Echoes of the Abyssal Blade: Path to Free Will-Chapter 62: Lost Innocence

After a week or two of travelling, while following the caravans, Rhydian and Jonan swiftly reached Starfall City without any obstruction on their way to the castle of the Starfall Family, which was a majestic castle with various empty plains surrounding it.

Jonan had gotten better in the two weeks he journeyed alongside Rhydian, while they didn’t talk much, Jonan was privy to the knowledge that his life was in jeopardy sometime before, but thanks to the Shaman of the Starfall Family, he was saved in the nick of time.

"This is the second time that the Shaman has saved me. I owe her for saving my life again and again, but is this life of mine really worth saving?" thought Jonan in contemplation.

While both of them were making their way towards the Starfall Castle, Rhydian tilted his head towards Jonan and said, "For the next month, do not exert your physique, after a month of rest, you can start practicing."

Jonan nodded in understanding, he could himself feel that his body needed rest.

Rhydian then continued, "Any content of the mission up till now must not be revealed to anyone, and only after three months, I will come to you for our next mission."

Jonan was astonished; he agreed with the confidentiality of the mission, but after three months, he would have to go on another mission.

Reluctantly, Jonan stopped, as did Rhydian, noticing him.

Jonan then, in suppressed anger, retorted, "Wasn’t it my decision to go on a mission for some outward experience, and my current cohort has all but gotten buried in that city, how do you expect me to do my missions without a cohort, and why do I even have to go on missions of your choice?"

For some time, Rhydian kept quiet, and then he said, "It is because His Holiness wills it so, it is unfortunate what has happened to your cohort, but we will have to continue with our tasks, and I will not force you, any mission that you will go on, will have your complete willingness, whether you want to or not, because it is the will of His Holiness, Do you understand, Young Master Jonan."

After saying his bit, Rhydian kept moving forward without a second thought, whereas Jonan, who was standing, bit his lips in anger, his fists were tightly clenched, and his eyes were full of rage, and he thought, "Rhydian, one day I will get stronger, and I will thrash you a lot."

Swearing at Rhydian some more in his heart, he then reluctantly followed behind him, Jonan wanted to refute, but it was his father who had already made decisions regarding him, he was puzzled, only he knew about the forming of the nexus, or if there was even a possibility of him forming it, but why was his father sending him to death’s door again and again.

Worst of all, he couldn’t forget his cohort’s faces when all of them died one by one, and he was too weak to save anyone.

The plains around Starfall Castle stretched wide and empty, bathed in the dying hues of twilight. The once-familiar sight felt strangely distant to Jonan, as if the lands of his birth had shifted into some alien world during his absence. The imposing form of the Starfall Castle, with its spires that were silver-tipped and pale stone walls that shone weakly even at twilight, stood waiting for them at the distant end of the horizon.

A strip of worn flagstones made the way from the front gate to the imposing double doors of the castle. On either side, trimmed hedges and barren flowerbeds lined the path, though much of their color had faded with the season. The plains beyond were vacant, no busy patrols, no training guards, it seemed too still.

Jonan rode in silence, Rhydian a few paces in front of him, his presence unshakeable as always. The road itself had been dull during the last two weeks, but the tension was heavy between them.

As the gate guards saw them coming, they stepped quickly, silently but effectively. Seeing Rhydian was sufficient; the tall figure of the man in silver-cloaked armor was too recognizable. No opposition was made. The gates creaked apart with a complaint of old wood and iron, and the two of them moved into the outer courtyard.

Jonan’s eyes flashed across the familiar terrain — the worn training grounds, the blacksmith’s annex, the great stone fountain in the courtyard’s center.

Rhydian slid off his horse with no word, passing the reins of his animal to a standing stable hand, and motioned for Jonan to do the same. Jonan did so, noting a funny sense of detachment as his boots hit the familiar stone.

This is where we part company," Rhydian said, his voice hard and flat, but his eyes lingering for a fraction of a beat longer than usual on Jonan. "Lie low for a month. Recover. I will come looking for you in three months."

Not waiting for a response, Rhydian turned, his cloak flowing behind him as he walked towards the east wing of the castle, where the higher-ranking knights and agents of the Starfall Family lived. He was gone within moments.

Jonan stood alone, his mind swirling, a part of him wanted to shout after the man, curse him for his coldness, for dragging him through death and despair, only to dismiss him like a discarded tool, but his body felt too heavy for anger now, weariness seeped deep into his bones.

He turned toward the castle’s main hall.

The old stone steps felt endless, each stride carried memories, guards at the door saluted him — one of them, a grizzled veteran named Oric, gave a faint, approving nod, Jonan forced a ghost of a smile but said nothing, slipping through the arching doors into the high-ceilinged entry hall.

It was there, in that hall of marble pillars and vaulted stained glass, that he saw her, his mother.

Lady Elara of House Starfall, her figure as poised as ever in a long gown of forest green, her black hair threaded with silver, though more than before, she stood as though rooted to the spot the moment their eyes met.

Jonan felt something wrench brutally within him, the breath was knocked from his lungs.

She gasped, a strangled, reflexive sound, and then, without a word, Elara closed the space between them in an instant, sweeping Jonan into a tight hug; her thin arms were shaking as she held him.

"My boy... my dear boy..."

Jonan stiffened at first. It felt alien, this warmth, this safety, but the dam inside him cracked, and before he could stop it, he found his arms wrapping around her in return, he buried his face in her shoulder, letting the scent of her wash over him like a tide.

His exhaustion, his grief, his fury, his regrets, they did not vanish, but in her embrace, they settled, for the first time since the city fell and he lost his cohort.

Elara wept openly, her tears soaking into his tunic.

"You came back," she whispered, voice cracking. "You must be tired, my lovely boy."

He pulled back, looking down at her, only now did she realize how much he’d changed.

He was taller, his shoulders were broader, his frame was leaner and more hardened, even though he hadn’t noticed in those grueling weeks, his face was no longer the soft one she remembered, his jaw was sharper, his gaze darker, haunted, the boy in him was not visible now.

Elara saw it, she reached up and cupped his face, tracing a thumb along the faint scar by his ear he hadn’t even noticed, her eyes brimmed with both pride and sorrow.

"My Jonan... you’ve grown so much, and not in the way a mother wishes for."

"I... I’m sorry," he murmured, not sure for what, for worrying her, for surviving when others didn’t, for being the tool of other’s whims.

Don’t be," she told him sharply. "You are my son, and nothing will ever change that."

She gripped his shoulders and stared into his eyes.

"I see it, I can, things that you’re not telling me, they’ll hold you back, my boy, if you don’t release them, promise me... promise me that you will at least look after yourself."

Jonan hesitated, then nodded.

"I will try, mother."

That was enough for her, for now.

With a soft sigh, she turned towards the maids who had gathered on the edge of the hall, watching the reunion with quiet curiosity.

"Take his belongings to his quarters," Elara commanded. "Have his clothes sent for cleaning, and his weapons to the forge for repairs, draw him a hot bath, and prepare a meal."

The maids scurried to obey, moving quickly to unload his satchel and weapons, one of them, a younger girl Jonan vaguely remembered from before, gave him a fleeting smile.

Elara lingered a moment longer.

Meanwhile... In the upper spire of the Starfall Castle’s inner sanctum, a figure stood before a crystalline communication orb, her expression grim.

Aurelia, the first wife of the Hero Draven, watched as the last ripples of a message faded. Word had traveled quickly, faster than most would expect, she knew of the city’s fall, of the decimation brought by that creature, that impossible horror.

And of Jonan’s return.

She exhaled, her hands tightening on the staff she leaned against.

He has survived, but not all of him has come back.

Aurelia closed her eyes...

She mourned for that; Innocence lost was never regained.