DRACONIC LEGACY

A Divine Gift

After washing away the stains with the same handkerchief, he got up to check, his slender sword humming as it briefly fiddled on the spot.

"As simple as that?" Sancho seemed not to believe the explanation of the young man in front of him.

"Yes!" Rygar lifted the hilt of his sword in the air with the tip of one foot, caught it with one hand, and sheathed his sword. "As simple as that. Why does it have to be complicated?”

"You have no idea what I've done before, Rygar." Sancho looked like he had dirt on his face when he said that, looking away and holding back embarrassment.

"Is it important that I know?" asked Rygar lightly.

"I'm no better than them," Sancho squeaked. "Or the guy who harassed you at Foxhound last night."

"Oh yes. Why are they really?” asked Rygar.

“They're afraid you're a bounty hunter or a mercenary knight who came to Hauger on someone's orders. They always are, those guys are a gang of thugs when there's no work." Sancho explained.

"I understand that. So be it." Rygar did not try to deny anything. “I have no right nor understanding of state law to pass judgment.” His words were colder than the river where he washed.

"As a human, I think it's best not to judge someone based on their past, right?" he continued. “Besides…my hands are equally stained with blood, for reasons only I can understand.” This time his eyes looked far away even though they fell on the river in front of them.

For a moment, Sancho thought back to how easy it was for Rygar to roll people up at the Foxhound shop last night, as well as how the young man coldly slaughtered his former comrades. It was as if there were two contrasting sides of a mosaic in the young man. Rygar who violent like a knight who is full of trials, and Rygar that acting like a teenager of his age.

His image, when he turned his back on a dozen of fallen human bodies that were scattered about, was very different from his calm demeanour when conversing casually. The young man could even laugh out loud at his corny dad jokes.

"You said there was some kind of altar not far from here, didn't you?" asked Rygar later, which stirred Sancho's daydream. "Can you take me there?"

"Yes. Yes. There is." The man from Sunset Isle gasped. “Bear Cliff Altar, what's the matter? I mean, yes, I can take you there. It's only an hour of walks from here, Rygar.”

"Perfect." Rygar slung his sword back on his back, picking up the ropes he was carrying. "Let's go." He pointed to the Frostwood Forest, a broad smile catching up with him.

 The altar that Sancho was referring to was a structure of stone that was not too broad, semicircular, with a stone pedestal in the centre which was completely covered by a thick layer of snow. The two of them needed to turn off the main hiking trail in the Frostwood grove, up an uphill road less travelled by, until they reached an open cliff overlooking the distant Ural lake.

A pair of huge rock-carved Grizzly bear totems stood tall on either side of the cliff, brooding within the serene forest, as if standing as vigilant altar guards.

Similar totems of smaller size were also encountered by Rygar upon entering Frostwood, as well as on several along the hiking trails. Sancho explains the existence of Zuni, the guardian spirit of Frostwood, and the foot of the mountain Hrothgarr in the form of a Grizzly bear. So that the people at the foot of the mountain, including the residents of Hauger who adhere to ancestral occultism, also cult.

To his knowledge, forest elves such as Sylvish and Kaelish regard the brown bear as a symbol of Artio, the goddess of the bear, summoned by the fairies in nature to gain success and stay safe in their expeditions or wars. At the same time, it is also a symbol of divinely rooted strength and power.

“There is an old saying that says; if you were attacked by a Grizzly bear in the mountains, it could be a reward for your bad karma, the trees shall testify,” Sancho explained.

After placing an offering of beef jerky, and praying to the first totem, they encountered at the mouth of the Frostwood forest. Rygar didn't comment because it was their tradition after all, although he was pretty sure the beef jerky would end up in the belly of a fox or a wolf. He wasn't sure that a guardian spirit like Zuni would like dried beef jerky.

From where they were now, Hauger was no longer visible, the thick trees surrounding the cliffs also closed Mercu Andall from sight.

Rygar approached the altar which had been frozen for some time with caution and told Sancho to wait at the cliff entrance, there was another thick layer of ice covering the entire structure as he cleared the pedestal section of the snow pile.

“How far will it go until it reaches the boundary of the Frostwood forest?” he asked while removing the strap of the gauntlet that wrapped around his left hand.

Revealing the left palm, whose back imprinted with a symbol. A large, bone-white circle encircled three diamond shapes that coloured in bloodish red.

“We're already on the shores of Frostwood, not far away, actually. After this, all that remains is the vast expanse of snow called the Dragonspine Path by the village elders, continuing eastward to the top of Hrothgarr or even to Mercu Andall." Sancho answered with a slightly raised voice, he noticed the vapours of his breath were slightly thickening, then he looked at the still clear sky.

Rygar nodded without looking back, now he concentrated his concentration and closed his eyes for a moment, the symbol on the back of his left palm engulfed in a golden flame when he opened his eyes. And firmly attached to the frozen pedestal surface.

A distinctive clanging sound rose along with the appearance of reddish dots on the ice-covered pedestal surface, a tangle of similar colored lines connecting them so that now they formed a constellation. The flaming lines had spread simultaneously to the corners of the altar structure, now filling the reliefs that adorn it.

A faint maroon aura radiated from the entire altar, which was still covered in snow and ice, melting it in the blink of an eye like an ember. But Rygar, who was at the centre didn't seem bothered in the slightest. His coat fluttered, while his body now emitted a similar aura whose color was a mixture of bright blue, green, and yellowish tinges, as well as a gust of air that swept across the surrounding snowflakes.

Sancho was frozen in place to witness this incident, the altar that had been frozen for decades now revealed its true form made of brownish marble, with maroon ornamental lines adorning it. The snow and ice that had enveloped him for a long time had already melted into a pool of water that fell from the edge of the cliff.