The Monarch

Chapter 5

That night, I had a horrifying nightmare. I was stuck in a vast expanse devoid of light. Darkness surrounded me, blocking my senses. When I held my hand in front of my face, they seemed to be the only illuminated object in the entire expanse. However, my hands were covered in bright red blood.

I knew I was dreaming. I had experienced this dream several times throughout the last few weeks. However, this time the dream seemed incredibly vivid. The change in detail frightened me, and I started running in all directions.

A burst of low laughter started to echo through the void. As I ran, it seemed to follow me wherever I went.

"You can run, your majesty. However, you will never be able to hide," The low voice laughed slowly. The words they spoke sent shivers down my spine as they continued, "Do not worry. The true Monarch will return soon, and you will regain your true potential."

Dark ropes flung into existence, racing toward me. They wrapped around my ankles and wrists, binding me in a still position.

"The only thing holding you back, your majesty, is this mortal body. We must get rid of it."

I woke up, jolting to a sitting position. I felt sweat droplets fall from my face onto my already soaked shirt. The carriage around me smelt like heavy sweat. I sighed, standing up. I quickly grabbed my blanket and a change of clothes and jumped outside the carriage.

The smell of freshly cooked bacon filled my nose. I looked to my left, pleased to see the rest of the merchants gathered around a campfire. They talked with each other, showing many years of close friendship.

However, this time they wore their military uniforms. They were no longer merchants. Gerald seemed to have lost seventy pounds in one night. He must've been hiding a few pillows under his shirt for several weeks, just to fool me.

I turned my head to the treeline. After quickly setting my blanket up to dry, I changed into a spare set of clothes and returned to the campfire.

"Ah!" Markus praised as he saw me coming, "he's at last awake. Are you ready to begin your training, young master?" I saw that Markus held a large pint in his hand. Upon closer inspection, I saw the pint with barely any mead left inside. Markus's face had a red tint upon it.

"Are you drunk?" I asked. Markus quickly shook his head, setting the pint down.

"No, I'm not," Markus burped. Gerald looked at me.

"We leave in an hour. Hopefully, we can brush up at a quick pace and arrive at our destination early. Eat up, young one, you'll probably need to stock up on energy for the next few weeks." Gerald suggested. He took a few large pieces of bacon out of the frying pan, set it on a small wood plate, and handed it to me. I gratefully took the plate and started to savor the bacon upon it. Gerald laughed at another soldier's joke, then looked back to me, "Once Markus sobers up, you can train with him around lunch."

"Will he sober up by then?" I asked, looking at the unbalanced man. Markus shot me a confused face, then burped again.

"For sure," Gerald reassured me, "He might be fine in ten minutes!"

As Gerald predicted, Markus seemed to clear his head within a few minutes. After he did so, he brought me out into the forest. We walked for a few minutes, hoping to gain a bit of distance between us and the campsite. As I walked behind Markus, I looked around, surveying the forest around us.

It seemed very old. The trees grew tall, with many branches. The sky seemed to glow green as the sun lightened the leaves above me. The forest smelled peaceful, a small breeze coming from in front of us.

"The place we're going is just ahead," Markus said, his voice standing out in the silence of the forest. I nodded, acknowledging Markus's statement. A minute or so later, Markus stopped in the middle of a small clearing and placed his bag against a tree trunk.

"Get your weapons out," Markus told me. He picked up a small rapier from the side of his bag and placed the scabbard on the side of his hip. I pulled my two longswords from my back, the sound of the sword unsheathing ringing in my ears. Markus slowly pulled his sword from the scabbard as he stood in perfect form. As I simply watched him prepare, it became obvious that Markus was a master at combat, "I want to see your skills. Attack!"

I charged forward, kicking dirt from the earth as I quickly closed the distance between myself and Markus. Markus seemed surprised by my speed. I could see his eyes react, but his body was too slow. Just as I reached him, I concentrated with all of my strength.

The world became silent. I saw the birds above head slow themselves in the air, gradually coming to a full stop. I stood up, watching Markus's frozen face.

"What is this?" I asked. I was surprised by my voice. As I spoke, I heard my voice echo through the air, as if several voices were speaking for me. As I looked around, I recognized the strange phenomena. A similar occurrence had happened at the tournament, just a month before.

I turned back to Markus, then slowly tapped his chest with the hilt of my longsword. A moment later, the birds resumed flight as the forest became alive again. I watched as Markus was pushed back, his body slamming into the trunk of a tree. Markus grunted in pain as he slid to the ground.

"Markus!" I yelled out, dropping my weapons. I ran to Markus, slowly crouching before him, "Markus I'm so sorry!"

Markus coughed as he sat, his hands clutching his chest. His eyes glanced to mine, full of confusion. Then he laughed, his smile showing amusement.

"That was awesome," he groaned, obviously in pain, "I've never seen anybody go faster. One moment, you were fifteen feet away from me. The next, you were right in front of me. I was surprised when my body flew backward."

"I'll help you up!" I said, grabbing Markus's arm. As I slowly lifted him, my head throbbed in pain. The pain felt like a million daggers forcing their way out of my skull, all clashing in different directions. I fell to the ground, yelling out in pain as I clutched my head.

My vision slowly faded as my consciousness gave out. The world turned black as I heard Markus's panicked voice.

I awoke in a comfortable bed, the sun rays of the morning peeking through the curtains near me. As I opened my eyes, I slowly sat up in my bed. Then, a sharp pang shook my skull from the back of my head. I winced, grabbing my head in pain.

"Good morning," a gentle voice spoke, "I would lie down if I were you."

"Where am I?" I asked, looking around. The room I awoke in was very small, but very well lit. It had clean wooden walls and a round wooden door facing the bed. To the right was an open window, green translucent curtains hanging from its frame. The curtains waved in the wind as they allowed a very sweet smell into the room.

"Someplace safe," the voice answered to my left. I looked in the voice's direction and found a lady sitting in a chair. She had leather armor on her body and a dark green cloak on her back. Her cloak seemed to be made of wool. In her hand was a very large tobacco pipe. Her biggest feature was a thick blindfold around her eyes. Near her neck, a green leaf clasp held her cloak together, "At ten o'clock in the morning, on May 3rd, if you want to know."

"Are you a ranger?" I asked. The woman nodded.

"I am," She answered, "My name is Katherina Myers. Lieutenant Rockefeller's platoon brought you here just a few hours ago. You seemed to be suffering from severe mana deprivation. If they had come any later, we would not have been able to save you."

"Mana deprivation?" I asked, unfamiliar with the term. Ms. Myers nodded, taking a deep breath from her pipe. As she exhaled, a perfect smoke ring escaped from her lips, traveling through the open window.

"Yes," Ms. Myers said, "It's a very rare occasion, but it is very deadly. You used up too much mana."

"But I don't know any spells," I told her. She shook her head in response.

"Skills require mana as well. I took a look at your skill list, and I think I've found the culprit," Ms. Myers said. Then, she stood from her chair, "But that's a topic for another day. For now, get rest young pupil. You may be ill today, but training will begin tomorrow."

After Ms. Myers had left the room, I attempted to get some more sleep. That task proved impossible, and I soon found myself getting up from my bed. I found a small cane near the window and used it as a crutch. As I walked further from the bed, I heavily depended on the cane to keep me upright, all while I felt a faint sharpness of pain in my head.

I first opened the door and started to walk further away from my room. The hallway outside was long and large. The walls were made of white stone that seemed to glow faintly in the night. The walls arched up and met directly above me. The architecture of the hallway seemed very old and very peaceful.

As I walked further, the walls slowly started to become more intertwined with vines and roots. Eventually, I found an entrance to a balcony. From still inside the corridor, I peaked my head through the entrance. The balcony before me was large and overhung a large cliff. Using both the cane and the wall for support, I slowly stepped onto the surface of the balcony. Along the sides, vines and roots grew seemed much more intertwined with the stone. Near the top, where the ceiling once ended, a canopy of green leaves glowed in the moonlight.

While the leaves were more than fifteen feet away, I could make out flying luminescent butterflies, enjoying their freedom in the trees. The butterflies all glowed in different colors.

As I stepped closer to the balcony edge, my eyes widened in awe. Before me, far below the balcony, was a full forest of beauty. The moon, hanging overhead like a silent guardian, seemed to make the forest alive. The balcony seemed to be a part of a much larger building, half embedded into a mountainside. Across from the balcony was a great valley where a river ran free underneath. From across the valley, I could see a gathering of golden lights belonging to beautiful buildings. Each of those buildings grew alongside its neighboring trees. Near the valley was an array of waterfalls, each larger and more magnificent than the last.

"What is this place?" I asked, blurting out words in awe. A voice behind me answered.

"This is Ithil il o Aiqua, or city near the valley," Ms. Myers said, appearing behind me. Alongside her was a man who wore a very shiny robe. His ears, large and pointed, drooped down. He bowed as he saw me, "We call it Ithilia. I believe you're the first human to visit in five hundred years," Ms. Myers said.

"Five hundred years?" I asked, then turned to Ms. Myers, "Then aren't you?"

"No," Ms. Myers said, pulling down her hood. Two large ears, both pointed, sprung from her hair, "I am an elf, just like this man here," She pointed to the man behind her. Ms. Myers then walked to the edge of the balcony and inhaled the air around her. She looked peaceful as her hair waved in the wind, "Ithilia is forbidden ground for humans. Gerald and his platoon aren't even allowed inside."

"Then why am I here?" I asked, confused.

"Because you're special, somehow," Ms. Myers said, "The barrier around Ithilia ignored you, for some reason. The barrier that's been up for three thousand years finally turned a blind eye. William, you're a very peculiar being."

"I'm here to investigate that very occasion," The man behind me said, raising his head. His eyes bore into my soul, "To reveal your intentions in our city, good or bad."

"Evendor is the High Elder of Ithilia," Ms. Myers said, "He is the one in charge of this land. He'll treat you well. But now," Ms. Myers sighed, turning around, "We need to get you to bed. It is not healthy to stay up beyond the sun."

The next day, my body miraculously recovered from its illness. For the first time in weeks, I awoke without a nightmare to haunt my dreams. After I had cleaned myself in the hospital's baths and gotten dressed, Ms. Myers gave me a tour of the town. Even without the moonlight to paint the trees in different colors, the village still looked incredibly beautiful. However, as we walked through town, the local elves seemed to avoid me.

"They've never seen a non-elf before," Ms. Myers reassured me, "Excuse their behavior. They just need to get used to you, that's all."

We continued walking through the small city. As we walked further on, I realized that the city itself was only the size of a small village, even if it seemed larger last night. Ms. Myers took me to all the 'hotspots' of the village. As we explored each one, I was expecting to see a variety of elves talking sociably in bars or playgrounds. However, each of the hotspots Ms. Myers took me to seemed to be scenic routes with good views.

While the views were beautiful, I was disappointed with the lack of people. Pretty soon, the elves avoided me to the point where the village felt like a ghost town.

"That concludes the tour," Ms. Myers said as we finished walking back to the hospital, "How did you like our city?"

"It's... nice," I lied. Ms. Myers laughed loudly, slapping me on the back. At times, I forgot she had a blindfold on.

"You don't have to lie, you know. I've visited human settlements before, and I know they're much more lively. Humans depend on being social to survive. Elves live for so long they only ever decide to be really social every few months," Ms. Myers explained, "Now then. Evendor wants to see you. While he's examining your body for any faults, I'll be explaining how your training will work for the time you're here."

The elves gave me residence at the hospital, the largest building in town, near the top floor. The room I was given was large and circular, containing only a large bed and a smaller dresser at the foot of the bed. The room seemed largely empty because of the lack of furniture. Near the bed was an open window, curtainless, that overlooked Ithilia.

The hospital was large and contained three mess halls, two lounges (that always remained empty), and more than two hundred rooms. Near the bottom, below the river level, was the town's jail. The entrance was locked, and the mechanism that kept it locked seemed rusted with age.

I was given a week to explore the town and get recovered. The delay was most likely because of Evendor, the town's leader and oldest resident. He aged nearly 3000 years, but his body seemed to be in its forties. Evendor was also the town's most powerful mage and kept watch on the barrier that protected the village from the outside world.

I had appointments with him every single day up until training started. During these appointments, he would try to discover why I was allowed through the barrier, even though I was a human. Supposedly, only elves and fairies were allowed inside.

When training finally started, it took place in the forest.