Chương 65: Some Moments In History

Uncle had always enjoyed mornings. History had a habit of becoming exhausting when one paid too much attention to it. Mornings, on the other hand, rarely asked anything more complicated than whether the tea was warm. He sat outside the Waystation with both hands wrapped around a cup and watched Drakehaven wake. The settlement was becoming increasingly difficult to describe as quiet, which pleased him. nAcross the open ground, a collection of people had gathered for the day's farewells. Roy was leaving again.

Shale stood nearby with the patient expression of a creature who had already accepted that his life consisted largely of digging wherever Roy pointed. Nimbus appeared considerably more excited, especially when Kiana had both arms wrapped around the Cloudbelly's neck.

"You come back soon." Nimbus chirped.

"You said that last time." Another chirp.

"I don't believe you." Nimbus licked her face, and Kiana laughed. Kaelu stood beside her looking almost dead on his feet, though slightly better than the previous day. Uncle had been informed that the man had stayed awake most of one night constructing Elias's new chair. The results were difficult to miss. Elias rolled circles around the gathering, apparently having discovered that the chair could achieve uncomfortable speeds on a slight downhill slope.

"Move!" Regina stepped aside just before he passed.

"You are going to kill someone with that thing."

"I have complete control!" One front wheel bounced over a stone. Elias nearly tipped, but he recovered.

"Mostly complete!" Uncle smiled into his tea. Orion stood beside Roy, speaking quietly. They were probably discussing the road, or Sevrin, or some combination of the two. Uncle had already said goodbye to Roy over breakfast - there had been no reason to do it twice. Roy would return, as he always did. His attention shifted toward another group nearby. Kindle stood in the middle of it, now human Aurelia had apparently convinced him to tie his hair back, but long black strands still fell unevenly across his forehead.

Talia circled him once.

"This is strange. You were much shorter yesterday."

"I know."

"You also had scales." Kindle looked at her.

"I remember." Rowan laughed, while Aurelia was attempting not to. Sevrin stood slightly apart, examining Kindle with the quiet professional attention he seemed to give almost everything. Kindle noticed.

"What?" Sevrin's eyebrow rose.

"You can speak."

"So can you." Talia covered her mouth - even Sevrin appeared momentarily caught off guard. Kindle shoved both hands into his pockets.

"I do not understand why everyone keeps saying obvious things." Uncle chuckled softly, which caused Kindle to glance toward him. Uncle lifted his cup as their eyes met across the settlement. Kindle stared for a moment, then gave the smallest nod. That was enough. He wasn't finding purpose yet, but he was finding his footing. Uncle suspected the boy would take some time with the former, which was perfectly fine. Purpose found too quickly was often merely an obligation wearing a prettier face.

A shadow crossed the ground beside him.

"Enjoying yourself?" Uncle did not look up.

"Very much." Aegis sat beside him, still in human form. The Storm Dragon followed Uncle's gaze toward Kindle.

"He is unhappy."

"Somewhat."

"You knew this would happen?" Uncle took another sip of tea.

"No." Aegis looked toward him.

"You did not expect Aurelia to choose him?"

"I specifically avoided expecting anything." Aegis frowned.

"That seems inefficient."

"Most enjoyable things are." Aegis considered that, which made Uncle smile.

"If I decide what everyone should do before they do it, then I spend my days waiting for people to catch up with my imagination."

"That sounds arrogant." Uncle laughed.

"I have found age does not automatically cure one's flaws." Across the settlement, Kindle was apparently being shown something by Talia. He looked unimpressed, which seemed to be his preferred expression now that he possessed a human face.

"I wondered whether she would choose Clover," Aegis admitted.

"Or Nimbus."

"Reasonable."

"Kindle was inefficient." Uncle glanced toward him. Aegis looked almost guilty after saying it. Uncle smiled.

"So he was."

"You approve anyway."

"I didn't say that." Aegis frowned.

"You are smiling."

"I smile often."

"That is irritating."

"I have been told." For a few moments, neither spoke as Drakehaven moved around them. Regina shouted at Elias to stop racing near the warehouse. Kiana kissed Nimbus's snout one final time before reluctantly letting her go. Roy mounted beside Shale's supplies with a final wave. Then Aegis spoke again.

"Sevrin… Do you have concerns?"

"No."

"Do you trust him?"

"Not particularly." Aegis stared as Uncle sipped his tea.

"He reports to Velkaryn, and he knows something about you."

"A little." Aegis's expression hardened.

"That does not concern you?" Uncle looked toward Sevrin. The dark elf was speaking with Aurelia now; probably asking something about Kindle's evolution. Sevrin had learned enough, perhaps more than Uncle would have preferred under ordinary circumstances. But ordinary circumstances had departed some time ago.

"He seems intelligent," Uncle said.

"That is not reassuring."

"It should be. Stupid people are much more dangerous when frightened." Aegis considered.

"And intelligent ones?"

"Occasionally they recognize when curiosity has reached its useful limit." Aegis followed his gaze toward Sevrin.

"He will keep your secret?"

"That is his decision."

"You could make him."

"No," Uncle said. There was nothing sharp in the word, but nothing needed to be. Aegis looked away as Uncle stood. He frowned as his needs made a small clicking noise.

"I am going for my morning walk."

"How long?"

"As long as it takes." Aegis looked toward the settlement.

"Do you want company?"

"Absolutely not."

"You sound like Kindle." Uncle smiled, then he gestured toward the others.

"Make sure I can enjoy my elderly stroll in peace." Aegis's expression changed slightly, then he nodded. No scouts, no drakes, no Sevrin deciding to stretch his legs in the same direction.

"Fine."

"Thank you." Uncle started walking. Behind him, Aegis called:"You are not elderly." Uncle waved without turning around.

"That sounds discriminatory." ─── 🐲🐲🐲 ─── Drakehaven disappeared behind the trees some time ago. Uncle walked slowly, or at least had intended to. There were several good paths through the woods now, but Uncle ignored most of them. The forest smelled pleasant that morning where it was least impacted by travel. He thought about Roy and how he had changed. Real growth was often much less theatrical than people expected.

Roy had begun by building because everything around him was broken, and now he built because he could see what might exist tomorrow. Orion had changed too. The eldest brother had once measured protection by how close he could stand to the people he loved, and now he was learning that protecting a community often meant creating systems that worked when he was absent. A difficult lesson. Aurelia— Uncle smiled. Aurelia had was not the simplest, but she was always been easiest to understand.

She merely possessed a remarkably consistent answer to questions other people complicated unnecessarily. Who matters? People did. Which ones? The ones in front of her. What if helping them is inefficient? Then efficiency could wait. He suspected that philosophy would cause her a considerable amount of trouble, but he hoped she kept it. Kindle, meanwhile, had a new body and no idea what to do with it. That too was fine - the boy had spent enough of his existence being useful.

He could afford to spend some time merely existing. Uncle stepped over a fallen branch as his thoughts continued. There was much more ahead of them. Drakehaven was still tiny, and Bellhaven was only one town. Velkaryn had barely begun paying attention, and there were many greater nations the siblings had never heard of. Creatures they could not currently comprehend. Powers that would make Aegis look young. Questions about the Weave that Roy had not yet learned enough to ask.

And somewhere beneath all of it— Uncle stopped. He looked around. A quiet glade now surrounded him, sunlight filtered through the canopy. The trees here were older, and moss covered several stones near the edge. Uncle blinked.

"How long have I been walking?" No one answered. He turned slightly to observe his surroundings. Drakehaven was— Perhaps three miles away? Maybe somewhat more.

"Oh." He had done it again; daydreaming was a dangerous habit. Uncle turned toward home, then stopped once again. He sighed.

"You may come out now." Nothing moved. Uncle waited, but only birdsong and wind rustling the leaves existed as sounds.

"I promise this becomes more awkward the longer you pretend you're not there." This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The glade changed. Four figures appeared - concealment enchantments faded from armor, cloaks, weapons, and bodies simultaneously. Uncle looked them over.

"Oh my." They had dressed very impressively for an early-morning conversation. The woman standing farthest left wore armor made from overlapping silver plates so thin they moved like cloth. Three or four separate enchantments pulsed across it. A man opposite her carried a bow with no visible string until his fingers touched it. Another wore a long mantle sewn with enough protective wards to make Uncle mildly curious how he bent at the waist. The leader stood in front, broad-shouldered and gray at the temples.

His sword contained so much compressed Weave that the air around its edge distorted. None displayed Status information, which was sensible. Fortunately, the pressure told him enough. Two had reached the Ninth Seal, with the other two at the Eighth Seal. Uncle clasped his hands behind his back.

"Well… I don't often receive visitors of this caliber." The leader's jaw tightened. Uncle smiled politely.

"What has earned an old man the honor of having two Ninth Seals and two Eighth Seals follow him into the woods?"

"Stop." The leader's voice shook; not with fear, but rage.

"Do not play dumb." Uncle's smile faded.

"All right."

"You cannot hide from what you've done." Weapons came free, but not attacks just yet. The bowman's luminous string appeared. The silver-armored woman's spear unfolded from something no longer than her forearm into a weapon taller than she was. The fourth adventurer drew two short blades and entered a stance that had been battle-tested hundreds of times from his appearance. Uncle looked between them.

"I suspect there is a misunderstanding." The leader laughed once, but there was no humor in it.

"Havenwood." Uncle went still. The word meant nothing, which concerned him. He didn't believe the man was necessarily mistaken, but the emotion on all four faces suggested strongly that he was not.

"Havenwood," Uncle repeated. Something stirred in memory. Trees? That was unhelpful - many places had trees. Green roofs? No, that had been elsewhere. A bell tower collapsing? Possibly. Or perhaps that was Halden. Uncle frowned. He searched honestly, but nothing settled. The leader watched recognition fail to appear, and his face twisted.

"You don't remember." Uncle looked at him.

"I am trying."

"You don't remember!"

"No." The silver-armored woman took one step forward.

"My father died there." The bowman's hand tightened around his weapon.

"My wife." The fourth adventurer said nothing, but his eyes said enough. The leader's voice became quiet.

"My mother…and my sisters." Uncle closed his eyes. There it was - not memory, but regret. He opened them.

"I am sorry." The leader's face contorted.

"Don't."

"I mean it."

"Don't you dare." Uncle lowered his hands.

"If I caused you pain—""If?" The man's Weave surged as the grass flattened around his boots. Uncle did not move.

"I wish I remembered better." That only seemed to make it worse; he could see it happening. For these four, Havenwood had been life-defining. Perhaps the reason they had trained, the reason they had reached heights almost nobody ever did, and the reason they were standing here now. For Uncle— A name; one he could not place.

"I wish I could give you children a proper explanation," he said quietly.

"Or an apology worthy of what you lost." The woman stared at him.

"You call us children?" Uncle winced slightly.

"Habit."

"We spent our entire lives finding you."

"I believe you."

"You destroyed Havenwood." Uncle looked toward the trees.

"I may have." The leader raised his sword.

"You may have?"

"I will not lie to comfort you," his voice remained gentle.

"I have been many things over a very long time." The words settled unpleasantly through the clearing.

"Not all of them were kind. I have tried, in more recent years, to choose differently." The bowman spat onto the ground.

"You expect forgiveness?"

"No," Uncle shook his head.

"Forgiveness is not something the person who caused harm gets to demand." The leader's sword began glowing.

"We didn't come to forgive you."

"I suspected." More Weave gathered. The silver-armored woman's spear lit, runes ignited across the bow, and the fourth adventurer's blades became nearly transparent beneath concentrated energy. Uncle looked toward Drakehaven. Three miles… perhaps a little more. Still too close. He sighed.

"Please don't." The leader laughed bitterly.

"Afraid?"

"No," Uncle looked around the clearing.

"This much Weave being released at once will travel." The pressure increased.

"You are powerful people. If you fight seriously here, nearby settlements may feel it." The leader said nothing.

"There are children there," he continued.

"Families. People who have nothing to do with Havenwood." The silver-armored woman trembled.

"We had families too." Uncle's expression saddened.

"Yes." The leader stepped forward.

"Then perhaps they'll understand." That disappointed him - more than the threats and the pursuit. Uncle lowered his head.

"Please." The leader began to move, committing to engagement… And then the fight ended. No sword reached Uncle. No arrow flew, and no spell completed. The clearing simply became quiet. The Weave had stopped, and every enchantment died simultaneously. The leader's sword became ordinary metal, the spear lost its light, the bowstring vanished, and runes disappeared from armor. Four enormous reserves that had moments earlier pressed against the forest simply ceased answering. The leader stumbled one step.

He looked down at his sword, then at Uncle. The woman tried to summon something, but nothing happened. The bowman reached inward again, but nothing responded.

"What did you do?" Uncle looked apologetic.

"I quieted things down." The fourth adventurer stared at him.

"You drained us."

"Not exactly." Their faces changed - that was the moment they understood. The leader had reached the Ninth Seal, as had the woman. They had spent lifetimes learning what power looked like, and none of that knowledge gave them a useful answer. The bowman turned - Uncle saw it immediately.

"Please don't run." He ran, the fourth adventurer following behind rapidly. Uncle sighed.

"I mean that." They crossed perhaps ten yards, then the clearing flashed. There was no explosion of sound or heat. One moment, two people were running between the trees. The next, nothing. The grass beneath them was untouched, but no armor, weapons, or ash remained. The leader stared, and the woman beside him stopped breathing. Uncle closed his eyes.

"I am sorry." The leader's face had gone pale.

"You…" Uncle opened his eyes.

"I asked them not to."

"You murdered them."

"Yes." The woman's hands trembled at her sides. Uncle looked at the remaining pair.

"I cannot allow anyone to leave with confirmed knowledge of where I am." The leader tightened his grip on his now-ordinary sword. Uncle continued.

"But before we decide what happens next, I would like to know something." No one answered.

"How did you find me?" The leader laughed; a broken sound.

"Why would we tell you?"

"Because if you do not, I will have to assume others can repeat it." The woman looked toward the leader. Something passed between them, then she slowly reached beneath her mantle. Uncle watched as she withdrew a circular object perhaps the size of her palm. Black metal with three concentric rings and a narrow white needle suspended at its center. The needle pointed directly at Uncle. He stared. For the first time since they appeared, genuine surprise crossed his face.

"Oh." The woman looked confused. Uncle stepped closer, and the leader immediately raised his sword. Uncle stopped.

"May I?" The woman hesitated, then tossed the artifact. Uncle caught it, and the rings spun against one another. Very old symbols moved across their surfaces as he turned it over.

"Well." A smile appeared. Not happy, merely nostalgic.

"I haven't seen one of these in a very long time."

"What is it?" the leader demanded.

"You know what it does."

"Not what it is." Uncle traced one symbol with his thumb.

"Ancient."

"That much we knew."

"Older than most people would guess." The needle continued pointing toward him.

"How did you activate it?" The woman answered this time.

"Something recovered from Havenwood." Uncle's smile vanished.

"What?"

"A fragment."

"Of?"

"We don't know." That was unfortunate. Uncle studied the device - apparently some trace of him had remained, and the artifact had followed it. It was truly impressive.

"I see," he turned the device over once more.

"This is a remarkable piece." The leader stared.

"Give it back." Uncle looked almost offended.

"No." The man's jaw tightened.

"It belongs to—" The artifact disappeared. The metal simply ceased existing between one heartbeat and the next. The leader stared at Uncle's empty hand.

"That should prevent anyone else from repeating your journey." The woman closed her eyes. For the first time, she looked tired.

"What now?" That was the unpleasant question. Uncle looked at them - he did not want to kill them. That did not mean, however, he could let them leave.

"I can remove the relevant memories." The leader's face hardened.

"No." Uncle sighed.

"I suspected you might say that."

"You expect me to forget Havenwood?"

"No." The answer surprised him. Uncle continued.

"Havenwood belongs to you, but I can remove me." The woman looked up.

"The search, the journey, and this destination.

"Yes."

"And what happens to the reason we spent decades finding you?" Uncle hesitated.

"That is more difficult." The leader laughed bitterly.

"You would leave us with grief and no face to put on it."

"I would prefer not to alter anything I do not need to."

"How generous."

"No," Uncle met his eyes.

"Not generous. Merely the least cruel option I have." The leader lifted his sword. The woman grabbed his arm.

"Stop." He ripped free.

"Would you let him do this?" Her face crumpled.

"I don't want to die for no reason." The leader stared at her. Uncle could see that he did not want to either. People often mistook willingness to die for lack of fear, but they were not the same. The leader looked toward the place where his companions had vanished, then back at Uncle.

"You destroyed my family."

"I may have."

"You don't even remember that you erased them from history." Uncle's voice remained soft.

"I am sorry." The leader drew the sword back. No Weave or enchantment, just steel that he chose to charge with anyway. Uncle watched him come - there was courage in it. There was also hatred, grief, and decades of purpose reaching its only remaining conclusion. Uncle wished the man had chosen differently, but respected it nonetheless. The clearing flashed, and the leader disappeared. The woman made a small sound as the sword struck the grass.

"I am sorry." She stared at the sword, then at him.

"You say that often."

"Not often enough." She swallowed.

"And if I agree?"

"You will wake elsewhere."

"Where?"

"Somewhere safe."

"You could be lying."

"Yes." Her eyes narrowed.

"That was meant to reassure me?"

"No." She laughed once, despite everything. It sounded exhausted.

"I hate you." Uncle nodded.

"You are entitled to." She looked toward where her companions had been, then closed her eyes.

"Do it." Uncle approached slowly, before stopping several feet away.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Choosing to live." Her eyes opened.

"Don't make this noble."

"I wasn't." Uncle raised one hand. She flinched, but nothing dramatic happened. Her expression simply softened as confusion passed across it, then exhaustion. Her knees weakened, but Uncle caught her before she hit the ground. For a moment, she looked up at him without recognition.

"Where…"

"You're safe." She frowned.

"Who are you?"

"An old man taking a walk." That apparently seemed plausible enough for her exhaustion. Her eyes closed, and within seconds, she was asleep. Uncle caught her before she could slump sideways and lowered her gently onto the grass. For a moment, he remained crouched beside her. He had removed as little as he reasonably could. Havenwood remained, her family remained, and the companions she had traveled beside remained.

So did the decades she had spent growing stronger, the knowledge she had accumulated, and the certainty that something—or someone—had once stood at the center of the tragedy that shaped her life. What had disappeared was the path leading here: The artifact, the final pursuit, this glade, and him. Unfortunately, memory was not the only problem. Uncle rested two fingers lightly against her forehead. A Ninth Seal awakening inside Drakehaven would be rather difficult to explain.

More importantly, it would distort things. The siblings were only beginning to understand what it meant to build something of their own. Dropping one of the world's exceedingly rare Ninth Seals into the middle of their settlement at full strength would solve far too many problems merely by existing. That would defeat the point almost as thoroughly as Uncle solving those problems himself. The woman's Weave folded inward.

Layers settled over layers, vast portions of her reserve slipping somewhere beyond immediate reach. When Uncle finished, the pressure surrounding her had changed completely. Fourth Seal. Still formidable by the standards of the basin, and still unquestionably herself. Someday, if circumstances allowed, what had been sealed would awaken again. Uncle withdrew his hand.

"I have already taken quite enough from you." She did not answer. His original intention had been simple - move her somewhere traveled and safe. Leave enough supplies that she could wake and reasonably conclude she had collapsed during a journey. Then, perhaps, she could return home. Uncle looked toward the trees. Drakehaven waited somewhere beyond them, and his plan suddenly felt inadequate. Not because leaving her elsewhere would be dangerous - he could find somewhere safe easily enough.

But because she remembered Havenwood, and he did not. The realization settled unpleasantly. Three people were dead, and one life immeasurably altered. All because Uncle had wanted to remain unnoticed. Yet the sleeping woman at his feet carried something he no longer possessed. A piece of his own history and the consequences that followed. He knew there had been a time when consequences mattered less to him. He did not particularly enjoy remembering that version of himself.

Apparently, others remembered enough for him. Uncle glanced down. One day, the siblings would ask harder questions. Perhaps not tomorrow or for years. Eventually, however, they would want to know who he had been before he became the old man who appeared for dinner, complained about his knees, and offered suspiciously convenient advice. Uncle could answer them, but answers given by the accused were rarely the only ones worth hearing.

The woman sleeping before him had spent decades living with a consequence Uncle could not even remember creating. Perhaps someday, when she was ready—and when the children were ready—she could tell them something he could not. Uncle sighed.

"This is probably a terrible idea." The forest offered no disagreement. He had not intended to bring anyone back from his morning walk. Certainly not a partially suppressed Ninth Seal who had spent much of her life attempting to find him. Aurelia was going to ask questions, Orion would ask significantly more annoying questions, and Sevrin— Uncle paused. Sevrin would probably have the good sense not to ask anything at all. That almost made the decision worthwhile by itself. His expression saddened.

"Hopefully a kinder turning point." Drakehaven would already be busy. Roy would be on the road, Aurelia was probably trying to determine whether Kindle required an entirely new wardrobe, and Orion would inevitably discover something new to worry about. The settlement would keep growing. History rarely announced its turning points while they were happening; most people recognized them only after everything had already changed. Uncle still did not know exactly what the siblings would become, but that was the point.

He wanted to see, to watch, and to occasionally ensure the rest of the world did not interfere too severely before the story had a chance to become itself. Perhaps preserving someone capable of someday telling the children why they should distrust him was part of that too. Uncle finished tidying the clearing, then he returned to the sleeping woman. He lifted her carefully into his arms.

"Well," he turned toward Drakehaven.

"I suppose you're coming home with me." He began walking. If Aurelia had managed to convince Kindle to let her comb his hair properly before he returned, Uncle still wanted to be there to witness the boy's expression. And, apparently, he now needed to explain why his peaceful morning walk had ended with him carrying an unconscious Fourth Seal woman into town. Some moments in history were simply too important to miss.