Due to popular request, from now on, whenever I first mention a foreign word, I will include a pronunciation guide in the [brackets]. I also went back to all of the previous chapters and added a pronunciation to the foreign words when they are first mentioned.
But for all of you that have already read the previous chapters, you don't have to go back to check it out, here is a summary:
Aethernea [eh-thur-nee-ah]
Mana [mah-nah]
Elibu [el-ee-boo]
Argel [Argh-el]
Halnea [Hal-ne-ah]
Kiel Rroda [kee-yel roh-da]
Elaru Wayvin [el-ah-roo wey-win]
Nelaira [ne- lah-ee-rah]
Sanarra Arten [sa-nah-rah awr-ten]
Piala [pee-yuh-la]
Beyd [bey-d]
Ashar [ash-ahr]
Zerean [ ze-ree-ahn ] ruins
Eleasia [el-ee-zhee-ah]
Meep [me-ee-p]
Lupax [loo-paks]
Wyrm [wahy-rm]
Xium [zahy-uhm]
Previously on Aethernea
Elaru claims that the bond doesn't influence their feelings about each other. Kiel gets mad at Elaru for calling him pretty. Elaru figures out how to communicate telepathically with Kiel. The two arrive at the Rroda mansion - Kiel's home. Kiel needs to pack and prepare to leave for Ashar.
* * *
Dneth [de-neh], born and raised in Beyd as a servant in the Rroda mansion, had never left Beyd in all 63 years of her life.
She had been in charge of house chores even before master Kiel first arrived at the mansion, more than a decade ago. And in all of those years, master Kiel had never given her such a huge surprise as on this day.
She didn't expect master Kiel to come home in the early afternoon. It was a regular working day, so he was supposed to be out questing until evening.
If he came home early, it wouldn't have given her such a shock. It wasn't hard to accept; it happened from time to time.
What she did have trouble accepting was that he didn't return home alone.
Though he had many friends, master Kiel had never brought a friend home with him. Dneth felt as if master Kiel never truly thought of this mansion as his home in the first place.
Dneth wasn't sure if master Kiel was able to recognize the fact, but she always thought that he was very lonely. The fact that he didn't want to have an emotional connection to this place, didn't mean he didn't need one.
It was because she knew how master Kiel was purposefully distancing himself from everything, that she was so shocked to see master Kiel return with a guest. And what shocked her even more, was the gender of the guest.
Although master Kiel was very popular with the ladies, there had never been a lady to catch his eye. So naturally, he had never brought a lady home before.
Until now.
The fourth surprise, that made Dneth almost knock down the vase from the table she was standing next to, was the appearance of the girl. She was an elibu! Dneth had only ever seen pictures of elibu in books. She had never seen one in person, or from this close up.
Dneth had to urge herself, repeatedly, to look away from the girl. It was impolite to stare. But how could she not stare? The girl was an exotic beauty with lush curves, messy red hair, and intricate markings on the left side of her body.
Several noble ladies had visited this mansion before. They were beautiful too, but using the same word to describe this girl seemed like sacrilege.
Was this girl a noble? Dneth's eyes narrowed into scrutinizing gaze.
The girl looked to be in a good mood, humming quietly, and following gracefully behind master Kiel. Her movements had a certain refinement to them, not like what Dneth was used to seeing from nobles coming to the mansion. It was different. There was a certain air about it Dneth couldn't quite define. The air carried power, but not frightening or cold power, but rather something strangely warm and alive.
Dneth could understand why master Kiel would like this strange person. Men liked exotic and unique things, not to mention she was a living piece of art. She gave master Kiel a quick knowing look and noticed he looked messier than usual.
Strangely, even though ruffled, he seemed even more enchanting than usual. It was as if he returned more beautiful than he was when he left this morning.
Realization dawned on her.
Both master Kiel and his lady friend looked a bit ruffled. As if they had been rolling on the forest floor.
Dneth bit her lip to suppress her surprised gasp.
Were they rolling on the forest floor together?!
She didn't seem to be the only one that reached that conclusion because she could see the maid opposite of her blushing feverishly.
So it really was true that people looked more beautiful while in love?!
Master Kiel smiled politely and nodded at Dneth in greeting. He didn't make small chatter nor elaborate who the lady trailing behind him was. He had no need to explain himself to his servants.
Dneth pondered whether she should ask him if he needed something, or if his companion needed something. Her gaze landed back to the two, and her thought process was suddenly interrupted.
As she watched the two walking away, she felt as if she was watching a divine painting. There was something ethereal about them. True – both were creatures of extreme beauty that would draw attention whereever they went. But looking at them together, it was as if they enhanced each other's beauty even further.
Dneth could feel her hair standing on end. It was uncanny.
And that's when the fifth surprise hit her, making her hands reflexively clutch at her heart – Master Kiel took the girl upstairs, to his bedchamber.
Were they going to his bedchamber to finish what they started on the forest floor?!
Dneth wasn't the only servant baffled by the turn of events. Younger and older, females and males alike, turned their heads and dropped their jaws in surprise as their eyes passed over master Kiel. None of them made a sound, but they didn't need to, for the questions plaguing their minds were showing clearly on their faces.
Dneth glared at two younger male servants who seemed to be staring at master Kiel's guest inappropriately. Their ears reddened and they scattered back to work.
Other female servants avoided her eyes, pretending not to be interested in master Kiel and his guest, although the blush on their cheeks spoke otherwise.
Dneth waited a short while, before discretely moving towards master Kiel's bedchamber. She needed to be nearby if master needed her. Or at least, that's what she told herself.
She was actually worried about master Kiel. This turn of events might impact master Kiel's reputation! Servants will no doubt gossip about this for a long time.
She turned her head left and right, noticing other servants nonchalantly following her, as if her movement towards master Kiel's room gave them permission to join her. They evidently wanted to douse their curiosity.
Dneth was about to shoo them away when she was interrupted by the noise coming from master Kiel's bedchamber. The exotic lady was speaking to master Kiel in an enthusiastic, warm voice:
"If you don't know how to do it, I'll do it!"
Dneth gaped like a fish, looking towards young maid on the right in shock; her ears had already turned red from embarrassment so they could only get redder as young master responded with:
"I can take care of my personal hygiene just fine on my own, thank you very much!" He seemed to be flustered, not emotion often heard in his voice, which made the entire situation look even more...unique...
"No need to feel shy, just let me do it!" The girl whined.
Dneth covered her gaping mouth shut with both of her hands in horror. The shock she was getting made it hard for her to catch her breath.
"Hands off! I do not want or require your help!" Master Kiel responded annoyed.
Hands off?!
That was the last surprise Dneth got that day, and it was more than her old heart could handle. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell towards the second female servant making her stumble back into the third. Their robes tangled and the row of servants fell like dominoes. The noise startled all of them and they quickly scattered, two male servants quickly reacting, grabbing Dneth by her arms and dragging her away from the premises along with the remaining half a dozen servants.
They made a "just in time" escape because no second later had the door to the master Kiel's chamber opened.
* * *
♦ 15 minutes prior ♦
Even though Kiel had entered the mansion through the back, several servants were already waiting for him. They bowed and greeted Kiel respectfully though none of them could hide their surprise of him bringing an elibu home.
Kiel briefly wondered whether he should leave Elaru to wait for him in the foyer. He decided not to; he had no idea what trouble she might get herself in without him to keep an eye on her. He didn't trust her one bit. Sourly, he decided he had no choice but to take her with him to his bedroom.
Kiel's bedroom was large and relatively luxurious, with a large bed and a private bathroom. All of the furniture and decorations were expensive and pleasing to the eye. The room had soft gray and blue colors as the theme, which did nothing to lessen the feeling of emptiness and coldness.
The room was too clean and tidy, as if no one was living in it. There weren't any pictures, notes, mementos or any other personal items out in the open.
Elaru frowned. This wasn't a home.
She briefly glanced at Kiel, from the corner of her eyes, but said nothing.
Isn't this...too sad? To have such a beautiful home yet not treat it like home. Kiel's room felt even less personal than a hotel room. It was glaringly clear how he never considered this place as his home.
While Kiel was quickly packing, Elaru's eyes glazed.
Was it worse to not have a home, or to have one but not feel at home? She spent her whole life traveling from one place to another. She never owned a house or a place she could call her own. No place to call home. Yet, she never felt homeless. She never thought about the significance of having a home.
Her eyes glanced towards Kiel again.
No. It isn't that she had no place to call home, it is that she felt as if the whole world was her home. The open sky, the soft grass, the sand dunes, the cold cliffs, the noisy streets - it all felt like home. But if every place feels like home, could it be that she has no idea what a home feels like?
What is a home? Elaru wondered. A home...is where you feel happy, content, relaxed, safe.
Elaru's eyes lit up, the haze that had previously covered them vanished without a trace.
A home doesn't need to be a place. A home can also be a person!
A head full of blonde hair with several black locks flashed in her mind, followed by a head full of unruly red hair, just like her own.
She unconsciously smiled. That's right. I do have a home!
She looked back at Kiel, determination entering her eyes. If he doesn't have a home, then I'll be his home!
It didn't take Kiel long to finish packing. He didn't have any items which he held dear, so he packed only the necessities. He filled a large bag with things he will need to move into the university dorms. He would tell his servants to send him this bag later. The most important of items he put into the little bags on his belt.
After he was done, he turned around and glanced at Elaru. She was giving him a rather strange look. What is with that look? He didn't know why but he felt his hair stand on end. She didn't get any bizarre ideas, did she?
Kiel shook his head and discarded the thought. He didn't want to know what strange thoughts were flying around her head. Right now, there was one last thing he wanted to do.
Shower.
Elaru looked at him like he grew two heads when he declared he was taking a shower.
Kiel raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"We don't have time for you to shower! Why not just cast a Cleansing spell?"
He glared at her. Firstly, Cleansing was a transmutation spell, and he was an argel - he could never cast transmutation spells, and naturally he had never learned them. Secondly, even if he could have cast it, back then, he didn't have enough mana.
Though, both points were invalid right now.
So the actual reason why he never considered it was because he wasn't used to that way of thinking – using magic to do everything. And because, well, he didn't want to admit he had no idea how to do it.
Elaru quickly caught on to his underlying reason.
"If you don't know how to do it, I'll do it!" She approached him, grabbing the front of his shirt with her hands.
"I can take care of my personal hygiene just fine on my own, thank you very much!" Kiel slapped her hands away and stepped back. He disliked people touching him.
"No need to feel shy, just let me do it!" Elaru grabbed him by his shoulder.
"Hands off! I do not want or require your help!" He shrugged her hand away.
Their bickering was interrupted by a thud outside of Kiel's door. As he approached the door, he could hear the sound of frantic footsteps running away. When he opened the door, no one was there.
He closed the door, annoyed by the interruption.
Elaru snickered. "Your servants are funny. Do you bring girls to your bedroom often?"
Kiel didn't dignify that with a response. He thought she might make fun of him if she knew the truth. He had never been interested in...relationships.
It took his mind a second to process what happened outside the door. It was something that Elaru could see because of her Aethernea, but regretfully, he couldn't.
When his mind connected the dots, he covered his eyes with his hand, vexed by the stupidity of his servants.
What the hell did they think Elaru and him were doing?!
He hated how noisy his servants were, always gossiping and butting in his privacy. He sighed in annoyance. He just hoped this incident doesn't reach his grandfather's ears.
Suddenly he didn't feel like taking a shower. He wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. He couldn't wait anymore. It was finally the time for him to spread his wings and leave for the big city. It was finally the time for his life to begin. For what he had been living up to now couldn't really be called a life.
Kiel hesitated briefly before putting down his Mage Armor.
Mage Armor wasn't a spell; it was a layer of dense mana surrounding the mage. Its main purpose was to shield the mage from foreign spells. If another mage wanted to cast a spell on him, they would have to bring their mana inside Kiel's body. And that task would become very difficult if that mana had to pass through a dense layer of Kiel's mana. It would be as if a gust of air was trying to reach the bottom of a sea.
Mage Armor was the difference between a mage and a regular person. Only when a person can hold up their Mage Armor for the majority of the day would they be considered a mage. Although this distinction seemed insignificant, that wasn't the case. Most of the basic spells had the capability to mortally wound someone. For example, the simplest Augmentation spell - Accelerate, could be used to make a person slam hard into a stone wall, or raise them high up in the air and drop them to their demise. That simple layer of mana was the difference between life and death.
"Fine. Make it quick." Kiel sighed in resignation. He wasn't worried Elaru would harm him. She wouldn't have gone through the trouble of binding her soul to his if she wanted him dead.
Elaru grinned and walked up to him. She extended her right arm and touched his chest with the tips of her fingers. She seemed to have a habit of touching things she was casting magic on, even though it would be just as easy to cast it from a distance, without physical contact.
Suddenly Kiel felt like he was standing naked in a soft breeze. It was warm yet surprisingly refreshing. He could feel little drops of mana capturing every particle of dirt on his skin and clothes, and then slowly, sliding away from him, bringing the grime along. It was a pleasant feeling, like hundreds of little air kisses smothering his skin.
Kiel had heard Cleansing could feel grating in cases of an inexperienced caster, leaving skin raw and red. He had expected Elaru to pull something like that on him and call him a 'wuss' if he complained. But instead, her spell was perfectly gentle and very effective.
She must have done it countless times to have such an exceptional degree of control of a level 5 spell such as Cleansing.
He doubted she was taking extra care to be gentle with him.
Kiel liked being showered by her mana. It was such a pleasant, uplifting feeling. He would never admit it to her, but he didn't want to learn that spell so he'd have an excuse to make her do it. It wasn't just that the spell itself felt pleasant, the large part of the pleasant feeling came from the direct contact with her mana. Since it was very warm and comforting, it made Kiel feel content.
It was already afternoon. They needed to hurry before the exam entries closed.
"Are you ready to leave?" Elaru asked him to confirm it.
Kiel nodded and extended his hand.
He needed to be in physical contact with her to be brought along when she used the Beacon. And both of them needed to be in the air. Otherwise, the spell would attempt to bring the ground along with them.
She looked at his hand like she saw a strange, wondrous creature. Then she looked back up to him.
"What is it?" He asked annoyed.
"Is that how you people teleport? By holding hands?"
"And how else would we teleport!?" He growled. She took every opportunity to annoy him!
"Why don't you just grab onto the beacon?"
Kiel was speechless.
The thought had not occurred to him.
He stood there like a statue, his hand in the air, his mind trying to come up with an appropriate response.
Elaru laughed a lovely musical laugh and took his hand in hers.
"I guess I'll do it your way then. It doesn't really matter."
Her hand was soft and warm.
Before he could respond, she Accelerated upwards from the balcony taking him with her. As soon as his feet left the ground, she twirled the beacon in her hand. It activated when her mana entered it and blinded them with a quick and bright purple flash.
* * *
Dum dum dum! Finally! The adventure has begun. And it only took 11 episodes... Damn, that was long. Did you guys feel like this 11 episode long intro was too long? What kept you reading?
Did you enjoy this episode? Did you think it was redundant? Did you find the part with the servants amusing?
Next time on Aethernea
Ashar University of Magic. Kiel's eyes glittered. That was his destination. That was his future home.
Elaru laughed, dismissing his unvoiced concerns easily. "Kiel, you worry too much!" "And you worry too little." He glared at her halfheartedly.
Kiel's soft glare turned into a real one. "As if I would catch you! You can go and die for all I care! That would free me from this mess."
"Let go of me, woman!" Kiel frowned in displeasure.
"I can tell you are lying! Is our impending demise a joke to you?"