belly, nearly due.
"When do we get to see him?"
"You mean *she*."
"Yes, she — when?"
"The leech said about three days."
Hemsworth smiled — even his eyes were smiling.
"Oh, dear, what good thing happened? You seem happier than usual."
"Commander Eric dropped by—"
"Ohh, I didn't see him?"
"Ummm, he left immediately."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, he said that you are the greatest."
"Did he?"
"One of these days I should meet him, right, dear?" she said with a smile.
"Yes, you're right — ohh, he said I was exempt from the expedition, so I can stay with you."
"He really is your friend. Now I want to meet the great friend of Duke Hemsworth."
The butler stepped in. "Could that wait? You still have a lot to do, sir. You're managing the most precious territory in Valmira, for Auvriel's sake."
"Okay." He turned to go, but Lucy caught his hand and kissed him.
"Good luck, dear," she said, smiling.
Meanwhile, the knights and Elijah rode on, and as night fell, they made camp.
"Elijah, come to my tent," ordered the commander. As Elijah approached, he noticed there was no sound to be heard from the tent, and weirdly enough there was no one inside he could see with his eyes — but he could have sworn the commander entered this tent. Instinctively, he gripped his sword and entered as ordered.
Inside, he found a well-lit room, a seated scholar in the center with a table and a map on it. On the scholar's right hand stood the commander; on his left, two nameless knights. The scholar turned his head toward Elijah, a smile playing at his lips. "Interesting — you noticed the barrier outside. As expected of a hero. Well then, Elijah, shall we discuss what we truly came here to do? Oh, sit."
Elijah loosened the grip on his sword and sat on a chair facing the scholar.
"Now, I shall explain our purpose here. This information is kept quite secret, so—" Without completing his words, Elijah nodded, signifying understanding, so the scholar continued.
"I'll start from the beginning. The Great Forest — an ancient forest, how long it's been no one knows, its size no one knows for sure, since no one has fully explored it, but it's estimated to be three times the size of the Midgar Empire, the biggest kingdom of all. It shares its borders with Midgar, the Fae Theocracy, the demon kingdom, and lastly, Valmira. The forest is the source of all monsters. Many have ventured in to understand or to stop it, but none has succeeded. In these attempts we now know that monsters of the forest can't leave the Forest by themselves. That is the information everybody knows and was taught to you by the royal scholar—" Elijah's eyes briefly glanced at the commander. "—but there is a special case where the monsters can freely leave the Forest, and it's when a hero is summoned....."
Elijah's eyes widened, fear etched into his face, as he said, "T-that means—"
"Yes, monsters will attack. That's why we are here."
"But will ten knights be enough?" Elijah asked.
"Ohh, don't be weary. The monsters always come after three weeks of the hero summoning. What this expedition is, is to help you grow accustomed to fighting monsters, and as instructed by past heroes."
"Past heroes?" Elijah said, confused.
"Ohh, when the holy war escalates and humans begin to lose, we hold the hero summoning ritual. Normally an army is prepared to aid in repelling the monsters, but the last demon attack left the dukedom (the frontier) and Valmira scarce in soldiers, so we sent word for reinforcements from the other kingdoms. They should arrive in two days. Now, for what you will be doing till then — kill as many monsters as you can."
"For experience?"
"Primarily. Heroes get stronger the more monsters they kill."
"Um, so does everybody."
"No, there is a difference. When a sorcerer or a mystic arts user kills monsters, their Mystism increases."
"What's Mystism?" inquired Elijah.
"Mystism is the power humans use. Sorcery, mystic arts, all originate and depend on it."
"Then why — what is divine power, then?"
"Divine power is more of a borrowed energy, and it's primarily used by priests and holy knights. Those don't increase, even when you kill monsters."
"Why?"
"Well, you're better off asking a priest that. But pardon my rudeness — I was sure the king assigned a scholar to you."
"Ummm, he wasn't really that good at explaining things."
"Hmm, I see. Then I shall explain. For a hero, killing a monster not only increases their Mystism but also their physical prowess — things like stamina, strength, and endurance — and your skill....."
"My skill?"
"Our research has shown that a hero's skill grows stronger the more monsters they kill."
"So it's basically a leveling system?"
"??????????.... Ohh, sorry, just rambling to myself. So all I need to do is kill some monsters, right?"
"Yes, primarily."
"Okay..... You have no objections?"
"No. Hmmm, heroes of the past mostly hate killing things, saying things like 'racism' and 'kind monsters.'"
"There—" (with a stern face) "—monsters. There is nothing kind about them."
"I see. Good, we begin now."
"What? It's the middle of the night."
"Exactly. Goblins primarily show up at night, since they are stealth-based monsters."
"Eric—" (the commander responded by turning his head toward the scholar) "—take him to the forest."
The commander tapped Elijah's shoulder, and as Elijah stood he asked, "What was your name again?"
"Ohh, names. Names hold no value, and I have none," he said, with a smile.
As Elijah and Eric walked out, in his thoughts Elijah spoke to Neode.
*He's not human, is he?*
*Affirmative. After the summoning I tested my skill, "Archive." By description, it's the total tally of humanity — it lets me perceive the experiences of other humans when I touch them, and I can get basic information about humans around me via Neode. But, throughout that conversation, I couldn't get anything.*
*Neode, what is he, if not human?*
*I cannot say with absolute certainty, but by my calculations, he is most likely a demon.*
*Demon?*
*With the use of Infernum, demons can temporarily alter their appearance. This disguise can easily be seen through by priests, holy knights, and mystic arts users on the level of the commander.*
*So, you're saying the commander might've known about the demon?*
*There is a percentage chance of that being the case.*
*Well, since we're going to be alone hunting, I might as well ask him.*
As Elijah and Eric drew near the forest entrance, Elijah approached commander Eric to confirm his suspicion, but before he could speak, a goblin ambushed them. The commander reacted immediately, parrying the goblin's attack. But unlike normal goblin behavior, the goblin did not run even when its sneak attack failed — it stared at Elijah, and then screamed. Soon a pack of goblins, ten in total, surrounded them.
Elijah was terrified. In all his time here, this was the first time he'd seen a monster. His thoughts spiraled — *aaaaa-a g-g-goblin?* — unbeknownst to him, he was speaking his mind out loud.
"What is that monstrosity? A— goblin? A goblin is supposed to be a weak monster in games, that's no goblin."
*In retrospect, I don't blame him. Thrust into a world unfamiliar, the beast — no, the abomination — that faced Elijah was, by definition, horrific.*