Reverse Chronicles

Kate's Advice

“You have answers?” Kate asks before drinking the wine she ordered.

“I have,” I answer. “I need to collect the Divine weapons and use their power.”

“The Divine weapons?” Kate laughs hard that wine sprayed from her nose. “The Divine classes will not even let you see the weapons, let alone use it. What do you plan to do? Steal it from right under their noses?”

“If that’s what it takes, then I will.”

“Wait, you’re really serious about going home?” Kate’s face becomes serious. “Retrieving the Divine weapons is one, but the Divine classes themselves are, to put it bluntly, unreachable.”

“Unreachable?”

“The Hero has been missing for a decade, the Archsage is in the last frontier before the wastelands, and the Mythos is a general in the Sarcen empire,” Kate explains. “The road to each of them is dangerous.”

“I’m not afraid,” I reply.

“That’s what you tell yourself, but I know you are, Josh. I’ve been there,” Kate stands up and stretches. “I’ll use my network to secure a path for you to each of them.”

“Thank you, but…”

“I insist. No matter what you tell yourself, you are not ready, Josh. Give me six months, I will give you results.”

“Six months? I can’t wait that long. I…”

“You can’t but you must,” Kate pauses. “Train. You have to be stronger. Travel to Syracre, Caldia’s capital, and train there. Your knight companion should be able to help you.” Kate abruptly left. Her wine glass still half full. She left the auberge and slammed the door behind her.

I lean against the table. My thoughts are once again in turmoil. The rock that once lived in my lungs came back.

Six months?

Zealle flies down and taps my hand. She cries and looks at me with the purest blue eyes.

“You’re right, I should be patient. I cannot take things too quickly,” I leave a tip and exit the auberge. I return to the inn, but the two were not there. I ask the innkeeper of their whereabouts, but I only received a vague response.

I begin to look for the two. Zealle helps me by looking from the sky. After some time, she flies down and guides me towards Maramus. Keith was there sparring with Melojean with magic that he recently learned. Keith’s progress is really impressive. He reached level 48 and is now a Sorcerer, wielding powerful offensive, defensive, and enchanting magic. His magic is strong, but he was still no match for Melojean. An Elementalist is simply stronger than a Sorcerer.  After their spar, Keith notices me and approaches. He smiles trying to hide the fact that his loss does not affect him.

“Hey, Josh,” he arrives. “How was Kate?”

“About that, I need to tell you something. We should find Franz first.”

“Oh, he is restocking our supplies for our journey to the Sarcen Empire,” Keith answers. “He should be in the city market.”

The city market is located in an area opposite the magic schools. It is the busiest part of the city, where merchants, farmers, and fishermen sell their produce. Beside the market is the only armory and smithery in the city.

“There he is,” Keith points to him. As we arrived, Franz was exiting the market. “Hey, Franz!” Keith runs toward him and manages to bump him at the last second when he was stopping. I run to help the two and collect the goods that scattered all over the street.

“Keith! From now on, just walk when you approach me,” Franz is irritated.

“I’m sorry,” Keith laughs it off. “Anyway, Josh has something to tell us.”

“We should discuss it when we get back to the inn.”

When we reached the inn, I broke the news to Franz and Keith. I told them everything, from the Divine weapons to Kate’s advice. Our journey to the Sarcen Empire is temporarily postponed for six months until Kate secures a path to the three Divine classes. In the meantime, we were to train in Syracre.

“Guess, someone is going home,” Keith elbow bumps Franz.

“This is very sudden,” Franz replies. “I’m with you all the way.”

“Franz looks serious, but he is actually very excited to show you his home city, Josh.”

“Quit it, Keith!” Franz tries to catch Keith, but he slips away at the last second. “Hey, come back here!”

Syracre, Franz’s home and the capital of the Republic of Caldia. According to the Insight that the headmistress gave me, it is a metropolis located off the coast of Copre. It is the largest of the seven cities and is ruled by a council that is democratically elected by the people.

We leave Murthsminne and make our way back to Yalba, where we made a quick stop to visit Rei. She seems better than when we left. Laion is as majestic as always, kissing the clouds and hiding its summit. After Yalba is Toulse, from there we have to take the southern road to get to the port city of Copre. Thankfully, we are able to join a caravan who let us ride in their carts.

The route from Toulse to Copre is known to travelers as the Sea Path. At a certain point in the route, the road goes downhill, that faces the vast Caldian sea. As we continue on the path, the sea appears to be rising, until the city of Copre breaks the view.

We arrive at Copre and replenished our supplies. Our arrival at the city is at an impeccable timing as it was celebrating a festival called, L’eau Joie. People on the streets dance with the beat of the drums. Mages splashed water all around town, wetting everyone one the scene. It was a scene of smiles and bliss. Keith persuaded us to stay in the city for a night, and we had it his way. 

We join in on the celebration. The party reminded me of the music festival that I saw on television back on Earth. Bards sang and played upbeat melodies that chained everybody to the rhythm. The celebration made me forget all of the worries in the world.

After a night of partying, we took a ship to Syracre. The crew are mostly composed of Mercenaries, except for some Shamans and Mages and the captain who is a Myrmidon, a warrior adept at lightning fast sword strikes. The ship sails along the Strait of Syracre, which has a reputation for being full of monsters.

It was smooth sailing, until manowars, giant jellyfish-like monsters, jumped aboard. We equipped ourselves, ready to fight the monster. However, the captain told us to stay back. We let the crew handle them and, in an instant, they defeated the manowars. They all fought with such intense speed and agility that my eyes could barely keep up. A sudden interest lit inside me.

“How do they move that fast?” I ask the captain. “When I blinked, the battle was almost over.”

“It’s all about the flow, young lady,” he answers. “You let the sword guide you to yer target and make yer body move as fast as it goes.”

Another manowar jumps aboard. “Fer example, like this,” the captain drew his sword and rushes the manpower. He moved so fast that I could see three of him at once. He runs back and sheathes his sword. The moment he returns his sword, the manowar fell to pieces. “Did ya get all that?”

“Great fighting, cap’n.” The entire crew applauds the captain.

In the next series of battles, I observed their movements. They were fluid, and not once hesitated to move. They were like dancing while they fought. The graceful movements of their swords resemble a cherry blossom falling beautifully to the ground.

“If yer that interested,” the captain approaches me. “I could teach ya the simplest of Myrmidon skills.” While we sailed, I learned the way of a Myrmidon. Quick Strike allows me to strike an opponent in a blink of an eye. Flash Cut allows me to move at lightning speed and launch a back attack. Sword Kiss is a very fluid parry that can almost defend against all attacks. Thousand Swallows is a quick strike that leaves a thousand strikes on the enemy creating images of the user.

After two days of sailing, we finally arrive in Syracre. The metropolis is huge that I think it is as big as Los Angeles or Tokyo. The city is built at the mouth of a gulf allowing it to extend in three directions. From the port, a majestic castle with a dome intermittently catches my eye. The port is bustling with people. Everywhere I look, ships in all forms and sizes, having various flags are docked. 

Franz appears really nervous. He couldn’t keep eye contact with me, as we got out of the ship. He fakes a smile and opens his mouth as if to say something, but he can’t get out any words.

“Something got your tongue?” Keith teases him.

“Are you happy to be home, Franz?” I ask, giving him a smile that may hopefully comfort him.

“Welcome to my home city,” Franz nervously says. “I’ll take you on a tour around the city. Hopefully, you will consider Syracre as your home for the next six months.”