"Now the only matter remaining is what we should do about the villagers. I can send reinforcements this time, but don't expect the same in the future. My soldiers can't abandon their posts to help outsiders. It will put my domain at risk," the lord said, making his stance clear. He was willing to help them this time, maybe to maintain friendly relations for Isabella's sake, but he couldn't afford to do so again.
William looked at John and Telo. They had discussed the same matter before the offensive. Hestia had suggested they subordinate themselves to the lord, and they might get a piece of land in his territory.
Even though they didn't want to be subordinated again, they had no choice. William had grown attached to the villagers, he couldn't just abandon them in the wild. Isabella would now stay in the lord's domain, and William would follow along with his family. Plus, it might actually give them the peace and security they always desired.
"My lord, we would like to serve under you if you could provide us shelter. We don't ask for much, just a piece of land large enough to cultivate and live on. A piece of land in your domain. In return, we will provide our initiates and warriors in your service."
The lord gave it some thought. His hesitation to give an immediate response troubled William's group greatly. Would he deny them? William didn't know. But where could they go if not here? He felt anxious. The longer the lord took to reply, the more anxious he became.
What he didn't know was that the lord was just stalling because he had a few matters to think through. He would give them shelter, that was for sure. But the conditions for their subordination, where to grant them land, and many other details had to be decided before agreeing.
After a while, he nodded.
"Consider your request accepted. I am going to discuss the details with a few of my subordinates. You will be briefed on the specifics later. We will send reinforcements first thing at dawn. If you have nothing else to ask, you may be dismissed."
William's group bowed deeply and left. They wanted to check on Isabella.
***
"Kyle, go prepare to march. I want you to manage everything."
Once Kyle left, the lord remained quiet for a few moments before speaking. "What do you think, James?"
"Jofra, what is the matter? It's not the first time we've seen or heard of the dark tide. Why such a serious face?" In private, James always addressed the lord by his actual name. They were childhood friends, after all.
"It's not just about the dark tide this time. That young girl Isabella is awakened. In fact, she seems to have awakened a powerful bloodline. That is the reason the dark tide attacked their village. Don't you find this similar to our first encounter with those damned monsters?" he said, his tone laced with sadness and anger.
"Are you saying the rumours about the dark tide are actually true?" James was dumbstruck by the realisation.
"There is no ambiguity this time. They even sent multiple demonic beasts and wraiths after her. If I hadn't been there and sensed their presence from so far away, she would be dead, and we wouldn't have known about her. Who knows how many times this has happened before? We are perhaps just the luckiest ones to survive."
"Our… our village was destroyed because of me. If I hadn't awakened, my father, mother, and little sister would all be alive today," James whispered, his voice shaky, his hands trembling with grief.
Thump!
Jofra banged the table, restraining his strength at the last second, but the table almost broke.
"IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT. IT'S THAT DAMNED DARK LORD TO BLAME. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!!" he said through gritted teeth. His voice was low, but his overflowing emotion made the whole room seem to tremble.
His sudden outburst snapped James out of his nightmare. He realised Jofra was right. It wasn't his fault. His grief turned to anger. He tried to control his emotions. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Both of them stayed quiet for a few minutes.
After they had calmed down, Jofra spoke.
"We need to keep Isabella safe. I am thinking of taking her to the city. If her family wants to accompany her, we can take them as well."
"Is this the reason you suddenly wanted to visit the northern outpost?" James asked, a sudden realisation dawning on him.
"Well, not exactly, but yes."
"How did you know about her existence?" James continued to ask.
"Master… he mentioned something. He didn't say anything directly about her, maybe because he didn't know himself. I came here just to make sure."
"Ohh!" James exclaimed in realisation. "Is she that special?"
"She is. She's just seven years old and already awakened. And as you already know, she survived a wraith's full strike. From what I've sensed, she has some rare bloodline that is very powerful."
"What!" James was so shocked his jaw dropped. "How can a seven-year-old awaken? I've never heard of anyone awakening before twelve. Even geniuses have only awakened at twelve."
Jofra had only told William about her being awakened. He told William to hide this fact from everyone. He wanted to keep it a secret for now. By telling James, he sought his opinion, and also because he trusted him.
James was one of the few people the lord considered a friend and closest confidant. James and he were from the same village. They had been rivals in their youth. Close in age, both of them had a natural charisma, maybe because they were potential Awakens. Nobody in the village had known that at the time. Most villagers just thought they were smart and troublesome.
They led their own groups of younglings and were always up to no good.
They would sneak into fruit gardens to pick raw mangoes. They climbed high trees and used their hands to snatch the fruit quickly. Whoever picked more would boast for days, until their next 'competition.'
They were like a pack of hyenas, cackling and bickering endlessly. Like a pandemonium of parrots that never shut up. They played strange new games they came up with themselves. They had so much energy that they never sat still from dawn to dusk. They only came home to eat, mostly to avoid being scolded.
Catching fish or small wild birds was child's play to them, literally.
Most villagers turned a blind eye to them. They were too busy with daily work to monitor their children all the time. As long as they didn't do anything dangerous, they were left alone.
As they grew up, Jofra learned archery. He started hunting small animals in the woods and around the fields. Nobody taught him, he made bows and arrows himself by watching village hunters.
James didn't like bows and arrows. He preferred the spear. He liked the feel of it. He made spears himself, suited to his size, and became skilled in spearmanship. They hunted small wild beasts and brought them to the village. Even village hunters grew impressed by their skills.
Their rivalry evolved into a friendly competition. Village was poor. Farming and hunting were the main occupations villagers survived upon. Their skill rapidly improved and they became stars in the eyes of villagers.
James awakened at fourteen. A few months later, disaster struck, the dark tide attacked their village. In the chaos, Jofra awakened too. They both survived, but the village was destroyed. Most of the villagers perished. The survivors escaped into the forests.
They were together, but alone in a vast realm. They had never travelled much outside their village. They wandered in the wild. Since then, they had always been together. They survived through thick and thin. They hunted wild beasts and grew stronger by fighting savages. Eventually, they travelled across the entire realm on sailing ships. They fought pirates and bandits. They visited many port towns.
They journeyed through all four kingdoms, escorting merchant caravans. By the time they were twenty-five, they had become powerful combatants, highly sought after. But they grew tired of a wandering life and began to long for the quiet past.
At twenty-five, they joined as protectors of a small town called Atari. There, they met a few survivors from their old village. Later, the town was attacked, besieged by a dark tide.
Jofra had been out leading a hunting team. When he returned and saw the town under siege, he was unwilling to let the past repeat itself. He was determined to lift the siege.
Through a fateful encounter and sheer determination, he broke through and became a Transcendent.
He single-handedly lifted the siege.
They later established Atari City. It has been thirty-five years since then. Jofra always considered James more talented than himself. He became a Transcendent through a lucky streak, but he never saw James as inferior.
They had been together for so long. He trusted James completely. He was his confidant. Jofra always consulted him on important matters. James was smart. and gave wise counsel.
"So how do you think we should deal with villagers?" Jofra asked.